that I don’t think I’ve ever felt. “Gosh, it’s so beautiful here,” I whisper.
“Glad you think so,” Cam mutters as he bangs the door. It opens with a loud creak. The three of us peer in like scared children.
Cameron’s eyes widen in horror and I break into a stupid smile. The foyer is grand and leads onto a huge family room, and the stairs are up in front. It’s bad... like really bad. The floorboards are all caving in and the walls are all bowed. In the middle of the family room, it looks as though a part of the ceiling has fallen and crashed onto the floor. Luckily, there’s no furniture. It’s empty apart from the plasterboard everywhere.
Cameron takes Owen from me immediately. “I don’t think this is safe to go farther into,” he whispers.
I walk in and around through the family room. There’s a formal dining room and another room—I’m not sure what this is. The kitchen is at the back and I smile broadly. It’s bright green and horrible. I imagine Gloria back in her day cooking in here. Another three rooms are over to the left behind the staircase, although I have no idea what they would have been used for.
“It’s big.” I frown.
Cameron follows me in silence with Owen on his hip.
“This is sick,” Owen calls.
“Yes, Owen, this is sick,” Cameron mutters dryly. “This is one of those vomit-inducing, sick places. It smells old and musty.”
I walk over to the stairs. “I wonder what’s upstairs…”
“Ashley, I don’t think the stairs are safe,” Cameron calls. “Look, one is missing.”
The second step is missing the timber and I jump over it, taking them two at a time until I find a grand hallway, six bedrooms, and a broken-down bathroom. The roof obviously has a leak because there are brown stains that have marked the walls in the hall. The carpet is threadbare, and you can see the floorboards through it.
I walk into the master bedroom and look through the window out onto the beautiful meadows below, where I see a large, blue-stone barn out the back. “Cameron come up here. You have got to see this,” I call excitedly.
“I don’t think I want to,” he calls.
I hear him and Owen slowly make their way up the stairs, looking through the house before they come and find me in the master suite.
I smile as I stare out the window. “Look…” I point excitedly.
Cameron peers down at the barn and tries to force a smile. “The land is nice,” he murmurs. He looks around. “I think a bulldozer is the best thing for the house, though.”
I smile. “Are you kidding me? No way,” I whisper.
He frowns.
“We have to fix this house up. Bring it back to its former glory like Gloria and her husband had it.” I smile, filled with hope.
He shakes his head. “Ash, no building company would take this on. The job is too big.”
I peer through the window and grin. “No, Cam, we’re going to do everything ourselves.”
He looks at me blankly.
“Can you imagine the fun we would have? I want us to do this house up ourselves. Just me, you, and Owen.”
“That’s ridiculous.” He looks around in disgust. “I know nothing about anything like that.”
I smile and wrap my arms around him and Owen. “Oh, this is just perfect.”
He scowls as he looks around. “Ashley...” He stops himself as his eyes roam the room. “I’m sorry to say, but this house is appalling.”
“No. It’s the opposite, Cam; it’s so beautiful.” I smile as I hold my arms out wide. “Can you imagine how amazing we could make this house?”
He turns up his nose. “You have a perfect house in L.A. to call your own.”
“I don’t want a perfect house, Cam. I want one that I have to work for. One that I can bring back to life myself.”
Cameron’s eyes widen in horror. “No amount of renovating can fix this, Ash. I’m sorry. I know you were excited.”
I throw my hands in the air. “I’m thrilled.”
“With this?” He shakes his head. “Ash...” He puts Owen down and walks over to the door. When he pushes it back it falls from its hinges and drops with a loud crash, and he jumps back out of the way. “This place is so damn dangerous,” he cries.
Owen and I burst out laughing.
“You are such a snob.” I smile as I stare back out the window. “Come on, let’s go look at the barn.” I take off downstairs with them