Page 21 of Full House

Heck yeah, she loved the beach. It was one of the first places she’d gone after moving from the vast desert of Nevada to California. “I’d love to go.”

“Good, it’s a date,” he said with a smile and a wink.

Nate collected their bags from the trunk then used a key from his keyring to let them in the house. That made things easy.

A light was left on for them in the entry, and Nate flicked it off before leading them through a spacious living room. Large sliding glass doors with their drapes left open, let in enough moonlight to see the room was decorated in browns and blues with enough knick-knacks to give it a homey feel but not too many it looked cluttered. An intricately patterned afghan was draped across the sofa. Her eyes landed on the fireplace mantel and the picture frames that lined the surface. She veered away from Nate wanting a closer look.

She felt his presence at her back and pointed to a photo of Nate in a red felt cowboy hat and brown vest complete with a tin sheriff’s badge. “How old were you here?”

She felt his hands land on her shoulders. “I don’t know. Four or five, I guess.”

Victoria smiled and looked at the next picture in line. Nate with his arm wrapped around a girl who looked a few years younger than him. “You and your sister?”

Nate stepped closer to see better. “Yeah. That was taken at her junior high graduation.”

“You guys look so much alike.”

In her periphery, she saw Nate nod. “We take after our mom.” He pointed to a photo near the end of the row. “There’s one with her in it.”

Victoria moved down the mantle and stopped in front of a picture with Nate’s mom sandwiched between Nate and his sister, Tammy. Seeing the three together, there was no mistaking they were mother, son, and daughter.

“Come on,” he said, picking up their luggage. “Let me show you where you’re sleeping. I’ll give you a tour in the morning.”

She followed him to a room at the top of the stairs. He flipped a switch on the wall, turning on the overhead light, revealing a tastefully decorated bedroom. Off-white walls covered in framed artwork created the only splashes of color in contrast with the white eyelet bedspread, matching curtains, and various pieces of whitewashed, wooden furniture.

“It’s beautiful,” she said running her hand along the comforter.

“If you need anything, I’ll be in the room next door. The bathroom is right across the hall.” He gave her a sheepish look. “We’ll have to share. I’ll let you go first.”

She gave him a smile. “You go ahead. I’ll shower in the morning. Right now, I just want to crawl into this comfortable looking bed.”

Nate placed her suitcase on the end of the bed. “I’ll let you get to it then.” He stepped in close, tilting her head with his index finger placed under her chin. “Sweet dreams,” he said in a husky voice right before he brushed his lips across hers.

He was out of the room, closing the door behind him before she could wish him the same.

A dusky sky filled the bedroom window when Victoria opened her eyes and couldn’t fall back to sleep. Reaching over, she snagged her cell phone off the nightstand. Six a.m. Early but not obscenely so.

The sound of breaking glass reached her bedroom as did the litany of curses in a female voice that followed. Throwing back the covers, she scrambled out of bed and hit the door running.

She stopped in the kitchen entry when she saw a middle-aged woman, presumably Nate’s mom, on her hands and knees, picking pieces of glass off the floor. “Are you okay?”

Nate’s mom sat up on her knees and turned her head to look over her shoulder. A smile lit her face. “You must be Victoria.” Her smile turned into a frown. “This is not how I wanted to meet you. I planned on having breakfast ready by the time you guys came down.”

Victoria took a step into the kitchen but abruptly halted when Nate’s mom shouted, “Wait! Don’t come in here with bare feet.”

“Oh, let me grab my shoes.” Victoria took a step back, making a move to leave the kitchen.

“No, stay. It’s okay, I’m almost done.” She picked up a few more larger pieces then stood, throwing them in the trash. “There,” she said, dusting off her hands. “I’m just going to grab the vacuum to suck up the tiny bits.”

“Ms. Reed, please, I’d like to help. Tell me where the vacuum is, and I’ll get it.”

Nate’s mom placed her hands on her hips and huffed. “Fine. On one condition.”

“Name it.”

“No more of that Ms. Reed business. You call me Debbie.”

Victoria held out her hand. “You’ve got a deal.”

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