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So, here I was doing a secret house hunting spree to make sure she knew I was serious. I wasn’t fucking going anywhere. What said that more than buying a damn house?
I pulled up behind the SUV at the bottom of the drive. It was a long driveway which I liked. Less chance of Rylee making it down to the road. I hated to think that way—in fact, I’d even looked into a special security system used by Alzheimer’s patients to prevent them from wandering.
Only I was trying to keep a woman subconsciously running from me.
Helluva thing.
I climbed out of my car and tilted my head at the pretty swanky SUV. It still made my palms sweat a little at the thought of driving a family car versus a sports car, but not as much as it would have a few months ago. My,
how things had changed in my life.
Oliver Hamilton climbed out of his SUV with a shark smile. I liked him. He wasn’t quite as affable as his brother, but he was no nonsense about house hunting and I appreciated that. I hated the sales schtick that most realtors laid on thick.
I’d almost bought a house twice in my life. Once for an investment. Tax brackets and some other BS from my accountant had dented my party brain for a half a second. Being on the road all the time got tiresome and my trailer felt more like a home than even my old hometown. But then my sponsorship had changed, and I’d been distracted with even more time on the road.
It seemed stupid to put down roots when I’d never actually be in the house.
And the other had been when I’d made my first million. Buying a house seemed the thing to do. Instead, I’d bought a ridiculous apartment in Manhattan, selling it for a loss within a year.
Gun-shy? Who, me?
Now there was a new life change sitting on my shoulders. I had more boxes to check this time around. Just not ones I had planned on.
Oliver came at me with an outstretched hand. “You didn’t want a new build. I’d say this definitely applies.”
I shook his hand and took off my sunglasses. “No, definitely not new.” The stone house was close to the lake, but not right on top of it. All I needed to do was stress myself into a straitjacket about Rylee sleepwalking into the water. Followed directly by a drowning child.
But the land went on forever.
“Six acres.”
I whistled.
“Yes, it’s a miracle this hasn’t been bought up by one of the developers who have been picking at the coastline for the last year. As soon as it went on the market, I called you.”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“The house is a ranch style. It was renovated five years ago by the previous owners. I think you’ll like it. It’s move-in ready.”
“I like the sound of that.” I followed him up the gravel drive that turned into cement.
Oliver gave me the breakdown on the county roads and snow removal. It had been a damn long time since I’d had to worry about such things, but I was back in the snow belt.
The yard went on for…well, acres. There was plenty of flat ground for a kid, maybe even kids, to run around. The little buzz I’d been waiting for started humming at the back of my neck.
It was the same buzz that hadn’t steered me wrong since I started my career.
There was a sturdy fence keeping the house separated from the lake. “Is the dock mine—part of the land?”
Way to be cool, Gage.
“Yes, the dock is included in the sale.”
At least Oliver had the good graces not to smirk at me.
The front door was huge. Obviously upgraded for that whole curb appeal all the House Hunter-type shows and magazines harped on. The porch and front yard were manicured way past what I was capable of, but the idea of a riding mower all tricked out with some extra chrome increased the buzz factor once again.
Oliver rattled off more stats about the size of the house, the five bedrooms, and the bonus rooms. All I saw was a huge kitchen with lots of interesting surfaces and wide-open spaces. And windows letting in crazy light.
