Chapter 29
Ty couldn’t help grinning at the picture Mitch had just sent.
“He’s the cutest thing on the planet,” he said out loud, though Jacob couldn’t hear him.
They’d both been on the text, along with Mitch’s thankfulness that they’d taken care of his hearing dogs for the past four days since Shepherd had been born.
Ty hadn’t met him in person yet, but Shepherd, Mitch, and Lacy had just been discharged from the hospital, and they would be back at the house soon.
He and Jacob had been there for the past couple of hours, working with the dogs, then cleaning up the house, and making sure lunch would be ready when the now-expanded family arrived.
Then, later that afternoon, Ty had another showing, at yet another farm. This one sat out near Henry and Angel’s place, but Ty almost didn’t want to go. He’d looked at seven properties now, and none of them seemed like they’d ever been inhabited.
Or, if they had been, it had been a while. Or they were too big for him to manage on his own. Or they were completely inaccessible for a single man with a limp and limited use of his left arm.
Which isn’t really true anyway, Ty told himself sternly. He could use his left shoulder, arm, and hand almost normally. He simply felt weaker on that side, and he sometimes didn’t trust himself if he had to carry anything too heavy, bulky, or cumbersome.
He’d learned that very few farms in the Three Rivers area were accessible.
They all had big, wide front porches that required eight to ten steps to reach.
Most were two levels—hardly any single-family ramblers or farm-style houses—and the outdoor property?
Nowhere near accessible. Barns had lips he had to step over, uneven terrain, and disheveled walkways.
After Ty’s last showing a couple of days ago, Jerry had actually suggested he buy a piece of land and build what he wanted. Ty wasn’t entirely opposed to that, except for the fact that it would take longer. A lot longer.
Another picture came in—this time of Mitch and Lacy and Shepherd together—and both Mitch and Lacy looked happier than Ty had ever seen them.
He loved his friends, and he remembered what Mitch had told him: he’d looked for Signs for Success for a long time, bought something he could work with, and then turned it into what it needed to be.
With his smile still on his face from the picture, Ty closed his eyes and prayed that God would lead him where he needed to be too.
He could fix walkways and level land—or pay someone to do it.
While he and Winnie sure had gotten serious fast, Ty could admit he’d started to think more long-term about his life with her.
She had not verbalized any objection to him buying his own farm.
In fact, she’d encouraged him and gone with him on some of the showings when she was able.
Women saw things differently than men, Ty knew that, and he didn’t worry so much about the pantry or the closet or storage or laundry facilities the way Winnie did.
He wanted to be able to plant a garden and live comfortably with his horse and maybe a few more dogs.
And yes, maybe a miniature donkey or two.
“A pygmy goat,” he whispered, because that was what Winnie had teased him with when he’d told her he might have a few other pets in mind.
He immersed himself in the listings, though he had them all memorized at this point. He’d been looking for a few weeks now, and his favorite pastime was to see if something new had come up, though Jerry had told him he would alert Ty the moment he saw anything that suited him.
He looked at the two-story white house in the listing where he would meet Jerry later that day, until the lights flashed in the kitchen and both William and Maven alerted Jacob.
“They’re here,” Jacob said, and Ty got to his feet and followed his friend into the living room, where, sure enough, Mitch carefully led Lacy through the front door while she carried their baby in her arms.
They all radiated pure joy—even the infant—and Jacob laughed as he engulfed his sister and brother-in-law in a hug.
Then he took Shepherd from Lacy like he ran a day care instead of mowing lawns, weeding flower beds, and working with hearing dogs.
Sunshine and Champ sniffed their hearing-dog buddies while Ty stayed out of the way, somehow feeling perfectly at home and definitely out of place at the same time.
When Mitch and Lacy looked his way, he said, Congratulations, you guys. He’s perfect, in flawless sign language.
They both grinned like fools.
We have lunch for you, Ty said, gesturing toward the kitchen.
“Oh, bless you,” Lacy said right out loud, and she stopped at Jacob’s side as he settled onto the couch and handed him a burp cloth. He’ll have to eat soon. Are you okay with him?
Fine, Jacob said, his smile suggesting he was definitely more than fine.
Ty grinned and followed Mitch and Lacy into the kitchen.
I’m sure your family will bring a lot of food, he said. If I know the Glovers at all.
