Page 48 of Family Bonds- Jarrett & Andi

Which meant that she was thinking of them having somewhat of a future.

“I will,” he said. “I’ll show you around down here. It’s not open as much as a lot of houses, but I’m okay with it being cut up.”

“I think open is great, but having separation is nice too,” she said. “It keeps noise levels down. Your living room is a decent size though.”

“It is.”

“I can tell what chair you favor.”

She was laughing as she walked over and sat in his recliner. He’d bought new furniture when he moved in but only sat in that leather chair.

“It’s comfortable,” he said. “Hit the remote.”

She did and her feet went up and her smile grew. “It is.”

She pushed it back down and stood up. “Kitchen this way,” he said, moving past a dining room that had a table in it he never used. He had to put something in there, as it was the only place to eat that wasn’t the living room. It’s not like he didn’t have company at times. Usually family, sometimes women.

“This is pretty,” she said.

“Pretty?” he asked.

The cabinets were dark wood. He’d stained them darker than they were because the color before had an orange hue to it that didn’t go with the dark wood floors when he was finished changing the stain there. Though he had tile in the kitchen, he went with a lighter tan, long wide plank that resembled wood.

“Sorry,” she said. “It’s very moody and masculine.”

“That’s better,” he said, nudging her with his elbow.

He wouldn’t say he spent a ton of time picking things out. He wasn’t that fussy. Some of it had to do with what was in stock and priced right for his budget, but theendresults did come together with the white granite that had flecks of brown in it to go with the floors and cabinets. His backsplash was a simple subway tile of another shade of brown he pulled out of the counters too.

“It’s a good size for a galley kitchen,” she said.

“Works for me. Lots of counter space. I can see into the backyard when I’m washing dishes. Not a lot of yard, but it’s private.”

“It’s bigger than any kitchen I had and is modern. I think it’s perfect.”

“I’ve got a bath here,” he said, opening a door. “I put the shower stall in and though it’s small, it’s nice to have another full bath in the house. And a den back here.”

“You turned it into an office,” she said.

“Yeah. It could be a small guest bedroom on the first floor. When I bought the house it was set that way. An older woman lived here and only used the first floor. I think she went upstairs a few times a week to bathe, but otherwise stayed down here.”

They moved to the stairs that were in the back of the house and went up them.

Andi popped her head into two spare rooms. “You haven’t done much in here, have you?”

“No,” he said. “I don’t like the carpet, but when I was finishing the floors downstairs I realized that there wasn’t hardwood under these. I put hardwood in my room, but that is it. It’s not like I’ve got guests to worry about.”

“Since those two rooms are empty, I’d say no,” she said.

“No reason to,” he said. “Some of it is time. Somewasmoney. I mean more time than anything. I put a lot of money in right away to get in here. Time too. Then slowed down some.”

He wanted to build his savings back up, and to him, he had the important things done. Even the spare room downstairs only got a coat of paint and the floors were redone. He kept it simple and had very little decor around.

“Time isn’t something we’ve got on our side,” she said.

“No,” he said. “I thought we could talk about that.”

“I think we should,” she said. She moved over and popped her head into his room. “But you did this room and it looks nice.”

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