Free Shattered Edge by A. M. Hargrove Page B

stomach. I needed to do something. This day would be too unbearable if I let this ridiculous misunderstanding keep Justin and I apart. My decision made, I picked up my phone and texted him.
     
    Me: Good morning. Know you’re busy today. Wanted you to know that I didn’t mean anything by that last night. Hope everything is ok with us. Have a great day. Miss U!
     
    I hit send before I chickened out.  He’d said he was backed up all day and had call that night so I didn’t set any expectations for any return texts from him, but I got one immediately.
     
    J: Good morning to you gorgeous. Miss u too. Will be tied up all day and nite. Wish it was with u ;-) I’ll call when I can.
     
    That made me smile , especially when I saw his winky face, and my stomach ache disappeared just like that. I was suddenly starving. But wait...he didn’t comment on what I said last night. Was he avoiding all that? Oh boy, my stomach just did another hitch.  Maybe I was over thinking all of this. Damn. Lexi was not getting back for another three weeks and I sure could use her advice. She’d most likely just tell me to roll with it, but damn, I needed to talk.
    Alana! She would help. She was always ready and willing. Before I lost my nerve, I trucked out of my door and straight to her desk.
    She looked up as I approached. Hell, I sounded like an eighteen wheeler. “Terri. Everything okay?”
    “Huh uh. Do you have time for lunch today?”
    “Sure. Noon good?”
    “Perfect. Do you mind meeting me in West Ashley? I have a contract signing over there and I should be done by then.”
    “No problem. You name the place.”
    Of course, I picked my favorite, Home Team. It was a local barbecue joint, but they had the best wings known to man.
    “You got it. See you over there then.”
    I hurried back to my office, grabbed my stuff and headed out the door.
    The morning was filled with my two contract signings. I met my first client, the widow who was downsizing, in Mount Pleasant, at the condo she wanted to buy. We finished up with all the details and I could see the sadness behind her smile.
    “I know this must be bittersweet for you Margaret.”
    Her green eyes were filled with such sadness I put my arms around her and hugged her. “Oh, Terri. It is. I love that old house of mine, but the memories there are just too much. And then it’s so big. Way too much for someone like me to take care of. My children are after me constantly because they worry about me. But I don’t know if this is the right thing to do either.”
    My eyes welled up, but I didn’t want her to see. She was so torn. I wish one of her children had come with her today. It might have made it so much easier on her.
    “Margaret, we don’t have to do this today. We can wait. You know, the market is wide open right now. It’s a buyer’s market. There are tons of properties available. This place has been on the market for almost a year. Would you like to think about it some more?”
    Her eyes sparked a tiny bit and I knew that was exactly the thing she needed to hear.  “You don’t mind?”
    I took her hand in mine and assured her, “Of course not. I can even show you some other things. Have you considered a patio home? I live in one and they’re great. It’s sort of like a condo, but it’s a separate unit, only you don’t have to do any yard work or exterior maintenance. You still pay a monthly regime fee and everything is taken care of.”
    She looked at me and hugged me. “Thank you dear. I think I would love that.”
    I walked her to her car and promised I would call her in a couple of days with some other properties to see. She was not ready to buy and the last thing I wanted to do was to push her into something she didn’t want.
    My next stop was with the contract signing with the couple at their soon to be new house. Even though this had become a routine thing for me, the wife was so excited, I caught that bubble and floated right along with her.
    Jenn and I