A Nantucket Affair Read online

  Flipping on Nantucket was especially lucrative, as there was a bigger demand than supply and prices were sky high for even smaller properties. The trick, though, was getting a property for the right price and getting it before someone else did. There were other contractors on the island looking to do the same thing. So, the houses they bid on often went for above the asking price, and they always needed a lot of work. Usually the condition of the homes scared off most buyers, and that’s when Chase and Beth found the best deals.

  “I’ll check in with you later. I won’t make it back here for lunch. Too busy of a day.”

  Beth smiled. “That’s okay. I’ll see you at two.”

  Chase gave her a kiss goodbye and headed out. He was looking forward to seeing the house with Beth later that day. She had a good eye for bargains, and so far, they’d done two flips and not to his surprise, they made a great team. Beth found the houses, he did the remodel work, and she helped him with all the design work, suggesting how the kitchen should look, what tiles in the bathroom, paint colors everywhere and then she staged it so that it looked amazing and had an upscale, Nantucket flair that buyers couldn’t resist.

  They made quite a team, and he’d never been so happy since he realized that Beth was more than the best office manager he’d ever had. And he almost lost her, too. He’d thought he was head over heels for Lauren, the realtor that they were meeting later. Lauren was blonde and beautiful, driven and very used to having her own way. He was never really happy when he was dating her, though, as Lauren was a handful and he never really knew where he stood with her. Which, of course, drove him crazy.

  But it wasn’t until Beth gave notice and moved off-island that he’d realized what an idiot he’d been. And the person that he spent the most time with, his office manager and best friend, Beth, was the person that mattered most to him. Fortunately, he came to his senses, went after Beth, and now things were as they should be. She was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with—and he planned to make it official soon.

  Beth was a little worried that they might not get this house. The location wasn’t on the ocean, which was a very good thing. Those houses were way out of their price range. Even the disasters that needed to be totally gutted went for insane prices simply because of the land. This one was about a mile from the beach, which meant the cost would be much more reasonable. Most of the developers seemed to go for the big wins, whereas she and Chase went for the less obvious ones. The ones that needed a lot of work, but that didn’t scare them.

  She loved managing Chase’s business, and she’d been doing it for years now, talking to all of his clients and potential clients, being aware of everything that was going on and helping to keep things on track. But the flipping was a new thrill. It was exhilarating, and she loved everything about it…finding the hidden gem that made for a good flip, and winning the house. They didn’t always win. Sometimes they were vastly overbid. But that was part of it, and they were fairly conservative with their bids as there was almost always hidden expenses that came up. And even though Chase could do all the work, unexpected surprises usually meant more materials that needed to be purchased or additional people that needed to be paid for their time.

  So, she was cautiously optimistic about this one. If they both liked it, they would make an offer on the spot with Lauren, and hopefully their speed would give them an edge. Unless the seller wanted to wait for additional offers, which they often did.

  At a few minutes before two, Beth pulled up to the house on Bayberry. Lauren was already there. Beth recognized her white BMW. The house had looked better online. It was a clear, sunny day and the bright light showed the fading paint and the failing roof. It looked like the house had been empty for a long time, as there were weeds along the edge of the side porch, and the trim was cracked in spots. But these were all fixable things.

  “Hi, Beth. Good to see you!” Lauren walked over with a big smile. Beth liked Lauren. She was very good at what she did and had given them an early heads up on their last property. She was so polished and put together, with her sleek, blonde bob that fell in a perfect, razor-sharp line to her collar bone. She was wearing an expensive-looking outfit, with tailored gray pants and a pretty blue top. And as always, she was wearing strappy high heels. Beth always felt a bit frumpy around her as she wondered, not for the first time, how she managed to get around in those shoes. Beth was dressed for comfort in faded jeans, a warm, oversized sweater and comfy Merrills black suede clogs, her staple shoes in the colder weather.

  Chase pulled up in his truck a minute later and came bounding over.

  “Hey, sorry I’m late.”

  “You’re not,” Beth assured him.

  “We just got here, too,” Lauren said. “Are you ready to head in?”

  “Looks a little rough,” Chase said softly to Beth as they followed Lauren inside.

  “I thought the same,” Beth agreed. “But, aside from the roof, it looks like mostly cosmetic stuff, on the outside anyway.”

  Chase grinned. “Right. Will be interesting to see what awaits inside.”

  * * *

  At first glance, the interior of the house didn’t seem too bad. It obviously hadn’t been lived in for some time.

  “Do you know when someone last lived here?” Beth asked.

  “It’s been a few years. The owners bought it as a summer home, but they live in New York and haven’t made it here for the past two seasons. They were thinking about renting it out, but they know it needs some work and just didn’t want to deal. My brother knows the owner somewhat. They went to school together. They are pretty motivated for a quick sale now.”

  That was somewhat reassuring to hear that Lauren, or her brother, personally knew the owners. A friend of Beth’s had found herself in a nightmare situation in Texas when she and her boyfriend had bought a house that was also from motivated sellers and they quickly learned that there were some major issues that hadn’t been disclosed, like tree vines growing into the septic that was a disaster to fix—and Texas was a buyer beware state, so even though they took them to court, they really had no recourse and lost quite a bit of money,

  Lauren led them through the house. It had three bedrooms, all good sized, and the master bedroom had its own bathroom. There was another bath and a half, though they were both really dated and downright ugly.

