When the light changed at the off-ramp, we rode north, and then Ryan turned left onto US 90.Five minutes later, he slowed and hung a right onto a dirt lane I hadn’t thought I’d see again for the rest of my life.
If it hadn’t been for a conversation we’d had a few months ago, I’d think this was outlandish.But, I’d seen a listing come across the database that stood out not just because it looked familiar, but also because of the dilapidated nature of the house.Someone had listed the run-down home Ryan and I had been taken to, and when he got home from the bar that night, I’d said I wished I could buy it.
It was crazy for so many reasons.The house was forty-five minutes away from my office, and that assumednotraffic.Every morning there was traffic headed into town on I-10, so the idea of living out here meant I’d be committing to sitting in my car a lot more than I did already.A year ago, we’d only been in part of the house.The pictures on the listing showedeveryroom needed major repairs.Some of them massive.It would be a money pit…and we weren’t likely to recoup that money because of the location being so remote.
Ryan brought his bike to a stop, put down the kickstand, and powered off the engine.
I scrambled off the motorcycle and crossed my arms as I stared at the house.
It wasn’t quite so run-down any more.At least, not from what I saw on the outside.A new roof had been installed and the siding had been replaced.The house had been painted a crisp yellow, like a sunflower.
I glanced up at Ryan.“Somebody bought it.”
He sidled up beside me.“Yeah.Me.”
My head turned with my sidelong glare.“Are you crazy?”
He grinned.“I’m crazy about you.My goal is to give you anything you want, Trouble.You mentioned it—”
I dropped my arms and turned to him.“Yes, and you told me I was nuts.”
His hands came up and cupped my cheeks.“Then I thought about it, looked into the listing, it was priced way too high.”
My eyes closed.He was right.It was the thing that caused us both to dismiss it – or so I thought.
I opened my eyes.“But youboughtit, and you didn’t hire me as your realtor!”
He chuckled.
“This is not funny, big guy.”
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders.“I wasn’t sure I’d qualify for financing.”
I shook my head and tried to wave an arm at the house.“Half the reason I wanted it was to be the one who remodeled it.”
He nodded.“I know, and you still can.The only things I had done are the things you weren’t going to do yourself anyway – insulation, new roof, and the siding.”
I stepped out of his hold.“But that had to set you back even more.”
He shook his head.“Not really.Bluff did the insulation and siding for the cost of supplies.The roof was done by the sellers because the bank wouldn’t finance otherwise.”
My eyes darted to the house.“Do you like that shade of yellow?”
“Your eyes light up at every yellow house you see.And as Bluff pointed out, there aren’t any trees close to the house so the sun’s gonna beat on this place all year.That means it’ll fade faster than you’d probably like.”
I put my hands on top of my head as everything sunk in, then I bit my lip.“This is a long way from On a Lark.”
He shook his head.“It’s twenty-five minutes on US 90.Your place or the clubhouse is twenty minutes most days even if it isn’t the same mileage.”
“Wow,” I murmured.
“On the one hand, it’s a trek to your mom’s, but on the other hand Lark’s place is fifteen minutes away.You two aren’t that close, but I’ve noticed he’s reaching out to you more and more.”
“Yeah,” I said while nodding slowly.After the shooting, Lark and I had carved out some time every other week to get to know each other.It was slow going, but I was hopeful we would at least be friends, even if he’d never be a father-figure to me.
“Baby, do you still want it?It’s okay if you don’t.I’m gonna fix it up with Bluff’s help regardless.You’re gonna be in on that, and if you don’t want to live in it, then I’ll sell it.We can use that money for a down payment on a different place.”
“How long does Bluff think this will take?”I asked, turning to face the house.
