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Lifting the bar, he started to pump out his ten reps. When he was finished, he sat up.
“She also said Chloe picked out her maid of honor dress for the wedding. Alyssa seemed pretty excited about it.”
“That’s awesome. I’m sure they’ll both look beautiful.”
He wiped his face with the towel. “I’m more than sure they will.”
“Listen, I’m sort of nauseous. I think I pushed myself too much. I’m going to head on out.”
“Are you sure? You only have the one set to go, and we’re done.”
“Yeah, I’ve got to get going. I’ve got an appointment I need to get to.”
“For what?”
We grabbed our water bottles and headed to the locker room.
“It’s with a real estate agent.”
“No shit. You gonna buy a place?”
“I’m looking at buying the old Durham place.”
Mike stopped walking and pulled me to a stop. “Are you serious? Rip, you’ve always wanted that place.”
I grinned. “Yeah, found out it was going on the market. Old man Durham passed away a few months back and his daughter doesn’t want to be bothered with it. The house is still in pretty good shape. I looked through the windows. It’s old, so I’m sure there are some underlying problems, but nothing I can’t handle.”
“Even with a newer place you will get that, though.”
“Yeah, my folks are pretty excited for me.”
We grabbed our gym bags and started to head out to our trucks.
“How many acres of land?”
There was no way I could stop the smile on my face if I wanted to. “Two hundred and ten.”
“Damn, dude! That’s awesome. You gonna put some cattle on it?”
“I don’t know. I’m going to talk to Mitchell and Trevor. I want to get some horses. I know that much.”
Mike stopped at his truck and tossed his backpack into it.
“Dude, I want to go and look at it with you.”
“Come. I don’t care.”
His phone rang and he answered it. “Hey babe.”
While I waited for him to talk to Alyssa, I turned on my truck, texted him the address even though he knew were the old farm was located. Then I pulled up Chloe’s number. We hadn’t talked in almost a week, since she’d screamed asshole at me. She was obviously still pissed.
Me: Hey. You busy? I wanted to take you somewhere. Mike is going, too.
I knew Chloe would be over the moon if she knew I was thinking of buying the old farm. It wasn’t far from the Frio Cattle Ranch. There was only one other ranch that sat between Chloe’s family’s property and the small farm I wanted.
Chloe: I’m sorry, but I can’t. Wish I could.
I stared at her reply. Deep inside I felt like something was very wrong. Even when she was mad at me, she never responded so vaguely.
Me: Are you okay, Chloe Cat? I don’t know what I did, but whatever it was, you know I would never hurt you purposefully.
Chloe: I know you wouldn’t. It has nothing to do with you.
Mike tapped on the window, scaring the shit out of me. I rolled the window down.
“Shit, you scared me.”
He laughed. “Alyssa can’t go. They’re back from dress shopping, but she’s with Chloe at her place. Sounds like they are doing girl stuff.”
“Did she mention if anything was wrong with Chloe?”
“No, why?” he asked, his brows pulled in.
I massaged the tension in the back of my neck. “I don’t know. I’ve got a weird feeling something is wrong, and it’s not because she is pissed at me.”
With a shrug, he took a few steps back. “She didn’t say. Want me to follow you?”
“That works. I texted the address just in case, but it’s right down from the Frio Cattle Ranch.”
He nodded. “I remember. I’ll see you there.”
I stood in the living room of the one-hundred-and-five-year-old farm house. It had so much potential, I could practically see it coming to life in front of me.
“Man, the bead board runs throughout the entire house!” Mike said as the real estate agent stood off to the side.
“I know. Look at the wood floors. They used wide planks and crown molding throughout.”
Mike laughed. “Dude, you sound like you’re looking at a woman and about to have sex.”
“I feel that way!”
We smiled and walked into the kitchen. “The cabinets need replacing.”
“I can make you some.”
“That’s exactly the answer I was hoping to hear.” We laughed. After all, that’s what best friends are for.
Mike was a wiz when it came to woodworking. It was no surprise he was opening his own shop. Since I’d first met him in elementary school, he had always loved making things with wood.
“Mr. Myers, what are your thoughts on the house?” the agent asked.
“I’d like to put an offer in.”
She smiled. “Perfect. Do you have a number in mind?”
“Is anyone else interested in the property?” I asked.
“There is one other party, but they are from out of town so they are probably looking at multiple places.”
