“Stop it,” Blake said sharply, frowning at his little brother. “I get it. It’s a huge decision, but it’s not life-and-death. You don’t have to decide until the summer, so let it rest a couple more months. In the meantime, think about how you’ll feel five years from now if you don’t take the opportunity. And think about what you can do if you decide to go and then change your mind. Because this isn’t irrevocable. You’d be moving three hours away, not three thousand, and you’ve always got a home to come back to.”
An instant later, Blake found himself wrapped in a bro hug, Jesse smacking him hard enough on the back to make his bones creak. “You’re right. You’re right.”
Blake wondered why everybody always seemed so surprised when they said that.
He laid a hand on Jesse’s back and squeezed before breaking the hug and pushing Jesse toward the door. “Now go and take the doughnuts with you.”
20
Laurel stepped into the kitchen and jerked to a halt. “Oh. Hello.”
Uncle Mark went to rise to his feet, but Laurel waved him down, slightly uncomfortable at his ultra-politeness, especially considering her greeting had been as perky as leftover dishwater.
“I’m so sorry, sweetheart,” her mother-in-law said as she began fussing at the papers on the table. “I don’t have lunch anywhere near ready.”
“Both of you, relax.” Laurel put as much teasing as possible into her voice. “I’m home early, Mom. I don’t mind pulling the meal together so you can keep on with what you’re doing. Mark, are you joining us?”
“Yes, please.”
He’d been around more often over the past two weeks. Still, there was nothing about his behaviour that Laurel could fault, and he seemed to be extraordinarily considerate around her mother-in-law.
The glow of happiness in Dana’s eyes was all too easy to read. No way was Laurel going to do a single thing to crush that development.
So she worked on putting aside her own problems and focusing on what seemed to be a mass of floor plans covering every inch of the table. “Are you finally ready to move ahead with your building plans, Mom?”
“No.”
“Dana,” Mark scolded.
“Maybe,” Dana said reluctantly.” She glanced at Laurel. “Mark was telling me about someone he knows who keeps an eye out for abandoned packages. You know, the ones that are custom-built and then the people can’t afford them.”
“That’s how Jesse and Joel ended up with their places.”
It was a great way to get at least the framing of the house for a fraction of the regular cost.
“And you know somebody who has contacts?” Laurel directed the question at Mark, who nodded firmly.
“Only there’s no sense looking at every one of them if you already know some won’t meet your needs. I’m trying to help Dana square away a few of her wish-list items.” He leaned back in the chair and stretched his long legs out in front of him. “What about you and Rafe? If you were getting a home built, what would be the things that you must have?”
“A family room with lots of bookshelves, a fireplace, and a big porch looking toward the mountains,” Laurel said instantly.
Mark held a hand out to Dana as if Laurel’s words had been proof of something.
Dana folded her arms over her chest. “It’s not that simple,” she insisted. “Laurel just said a couple of things, but she didn’t mention a word about what type of kitchen she wants, or how many bedrooms, because if you’re going to build an imaginary house, there’s no use in skimping on the bedrooms you’ll need down the road.”
Something tightened inside, but Laurel kept her smile firmly in place. “Imaginary houses can expand as necessary.”
She moved to start lunch prep, more as a way to keep her hands busy and her back toward her mother-in-law so that her expression wouldn’t give her away.
“It really is about the concepts of what you want,” Mark said. “Rooms can be rearranged, porches and balconies added. But the kind of ceiling and windows are little more set in stone.”
“Well, since my budget is also set in stone—as in, I don’t have one—I can take as long as I want to figure this out,” Dana said clearly. Papers rustled, and when Laurel turned, Dana had two floor plans pulled forward. “These are the prettiest. I don’t even know why I like them, though, so don’t ask,” she said with a laugh as Mark leaned forward.
“If you like them, you don’t need a reason why.” Mark nodded, though, as he peered at them more closely before tapping one. “This is a really good design for around here. I like the great room with the fireplace. It would be cozy on cold nights but open enough to have lots of family visit.”
Laurel was too curious to stay away. She moved in to look the design over. “Oh, that is pretty.” She laughed. “Want to know where I think you should build it?”
Dana glanced at her in surprise. “You’re going to offer advice on building sites?”
“Why not? If it’s all imaginary.” She smiled, attempting to make up for her earlier downhearted attitude. Not their fault that she was grumpy. “I’ll take you after lunch.”
Which is how she found herself a third wheel to her mother-in-law and Mark, guiding him up a narrow dirt road off the secondary road between Angel land and his own.
He paused the truck at a gate, and Laurel hurried to open it. “Not too much farther,” she assured him.
When they were through and she’d closed the gate behind them and rejoined them in the truck, Dana leaned over the seat to look into the back of the crew cab. “What on earth were you doing up here?”
Laurel hesitated. She and Rafe had discovered the spot two summers ago and had been using it ever since to enjoy privacy to fool around. Which meant there was no way she could answer without her cheeks going red, either from telling the truth or lying.
“Oh, look, that’s where I want to show you. Just to the left,” she ordered, ignoring the question.
Mark pulled to a stop and stared over the land in amazement. “I had forgotten there was a rise this high on the parcel.”
“Wow.” Dana was out the door, Laurel hard on her heels. Together they walked to the level place, a slight rise at their backs.
It really was an amazing spot. Laurel gestured to the west. “Can you imagine that view every morning while you’re drinking coffee?”
Dana slipped an arm around her waist. “It’s almost the same view as at home, but wow, elevation makes a huge difference.”
“The driveway would be a little bit of an adventure in the winter,” Mark said with a grin even as he joined them, shaking his head slightly. “But you’re right. This is an amazing location.”
Uncle Mark’s land spread before them all the way to the foothills. If Laurel twisted to the right, she could spot the Angel property, and just at the eastern edge, a thin trail of smoke rose from Gabe and Allison’s home. Farther to the right lay Whiskey Creek, with its rolling landscape, a herd of horses even now appearing over the top of one hill. Straight to the east was Moonshine land, mature trees visible along the meandering river, but the rest of it was pasture and crops.