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“I bet the view’s even better from up here.”
“I bet it is. Oh my gosh, Xander, look!” She hadn’t spotted it at first, but there was a house way up in the clearing. As they got closer, she started to wonder if she was imagining things. It looked as though someone had built their idea of a castle. It was a two-story, white stucco building with a three-story turret on one end.
Xander laughed out loud. “Am I seeing things, or have I brought my magical little sprite to a fairytale castle in the woods?”
She laughed with him. “If you’re seeing things, then I am, too.”
Xander’s smile faded. “Let’s just hope that the keeper of the castle doesn’t mind trespassers.”
“What do you mean?”
Xander jerked his chin. “There’s someone out there watching us.”
Tori spotted a man standing in the front yard holding something – it looked like a big square, but beyond that she had no idea what it might be. “Whatever he’s got there, he looks more ready to defend himself than to attack us.”
Xander chuckled. “You’ve got a point. He looks like he’s putting a sign in his yard – which is way better than pointing a shotgun at us – although who will see a sign up here, I have no idea.”
Tori was relieved when the man smiled and waved as they got closer.
“Hi,” the man said when Xander pulled up alongside him and let his window down. “Who told you about the place? You must be keen; I haven’t even listed it yet.”
Xander gave him a puzzled look, but Tori thought she understood what he meant.
“It’s for sale?” she asked.
“It’s not yet, but it will be soon.” The man chuckled and looked down at the sign, which Tori could now see was a for sale sign – she recognized the Summer Lake Realty logo. “Although, I have to tell you, I didn’t expect the sign to do much good up here.”
“Yeah,” said Xander. “It doesn’t seem like the most effective marketing move.”
“Well, if you’re not here to see the house, I’m guessing you’re lost?”
“We seem to be,” said Xander. “We’re looking for Smoke Hamilton’s place.”
“Ah. If you’re coming from Four Mile Creek, you missed it. If you’re coming from North Cove, you turned off too early.”
“Thanks. We’ll head back down.”
Tori was staring out the window, fascinated by the house.
She felt guilty when she heard the man laugh. “It’s an unusual place, isn’t it?” he asked.
“It is,” she said. “I love it.”
Xander swung his head to look at her. “You do?”
She laughed. “Sorry, but yes, I do.”
“You’re welcome to take a look around if you like. And sorry, let me introduce myself. I’m Dallas.” He took a card out of his wallet and handed it to Xander.
Xander looked at the card and then over at Tori. She felt guilty; they were going to be late to Smoke and Laura’s place, and Xander probably thought she was crazy wanting to look around.
“It’s okay…” she began. “I…”
Xander rested his hand on her knee and shot her a quick smile before turning back to Dallas. “That’d be great, thanks. We’d love to take a look.”
“Just out of curiosity,” Tori added quickly. “I can only imagine what the view is like from up there.” She pointed at the turret.
Dallas grinned. “Go ahead and park in front of the garage. You don’t need to imagine; we can go on up and you can see.”
