The waitress quickly took their order and left. Soon the restaurant started to fill up with customers.
Jack took a sip of his soft drink. “I need a place right away but I know the mortgage process doesn’t work that fast.”
He looked at Laura. Her brow furrowed slightly, so he touched her arm with reassurance. The softness of her skin registered, which reminded him to move his hand away. “Hear me out. I’m interested in making an offer.”
She leaned back against the red vinyl of the booth.
He wasn’t sure if he’d offended her with his touch or his honesty. Either way, he wasn’t about to be discouraged. “I’d like to rent with the option to buy within a year at your listing price.”
Laura sat forward. “You don’t even know my listing price. How do you know you can afford it?”
“I can afford it.”
Her eyes widened. “What if you decide after a month that there’s too much work needed?”
“I can’t see that happening, but if I pull out, I’ll give you six more months rent so you can relist.”
She shook her head. “I have to sell. Can you tell me what’s stopping you from buying?”
Jack also leaned forward. “I have a daughter to consider. I think this place might be good for us. But if I’m wrong, I need the ability to change gears.”
“I see.”
Maddie, who quietly watched their exchange, cleared her throat. “We can look at a land contract. It’s a little more than just renting yet not quite buying it outright.” They both glanced her way as she explained the specifics.
Maddie wanted him to have it. Of course she did, she was the Realtor, but Jack couldn’t help but feel like Maddie was in his corner. She’d just offered a plan that fell somewhere in the middle of what they both wanted.
Laura looked skeptical but in control. “What if he defaults?”
“Pardon me for sounding arrogant, but money’s not an issue. In fact, if you decide to sell the house, I’d be interested in that, too, but I won’t be taken for a sap.”
“You’d have the deed, dear.” Maddie turned to Laura as if he’d never spoken. “You’d simply be back where you are now, looking for a new buyer, only you’d keep the agreed down payment for your trouble.”
Laura looked him straight in the eye, judging him, weighing his words. “You said you could buy the house, too? Pardon me for being nosy, but I didn’t think vets made that much.”
She’d just put him in his place. Whatever she did for a living, the sleek image of a shark came to mind. He shifted under her direct gaze. “I sold off my part of a limited partnership for a generous sum. I have other investments as well. The point is that my daughter needs new surroundings and so do I. I could retire, but being a vet is no less a calling than any other type of doctor. I’m buying out a nearby practice so the guy can retire. This area is perfect for many reasons. Check my credit, my bank accounts, whatever it takes to prove my credibility.”
That earned him a look of surprise from Laura. He’d managed to impress her and for some odd reason, that pleased him.
After a brief silence, she smiled deliberately. “Forgive me, Dr. Stahl, but I tend to look for all the pitfalls. This is my mother’s house and barn. I’m acting in her best interest, but I think we can move forward.”
“Of course we can,” Maddie said with a wave of her hand as if it all were nothing. “I’ll have the papers drawn up in the morning, then meet with you both again, say tomorrow at noon at the house? Dr. Stahl, I need you to sign a credit release.” Maddie searched her file, until she produced the document and laid it upon the table.
He had nothing to hide. He took the offered pen, signed his name and dated it. “And, please, it’s just Jack.”
They discussed the details, and even after acting like he could buy the world, Laura didn’t attempt to pinch him for more. The down payment was modest.
“So that’s it.” Laura set down the pen.
“I’m buying your barn and twenty.” A slow grin spread across his face and then he remembered. “I have movers scheduled for this weekend.”
Laura bit her bottom lip. “I have to clear out the barn, but that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“If you’d like, I can buy what’s in there for another two thousand.” He wanted that tractor.
Laura shook her head. “I need to sort through things first. There might not be anything of worth.”
Again, she didn’t take advantage of the situation. She might be deadly direct in negotiations, but she had integrity. “Do you mind if I swing by early tomorrow and start cleaning?”
“Does that work for you, Laura?” Maddie asked.
“It does.”
Jack looked at the last name on the listing agreement. “So tell me, what nationality is Tee-ovo?”
Laura tipped her head and laughed softly. Her pretty eyes slanted even more. “You’re saying it wrong. It’s pronounced Toy-vo. It was my great-grandfather’s first name but it got turned around during immigration. I’m Finnish on both sides.”
“Pretty name.” For a pretty woman. He shouldn’t like the color that stole over her cheeks, knowing he’d put it there with such a simple compliment, but he did.
He watched Laura’s attention waver by the arrival of the pizza. She reached for a piece.
“Does anyone mind if I say grace?” He might as well let her know he was a man of faith right up front.
Laura’s eyes narrowed as if judging him, questioning his sincerity. She shrugged her shoulders. “Go ahead.”
“Wonderful.” Maddie laid a slice on her plate.
Jack offered up his simple thanks and asked a special blessing upon both Maddie and Laura. Then a cell phone rang.
“I’m sorry.” Laura got up from the table and headed outside.
“She’s in sales,” Maddie said with an indulgent smile.
Jack nodded, thinking that made perfect sense.
Laura closed her phone. Mr. Albertson wanted to wait for her return before signing. Her sales manager, Jeff, offered to step in and close the deal, but Mr. Albertson wouldn’t hear of it. He didn’t trust Albertson Manufacturing’s I.T. support to anyone but Laura.
It felt good to be that respected by a client. Laura hadn’t impressed anyone in her family with her climb up the corporate ladder from computer programming geek to one of their top salespeople.
She’d managed to impress Jack Stahl, though. He’d given her a look of admiration over the negotiation table. Jack seemed like the kind of man who was used to getting his own way, but she hadn’t let that sway her. Hearing him pray had been surprising. When he asked a special blessing over her and Maddie, softness had crept into her heart.
Laura had stopped looking to God for help when she was a kid, but she wouldn’t mind a little divine assistance now. With her manager pressing for a return date she couldn’t give, and her mother’s blood pressure still unstable, Laura hoped things got back to normal fast. Until then, she’d work as much as she could from here. She had her laptop, but the sooner she got back to work, the better.
Chapter Three
The next morning Jack called his sister from his motel room to let her know that he’d be home later than planned. He asked if she’d keep Angie one more night. His daughter was still