Dateline Matrimony

It had been a wise move, Teresa concluded. The rent he charged probably paid most of the mortgage, and he had equity building as an investment. All in all, it showed rather surprising foresight, considering her early impressions of Riley. “How long has this side been vacant?”

He shrugged. “A few weeks. The young couple who lived here decided to move to Memphis in search of higher-paying jobs.”

“I’ve lived in Memphis,” Teresa murmured, glancing out a window at the quiet-looking neighborhood. “There’s something to be said for the slower pace of small-town life, even when it means a cut in pay.”

“I’m sure that’s especially true for a single mother,” Marjorie commented. “Edstown is such a pleasant place to raise children.”

Riley seemed to come to a decision. “If you’re interested, you can move in as soon as you want.”

Teresa’s eyebrows rose. “You would let me rent this apartment?”

“Yeah. If you want.”

“My children, too?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, you have to leave them on the street. Of course the kids, too.”

For only a heartbeat she considered it—and then she shook her head. The thought of living here with Riley O’Neal on the other side of her bedroom wall was just too much to comprehend. “I don’t think so.”

Marjorie looked disappointed. “You don’t like it, Terry?”

An image of that lovely washer and dryer flashed through her mind. “I like it just fine. But I don’t think it’s right for us.”

“You’ve got something against the landlord?” Riley inquired.

“The landlord isn’t used to children,” she returned evenly. “Mark and Maggie are well-behaved, for the most part, but they’re normal kids. Sometimes they get rowdy. Make noise. And they like you—they’d probably pester you half to death.”

He straightened away from the wall, his expression suddenly serious. “I know what to expect from kids. They’d have their own yard to play in, and these walls are very well insulated for soundproofing. As for the other part, I’m quite capable of letting them know when I need to be left alone to work.”

Teresa was shaking her head even before he finished speaking. “I just don’t think it would work out.”

“Your choice,” he said cordially. “Of course there aren’t many rentals available in Edstown, especially in this area. And as far as us being neighbors goes, whole days sometimes went by without me even seeing the couple who lived here before. You’d have plenty of privacy, just as I tend to protect my own.”

“What makes you think I would be a good tenant?”

He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “I think you’d be a responsible renter who’d pay your bills, take care of the place and not give me much hassle. That’s pretty much all I look for. As for your kids—I’ve seen you keep them in line. I’m not worried about them being much trouble. I’m ready to get the place rented so I don’t have to worry about it anymore, and Marjorie has vouched for you, which is good enough for me.”

Teresa chewed her lower lip while she considered his words. As he’d said, there weren’t a lot of other options. This neighborhood was ideal, the apartment—while a bit cramped—was adequate for her needs, and the rent was affordable. “Would I have to sign a lease?”

“Why don’t we take it a month at a time until we find out if the arrangement works for both of us?”

She considered the suggestion for another moment. While there were certain disadvantages to not having a lease, there was also the advantage that she could move at any time if the arrangement didn’t work out. Of course, that would mean uprooting the children again, something she would prefer to keep to a minimum. But they would enjoy that nice backyard—and they’d like being so close to the school and their friends….

“I think you should try it, Terry,” Marjorie advised. “It’s the most suitable place I know of in this school district.”

“And Marjorie knows them all,” Riley murmured.

Teresa had little doubt about that. She didn’t think there was much that happened in this town that escaped Marjorie’s notice. “All right,” she said after drawing a deep breath. “I’ll take it.”

Marjorie looked rather smugly satisfied that her plan had worked out. Teresa couldn’t read Riley’s expression.

She wasn’t sure what emotions her face might reveal, since she wasn’t at all sure what she was feeling about the prospect of living next door to Riley O’Neal.

Hearing noises in the driveway next door, Riley stepped out his front door to investigate and discovered Teresa and the kids moving in.

It looked as if she had plenty of assistance. Teresa drove a bright orange rental van. Marjorie, her daughter, Serena, and Serena’s husband, Cameron North, followed in another vehicle. All were dressed in jeans and casual shirts and looked ready to get to work. Fortunately it was a nice day, sunny and not as stiflingly hot as September had been.

Teresa looked very nice in her jeans and cherry red pullover, he couldn’t help noticing, his gaze drawn inexorably to her. With her hair in a ponytail and her feet clad in trendy sneakers, she certainly didn’t look old enough to have two school-age children.

When he’d discovered at the football game last weekend that she had children, he’d decided she must be divorced. He had come home from the game with a promise to himself that he had asked her out for the last time. He’d always been resolute in his determination not to date women with children. He’d seen too many kids hurt by adults moving in and out of their lives.

His best friend in high school had come from a broken home and had suffered through a series of his parents’ girlfriends and boyfriends and the occasional stepparent and step siblings. Nick had once confided in Riley that it hurt every time he got attached to someone new only to have them leave him without a backward glance when the adult relationships ended. Riley didn’t ever want to put himself in the position of hurting a child.

Learning that Teresa was widowed rather than divorced had been almost as big a shock as discovering that she had children. It had never occurred to him that she might be a widow until Marjorie had described her as a “dear, widowed friend.” Teresa was so young, so close to Riley’s age. Her children were so small to have already lost their father. He suspected it was that surprise revelation that had made him change his mind about renting to someone with kids. His sympathy, for once, had overridden his selfishness.

He’d have to be careful or he’d ruin his reputation in this town, he mused wryly.

“Hey, Riley. You just going to stand there and stare or are you going to get over here and help me carry some of this stuff?” Cameron called when he spotted Riley standing on his stoop.

Pulling his hands from the pockets of his jeans, Riley resigned himself to a couple of hours of manual labor—something else he usually avoided whenever possible. “Just remember you’re only my boss at the newspaper,” he reminded his editor as he approached the rental van.

Cameron grinned, his golden hair gleaming in the early afternoon sun. “No problem. I have a feeling neither of us is going to be the boss on this job.”

“Cameron, you should probably unload the bedroom furniture first,” Marjorie called from the open doorway of the apartment. “I think it will be better to carry things upstairs before we start downstairs.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cameron replied to his mother-in-law.

“Oh, Riley, how nice. You’ve come to help.” Marjorie gave him a smile of approval before adding, “You boys make sure you don’t bump the stairway walls with the furniture, you hear? You don’t want to scuff those nice freshly painted walls.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Riley said.

Cameron chuckled and murmured, “See what I mean?”

Mark and Maggie dashed out the open front door, followed closely by Teresa and Serena. “Hi, Riley! We’re going to live in your house,” Maggie announced as if he hadn’t already known.

“Not exactly in the same house,” Mark corrected her impatiently. “Only in half of it.”

Unconcerned with details, she shrugged. “I picked my room,” she confided to Riley. “It’s the one with the white fan. I like that one best. Mommy gets the biggest room and Mark gets the other.”

“That sounds like a good arrangement.”

“My room’s closest to the stairs,” Mark said, claiming his own bragging rights. “It’s the best.”

“No, mine’s best,” Maggie insisted.

Teresa settled the brewing argument swiftly. “You each have the room that’s best for you.” She gave Riley a slightly distracted smile. “The paint job looks great. You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.”

He shrugged. “It was something I’d already planned to do. The old paint looked dingy. I’ve been on the painter’s schedule for a couple of weeks. I’m glad he was able to get the job done before you moved in.”