Chapter 9

The cause of the fire came back in a report the following week. It was officially ruled as accidental, and Emerson was off the hook for all possible charges. He was relieved to shake the chief’s hand and walk away as a free man.

Then his newly acquired cell phone rang and it was the realtor. His offer had been accepted by the Hawke family, and he was needed to sign some papers right away. He smiled broadly as he headed down to the woman’s office.

Once inside the overly air-conditioned place, he sat listening to canned music while Ms. Reyes shuffled her pages around and eyed everything one last time before instructing him where to sign.

Gleefully he made his strokes with the pen, and greedily the realtor watched, imagining every dollar in commission she was making from this sale. When he was done and they were mutually satisfied, she smiled brightly and said, “Well, normally I would give you the keys to your new home now, but the property is empty. Instead, here is the surveyor’s report showing you the boundaries of your parcel. Congratulations!”

“Thank you,” he said politely, unable to hide his joyous grin. He took the papers and exited the office without fanfare. Once he was back in his car he put it in gear and drove immediately to the spot he’d once trespassed upon. Now he could be here legally as much as he wanted. He parked among the brambles and walked about on his overrun plot of land. There wasn’t anything here except weeds and a few neglected trees and bushes. He didn’t care, though; the only thing that truly mattered to him was the view.

Emerson looked down across the dry arroyo separating his plot from the rest of the Hawke family plantation. The cherry orchards blossomed to his left and directly below stood the great farmhouse, the one whose layout he had once been privileged to gain access to. He had no hopes of that now, but here he could at least get a glimpse of sunshine now and again when she came and went. He watched the front door for quite some time, losing himself in the absorbing activity, until at last he was rewarded with the opening of the front door. Her shining red curls poked out of the door and she hurried out to her jeep. He smiled down at her, and she never saw him across the way. She started her car and drove away, too far for him to accurately hear anything but the distant sound of wheels on pavement as the car passed on the road closer to his plot.

The view was entirely worth the price he had paid. He went back to his car, lit a cigarette, and sat musing. Mei would be back tomorrow, and he would have to explain to her where the other house had gone. Bitterly he thought of the ruined house and all its tortures. At least now he was free of it. And perhaps she could help him find someone to build a structure on this piece of land. They would have to clear it, of course, but it would be worth the cost and worth the wait, in his opinion. He flicked the cigarette out of the window and drove slowly back to the motel.

He called the lawyer again and got the man’s secretary. She informed him that the man would be out of the office for the rest of the week and asked if she could assist him. Emerson thought it unlikely, but made his request nonetheless. She was remarkably and surprisingly efficient and returned him with a list of contractors immediately, helpfully advising him to check each one’s rating with the better business bureau for complaints and other issues. He thanked her as he wrote the names and numbers on the scratch pad next to the phone.

When he hung up, he immediately called the first name on the list, too eager to be bothered checking the references she’d mentioned. Another administrative assistant answered, and soon he had arranged an appointment to meet with someone at his site to make determinations on whether the property could withstand a structure and if so, what types would be appropriate. Emerson was very pleased when he hung up the phone again.

Who knew it would turn out to be such a great day? He settled back to enjoy his life, rosy possibilities playing in his head as he drifted comfortably to sleep.

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