I left the office, I'd looked the house up on the county website to get all the details. It sat on just a little over twenty-five acres that were all fenced. My friend, Beau, had said it was an old rock house, and based on that, I was expecting a house that was in disrepair, but that wasn't what I found at all. It was a beautiful home that you could tell had been built by someone highly skilled in masonry work. With a covered porch that wrapped around the side and a rock walkway leading from the driveway to a gorgeous oversized wooden front door, the house would be an easy sell as long as the inside matched the outside.
Beau had given me permission to go in. He said his aunt left a key and told me where she’d hidden it, but I wanted to finish looking at the outside first. Most properties like this were sold because of the land, not the house anyway. Although from what I'd seen so far, the condition of this one was a bonus. I walked around to the back to find that the covered porch area went all the way around and was wide enough on the back to cover a stone patio area with an outdoor oven.
I walked across the backyard to a smaller stone building that matched the house and pushed open the door. It looked like it had been a potter or painters’ studio, but it would make a perfect guest house. This was a seriously fantastic property, and it only got better when I went on out to look at the other outbuildings. There was a large workshop that was as big and open inside as Cody's shop and a barn with an attached stable with four horse stalls. The fencing around the stables needed a little work, but it wasn't in horrible condition.
I headed back up to the house to look inside. Houses had a feel to them. It was hard to explain. But I believed that feeling was the reason why some perfectly good houses sat while others sold quickly. And this house felt good, welcoming even, like it had truly been a home. The stonework from the outside had been carried through into the house. There was an open floor plan, which was unusual for a house this old, so I assumed it had been remodeled. I shot Beau a text to ask, and he responded immediately. He said his uncle had had a stroke about fifteen years ago and was in a wheelchair. They had the house remodeled to make it accessible for him, which made sense and explained the extra-wide doorways.
I’d bought my house in town last year, but from looking at this one, I wished I’d waited. Landon and I could sit out on that back patio in the morning watching the sunrise, and this property was perfect for him to be able to have a horse of his own. As I stood there in the sunroom looking out over the patio, I could see it plain as day. I never really gave much thought to the future, and when I did, I sure never pictured myself settled down with any particular man, but to my shock, the image of a life with Landon didn't scare me. On the contrary, I liked the idea.
I'd never been overly impulsive about major life decisions, but maybe that was changing. I offered to pretend I was Landon's boyfriend for Thanksgiving, then I told everyone here we were dating, but that didn't hold a candle to what I was about to do. I pulled out my phone and dialed Beau's number.
“Lo,” he answered.
“Hey. I'm still out at your aunt's house.”
“Yeah, what do you think?”
“I think you need to have your aunt give me a call.”
20
Landon
I hadn't even bothered to go to the holiday festival last year. I didn't have any reason to, but this year, not only was I going, but I was going with Miller. Out in public. In front of everyone. Since we’d started this thing, we’d been together in the city, The Watering Hole, and the coffee shop, but we hadn't been out like this in front of the whole town. If I was being honest, I'd never been to an event like this with any guy. When I was with the rodeo, I tried to be way more discreet. I never would have done anything like this at home when I was