Page 52 of Gideon's Gratitude

Nope. Shut it down. Not going there.

But you have to. Eventually the real world will come calling. What will you do then?

A nudge of my knee brought me out of my reverie.

Lucky gazed up at me with baleful eyes. The pooch had slept placidly through lunch, but now looked ready to go out.

I rose, stretched, and snagged my coat. “You want to go see Riley?”

The dog huffed.

“Do you know Riley?”

A cocked head.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” I entered the laundry room and found several leashes. Given we were heading to a construction site, a short leash was in order. Riley was prodigiously careful—never a stray nail lying around—but being responsible for another creature meant being careful.

The skies had clouded over since this morning.

I hadn’t noticed, being so focused on my research.

As we crossed the property line, Lucky insisted on tugging.

I was uncertain whether to focus on keeping up with the dog or to attempt to bring the dog to heel. “Could you slow down?”

The path was worn, but overgrown in parts. At one point, the neighbors had obviously been close, with movement back and forth.

There’d been an old double-wide on my property years ago, but it’d been demolished before the acreage had been put up on the market.

Riley spotted me, waved, and jogged over. “Was wondering if you’d come back. Trailer not to your liking?”

Her green eyes sparkled. As they always did.

From chatting with a couple of the workers on the site, I’d gleaned she was single. And perhaps looking. Yet, as stunning as she was, I didn’t feel the pull of attraction. No, my dormant long-forgotten stirrings of sexual attraction were emerging for a certain sad, brown-eyed man across the way. Like a volcano slowly awakening after a long, dormant rest.

Now? With him?

I mentally shook it off.

“The trailer was acceptable. And I could’ve gone back into town, I suppose. I just wanted to stay close. In case you needed me.”

I didn’t miss her arched eyebrow.

“Well, everything’s proceeding smoothly. The gas fitter is coming on Monday to install the fireplaces, and the connection will be upby the end of the week. The tiling in the bathrooms is on schedule, and the flooring is being worked on as well. Structurally, she’s in good shape.”

“The windows look good.”

“Yes, the house’ll be full of light. The blinds you chose will arrive in a couple of weeks. Geothermal heat is coming online shortly, air conditioning with the heat pump is the next to secure.”

“I wasn’t certain I needed a/c, but the past few summers assure me I do.”

“True that. And you’ve got good drainage around the property with no standing water, so flooding shouldn’t be an issue.”

“That’s a relief.”

Riley nodded to the house. “She’s going to stand you in good stead.”

I nodded in return. “Great. So now I have another question and perhaps a proposition.”

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