Page 29 of Bad Boy Bakers, Vol. 2

Chapter Six

Over the next week and a half, winter really set in over Tennessee.

Temperatures had been in the mid-twenties the past few nights, and it didn’t look like today was going to get much above freezing.

Grey hunched his shoulders against the cold as he hustled toward the door of the realty office.

Magnolia had messaged that she had the perfect property for him, a listing in the next county over.

A half-hour drive from Eden’s Ridge was absolutely doable.

He hoped the place fit the bill and the budget, because he was itching to get started on more than just the business plan for his new venture, and so were his connections in Washington.

But he needed to be further along in the process before he met with them.

He tugged open the door and stepped inside.

A tall, harried black man turned wide eyes in his direction. “Are you Captain Greyson?”

“Yes?” He was so taken aback by the panic in the other man’s face, it came out like a question.

The guy shoved a paper into his hands. “Good. You take this. Now she’ll actually leave for the hospital.”

Grey automatically took the paper. “I’m sorry. What’s happening?”

But the guy was already sprinting down the hall. “Magnolia! He’s here. Let’s go.”

A moment later Magnolia emerged from her office, one hand pressed to her back, the other on her protruding belly.

“I swear, Calvin, I’m fine. There’s plenty of time.

” Spotting Grey, she started to smile. “Captain Greyson. I apologize for the hoopla, but—” Her words cut off as her face twisted in pain.

“Breathe, baby.” Calvin began to do that weird hissing breathing they always showed on TV during Lamaze classes.

Grey’s head swam a little. “Dear God, is she in labor?”

“Yes, and she refused to leave for the hospital without talking to you first.”

Now Calvin’s panic made sense.

Magnolia blew out a slow breath. “Because we had an appointment.”

Grey immediately stepped back. “We can certainly reschedule.”

“Not necessary. Did Calvin give you the instructions for access?”

Glancing at the paper in his hand, he saw directions to some address and the codes for accessing some lockboxes. “Yes.”

“I’ve already phoned the owner. He moved to Utah several months back and is fine with you touring the place on your own.

He’s a very motivated seller, so he’s being extra cooperative.

Not too many people want a property like his.

It’s a little outside the box and a little above your price range, but I’m pretty sure we can get him to accept a lower offer. ”

“Okay, message delivered. We’re going.” Calvin hustled his wife toward the door.

“I’m telling you, we’ve got plenty of time. Dion took ten hours to make his appearance.”

Grey rushed to open it for them. They were still bickering about labor times as Calvin got his wife into the car. He rushed back to lock the door of the office. And then they were gone, leaving Grey alone at the curb feeling more than a little shell-shocked.

“So that happened.” He muttered it to no one in particular and felt more than a little out of sorts.

As he was evidently on his own for the showing, he took a chance and called Rebecca, expecting to leave a message.

“Hey, you.” Her warm voice filled the line, making him wish she was right here so he could reel her in for a kiss.

“Hey. I won’t keep you, but what time do you get off today?”

“As it happens, my last client of the day rescheduled, and I always take off early on Fridays to do my grocery shopping, so I’m free.”

“Want to come with me to look at some property?”

“Sure. I’m at the shop.”

“I’ll be by to get you in a few minutes.”

When he pulled up in front, she hurried out, her bright crimson coat a pop of color against the otherwise gray day. She slid into the passenger seat and immediately leaned across the console to brush a kiss to his lips.

On a contented sigh, he smiled. “Hey, gorgeous.”

Those familiar green eyes sparkled. “Hey, yourself. Where are we going?”

“Next county over. It’s about two-hundred-fifty acres, and there’s some kind of house. Guy that owns it moved out West, apparently.”

“Okay, then. Is Magnolia meeting us there?”

“Magnolia is currently in labor.”

Rebecca’s mouth fell open. “What?”

As he headed out of town, he explained what had happened at the office.

“Oh, my God. That’s such a Magnolia thing to do. But Calvin was right to worry. Second babies almost always come faster.”

“Did that happen for you?” It felt incredibly weird to ask her about something so personal as labor. But her kids were a huge part of her life. It seemed like something he maybe ought to know.

