Page 11 of Refuge for Ailsa

“No. And there’s no laundry room either. That would have to be added onto the back, which would be okay, seeing as how a master bath would need to be added upstairs. There’s only one bathroom up there. It’s big, but it still needs another bath.”

“Can I see up there?” she asked and pointed upward.

“Sure.”

He headed out into the front hallway and she realized she hadn’t even noticed the big staircase. “Oh, god, this is gorgeous,” she whispered as she ran her hand over the carved walnut banister.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it? So well made and so beautifully carved. The people who built it really put a lot of love and detail into it,” he said as he mounted the stairs. Then he stopped and pointed at a step. “Watch that one. It’s soft. I’m going to have to replace it really fast before I step through it someday.”

“That’s easy enough to fix.” She followed him up the stairs, and halfway up, she grinned. He had a fine-looking ass. That was one very good-looking guy in a pair of nicely fitted jeans.

The stairs led to a large landing. “Okay, one bedroom there. Another one there,” he said, pointing to indicate. “That’s the bathroom over there.”

Ailsa stepped up to the bathroom doorway and looked in. “Oh, ugh. Somebody painted the tiles?”

“Yeah. It’s pretty awful.”

She pointed at it. “You should be able to get that off fairly easily with a heat gun.”

“Think so?”

“Oh, yeah. No problem.”

“Won’t stain?”

“Ummm, it might, but you could probably get the stains off with bleach.”

“I bet you’re right.” He took four more steps and pointed at a six-panel door. “And this is the master bedroom.” Tavish opened the door and stood there, motioning for her to go in.

It was huge. Adding an area onto the back to put a bathroom in was absolutely the best idea ever. “Closet added in with the bathroom addition?”

“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking.”

On the side wall, there was a bow window that looked exactly like the one in the living room and, based on the fading of the wallpaper under it, she’d guess that there had been a window seat. She could see herself sitting there on a rainy day, a cup of hot chocolate in her hands to warm them and a throw over her legs, her book splayed out on her lap and soft light filtering through the raindrops on the handblown glass in the windows. It was like something from a painting. “This would be beautiful with a box built under it and a pair of bookcases, one on either side.”

“That’s a great idea. That would be a nice place to sit on a rainy day, wouldn’t it,” he answered, his voice soft.

“I was thinking the exact same thing.” Her voice was barely over a whisper, and she didn’t care. The whole thing was almost magical?the house, the man, the ideas flowing from them both. What a beautiful home it would make for a family, the sound of children’s footsteps on the stairway and giggling everywhere.

She supposed she had a faraway look on her face when he asked, “You okay?”

“Yeah. Just imagining what it will be like when you get it all fixed up. Tav, this is going to be a beautiful place. Acreage?”

“Yeah. About fifty.”

“Fifty acres? That’s awesome. Plenty of privacy.”

“Nobody close. Peace and quiet. That’s what I like.”

“Me too. Some people can’t stand silence. They can’t stand being alone with their own thoughts. But I love it. I need it.”

“I feel the same way. It’s part of the reason I chose this profession. I spend long stretches of time alone in the truck, and I like it.”

She smiled. “I can understand that. I get more interaction at the marina than I’d like. There’s nothing better than a quiet day and the sun glinting off the water.”

“Ailsa?” When she turned, Tavish was looking straight into her face.

“Yeah?”

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