by Vega, W. H.
“That’s fine, Daddy, and you know you don’t have to ask me that. This is your house. In fact, I think that’s great.”
“Well, you’re still living here and I want to be respectful of you. Probably won’t happen until after the holidays. That’s too much of a pain to deal with now.”
“Sure. Well I’m happy for you, Daddy.” I smirk at him.
“What?”
“I guess you’re not doing things traditionally.”
He gives me a rueful look. “I know, I know. I gave you a bunch of crap about doing things properly. But I’m old, and I already did things properly. I don’t know if I’ll ever get married again.”
I burst out laughing. “It’s fine, Daddy. I was only teasing you! I know it’s different.”
“But you’re right. I should be practicing what I preach.”
“Really, Daddy, it’s fine!” I look at the clock, and even though it’s not even nine o’clock, I’m beat. “I think I need to go to bed,” I admit, yawning.
“Of course! Sorry, sweetie! I forgot how tired you must be!”
“It’s alright. I just need a good night of rest, that’s all.”
My daddy stands and gives me a kiss.
“So glad to have you home for a few days, Paige.”
And I realize that I’m glad to be home with Daddy. Our relationship sure has come a long way.
Nineteen
Blake
I drive over to pick Paige up late Wednesday morning, and I have to hand it to Cici for being able to show us two houses the day before Thanksgiving. We had originally planned to look at three houses, but today didn’t work for one of the owners. We may be able to look at it on Sunday morning, but that will probably depend on the state of Paige’s grandmother and how things are shaking out that day. We had to be back on the RV early Monday morning to resume the tour.
Paige is waiting for me at the front door, and I don’t even get a chance to get out of the car before she’s hopping in the passenger seat.
“Hey baby!” she says happily, leaning over and kissing my cheek.
“Hey! You seem happy.”
“I am happy! We’ve got five days off, we’re going to look at houses, I get to spend a holiday with you, and they’re bringing Grandma out of her coma today. I know it’s going to be a good day.”
Her mood is infectious, and I find myself feeling just as happy and light as Paige. I think about the engagement ring that’s now sitting in the top drawer of the dresser in my room at my parents’ house. I had really wanted to propose to Paige this weekend, but it's certainly bad timing with everything going on with her grandma.
“I can’t believe Cici was able to get us house showings today,” she remarks, brushing a piece of her long blonde hair out of her face. She’s dressed in skinny jeans and tall brown boots, with a long caramel-colored sweater. She’s the perfect mix of sexy and cute today.
“I know. Got to hand it to her.”
When we arrive at the first house, I can tell that Paige is a little put off as we get out of the car.
“What is it?” I whisper, as we walk up the porch.
“It looked like more land in the picture,” she frowns. I have to agree. It’s not that Paige and I want a ton of land, but we definitely want privacy and some property. Especially since we seem to be followed by the paparazzi more and more. I peer over at the neighbor’s house and think that it’s probably too close for what we want.
“Let’s see how we feel about the inside.”
Paige nods and then Cici is pulling the door open to greet us.
“Hey y’all!” she cries cheerfully, hugging Paige and giving me a kiss on the cheek. “This here is Mrs. Clayton,” she introduces as an older woman behind her waves.
“Hi,” Mrs. Clayton says, “I hope you don’t mind that I’m in my kitchen cooking our Thanksgiving meal.”
“Goodness, no!” Paige exclaims, “Thank you so much for letting us tour the house today and on such short notice. We really appreciate it, and we’re sorry for interrupting your cooking.”
“No problem at all,” she says kindly, bustling back into the kitchen.
“Come on, let me show you around,” Cici says, grabbing Paige’s hand. She leads us through the downstairs, which is lovely, but I see that Paige’s face is guarded. The family room has huge windows that look out over an expansive back yard, and I realize that this is where most of the land is located. We tour the upstairs, which consists of five bedrooms and a beautiful attic that can be used as an additional room.
“So you see,” Cici explains as we wrap up, “You really don’t need to do any work to this house. The kitchen is brand new and modernized, and all the bathrooms were updated in the past three years. I know y’all were talking about having a pool, and there’s plenty of room out back to build one.”
Paige nods thoughtfully, but Cici doesn’t miss a beat.
“Let’s go check out the other house and then we still might be able to see one on Sunday.”
We thank Mrs. Clayton for letting us in her home, and then we get in my truck and follow Cici to the next house.
Paige speaks before I can say anything.
“I’m just not feeling that house,” she admits.
“I’m right with you. It was nice and all, but I think we want more privacy, and I found the downstairs a little small.”
“Me too. The upstairs was great, but the office was real tiny, and the basement didn’t have a lot of room. Especially if we want to set up a place to work on our music.”
“Well, we’ve got plenty of time. No rush. That’s why we’re looking so early.”
“I know. I’m really excited to see this next house though,” she says, her eyes shining brightly.
The next house belonged to the family who was moving to the west coast for a job transfer in the spring, so the house wasn’t even officially on the market yet. It was actually a little bit out of our initial price range, but our record sales and ticket sales have been doing so well, that we're pretty confident now that we can afford it. And the house seemed like it had more than enough room for us and a family down the road.
