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"Yeah, I guess."
They rode in silence for a time then he softly asked, "Do you want to see it?"
She answered so quickly it startled them both. "Yes. I'd love that."
They both chuckled and he turned his truck around and headed toward the county road. He then turned down DeWitt Road. The scenery changed to one of working farms. Then, it changed again to overgrown weeds and downed fences.
"This is the beginning of the farm. As you can see, it's been left to its own devices, and I have a lot of cleaning to do." He turned onto a dirt driveway and stopped near an old barn. "This is the main barn. There are two outbuildings down that way..." He pointed to an area to her right. "And the house is up ahead." He continued to drive toward the house. It had once been white, but much of the paint had peeled and fallen. It was still straight, and the wraparound porch was something special. She could see rocking chairs and sweet tea in the evenings on something like that.
"Wow." She breathed.
7
Henry stopped his truck and inhaled a deep breath. "I'm still getting used to the fact this might be mine." The butterflies swirled around in his stomach. The excitement of his first big purchase continued to wash over him.
Everleigh chuckled. "I can only imagine. I've never owned a place of my own. I wouldn't know what to do first."
He turned to see her green eyes staring at him. Tilting his head slightly to the left he asked, "You've never owned a home? Do you rent?"
Her lips pressed into a straight line before she responded. "No. Neither. I've never owned a place and I don't even have a place of my own. I was a military brat. My parents are career military and we moved constantly. After I finished high school, I went into the military because it's all I knew. I had a penchant for negotiating and took that on as my military operational specialty. Once I left the military, I started contracting to them. Basically, they keep me busy, and my life is traveling from one job to another."
His eyes widened as he watched her pretty face fall. A sadness crept over her, and his heart hurt for her.
"I can't imagine. You don't have a home to go to between jobs?"
The right side of her mouth hiked up slightly. "No. If I have time between jobs, I either stay where I'm at for a while or move on to the next job early and see the town. If I have more time, I visit family, wherever they are."
"Does anyone in your family have a home?"
She chuckled. "My sister does. She married a great guy a couple of years ago and they have a little house in Tennessee."
"Is she happy?"
Her face lit up with the most beautiful smile. "She is. We used to talk as kids that we wanted a house. A yard. And to not have to move all the time. Plant roots. You know?"
Nodding, he replied. "Yeah. I can't imagine moving all the time. I like having a space or a place to call my own. Though I've always lived with my parents, in a barracks in the military, and now my teammates. So, this is all new for me."
Her head bobbed. He sensed her sadness in the droop of her shoulders. "Do you want to take a little tour? I can't get inside the house, but the barns are open, and I can show you some of the things I want to do here."
Her eyes brightened. "I'd love that." Her lips turned up into a smile and he liked that better than her sadness.
He jumped from his truck and hurried around to help her down. He noted her high heels again and made a mental note to not venture too far into the soft soil around the barn.
She stepped onto the ground and looked around. "It smells good here."
He chuckled. "Honeysuckle." He pointed to the honeysuckle that had managed to keep itself alive despite little or no care all this time.
"Oh. It's fragrant."
"It is. The warm air helps it release its fragrance."
"Wow, that's awesome."
He moved toward the main barn. She followed behind him and he realized he was excited to show her this place.
He lifted a lever and pushed it to the side then pulled on the large door opening the barn. He pushed the door open wide to let the light inside. The ground was mucky and he turned and held his hand out to her.
"I'm sorry, the ground is soft here. I imagine rain settled here from the cracks in the door and rotted out the walkway. It's one of many jobs I have to do here."
