She huffed. “Figures you’d take the one with its own bathroom.”
“What can I say?” I shrugged and waved my arm at her when we got to the front door. “It’s my house. I get to choose first.”
“Fine.” She placed her hand on her hip. “Then I want the second biggest one.”
I held my hand out for her to shake and tried to keep my grin at bay. “Deal.”
She shook my hand, her gaze not moving from mine. “No take-backs.” With that, she let go, spun around, and ran down the hallway and toward the kitchen, shouting, “I’ve got my room picked out!”
I couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped. There was no stopping Belle. She always knew what she wanted, and got exactly that one hundred percent of the time. She was a force to be reckoned with.
“You need to sign for this,” a gruff voice said from behind me.
I turned around, coming face-to-face with one of the men who had carried in the supplies for the kitchen. It was more expensive than I’d anticipated to get exactly what I wanted, but thanks to the payout I’d received, I was able to afford it.
I didn’t want to think about why I’d been given a payout. I didn’t want to think about what I would have preferred instead of the money. I didn’t want to go back to that night, not right now, not when I was holding a pen in my shaky hand about to sign the form to confirm they’d delivered the right things.
Once I’d scribbled my name, I handed the form back to him and then headed into the kitchen. Dad was already checking what they’d delivered as he spoke to one of the guys.
“Should have it all done by Tuesday. Water needs to be turned off until then.”
Dad nodded and pushed his hand through his slig
htly graying hair. It had only appeared over the last couple of months, a few strands around his temple, but I thought it suited him.
“Sounds good to me,” I said, and stepped forward, my attention focused on Dad and his dark-brown eyes. “I can get the bathroom stripped out in the meantime while the walls dry.”
“Whatever you want, son.” He stepped toward me, his face nearly level with mine. There was a time when he’d towered over me, but I’d soon caught up, and I was now an inch taller than him. “The guys and I will help any way we can.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I smiled and gazed around the room. It was an empty shell right now, but I was hoping it would be all finished by the end of the month, and I could actually move in. Time couldn’t go by fast enough.
“Cade!” Lola shouted from somewhere in the house. “Get your butt up here!”
Lola rarely shouted, but when she did, you knew you were in trouble. Dad and I both hesitated, neither of us wanting to be in the firing line.
“You first,” Dad said, holding his arm out.
“Nu-uh”—I shook my head—“she’s your wife. You first.”
“Brody! I know you’re down there too!”
“Shit,” Dad cursed. He stared at me for a beat and then moved forward.
I followed him out of the kitchen and down the hallway toward the front door. The stairs sat opposite the door, right in the middle of the house. I loved the layout we’d created. From above, it almost looked like a lowercase n. The living room was to the left, the dining room to the right, and the kitchen was at the back, connecting it all. The rooms flowed into each other, exactly how I’d wanted it.
Upstairs was a different story. You were immediately greeted with the smallest bedroom, and next to that a bathroom. If you veered off to the left, you’d head into the master bedroom that looked out onto the backyard, but if you headed to the right, you’d get to what was now Belle’s bedroom.
“Darlin’,” Dad greeted. “What’s with the shouting?”
Lola had her hand on one side of her hips and Asher on the other as she stood in the middle of the empty room. Her dark-brown hair rolled down her back in waves and whooshed to the side as she turned and pointed at the wall. “Look at what your daughter has done.”
We all turned to face the wall that had Belle’s Room written in big, black letters. A chuckle was working its way up my throat, and I had to do everything I could to keep it down.
“What?” Belle asked. “It’s the truth.”
“She’s right,” I said, stepping toward Belle. “I said she could have this room.”
“That doesn’t mean she can draw on the walls!” Lola groaned and let a squirming Asher down. He ran right to me, and I picked him up and threw him in the air. He clutched me around the neck, laughing.