Pathetic. She still couldn’t understand why Livie would do such a horrendous thing to this charming house. Carly could hardly wait to get rid of that ugly old stuff and replace it with a look that was truer to the home’s original character.
Bang. Bang. Bang.
Carly jumped, sending her renovation ideas flying out the window. At least until she took care of whoever was in the parlor.
Raising the bat, she tiptoed into the short hallway, past the closet, until she could see who was making that racket.
She peered around the corner, nearly coming unglued when she spotted the male figure crouched beside the wall on the other side of the kitchen, using a hammer and a crowbar to remove the original trim moldings.
She slammed the tip of the bat onto the worn wooden floor with a crash. “What are you doing to my house?”
The man jumped. Jerking his head in her direction, he hustled to his feet until he towered over her.
Carly gasped. What is he doing here?
Eyes wide, she simply gaped. The perpetrator wasn’t just any man. Instead, Andrew Stephens, Livie’s grandson, stood before her, looking none too pleased.
Heat started in her belly, quickly rising to her cheeks. Though it had been nearly twenty years since they’d dated and she’d seen him a few times since, her mind failed to recall that the boy she once knew so well was now a man. A very tall, muscular man with thick, dark brown hair, penetrating brown eyes and a stubble beard that gave him a slightly dangerous, albeit very appealing, look.
His surprise morphed into irritation. “Your house?”
She struggled for composure, jutting her chin in the air while trying to ignore the scent of raw masculinity. “You heard me.” Aware she wasn’t acknowledging the complete truth, her courage suddenly waned. “Well, half of it anyway.”
Andrew eyed her bat. “I’m not sure where you’re getting your information, Carly, but this house belongs to me.” Shifting his tools from one hand to the other, he moved closer. “And I have a copy of my grandmother’s will that proves it.”
Oh, so he thought he could intimidate her, did he? Not to mention call her a liar?
She laid one hand over the other atop the bat. “That’s odd. Because I received a letter from Livie’s lawyer, along with a copy of her will, and it stated that the house passes equally to both you and me.” And while her plan was to offer to buy out his half, this probably wasn’t the best time to bring that up.
He cocked his head, his expression softening a notch. “Are you okay? You haven’t hit your head or something, have you?”
She sucked in a breath, indignation twisting her gut. Wasn’t it enough that he’d broken her young heart? Now he thought she was crazy. Well, she’d show him.
Resting the bat on her shoulder, she whirled and started for the back door.
“Where are you going?”
“I’ll be right back.” She stormed out the door and marched over to her house, kicking at a dwindling pile of snow along the way. Did he really think she was going to let him plead ignorance when she had proof? That house was half hers and she refused to be bullied.
Once inside Granger House, Carly went straight to her bedroom, opened the small safe she kept tucked in the corner and pulled out the large manila envelope. Let Andrew argue with this.
Leaving her bat in her kitchen for fear she might actually be tempted to use it, she again made her way next door, irritation nipping at her heels. She would not let Andrew stand between her and her dream.
When she entered this time, he was in the kitchen, arms crossed, leaning against the peninsula that separated the eating space from the food-prep space, looking better than an ex-boyfriend should.
She removed the papers from the envelope and handed them to him. “Page three, last paragraph.”
She watched as he read, noting the lines carved deeply into his brow. So serious. Intense. And while he had never been the carefree type, it appeared the big city might have robbed him of whatever joy remained.
When he glanced her way, she quickly lowered her gaze. Just because she hadn’t seen him in forever didn’t give her the right to stare. No matter how intriguing the sight.
“I don’t get it.” He flipped back to the front page. “This will was drawn up only a year and a half ago.” He looked at her now. “The one I have is at least five years old. Meaning this—” he wiggled the papers—“supersedes that.”
Carly rested her backside against the wood veneer table, her fingers gripping the edge. “So, are you saying you didn’t receive a letter from your grandmother’s lawyer?”
He shook his head. “Not that I’m aware of.”
This was her chance to make her move. Before she chickened out. “I’m sorry to hear that. However—” she shoved away from the table “—we can take care of this quite easily.” She lifted her chin. “I’d like to buy out your half. I’ve been looking for a way to expand my bed-and-breakfast, and this house is the perfect solution. Besides, you’re never in Ouray—”
“I love this house. Always have. You know that.”
While she knew that Andrew the boy had loved the house, she could count the times Andrew the man had set foot in Ouray since moving to Denver right after graduation. A move that was supposed to be the beginning of their future together. Instead, it had torn them apart.
Refusing to let the painful memories get the best of her, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Until today, when was the last time you were in this house?”
“After my grandmother’s funeral.”
“And the time before that?” She awaited a response.
After a long moment, he shoved the papers back at her. “This house has been in my family for four generations. And I’m not about to let that change anytime soon. Even for you.”
* * *
Andrew hadn’t been this bowled over since Crawford Construction, one of Denver’s largest commercial builders, offered to buy out his company, Pinnacle Construction. Even then, he hadn’t been totally unaware. He’d heard rumors. But this revelation about his grandmother’s house took him completely by surprise.
There was no way he was going to sell Carly half of the house that rightfully belonged to him. There had to be some mistake. He hadn’t even been notified of the change to Grandma’s will.
Watching out the kitchen window as Carly made her way back to Granger House, her blond curls bouncing with each determined step, he could think of only two explanations. His grandmother was crazy, or Carly had somehow coerced her into changing her will, giving his high school sweetheart half of the house that had been promised to him from the time he was a boy.
He continued his scrutiny, chuckling at the memory of Carly holding that baseball bat. Coming into the house, not knowing who was inside, took a lot of guts. Apparently the shy girl he’d once known no longer existed. Then again, that was a long time
