Unhinge - Calia Read Page 0,30

outgrowing this townhouse. We need a home—a place to settle down.”

Wes painted such a beautiful picture. It was so alluring, so perfect that I found myself agreeing.

“Then I’ll give my two weeks’ notice to the hospital.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could really think about them.

Wes’s eyes brightened. “You’re sure about that?”

“Yeah,” I said anxiously. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made. “Absolutely.”

Wes stopped in front of me and held my face between both hands. He smiled as he leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss. One filled with promises and hopes for our future. When we pulled apart I rested my head against his chest.

“So we’re going to do this?” I whispered into his shirt.

“We’re going to do this. But I don’t want to rush. I want us to get a house and settle into the perfect home that we can call our own.”

There was so much excitement brewing inside me. It was impossible to wipe the beaming smile off my face.

Together we cleaned the kitchen, exchanging secret smiles every few minutes. I was wiping down the counter when I looked in the direction of the living room. I did a double take at the large, framed photo of the two of us on our wedding day. Hopefully, in a year, there would be a framed photo of our baby right next to it. I swiped my phone from the counter, turned, and looked at Wes. “Hey! Look over here, Future Father of my children.”

Wes whipped his head around and I snapped a photo. If I had to title this photo, it’d be one simple word: Before.

Before kids.

Before exhaustion.

Before that perfect family I wanted us to be.

This chapter of our life was coming to a close. A new one was waiting to be written and I knew it would be unforgettable.

August 2013

“Well, what do you think?”

Wes removed his hands from my eyes and stood next to me, a big smile on his face. In front of me was the beginning of our house. I’d been here once when we were looking at property and when the foundation was being poured.

Since then, it had come a long way. But it was still the bare bones of the home it was to be. The house had been framed, with some areas covered with plywood on the outside. Even from here I could see the special framing for where the rooms would be and the cutouts for windows.

“I think it’s certainly different from our townhouse.”

“Before you start to freak out, remember it can normally take up to eight months for a custom home to be built. But before you know it, you, my queen will be living here.”

I smiled at his promise.

Excitement surged through me as I pictured the life and family that Wes and I could have here. It was a beautiful dream.

“Want to go inside?” Wes asked. He looked so happy. The sleeves of his light blue dress shirt were rolled up as he looked up at the house. This house was his creation. All of it. I couldn’t say no to him.

“Of course,” I replied.

“We couldn’t have chosen a better spot,” Wes commented. “I was talking to the contractor and he said that Senator Carradine was thinking about buying the property to our right.”

I nodded idly, barely paying attention to what he was saying. In my mind, I was adding items to the to-do list for this house.

Since May we’d looked at nothing but properties, trying to find the perfect place for our forever home. Instantly I fell in love with the property on Bellamy Road. It was attached to a newer subdivision, with maybe four or five homes on the street. It was peaceful and quiet, surrounded by nothing but acres and acres of woods. It was a far cry from living in town, where there was always something going on.

Hand in hand the two of us walked across the road. There was no sidewalk, or even a front yard for that matter. Any grass that remained was matted down or covered with dirt. Construction workers toiled around us, completely focused on getting the job done. There was no front porch. Two thick pieces of wood were turned into a makeshift ramp that led into what would be the foyer. We stepped inside. Just this space alone was larger than our kitchen and living room combined in the townhouse.

I turned in a circle, looking at all the wooden beams