Life Should Be Beautiful (Summer Lake Silver #12)

Chapter Twenty-Three

Davin rested his hand on the console and waggled his fingers. Alexis laughed as she placed her hand in his. They were on the way to the barn to see the horses and to collect Booker when he finished work. He was loving working there, and Lily had told them that they loved having him around. He was a hard worker, and all the girls – and the horses – had taken a shine to him.

“Do you know if Shayna will be here?” Davin asked.

“I believe so.” She turned to look at him. “And we’re agreed about asking her?”

Davin nodded slowly. “Yeah. I wonder if we should go and see the place for ourselves first – that’s my only hesitation.”

“You think it might not live up to the pictures?”

He shot her a quick smile. “I don’t want to get too carried away. It all seems a little too perfect.”

She laughed. “I know what you mean, but … If we’re going straight over there to see it, perhaps she’ll be able to come with us. We can tell her that it’s only an idea at this point.”

He squeezed her hand. “We can tell ourselves that it’s only an idea, too, but you have your heart set on the place already, don’t you?”

She gave him a guilty smile. They hadn’t seen any properties that were quite what they were looking for when they’d checked the window at the realtor’s office. Then, between having Adam and Evie over on Saturday and going to breakfast at The Boathouse with the whole gang on Sunday, the weekend had gotten away from them. This morning, however, Alexis had called the realtor’s office and learned that they were about to list a property that sounded perfect.

Austin, the realtor, had emailed her the details. She’d shown Davin and called Austin straight back. They had an appointment to view the place at eleven, and she couldn’t wait.

“Honestly? I do. It’s just perfect, don’t you think?”

Davin grinned. “I do, because it is. Right there on the water like that, just down from Adam and Evie – and from Clay’s place. It’s not huge, but we don’t need huge.”

“It’s plenty big enough for what we need,” she said.

“Do you think Booker will want to stay with us or want to go over the garage?”

“I don’t know. I love that we have the option. If I’m honest, I hope he’ll want to stay with us. But that might be selfish. He’s a young man who needs to find his own way in the world.” She smiled. “I love that he has options. If he doesn’t want to stay with us, one of the apartments over the garage is a step toward being independent, but it doesn’t leave him out on his own completely.”

“Do you think Shayna will want the other one?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

Although the house wasn’t huge like so many of the places on the waterfront, it had a very large garage with a second story living space that had been divided into two fully renovated apartments.

Davin smiled as he turned into the driveway at the barn. “I guess we’ll find out soon enough. If she is interested, should we ask if she wants to come with us, then?”

“We should – if she has the time.”

Davin parked by the fence, and as soon as they got out, Mac and Beau came sauntering over to greet them. Mac came straight to Alexis, and she rubbed his nose. Beau hung a little way back, but not too far.

“Hello, sweet boys. You’re putting weight on, aren’t you?”

She laughed when Mac nodded his head as if in agreement. Then she stilled when Beau took a step closer. She looked around, but Davin was hanging back by the truck. She held her hand out, and Beau came closer still. She did her best to radiate calm and all the happiness that she was feeling. She knew that Lily was right about the horses picking up on any tension.

Beau took another step and then another until he was standing beside Mac. He put his head over the fence and to Alexis’s surprise, he cautiously sniffed her face. Her heart felt like it might overflow when he gently moved his velvety lips over her cheek.

“Oh, sweet boy,” she murmured. “Thank you. You’re safe now.”

He dropped his head and blew out a big sigh, then stood calmly beside Mac as she rubbed both their noses.

Davin approached slowly with a big smile on his face. “Was he kissing you?”

She chuckled. “I believe so.”

When he reached her, he rubbed Beau’s ears and said, “I’m glad you’re accepting us, and I don’t blame you – I like kissing her, too.”

Beau blew out a snort, and Mac nodded his head, making them laugh.

“Wow! Look at that!” Booker had come out from the barn and approached slowly. “I guess he listened.”

“To what?” Alexis asked.

“I’ve been telling him how awesome you guys are, and that he’s safe to trust you. I told them how you guys are taking care of me, and how you’ll take care of them, too.”

She exchanged a smile with Davin.

“Hey, guys!” Shayna called.

Alexis tensed as she approached, hoping that Beau wouldn’t get spooked and leave, but to her surprise, he stood quietly and no longer seemed afraid.

“Hey, Shayna.” Davin spoke in a low voice, and Booker smiled.

“I don’t think you need to worry about scaring him away anymore.” He patted Beau’s neck. “You get it now, don’t you, boy?”

Shayna grinned when she reached them. “Isn’t this awesome? Beau’s been getting a little bolder every day, but this …” She clasped her hands together and held them to her heart. “I love it!”

Lily came out of the barn, leading a pony on a lead rope. A little girl was riding the pony, and her smiling parents walked alongside. Lily waved when she saw them. “I’ll be with you soon. We’re just going to get some photos.”

