“I have no information on this house.”
Violet remarks from the back seat, her frustrated tone giving me far too much permission to make this deal one the owners couldn’t refuse. I had no problem leaving her with a more modest realtor fee, more work with fewer zeros.
Three other cars were parked in the drive, two with the same credentials as mine. I’d returned my rental ten seconds after the truck delivered one of mine from New York. Josh had taken care of the paperwork, making sure the fluids and tires had been checked. Harper hadn’t bothered to show her opinion, it was evident having money and material things meant nothing to her.
“This was all forest the last time I was out here.”
“You want to go inside or stay out here walking down memory lane?”
Not waiting for Violet, I took Harper's hand once again, following the sign on the door, which read come on in. We entered into a foyer which would make my mother green with envy, spying dual staircases running along the sides of the room. Wrought iron banisters filled with ornate flourishes gave dimension to the railing, giving the room a modern feel. What I assumed were the owners of the cars outside, stood with noses buried in cell phones, missing the beauty of the home surrounding them.
A slender woman stood off to the side, her hands clasped together in front of her, the lack of attention from the meanderers creating a wrinkle between her eyes. She swayed back and forth a few times before she noticed we are here. Violet is still trying to find the information on this house on her cell phone. The woman’s eyes light up as she sees we are looking at the house and not our Facebook pages.
“Welcome to our open house.”
Crossing the room, a colorful flier in her outstretched hand.
“If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask.” I appreciate her smile and lack of excessive sales pitch. It shows she is confident in the house itself and not all the fluff it comes with.
As reluctant as Harper was to come along today, her mood changed as she ignores everyone and takes off to explore the rest of the house.
“Almost four-thousand square feet.”
“The sprinkler system is on a well.”
“Appliances new and still under warrantee .”
Harper rattles off the points on the flier, her eyes filled with excitement. I assume this is what impressed looks like on her. I like it, I like it a lot, and I will find a way to see it plenty more in the future.
“Oh my, God, Logan!” Her eyes grow huge as she spins around in the middle of what I assume is the dining room by the massive table and chairs in the center of the room. “It has a whole house generator.” Her voice jumps a few octaves as her impression of this home increases.
“Which is good, why?” I tease, knowing full well why this is a huge selling point,
“Hurricanes, nasty things. They can leave you without power for days.”
Harper moves across the room without waiting for any input from me. I let her go, keeping her swaying ass in my line of sight. I don’t give a shit which house she chooses, as long as she sleeps in the bed beside me every night.
The dining room leads to the kitchen, it's décor more breathtaking than the entry. Harper is running her hands up and down the granite surface like she was stroking the face of a newborn baby. Off to the left is a set of French doors giving me a view which makes me stop in my tracks.
A wooden deck, large enough to throw one hell of a party, with a built in grill and what looks like an outdoor kitchen. A crystal clear pool sparkles just past the deck furniture and the body of the lake I first saw out front, which stretches along the entire length of the house.
Out of the corner of my eye, I catch movement at the edge of the deck and see a tall man with a glass of what I assume is beer resting along the wooden rail. I suspect this is the owner, and by the way his hair is cut short and the way he wears his clothes, this man is an officer.
“Excuse me, sir.” He doesn’t turn at first, and I wonder if he heard me. “Are you the owner?” He is my height, with significantly less muscle mass, yet he has spent some time in the gym. Glancing over his shoulder, patches of gray dust the area above his ears, placing him somewhere in his middle ages.
“I am.”
“May I ask you a few questions?”
Picking his glass up and bringing it to his lips, I allow him to have a moment before I continue. I recognize the look he has, I’ve had it myself for the past few months, looking off into the distance for the one who holds my heart.
“Sure.”
“Logan Forbes.” Holding out my hand, inviting him to shake and become acquainted before we go any further.
“Forbes?” He questions suspiciously, a firm grip to his handshake and direct eye contact maintained even though he is sizing me up.
“You wouldn’t be a Lieutenant by chance?”
“Depends.”
“Good answer, Lieutenant. I’m Captain Vale, your new commanding officer.”
“Pleased to meet you, sir. A little unorthodox, but still a pleasure.”
Vale gives me the once over, the wrinkles around his eyes tracking the movements as he forms his opinion. I can still see Harper in the kitchen, opening drawers and getting more excited with each discovery.
“Your wife?”
“Not yet, but I’m working on it.”
I turn to lean my back against the railing, mimicking Vale’s stance. I don’t have to ponder what his impression of me is, suspecting how much my old command filled him in, like a jaded lover meeting the new girlfriend in a public bathroom. Ready and willing to spill all the dirty secrets.
“Your reputation precedes you, Lieutenant. Although, I’m not sure I believe everything I’ve heard.”
“Smart man, sir. I’ve found the legend is always better than the man.”
“So you didn’t buy your way into my clinic?”
“Buy it? No. Trade a favor? Yes.”
“And does this favor have a price tag?”
“Sir, my father is a doctor in New York, he travels the world over trying to help the less fortunate. A few years ago, a friend of his came to him with a medical issue. He helped with treatment, and the friend wanted to repay him. I called in the favor.”
