Secrets of the Tulip Sisters

“On Friday morning I’ll need help getting the silent auction items into the craft mall, so if you and your hunky boyfriend could spare a couple of hours, that would be great.”

“Done.” Kelly remembered why she’d come to see her sister. “I had a call from the mayor, which let me say, doesn’t ever happen.”

“We have a mayor?”

“Of course. Mayor America wanted your cell number. I hope it’s okay that I gave it to him.”

“Our mayor’s last name is America?”

“He’s Delja’s son.” At Olivia’s blank look, Kelly added, “Delja who works at Helen’s café and does all the baking.”

“Oh, wow. I keep forgetting what a small town this is. Should I be worried that the mayor wants to talk to me?”

“He wants to set up a meeting to discuss starting First Fridays as a way to draw in tourists.” When Olivia didn’t speak, she continued. “That’s when local businesses hold special events and stay open late to entice tourists.”

“I’m clear on the First Friday concept,” Oliva said, taking her seat. “I’m just...” She stared at Kelly. “Why does everyone keep offering me jobs before the fund-raiser? After, sure. It’s going to be a success and then all this will make sense. But before? What if it’s a disaster?”

“It won’t be.” Kelly cleared off a place on the bed and sat down. “I’m glad you’re staying. I hope you can be happy here.”

Olivia grinned. “Isn’t there an old song about being happy down on the farm? I think I could. There’s not much for me in Phoenix. I think I can cobble together a few jobs here.” Olivia tucked her hair behind her ears. “That probably sounds really strange, but it’s appealing to me. I like the idea of doing different things in my day.”

“You’re going to need more space than this.” Kelly motioned to the bedroom. “And a filing system.”

They both laughed.

“I’m going to find a place,” Olivia told her. “Office space can’t cost too much, right?”

“I know somewhere.” The statement was impulsive. Kelly gave herself a second to reconsider, then added, “At the farm. We have a few empty offices and one of them is huge. You could use it for your business.”

Olivia’s eyes widened. “You’re sure about that?”

“Very. Dad and I have already talked. We also want you to come up with a marketing plan that focuses on tourists and help us develop some kind of tour for the farm.” Kelly grinned. “You’re going to be quite the entrepreneur.”

“I’ll build an empire.”

Kelly thought about all that had happened in the past few months. “I wish you’d come home sooner. Or that I’d gone to see you.”

“Not that,” her sister said quickly. “Mom would have turned that into a disaster. But I know what you mean. We lost a lot of sister time.”

Kelly stood and crossed to her. Olivia rose and they hugged.

“We’ll make up for it,” Kelly promised.

“Yes, we will.”

*

Olivia’s good mood lasted through to Tuesday. By noon she’d confirmed, double-checked and was thinking any triple checking should wait until maybe Thursday. The addition of puppies and kittens had been a bit of a twist, but they would add an “aw” factor to the antiques runway walk. She had tables and chairs, linens, food, drinks, items to sell and sold tickets. She could, maybe, take a breath.

Which was how she found herself staring at a real estate listing online.

She shouldn’t, she told herself. It was ridiculous. Not expensive and from the pictures, really nice, but still. Buying a place didn’t make any sense. What if she hated it here? Better to rent. Yet the duplex appealed on so many levels.

For one thing, the houses were connected by their garages, rather than by the living areas, limiting any noise issues. The backyards were big, the roof new and the other unit was rented with a two-year lease.

She had the money for the down payment. The trick would be qualifying for a loan—that might take some doing, especially with her newly self-employed status, although a tenant with a lease would help. She had to admit, she was tempted...

She grabbed her cell and dialed the broker, telling herself if no one answered, she would take it as a sign. The Realtor picked up on the first ring.

Thirty minutes later Olivia parked in front of the duplex. The yard was pretty, the exterior freshly painted. The agent, an attractive, friendly woman named Sherry, met her out front.

“You’re going to love this property,” Sherry told her. “The owners have maintained it really well and the location is great. The renters are an older couple with grown children in the area. They travel a fair amount. The duplex is their home base. They’re very willing to sign a four-year lease with the new buyer, so you’d have steady income from that. Come on inside and I’ll show you around.”

Olivia followed her into the right side of the duplex. The entryway led to an open concept kitchen/great room with a small formal dining room beyond. To her right was a den. The hardwood floors needed refinishing and the interior walls could use a coat of paint but it was clean and the appliances had been updated.

The kitchen cabinets were in great shape. Olivia eyed the tile countertops and quietly groaned. Not her style, but a solid surface would completely change the look. She liked the big windows. Come winter and the very short days, getting in as much light as possible was important.

There was a big pantry and a laundry room with the entrance to the garage off the kitchen. She wouldn’t need space for two cars, so she could use the second bay for storage.

They walked down the short hall. There was a tiny half bath, an en suite second bedroom, then a nice-sized master with a sliding door that opened to a small patio. The attached bathroom needed to be redone, but it was functional and the closet was happily large.

Olivia returned to the great room and closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply, trying to get a feel for the space. Some houses looked great but had an uncomfortable vibe about them. As if something bad had happened or the people who lived there had been desperately unhappy. She wasn’t a big woo-woo person, but had been in enough houses to pay attention to the feel of a home. This one was happy, she thought as she turned to Sherry.

“You’re right. It’s really nice. It needs updating and it might be bigger than I need, but I’m going to think about it.”

Sherry handed over her card. “Let me know if you have any questions.”

“I will. Thanks.”

Olivia returned to her car and headed home. She’d liked the duplex a lot. She should talk to her dad. He might know a local banker who would be sympathetic to her situation and be willing to take a chance on her. With the tenants in place and a shiny new four-year lease, she could swing the payments. It was a risk, but a good one. Now that she’d decided to stay she was going to—