Page 3 of Booth

While lying there, trying to get her body to relax, she thought of the other things that she wanted to do.She wanted to sleep with Booth.Not necessarily sex yet, she did want to be able to participate more than she thought that she could now, but she’d be happy just to have him snuggle up with her and hold her.It had been a very long time before she’d been hurt, since she had been hugged, and she wanted Booth to be the first.

As she was drifting off, she thought of the houses that he was going to be looking at in town before coming to see her tomorrow, and was hoping that they could be in their home before the holidays.She loved Halloween and handing out candy to the kids.She only hoped that she’d be able to do that this year, too.Her apartment complex was filled with little kids, and she’d have to buy several of the big bags of candy so she’d not run out.She wondered how Booth would feel about blow-up things in their yard when the bigger holidays came around.Dee so loved Thanksgiving and was looking forward to their first Christmas together, too.

She was awake again by six-thirty.Her breakfast was brought in for her about fifteen minutes later, and she was finished with it before Booth called her at eight.He was on his way to the first house this morning, and he wanted her along for the ride.She loved that they could get together on this and thought it funny that he’d put her in his shirt pocket like she was right there with him.

The first house didn’t have a big enough yard.It had a lovely front yard, but there was very little of it in the back where he could shift if he wished and not be seen from the road.Even touring the house, they didn’t care for it, so in no time, they were set to go to the next one.She was excited about it as soon as he pulled into the driveway.

“Oh, babe, we might have found our forever home in this one.I hope that we can have better luck with this one than the other one.”He laughed.“The specs on the house said there is a pool.So far, so good.I love you.”

Chapter 2

He couldn’t get over how much he loved the house.He’d not asked the price yet, afraid that it would be well out of their price range, or something was wrong with it that was going to cause them to have to have a lot of repair work done before they could move in.He, like Dee, wanted to be in a home by the holidays, and he didn’t know if that was going to work or not.Dee asked him how many bedrooms it had.

“Seven, including the master suite.There are six bathrooms, too, including two half baths on the first floor.”So far, he was loving this and tried his best not to get too excited.“This is the living room.It’s huge with a fireplace.Can you see a television over the fireplace that we can watch the games on?I never asked you if you enjoyed football or not.”

“I do.I love all kinds of fall sports.And basketball.”He knew that Dee wasn’t trying to get as excited, but when they entered the kitchen, they couldn’t believe how up to date it was.It was as if they had only done it in the last few months, it was that good looking.“Is there a pantry?I don’t know what that door is for.”

He opened the double doors to find not just a pantry but a walk-in refrigerator too.The shelves were piled high with containers to put things in, like flour and oats.The kitchen was for cooking in, and the little table in the corner had him thinking that it was for the staff to have their meals at when they were working.He loved the look of the countertops as well as the large island in the middle of the room with its own sink and tap.

“You should find out the price before we go much further.I’m thinking we need to put an offer on it now, but I don’t want to seem too greedy.”He said that he’d been thinking the same thing.“Go find Bonnie.I know she said you had the run of the house, but this is just too perfect.”

Finding Bonnie was a lot harder than he thought it should have been.But she was on the phone with the seller, and he wanted to let her talk to them as much as she needed to.When she got off the phone, her smile could have lit up the entire house, it was so happy.

“That was the owners.He’s had the house on the market for four years now, and we’re his fifth realtor.No one has been able to get the house with the mortgage that they need.Like you, everyone is a first-time buyer.Unlike you, you have the money to put into escrow for the down payment to hold it for yourself until your loan goes through.When he has a serious buyer, he wants them to put a down payment on it so that he doesn’t have to show it so much.I understand that completely.I also know that you can well afford the down payment while you wait, too.”

“I can, but I don’t want to lose it just because he’s going to change his mind about something later down the line.”She assured him that that wasn’t going to happen.“Tell me the asking price.To be honest, I’m afraid to know.But you tell me so I can stop figuring out where my furniture will fit in this place.”

After she told him, he asked her to repeat herself four times so that he had the right price.Dee made fun of him for having asked so many times.Bonnie got a good laugh out of it as well.

“All right, Booth.That would include insurance on the house in the event that something happens as soon as you move in.I rarely hear of anyone using it, but when they do, it’s come in very handy.The appliances stay, though if I were you, I’d replace them.The ones in the kitchen weren’t replaced when the kitchen remodel happened six months ago.There is no carpet throughout the house, nor are there any kind of leaks in the new roof.Also, the furnace and air conditioner are brand new as well.”

