“But not too close to you and Momma and Daddy,” Deacon said.
“We don’t need privacy,” Hunter said. “Momma and Daddy won’t either.”
“It might just be nice to have your place be family land,” Deacon said. “Because while we’d like to think my house will be too, it’s kind of like the foreman’s cabin. It’s business and personal.”
“Sure, I’ll concede that,” Hunter said. “But Molly and I aren’t bothered by the cowboys and cowgirls on the farm.”
Deacon lifted his double bacon cheeseburger and took a big bite, his way of saying,No, I know, but it’s still something I’ve thought about.
He wiped his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. “Thanks, Janey,” he said. “I’ll think about it, and we’ll get started on the construction in a couple of weeks.”
“Who did you hire?” Tucker asked.
“When are Grandma and Grandpa moving back?” Ryder asked.
Hunter looked between him and Deacon, who simply took another bite of his burger. “They’re going to list the house and come back when it sells,” he said.
“It’s listed,” Jane said. “It went on the market last Friday, but they’re not expecting much.”
“Summer’s the best time, though,” Tuck said, just before cramming three French fries into his mouth.
Hunter took a juicy bite of his barbecue-and-onion-straw burger. Deacon wiped his mouth again and said, “I’m going to have Paul Case be the general contractor. He can start at the end of the month.”
He tapped the folder. “I just need to choose a location.”
“Well,” Hunter said. “I think any of them would work.”
“My vote’s the meadow,” Tucker said.
“I say barn,” Ryder said.
“I’m going to go with the meadow too,” Jane said.
All eyes came to Hunter, though he hadn’t known he’d need to cast a vote. His siblings had always looked to him to state his opinion or pick a side, and he grinned at them.
“Just to put this all on Deacon, I’m going to vote for the barn.”
“Great,” Deac said dryly. “Thanks so much.”
“Hey, at least our lunch was free,” Hunter said, and he lifted his burger to enjoy another amazing bite.
“I can’t wait to see it,” Tucker said. “It’s going to be great for the farm.”
“I agree,” Jane said, and they all looked at Hunter again.
“Yes,” he said. “The farm has been stagnant for a while, and this will be great. Deacon’s going to modernize everything, and he needs an amazing home to do it.”
thirty-eight
Tarr glanced up when the light shifted, a smile coming to his soul when he saw Briar standing there with hot pads on her hands as she held a giant pot of what he assumed to be soup.
“Are you at a good stopping point?” she asked.
Tarr surveyed the floor in front of him. He’d been doing finishing work on his house for what felt like forever, though it had only been a couple of weeks. He wasn’t particularly fussy, but installing his own floors and shutters and backyard fencing would save him thousands of dollars, and Tarr didn’t mind the work.
“Yeah, let me get to the end here,” he said, and he moved down a plank to add another snap-in-place piece to the hardwood-look-alike laminate he’d been installing. He wore knee pads and a mask over his mouth and nose, as he had to go outside to the back deck to cut pieces of wood, and he didn’t want to inhale the sawdust.
“It looks so good, baby,” she said as she walked across the front part of the house—which had already been done—to the kitchen in the back where Tarr currently worked.
