He was indeed a different man than my husband. Even the rodeo was an example. Cal had no real stake in it when he arrived in town. He simply did it because a friend asked him to. And whenever he received thanks or praise from the townspeople, he was quick to share any credit with others. He was loving and giving and forgiving. I didn’t want to lose him.
Maybe therewasa way forward, a way for us to love each other and be partners in life. It might not be perfect for either of us, but we could make it work. The idea of being with him even part of the time sounded good to me. I had to convince Cal that our love was worth working for and that I was worth compromising for. And I thought I knew the first step in doing that.
“I think we could find another way if we tried. Thank you, Joy.” I got to my feet. “Thank you. I know what I need to do now.” I was out the door before the therapist could say more, plans forming in my head.
On my drive home, I contacted a real estate agent and set up an appointment for Saturday afternoon to see available houses.
Saturday afternoon found me standing outside the house I’d most wanted to see.
“It’s pretty,” Henry said, getting out of the backseat of my car.
“It sure is,” I agreed. I studied the old farmhouse with its wraparound porch. The house was painted a soft green with deeper green and pale yellow on the gingerbread style trim and the porch spindles. It was sort of magical looking under the old oak trees that shaded it.
Henry bounded up the steps and dashed across the porch while I shook hands with the realtor.
“The house comes with just the property on this side of the road, a little more than three acres,” Sophie Lawrence explained. “I’m glad I finally talked the family into splitting the parcel. They’ve listed the barn and acreage on that side of the road separately.”
I looked across to the large white barn that was surrounded by several outbuildings and included fenced-in pastures. “How big is that part?”
“Two hundred acres. I’m still hoping to find a taker for that, but I’m hopeful that at least the house will sell now that it’s offered separately. No one even nibbled at the property as it was, and it’s sat on the market for more than a year.”
I knew that. I’d driven by the house often enough. It wasn’t on the way from town to the ranch, but I sometimes detoured to go past it. Itcalled out to me because it felt homey and warm. Only in the past two days had I seriously considered buying it. I’d received life insurance money from Luke’s death, plus I’d been banking my salary for the past three years since I didn’t have to worry about paying rent. It added up to a nice nest egg. A chunk had been set aside for Henry, but I had plenty left for a down payment, now that the house was priced to sell.
Money hadn’t really been what stopped me from leaving the ranch in the past. The biggest barrier had been fear of the unfamiliar and fear of hurting Laura’s feelings. But I was tired of walking on eggshells around the memory of a man who had made me unhappy. And Cal could never live at the ranch without tripping over Luke’s presence. The only times Cal had shuttered his emotions in front of me had been when Luke’s name was mentioned. I couldn’t imagine how complicated it would be for him to live with my in-laws.
So I had found a solution to that problem by seeking a place of my own. I was more than ready to move on and find my happiness with Cal. I needed to show him that I was willing to compromise. Moving off the ranch was one way to do that.
“Ready to see the inside?” Sophie asked. She held an old skeleton key in her hand. “It may need a little updating, but the house has good bones.”
We entered through the front door into a formal parlor with hardwood floors that only wanted a buffing to shine, and intricately carved molding around the windows. Pocket doors separated that room from the next—a family room that looked both comfortable and beautiful. I mentally began arranging the room. Soft textiles, overstuffed furniture.
Next we explored the dining room, again formal and lovely, before entering the large kitchen. Butcher block counters above cabinetspainted forest green stretched along two walls. The appliances were old, but I loved the layout of the kitchen.
“Can we go down there?” Henry asked opening a door that appeared to go to a basement. He’d been running from room to room, pointing things out that caught his attention.
“Later. I want to see the upstairs first,” I said.
We climbed wooden steps worn smooth on the edges by generations of feet. Upstairs contained a communal bathroom and four generously sized bedrooms, each with big windows to let in light and air.
“The plumbing could use an update, and I was thinking you could convert this closet into a master bath.” Sophie opened a door that led to a walk-in linen closet just outside the largest bedroom. “If you closed off this entrance and opened it to the bedroom side instead.”
I leaned my head in and could see the possibility. With every minute, my excitement about the house increased, but I needed to see how Henry felt about it. He’d happily explored with us, dashing from room to room, but that didn’t mean he liked it enough to live there.
“Let’s take a look in that basement,” I suggested, knowing Henry had a fascination for exploring such places.
“If it’s all the same to you, I’ll meet you outside. I don’t like basements.” Sophie walked back to the kitchen with us and left us to go downstairs without her. The space was exactly what I expected. Exposed-beam ceiling with stucco walls and a dirt floor. It wasn’t elegant, but it was dry and Henry was enjoying looking in the nooks and crannies. I could already see how it could become a nice rec room—a place for Henry to spend time with his friends as he got older.
“Henry,” I said after he’d seen enough, and we returned to the kitchen. “What do you think of us living in this house?”
“That would be cool, but…” His exuberant smile faded.
“You don’t want to leave the ranch?” I guessed, getting a nod. “We wouldn’t be far away, and you’d see Grandma and Uncle Jake whenever you wanted.”
“Okay, but what about King?” he asked.
“King would stay with them, but you could visit him a lot, too,” I confirmed. “You can still ride your pony.”
Henry looked around the space. What was still gnawing at him? I went to him and placed my hands on his shoulders. “Don’t you like the house?”
