Chapter 31

Les

Les watchedhis screen closely as Joan droned on about the house's history and value, about its attributes and location. None of that really mattered to him, except maybe the location but as far as he could tell, there weren't any really bad parts of town in Lilton. Some less than stellar ones, sure, but nothing he would consider truly bad.

Les was more interested in the look and feel of the home, and this home was done in such a way that it screamed Rae-Rae's name. Everything was colorful and had that hippy flare to it that she'd love. Les knew that all the furniture would be gone when he moved in, if he bought the place, but it was giving him great ideas of how to decorate once he got settled. They'd entered the bedroom, and the Realtor was about to show him the walk-in closet when he noticed something.

"I'm sorry, can you go back a bit?" He'd interrupted the flow of her speech when he asked but she didn't say anything, just backed up a few steps, "There!" he said when the screen filled with the sight that he'd thought he'd seen. It was the bed, with the same purple covers Rae-Rae generally was covered up with when they talked. Sitting on top of the covers were Sami and Ty, the sloth brothers, and the bedside table held a little night light lava lamp in front of a much bigger lava lamp. But the real confirmation was the jar of sapphire shards sparking among tiny twinkle lights in a mason jar.

Les couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was on a buyer's tour of Rae-Rae's home. She was selling her house. Was she having money trouble? If so, why would she have gone to the expense of the vacation she'd taken? That didn't seem right. She hadn't mentioned it to him, but he planned to tell her tonight about his trip. He could ask about it then.

Les didn't have the right to keep any potential buyers from seeing the home and since he wasn't sure about the reason for selling, he also wasn't sure he wanted to stall anything. For now, Les crossed his fingers for whatever outcome was best to happen, thanked the agent for her time, and hung up, already counting the minutes until he could talk to Rae-Rae that evening.

It had been a long afternoon,and despite her best intentions, she hadn't made it back before the showing ended. When she pulled in the drive, she found the Realtor on the porch talking to a couple. The woman held a young baby wrapped up in a pink cloth and wearing a pink hat. Joan, her agent, waved her over and Raelynn made her way to the group.

"Perfect timing," Joan said with a bright smile, "Janice and Patrick, this is Raelynn. She's the current owner of the house."

Raelynn shook their hands as the couple exclaimed about how perfect the little house was and how they couldn't wait to move in. Raelynn gathered they had put in an offer, but it was confirmed when Joan said they were simply waiting on the bank to approve it. The group chatted a few more minutes before the young family headed to their car.

"They're a great family," Raelynn told Joan.

"They are. I have to admit I kind of hoped Leslie would get it; he made so many comments about how perfect it seemed for his girl."

"Leslie?" The word was more of a gasp, but shock had stolen her breath.

"Yeah, he was a real sweet guy, a bit of a cowboy to him. I kind of wanted it for him but he wouldn't commit, even after I told him it was going to sell fast."

Raelynn lost complete track of the conversation after that, her mind racing fast as lightning, until finally Joan waved and headed out. Long after her car had pulled away, Raelynn continued staring into the night with a growing sense of anticipation.