We follow Cici through the packed city, and then into the West End, before making our way towards the affluent area of Belle Meade. This house was just on the outskirts of Belle Meade, which boasted huge mansions, many of them owned by country stars. While the house we were looking at was beautiful, it was a mere cottage compared to the homes of Belle Meade.
We pass a number of long gated driveways, and then arrive at a smaller gated driveway. Cici pulls up and enters a code and the wrought iron gates swing slowly open. I roll my eyes, but look over at Paige who is excitedly bouncing in her seat.
I can’t help but laugh.
We follow Cici up the long driveway, and Paige lets out a little gasp of happiness when the house comes into view.
“Oh, Blake! Look at it!” she exclaims. And I have to admit the house is a beauty.
The house is in the style of a Georgian estate, and it’s nestled among tall trees. The exterior is all large windows and decadent-looking brick.
We get out of the car and Cici is grinning at us.
“I can tell y’all like it already.”
“Let’s see the inside!” Paige says, squeezing my hand.
We follow Cici inside as she tells us that the owners are out of town for the weekend. We walk from room to room and I can tell that Paige is in love with the house because she's practically skipping from room to room. The backyard doesn’t have a pool, but there’s a large screened in porch, with a ceiling made from natural wood that seems to effortlessly blend in with the surrounding trees. And there’s more than enough room for a pool in the future.
The downstairs has more than enough space for us, including an office, playroom and even a small room where we could make music. The upstairs doesn’t disappoint either with five bedrooms, including a huge master suite.
“So, what do y’all think?” Cici asks, as we f
inish up the tour.
I turn to Paige.
“I love it,” she admits gleefully.
Cici laughs. “Don’t worry. Since the other realtor isn’t here, you don’t need a game face.”
“Oops, right,” Paige says catching herself.
“Look, I love it too,” I say to Cici, “but we’re going to need some more information. Like when exactly this family is looking to move, and what kind of timetable they have. And while it’s a great house, I think it’s overpriced. Obviously, we aren’t in any big rush, and the longer we can hold out the better.”
Cici nods. “Tell you what. First thing Monday, I’ll call the realty company that’s supposed to pick up this house, and try to feel them out for more info. I’ll just hint that I may have an interested couple, but one that is equally not in a rush. Then we’ll go from there and see what happens.”
Paige nods eagerly and we walk to our cars to part ways.
“Happy Thanksgiving!” Cici calls as we get in our car.
“Oh my gosh, I loved that house!” Paige squeals as soon as we shut our doors.
“I know! I could tell!”
“Didn’t you love it too?”
“I did. It's a little big though,” I admit.
“I know, I know. It is a bit big. But we can grow into it, right? I mean, if we have a family and stuff.” She suddenly seems unsure.
“Of course I want a family, too.”
She smiles at me. “We would have plenty of room for kids, and space for a guest bedroom or two.” She starts rattling off rooms. “It had a den, an office, a playroom – even a room for our music.”
“I know. It was great. I just don’t want us getting our hopes up on the first house we love. I’ve seen these things fall through before.”
Paige frowns and bites her lip. “You’re right. I shouldn’t be getting this excited. I’m jumping the gun.”
Her phone starts to ring, and she scrambles to pull it out of her purse.
“It’s my mom!” She answers it quickly. “Hey momma, what’s going on?” I can hear the nervousness in her voice. She slumps back into her seat and at first my heart stops, but then I see a huge smile spread across her face. “Oh my god, I’m so happy! That’s wonderful! Oh, Momma, thank goodness!”
I relax and keep my eyes on the road. It sounds like good news.
“Yes! Please keep me posted and if she’s up to talking on the phone, please put her on later!” She lets out a little laugh. “Okay, okay, well then you tell her that I’m going to see her Friday morning!” She nods her head at something her mother says. “Okay….yes, Momma, you too….alright, love you too.” She hangs up the phone and grins at me. “Grandma woke up this morning and she recognized who Momma was and seems to understand that she's in the hospital. She’s not talking yet, and they think she might have some facial paralysis, and maybe even some speech issues, but they’re going to run all kinds of tests today to check everything out.”
“Oh, Paige, I’m so happy for you,” I say, reaching over to squeeze her hand.
“I’m so relieved,” she says, a tear slipping down her cheek, as she quickly wipes it away. “I was so worried. And I felt so bad that I wasn’t up there to help out.”
“Well, you’ll be there Friday, and that’s all that matters.”
“You’re right,” she agrees.
The mood lightens even more so from there, and the wheels in my mind start spinning as we drive back into town. Now that Paige has good news about her grandma, I’m thinking that tomorrow might be the perfect time to ask her to marry me. Now, I just have to figure out how I’m going to pull it off.
Twenty
Blake
We spend the rest of the day running errands and enjoying our hometown. We stop for lunch and then buy a few early Christmas presents.
“Did I tell you that Daisy is going to be moving in with Daddy?” she asks, as I drive her back to her house.
“No. That was fast. But I’m happy for him.”
She smiles. “I thought so, too. He said not until after the holidays.” She fiddles with her hair and looks over at me. “Is your mother sure that I can’t bring anything tomorrow?”
