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Not yet, he mouthed,but soon.
Soon needed to come faster. I was already head over fucking heels for this broken girl.
2
Seth
Ishoved my hands into my pockets as I looked at the fifth house the realtor had brought us to today. Stephen was leaving the decision up to me to choose a house since we would be living here with Bailey, and he thought I might know what she would like better than he would.
So far, none of the houses we had looked at were screaming at me that Bailey would love it.
But this one? It might be it.
Trees surrounded the house on all sides. We had to come up a long driveway to reach the house, and it sat in the middle of seven acres of cleared property. The other seventeen acres were wooded.
I didn’t even want to know the price of this place. And Stephen had told me not to ask—just choose one.
He wanted to give Bailey a safe place that was all hers—thought it might help her. And I couldn’t deny that it might. I’d read that her environment could influence her moods, and maybe if she could decorate this house the way she wanted, it would help her have more good days than bad.
Because right now, she was having more bad days than she was good.
A beautiful, white, Victorian-style house sat in front of me. A wrap-around porch surrounded the house, and it had a balcony upstairs that stretched the front length of the house. It was freshly painted and washed, and the blue shutters contrasted perfectly.
“Mind if we see inside?” Stephen asked the realtor.
She looked relieved that we finally wanted to see inside one of the houses she brought us to.
Once we were inside, I knew in my gut that this was the house we needed. It was an open floor plan. You walked into the living room first, and straight ahead was the kitchen. It had all been remodeled, but it looked like the original floor plan of the house had been kept.
I walked around. Every bedroom had a fireplace, and each room kind of led into the next, giving it an old, rustic feel that I loved and I knew Bailey would adore. I could imagine the three of us raising our baby here, and there was plenty of space not only in the house but also in the yard to raise a rambunctious little one. A pool had been put into the back. It was surrounded by tan cement, and the entire patio was screened, keeping out debris.
I walked up the stairs, taking in the rooms. Another lounge room was up here as well with two massive bedrooms on either side, each with its own full-size bathroom. Stephen cleared his throat from behind me.
“Thoughts?”
I nodded, turning to face him. “This is the one,” I told him.
He clapped a hand to my shoulder. “Good. I thought so, too, but I knew you would know for sure.”
I grinned, looking around me again. “She’s going to fucking love this place, bro.” I was just hoping it would bring her the happiness she so desperately needed. Stephen and I were both grasping at straws trying to help her.
Stephen grinned at me in return before walking down the stairs. I took one last look around before following him. “So, I can bring you to the office today if you already have a loan ready to be pulled.”
Stephen nodded at her. “Got it ready to go,” he told her.
My phone rang with Bailey’s familiar ringtone. She was supposed to be spending the day with Trent today since we were on Spring Break. She’d even agreed to it without hesitation, giving me and Stephen the day free to do this.
“Hey, baby girl,” I said softly when I answered the phone. Stephen looked over at me for a moment before looking back at the realtor in front of him, though I knew he was listening to whatever I said.
“Seth,” her voice cracked, and she sniffled, tearing my fucking soul apart. “I, um…”
“Here, sis,” I heard Trent say softly. “Let me talk to him.”
I heard some rustling noises, so I imagined the phone was being passed. Trent came on a moment later. “I took her out to the diner you and Stephen take her to every weekend,” he informed me. “She had a panic attack. It was a bad one. She passed out. I’ve got her back at home, and she didn’t want to bother you, but I made her call.”
Fuck.
She was making progress, but I was beginning to wonder if she only made that progress with me and my brother. And I knew it killed Trent to not be able to be her rock like he used to be. I couldn’t even begin to imagine how he was feeling.