“What about how you blew up a mountain?”
“Oh, that one is true. Killed one of the most ruthless men of all time in the process.” I admitted, although I wasn’t about to drop the name, let him search around and come to his own conclusion. “So why are you selling if you’re still stationed here?”
Vale took another swig of his beer, his face contorting as he tossed the remainder of the cup into the grass at the edge of the deck.
“My wife and I built this house so we could retire. She was a consultant for the government on environmental issues and fell in love with this stretch of land. We purchased thirty acres of forest and had this house built. I had two years left on my contract, and we spent that time building what we considered our dream home.”
He paused when the combination of a giggle-scream came from Harper when she found the hot water spigot above the cooktop.
“Two months ago, she got a call from an organization in Hawaii, wanting her to come out there and work with them. At first, she refused, swearing up and down this is where she wanted to be. They called back a week later, offering to have the both of us come and enjoy the island on their dime as they showed her what they needed her for. Three days later, she comes charging into our hotel room with the biggest smile on her face, her feet barely touching the floor as she starts begging me to consider moving to Hawaii. I was hesitant at first, reminding her of the beautiful house we had finally moved into. But she turned it around on me, reminding me of all the places I’ve dragged her off to over the years. How many projects she has left in the middle of to join me. She had supported me all those years, and now it was time for me to do the same for her.”
“So you came home and stuck a for sale sign in the front yard?”
Shaking his head back and forth, the ire of a humorous laugh escaping his chest. “Not exactly.”
Crossing my arms over my chest, slightly intrigued as to where this was headed. Did his wife decide to follow her dreams, leaving him in this massive house alone? I remained quiet as he crossed the deck to the bar area, pulling back on one of the beer taps.
“We came home and called a realtor, I went to my office and started the process for change of charge. Gail accepted the position and flew back out the following weekend leaving me to sell the house. What we assumed would be a quick sale has become a game of show and tell. Most of the people who look at the house find something wrong with it, mostly the lack of iron gates and a rent-a-cop to greet them when they come home.”
Holding up his fresh beer, “Can I offer you one, Lieutenant?”
“No thank you, sir.”
Harper sticks her head out the door, I want to pull her in beside me, but the look on her face is making me hopeful. She glances from Vale to me and then motions she is going upstairs. I nod my head in agreement as I wait for Vale to finish filling his cup.
“We’ve reduced the price twice, and my retirement day is fast approaching.”
Taking a long sip from his cup, I can understand the frustration he is sharing. More than likely he and his wife have invested their savings into this home, expecting to take it easy for the rest of their lives.
“When do you retire?”
“Three weeks, the Thursday before Khaki ball.”
He announces proudly, not bothering to cover up the smugness of getting to miss the annual event. It was one thing I hadn’t missed while across the pond. Most commands forced you to attend, at least this year I would have Harper wrapped around my arm as I suffered through it.
“And what is the asking price?”
Once he told me the price he needed to sell it for, I climbed the backset of stairs, after Vale showed me the door, which concealed them. As I reached the top, I looked both ways in search of Harper, listening carefully for the sounds of her giggle as she unraveled more things she loved about the house. I found her sitting on the edge of the whirlpool tub in the master bathroom, looking longingly out the windows, which matched the view of the deck below.
“Too bad we don’t have time for a bath before dinner.” Leaning against the doorframe, careful not to startle her. With a smile permanently etched on her face, she looked over her shoulder at me.
“See the fence at the top of the hill?”
Moving closer, my eyes searching for the object she wanted me to see.
“The white one?”
“Yes. It reminds me of the same fence my friend and I used to sit on and talk about—well, everything.”
Harper loved this house, that much was evident by the way she lit up when she walked in. Having her this motivated would make my plans for us so much easier. Besides, I loved the feel of it. Everything about it screamed home to me. Especially the beautiful lady lost in her memories.
“Tell me,” I begin, tugging at a strand of hair laying perfectly against the back of her shirt. “If I were to buy this house, would you consider visiting me?” I wouldn’t scare her with what I wanted or how I had fantasized about having sex with her twelve times since I walked up here.
“Of course I'd come visit you, but only if you let me cook in your kitchen.”
Lowering my face within centimeters of hers, my eyes flashing between hers and our breaths mixing together. “How about spending a night or a weekend?”
“Not immediately, but yes.”
Turning my head to the side and kissing her lips softly,I sent a silent prayer to whatever God was listening. I could work with what she was willing to give me, showing her how devoted and loving I could be. Pulling back from the kiss, not ready to break the momentum burning inside of her. I chuckle to myself as I look into her glassy eyes, drunk from the emotions I put into kissing her.
Pulling out my phone, I place the necessary call. “Josh, it's Logan.” Harper blinks several times; trying to remove the haze I’ve created to distract her.
“I need you to finalize some paperwork for me. All cash, full asking price on the house I’ve just looked at. I'll text you the details.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Harper
I felt an immense amount of guilt for letting my emotions come out and ultimately influencing Logan’s decision to purchase a home. He hardly looked around while we were there, never bothered to lose himself in how the place felt or what he would need to change. I nearly swallowed my tongue when he told Josh to offer full asking price. I had the flier in my hand, the bright red numbers at the bottom of the page a few thousand dollars from half a million.