Shayna looked over at them. “She should so charge for that. More and more families are asking to do photoshoots while they’re here.” She grinned and took her phone out of her back pocket. “We should do one for you guys. We need to mark the moment. Stand in close so I can get all three of you with the boys.”

Davin put his arm around Alexis’s shoulders, and she reached for Booker.

“Squat down in front, squirt,” Shayna called. “You’re too tall to make it work.”

He laughed as he got down on his knees in front of them. “If I’m so tall, how come you keep calling me squirt?”

Shayna just laughed while she clicked away.

Alexis rested her hand on Booker’s shoulder and Davin did the same. When he looked up at them with a smile, she felt her throat tighten with emotion.

Davin gave her a squeeze and she could tell that it hit him hard too. They all laughed when Mac shoved his nose between them. Beau hung back a little but stayed close enough to be in the photos.

“Hey, Mary?” Alexis called when she saw the barn manager watching. “Would you mind taking some so that Shayna can be in the picture?”

Shayna came and knelt beside Booker, while Mary snapped what had to be dozens of photos.

When she was done, Shayna took her phone back and held it up so that they could all see. Alexis had to swallow a few times as they looked through all the images. They weren’t all great; someone had their eyes closed or was wearing a goofy expression in at least half of them, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that those photos showed what looked to be a happy little family – complete with their horses.

“Aren’t these awesome!” Shayna exclaimed. “I’ll text them to you.”

“Make sure you send them to me, too,” said Davin.

Booker stayed quiet. He had a phone, but it was a little flip phone. Alexis doubted that he’d be able to receive photos on it.

She touched his shoulder. “We’ll print some off and you can have copies if you want them.”

“Or you can give in and let me get you a phone,” said Davin. “Now that you’ve got your learner’s permit, I’d be happier if I knew you had a phone that can do more. Yours is at least a means to get in touch with us if you need to, but with a smartphone you’d be able to get navigation and more.”

Booker shrugged. “I … maybe …”

Alexis smiled at Davin – that was progress. It was difficult to walk the line between wanting to help the boy, and not trampling on his independence. She thought that they were doing okay so far.

“You can have my old one if you want,” said Shayna. “It’s a prepaid one so you’re not tied into a contract or anything, and it’s old but it’s not from the Stone Age like yours is.”

They all laughed, and the awkward moment passed when Booker quipped, “You think they had phones in the Stone Age? Sometimes I wonder about you.”

~ ~ ~

When he pulled up in front of the house, Davin’s heart was pounding in his chest. From the moment they’d entered the driveway, he’d known – this was it. The place felt like home.

He looked over at Alexis, and she made a face and said, “I’m afraid to say it. You go first.”

His heart pounded even faster – did she hate it? He let out a short laugh; she didn’t, and he knew it. Instead of panicking, he relaxed.

She tugged at his sleeve. “Say something – please! I’m about to burst here.”

He reached over and curled his hand around the back of her neck. He rested his forehead against hers and looked into her eyes as he said, “Welcome home.”

He laughed when she let out a little squeal. “You love it too?”

“I do. This is it, isn’t it?”

She nodded solemnly. “It is. No doubt about it. The only question in my mind is whether we should make a full price offer, or do you think we need to bid above asking or …”

“Slow down a bit. This is Summer Lake, not D.C. Let’s talk to Austin and see what he has to say.”

“Okay, but if we need to bid up to get it, then …”

He squeezed her neck and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Then we’ll do whatever we need to. I agree.”

He looked in the rearview mirror. “Here they come.”

Shayna had been excited to come with them and look around, and Booker had opted to ride over with her. Austin was following them up the driveway.

Davin smiled to himself. There was more than enough driveway to park as many cars as they wanted, and the garage was huge – there was enough space in there for all four of them to park, and a couple of visitors. Apparently, the original owners had built it to have enough room for all their vehicles and to store a couple of boats in the winter as well. There was a dock to moor boats in the summer. He couldn’t wait to see that – or to see Booker’s face when he saw it.

Austin let them inside the house and left them to it. Davin felt bad that Shayna seemed a little uncomfortable around Austin. He knew that they’d gone to school together, but he didn’t know what kind of history they might have.

Austin was a good guy; he didn’t think that Shayna would have had any trouble with him, but she was definitely uncomfortable. Alexis invited her to come inside and look around with them, but she refused. Booker tried too, but she was adamant that she’d wait outside with Austin.

The three of them wandered from room to room, all wearing matching smiles.

“Wow!” Booker exclaimed when they stood in front of the picture windows in the living room. “Look at that view!”

“Isn’t it something?” Davin agreed. The windows looked out onto a lawn that led down to the water’s edge. There was a small beach area and the dock stretched out maybe a hundred feet, with a covered area at the end.

“I reckon you’ll be able to fish from there, bud,” he told Booker.

The kid grinned. “I reckon you’re right! Is this really happening or am I going to wake up soon?”

Alexis patted his shoulder. “It’s really happening. Do you want to see if there’s a bedroom upstairs that you want to claim?”

He nodded slowly. “And you mean it? You guys would be okay if I chose one in here instead of in the garage?

