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“I didn’t either, until recently. I’m not in a rush. We’ll get through this wedding, and then I’ll start digging into what it’ll take. I’ll have to get the land surveyed to make sure that it’s stable enough for a house and a big shop. It won’t happen overnight, and that’s okay with me.”
“No, but it’s damn exciting to think about. Just let me know what you need from me, and I’ll make it happen.”
That’s Rem. Always ready to jump in and help. Always the big brother.
“Thanks.”
He pauses. “Do you want to go have a look now?”
“Actually, yeah, I do.”
Rem laughs as we walk out of the garage and over to his Jeep. We hop in, and it only takes us about five minutes to make our way over to the lake. He’s right, it’s not a big lake, definitely not big enough for motorized boats, but it’s not tiny. We’ve spent many a summer canoeing and paddleboarding out here. Swimming and fishing. Hell, we’d camp out here as teenagers, sometimes for a week at a time.
“Not only is it a pretty spot,” I say as Rem comes to a stop, “but it’s not part of your grazing land. It won’t interfere at all with the business.”
“That makes it a win-win, then,” he replies. “Point out where you’re thinking, and I’ll drive us over.”
I point to the other end of the lake, and Rem turns to me in surprise.
“All the way over there?”
“That’s right.”
“Okay, then, hold on. It’s going to be a bumpy ride.”
He puts the Jeep in gear. He’s not wrong; it’s a rough ride through the brush and trees, but we eventually make our way to the other side of the lake.
“Right here,” I murmur and climb out of the Jeep, taking a deep breath of clean air. “I want the shop here. Four bays wide and two stories tall.”
“Nice,” Rem says with a nod, scanning the land. “And the house?”
“About forty yards that way, closer to the shoreline. It’ll also have an attached garage so it’s easier in the winter. Not a huge house, about two thousand square feet, all one story.”
“I already like it,” he says, surveying the area, and I can tell he’s picturing it all in his head.
“I do, too.” I can imagine the wraparound porch, my truck in the driveway, and a dock on the water. I want to fish out here in the summer, maybe with a couple of kids and a pretty wife. I don’t just want this for now. I want it forever. This is my place.
“I know we need to get through the wedding to really wade into the project, but why don’t you go ahead and get the surveyor on the schedule? They might be booked out a bit, and this way you’re on top of it. Have plans drawn up.”
“Plans are drawn.”
“I should have known,” he says with a rueful laugh. “It may be a newer idea, but once you get your mind set on something, it’s full speed ahead.”
I simply grin over at him. “No sense in moving slow.”
“No, God forbid we move slow.” He snickers. “Come on, we’d better get back.”
But I stop, just for a minute, and look back at my place. I belong here. I’m ready to plant my roots in this spot.
“If she had any issues, she’d have called me already,” I mutter to myself as I park my truck in front of Paula’s Poseys and cut the engine. “And she likely doesn’t want my mom’s cookies. This is lame.”
I’ve wanted to see Summer all week since the incident at her place on the Fourth. Yeah, I want to check in to see how her new security systems are working out, but more than that, I just want to look at her. Make her smile that big smile that lights up the goddamn room. Bonus points if she laughs because Summer has the best laugh I’ve ever heard.
“You’re a sap,” I whisper as I push out of the truck and, with a plate of cookies in hand, walk to the door of the flower shop. The bell rings as I push in, and I hear Summer laugh and then see her pat a tall man on the shoulder.
“Oh, stop it, Evan. He didn’t say that.”
“Swear to God,” Evan says, his right hand in the air as if he’s swearing on the witness stand.
