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Bree’s heart started racing and, before she knew it, she was standing, the teeth of the key making dents in her palm. Her smile broadened. “You’re giving me Nana’s house?”
Bree swallowed the lump forming in her throat as she pulled the key to her chest.
“With conditions,” her mother repeated.
“Of course. Anything.” Then she narrowed her eyes. “I’m not going to get married to that guy from the post office. Don’t tell me it’s about the guy from the post office.”
Both of them laughed, but her stepfather laughed harder. “Of course not, Bree. Who cares about”—his eyes grazed the window—“Rick? You don’t need Rick.”
“Or him,” Bree replied, tossing her chin toward the window as well. “I take it back. I might consider Rick. Or a mail-order groom. But not him.”
“No, no, it’s nothing like that,” her mother said. “Don’t be silly. Just . . . come here. Sit.”
Her mother guided her to the couch next to Dan. She seated herself on the other side. Quite suddenly, Bree realized she was cornered.
“We have a proposition for you, dear. We know how much the house means to you—”
That was the understatement of the year.
“And we know that of all the people she loves, she’d want you to have it.”
Bree swallowed at the words.
“But—if we are going to hand our share of this property off to you, we know what a responsibility it will be. For starters, you’ll need to work out terms with Evie for buying her share.”
“No problem.” She currently had $42.01 in the bank, but she could come up with more. Easily. No problem.
“And this house is old. It requires extra love and attention—”
Bree nodded, careful to avoid looking at the golden pothos she’d potted on top of the bookshelf that was very, very dead. “I can do that.”
“And a steady income to maintain—”
Her nods slowed. “I’ve got a job”—she coughed and lowered her voice—“currently.”
“And above all, stability.”
Bree kept nodding, but at her mother’s continued stare her nod petered out. “Stability. I can be stable.”
Her mother began pushing nonexistent crumbs off her knees. “Yes, well, that’s what we’d like to talk about.”
After a pause she took Bree’s hands. “You see, honey, you have this wonderful spirit within you. It’s . . . spontaneous.”
“Energetic,” Dan put in.
“Spirited,” her mother added.
Bree looked from her stepfather to her mother. “So it’s established then. I have a spirited spirit. But . . .”
“But sometimes our greatest strengths are also our greatest weaknesses.”
“And that’s not unusual at all,” Dan interjected. “For example, your mother’s greatest strength is how loving she is.”
Her mother gave a bashful smile.
“On the flip side, that means she can sometimes be a bit too invested. Clingy.”
Her mother’s smile withered. “Yes. Well. Just as one of Dan’s many terrific attributes is his ability to stay laser focused on his goals, which also explains why he’s gained twenty pounds by being glued to the couch every weekend over football season.”
