“The bedroom will always be locked, and we’ll tell everyone it’s a storage room.”
She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on tight. “I’d like that,” she whispered.
“Daddy would like that, too.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Two weeks later on Valentines Day, Tessica sat in the passenger seat of Connor’s car and looked out at the houses they were driving by. It was a nice neighborhood with well-maintained yards, and some kids playing outside.
The past two weeks had been wonderful. Busy and eventful, but wonderful. They’d had a brunch with her two sons and his son and daughter-in-law to announce that they were dating. Her boys had taken it much better than she’d expected, and Connor’s son seemed happy about it, too. Right after the brunch, Tessica had called Erin while Connor called Hanna to give both of his sisters the news at the same time, and they had both been over the moon excited.
Tessica had renovated the upstairs of Connor’s mother’s house. The living room was now a storage area. The bedroom was now an office for Tessica. And the kitchen was a breakroom for the Fur-Ever Friend’s employees. Kelly was fully trained and doing a fantastic job working for the shelter.
Connor had officially put in for a transfer to make the Portland airport his home base. He’d also moved Butch to Tessica’s apartment temporarily while he looked for a house to buy in Beaverton.
This morning, he told her he had a surprise, and took her out to breakfast. After breakfast he’d taken her to this little residential neighborhood. When she asked him where they were going, he simply told her it was a surprise.
At the end of a cul-de-sac, Connor pulled into one of the driveways. There was a ‘For Sale’ sign in the lawn. The house was a pretty pale yellow with white trim, and some daffodils were sprouting up in a flower bed next to the porch.
“What’s this?” She asked.
“This is the house that I plan to make an offer on. Of course, that’s only if you approve.”
“It’s beautiful.”
He got out of the car, walked around and opened the door for her.
“Can we go inside?” she asked.
“There’s a lock box on the front door, and I have the code so we can do a self-guided tour.”
She grinned “Awesome.”
He got out the key and opened the door for her.
There was a decent sized living room with a big window overlooking the porch. A bright kitchen with white cupboards was to the right along with a dining area. A hallway leading to more rooms was against the back wall of the living room, and a there was a staircase to the left of the front door.
“I love the wood floors,” she said.
“And look.” He pointed to the sliding glass door in the dining room that led to the back yard. “There’s a fenced-in patio for Butch.”
“Aw, that’s perfect. He’ll love it.”
After exploring the kitchen and admiring the stainless-steel appliances, they walked down the hall. There was a powder room on the right, a small utility and laundry room on the left, and a large master bedroom and bathroom at the end of the hall.
She admired the walk-in closet. “This is really nice.”
“Let’s see the upstairs.”
“Okay.”
He led the way to the top of the stairs. There was a small landing with three doorways. Two smaller bedrooms, with a bathroom between them.
He took her into the smaller of the two bedrooms. “This is going to be my Little girl’s room.”
Her stomach flip-flopped. “It is?”
He stood behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pointed to various areas of the room as he described them. “Right here we’ll have a bookshelf for your books and toys. Your bed will go there. And along this wall an arts and crafts desk.”