Reclaim - Aly Martinez Page 0,111
replied. “Wait. Unless you think it would look better at the top of the stairs so you can see it from the window?”
“See?” Ramsey hissed and then called back to his sister. “Living room it is!”
I was all about filling the house with happiness and joy every chance I got, but a fourteen-foot Christmas tree that was almost as wide as it was tall was seriously pushing the limits.
After Nora and I had bought the creek, we’d gotten to work on the home renovations immediately. This had led to us finding termites in almost every wall, a crack in the foundation, and electrical work that was held together by tape and a prayer.
We had a long talk one night while going over the estimates to make the necessary repairs, including a frank discussion about our finances. Nora was planning to teach after we moved to New York, but finding a job straightaway was going to be difficult. I made good money, so we would have been fine without her income, but not if we were paying on two homes, one of which we wanted to completely overhaul. In true Nora fashion, she hugged me tight and told me the creek house could wait until we had time to save up for it. All she needed was me.
I understood exactly what she was saying because all I needed was her. Yes, we could have waited and made improvements little by little on a house that would work and be fine for us. But fine was not what I wanted for Nora Stewart ever again.
I wanted her to smile every morning when she woke up.
I wanted her to feel safe and proud each time she walked in the door.
I wanted her to have something that was even half as beautiful as she would always be to me.
So I presented her with a proposal. No, not that kind of proposal—yet. But rather, what better way to get back at my dad than to live happily ever after? I had my inheritance tucked in a bank account out of my sight, doing nothing productive other than reminding me of how worthless he’d made me feel growing up. I saved it for things I knew he’d hate but things that meant a lot to me. And trust me—nothing would have pissed him off more than to see me tearing down a house in order to build a new one when I was already going to be upside down on the land, all so I could live in sin with a woman—a Stewart woman at that.
It would have been wasteful, stupid, and flat-out disrespectful to the Lord.
And. I. Was. Stoked.
Nora shrugged and told me to follow my heart.
I bulldozed the house by the end of the week. It took six months to build our new four-bedroom, three-bath two-story, complete with wraparound porches on both levels and our very own hot tub out back. But when it was done, the awe on Nora’s face as she walked through the door for the first time made it the best money I’d ever spent.
“Whoa,” Thea breathed as Ramsey and I made it to the living room. “Is that thing going to fit in here?”
“It better,” I replied. “Otherwise, we’re laying it on its side and having a Christmas log this year.”
“It’ll fit. I measured,” Nora said, walking into the room, her hair a mess, flour covering her black-and-pink apron.
I cocked an eyebrow at her. “What happened to you? Did you lose another fight with the new mixer?”
“Ha. Ha. Ha,” she deadpanned. “And also yes. I knew I should have brought mine down with us. Next year, remind me.”
“Right. I’ll add it to next year’s mental packing list right now.” I smiled.
She stuck her tongue out at me. “Just put the tree in the corner, smartass.”
Nora and I still lived in New York most of the year. Much to my surprise, she loved the big-city life. Well, strike that—she loved visiting the city. We lived in a sleepy suburb of New Jersey where she taught at an elementary school not far from our house. I might have been biased, but I’d always thought the kids who ended up in Miss Stewart’s—eventually Mrs. Cole’s—class won the lottery of sorts.
Nora and I had taken our time building our relationship—a lot of time. As much as I would love to say it was all hearts and flowers, that would be a lie. Like most things in life, we were a constant work in