  “We’ll have to totally gut and redo all the bathrooms,” Beth said, and Chase nodded as he made note of it on his iPad. He filled out an estimate form as they went through the house, so they’d have it to refer to later as a ballpark idea of what they’d be looking at for costs.

  The kitchen was also going to need a total over-haul. Everyone these days wanted white kitchens, and this one was dark wood with avocado green appliances. Chase made a face when he saw them and looked at Lauren.

  “When was this built?”

  She glanced at her data sheet. “1972.”

  He laughed. “That’s what I figured. At least there’s no shag carpet.” The floors were all hard wood but they were in poor shape, full of scratches in different areas. Beth guessed that whoever had lived here had a dog. And it looked like the sealing on the floors hadn’t ever been redone. The floors were swollen in spots and uneven.

  “We’ll have to replace the floors. It looks like they had some water damage at one point.”

  The living room was a big room, with a fireplace, but it was closed off from the kitchen. It was the older style home where all the rooms were closed off. Buyers these days all wanted open concept.

  Chase assessed where the walls were. “It doesn’t look like this one is load bearing, which is a good thing. We can knock this down and open up the living room to the kitchen and add a big island here, with a few stools.”

  Beth nodded. “Good, I was hoping you’d say we could do that. A good island makes the kitchen.”

  “I sold a gorgeous one last month,” Lauren said. “The island was oversized and looked like it was marble, but it was one
of those quartz countertops that are more durable. It made the kitchen look stunning.”

  Beth looked at Chase. “We could do something like that here.”

  “We could.” Chase walked into the next room, which was meant to be a den or an office and stopped in his tracks. “It smells like something died in here.”

  Beth followed him into the room, and her eyes immediately started to water. “It does. What do you think it is?”

  Chase walked all around the room and stopped in front of a small closet. He leaned in and took a good look. “I think I found the problem. There’s a small door here that goes to a crawl space. A squirrel or something might have gotten stuck.”

  “That’s disgusting.” Lauren wrinkled her nose and quickly left the room. “I can call the owners and tell them to get someone out here to investigate and exterminate or whatever they need to do. But, that might take a little time and more people might get wind of the property. Right now, you’re the only ones that have seen it.”

  “Give us a minute,” Chase said and pulled Beth aside.

  “What do you think?”

  “Aside from the smelly closet, it’s actually better than I thought it would be. It looks like your biggest expense will be the roof?”

  Chase nodded. “That’s what I was thinking, too. We can use our credit line to make a cash offer today and close in a few weeks. And I could line up an exterminator to clear up the closet issue so it’s done before we start work.”

  “I think if we could get this house, it could be an awesome flip.” Beth hoped that a close-to-asking-price offer could do it.

  “Okay, we’re ready to make an offer. We’ll do five thousand under asking, as we’ll have to get that dead smell situation cleared up before we do anything else. But we can pay cash and close in two weeks. I can give you a check for the deposit now.”

  Lauren looked pleased. “I think that’s an excellent offer and I’m assuming you’d want to get someone in to exterminate before we close?”

  Chase nodded. “Ideally, yes. The longer that sits, the worse the smell will be.” He wrote out a check and handed it to her.

  “Great. Thanks. Let’s get this offer written up and hopefully we’ll have a fast answer. I know he’s looking to get this done ASAP.”

  Lauren called them later that evening, as Beth and Chase were sharing a pizza at home and watching a movie on Netflix. Lauren’s voice was so loud and excited that Beth could hear everything she was saying to Chase.

  “Congratulations! The house is yours. And they’re thrilled it’s a cash deal. We can close in two-and-a-half weeks.”

  “That’s great news, thanks.” Chase hung up and lifted his glass of water. “Cheers! We got it.”

  Beth tapped her glass of water against his and couldn’t stop smiling. “I didn’t think we’d hear so quickly. I’m really excited for this one.”

  Chase chuckled. “You’re always excited for them.”

  “Oh, I know. But I have a really good feeling about this one. I can’t wait to see how the kitchen remodel turns out.”

  “It’s a good time of year, too. Summer is right around the corner and if we do it right, this could sell quickly.”

  Beth grinned. “And then it will be time to find another house to flip!” She quoted the line that ended every episode of one their favorite HGTV house flipping shows.

  Chapter 4

  “What do you think about an early September wedding on the beach?” Lisa topped off both her and Rhett’s glasses with a little more cabernet and set the bottle on the kitchen island. They had been snacking on cheese and crackers. The kitchen smelled heavenly as a big pot of meatballs and homemade sauce simmered on the stove. Neither one of them was in a hurry to eat, though. It was nice to just catch up. Rhett had been gone for almost a week, the longest amount of time that they’d been apart since she’d met him. And while she didn’t mind an occasional break, she’d missed him more than she expected to. The house felt empty without him, and so much nicer now that he was home.

  “Sure, that sounds fine to me. You know I’m okay with whatever you want to do.” Rhett reached for a slice of cheddar and popped it in his mouth.