I think Link’s Momma has already been here.
Lacy moved to the fridge and opened it. Yep, look at all these casserole pans.
She closed the fridge, beamed at Ty, and then took the wrapped sandwich Mitch handed her.
“Thank you so much, Tyson. We really appreciate everything you’ve done the last few days while we’ve been gone. ”
“Of course,” he said, speaking and signing, the way Lacy did. “I’m happy to do it.” He bent and patted William’s head. “I really liked having him with me at night.”
Did you? Mitch asked. Maybe I should have you take him more often.
It took Ty a moment to catch up to Mitch’s fast signing, and then he said, If you think he’s ready, I’d love to have him.
Ty didn’t need a full-fledged hearing dog, and he’d learned a lot from Mitch about how to train one. He’d learned so many things since returning to Three Rivers, including being kinder to himself and increasing his patience with everything.
Mitch’s hands flew again, and Ty caught place, but not much else. He grinned and said, You sign too fast for me.
Mitch chuckled, picked up Ty’s phone, and pointed. Looking at this place?
“Oh, yeah. I’m looking at it this afternoon,” Ty said.
Looks nice, Mitch said. At least the sidewalks aren’t all cracked up.
“I didn’t know you were looking for your own place,” Lacy said as she sat at the bar. “That’s great, Ty.”
“It’s not going great,” he said. “I’d really like something one level, but there’s not a lot out there. I want something already on flat ground, with immaculate buildings, no cracked sidewalks, and no trip hazards.”
He grinned at Lacy and picked up his own sandwich. “Wishful thinking, I know.”
“Mitch built the entire academy,” she said. “If there’s something you like about it, you can use the bones to flesh out everything else.”
Ty nodded. “I have a hard time envisioning the flesh.”
“Maybe you should talk to Ruby and Trap,” Lacy said. “Isn’t that what he does?”
“Yeah,” Ty said, thinking it over. “Maybe I should have him come on a few showings with me.”
Lacy nodded encouragingly and took a bite of her sandwich. After she swallowed, she asked, “How are things going with Winnie?”
“Good,” Ty said, and he didn’t even mind the question. “She’s really great.”
“Yeah, we really like her here,” Lacy said. “The students love her.”
She’s very…positive, Mitch said, and he didn’t seem super jazzed about that.
Lacy grinned at him. “He’s happy to have Winnie on board,” she said. “He just acts like positivity is a negative trait sometimes.”
I do not, Mitch said, and Lacy only laughed and shook her head.
Ty grinned at Mitch, because they were definitely cut from more of the same cloth than he was of Lacy’s. Lacy finished her sandwich and said, “I’m going to go feed the baby, and then maybe I’ll lay down for a nap too.”
Same, Mitch said, but he stayed at the counter, though he’d finished his lunch, while Lacy went into the living room. Ty caught her moving through the mouth of the hallway and down toward the master bedroom.
“You want an update on the dogs?” Ty asked Mitch, who nodded.
Ty didn’t much like speaking to Mitch because he felt so inferior in his language skills compared to his friend, but he did his best, and the message got across.
Thankfully, Jacob came in and helped too, and eventually Ty got to his feet and said, I’m gonna head out. You guys go take your naps.
Mitch stood, gave him a big hug, and said, Thank you so much again.
Ty started northwest, and then suddenly didn’t want to go to the showing alone. He pulled into a gas station parking lot and picked up his phone to call his mother.
“Hey,” Momma said. “What’s up?”
Ty sighed. “Nothing.”
“Yeah, sure sounds like it.”
Ty let the corners of his mouth lift slightly. “I don’t know. I just wanted to hear your voice.”
“Where are you right now?” she asked.
“Sitting at the gas station,” he said. “What are you and Daddy doing this afternoon?”
“About the same as every other afternoon,” she said. “Working with the horses.”
“If I send you an address, would you want to come walk through a place with me? I’ve looked at six or seven, and I just don’t know if I can go alone. It’s so depressing.”
“Yeah, you sound kind of sad.”
“I don’t really feel sad,” Ty said, trying to find what he did feel. “I just don’t feel like being alone.”
Momma hesitated for a moment. “That doesn’t sound like you at all, Ty. Out of all of us, you love being alone.”
“Maybe short-term,” he said. “Maybe I’m just tired. I just got to see Mitch and Lacy’s new baby.”
