Christmas Home (The Coming Home #6)

23. Ruther

twenty-three

Ruther

S o, that almost happened. I stopped myself in time, but I’d certainly wanted to kiss Clyde. The man sparked something inside me that caused me to act like a lovesick puppy.

His reaction when I mentioned I’d been courting him on our walks was priceless. His cute face blushed with pleasure and melted my insides. Yeah, I had it bad for this guy.

He seemed almost willing to let me kiss him too. Almost. I logged that in the back of my mind because now I’d seen how he reacted, I was more determined than ever to taste those pouty lips when the time was right.

I came into the condo whistling, and Corey cocked an eyebrow at me before shaking his head. “So, I have some preliminary numbers on the project. If the costs to build are similar to what we’ve paid in New York, which is unlikely, considering the cost of living here is significantly less, and if we price the homes based on my initial research, we stand to make this much,” he said, swinging his laptop around to show me the numbers.

I laughed before turning the laptop back. “You better double-check those numbers because that’s comparable, if not better than, what we make in the city.”

Corey shook his head and turned the laptop back around for me to see. “The initial investment is significantly less. We’d pay at least ten times the cost for property in the city and at least five times as much if we were building in the suburbs, even if we were building in Jersey.”

I snickered at the joke. Corey was a snob and wasn’t above typical New Jersey jibes.

“What about the development costs?” I asked, looking at his numbers again.

He shrugged but smiled. “I have to assume they will be at least equal to or less than it would cost in New York. Construction supplies aren’t going to be much cheaper here, but labor might be. Regardless, as you can see, building the proposal using our normal cost calculator should be reliable enough to show you this is more than worth the effort.”

The fact he didn’t call me boss went a long way to show he really had faith in the potential of this project. “Well, Corey, I like the idea. I like those numbers even better. We also don’t have to get board approval any longer, not to mention I’ll be footing the costs myself. So, do it. Let’s chase this down and see if, after getting realistic numbers, it could make the money indicated.”

Corey nodded. “I…well, to be honest, I never thought a development project like this would be something to consider, especially with…with your history here. However, it does seem this area is prime for development. I also like Lance’s modernized bungalows idea. This has a lot of promise.”

I patted his back, letting the excitement from walking Clyde home and Corey’s excitement over the project propel me to the bedroom.

I looked over at the curtains I’d pulled tightly shut to hide my view of where my family’s former home stood. On a whim, I threw the curtains open and stepped out onto the balcony.

It was too dark to see the house, but the little bandstand in the park was lit up, making it look all the more welcoming. I glanced back up toward the darkness, where I knew the house stood behind the trees, and was pleased not to have to fight the usual panic.

Was it because it was too dark to see? Maybe, but when I’d first gotten here, just knowing the view included it was enough to send me over the edge. No, I was better, and it was all because being here wasn’t the terror it had been just a few days ago.

Now Crawford City was full of hope. Hope for a project I was getting as excited about as Corey, and hope for more with Clyde. More what? I had no idea. I know he told me he wasn’t interested, and I would respect that as long as he felt that way.

That didn’t mean I wasn’t hopeful. Those glimmers of possibility were enough to propel me into a different place around my trauma. I wonder what all the therapists I’d gone through over the years might say about that.