  “I know, thanks. I don’t want anything big, as we’ve both already done that. But I thought maybe a small gathering, just close friends and family. It’s so nice here in September, after Labor Day, when the weather is still gorgeous and the crowds are gone.”

  “Works for me.”

  “I thought I could get Kate and Abby to help me organize it all. They’re both really good with all the details.” Kate worked at home as a writer, doing occasional freelance articles for the magazine she used to work for and also writing mysteries. She also handled the marketing for the inn and did an amazing job of it. Thanks to Kate’s expertise with Facebook ads and other internet marketing, the inn stayed steady with bookings.

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Rhett agreed.

  “Well, I think Abby might be ready for a project. Jeff doesn’t want her to go back to work. She wants to stay home with the baby, too, but it can be a little isolating. She does such a good job coordinating the food pantry events.”

  “Mm.” Rhett reached for more cheese and Lisa laughed. He was obviously hungrier than she’d realized.

  “Are you ready for meatballs and pasta?”

  He smiled. “I could eat.”

  She fixed bowls of pasta and meatballs and set them on the island, along with a hunk of parmesan cheese and a grater.

  “Oh, I have bread, too, if you want it.”

  She went to get up, but Rhett shook his head. “I’m good. I got on the scale this morning and let’s just say I should skip the bread for a while.”

  He looked absolutely fine to her. But she also knew how it felt when an extra five pounds crept on.

  “I think you look fine, but I understand. Sue was just telling me that Curt has dropped twenty pounds recently by cutting out bread, all carbs apparently. She said he’s not eating much at all and the weight is falling off fast.”

  Rhett grated a pile of cheese onto his pasta. “Good for him. I wouldn’t go that far, though. I actually saw him earlier today getting coffee downtown. He looks like he’s been on vacation. Did they go away somewhere?”

  Lisa laughed. “No. Sue said he’s been using the tanning bed at the gym. Thinks it makes him look thinner.”

  Rhett raised his eyebrows. “Maybe I should try that?”

  Lisa was pretty sure he was kidding. “Don’t you dare!”

  He chuckled. “I thought you knew me better than that.”

  “I can’t imagine you in a tanning bed.”

  “Neither can I. So, what else did I miss while I was gone? Anything new with the kids?”

  “Yes, Chase and Beth found another house to flip. It’s a fixer-upper on Bayberry Road.”

  Rhett thought for a minute. “Is it the one right on the corner, blue with a porch?”

  “I think so. Do you know it?”

  “I’ve driven by it a few times and it stuck out like a sore thumb. Looks like it’s neglected and needs a lot of work.”

  Lisa worried for a minute that maybe they’d taken too much of a risk, but then dismissed the thought.

  “I’m sure it’s fine. Chase knows construction and Beth, too. They wouldn’t have bought it if they weren’t sure it would be a good investment.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. I just had some friends that used to do a lot of that kind of thing, and now and then they got in over their heads and ended up under water, taking a loss. But, like you said, they know what they’re doing.”

  Chapter 5

  The light coming through her oversized windows was fantastic, and on most days that would have meant an excellent painting session, the kind where Kristen would lose herself in her work and hours would disappear. But not today. She was struggling to get the vision in her mind onto the canvas in front of her. She knew that part of it was because she had a hard stop at four. She couldn’t let herse
lf lose track of time today. The girls were all coming over for an appetizer night and drinks, which was always a good time. But, she was also worried about Tyler.

  He lived in the cottage next door and they’d been dating for about six months now. Everything had been going so well. He was an artist, like her, a best-selling mystery author, so they understood each other’s obsession with their work and need for plenty of alone time. Tyler was the complete opposite of his brother Andrew, who Kristen had actually dated a few times before she met Tyler.

  Andrew owned an art gallery downtown, and she’d enjoyed his company. He was also passionate about art and extremely social and outgoing. A typical extrovert. But he was her rebound person. They’d dated immediately after she’d broken things off with Sean, who she once thought she wanted to marry. But Sean was on a different timeline. He was separated when they met and never got around to filing for divorce—until she broke up with him. He begged her to reconsider, and she felt like she had to give him a chance.

  So she did, but it didn’t last long. Everyone else saw it before she did, but Sean was completely wrong for her. And when he finally did propose, she had the sense to say no and to end things once and for all. And Sean got over it quickly enough as a few months later, he was engaged to someone else—someone who was actually much better suited for him. Jessica was equally interested in money and power and being seen as successful, just like Sean. Kristen had no interest in any of that. She was just happy that she was able to support herself with her painting.

  And Tyler was the same way. He was actually a best-selling author and had an avid fan club on Facebook—women of all ages, many in their fifties and sixties, who thought he was the cutest thing and their favorite author. Kristen thought they had excellent taste. She’d liked Andrew, and they remained good friends when she went back to Sean. By the time they broke up, Andrew was dating someone else pretty seriously and Kristen had a small pang of regret as Andrew made her laugh and was fun to be around. But when she met his brother, who had just bought the almost identical cottage next to hers, she felt instantly drawn to him. They’d been pretty much inseparable ever since.