“I do have some bad news for you.”
My heartbeat quickened in excitement as Logan returned to the table, needing to take a call he said was urgent. I began praying it was an issue with the house, a bidding war or the owner having second thoughts. Tucking my emotions away this time, no need to have them dancing in his face, giving him some signal to buy something else outrageous.
“That was my Captain.”
“Oh?”
“He had one of the corpsmen call me earlier, telling me he wanted to see me Monday.”
“Why, is there something wrong?” Ross had been called back from leave a few years ago. He couldn’t tell us what happened, even when he came back a few months later.
“No, nothing is wrong.” Logan reached across the table, taking the glass out of my hand and wrapping both of his around mine. I'd begun to crave his touch, welcoming his eyes on me. I wanted more, would give anything to be able to break the chains keeping me from letting him in.
“He wanted to have a formal sit down, which would have meant shaving the scruff you love so much. I assumed when he and I met at the house, there would be no need for me to come in. Unfortunately, he wanted me to understand our meeting today and his accepting of my offer had nothing to do with the order he gave for Monday.”
My heart sank a little, my hopes of him getting out of the deal fading like light from a setting sun. “Wait, you bought the house from your new boss?” My brain was finally connecting the dots allowing the words, and emotions, to spill from my lips.
“Yes, he was the man I was speaking with out on the deck.”
Oh that deck, even with the brief amount of time I spent there, I had envisioned friends and family enjoying the pool, Ross burning hamburgers on the grill while Amanda sunned herself as she watched the kids. Cool evening parties enjoyed with a fire roaring in the fire pit as beer from the keg flowed freely. Easter egg hunts, Fourth of July picnics, birthday parties, all celebrated and enjoyed on that deck.
“I introduced myself, he recognized my name, and then told me everything I needed to know about the house.” His deep, blue eyes didn’t betray him, confessing he was telling me the God's honest truth. He may not have searched every nook and cranny, but he took a tour of the house through the eyes of someone who loved it. “He’s eager to join his wife and I know what it's like to miss the woman in your life, which is why I stipulated a ten-day close.”
“You know, Doctor Forbes,” swallowing back the pocket of doubt which had been living in my gut for years, inching closer to the day when I could set it free. “Just when I think I have you figured out, you change the rules on me.”
As Logan drove me home, I let my mind wander over the past few months. This was what it was like to be on the receiving end of generosity. All those letters and packages I’d shared over the years, gave me as much joy as the ones who opened the lid. I never imagined what it was like to arrive at the end of the journey and find the beautiful gift of all-consuming love waiting for you. Somewhere along the line, I’d convinced myself I could never have a life like this, one filled with so much joy you practically drowned in it. Now that I found it, had it firmly in my grasp, I would treasure every minute and celebrate every day I was allowed to remain.
“Harper, I’m going to pick up some
thing to eat and will be back in ten minutes.”
Avery was a puddle of anticipation, with her wedding eight days away and her family arriving tomorrow night, she was burning the candle at both ends. She had requested to take a few weeks off for her honeymoon; she and Cole had reservations at a hotel on the beach somewhere, with no plans of ever seeing the ocean.
“Take your time. Sarah will be back soon and then I’ll take a break.”
“You want me to bring you something back?”
“No, I have something already, but thanks.”
“Okay, but if you change your mind, I have my cell on me.”
Avery slung her bag over her shoulder, turning swiftly and heading out the door, the bell clanging against the glass from her overzealousness. I stifled a laugh as I watched her nearly plow down a number of people on the sidewalk. This afternoon posed to be a busy one as the annual Khaki ball was a week away. Sarah had been flooded with wives and girlfriends needing her expertise, her reputation for her sewing skills a local legend.
With Logan still on leave, I had breathed a little easier when Ross told me he shouldn’t be required to attend. He hadn’t mentioned it, which I was glad as it was the same night as Avery’s wedding and I had accepted her invitation weeks ago before I knew Logan was moving here. He had been so busy between opening the gym, The Fitness Factory, and moving into his new house, we haven’t had much time to talk.
I’d recently contacted a friend of mine who worked as a buyer for one of the chain stores here in Virginia. She had one of her staff put back a sample dress from last season for me, marking it down to a price which made me feel as if I was stealing it from her. Sarah nearly fell out of her chair when I brought it to her, as it needed four inches taken off the hem. She made me swear to leave it to her in my will after I died.
“Excuse me?”
I’d managed to get lost in the daydream of new dress ownership and failed to hear the sound of a customer coming in. Looking in the direction of the voice, I found an Amazon beauty standing just inside the door. Long, blonde hair so thick I bet she broke a comb or two brushing it. Toned and clear skin that reflected a rigid diet or expensive salon visits. Dressed head to toe in cream, highlighting the tan of her skin which was most definitely achieved from a spray and not a weekend at the beach. She was a walking advertisement for Prada, and I bet everything was the current season.
Operation SEAL: Book Two Trident Brotherhood Series Page 25
