Page 122 of Barefoot Dreams
Smiling so wide it hurts, I go through all the rest of the stations. From my shop to LP’s bar—the booth where we had our blind date—to the beach where Hope is waiting for me with next directions.
Soon enough, I figure out he’s taking me through every memorable spot. Through the places we shared together. Griffin even managed to hide a message in a packet of cosmos seeds in Fifi’s store.
But this place doesn’t look familiar. I mean, I knew who’s house it was, I just wasn’t sure why did Griffin bring me to Mrs. Lovel’s old home. After she died, her son decided to hold onto the real estate. None of us understood why, since he hasn’t stepped foot into Loverly since graduating himself, but he did. Maybe he was sentimental? And many envied him for it because it was one of the best parcels of land out here.
The hills aren’t too steep, but you also aren’t right in the middle of the downtown area.
And the land! It has acres and acres of beautiful land that butts up to the forest. Unfortunately he didn’t take care of it, and the house started falling apart years ago.
The locals did the best they could to keep the gardens clear of overgrown weeds, but there isn’t much we could do about the house itself.
Only, as I come up to the short, funky, farm-style fence, it doesn’t look like it’s halfway into the grave. No, the logs used for it look almost brand new and the colorful wildflowers spilling from the other side of it, neat and taken care of.
Huh…
But my musings get cut off when my gaze lifts to the house itself. It’s a bit farther from the fence, so I didn’t pay attention to it right away but…it’s restored!
Restored—not taken down and rebuilt from ground up. Restored with all of its original charm I love, intact. I’m so busygawking at the cleaned up crawling roses on the sides of the house that I almost miss the small piece of paper stuck to the front of the gate.
Congratulations, you’ve come to your final destination. Are you ready to take the next step?The note says, and I suck in a sharp breath, looking from the note to the beautiful, country-style home in front of me, then back to the note again.
What has he done…
With trembling hands and a million butterflies in my stomach, I push the gate open and follow the narrow, stone-laid pathway to the house. My eyes not knowing where to look first.
To the gorgeous brand-new planter boxes set out all over, to the beautiful landscape with the drying strings set up on the side, or to the house itself. It’s stone-faced beige but the shutters…oh, sweet daisies…the shutters and the door are all colorful. From bright pink to yellow to green and turquoise.
It’s absolutely stunning.
My feet just take the step onto the small front porch when the yellow front door opens up and there he is.
Griffin. Barefoot. Leaning against it.
“Hi, Birdy,” he greets me sweetly, but I can’t close my mouth long enough to form a response. “Do you like it?”
“Griff…what…what’s going on?” I gape at his grinning face.
“Welcome home, Birdy.”
“H-home?” My eyes widen. “What do you mean, home?”
“Just that. This is our home, or at least I hope it will be, if you don’t mind.”
“Don’t mind…don’t mind?H-how? When?GRIFFIN!” I screech, barely able to keep my breaths under control.
“What’s wrong? Do you hate it?” Instantly, he’s there, cradling my face.
“Are you insane? This is my absolute dream…” I sniffle. “I can’t believe it!”
“Yeah?” A huge grin breaks over his face. “You like it?”
“Understatement of the century,” I breathe out. “I just don’t understand how you pulled it off.”
“I’ll tell you everything later.” He kisses my forehead. “There’s just one more thing I want to show you.” Griffin takes my hand, leading me inside the house. “I didn’t touch anything in here, because I knew you’d want to work on it together.” He gestures to the pretty much unchanged home I used to know, and I nod eagerly.
Oh, sweet daisies…this is our home!Ours!
“I only played with one room and I hope you don’t mind.” Griffin sounds nervous all of a sudden, but I have no idea why.
