We were finishing a driveway outside Madison Lake.
Her white crossover pulled onto the gravel shoulder.
She stepped out wearing her work scrubs, her hair tied into a tight ponytail.
She walked toward the fresh concrete.
Hoody raised one hand.
“Ma’am, please stay behind the string line.”
She stopped.
Then looked at me.
“Brendan, we need to talk.”
I set down my rake.
“All right.”
She folded her arms.
“Mom says you have seventeen thousand dollars saved.”
I stared.
That number wasn’t something I’d discussed with Dana.
I had mentioned it to Dad at Christmas.
Apparently, it had traveled through the family without ever becoming my business again.
“That’s our down payment,” I said.
Dana nodded quickly.
“I only need eleven thousand. I’d pay you back.”
I looked at her.
For a moment, I almost admired how confidently she asked.
She already had the five thousand Grandpa intended for me.
Now she wanted most of the money Bri and I had spent years saving.
“Dana, you already received five thousand dollars that was meant for us.”
She rolled her eyes.
“Mom gave me that.”
“Grandpa gave it to Mom for my first house.”
“Same difference.”
I took a breath.
“No. It isn’t.”
She looked offended.
“I’m trying to save my home.”
“I understand.”
“Then help me.”
I looked at her carefully.
I knew Dana was frightened.
Her marriage had ended.
She was facing the loss of a place she’d lived for years.
And she didn’t know where she’d go next.
I felt sorry for her.
But I also knew she’d accepted Grandpa’s money without telling me.
She’d allowed him to believe I’d received it.
And now she was asking me to give up our savings to solve the next part of her problem.
I shook my head.
“No.”
Her expression changed.
“What?”
“Bri and I are buying our own home. We can’t lend you eleven thousand dollars.”
She stared.
“You’d still have six thousand.”
I looked at her.
“That’s not how a down payment works.”
She waved one hand.
“You can save more. You have a business.”
I felt my patience thinning.
“Dana, that money belongs to Bri and me.”
Her face tightened.
“You’ve always been jealous of me.”
I looked at her for a long moment.
Then said quietly, “I don’t want what you have.”
She blinked.
“I want what Bri and I have worked for.”
For a moment, she seemed unable to answer.
Then she looked toward Hoody, perhaps expecting him to agree with her.
He was studying his trowel.
She looked toward Kevin.
He glanced at the ground.
Then said, “You’re standing on the string.”
Dana looked down.
She’d moved one of our stakes.
The line was sagging toward the wet edge.
She stepped back.
Then looked at me one last time.
“Don’t expect me to forget this.”
I nodded.
“I won’t.”
She walked to her car and drove away.
Kevin reset the stake.
Hoody watched him.
“Two sentences in one week, Kev. You feeling all right?”
Kevin shrugged.
I laughed.
Then picked up my rake.
For the rest of the afternoon, I worked harder than usual.
Concrete doesn’t care about family arguments.
It still needs to be finished before the surface sets.
Friday afternoon, Jordy sent me a text.
“Dana’s financing didn’t come through. If you’re still interested, call me.”
I stared at the screen.
Then showed Bri.
She read it.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then she looked at me.
“Are we really doing this?”
I took a breath.
“If the house checks out and the financing works.”
She smiled slowly.
“The kitchen has a window over the sink.”
I laughed.
“You’re still thinking about the kitchen?”
“Of course.”
Then she took my hand.
“Let’s call him.”
Jordy answered immediately.
He explained that Dana’s lender had declined to finalize the loan without the additional verified funds she needed.
The deadline in their settlement had passed.
He had no obligation to extend it again.
He’d already delayed his transfer to Rochester once.
He needed to sell.
“I want the same price,” he told me. “Two hundred ten thousand.”
I nodded.
“Fair.”
“I’ll let you inspect it and use your own lender.”
“Of course.”
He hesitated.
“Brendan, I know this could get uncomfortable.”
I looked toward Bri.
“Yeah.”
He sighed.
“I’m not trying to hurt Dana.”
“I know.”
He continued.
“I’ve given her months to arrange financing. I need to move on with my life too.”
I understood.
We arranged to meet with his real estate agent the following morning.
Bri and I barely slept.
We kept talking about the house.
Where the furniture would go.
Whether the furnace needed replacing.
How much the roof might cost in another five years.
At one point, Bri turned toward me in the dark.
“Do you feel bad?”
I considered the question.
“About Dana?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
I looked at the ceiling.
“Yes.”
Then I took her hand.
“But I don’t think that means we’re doing something wrong.”
She squeezed my fingers.
“Neither do I.”
The next morning, we sat across from Jordy and his agent, Sue Ellen Branvold, in a small real estate office.
The purchase agreement was straightforward.
Two hundred ten thousand dollars.
Financing contingency.
Home inspection.
Normal title review.
Possession after Dana’s agreed move-out date.
I read every page.
Jordy watched me.
Then smiled.
“You always were careful.”
I shrugged.
“I pour foundations. I like knowing what I’m standing on.”
He laughed.
We signed the agreement.
Sue Ellen began coordinating the inspection.
Jeannie at the credit union started the final loan process.
For the first time in three years, Bri and I had an actual house under contract.
Not just a listing saved on her phone.
A house.
Our house, if everything went as planned.
We didn’t announce it.
Not because we were trying to deceive anyone.
Because we wanted the financing and inspection settled before sharing news that would undoubtedly create another family argument.
Jordy also preferred to manage communication with Dana through the established arrangements from their divorce.
He told her the house was under contract and confirmed the inspection date.
He didn’t need to disclose the buyer’s identity to her before the inspection.
Dana was understandably upset.