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Garrett furrowed his eyebrows. “Who would want to come see the house? I’ve never had anyone over.”
Elise laughed. “That’s because you lived in a bachelor pad. Now we’re married. People will want to come by and see the house and how we’ve set things up and decorated.”
“Decorated?” He looked around. “Now you’re taking things too far,” he teased.
“I’m serious. We’re going to have to add some womanly touches to make this believable.”
Garrett shook his head. “Maybe I should have coffee before we talk more. This is all a little much.”
Elise stood, “I’ll make it.”
“You don’t know where the coffee is.”
She quickly moved toward the kitchen. “I can find it.”
Garrett stood and followed her. “It’s okay. We can do it together this time. Then you can make it tomorrow.”
“What time do you need to get to work?”
He chuckled. “I’m not working today. If I was, I would already be gone. My brothers made me promise not to show up until Wednesday.”
“Wow, two whole days.”
“I know, right? I haven’t taken two days off since that time I had the flu.”
Elise grinned as she looked over her shoulder at him. “You’re a special kind of man, Garrett Macklin.”
Garrett took those words to heart, and mentally packed them in his back pocket, hoping he would always remember she had said that. He pointed out where the coffee was and showed her the features on the coffee maker. In a short time, they both had mugs full of hot coffee and plates of reheated sausage, bacon, and muffins that his mom had sent over.
Garrett moved to the small round table and took a seat. Another reminder that this house had only been built for one person.
Elise joined him and, for a few minutes, they ate in silence.
Garrett wiped his mouth with a napkin when he cleared his plate. “Now, back to the matter of bedroom arrangements.” He watched as Elise’s cheeks flushed at the words.
“I don’t see any way for it to work unless we both stay in the room. You can keep the bed. I looked this morning, and I think we could fit a mattress under the bed. I can slide it out at night to sleep and put it back in the morning.”
Garrett stared at the table as he considered this idea. Maybe she was right. They couldn’t exactly convince people they were married if she was sharing a room with her two brothers. But he couldn’t ask her to sleep on a mattress on the floor. “That could work. But I’ll be the one sleeping on the mattress.”
She shook her head. “No. No way. This is my idea. I’m the one who asked you to do this. You have given up space in your house, changed your life, and made enough sacrifices already. You spend your days working physically on the ranch and riding a horse. You need a good place to sleep at night. I’ve made this decision, and I’m not going to let you change my mind.”
Garrett narrowed his eyes and stared at her. He had never seen such a look of determination in her eyes. “Are we about to have our first spat?”
“Spat? Are we ninety years old?” She giggled.
“No, but we are an old married couple,” he said.
“Speak for yourself!” Elise playfully swatted at him. “I’m still young.”
Garrett had to agree. “Yep. You haven’t changed a bit. You look the exact same as when we graduated from high school.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that. But as to our first spat, I don’t think so. I think we just decided.” She stood then and gathered their plates and carried them to the sink.
Garrett sat and watched her. He never would have thought a woman would be living in this house. But here she was, making decisions, helping with breakfast, and talking about decorating things.
How in the world did he get here?
“Fine,” he said. “But we’re driving into Timberline and getting you the best mattress we can find. And go ahead and make a list of what we need. I’ve never cooked more than coffee and scrambled eggs here, so we will need some kitchen items and groceries.”
