Page 27 of Burning Love
Had he survived?
Sure, in his way.
But he was bitter that he didn’t have any of that growing up when a teen could have used a father.
Especially knowing how great Dean had been with his daughters.
“I hope so. Thanks. It was a lot of work. I know everyone is going for the whole white and gray now.”
“Nope,” she said. “I like this. It’s natural. It suits you too.”
He thought so with the woodland brown shaker-style cabinets. He had brushed brass pulls on them, a forest green backsplash in squared-shaped tiles, and an ivory granite counter with flecks of brown and gold.
The floors in the entire downstairs were wide plank light antique wood with multiple shades of brown throughout.
“I couldn’t decide but knew I didn’t want white. I put the floors in first and then had to go around that.”
“They are beautiful. I’m not sure I’ve seen anything like this before.”
“I’m sure you’ve seen all sorts of high-end houses.”
Considering the worth of her family and the places they lived. Yeah, his humble home couldn’t compare.
“I have,” she said. “But I think I’m simple at the heart of it. Some of my siblings are pretty fancy but not over the top.”
“And if they were, you wouldn’t say.”
“Nope,” she said, grinning.
He could appreciate the loyalty.
“Sorry about the rest of the house. If I knew we’d come back here, I would have picked up more.”
He had drop cloths on his living room and dining room floors to cover the flooring while he painted. That was what he’d planned on doing after he put the trim work in the half bath he’d just finished.
Time and money got in the way of a lot of things.
Sometimes money more than time, but the big projects were done at this point with the exception of the upstairs hall bath.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said. “Your kitchen is clean so that means you’re a neat person.”
“I try to be.”
“Show me the rest of the house, please.”
He walked her through the downstairs.
“Just a basic house. Living room, dining room you can see from here.”
“It’s nice and open. Did it come this way or did you knock down walls?”
“I had to knock down walls.”
He and his father did that before he moved out of his apartment. Once the house was structurally sound, the roof repaired and new windows, he knew he could move in.
“I guess it was a lot of work. Do you like having all this land out here?”
He was in an older area and had a little more than an acre of land. He had neighbors he could see, but not close enough to have a normal conversation with.
