Read Online Flipped! (Spinning Hills Romance 1) by Inés Saint - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Inés Saint
Tags: Fiction, Romance, Contemporary, Adult, neighbors, Romantic Comedy, auction, small town, Single Mother, Bachelor, Community, Ohio, quirky, Forever Love, Single Woman, Family Tradition, Spinning Hills, Town History, Amador Brothers, Hammer & Nails, Renovating Houses, Line Streets, Old-Fashion Town, Settling Down, Houseful Of Love, Perfumer, Military Brat, Ramshackle House, Craftsman Style, Young Daughter, Real Estate Flipper, Outbid, Optimism, Fairy Tale Ending, Dream House, Flipped!
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explained everything.
“And?”
“ And— ” Sam gulped some water. “Houses here are now in demand.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “The big realty companies just started setting up shop. Parents looking for excellent school districts will follow.”
“And who does Jake call the crazies? The Realtors?” Dan asked.
“The parents,” Johnny supplied. “You gotta come to one of Jake’s Little League games. Some of them are hilarious.”
“It won’t be funny when they want to take over everything. The Little League, the PTO, fund-raisers . . . makes you wish we were just an okay school district again.”
“So was this a strategic business decision, ’cause prices will soon go up, or a way of keeping the, er, crazies out?”
“I think it’s illegal to keep the whack-jobs out. I’m pretty sure there’s something about it in the Fair Housing Act,” Sam joked. “But if demand goes up like I think it will, I’ll make a killing. I just need to stay the course.”
“It’s doable.” Dan grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and tossed one to Johnny.
“That reminds me—” Johnny caught the bottle. “I was thinking you should sell the Craftsman back to Holly so you can take on five houses, instead of four. I’ll take on five if you do,” he challenged.
They were back to this? He should’ve known Johnny hadn’t given up. He never did when it came to the people he loved. Usually, that was a good thing. Dan cut him a look. “I can’t.”
“Why? It’s just a house to you.”
“You tell us who this girl you keep harping about is and I’ll tell you why,” Dan shot back.
Sam laughed and the corner of Johnny’s lip curled up in one corner.
“Look, I can sell it to her when I’m done, but I need to see this through. And why are you so intent on taking up her cause, anyway?”
Johnny looked him in the eye. “’Cause I like her. A lot.”
Dan shook his head and spoke without thinking. “Yeah, well, you should think twice before getting involved with a woman like that.”
Sam whistled low.
“A woman like what?” Johnny stood up.
Dan knew he was about to step in it, but he wouldn’t back down. Johnny had always been too easygoing and optimistic for his own good. “She shows a general lack of judgment. Can you believe I caught her trespassing again ?”
Both Sam and Johnny looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Yeah,” he continued, encouraged by their stunned silence. “Think about it a moment. She’s a single mom who hangs out on a Friday night instead of staying home with her kid. She lives in a basement and walks around at night looking like a freak. She calls herself a nose, runs an empty shop, and thinks she can take on projects that are clearly over her head.”
The moment he finished, he knew he’d sounded too harsh. He tried to lighten it up, if only to get Johnny to listen. “Holly Bell—she sounds like one of Santa’s elves. And she’s Crystal’s daughter. You think I’m messed up and she only babysat me a few years. Imagine what a lifetime of Crystal would do to a person.” He grinned.
“Dan, you know Crystal died, right?”
The smile slid right off his face.
“I don’t care if you have a problem with me, but what’s your problem with my mother?” A woman’s angry voice came from the top of the stairs.
All three brothers whipped around to see Holly and her little girl standing there. Nobody said anything. The little girl shifted her feet, and Holly looked down at her. She then stood up straight and looked at Dan. “You’re clueless and ignorant, but the fact that you don’t have better things to do with your time than sit around bad-mouthing women is your problem, not mine. I’d set you straight, but I don’t owe you any explanations.”
With that, she turned on her heel and left, but not before the little girl wrinkled her brow and puckered her lips at Dan. “Mom’s right, you’re a mean blister in the
“And?”
“ And— ” Sam gulped some water. “Houses here are now in demand.” He wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “The big realty companies just started setting up shop. Parents looking for excellent school districts will follow.”
“And who does Jake call the crazies? The Realtors?” Dan asked.
“The parents,” Johnny supplied. “You gotta come to one of Jake’s Little League games. Some of them are hilarious.”
“It won’t be funny when they want to take over everything. The Little League, the PTO, fund-raisers . . . makes you wish we were just an okay school district again.”
“So was this a strategic business decision, ’cause prices will soon go up, or a way of keeping the, er, crazies out?”
“I think it’s illegal to keep the whack-jobs out. I’m pretty sure there’s something about it in the Fair Housing Act,” Sam joked. “But if demand goes up like I think it will, I’ll make a killing. I just need to stay the course.”
“It’s doable.” Dan grabbed a bottle of water from the cooler and tossed one to Johnny.
“That reminds me—” Johnny caught the bottle. “I was thinking you should sell the Craftsman back to Holly so you can take on five houses, instead of four. I’ll take on five if you do,” he challenged.
They were back to this? He should’ve known Johnny hadn’t given up. He never did when it came to the people he loved. Usually, that was a good thing. Dan cut him a look. “I can’t.”
“Why? It’s just a house to you.”
“You tell us who this girl you keep harping about is and I’ll tell you why,” Dan shot back.
Sam laughed and the corner of Johnny’s lip curled up in one corner.
“Look, I can sell it to her when I’m done, but I need to see this through. And why are you so intent on taking up her cause, anyway?”
Johnny looked him in the eye. “’Cause I like her. A lot.”
Dan shook his head and spoke without thinking. “Yeah, well, you should think twice before getting involved with a woman like that.”
Sam whistled low.
“A woman like what?” Johnny stood up.
Dan knew he was about to step in it, but he wouldn’t back down. Johnny had always been too easygoing and optimistic for his own good. “She shows a general lack of judgment. Can you believe I caught her trespassing again ?”
Both Sam and Johnny looked at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.
“Yeah,” he continued, encouraged by their stunned silence. “Think about it a moment. She’s a single mom who hangs out on a Friday night instead of staying home with her kid. She lives in a basement and walks around at night looking like a freak. She calls herself a nose, runs an empty shop, and thinks she can take on projects that are clearly over her head.”
The moment he finished, he knew he’d sounded too harsh. He tried to lighten it up, if only to get Johnny to listen. “Holly Bell—she sounds like one of Santa’s elves. And she’s Crystal’s daughter. You think I’m messed up and she only babysat me a few years. Imagine what a lifetime of Crystal would do to a person.” He grinned.
“Dan, you know Crystal died, right?”
The smile slid right off his face.
“I don’t care if you have a problem with me, but what’s your problem with my mother?” A woman’s angry voice came from the top of the stairs.
All three brothers whipped around to see Holly and her little girl standing there. Nobody said anything. The little girl shifted her feet, and Holly looked down at her. She then stood up straight and looked at Dan. “You’re clueless and ignorant, but the fact that you don’t have better things to do with your time than sit around bad-mouthing women is your problem, not mine. I’d set you straight, but I don’t owe you any explanations.”
With that, she turned on her heel and left, but not before the little girl wrinkled her brow and puckered her lips at Dan. “Mom’s right, you’re a mean blister in the
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