The Wanted Short Stories(30)
Author: Kelly Elliott

“I know what you’re thinking. We’ll make new memories.”

I slowly nodded my head as Josh led me out the door and to his truck.

An hour later, we were pulling up to a ranch that was one hundred acres. It was just down from the Mathews’ cattle ranch.

“Wow. We’re just down the road from Ellie, Ari, and Jessie!” I jumped out of the truck and followed Josh over to where Patty was standing.

“What do y’all think?” Patty asked.

I looked out over the beautiful Texas hill country. It was breathtaking.

“If this was my place, I think I’d want the house right here for an almost three-sixty view of the whole ranch,” Patty said with a huge grin.

Josh and I looked at each other.

Could this really be it? It’s the first place we’ve looked at.

I had the most overwhelming feeling of peace come over me. Seeing this place first was almost like it was meant to be.

“It just came on the market this morning. Y’all are the first to look at it.”

The smile that spread across Josh’s face made me chuckle.

“A sign?” Josh asked.

“I’d say.”

He tilted his head and narrowed his eyes at me.

I nodded my head and said, “Yes.”

Josh quickly turned around and faced Patty. “Let’s put an offer down on it.”

Patty’s sweet smile faded. “Huh?”

“An offer, Patty. Full price. I don’t want to miss out on it.”

“Oh, um…well, um…y’all don’t want to look at any of the other listings?”

Josh shook his head. “Nope. This is it.”

“Okay. Well, let me call the seller’s agent and let her know that a full-price offer is fixing to come through.”

Josh clapped his hands together and did a little jump. When he turned back to face me, I ran into his arms and wrapped my legs around him, and then he spun us around. When he stopped, I looked into his eyes and knew he felt it, too.

“Welcome home, Princess.”

It was almost as if my father had spoken through Josh. I didn’t even attempt to hold back my tears. In this moment, I knew what was happening was meant to be. We were going to start our new life here on this hilltop.

Patty laughed. “All right, kids, let me call the selling agent, and then we will head back to the office.”

“Okay, Patty.” Josh set me down and placed his hands on my face. “I feel it. Do you feel it?”

I slowly nodded my head and bit down on my lower lip to keep from crying harder.

“Our kids are going to grow up in the most beautiful place. They’ll have so much room to run around.”

I tried to speak, but I couldn’t. I looked out over to the west. We would have the most amazing views of the sunset. I closed my eyes, and I could picture myself sitting on a porch swing, watching Libby and Will playing. When I opened my eyes, I saw something moving. I focused on a buck walking across the open field. He stopped and looked at me as I stared at him.

I turned to Josh. “Josh, look at the buck.” I glanced back and pointed, and then I dropped my hand.

He was gone. I quickly scanned the area for him.

“What buck, babe?”

I slowly shook my head. “He was…right there. Didn’t you see him? He was huge.”

“Nope, I didn’t see him at all. I’m sure we will see a ton of deer out here. I can’t wait for the kids to see all the wildlife.”

I smiled slightly as I looked around. Josh began talking about building a tree house and where we could put a pool in if we ever wanted one. I laughed as he began planning everything out. I peeked back over to where I had thought I saw the buck, and there he was again, standing in the same exact spot as before. I smiled as he turned away from me and began walking into the tree line.

Yes, this is definitely home.

Heather and I sat down at our table at the Rose Hill restaurant. I didn’t think either one of us had stopped smiling since we signed the offer on the land in Mason.

“I still can’t believe the seller accepted the offer so fast,” she said.

I smiled and nodded my head. “I know. What do you think about having Jeff or Gunner design the house?”

“I think that’s a wonderful idea!”

The waitress walked up, smiled at Heather, and then turned her whole body toward me. “Good evening. Welcome to Rose Hill. May I start you out with a glass of wine?”

“I’ll just take a Coors Light if you have it.” I glanced over to Heather.

She said, “I’ll have the same.”

The waitress never once stopped smiling at me. “Are you here celebrating anything special?”

She moved her eyes up and down me and then stared straight at my lips. I quickly looked away and smiled at Heather, who grinned warmly back at me. I leaned forward and reached for her hand.

With my hand on top of hers, I said, “Yes. My beautiful wife and I are celebrating how very much in love we are.”

Heather shook her head slightly as she narrowed her eyes at me and grinned.

The waitress took a step back. “Wonderful. I’ll bring your drinks as well as two glasses of water over shortly.”

“Thank you so much,” Heather said as she continued to look into my eyes.

When the waitress walked away, I sat back.

“I can’t take you a restaurant without waitresses flirting with you, can I?”

I let out a laugh as I watched Heather lean back in her chair.

“Have you heard from your mom yet?”

I pulled out my cell phone and checked it. “Nope. You want to text her, or should I?”

“Nah. I’ll send her a quick text.”

Heather typed out a message to my mother as the waitress returned with two beers and two glasses of water. We placed our dinner order, and then we immediately began talking about ideas for the house.

“It has to be a two-story home, but this time, we’ll be on the first floor, and the kids will be on the second.”

“I completely agree,” I said. I smiled when an older waitress set my salad down in front of me.

“I’m also thinking we should have a game room for the kids to play in upstairs.” Heather let out a small squeal. “Oh my gosh, just think, we can twin-proof this bitch good!”

I laughed and took a bite of my salad. “How many bedrooms? I’ll need an office for sure.”

Heather smiled. “Four bedrooms, one being for guests. Oh, Josh, you can finally build the shop you desperately need.”