Small Packages (Special Delivery Book 2) by J.A. Armstrong

Author:J.A. Armstrong [Armstrong, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: J.A. Armstrong Books
Published: 2015-10-07T03:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

“Hey, come look at this,” Brooke beckoned Tess over to her.

“What am I looking at?” Tess asked.

Brooke pointed to the screen of her laptop. “Look,” she said excitedly. Brooke pointed to the picture on the screen. “It’s perfect, Tess. It’s even in the same school district.” Tess’s forced smile caused Brooke’s excitement to wither. “What’s wrong? You don’t like it?”

Tess shook her head. “It looks great,” she admitted.

“But?”

“No, but,” Tess said.

Brooke nodded. “Would you like to go see it?”

Tess smiled. She could see the hopefulness in Brooke’s eyes. “When do you want to go?”

“There’s an open house tomorrow afternoon and then one on Sunday. Would tomorrow right after work be okay for you?” Brooke asked.

Tess kissed Brooke on the cheek. “I’ll meet you there.”

Brooke practically beamed as she turned her attention back to the screen. Tess watched Brooke for a moment affectionately. “Wrap that up,” she said. “I made lasagna.”

Brooke nodded. “Almost done,” she said.

Tess chuckled as she made her way to the kitchen. Brooke was nothing if not determined. Tess looked back one more time. You are going to have to make a decision here, Tess. Soon.

***

“You all right?” Rachel asked Tess.

“Yeah,” Tess replied.

“Uh-huh. So, what? You want to know what to get Brooke for Christmas? I would have thought you did that already. It is only a few days away.” Rachel laughed. Tess had called Rachel and asked if she had time for an impromptu lunch. Having lunch or coffee with Tess was not unusual. Making plans on the spur of the moment was. And, Rachel had spent enough time with Tess to be able to detect the stress in her friend. “What’s wrong?” Rachel finally asked.

“Nothing is wrong,” Tess answered honestly. “Unless you mean what is wrong with me.”

Rachel took a sip from her coffee and regarded Tess’s demeanor silently for a moment. “Is this because of what happened with your folks at Thanksgiving?” Rachel asked gently.

Tess shook her head. “Not really, no.”

“Okay?”

“Rach, why is buying a house so important to Brooke?” Tess asked.

Rachel sighed heavily and then nodded her understanding. Brooke had bounced into the office like Tigger earlier that morning. She seemed sure that she had found the perfect house. This was the one that Tess would fall in love with. It had everything either of them could ask for. She told Rachel that this was the perfect Christmas present. Rachel had listened silently and smiled while Brooke prattled on about how she could wrap up the mortgage papers or put a key in a small box for Tess on Christmas morning. There was room for Tess to have a space to paint. There was a sizeable garage with a workbench for Brooke to use. The house had four bedrooms. It had a pool and a spacious fenced-in backyard for Davey, Dani, and Murphy to play in. Best of all, while it was some distance from Tess’s current neighborhood, the house remained in Dani and Davey’s school district. Brooke seemed to think she had discovered The Holy Grail.

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