Page 26 of This Moment

Turning, I walked over to my car and climbed in. I quickly shut the door and started it. Nic didn’t even have a chance to debate it with me. He got in his car and started to drive. I should have gotten the address, just in case we separated.

Oh, well, it was too late now. Luckily, Nic wasn’t a crazy driver, and it was easy to follow him. The first two rentals were terrible. Dirty and in bad shape. The third, we pulled up, and I took one look and shook my head. The front porch looked as if it was about to collapse. Nic got back into hiscar, and we drove a little bit farther out of town. We pulled down a long driveway and came to a stop in front of a small log cabin. Finally, we were getting somewhere. I was almost ready to come to terms with living in a motel for the rest of my life. It was either that, or asking Katherine if she wanted a roommate.

“Looks like you saved the best for last,” I said with a laugh as I walked up the porch steps. “It’s a bit far from town, but not too far. Secluded, that’s for sure.”

“This one just came on the market. It was by luck that I even saw it come through. A local resident owns it, but lives in New York City, so they rent it out.”

“Really?” I asked as I felt a bit of hope for the first time that day.

“It’s a bit higher than your price range,” Nic warned.

I nodded as he punched in the code. “How much over?”

“It’s currently priced at $2200 per month, but I can see why from the pictures I saw. It’s one bedroom, one full bath, and a half bath. There is a small office that you could probably put a futon in when you have company come over.”

I nodded and walked into the cabin. I gasped at the sight before me. The walls were all painted a soft gray, and the trim was black. To my left was a galley-style kitchen. It looked like brand-new appliances, and the best part was that there were two ovens and a gas stovetop on the island. It wasn’t a huge kitchen, but it was perfect for me.

“The kitchen is darling,” I said as I walked in.

“There is no eat-in option, but you could put a small table over here,” Nic said as he pointed to the other side of the room. The room was large enough to be a living room and a small dining room with built-in cabinets, a small sink, and storage for wine glasses.

“This is a nice size dining area for just me.”

“It is. And over here is the living room area. If you like an open space, this is your place.”

“This is a great-sized living room!” I said with excitement for the first time that day.

Nic nodded. At the end of the room, there was a beautiful wood-burning fireplace. I could easily imagine myself snuggled up in a chair reading while a fire crackled.

“This would be perfect.”

Nic motioned for me to go down the hall. “Down this hall is the bedroom, but first, your half bath.”

He stopped and opened the door to the bathroom. It was darling. There was a small wooden floating counter with a copper bowl, and a toilet was tucked in the corner.

“Here is the bedroom.”

We walked into a bedroom that was about twelve by twelve with exposed logs. “This is bigger than I thought, and I adore the exposed logs.”

Nic smiled. “I kind of wish they would have left more logs exposed. You could easily fit a king-size bed in here and a dresser.”

I nodded.

“And in here, your bathroom.”

I walked into a stunning room. This bathroom had the same counter, but there were two sinks. A large, walk-in glass shower was in the corner, with several sprays coming from the wall and a rain shower above.

“The claw foot tub, I think, is one of my favorites. Along with the black and white tiles. Feels very vintage in here.”

“It does.”

Turning in a circle, I could already picture myself in this house. “I’ll take it.”

Nic’s brows shot up. “You don’t want to think about it? I mean, it doesn’t come furnished so you would have to get furniture, and you just offered up a lot of money for the rent.”

With a shake of my head, I asked, “It’s fine. I can get furniture. I don’t need much. Can you let them know as soon as possible? I’m ready to get out of the motel.”

“It just came on the market, I’m sure we have time to–”

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