AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“But he’s right,” she said. “We’re not going to find that house—ever and now, we’re going to be homeless. What happens when we accept one of the offers and they want to close on our brownstone immediately? We’ll be living on the street and our baby won’t even have a crib.”
“First,” Archer said, “our kid will have everything that he or she needs. You don’t have to worry about that. As for the house, if we don’t find what we want, we’ll find something that’s damn close and finish making it into our dream home. So, we look for a big kitchen and family room with space in a backyard for a pool to be put in. Let’s just keep an open mind,” Archer ordered.
“Fine,” Grace and Jon mumbled together.
“Onto the next house then,” Archer insisted. “Maybe the ninth one is the charm.”
“Lucky number nine doesn’t sound promising,” Grace said, wiping her eyes. “But I did promise to try to keep an open mind. So, onto lucky number nine.”
They pulled up in front of the house and parked behind their agent. “Well, I like the curb appeal from the front,” Jon said. “And we did say that we wanted a white house with black shutters, so far so good.” Archer didn’t want them getting their hopes up after his little pep talk, but they were. The chances of this place being, “The one,” was slim, but he did ask them to keep an open mind.
They stepped out of the SUV and listened as their agent went over the specs for the home. “This one is five bedrooms, with three and a half bathrooms. The basement is finished and I’m thinking that you three might like the kitchen and family room combination space. Go have a look and meet me in the backyard when you’re finished.”
“Thank you,” Grace said, leading the way into the house. The entryway was huge and went up two stories. Archer had to admit, he loved how spacious that made the home feel right from the start.
“Wow,” Jon breathed.
“I’m going to look at the kitchen,” Grace said excitedly. He and Jon followed her into the kitchen and Archer felt as though he was holding his breath waiting for one of them to say that they hated it because he absolutely loved it.
“It’s wonderful,” Grace gushed. “And look at that family room with the fireplace. I can be in the kitchen, cooking dinner and watching the kids play at the same time.” Archer could actually see his whole future in this house, and he liked that Grace seemed to feel the exact same way. If Jon felt the same, he seemed to be withholding judgment until they were finished the tour, and that worried Archer. This was an all-or-nothing deal for the three of them. They all had to love the house, or they’d keep looking.
When they finally finished the tour of the five bedrooms and three and a half bedrooms, they found their way out to the back yard to find their realtor standing by the built-in fire pit, grinning ear to ear at them.
“So,” she said, “was this one a hit or miss?”
Jon looked the fire pit over and sat down on one of the chairs that surrounded it. “Hit,” he admitted. “The only thing missing is a pool and I think that we can tackle that project in the future.”
“I agree,” Grace said. “I’m in love with the kitchen and family room area. They guys have promised to purchase all new appliances for the house since they seem to have a bit of wear and tear. I’m good with everything else—nothing a little bit of paint can’t fix.”
“I love how big the bedrooms are and that there are plenty of bathrooms for us and our growing family. I also love that it’s all hardwood flooring and no carpet, for my allergies. If we can get the price down by about ten thousand, to help cover new appliances and paint, I’d say we’re good to go.”
“Does that mean that I should cancel the rest of the showings today and we’ll go back to my office to write up the offer?” their agent asked. Archer quickly thumbed through the folder of listings that she had given to them earlier. He didn’t see one other house that met most of their criteria and he was sure that the last four showings wouldn’t best this house in any way.
“I’m good with that,” Archer agreed.
“Me too,” Grace said.
Jon stood and pulled them both into his arms. “Then let’s go buy a house,” he said. “This is our home.”
“It’s our happily ever after,” Grace gushed.
Archer had to agree—this was their home and having Grace and Jon both there with him made it feel that way. They were always his home, it just took him a while to figure that out, but now, he’d never let either of them forget that they belonged together. They were a family now and they’d finally have a home that felt right for all of them and that was the happiest ending that Archer could ever hope for.
