as John drove around back and pulled up into a detached garage. He jumped out on the run, then opened Gracie's door and held out his hand.
Gracie grasped it and got out.
The air was still. Heat and humidity ruled. But she was used to heat, and the abundance of shade more than made up for it.
"Welcome to my home," John said. He led her up the steps of the back deck, into the house through double French doors. "This is the Great Room. Typical of log homes like this, it's all open concept downstairs, except for a guest bathroom down the hall. The kitchen is behind you. The living area before you. And the door leading out to the front deck."
"It's beautiful," Gracie said. "What kind of wood is this?"
"Spruce. There are four bedrooms and three bathrooms upstairs. My folks, and my sister and her family, stay here with me on Labor Day and Christmas. They'll be coming again this year. You are officially invited."
She smiled, eyeing the rooms and imagining them decked out in evergreens with a giant Christmas tree in the corner.
"Really?"
"Yes, really," John said. "Now. Let me start the grill so it can be heating, and then I want to show you upstairs. Help yourself to a cold drink from the fridge. I'll be right back."
Gracie watched him lope out onto the back deck, before moving into the kitchen area, which was all stainless-steel appliances, rustic cabinetry, black granite countertops, and light fixtures hanging from forty-foot ceilings. It was so beautiful she couldn't quit staring. She couldn't imagine living in anything this grand, either. Then she glanced out the window over the sink.
John was lighting the grill, so she opened the fridge, got a Coke, and popped the tab. It was cold and fizzy, and the first sip burned the back of her nose all the way down her throat, just like she liked it.
She scooted onto a stool at one end of the island and was drinking her Coke when John came back inside. He stopped, giving himself a moment to enjoy the pleasure of seeing her in his space.
"What?" Gracie asked.
"Just enjoying the view," John said. "Ready to climb a few stairs? If not, there's an elevator at the end of the hall."
"Stairs are fine with me," Gracie said, and as they were walking up the staircase, she paused halfway up, to look back at the view below. "It’s even bigger from this perspective."
"I don't clean it," John said. "I have a good cleaning service who keeps it up for me. I do good to get my dishes in the dishwasher and my laundry done."
Gracie nodded. "I wouldn't argue with a cleaning service either if my house was this big."
John smiled. "Mom gives me grief about it, but she's also irked that at thirty-five, I am still single, too."
Gracie nodded. "Once Mama forgot she ever had kids, the scolding stopped, but she would have had a fit if she'd known about my brother cheating on his wife."
"Yikes," John said.
She grimaced. "That's not what Darlene said when she found out. She's a sweetheart. James is a self-centered ass, and I'm sorry I dragged my sordid family into this wonderful evening. Show me the upstairs, please."
"Not sordid. Just a typical family," John said. "Besides, there's you. You make up for a whole lot of other people's mistakes."
Gracie let the compliment soak in, and then set it aside for when she needed to remember she mattered, and someone cared.
"Here we are," John said, and began moving through the upper hall, opening doors, pointing out special features, working his way down to the master.
Gracie stepped across the threshold, then stopped just inside the door, staring in disbelief at the height and the size of the bed.
"Oh my lord! I have never seen a bed that big in my entire life," Gracie said.
John grinned. "It came with the house. It's a pain in the butt to make. But take a look at the view from my bedroom windows."
Gracie looked out. "Is that the lake?"
"Yes, an arm of it. We're high enough up to see a bit of it through the trees."
Gracie stood in silence for a few moments and then turned.
"I'll bet this place is gorgeous when it snows."
He nodded.
"I'd like to see that," she said.
"Then consider it done. First snow, I'm coming to get you."
Gracie's eyes widened. "Promise?"
"Absolutely," John said. "Now, let's go doctor up some steaks and get them on the grill. Are you hungry?"
"I'm starving," Gracie said.
He