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“Or don’t.” He says with a wink. “What you’re wearing is great, too.”
I roll my eyes and turn towards my bedroom. “I’ll meet you in five minutes.”
* * *
Five minutes later, I emerge from the house wearing leggings and a t-shirt, a messy bun and a quick layer of makeup. I’m carrying two travel cups of coffee when I meet Andrew at his truck bed.
“Is that for me?” He asks, motioning towards the cup.
“Yeah. I wasn’t sure how you liked it, but I had a feeling you were a black coffee kind of guy.” I say, handing the cup over.
“You would be right.” He grins and motions towards the truck. “Let’s go.”
“So?” I ask as we pull out of our neighborhood. “Are we going to the dump?”
He laughs. “You can’t take a girl to the dump on your second date. Who do you think I am?”
I scoff. “Sorry, I didn’t realize this was a date.” I take a sip of my coffee. “So, where are we headed then?”
“You’ll see.” He says with a soft grin.
Ten minutes later, we turn onto a dirt road outside of town. A few minutes after that, we enter a driveway with a large iron gate and a for sale sign next to it. I look at Andrew as if to silently ask what we are doing, but he ignores me and just keeps driving.
He goes through the gate and follows a long gravel drive, stopping at a sad little house hidden among a patch of overgrown grass. The house is white, with an old wooden porch that is on the verge of collapsing. One wooden pillar appears to be supporting the entire roof, and the stairs leading to the porch are broken. The shutters are falling off; the paint is peeling and the windows are boarded closed with KEEP OUT spray painted across them. I feel uneasy, to say the least. What have I gotten myself into?
Andrew notices my distress and reaches over to squeeze my knee. “You okay over there?”
“Yeah.” I answer, slowly nodding my head. “Just thinking that every movie I watched growing up told me not to go to the middle of nowhere with men that you hardly know, especially when no one else knows where you are.”
“Did they also teach you not to get tequila drunk and make out on a blanket in your neighbors’ backyard next to an open fire?” He teases.
I blush. “You got me there.”
“Well, I promise not to murder you here. People may not know where you are, but they know where I am.” He puts the truck in drive again and drives past the house.
“Whew, that’s good, I guess.” I say, looking out the passenger side window as we drive along a path through the pasture. “So, where are we exactly?”
He rolls down both windows as he creeps along. “My brother is trying to convince me to buy this place with him.”
Crap. So much for us both leaving Fawn Creek.
I bite the inside of my lip gently. “So, are you going to?” I turn my body to look at the surrounding land.
“I’m undecided.” He says, talking to the windshield. “I keep coming out here, driving around, trying to feel inspired and so far I just keep coming up empty.”
“So, you were hoping I’d inspire you?” I tease him and gently elbow his side.
He gives me a half smirk. “Something like that. I just thought maybe I could get your opinion on it. You know, fresh eyes and all.”
“Well.” I say, repositioning myself in the seat to turn towards him, folding a leg under my body. “What would owning this look like? Would you guys redo that little house that we passed and live in there?”
He shakes his head and laughs. “No, I don’t think I want to share a house with my brother and his new wife. We would both build our own houses, just far enough from each other so that we can each have some personal space. That house would probably get torn down.”
“Well, that’s sad. I bet it has a lot of potential.”
He snickers. “Give a girl one house to repaint and strip carpet from and suddenly she is a professional. Maybe you could get a show on HGTV.”
I smack his arm playfully. “Maybe I will. I mean, as long as all I have to do is clean, paint and change a doorknob, I’m practically a house flipper already.”
