Page 98 of Unraveled

I was anxious to get on with my treatments. If all went well, we’d start them up again in another week. The delay would put me behind the original plan by a few weeks, but considering everything I’d been through, I was lucky it wasn’t longer. Hell, I was lucky to be alive.

“You all bundled up?” Kellan asked, coming into the bedroom. He was already wearing his coat and boots. Since I was going stir-crazy, he’d offered to take me out for a drive to see the Christmas lights around the neighborhoods.

“I’m all bundled. In fact, if we stay in the truck, I may roast.”

He smiled, making me feel like a kid when he came over to zip my coat all the way to the top.

“We may take one outdoor excursion if you’re up to it and you stay warm.” He kissed my nose, making me giggle.

“I’m up to it. And plenty warm.” I’d dressed in wool socks, jeans, a sweater, a coat, and had a wool cap over my head with gloves in my pockets. It was in the high forties, so I knew I’d be fine.

We drove around the neighborhoods for a while, looking at all of the decorations, before he jumped on the freeway heading north.

“Where are we going?”

“There’s supposed to be this one neighborhood in Shoreline which is full of Christmas lights.”

“Am I getting out of the truck there?”

He flashed me the trademark grin I adored so much. “Maybe.”

We drove along until we got into the neighborhood streets, and there he pulled in front of a darkened house.

“I think they forgot to turn on their lights,” I commented.

“Nobody is home as the owners just moved. Come on. This is our stop.”

I got out of the truck, curious now. “Is this the house you’ve been working on?” I knew he was doing a kitchen remodel on one home while some of his crew redid the floors in another. In a few weeks, he was starting a bathroom renovation in yet another home.

“Nope, not yet, but it’s in the pipeline.”

We walked up the front steps to the porch, where he produced a key and unlocked the door. But before heading inside, he took something out of his pocket. “Here, put this on. It’s dusty in there.”

It was a surgical mask. His thoughtfulness knew no bounds. I put it on without an argument, knowing my lungs were still weak.

He flicked on the lights, illuminating a large house with walls and walls of floral-patterned wallpaper and shag carpeting. If ever a house needed to be remodeled, this was it. It looked as if everything came out of the 1950s. “I take it you’re gutting the place.”

“Pretty much down to the studs. But it has good bones. Solid foundation. What I wanted to show you, though, is upstairs.”

We went up the steps to a second floor, which boasted another living room. Big windows allowed views of the sound, and I imagined one would be able to see the mountains on a clear day.

“The plan is to put a wraparound deck on this second level. Come on, one more flight.” He took my hand to lead me up to the top.

Similar to the downstairs, the decor was outdated, but the bedrooms were large, especially the master, which also had the water view. And a balcony. He opened the double doors to lead me outside. “This is my favorite part.”

I could see why. It was breathtaking to be up so high on the hill, where we could see the Christmas lights from the neighborhood on one side and on the other the reflection of the moon bouncing off the water. “I bet the mountains on a clear day are quite the sight.”

“They’re incredible. It’ll take some time to update this place, but you can’t beat the views.”

He stood behind me, wrapping his arms around me. I loved this sensation of being in his embrace.

“It’s in a great school district. Safe neighborhood. The previous owners are the original buyers. They were married fifty years. Decided to retire to Arizona because of his arthritis. They had four kids grow up here, and now have six grandchildren.”

I turned around to face him. “You know a lot of details about the people who used to live here.”

“It was important to me to hear how much love has been in this house. Because it’s more than a job. It’s ours if you want it.”

“You bought it?” I was surprised.