“If she told you not to worry about it, then don’t worry about it, we'll bring some wine. She’s going to be thrilled just to see you.”
“Oh!” she says excitedly. “I forgot! I was thinking that maybe in between your parents’ house and Jami’s house, we could stop by Whitley’s Farm.”
Whitley’s Farm was a huge piece of land outside of the city where every year thousands of Christmas lights were strung up and they offered things such as carriage rides and hot cider.
“It’s on the way to Jami’s house,” Paige explains, looking hopefully at me. Of course, I would be happy doing almost anything Paige asked, as long as I’m with her, but I suddenly get a great idea.
“Sure. I think that would be nice. And you’re right, it’s on the way.”
“Yay!” Paige is beaming, which is incredibly endearing and sexy at the same time.
After I drop Paige off at home, I head back to my parents’ house. My parents have been great about letting me crash while I’m home during the tour breaks, and the house smells of all kinds of good things like pumpkin pie and hash brown green bean casserole.
“Hey Momma,” I call, “Smells good!” I come into the kitchen and give her a kiss on the cheek.
“Hey, Blake. Thanks, honey. How was your day? Did you and Paige see any nice houses?”
“Actually, yes. Both were nice, but we really loved the last one in particular.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah. It’s a little big, and it’s part of Belle Meade, though it’s small by Belle Meade standards.”
My mother raises her eyebrows. “Belle Meade?”
“I know, I know. But it’s nice and secluded. Very private with a gate. Five bedrooms, and room for us to work on our music.”
My mother nods as she stirs a pot of something. “Sounds very nice. And yes, you probably do need the privacy. You and Paige are cropping up everywhere.” She points with the spoon at the Tennessean lying on the kitchen table.
I walk over to the paper and pick it up. There are Paige and I on the cover, holding hands as we walk along a Boston street.
“Front page news,” I murmur, reading the caption.
Nashville’s newest country stars (and hottest romance!) return home from their latest tour for the holiday weekend.
“Who cares?” I ask annoyed, scanning the brief article, which basically details how my band and Paige are “sky-rocketing” to fame thanks to our brilliant new albums.
“Plenty of people care,” my mother says, “and I’m a proud momma!” Her brows crease together as she continues to stir.
“What?” I ask.
“Well, that’s not the kind of publicity you need though with the Devlins still sniffing around.”
“Momma,” I say sternly, “What do you mean still sniffing around?”
My mother gives a little shrug. “I just happened to be at a fundraiser last week, and I overheard Scarlet Devlin complaining to one of her cronies about how upset Savannah has been.” She makes a face. “But I’ve heard that Savannah is doing just fine.” From my mother’s tone, I can tell that she’s also heard the rumors of Savannah’s rampant promiscuity.
“I don’t want to give them any more thought,” I say dismissively. “Besides, after tomorrow, we’re going to have bigger things to worry about.”
“Oh?”
“Yep. Like planning a wedding.”
“What?” my mother screeches, dropping her spoon in her sauce and looking at me. I grin like a fool and nod.
“I’m going to ask Paige to marry me tomorrow.”
“Oh my gawd! Blake that is wonderful!”
“Paige wants to go to Whitely’s after we leave here, so I’m going to do it there. And since her grandmother came out of her coma today, I figured now would be a good time.”
&n
bsp; “Oh, honey, that’s wonderful. Of course, I’m a little disappointed that it’s happening after you leave here.”
Typical mother.
She smiles. “Well, she’ll just have to stop by sometime this weekend so I can see the ring actually on her finger.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll stop by.”
My mother chats on excitedly about wedding planning, and after a few minutes I politely excuse myself back to my room. I pull out the tiny velvet box and leave it sitting in plain sight on my dresser.
Time seems to speed up now that I’ve decided on a definite time to propose, and I spend half the night tossing and turning, trying to think of what I’ll say to Paige when I propose, and how I’ll do it at Whitley’s. Should I propose in front of a beautifully decorated Christmas tree? Or should I do it on a romantic carriage ride among the trees? I hadn’t cared nearly this much when I proposed to Savannah.
Thanksgiving morning dawns cloudy, and that actually makes me happy because that means the lights will look even brighter as they twinkle on the trees at Whitley’s.
I have a quiet breakfast with my parents and then I get myself ready before heading over to pick up Paige and bring her back over.
“Hi! Happy Thanksgiving!” she says, bounding into the car and kissing me firmly on the lips.
“Mmhm. Happy Thanksgiving to you too.”
Paige is dressed in a cream sweater dress with dark tights and brown boots. Her hair is pulled back into an elegant twist and she looks positively glowing.
“How was your morning?” I ask as I pull out onto the road.
“It was good. Daisy slept over and she cooked breakfast, and then we just laid around and watched the parade for a bit.”
“Sounds like my morning too.”
We talk about the house some more as we drive to my parents, and my mother pulls open the door before we even make it to the porch.
“Paige!” she exclaims. “It’s so good to see you, honey!”
Paige hurries up the steps to give my mother a hug, and afterwards my mother pulls away to look at her.
