AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After grabbing a pair of yoga pants and a T-shirt from Riley’s place, she and Christian headed down the winding dirt road toward his place.
“Here we go,” he said, leading the way up a brick walkway past cacti, succulents, and a vast array of bird feeders.
She arched a brow with a smile. “I hadn’t pictured you as the bird-feeder type.”
“Yeah...” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I’ve always liked thesound of birds. For some reason, it’s soothing to me. What about you?”
“What about me?” she asked as he opened the brown arched door.
“What do you find soothing?”
“You’re going to laugh.” Everyone did.
“I won’t laugh,” he said with all sincerity, but she doubted he’d be able to help it.
“The carnival music ice cream trucks play.”
A wide smile broke on his face, mirth filling his eyes.
“Go ahead and laugh. Most people do.”
“Nah.” He pressed his lips together and smirked.
“I have good memories of them in the summer. I’d get excited whenever I heard them coming.”
“That makes sense.” He ushered her inside.
The interior of his house was gorgeous. Roughhewn beams ran in parallel lines across the ceiling. A beautiful kiva fireplace rose to the ceiling with brown leather couches angled around it and the large flat-screen TV. Even the floors were beautiful. “Pine?” she asked, gesturing to the floor.
“Yep. Deckard built the main house, then helped me and Riley build ours.”
“Really. That’s impressive you all did this yourselves.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “It was kind of cool putting everything together the way we each wanted. It makes it actually feel like home.”
As opposed to?What else would a house feel like, she wondered, but didn’t push.
“And I love your courtyard,” she said, moving toward it. It was similar to hers. Square, in the center of his home, sliding doors on all four sides, the space open to the sky above. Two swing rope chairs hung from a wooden beam that anchored on either side of the courtyard, and a loveseat patio sofa sat opposite them, a fire pit in the middle. “The swings are great,” she said.
“Riley’s idea.”
She’d have to take a sit in one later, after she rested. Her mind, body, and soul were bone-tired.
“Oh,” she said, her eyes catching the metal pink flamingos standing one-legged outside in the distance nestled by a lit palm tree. “I love the tropical touch.”
He smiled. “Also Riley. She went on vacation to Florida last year and has been fixated on items like that ever since.”
“You think she wants to move there?”
“Nah. She loves it here. This is home to her. But she said she wouldn’t mind a small beach escape place there.”
“Have you been?”
“No, but she keeps trying to drag us there.” He pushed off the wall he’d been leaning against. “If you want to follow me, I’ll show you the bedroom.”
“Sounds good. Thanks.”
He led the way down the back hall, and she got a sneak peek of the kitchen—which looked rustic and gourmet at the same time.