“What’s the downside?”She asked him what he meant.“This is our perfect home.There has to be something that is wrong with it.”She said that other than the down payment, there was nothing to worry about at all.“Not that I don’t believe you, but there has to be something that is going to make itso we won’t get it.”

“You’re too paranoid.Just tell me what you want to give for it—and I would give a bit lower on the price, though I think you’re going to think you’re getting a good price at the asking price.But tell me so I can call the man.”He told her what to offer after talking to Dee.“Good.I’ll get back with you soon.Just have yourself a look around, Booth, and take that lovely wife with you and tell me when you’re having your moving-in house party.”

They were on the second floor, going over the master suite, when Bonnie found them.He had accepted the price so long as the downpayment was made, so they could be assured of it selling, and with a quick call to the bank, not only did he have the money transferred for the man, but they were approved for the loan as well.They had a house.

“I can’t believe it.Now you have to take me back to the kitchen so I can look around.Oh, Booth, it’s perfect.”It seemed to him that it was too perfect, but he was getting caught up in the house moving in as much as Dee was.“I can see us using this room the most when your family comes over.Do you guys hang out in the kitchen when you go home for dinner?”

“We do actually.Mom doesn’t cook for us all anymore; she just wants to visit, so she’s enjoying the staff cooking for us.But we certainly do enjoy hanging around in the kitchen with everyone.”Dee was so happy she wanted him to come to the hospital so he could pinch her.“I’d never do that unless you were to pinch me first.This is just too good to be true.”

Before they left, keys in hand, Mr.Millner, the owner of the house, transferred the money back to his account from the downpayment since he already had a loan go through, and that was the end of it.They owned the house with the bank, of course, and he couldn’t wait to tell his family.But he was going to wait until he got to the hospital so that Dee could help him tell them.They’d be so excited.And it was so close to his parents’ house that he could walk there without any trouble.It was closer still to the school that he taught at, so that was a good thing as well.

He talked with Dee all the way to the hospital.As soon as he was there, he picked her up and swung her around the room, he was so happy.When they settled down, both of them almost too excited to be talking one at a time, he showed her the pictures of the rooms she’d already been in with him.

“I love that there’s no carpet in the house.It’ll make it so much easier to clean up.”He thought so as well.“Do you think we’ll need a staff still?It’s not nearly as big as the other house we looked at.”

“Simply because we both work.I just realized the other night I have no idea what it is you do for a living.”She told him that she was a dancer for the Institute of Dance in Washington.“No wonder you’re in such good shape.It would have a lot to do with you healing quickly, too.Not to mention me giving you bits of magic all the time.As soon as we get you home, I’m going to claim you, and then you’ll be nice and healed.After that, we’ll work on the bonding stuff.”

“Bonding stuff?You make it sound like it’s no big deal.”He said that for him, it wasn’t until she got better.“Thank you for that.But I want to sleep with you.Snuggle up in the bed together so we can be warm together.”

He’d made sure she had a cell phone when she asked for it last evening.She no longer had to borrow one of the other nurses when he wanted to talk to her.And seeing the house together had made that very easy on them both.As soon as they were settled down, they called his parents and let them know that they had finally purchased a house.

“That’s wonderful news.And so close to us.”He told them he was within walking distance to the high school as well, and that made them both happy.He hated driving to classes.He’d sometimes forget that he drove when he’d been living in his apartment and would have to walk back to get his car.Now he’d not have to worry about that happening again.“When will you be taking possession?”

“We have the keys now.The previous owners have moved out already, as it’s been on the market for some time, and the things that are in the house aren’t that big of a deal for them to come and get.I kind of liked that the house was empty when we were looking around.It was easier to see our things in it.”Dad thought that was wonderful, and then he told them how they’d been buying linens and thingsfor a house when they got it, so they were pretty set up as it was.“The only thing that we didn’t get was a vacuum, and we now don’t need one.We don’t have any carpet in the place at all.”

“Not even in the bathrooms?”They both said they didn’t at the same time.“Well, that’s simply wonderful.I’d like a bit of carpet in the bathroom when I go in there, but I can see the benefits of not having it in there as well.It would be wet all the time.”

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