“Sure, sure,” he said quickly. “Go ahead, look at whatever you need.”
“Thanks, Dax,” she said with a sweet smile. “I hope you don’t feel I’m overstepping. I just want to help you find your two years with the twins, okay?”
Oh God.
She had sensed his discomfort. She was afraid she had offended him.
“I’m really grateful, Ava,” he told her earnestly. “I’m just tired. But I’m glad you’re doing this. And I know you’ll help if you can.”
Her face relaxed and her eyes shone with relief. “Of course I will,” she assured him.
“Thank you,” he said, turning and heading upstairs, trying not to think about her green eyes on him, or the strangely hypnotic dance of her fingers on the keys.
5
Ava
Ava awoke bright and early the next morning.
It was cold enough outside that frost formed a delicate lace on the window overlooking the street. But the inside of the house was warm and silent, except for the clicks and murmurs of the radiators.
She’d slept under a thick comforter, and she slid out as quickly as she could for fear of falling asleep again. The cool contrast of the wooden floor felt good beneath her feet.
Ava was excited about the work she had done last night. She still had a few questions for Dax, but she thought she had found the answer. Or at least an answer.
Humming to herself, she snagged some clothing from her suitcase and padded down the hallway as quietly as she could.
The bathroom was empty. But steam clung to the mirror and the room smelled like a woodsy aftershave. Dax must already be up.
She showered quickly, got dressed and headed downstairs.
She couldn’t wait to see him.
You can’t wait to talk to him about what you found, she corrected herself.
It was one thing to notice, in a detached way, that he was handsome. It was another to get a crush on your dead best friend’s husband.
That’s not happening, she told herself firmly as she walked down the last step.
“You woke up before the twins,” Dax said softly, a congratulatory grin crinkling his denim-blue eyes. “Want some coffee?”
He was wearing gray flannel pajama bottoms with a soft white t-shirt that pulled tightly over his muscular form.
Again, Ava had an urge to embrace him, though the mere fact that he looked warm and cuddly obviously didn’t give her the right to touch him.
“Sure, I’d love coffee,” she said, looking out the windows instead of at him.
She watched the squirrels chase each other across the backyard as she listened to the satisfying sound of fragrant coffee pouring into the cup.
“Here you go,” he told her. “There’s milk in the fridge and sugar in the bowl. Help yourself.”
She turned and took the mug he offered. It was gray speckled stoneware with a brown owl design.
“I think my grandmother had a mug like this one,” she said.
“I like vintage stuff,” Dax said. “I got that one at a yard sale. I’m sure it was from someone’s grandmother.”
She grabbed milk from the refrigerator, wondering how long they could make small talk before she actually exploded from holding in the conversation about his finances.
“How long will Mason and Maddie sleep?” she asked.
“Probably another fifteen or twenty minutes,” he said. “Unless the neighbor’s dog barks, or the fire horn goes off.”
“I noticed a few things when I was going over the numbers last night,” she said, figuring she ought to jump in while they had time.
“Yeah?” he asked. His eyes were hopeful.
“Let’s sit,” she said.
They carried their coffee to the table and sat in the same positions as last night.
“First of all, I don’t want you to touch your retirement,” she said. “You’re going to have ground to make up in that area when you do go back to work.”
“Okay,” he said. “I won’t touch it.”
“And I know you don’t want to touch the kids’ 529 funds, though I would caution you to put money in your retirement instead when you start saving again,” she went on.
“Oh, I’m more worried about them than me,” he said.
“Colleges are going to look at those 529s and the kids will be less likely to get financial aid,” she told him. “You can always plan to borrow from retirement for their education when the time comes.”
“Okay,” he said. “I don’t really get it, but okay.”
“I’ll explain it better later,” she said. “I just want to get to the good part.”
“There’s a good part?” he asked.
“I think so,” she told him. “What’s this?”
She showed him the property tax bill on the screen. “I saw this in your folder of liabilities.”
“Oh,” he said. “Yeah. Don’t get excited about that. It’s practically a teardown.”
“What do you mean?” she asked. “Tell me about it.”
“My grandfather thought land in the Poconos was going to skyrocket in value,” Dax said fondly. “He bought this cabin decades ago, right before the real estate market crashed.”
“Is there a mortgage on it?” Ava asked worriedly.
“No, nothing like that,” Dax told her. “He paid cash for it. It wasn’t expensive, and then it was worth even less. He left it to me a few years ago. He hoped Jill and I could fix it up and take the kids there for vacations someday.”
“Did you and Jill ever go there?” Ava asked. Jill had never seemed the outdoorsy type to her.
“Oh God no,” Dax laughed. “Jill hated camping, and that cabin is one very small step above roughing it in a tent. And of course, by the time we were settled in our careers, we spent all our time and money on fertility treatments anyway. I guess the property taxes are a waste of money for me, but it’s hard to think about selling grandpa’s gift. And they’re pretty minimal.”
Ava nodded. “Well, if you don’t use the cabin, then I think it may be key to helping you stay home,” Ava said. “And it could add to your savings even after you go back to work.”
“Really, it’s worth almost nothing,” Dax said.
“Have you heard of short-term vacation rentals?” Ava asked him.
“Like Airbnb?” Dax asked.
“Exactly,” Ava said. “They allow vacationers to have what some might consider a more authentic experience. And they allow homeowners to collect rental income.”
“Isn’t that just for like a night or two at a time?” Dax asked. “And you’ve got to clean the place like a hotel in between?”
“It’s gotten easier,” Ava said. “There are housecleaners and property managers who can help. Part of the reason the sale value of your property is lower is that vacationers don’t have to buy in order to stay in a cabin anymore. But it also means you could earn a substantial income renting it.”
Dax frowned and steepled his hands. “I like the idea. But the cabin isn’t in great shape.”