moving and look at the sky. Something prickles the back of my mind.
Didn’t I say that same thing to Penn?
“I think I helped choose those,” I say.
“You did, which is ironic, given the circumstances.”
“Why?”
“You’ll see. Come on.” She flashes me a smile as she sets the puppy on the ground. Waving a hand for me to follow, she starts toward the little house.
I can’t move. I’m not sure why. My mouth goes dry as I will my feet to move, following her until we’re on the porch.
“Penn has been working on this for the last week or so,” Meredith says. “It’s not finished by any means. The outside is complete in case bad weather hits early this year, but there’s still a lot to do.”
“You’ll really enjoy it in the spring,” I say carefully. My chest flutters, my stomach flipping at the look in her eyes. “It’ll be a great spot to curl up with a book.”
She takes a deep breath. “You’ll have to let me know.”
I take a step back until I’m against the railing. I look at her and then at the house, then back to her. Buffy barks behind me, but I barely hear her.
“Meredith, I don’t understand.”
“There’s a note inside, if you want to read it. And if you’re still too tender to do this, that’s fine too,” she says softly. She looks at me with the kindness only someone who truly cares about you can show. “Trevor has been a big baby.”
I blink quickly but am unable to fight the tears.
“I’m not telling you what to do,” she says. “That’s for you to decide, and whatever you decide is the right thing. But maybe go in and check the place out and see what you think.”
I can’t think straight. I can’t comprehend anything other than I might be sick.
“Before I say anything,” I say, my mouth full of cotton, “what is this place?”
“To be honest, it was originally supposed to be the poodle spa. Then I realized how inconvenient that would be and decided to incorporate it into the house. That left this place half-built with no purpose.” She scoops up her puppy. “Trevor called the other night to mope, and I was trying to talk some sense into him. A few ideas sprang to life, and . . . he thought maybe this was a place you would like to use.”
I can barely swallow. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. And there’s no pressure. But I will say, I have no friends here and thought that even if you and Trevor don’t work out, or if you make him wallow a little bit, it would still be nice to have you around.” She bites her lip like she’s afraid she overstepped. “You’re nice and maybe, you know, we could be friends.”
“Wow, Meredith. Of course, I’d like to be your friend. But this . . .” I look at the house again. “This is just . . . a lot.”
She laughs. “I know.”
Curiosity gets the best of me. “Can I look inside?”
“Absolutely. It’s yours, after all. If you want it.” She heads down the steps, cuddling Buffy. “I’ll leave you alone. If you need anything, please shout.”
“Meredith?”
“Yes?”
My heart pounds in my chest as I look back at the little white-and-green building. “Is Trevor in there?”
She smiles softly. “No. He didn’t want you to feel like you had to take him if you took this. This is a no-strings-attached kind of thing. He just thought you’d love it.”
I nod as she heads across the lawn. The breeze flutters by, the air clean and crisp. It’s so quiet, so still, that I almost cry. Not just because it’s beauty realized, but because no one is here to see it with me.
Taking my time, I walk to the building and climb the three little steps. The bronze handle opens easily and I gasp.
My words come floating back.
“I’d put a little place somewhere like that. With a great view of the sunrise and a field with tons of wildflowers. There’d be a room with windows like this and a woodstove because there’s nothing more romantic than that. And a claw-foot bathtub nestled in a corner and tons and tons of bookshelves.”
He listened. He really listened.
The windows reach from the floor to the ceiling. A fireplace sits in the corner with river rock framing it up the wall. Bookshelves line every wall that isn’t taken up by a window.