Page 139 of Good as Gold
“You know it.”
“Then we’ll be fine,” she says with a smile.
“Noted.” I rub her palm with my thumb and think happy thoughts. Not every hour of the last year has been perfect. We’d had some long nights and tense moments when we were tired and strung out from the new-parent routine.
But those moments hadn’t lasted too long. That’s because Leila and I have chosen each other with fierce determination. We want this to work, and we’ve both decided it will.
That goes a long way on the hard days. When the sun sets, we’re always curled up together somewhere, grateful for loving each other.
“There are sheets on the bed?” Leila asks.
“Of course.” I laugh. “I’m capable of making a bed, you realize. There’s also food. Funny how you didn’t ask about that.”
She shrugs. “You look edible today. Verymountain man.” She reaches over and runs her knuckles against my scruff. “Food is the last thing on my mind.”
Encouraged, I pick up my pace.
* * *
Half an hour later, we come to the final bend in the trail, and I’m really starting to get excited.
Here goes nothing.
“This is it, right?” Leila says, practically bounding now.
“Yeah, baby. Brace yourself.”
She darts forward ten paces or so into the meadow and laughs with excitement.
I follow her to the tree line and lift my eyes up the grassy slope, where my crew and I have constructed an oversized, off-the-grid, luxurious getaway that sleeps sixteen people. There’s a lodge-like contemporary building with a stone foundation, solar panels, and cedar-shake siding. There’s a recreation hall behind it designed as a barn. You can’t see them from where we’re standing, but there are also outbuildings for storage and sports equipment. And space for the tennis court and swimming pool I plan to add in the future.
This is not, however, a home for the three of us to inhabit every day. It’s too big for that, and we’re happy with our apartment in town.
This place is an investment property. The main lodge has four bedroom suites, a bunkroom for eight people, a chef’s kitchen, and a great room with a dining table that seats twenty. The recreation hall has a wood-fired hot tub, a ping pong table, and a movie screen.
We’re going to have a million big family moments here. And when we’re not using the place, deep-pocketed tourists are going to pay a small fortune to spend time with their families here, too.
“Wow,” Leila says, her voice full of glee. “It looksamazing. That paint color for the barn worked out great, right?”
“Yes, queen,” I admit. She chose that shade of green, but I hadn’t let her see the final product until now.
In fact, Leila helped me with a lot of the details. The whole project was her idea. I’d been working odd jobs for the family and trying to figure out what to do next. Our families had lots of opinions, and I’ve put in my fair share of hours for Alec, Otto, and also the Giltmakers.
But I wanted a project that was just mine.
And then one night I was searching the internet for a family compound to rent, brainstorming a Rossi family getaway out of state. Frustratingly, there were very few properties large enough to accommodate a family reunion.
Leila had said, “You should build a place in Vermont and rent it out to other families when we’re not using it.”
“Ohdamn,” I’d said. “You’re a genius.”
I’d written up a business proposal—not for investors, but for my own planning. I’d laid out the costs of land and construction, and I thought I could make it work.
Turns out I was right. Recently, I’d posted a listing on a rental site, including photos of the property and the not-yet-furnished house, and the response had been immediate. The place is booked solid from July through October, with people willing to pay two thousand dollars a night with a four-night minimum.
I expect to do a good business during ski season as well. The house will be snug all winter, with a generous fireplace and skiing and skating nearby.
I’m calling it the Colebury Family Compound. It’s the business opportunity I never knew I needed. Maybe it’s not as flashy as my heli-skiing outfit, but I feel great about making a place where families can be together.
