Page 31 of It's You
As Darcy cleared a small ridge and rounded a bend, she found the most beautifully situated house she had ever seen. She gasped, braking, as she took in the sight before her.
Enchanting. It was simply enchanting.
A babbling river, acting almost as a moat, maybe six or seven feet across, lay between Darcy and the house, and a rustic-looking bridge offered the only conveyance between the woods from where she’d come and the modest semicircle driveway which presently held one Jeep Grand Cherokee.
Behind the driveway, there was a large lodge, the size of a small hotel, built of ancient logs covered in lichen and vines; it almost appeared embedded into the woods, as though it had been there forever. There were mature trees within inches of the house footprint, signifying its age, which Darcy guessed at one hundred fifty years old or more. The lodge itself appeared to be one story, but Darcy noted four half-sized gables, roughly hewn, creating peaks in the roofline, and implying a second floor, perhaps with eave bedrooms. The windows were ablaze with soft gold and yellow light that shined through gleaming windows, and the front of the house had been prettily landscaped withflowering bushes and a modest lawn in the middle of the semicircle driveway. A sprawling porch that spanned the entire north side of the lodge had several rocking chairs and a split rail fence to keep people from toppling into the river below. Ivy climbed around the front door, and smoke rose warmly from one of three stone chimneys.
Darcy put her car back in drive and crossed over the bridge, pulling up behind the Jeep she assumed was Jack’s. Off to the left, and a little behind the house, she noticed the log-cabin-style barn-slash-garage that Amory had been working on. He’d done a nice job incorporating it into the style of the house, although there was no mistaking its newness. But the lighter wood wasn’t visible before a visitor crossed the bridge, maintaining the illusion that the lodge had existed in its place forever as the woods grew up around it.
Amory had mentioned that Jack’s place was grand. Darcy just hadn’t expected it to be so entirely charming, so much a place that she would choose for herself, down to the last detail, had she the means and the need. It was almost unnerving to come face-to-face with your dream house, with an enchanted lodge buried deep in the north woods.
Darcy took a deep breath, checking her reflection in her rearview mirror and wishing that her pounding heart would calm down. She grabbed her bag and opened her door, only to be greeted by Jack, who offered her his hand and a beaming smile. She hadn’t noticed him approach her car.
“Where’d you come from?” she asked.
He wore a white button-down shirt untucked, the first two buttons undone, and worn-in jeans with bare feet. She looked at the wiry hairs peppering the tanned skin pulled taut over the well-defined bones beneath. She loved that his feet were bare and suddenly wished hers were too. Even his stupid feet made her heart beat faster. Geez!
She lifted her head to find him staring at her with raised eyebrows and an amused grin. “The house.”
“Somehouse!” Darcy exclaimed.
She looked back at his offered hand, remembering the way her insides had turned to lava when he had unfurled his fist and laced his fingers through hers at Honoria’s wedding.Keep your head on straight, Darcy. No feet, no hands. You need discussion, not distraction.
“Thanks, I’ve got it.”
His eyes narrowed as he withdrew his hand, stepping back so she could stand up. She turned around slowly, taking in the bridge and woods from where she’d come, the river, more woods, Amory’s barn-style garage, a flagstone pathway between the two buildings, then the corner of the lodge. The façade of the house was built of large boulder-like stones, mismatched and misfit into a grand entry, which had a proper front door flanked by windows, and a gabled roof with a copper weathervane that had a crescent moon in place of the usual rooster. At the northwest corner of the house, the porch started and curved around the side of the lodge, following the same path as the river. Finally, Darcy’s eyes returned to the bridge again. This wasn’t so much a house as a compound.
Darcy breathed in deeply, comforted by the familiar earthy smells: pine, dampness, and rotted wood, accompanied by the warm smell of smoke from his fireplace. Leaves rustled gently in the early evening breeze, and she heard squirrels chittering as they scrounged for their dinners. A tapping in the distance bespoke a woodpecker hard at work, and the river gurgled musically, moss-covered slippery rocks detouring its path, rewriting its journey.
“Jack,” she finally murmured. “This is beautiful.”
He had been watching her intently, and she shivered under his scrutiny. He seemed soawareof her. His eyes swept down, lightly resting on her chest before returning to her face.
You’re beautiful.
She smiled at him, shaking her head gently, feeling a blush warm her cheeks.
“You like it?” he asked. “My house?”
She nodded, and he beamed at her as though her approval meant more to him than anything else in the world. She had never seen his eyes so unguarded. His face was so open and pleased, she was sure she saw shades of the little boy he must have been once, a long time ago. Her heart suddenly felt full with tenderness for the strange, captivating man before her, and she reached her hand up to touch his face, about to caress his cheek, when she caught herself. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, then lowered her hand quickly, taking a breath and looking away from Jack at the lodge.
“What’s not to like? It’s out of a dream. It’s the most amazing place I’ve ever seen.”
“I wanted you to like it.”
“Why?” she asked, smiling at him.
“Just did.” He shrugged, and she thought she saw a little awkwardness in his wobbly grin. “Want to see the rest?”
“Absolutely!”
He started toward the main lodge, but Darcy gestured to Amory’s garage.
“Maybe start with my brother’s work? He’s sure to ask me what I think.”
She wasn’t sure because it was so brief, but she thought she saw a mild wariness cross over Jack’s face before he gave her a tight smile. “The garage?”
“If that’s okay?”
