Eliza grinned. “Because I am.”
“They’re gay.”
“Correction, love. They’re bi. I know that for a fact. And they’re sweet guys, from what I’ve heard from Tilly. Hell, play around a little.” Eliza grabbed her arm and made her turn to look at her. “Fess up. How long’s it been since you got laid?”
Rebecca’s face turned red. “Too damn long,” she muttered. There were a couple of guys she knew from the Ren fair circuits that she’d dabbled with here and there, but nothing long-term, and no one she wanted to sacrifice her freedom for.
“There you go,” Eliza said. “A couple of guys to play with, they’re not currently involved with anyone, and everybody’s happy.”
“I’m already happy.”
“Yeah. That’s why your dog has more of a social life than you do. At least he’s getting laid more often.”
Rusty stepped around them, taking the keys from Rebecca. “You two argue. I’m going to go look in the barn.”
“At least keep an open mind,” Eliza said. “You know I’m right. Quit arguing with me.” She turned to follow Rusty.
With an aggravated sigh, Rebecca tagged along behind them.
I should have known she’d try to pair me up with someone.
* * * *
Rebecca didn’t step any farther inside the house than the front porch. The stench, along with some flies, wafted out through the front door.
Rusty reached in and yanked the front door shut.
“Thanks,” she said, feeling ill.
“That,” Rusty firmly told her, locking the deadbolt with the key, “can wait until the pro gets here tomorrow. You are not going in there without gear on.”
“I’m not even sure I’m hungry now.”
They stopped by Toby and Logan’s to let them know they were ready to head to the restaurant. The men followed them, and twenty minutes later, they were seated at a round corner table.
“How are you holding up?” Toby asked her.
It didn’t help that he and Logan were both drop-dead gorgeous, in her book.
“I’ve had better days. I feel bad that I didn’t get to talk to him one last time. Or that he…” She shuddered. “That’s a horrible way to go.”
“Any word on the cause of death yet?” Logan asked.
“No. They suspect either a stroke or a heart attack. The autopsy results will tell us that. I just hope it was quick and he didn’t lay there for a couple of days first.” Another shudder escaped her.
Then again, she was pretty much alone, too, wasn’t she? They might find her one day, on the floor of the RV, with Chewi having chewed on her to survive.
“I’m sorry we weren’t closer to him,” Toby said. “I feel bad he was over there for so long. We didn’t know him all that well.”
“Don’t blame yourselves. I guess he didn’t have much of a social life. He kept to himself.”
“Any ideas on what you’re going to do with the place?” Logan asked.
“Not yet. I’ll have to get the tractor running and mow, for starters.”
“If you show us how to use it, we’ll do it for you,” Logan said.
“Thanks. I appreciate that. It’s not that hard. I’ll pay you.”
“No,” Toby said. “It’s the least we can do.”
“Maybe I should just buy a goat and put a front gate up and let it wander around.” She was only half-joking.
“Anything we can do,” Toby offered, “just let us know. We’ll be happy to help.”
Logan nodded.
“You might be sorry you made that offer,” she said.
Again, only half-joking. She was starting to feel overwhelmed by the scope of the job ahead of her.
The good thing was she could easily park the RV on the property and hook into electric there, if it was still working. When she’d first started her RV journey, her uncle had installed a hook-up for her by the barn. Not that she got there very often to visit him after that, another thing she felt guilty about.
And she couldn’t exactly use the bathroom in the house now, either. Not until it was cleaned out.
By the time they parted ways at the end of the meal, Rebecca felt like maybe the two men could become friends.
It would be nice to have more good friends than just Eliza and Rusty.
That they were two hot, hunky, bi men who she might be able to eventually have a play relationship with, only sweetened the pot. No, they hadn’t discussed BDSM over dinner, but Eliza’s words still hung, ringing, in her brain.
She wasn’t getting any younger.
Maybe it was time to take a risk or two here or there.
Chapter Five
Rebecca spent a restless night tossing and turning. Yes, it was a comfortable guest bed, but it wasn’t her bed.
She was used to the feel and sounds of her RV, as small as it was. Like her little, snuggly den that she could curl up in and hide from the world.
Literally.
Ed Payne stopped by to pick her up at eight thirty the next morning. By the time they drove to her uncle’s house at one, she felt exhausted. More mentally than physically, but drained.
There was a man sitting in a truck parked in front of the house when they pulled in.
“Ah, that’s Josh Collins.” The side of his truck bore logos for their company, and he shut off the engine and got out to meet them when they pulled in and parked.
“Hey, Ed.”
“Thanks for coming back out. Josh is the one who helped me get the paperwork we retrieved from the house,” the attorney explained.
“Ah. Thank you. We came over yesterday evening and I didn’t get any farther than opening the front door, so you’re a better man than I am.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t go in there without a respirator, at the very least. Not until we make some progress.” He held an iPad. “Let’s go sit in the shade on the front porch and we can talk.”
He went over everything with her, including asking if she wanted their help with the outbuildings.
All she wanted to do was get the junk cleared out so she could figure out what to do with the house and property.
“Paperwork, family pictures, any antique furniture that’s salvageable and looks like it holds value, those things I’d like kept aside. Anything else can go in those storage units you talked about. I want to keep the tractor and a couple other things with the house, but if the house itself is cleaned out, then I can have an estate sale company come in and do that part.”
“Any idea what you’re going to do with the house yet? I ask because if you want it stripped down to bare walls and all the carpet ripped out, we can do that while we’re here. We’ll open up all the windows and pull out all the screens to try to air it out and let any remaining flies escape, and we can have a cleaning crew come in and disinfect it as well as clean out the AC system and ductwork. That’ll make a contractor’s job easier later, rather than waiting and letting it sit as-is.”
She thought about her shock at the bank manager confirming her newfound wealth. “How much?”
“Another thousand, but that means, literally, a contractor can come in and start doing whatever you have them do, without them needing to hire a cleaning crew first.”
“Sure.” Hell, it was only money.
She stifled a nervous giggle. This felt so wrong.
“Did you want to talk about having a crew come in and film the operation?”
She thought about it. “Honestly? My schedule is so crazy, I’d rather not. I’m going to be coming back and forth for the next couple of weeks. I’d rather just get it done. My friend Eliza, her and her husband, Rusty, have volunteered to be here in my place the next couple of weeks. I trust her judgment on what to keep and what to toss or put aside for the estate sale.”
“Wait,” Josh said. “Rusty and Eliza McElroy?”
“Yes,” Ed confirmed. “Those friends.”
Now it clicked in Rebecca’s head exactly how Eliza and Rusty knew the attorney. She looked from Ed to Josh and back again before she finally said it.
“Is everyone in Sarasota kinky now and no one thought to tell me?”