Wild and Free (The Wilder Brothers)

“Being an only child was lonely growing up,” I said.

“That’s one thing I never experienced much of growing up, whether I wanted to or not,” he said, chuckling.

“Trust me, it’s not fun. Especially as a teenager.”

“Are you lonely now?”

I sat there and gazed into his eyes as a soft smile fell across my cheeks.

“No. I’m not.”

“Good. Because a beautiful woman like yourself should never feel lonely,” he said.

A blush tinted my cheeks as I looked down at my feet. I couldn't believe he was there, but to find out he was restoring this beautiful place made me feel things I couldn’t blame on the small amount of alcohol I had consumed. I drew in a deep breath before I panned my gaze back over toward the window, taking in the music that thumped underneath us.

“How long has this home been here?” I asked.

“Since before the Civil War,” Lucas said.

“Does anyone live here?”

“Not as of yet. I know there are some people interested in purchasing it, but we need to restore it first before it’s listed and advertised.”

“How long does it usually take all of you guys to restore a home like this?”

“A month? Two, tops if the weather doesn’t go our way,” he said.

“Do you guys specialize in anything? Or do all of you know it all?”

“The latter,” he said, grinning.

“Ah, so a bunch of know-it-alls. I bet that made for an interesting childhood.”

Lucas chuckled again and the sound weakened my knees. “You could say that,” he said.

“For a place that isn’t lived in, there’s a beautiful garden out back,” I said.

“The house is still owned and tended to on the outside. It simply isn’t lived in. There’s a gardener, a landscaper, and an all-around facade-cleaner.”

“A what?” I asked.

“That’s what I call them. It’s a couple that comes and tends to the rest of the edifice of the home and the accoutrements of the place.”

“Oh, sounds fancy. What kind of accoutrements?”

“Like the in-ground pool and the hot tub.”

“There’s an in-ground pool and a hot tub that’s kept up even though no one uses it?”

“Want to take a walk and see them?”

I gazed up into his eyes again and saw a playfulness that drew me in. His stature was massive. Looming, but not in a predatory way. It made me want to go with him. I enjoyed talking with him, but I knew someone would find this staircase and stumble up to us eventually.

But if we got lost in the garden…

“The garden is one of the only parts of the home that has truly survived the times. There are flower patches and bushes back there that have continuously sprouted since the Civil War. There are trees that line the property at the far edge that backdate even the house itself,” he said.

“Then I’d love to see it all.”