“Couple of times, yeah. Noah. Nice guy. He’s married and they have two boys. The boys are kind of jerks, though. They hate it here, turn their noses up every time they come to the farm and spend any amount of time there. Complain the entire time about the old house and nothing being new. How Richard doesn’t have WiFi, which he doesn’t need. Zoey tries to get them to play with her and they won’t have it.”
“For real?”
I take a sip of my own coffee, draining the last of the cup. “Yeah. Noah seems embarrassed by it. Always says they’re not that way when they’re home. I believe it. Some kids just prefer the city life over small town. Doesn’t make them bad kids.”
“It does if they treat Zoey or you, or hell, even Richard, like shit because they think they’re better.”
“It’s not really that,” I try to explain. “It’s just they don’t find enjoyment in getting their hands dirty and don’t like the animals. Last time they visited, Zoey and I came for dinner and they weren’t as snippy toward us. I’m pretty sure Noah had a talk with them about it.”
“What’s his wife like?”
“I’ve never met her. She’s from New York City and for her, Seattle is tiny and doesn’t come here very often.”
“Wow. Guess that explains why Noah didn’t want to live there.”
“Yeah.” I pause. “How did it end up that you bought his place?”
“He called me up. Had no idea why until a few days ago. We finalized everything and I asked him again if he was okay with selling, if his son was okay with it. The house has been in his family for a lot of years and I wasn’t sure what to think. Then he said something that didn’t make sense at the time but now it does.”
“What’s that?”
“He told me he wants me to keep the house a home. And that if I bring her here, that’ll make it a home.”
“Huh?”
He chuckles and finishes his coffee, grabs my cup, and opens the patio door. “Want another?”
“Yeah.”
He takes our cups inside and leaves the door open so he can keep talking while he brews us each another cup. “So he says this and I’m like ‘what the hell are you going on about, old man?’ and he was basically saying that I would figure it out eventually.”
I stand and rest a shoulder against the door frame and watch as he makes our second cups. “And did you? Figure it out, I mean?”
He doctors up mine while his is brewing and hands me the steaming cup.
“Yeah. I did.” His cup finishes the brew cycle and we make our way back onto the porch, once again taking our seats. “It’s you. You’re what makes a house a home. And Zoey.”
I stare, dumbfounded. “What?”
“You heard me. The two of you are what’s going to make that house a home. Then I realized his reason for contacting me.”
“When you first told me you were looking at Richard’s place, I was upset,” I admit. “I felt betrayed by someone I considered family. For him not to tell me that he was ready to sell, and then contact you, I couldn’t figure out his angle.”
“You’re family to him. That’s why he wanted me to buy it. To bring you there, make it a home, keep it in the family.”
“I’m gonna cry.”
“Don’t cry. Even though I’m pretty sure they’re happy tears, I don’t want you to shed a tear over it and neither would Richard.”
I sniff and swallow down my emotion.
“That’s really sweet.”
“He loves you.”
“I love him, too.”
“He knew about me.”
“Yeah, he did. We’re close. He was like a dad to my mother. Or, maybe more like a big brother. I don’t know. Richard has been there for us through some of the roughest times. After I found out I was pregnant, I went to his house and cried on his shoulder. I felt so guilty for using Chris. I hated some of the thoughts that I had. I was so sad because of Mom. It was bubbling over the surface and I couldn’t keep it down. He listened.”
“What thoughts?”
Of course he would latch on to the one thing I really would have preferred I keep to myself. “I’ve loved you since I was fourteen, Beau.”
“What?” he whispers.
I shrug, a little embarrassed. “I’ve always been yours. You just didn’t realize it.”
“There’s one thing you always had that he wanted. Even if you didn’t know you had it, it’s