“Oh, how are they doing?” she asked, a new softness in her voice.
“Amazing,” he said. “And… I don’t know. They seem so happy, and they’re together, and I just have to go back to my sad apartment by myself. And it sure would be nice if I could go to my own place and see Juniper.”
“Yeah,” Momma said softly. “Horses are good friends. Let me talk to Lucas and make sure he’ll be okay here this afternoon without us.”
“Daddy doesn’t have to come if he’s too busy,” Ty said.
Momma scoffed. “Are you kidding? Out of the two of us, I’m way busier than your daddy.”
Ty chuckled, because that was true. “I’ll text you the address. I’m meeting Jerry at two-thirty. If you can make it, great. If it’s too hard, no big deal.”
“Nothing’s too hard for you, baby,” Momma said. “I’m sure we’ll see you there, and you can think about what else is making you sad. Because you know I’m going to ask, and I’ll need you to answer.”
“I’m not sad, Momma,” Ty said, almost regretting the call.
“Okay, well, what are you and Winnie doing tonight?” Momma asked.
“I don’t know,” Ty said. “I usually go over to her place after work, and we decide if we want to go to dinner or if she wants me to cook.”
“Maybe the four of us could go to dinner,” Momma said.
Ty hesitated, recognizing his mother’s behavior in his own. “You know, I think I would like that,” he said. “Because I really like this woman, Momma.” He took another moment, the “but” hanging between them.
“But I think I need more than a few hours’ notice to be prepared to go to dinner.”
“All right,” Momma said. “Maybe we should put something on the calendar, then.”
“I’ll talk to Winnie tonight,” Ty said. “I do think it would be fun, but a little stressful.”
“Why would it be stressful?” Momma asked. “You don’t have to be anyone but who you are.”
“No, but she might feel like she needs to,” he said. “I would be stressed if I was going to dinner with her parents.”
“Oh—Lucas is right here,” Momma said. “I love you, bud. Text me the address.”
“Love you too, Momma,” Ty said, and he ended the call.
He looked at his phone, wishing he could call Winnie, but she had a much harder time answering at work.
So he typed out a quick message to her and sent it before reminding himself that he’d traveled the continent with only a rodeo manager, his horse, and a couple of bags of personal items for years.
“Yeah, but you don’t have that life anymore,” he told himself, and he didn’t even want it. He wanted to be able to call his mother and have her come to a showing, or text his girlfriend and let her know that he missed her and felt lonely.
He arrived early at the farm, but he knew from Jerry’s intel that no one lived there right now.
He drove down the dirt road, which was pretty well-kept considering they were coming out of winter and had endured a couple of pretty major storms in recent months.
Ty loved all the trees that hid barns and buildings, as it gave a sense of privacy he really liked.
He rounded the corner and the house came into view. His heart leapt and bobbed against the back of his throat when he saw that he could drive right up to it and only had to navigate three steps to the front porch.
“This is not what was in the listing,” he said, frowning at the single-story house. The one online had been white with pale-blue shutters—and two levels. This one was pale blue with white shutters, and just the one story.
He quickly pulled out his phone, just in case he’d come to the wrong place.
He scrolled to Jerry’s text, tapped the link, and flipped through the photos.
He recognized every single one. He’d definitely been looking at the right property.
Then he realized he’d never noticed there were two houses on this parcel.
“What in the world am I going to do with two houses?” he muttered, looking up. He wasn’t sure, but something inside him told him to be patient and to have an open mind.
His phone chimed with a text from Winnie, but movement out his side window drew his eye as his parents’ truck rolled to a stop beside him. He smiled and waved at his mother and then quickly looked at Winnie’s text:
I can’t wait to hear all about the house tonight. I’m really craving some cheesy enchiladas. Can we go to Marco’s for dinner and you can tell me all about it?
Of course we can, Ty said, and then he got out of the truck and stepped straight into his Momma’s arms, where she held him close to her heart the way she had when he was a baby, a little boy, and now a grown man.
Ty was once again reminded that life didn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. He stepped back and grinned at his mother. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “This is actually one of two houses, believe it or not.”
“Wow,” his daddy said, peering at the house like it might hold secrets he really needed to know. “What are you going to do with two houses?”
Ty burst out laughing, because he had literally just asked himself that very same question.