Page 61 of Winter Vows

Trish glanced up from the mountain of paperwork that was rapidly piling up on her desk just in time to spot Hardy standing in the doorway. Her heart flipped, despite her many warnings to herself that expecting too much from him was a mistake.

“This is a surprise. What brings you by?” she asked.

“I thought you might want to go for a drive.”

“A drive? With all this work to do? I really can’t.”

“You said you wanted to start looking for your own place,” he reminded her. “I had some time this afternoon, so I can take you.”

She had said that, and she really did need to get out of Jordan and Kelly’s hair. The fact that it was a lovely day with just a hint of spring in the air decided her. She tossed aside her pen.

“Let’s do it,” she said, reaching for her jacket. “Where are we going? How many houses can we see? Have you talked to a real estate agent?”

Hardy chuckled. “Here and there, no houses and no, I have not talked to a real estate agent.”

“What do you mean no houses?”

“We’re looking at property.”

“I see. What about the real estate agent, though? Wouldn’t that be more efficient? I can tell them what I want so we don’t waste our time.”

“We don’t need a Realtor for this. I’m going to show you a few things I already happen to know are on the market.”

“Here in town?”

“No. They’re out a ways, beyond White Pines.”

“But that’s so far,” she protested. “It would be much more convenient for me to be right here in town.”

He shook his head. “We can worry about convenience another time, if you decide against these places. Okay?”

Something told her that this meant more to him than he was letting on. She recalled him mentioning that he’d seen some property that he loved. If only to see what sort of place appealed to him, she relented. “I’m game. Let’s go.”

The drive, which realistically would probably have taken her about an hour, took forty-five minutes with Hardy behind the wheel. He was never reckless, but he definitely tested the speed limits.

She figured it was a good thing Jordan’s son, Justin, was the sheriff. Maybe that was what Hardy was counting on.

Or maybe he was simply anxious to get her impression of this property he was being so mysterious about.

Expecting open land or some sort of ranch, she was startled when he turned into what appeared to be a forest of pines. In actuality it was little more than a grove of the trees for which the town had been named. As they bounced over the rutted dirt road carved through it, she felt as if she’d wandered into a completely different world of strong, fresh scents and deep shade.

When they emerged, she realized that the pine trees had been at the top of a rise. Spread out below was a sea of wildflowers just coming into bloom and the same sparkling creek that wandered through the White Pines ranch. It was a pristine piece of land, as perfect as anything her imagination could have conjured up.

She turned and found Hardy studying her with an anxious expression.

“Well,” he demanded. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen,” she told him honestly.

His expression brightened. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”

“Of course not. I can just imagine a wonderful little house built right up there at the edge of the woods with lots of windows looking out on this gorgeous view.”

“A log cabin?” he suggested. “Something that fits into the scenery as if it belonged there? With a wide front porch and maybe stained glass on the door so that when the sun shines in the living room is filled with color?”

She fell into his dream, absorbed it as if every detail were already real. It wasn’t her home he was talking about, but his. He was envisioning something she now knew was a far cry from what he’d had as a child. As enchanted as she was with the setting, how could she even think of taking this place away from him?

“Oh, Hardy, I think you should do it. Build a house exactly like that, right here. It will be incredible.”

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