Just a Positive Pregnancy Test - London Casey Page 0,33

Or… what reason does he have to stay?”

“Don’t say that, Mila.”

“I can’t help it. I keep thinking what if I say the wrong thing or snap and he leaves for good. I mean, he left this morning.”

“What do you mean he left?” Olivia asked.

“I snapped and he said he was going to give me space. So he left.”

“That’s not… bad…”

“Where did he go? He’s not from around here? He went to talk to Tyler and they fought!”

“Maybe he went to the ranch. Crosby seems a little calmer.”

“Crosby has been like a ghost lately. Something is up with him. I don’t have the time to worry about it though.”

“Mila,” Olivia said. “Deep breaths and just go with the flow.”

I nodded.

Olivia hugged me.

I looked forward to the time when we were both nine months pregnant and when we wouldn’t be able to hug.

I just wondered… would Silas be around to see it?

Chapter Sixteen

SILAS

I drove along the quiet road and finally spotted the house.

It was hidden, yet it was right there in town.

As close to the restaurant and Tyler’s house as the inn was.

It was an old house, which was stating the obvious. It had a little bit of a haunted house look to it. That, of course, could be fixed.

What caught my eyes first was the giant wrap around porch. I knew without a doubt that would make Mila gasp. And that there were three doors. The main door, which opened into a foyer. Or the left door at the porch. That lead to a small mud room that connected to the kitchen and the garage. The door on the right opened into a sunroom which faced east. All I could picture then was Mila sitting out there with the baby, breastfeeding, watching the sunrise. Or maybe on those morning when the little one slept in, Mila could just sit there by herself and take in the new day.

The house had its original pocket doors, hardwood floors, and as far as I could tell, it was built to withstand any storm, including time.

Not many houses could say the same about itself.

As I pulled up the driveway, I began to take mental notes of all the landscaping that needed to be done. There was a large front yard waiting to be found. Not to mention the backyard which was partially fenced in. The word partially made sense because the old wood of the fence did not stand the test of time. That was an easy fix though. Beyond the fenced in part, the house came with another couple acres of land.

A far cry from the ranch Crosby had, but it was a house, with a little land, and a backyard for our family.

Our family.

I parked my truck, looked at the front door and took a deep breath.

I couldn’t figure out what color the front door should be.

Red? Hunter green? Blue?

What I could picture though was Mila opening that front door.

Standing there with a baby - our baby - on her hip.

And a dog darting out and down the porch steps to greet me.

A dog… a freaking dog, Silas?

I got out of my truck and the front door opened.

It was a Justa there… just not the one I loved.

Tyler walked to the top of the step and nodded to me.

“So I heard this is going to happen, huh?” Tyler asked.

“How did you get in here?” I asked.

“I know people. I can do things. You really bought it?”

“Pretty sure I did,” I said. “Waiting on a few pieces of paper to go through. Asking price. No questions asked. Biggest risk of my life.”

“Second biggest, Silas.”

“Oh?” I asked.

Tyler made fists. “The biggest risk of your life was falling in love with my sister.”

Tyler and I walked through the old house together.

It was beautiful inside.

Old? Yes.

In need of a ton of work? Yes.

Should I have taken some time and negotiated the price down? Yes.

Did I care?

Not one bit.

All the rooms were connected by pocket doors. Only one set of pocket doors didn’t seem to want to work. Tyler pointed up and told me something about the wood and the track… I didn’t really hear him because I kept envisioning my life in the house.

The front room with the bay window was the perfect spot for the Christmas tree. The large, brick fireplace was made for stockings.

And nights alone with Mila…

The dining room was big enough to welcome the entire Justa family.

Of course, that would only be if Theresa gave us permission to have a dinner or two