Page 122 of Come Back for Me
“Put me down, Daddy.” Hadley kicks her feet while laughing.
“Yes, we must be very official.”
She mimics me when I stand at attention as though Ellie is my commander and I am receiving orders.
“At ease, soldiers.” Ellie gives a salute, and I groan.
“We aren’t soldiers, we’re in the navy.”
“Okay, whatever, sailors, people who can’t draw.” She winks, and Hadley and I both blanch in mock indignation. “I’ve decided which house is my favorite.”
She lifts the drawing that Hadley did with the moat and entire farm. “I knew it! You owe me ice cream!”
I don’t remember making that bet. “When did I say that?”
“You didn’t,” Hadley informs me. “I think I should get some since I’m the winner.”
I think we’re going to win something else.
“I have another idea . . .” I walk over to my jacket and tug out the papers hidden in the inside pocket. “What if we did something else for a prize? Something we all might want?”
Hadley’s attention is piqued, and so is Ellie’s. “What are you up to, Arrowood?”
I grin as I walk to Ellie. “I was thinking that this family has one big flaw.”
“What’s that?”
“We don’t have a house of our own.”
Ellie shakes her head with her lips pursed. “We are living in one now.”
“Yeah, but my brother is going to be coming soon, and that got me thinking, we should have somewhere that’s just for the three of us. A few months ago, I approached Declan about this,” I extend the paperwork.
“What did you do?”
“Just open it.”
She does so slowly, and her eyes go wide as she reads the agreement. “You’re buying land?”
“I’m buyingusland. My brothers agreed to sell me part of the Arrowood farm once it’s able to be sold, and I’d like us to build on it. The good part is that we can actually start to build before it’s sold. We can stay here while it’s being built, but everything is ready to go if you are.”
Hadley makes a squeal as she holds on to my arm. “Can we have goats?”
Her and the animals. “Let’s see if Mom goes for the house first.”
Then she looks at the paper behind it, taking a minute to examine the architect’s sketch of the house I’d had designed. “That’s what I had drawn up. I was thinking that, even though it doesn’t have a steeple or gates, it would be great for us.”
“Connor . . .”
“It has four bedrooms, the porch goes all the way around, and there’s an office where you can work when you need to. I was thinking we could put—”
Ellie grips my face, pressing her lips to mine, effectively silencing me.
“Eww,” Hadley complains, and we both smile against the other’s lips.
“What do you think?”
“I think I love you and this is perfect.”
