“He chose which places for me to look at.” She was confused that he’d chosen anything at all. “We’re not together, so he doesn’t get to choose anything for me. Even if we were, I wouldn’t let him pick where I’m going to live.”
What was he trying to do? Was he taking control again? Had he decided if she was staying here, he would make sure she was as far away as possible?
“So you want to look at them all?” Miranda asked, her brow wrinkling. “I will tell you that I think Major was wrong not to put the old Beyer place on the list. It’s five thousand square feet. It’s beautiful and comes with all the furnishings. Now, I will tell you that the furnishings are antique, and I know you’ll hear that the place is haunted, but I’ve been told they’re very helpful ghosts. Not at all scary. And don’t worry about the piano that plays itself from time to time. It’s free entertainment, I say.”
“Uhm, I probably don’t need that much space.” Especially if it came with the former residents hanging around.
“Okay, there’s a smaller place he wrote off. It’s in one of the newer sections of town. Lots of families and kids and energy,” Miranda said. “It’s even got a decent-sized yard. He said the place had to be dog-friendly. And despite what he said, it’s got light. I don’t understand why he was so obsessed with light. The sun shines on everyone equally.”
“Light?” The implications of that word brought a tear to her eyes.
Miranda waved a hand as though the word itself was silly. “Yes, he went on and on about it. Going through all the rooms saying the light wasn’t good. He says you’re some sort of artist and you need light. I told him all the electricity works. I don’t represent homes without power, and given where I live that’s saying something. And the Beyer place sometimes has extra power, if you know what I mean.”
She was so not moving into the haunted house. No way. No how.
Major had gone through all the listings and visited them to make sure she would get good light. He knew what it meant. She trusted him to know what light she would need.
“Why would he do this? Why would he spend all that time when he doesn’t want me here?”
Miranda shrugged. “He seemed like he definitely wants you here. He talked about you a lot. He walked through all the kitchens, trying to decide if you would like to cook there. I’m also supposed to give you a letter at the end of this. Something about a blind date. So he’s also trying to set you up. Which is weird, but I don’t ask questions.”
He’d written her a letter? “I’d like to read it.”
Miranda’s lips pursed. “I’m supposed to give it to you at the end.”
“But I probably won’t go with you if I don’t read the letter.” She wasn’t waiting hours to read what he’d written. What did she mean by blind date? Would the man actually try to set her up with one of his friends as a way to apologize?
“Well, I did my hair and everything, so I suppose I’ll have to do it.” She handed over a white envelope. “But we should hurry. Your date is supposed to start at noon. I don’t know how we’ll get through everything and have time to get to Guidry’s.”
How would she know . . . “You read it?”
The Realtor shrugged as though a spot of spying was nothing between complete strangers. “I took a peek. You see, there’s this rumor going around that you broke up with Major probably because you’ve got all those crazy Hollywood ideas on how men should act. I wanted to see if it was true. My niece needs a date to her best friend’s wedding. Her best friend is all hoity-toity because she’s marrying some guy who owns a restaurant in New Orleans, and she’s not a very good best friend because she picked her New Orleans friend to be her maid of honor, so I think Major taking Kelley Ann to that wedding would show her.”
Somehow she didn’t see Major doing that anytime soon. “Uh, I think Major is done with blind dates.”
“Oh, honey, it’s not really a date,” Miranda insisted. “Kelley Ann has a boyfriend, but he’s a knucklehead. He recently got two teeth knocked out when he tried to join a professional dirt bike team. Did you know they had teams? I want Major there because he’s going to look way better in the pictures. And if Kelley Ann can see that there is more out there for her than Joe Bob, then my work here is done.”
Miranda was a lot. She was also nosy since she’d opened the letter.