Harper played with his fingers. “I never thought of it like that. But you’re right. It’s bound to be more stimulating for him, and I’d love to see your grandparents’ house—I know they meant so much to you. I think it’ll be fun.”
“We can go after breakfast.”
“Perfect.”
***
Saturday dawned bright and crisp, with a sky so blue, it almost glowed against the leaves of the trees, which had begun their slow march from green to russet and gold. Colson drove while Harper spoke to David, telling him where they were going.
It had been too long since he’d come to the house. Time slipped away, and what seemed like only days or weeks was in fact months and years. He paid the taxes and had a gardener take care of the property, but the soul of the house had been his grandparents, and with them gone, he had little desire to be there, alone, wandering rooms that held nothing but memories.
They pulled up to the circular drive, and he stopped the van. “This is it.”
“Beautiful property.” Harper got out and engaged the electrical ramp for David’s chair. “I can see why you liked living here.”
Lost in thought, he tipped his head to the sky, listening to the birds. “I had no choice. My grandparents were the only ones I could count on.”
Harper slid an arm over his shoulders. “Not anymore.”
Colson smiled and kissed him. “Let’s go inside.” He took out his keys and opened the door, and Harper wheeled David inside. Colson peered around. “That’s odd.”
“What is?”
“I expected the house to be stuffier from lack of air conditioning all summer and no one living here.”
“Maybe the gardeners turned it on?”
“No, they don’t have the keys. Only I do. Let’s go to the kitchen.” It had been his favorite room, where as a child he’d sit with his grandmother at the giant island and help her bake cookies. Unlike the sleek, modern, all-white design in his house in Brooklyn, this was more rustic and homier, with gleaming maple cabinets, a marble inset in the island for baking, and copper pots and pans hanging above. No wine fridge or cooling drawers. He cocked an ear, and frowning, strode across the room to the huge refrigerator and opened it. “See, this is strange. The fridge was supposed to be turned off. I remember because it didn’t make sense to have it running if I wasn’t here. And yet it’s on, and there’s ice in the ice maker.”
Harper, who’d been making David comfortable, frowned. “I think you should look through the house and see if anything’s missing.”
He agreed. “Anything of value was sold, or in the case of my grandmother’s jewelry, I put it in the safe deposit box, but yeah, I’m going to do that. Come with me?”
To his relief, the living room, library, and family room all looked intact, nothing out of place. Harper ran a hand over the huge fireplace. “This must be nice in the wintertime—a big fire while you watch the snow out of these giant windows.”
“I loved having Christmas here.” He looped his arms around Harper’s neck. “Maybe we should think about spending our holidays here. I think it’s time to make this house a home again.”
Harper’s kiss was all the answer he needed.
“The bedrooms are this way. The house seems big, but compared to some in the neighborhood, it’s pretty small—five bedrooms and three bathrooms.”
“Oh yeah, that’s tiny,” Harper joked.
He opened the door to his grandparents’ room. “This was their room. I haven’t done anything with it except donate their clothes.”
Harper walked in, and his expression tensed. “Do you smell that?”
Colson inhaled. “Not really, what is it?”
“A woman’s perfume.”
“It’s probably my grandmother’s. She always wore Joy—her favorite. It’s still on the dresser, see?” He picked up the bottle. “I didn’t have the heart to throw it away.”
They finished inspecting the other rooms, and he was pleased to see the house hadn’t deteriorated at all despite his neglect. They ended up in the kitchen, and Harper gave David a snack of applesauce.
“Well, what do you both think?” He made sure to include David in the conversation. “Would you like to come up some weekends and spend time here?”
“I think it would be great to get away, right, David?” Harper looked to his brother, who smiled and blinked. “Maybe we should drive around and see if there are some farm stands or a petting zoo for David.”
