The Only Purple House in Town (Fix-It Witches, #4)(68)
Even Henry Dale seemed shaken. “Are we really breaking the law?”
“I’m sure it’s not a big deal,” Eli said, trying to reassure the older man.
In truth, it might be a problem, though he had no sense whether it was major, minor, or somewhere in between.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Sure enough, iris’s instincts had been dead-on.
The day started out well enough. She had a relaxing shower and a bagel with cream cheese for breakfast and she made a few necklaces. Then Eli knocked on the door. Normally, that would be an awesome excuse to chat and maybe kiss him again, but his expression gave away the fact that he wasn’t looking forward to this convo at all.
A man who looked this sad shouldn’t also be that handsome. It was distracting. His dark hair tumbled in gentle waves; it had gotten longer since he’d moved in. His jaw was darkly stubbled, and his light-brown eyes were somber. Even in navy sweats and a purple hoodie with his lips downturned, she still felt like biting him. Just a little.
But her initial happiness at seeing him faded when he said, “We need to talk.”
Oh no. Four super scary words.
Now, she listened, horrified, as Eli summed up the complaint leveled against them by awful Susan from next door. She started searching right away and saw with alarm and bafflement that they did, indeed, exceed the “four unrelated persons” rule for a single-family dwelling, and when she dug deeper, it seemed like they didn’t precisely qualify for a rooming house license, which was a building big enough to rent to more than five people.
That’s us, right there in the cracks. Maybe they could still get a license despite not quite meeting the size requirement? Presuming the house would pass all the inspections. I doubt it would now, but maybe… Panic blanked her mind, and she tried to breathe. Eli took her hand, a quietly calming influence.
“I had no idea I was breaking any rules. I mean, it’s my house! If there’s space for everyone, why should anyone else care?” She gazed at him with shock slowly searing its way down into her bones.
“Susan just lives to be mad,” Eli said. “We haven’t hosted any parties, we’re not playing loud music, and it’s unfair of her to be annoyed about us improving the property. As for the number of vehicles, we only have three. Yours, mine, and Mira’s. A regular family might have that many if they have a teen driver.”
The rightness of his statements made things feel worse because it highlighted how unreasonable Susan was being. Calling her an asshole and demanding that she go away wouldn’t resolve the dilemma this time. But what can we do instead?
“I agree with you, but…what are we supposed to do? Will the city send out an inspector? Do we have to let them in? Will I be fined? I can’t afford—”
“Calm down. Breathe.”
Iris tried to do as he said, but the anxiety didn’t abate. Looming failure threatened to crush her, and this time, she’d dragged a bunch of super nice people into her latest fuckup. I should have known I’d just make a mess of this too. Everything my mother ever said about me was true. Ah. Right. She’s not my mother after all.
“I have no idea what to do. Henry Dale can’t afford to move. Neither can Rowan or Mira. And I don’t want you or Sally to go.” She inhaled shakily, trying to fight off tears. “Can we keep this between us while I…figure things out?”
Crying wouldn’t do any good, but she was trying so hard not to freak out that it felt like her eyeballs might explode. Eli sat beside her on the bed and pulled her into a hug, his hands moving in gentle strokes down her back. That was the last straw; she burst into noisy, messy tears that proved how woefully unprepared she was to own a home or a be a landlord or even complete the most basic of adult tasks. She had notes on her calendar to do certain things like pay the bills, and then she set alarms to remind her to check her calendar, or she’d just make jewelry all day.
Eli said gently, “Henry Dale already knows. He was with me when I answered the door last night. And…I don’t know if secrecy is the answer. Maybe if we put our heads together, we can come up with a solution.”
She sighed. “You’re right. I’m no good at hiding how I feel, so everyone will know something’s up. Better to deal with it up front, I guess.”
He kept petting her. “These things take time. I’m sure that the city has limited personnel, so one approach would be for two of us to make ourselves scarce while the inspector is here. I could take Henry Dale on a road trip or something.”
Iris shook her head. “No, that doesn’t address the problem long-term, and I don’t want to solve this with lies. Susan will keep complaining unless we find a legal remedy.”
“That’s true. If we knew what was really bothering her, we might be able to address the root issue and talk it out.”
Shrugging, Iris said, “I figure she’s allergic to other people’s happiness. She liked it better when my poor auntie lived in the house alone.”
Eli snapped his fingers. “Oh! I can talk to Liz. She looks over—” Suddenly, he stopped talking, paused a beat, then said, “My friend Liz is a lawyer. She doesn’t live in St. Claire, but she can definitely look at the housing laws here and advise us.”
“That would be amazing. You don’t mind asking her? What about her consultation fee?” Iris asked, dreading the thought of how much an email would cost. She’d seen the hourly rates billed to her great-aunt’s estate, and while she was doing better, she still had credit card debt to pay down along with old student loans.