“Jonah took forever. Or what felt like forever, anyway. Nearly sixteen hours. Sam, on the other hand, was in a hurry. We barely made it to the hospital. They hadn’t even finished my intake paperwork and had only just gotten me to a room.”

Grey had no idea what to say to that.

Seemingly unconcerned, Rebecca leaned forward in her seat, eyeing the dark clouds. “With the cold we’ve been having, I can’t help hoping there’s snow in those clouds.”

He didn’t think they looked like snow clouds, but who was he to rain on her parade? The South loved their infrequent snow days. “You never know.”

Conversation turned to other easier topics for the rest of the drive to the property.

They only passed a handful of other cars on the way.

The gate to the place was a little overgrown, with winter dark vines wrapped around the posts.

But the lockbox worked as advertised, and he swung the gate open with ease.

After driving through and shutting it behind them, he got back into the SUV.

“It’s pretty remote out here,” Rebecca observed.

“That may be a big part of why it’s still on the market. Big property. Most people want to be closer to town. Seems like the road needs some work.” It had been paved once, but was now a sad patchwork of potholes and cracks.

The trees closed in as they drove deeper onto the property, and though most were bare, they still seemed to cast a shadow.

The entry road split in two directions. Based on the rudimentary map Magnolia had drawn, the left fork would take them toward the house and the right would circle through much of the acreage.

He turned to the right, wanting to see whatever he could of the land.

As he’d requested, the terrain was varied.

Thick sections of woods opened up to a mountain stream.

It didn’t have a ton of water flow just now, but he suspected in spring this section of road might actually be impassable.

He’d need to build a bridge if he bought the place.

They splashed across the stream and the road continued into an open meadow, and then began to rise as it entered another patch of woods.

“It’s beautiful, if a little spooky.”

“I think that’s just the atmosphere of the weather.

” The clouds had darkened on their drive, and he was pretty sure it was gonna start raining soon.

“I’ll have to come back another time to more thoroughly check out the land itself.

I think the weather’s gonna turn. Let’s find the house and have a look at it. ”

The drive leading up to the house had largely washed out.

Grey switched into 4-wheel drive to make it up the steep grade.

That was definitely a problem, and it didn’t give him a lot of hope about the condition the building itself would be in.

But as they topped the rise, they were greeted by an expanse of steel and glass.

A modern sprawl of a house that would’ve been more at home in California than rural Tennessee.

Rebecca was the first to break the silence. “Wow. That’s… something.”

“Magnolia didn’t mention the place was huge.

I’m guessing three or four thousand square feet.

” As Grey parked in front of the house, rain began to spit.

“Let’s get on in and check it out. See whatever there is to see, and we’ll check the radar.

Maybe this storm will pass soon.” It was something he should’ve checked himself before heading out here, but he’d been so distracted by Magnolia being in labor, he hadn’t even thought to focus on practicalities.

They slipped out of the SUV and raced for the door.

By the time he’d worked the lock box and retrieved the key, it was beginning to rain in earnest. Their footsteps echoed as they rushed into the house.

Grey felt along the wall for the light switch.

Nothing happened when he flipped it. “No power. Well, we can still see some from the light coming in the windows.”

“Check this out.” Rebecca stood before a massive stone fireplace. “What kind of person has a gorgeous fireplace like this and then pairs it with such a monstrosity of a faux fur rug?”

The asymmetrical rug was vaguely animal shaped, with long, dense “fur” in a truly horrific shade that might have been puce, but he didn’t have enough light to be sure.

“Somebody with cold feet?” At her smirk, he shrugged.

“I don’t know. Maybe a better question is, why is the rug the only thing left in the house? ”

“Maybe when the house was packed up, it was accidentally-on-purpose forgotten.”

“I mean, burning it seems like it would’ve been an easier way to get rid of it.”

They wandered from room to room, confirming that there definitely was no other furniture in the place.

The whole house had been designed to bring the outside in, a fact which was more than evident as they rapidly lost more light.

Using the flashlights on their cell phones, they finished out the tour.

“It seems well-built.” That was really the best he could tell without proper light.

“Do you like it?”