Page 17 of Unspoken Love

Something shifted in his chest. He opened his mouth to say something—something maybe too honest—but then Clover called from the back about a milk delivery, and the moment passed.

Still, he couldn’t stop smiling as he walked away.

That smile continued even after he’d locked up for the night.

He had gotten used to exercising the horses during his breaks every day. He enjoyed spending time with the horses and was even dreaming about getting horses of his own, if and when he ever got his own place. But now he wished he could spend that free time with her.

That evening as another storm rolled in, he sat on his computer and looked at property in the area.

He was surprised at how many run-down properties there were outside of town. He figured it was because the newest section of Hidden Cove had opened up and people were choosing the new homes instead of fixing up their older ones. New homes were being built every day up there, but he wanted land and plenty of space, not a small lot butting up against someone else’s.

Some of the older properties had been up for sale for months and months. He could have sworn he’d seen several of them the last time he’d looked.

He didn’t quite know where to begin. He had originally thought he’d get something already fixed up, but everything like that was out of his budget. He had some savings, since he hadn’t spent most of what he’d earned in the past few years. Plus he had some inheritance from his grandparents left over. But it still wasn’t a lot.

By the time he went to sleep that night, he was completely frustrated with his options.

There were a ton of fixer-uppers but none of them fit his needs or wants. He wasn’t opposed to doing a little work himself. He’d helped his parents with several projects over the years.

Why was it so hard to find a three or four-bedroom home with land enough for horses and a barn?

The next morning, after showing Faye how to unpack some knickknacks made by a local artist and enter them into the register system, he took a few moments to sit on his computer and search again. Something was driving him to get out of the rental. He loved living close to the beach but wanted land of his own.

Since business was slower than it had been the day before, he figured he had a few minutes to look. Tuesdays were always slower than Mondays, and the sun was also finally shining. He knew that they would have a rush of tourists for lunch and in the afternoon, but in the morning, most would be hitting the beach or browsing other local shops.

“House shopping?” Faye surprised him as she glanced over his shoulder.

He had the urge to shut his computer screen down but decided against it. “Yeah, it’s something I’ve been thinking about.”

She narrowed her eyes at the screen. “I love house shopping,” she said softly. “Dreaming about each place.” Her voice had a kind of wistfulness that caught him off guard. “Thinking about how I would fix them up entertains me.”

He glanced at her, but she was still looking at the screen, leaning slightly over the counter beside him. A loose curl had fallen forward along her cheek, and for some reason, that single strand undid him.

“Are you into remodeling and designing homes?” he asked, curious.

She nodded, her eyes still scanning the real estate photos on the screen. “Always. Even when I was a kid, I’d draw floor plans or rearrange the furniture in my dollhouse like every week.” She smiled sheepishly. “Now I just binge-watch home renovation shows and follow remodel accounts online like a total addict.”

“Is that so?” he asked, settling back in his chair, amusement tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“Totally.” She grinned and rested her chin on her fist as she leaned her elbow on the counter, her eyes lighting up in a way that made his chest feel tighter. “When Max and Juliette started working on their place, I was glued to every single one of their videos. I must’ve watched each one a dozen times—especially the one where they remodeled the basement and put in his wine cellar. I even paused it just to study the tile layout in that bathroom down there. Staying there, I’m even more in love with what they did.”

He chuckled. “You’re serious?”

“Dead serious,” she said, frowning slightly as she straightened up. “It’s my thing. I love seeing how people make a house into a home. The weird details they choose, the color they paint the walls, the furniture they put in each room, the art that they hang on the walls. The little personal touches. I don’t know, there’s something so hopeful about it. I got hooked on it before my surgery, since there wasn’t much more for me to do at the time.” She frowned. “Socially, I was limited, so I binged shows.”

He wanted to ask her more but figured it wasn’t the time or the place. So instead, he looked back at the photo on his screen. On it was a little fixer-upper cottage with a warped porch and peeling green trim. It had four bedrooms, three baths, and five acres with a run-down barn. It sat just outside town on a little bluff. There was a pathway down to the beach that wasn’t pictured. It did say that it was ocean-front property, so the land must have gone all the way down to the beach.

Suddenly, the place didn’t look quite so hopeless as it had before.

“Any favorites?” he asked.

She shrugged. “I like quirky stuff. You know, homes with weird little details or strange character. Things like hidden staircases.” She smiled and he remembered her mentioning a hidden hallway in her closet at his sister’s place. “Things that you can fix up and still make it your own.”

He nodded slowly. “You ever think about doing that for real? Renovating a place of your own?”

“All the time,” she said, laughing. “But you know, first I need to survive my first month here. Besides, I promised my brother and your sister I’d watch their place until they returned. After that…” She shrugged. “I doubt I’ll be able to afford something of my own for a while.”

“Well, you’re off to a good start working here,” he said. “Keep up the good work and I’ll make you manager.”