“I’m sure you will be. You’re going to be an amazing mother, Aspen.” I hate like hell that I can’t hold his hand or touch him right now, not with that damn sling on his body.
“We’re going to be amazing parents, period,” I reply as the GPS tells us we’ve reached our destination.
“Look at all that land for our little one to play on, Aspen.” The awe in Jasper’s voice is contagious as my own eyes take in the front porch, the large pillars. It needs more work on the outside than we could see on the pictures, but the land and the statement of the house alone are worth it.
“Oh my God, Jasper. Are you sure we can afford this?” We talked about our finances. We both have some money put away, Jasper more than me because I have to keep so much for Vintage Threads in a separate account. He told me he’d use his nest egg as the down payment to keep our payments as cheap as possible, and we could use what I have saved for the renovations that are needed the most first.
“Wildflower, I wouldn’t have even suggested it if we couldn’t. Come on, let’s go check it out.” Jasper called the realtor he’s known since childhood. He gave us the lockbox code and just asked that we lock up once we’re done.
“Alright.” We get out and walk up the sidewalk, checking what needs to be done right off the bat.
“I think some cleaning and painting on the outside is all that I’m seeing,” I suggest.
“Definitely,” Jasper agrees as we walk up the steps. The porch is massive, enough room to sit out in the evenings, drinking a glass of sweet tea, a porch swing swaying while we watch our kids play on the fourteen acres surrounding the house.
“I don’t need to see the inside. I’m already sold,” I’m not even joking. The pictures online showed a lot, and I was prepared for the inside needing paint and the floors refinishing.
“Yep, I am too, as long as there isn’t anything structural going on with it. Everything else we can fix as we go.” Jasper opens the front door, and my jaw drops as I take in the wood floor, the casings that surround the doorways, and the staircase. It’s beautiful even though it does need some work. We make our way through the rest of the house, taking it all in. Everything seems to be in good working order, minus the downstairs bathroom, where the shower needs to be gutted. It’s not like we’ll need that right away.
“I’m ready to put an offer on the house. Think we can get it for a bit less? I mean, I know it has the pool and a covered outdoor kitchen, but I’m worried about the can of worms that might open up when we start to renovate that bathroom. And refinishing all of the wood is going to cost more than I think we assumed. I’d like to say we could do it ourselves, but that’s not very feasible,” I’m rambling while walking around the foyer, the woodwork surrounding us.
“Wildflower, baby, come here.” Jasper stops me in my tirade.
“What?” I spin around. He’s sitting on the stairs. Jasper is in need of a haircut, but I have to admit I’m loving the longer locks. The white shirt he struggled to put on this morning shows off his upper body and those arms I love to have wrapped around me. Don’t even get me started on his jeans, worn in all the right places, and he’s wearing a pair of slip-on boots.
“You’re gorgeous when you’re in a tizzy,” he tells me. My eyes are still roving over him.
“And you’re the most devastatingly beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on.” I walk towards him. Jasper’s good arm reaches out, bringing me into the comfort of his body.
“Men aren’t beautiful, wildflower. But I love it just the same. I didn’t formally ask you to be my wife. I think you know me well enough by now to know that when I want something, there will be nothing stopping me. Not our age difference, not the fact that you’re class, and well, I’m not. I’m a dirty oil rigger. Our life isn’t going to be easy. You’ll feel like you’re pulling the weight when it comes to our children and the house. I promise you this though, there won’t ever be a day when I won’t love you or our children. I’ll bust my ass to make sure you know just how worthy I am of both of you.” His hand moves to my lower belly, where our baby is growing.
“Jasper, don’t say shit like that. You’re worth so much more than you give yourself credit for. It’s you and me against the world. I’m sure it’ll be hard, but we’ll always be in it together.”