I, Gracie - Sharon Sala Page 0,51
of Branson toward Table Rock Lake. As usual, the traffic made the trip slower than it should have been, but he was used to it. It gave him a little time to unwind as he drove and to admire the beauty of the Ozarks.
Five years ago, he'd abandoned the city and bought a home near the lake. Even though the drive to get out here meant dealing with traffic, it had been worth it.
When he finally saw his turnoff ahead, he began to relax. The road leading home was always the Off switch to job responsibilities.
He saw the roofline first and was already envisioning the wide-open floor plan and his kitchen. He'd left dishes in the sink this morning and still needed to do a load of laundry, but all of that would be dealt with before he ended his day.
Right now, the sight of the two-story log home made him smile. He watched morning light appearing over the trees from the front deck, and the sun setting below them from the back. The grounds around it were laid out with greenery and native rock, and he'd laid a curved blacktop drive within the trees to keep from cutting any of them down.
He'd worked hard for what he had. A thriving business. A beautiful home. Plenty of friends. The only thing lacking in John Gatlin's world was someone to come home to.
He grinned as a rabbit hopped out of the front flower bed and slipped beneath the porch pilings. He liked being the sanctuary for wildlife. Sometimes there were deer in his back yard late in the evening, and rabbits and raccoons abounded.
His friends kept telling him he either needed to get a woman or a dog. But the dog would not abide the wildlife, and John didn't want to trade one for the other. So, the deer and the rabbits had won out.
As for the woman, John had already lived a life of merry-go-round dating, none of which had worked out. He was at the point where either fate would provide, or it would not.
He parked in the garage around back and got out, pausing briefly to check out the property, saw nothing amiss, and went inside.
Cool air met him at the door.
He took off his work boots in the utility room, and then padded through the house and up the stairs to his room and stripped. As he was emptying his pockets, he saw the little silver angel still with his change. He'd been carrying it ever since the day he'd seen her. He just couldn't turn loose of the hope that he'd see her somewhere again, and if he did, it was going to be his excuse to talk to her. He had never been this focused on a total stranger and was inclined to blame it on the solitude of his personal life.
His family lived in Kansas, but ever since he'd bought this place, he'd become the host for the family festivities at holidays. His parents, his sister and husband, and their two kids always came and stayed. It was unbridled chaos, and he loved it and them.
At least their visits were something to look forward to.
Gracie had emptied her suitcases and shelved them down in the garage. The groceries were put up, and she was eating a cookie as she prowled through the rooms, opening doors, looking in drawers, finding out what she had to work with.
It had been a long time since she'd actually cooked on a stove, but this place was cool and clean, and the hardwood floors were smooth beneath her feet.
She had so many options for her evening meal that she couldn't decide on anything and wound up with a bowl of cereal and a can of Coke, because sometimes the familiar was what was needed to settle. She took her food to the little dinette table, turned on the TV, and ate watching the evening news.
As soon as she was finished, she took her laptop into the living room, and curled up on the velvet-tufted sofa to let Darlene know she'd found a place to live and was actively applying for jobs.
I found an apartment. It's as eclectic as Mama was. A little bit of everything from different generations. I love it. I'm sending you the address. Job hunting is in progress. Love to all of you.
She hit Send, and then pulled her laptop into her lap to check for replies from her job applications.
There were seven, but the first