They’d first seen it in the spring and Flora had fallen in love with the orchard, the fruit trees heavy with blossom. Jack had immediately seen its potential and earmarked the old barn as office space. He’d spent long hours on the phone with Todd, discussing how they could turn it into a modern space while protecting the original features and character.
Even with all the technology he planned to install, Jack would still have to spend some time in the city, and his skills were increasingly in demand in places farther afield but he intended to pick and choose the jobs so that he could be at home as much as possible.
The Brooklyn house had sold quickly and the new owners had opted to buy most of the furniture.
Jack had insisted that this was a fresh start and that they should furnish it together. They’d picked out sofas although they weren’t arriving for another week and Flora had started painting canvases to hang on the walls.
Molly had already decided she wanted a horse-themed bedroom, complete with a stable door. Together with Flora, she and Izzy had gone through all the photographs of their mother and picked out their favorites to have in their rooms.
Remembering how much her photographs of her mother had meant to her, Flora was pleased to see it. Becca was just part of their story now, not their whole story, and so much of their story lay ahead.
She stepped through the open French doors onto the wide porch. Jack had insisted she take the keys and she held them tightly, until they left an imprint in her palm.
Home.
She could hear the girls laughing and bickering through the open windows, caught the words I’m going to tell Flora, and smiled because it all felt so normal and she’d never thought that this would ever be her life.
She stood, absorbing the moment and details of their new home.
There was a rocking chair on the porch and a two-hundred-year-old maple shaded the garden nearest to the house.
Jack was already talking about putting in a swimming pool, and Flora had plans for an organic herb garden and flower beds. Outside the breakfast room was a section of land that she planned to turn into the vegetable garden.
Jack stepped up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “
We can go and test the master suite if you like. At least we have beds, even if we do have to sit on floorboards for another week.”
She smiled, anticipating their first night there. The huge windows looked out across the river toward the Catskill Mountains. The previous owner had described the sunsets as sublime.
She turned. “I don’t care where I sleep, as long as you’re there, too.”
“Daddy?” Molly hollered from upstairs. “There’s a paddock. Can I have a horse?”
“Say no,” Izzy yelled. “No one is ever getting me near a horse again. I don’t want to feed it, or groom it, but most of all I don’t want to ride it.”
Jack glanced at Flora. “Still want to be part of a family? You haven’t changed your mind?”
Why would she change her mind? “Everything I ever wanted is right here.”
“Hey—” He frowned and took her face in his hands. “What’s wrong? Are you upset?” He brushed her cheeks with his thumb. “I can take just about anything life throws at me, but not you crying.”
“They’re happy tears.” She sniffed. “I was just thinking, that’s all.”
“About what?” He always listened to her. Always paid attention. Tried to make her happy in a thousand tiny ways.
“About all those days and nights when I felt lonely. I’m wondering if maybe feeling that way is making me appreciate this even more.”
He wrapped her in his arms, holding her tightly. “Honey, I predict there will come a time when you’d kill for a lonely moment.”
She laughed, knowing he was probably right, but also knowing that there would never come a time when she took this for granted. “I can’t believe this is my life.”
“You’ll believe it when the girls are fighting.” But he lowered his mouth to hers, unable to help himself, his kiss urgent and impatient. She kissed him back, her arms wrapped tightly round his neck even though he didn’t seem likely to stop anytime soon. His mouth devoured hers, the erotic slide of his tongue driving all thought from her head. When he finally lifted his head it was so that he could murmur words that made her blush. She loved the time they spent as a family, but she also looked forward to the time they spent alone.
“We may not be in the bedroom—” he kissed his way along her jaw “—but how would you feel about a kitchen counter? I’m reliably informed that it’s soapstone, which probably makes it a vastly superior option to the bed anyway if not quite as comfortable.”
She was so desperate for him she might even have gone along with his suggestion, but fortunately part of her was still functioning and she heard the thunder of footsteps on the stairs.
“Kitchen sex will have to wait.” She pulled away and straightened her clothes a few seconds before Molly charged into the room.