Davin grasped his shoulder. “We’d prefer it if you were in the house with us – that’s the truth – but it’s totally up to you.”

Booker stared at him for a moment then nodded. “I want to stay with you, if that’s okay.”

Davin grinned and pulled the kid into a hug. He held his other arm out to Alexis and squeezed his eyes shut as he held the woman and the boy who’d come to mean so much to him in such a short time.

When they went back outside, Shayna still looked uncomfortable, even though Austin was trying to make conversation. Davin was going to have to ask what the deal was. He knew that Austin was part of a whole gang of friends the same age who all hung out together. Sure, Shayna worked a lot, but he didn’t know why she wouldn’t be friendly with the others in her free time.

“We’re going to look at the garage,” he told Austin.

“The doors to the apartments are inside,” Austin told him. “I’ve unlocked them.”

Davin liked that. If Shayna was going to take one of the apartments, she’d be able to park inside and close the garage doors after her – not have to walk outside and upstairs in the dark. Although, the chances of someone following her here were much slimmer than where she was now.

When they reached the first apartment, he grinned at Alexis while Shayna and Booker looked around.

Apparently, the previous owner had a lot of extended family who came to visit, so they’d added the apartments so that they could have their own space. Each apartment had two bedrooms and one and a half baths. Best of all, they each had a big window in the living area that looked out onto the lake.

Booker investigated eagerly, and Davin wondered if seeing how great the apartment was would make him change his mind.

Shayna walked around more slowly with a dazed look on her face.

“Come see this, Shay!” Booker called from one of the bedrooms.

Davin and Alexis followed her and stood in the doorway while Booker showed Shayna the huge walk-in closet that had a small built-in desk under the window – a window that also looked out onto the lake.

“You should take this one,” Booker enthused. “You can do your homework right here, and the other one will only have a lake view from the living room.”

Tears shone in her eyes as she nodded.

Alexis went to her and put her arm around her shoulders. “Are you all right, sweetheart?”

She nodded rapidly. “I am. This … this is freaking amazing! I … Are you sure you’d let me rent it?”

“Absolutely positive!” Alexis said with a smile.

Shayna glanced at him, and Davin nodded. “You’d be doing us a favor…”

She sputtered out a laugh. “Don’t give me that crap! You guys are doing me a huge favor, and we all know it.”

Alexis laughed with her. “I think we’ll all be doing each other a favor. I think it’ll work out well for all of us. So, what do we say, should we go outside and tell Austin that we want to make an offer?”

Davin chuckled. “Yup, and I’m with you – if we need to bid over asking …”

“No! Don’t do that,” said Shayna.

He gave her a puzzled look. “Why not? Do you know something about Austin that I don’t? You think it’s priced too high?”

“No, it’s not that. Austin’s a great guy, and he’s totally above board. I just mean that the people who own it now are out of towners – they’ll be asking way too much, they always do, and then they have to drop the price a bunch to sell.”

“Good to know,” said Davin. “But you don’t like Austin much?”

“I do. He’s great … I …” She blew out a sigh. “I feel kind of awkward around him, that’s all. It’s stupid. He and his best friend Colt – you know him, he’s one of the sheriff’s deputies – well, that whole group. They’re great people but Colt got back with …” Her eyes grew wide. “You know Cassie.”

Davin nodded; of course he knew Cassie; she was the friend who Zoe came to the lake to visit.

“I kind of asked Colt out just before he and Cassie got back together. They probably never even gave it another thought, but I still feel kind of weird around those guys.”

Alexis, who still had her arm around her, gave her a squeeze. “I’m sure they’ve forgotten all about it.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but dating’s tough in this town and people have long memories.”

Booker laughed. “I told you; you should set up a profile online – widen the net.”

Davin pursed his lips, and Shayna’s cheeks turned pink. “I don’t have time for dating anyway. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that yes, please, if you guys buy this place, I would love to rent the apartment from you.” She checked her watch. “But I need to get going. I’m helping at Violets again today and I need to go and shower the barn off first.”

“I’ll see you at the barn tomorrow,” Booker told her.

“And we’ll keep you updated about this place,” said Alexis. “Oh, and I meant to tell you that I reached out to Eli – he’s the contact I wanted to put you in touch with, the hypnotherapist, and if you can believe it, he’s also the one who Lucky went to see.”

“Wow! It really is a small world. Thanks so much.”

“I’ll let you know what he says when I talk to him. And if we don’t see you before, do you want to come over on Sunday afternoon for backyard time and laundry?” Alexis grinned. “And hopefully by then, planning our move to this place?”

“I’d love to, thank you.” She turned and hugged Alexis.

When Booker stepped closer and wrapped his arms around both women, Davin joined in, hugging them all. He wanted to call out ‘family hug’ – that was what his dad used to do when he hugged Davin and his brothers – but he didn’t know if it’d be too much too soon for this little group that he was coming to see as his family. Instead, he hugged a little tighter and silently promised the three of them that he’d do his best to take care of them.