Page 116 of Love By The Falls

“Of course, I will. It would be a dream.”

He pulls a key from his pocket and opens the front door. It creaks at the hinges, but it’s genuine wood and solid. It would be perfect with just a bit of paint.

The foyer is wide, expanding at least fifteen feet into a living room on the left, and a dining room on the right. The floors are light-colored wood with thin carpets laid across. The furnishings aren’t very expensive, but it’s been a rental for so long I guess the landlord didn’t want to invest in anything costly.

“We can probably keep the couch,” I say, running my hand over the linen upholstery.”

“I’m donating all of it and hiring a contractor to refinish the floors, replace the toilets, the vanities and redo the showers and tub. I might keep the clawfoot one, though. It looks vintage.”

I walk toward the kitchen and family room in the back. There are French doors leading to a sprawling patio. “This is the best part,” he says, his voice rising with excitement.

I already know what he’s going to show me. We used to run through it as children, but I’ve never seen the backyard from this viewpoint. When we walk outside,my heart flutters like a butterfly released from a glass jar. I turn around, mapping the willow trees that line the river below and the water fountain that still somehow works in the center of a flower bed. It’s stunning. It reminds me of an English garden. And there’s enough room to set up garden games, too.

“What do you think?”

“It’s a dream. Truly. I’m happy for you.”

Caleb stops and pulls me into his arms. I stare into his smiling eyes. “This isn’t just for me,” he says. “I bought it for us.”

My smile falls as I make sense of his words. “For us? But, I have a home.”

“You live with Sage, and there isn’t another bedroom for the baby. This home has five bedrooms, plenty of room.”

I turn back to look at the house. It had been a dream to live in this house and now that Caleb made it possible, the thought terrifies me. “I’ve never lived on my own,” I say.

“You won’t be on your own the whole time. I’ll be here quite a bit.”

I walk back into the kitchen and survey the stove and the island in the middle. This space is larger than our kitchen and family room in Sage’s house.

“I thought this is what you wanted.”

I look around, trying to picture myself in it. “I thought so, too. I guess I just need time to get used to the idea.”

“Choose whichever designs you like, whichever furniture you want. Make it yours in every way possible.”

I inhale slowly and ask what I’m most worried about. “I still need to pay you rent, though. It’s only fair.”

“How is that fair? I can afford this house, and I want to take care of you, Charlie, and the baby. You’ll have more work on your hands. The least I can do is provide you with the room you’ll need to live comfortably.”

“This is more than ‘comfortably’.”

“It’s less than what a penthouse in Manhattan would cost me.”

“Is that where you live?”

He shakes his head. “No. I live inside the Seavers building. I converted some offices into a living space.”

“That’s why you never left the office when Sage and I came looking for you.”

He laughs. “Yes. I guess so.”

He walks me through the hallway and up the winding staircase. “Let me show you the bedrooms.”

The smirk on his face tells me he might have ulterior motives for showing me these rooms. “Will we have separate ones?”

“I hope not. But you can turn one into a closet if you wish. I plan on spending my nights in your bed.”

“Good.”

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