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“And now you’re rebuilding it.”
“Yep, room by room. Been at it for a little over a year. Actually, the room-by-room part isn’t true. That’s what I should’ve been doing, but I’m easily distracted. I did finish the kitchen, though. Or mostly finished.”
“Can I see it?”
“Sure.”
“Um…where’s my son?”
Milo motioned for her to follow him into the parlor. Caleb was sanding and didn’t notice them come in. Wilda approached him. “Hey, sweetheart.” He glanced at her, and she knelt beside him. “Thank you for helping Milo. You’re doing a great job.”
Caleb nodded, then held out a piece of sandpaper.
“Maybe I’ll help in a little bit. Mr. Milo is going to show me the kitchen. Do you want to come?” Caleb shook his head. “Okay, you can stay here and keep working. Don’t wander off, though.”
Caleb resumed sanding, and Milo and Wilda left the room and headed for the kitchen. They passed through the dining room, then Wilda stopped as she stepped into the kitchen.
“This is beautiful.”
“The floor, cupboards, countertops, and the sink are all original.”
She walked to the counter and ran a hand over the smooth wood surface. “I would never want to leave this room.” She looked at the leaded glass on the cupboard doors, then went to the big window over the sink. The view was a large fenced-in area that had once been a garden.
“Of course, the stove and refrigerator are out of place. I’m looking for a more era-specific stove. Not sure what to do about the refrigerator, though.”
Wilda turned to look at the modern refrigerator. “Maybe one with oak doors. Probably super expensive, though.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Will you show me the rest of the house?”
“I’ll give you the grand tour.”
The bedroom suite had its own bathroom, a sitting area, a place for a large bed between two floor-to-ceiling windows, and a sliding glass door that opened to the back porch.
“Why aren’t you sleeping in this room?”
“It would make more sense than the room upstairs. But it has a turret. How could I resist that?”
“Okay, now I need to see that.”
They checked on Caleb, who was still happily sanding, then went up the stairs to the second floor. Wilda looked in each room before they reached the master bedroom at the end of the hallway. She stepped through the doorway and stopped again.
“Oh my gosh. You have a turret.” She crossed the wooden floor to the curved windows with a built-in bench under them.
Milo came up behind her. “Pretty cool, right?”
She turned around, not realizing how close he was, and gasped.
He stepped back. “Sorry.”
She walked around him and moved to the center of the room. “It’s wonderful. I’m very jealous, actually.” She glanced at his bed. “You need a massive sleigh bed, or maybe a brass bed.”
“I’ll put it on my list. What else would you do with this room?”
She paused to look around. “I’d paint the walls a soft gray-blue, or maybe a light green. Mossy green, not forest green.” He raised an eyebrow, and she smiled. “I was an art major once upon a time.”
“Oh.”
