Civilization faded as they headed into the country. With only trees and farmlands in sight, she began to wonder about her decision to move in with a stranger. What if he was an ax murderer? Out here in the boonies, she could scream for days, and no one would hear her.
Finally, he took a long, gravel driveway to a cute little farmhouse surrounded by trees ablaze with autumn’s red and orange hues. A medium-sized barn sat off to one side, and a few other outbuildings dotted the property. She assumed the one with the chickens milling around must be a hen house. An old golden retriever was slowly making its way to the car from the barn, followed by an even older man.
“Well, here we are. Home sweet home,” said Jake. “Looks like the welcoming committee is showing up to say hello.”
“Hey, Jake. Good to see you. And how are you, young lady?” The older man put a warm hand on her shoulder, and the tenderness in his voice made her eyes well with tears. She blinked furiously to clear them.
“Hannah, this is Dirk. He runs the farm, takes care of the animals, and lives in a little place that-a-way.” Jake nodded to one of the outbuildings Hannah had seen on the way in. “Dirk, Hannah.”
“Hi, Dirk.” She smiled at the man as the dog nudged her leg, clearly wanting to get in on the attention. She used her good arm to rub his head.
“And this is Max,” said Jake. “He’s a shameless attention whore. Aren’t you, boy?” Jake gave the dog a good rub and then tried to nudge him away. Max didn’t budge. “Hannah’s not feeling well, so beat it, eh? He lives with Dirk, so he won’t bother you.”
“He’s wonderful,” said Hannah, scratching the dog behind the ears. Max barked in agreement, and she laughed.
“We just wanted to introduce ourselves. We’ll let you get settled. Let me know if you need anything,” said Dirk with a short wave. “Come on, boy,” he called to the dog.
Jake retrieved her bag from the car and held her arm as they made their way up the porch steps. He was strong and sturdy and she leaned into him. Maybe more than she needed to, but he didn’t seem to mind. The porch spanned the length of the house, but aside from a bench by the front door, was sparsely decorated. Opening the door, he let her precede him into the house.
The entryway led to a large open area. It was so cozy, she immediately felt at home. An oversized leather couch in the living room was flanked by two puffy chairs that looked like the perfect place to curl up with a good book. There were throw pillows and blankets everywhere, none of which matched the others. Candles and women’s magazines covered the large wooden coffee table.
Of course. He was gay! That would explain why they were just friends. And why he wasn’t married. Also, the fashionably decorated and immaculately clean home. Hannah didn’t want to admit she was a little bummed about that. Ever since laying eyes on him, she’d secretly thought of them possibly hitting it off. Just as well. It sounded like she had plenty of other things to worry about.
All the furniture faced a gigantic stone fireplace. On the mantel was a framed picture of a group of men in tuxedos. They had their arms around each other and matching ear-to-ear grins. Clearly, one was a groom and the others, groomsmen. She recognized Jake as one of the groomsmen.
“These must be your brothers,” she said. “You all look alike.” And they did—the same dirty blond hair and piercing green eyes. They were all extremely handsome.
“Yes. That’s from Mitch’s wedding. One of us finally got married.” He laughed. “I thought my mother was going to burst with joy then, but that paled in comparison to her utter elation at the news they’re expecting.”
“You’ll be an uncle. How exciting.” Hannah looked around, not knowing where to go or what to do next.
“Oh, duh, hey, let me show you around and where you’ll be sleeping.” It was an open floor plan, so she could see the kitchen and breakfast nook from where they were standing. “The kitchen’s over there,” he said, walking toward it. “Obviously. Help yourself to whatever you want. I did some grocery shopping yesterday, but we can go again once you’re feeling up to it and get whatever you like.”
Several boxes of pain medicine were stacked neatly on the counter. “Do you mind?”
“Of course not. I got them for you,” he said. “I didn’t know what you’d need, so I just bought one of everything.”
She laughed. “I am sore but don’t know that I’ll need all this,” she said, picking up the ibuprofen.
“It’s overkill, I know. But better safe than sorry.” He snagged a water bottle from the refrigerator and handed it to her.
She downed the meds and then followed him toward the back of the house.
“Here’s the guest room,” he said. A queen-sized bed took up most of the space. Like the couch, it had mismatched pillows and several blankets piled haphazardly on it. One blanket still had tags on it. She found it odd that the pillows and blankets were the only things in the house that didn’t match or fit the overall vibe. Everything else was tastefully and stylishly decorated and flowed together seamlessly from room to room.
“The bathroom you can use is this way,” he said, leaving her bedroom and continuing down the hall to the next room. It had a pedestal sink and a claw foot tub. Everything was new but made to look like what was probably here originally.
“How old is the house?” she asked.
“It was built in the 1930s. I had it remodeled before I moved in but tried to keep the original farmhouse feel to it.”
“I can tell. I like it. The tub will come in handy until I can get my arm wet again. I don’t know how I’m going to wash my hair, though.” She realized that as far as problems went, clean hair should have been at the bottom of the list, but she’d also learned to never underestimate the power of a good hair day.
“I need to get my hair cut soon. You wanna come with me and have them wash your hair for you?”
“That’s a great idea,” she said. “When were you thinking of going? Not to rush you, but my hair is still dirty from lying in the street. The nurse did her best brushing it, but there’s still little grains of asphalt in it.”
“We can go today if you want. I was also going to ask if you wanted to go by your apartment to get more clothes and anything else you might want or need. Howareyou feeling? Do you need anything?”
