Chapter 1
Chapter One
BAYLOR
ONE YEAR LATER
Standing in front of the old Ackerman house, I wonder why the fuck I would have agreed to this shit. And I wasn’t lying when I said I hadn’t been here in a while, clearly because I thought it was in decent shape, but I was fucking wrong.
Just at first glance, siding needs to be fully redone, it needs a new roof, and the entire porch needs to be rebuilt as well.
I can imagine the inside is about the same.
They were clearly struggling to do the bare minimum.
I wish they had asked us for help. I would have repaired anything that needed to be repaired over the years.
Now it looks like I’ll be repairing it anyway, except this is ours now, and the financial, time, and physical burdens fall completely on us. Nobody is going to be able to move into this house anytime soon.
Turning my head, I look over to Beckett, who is walking up the gravel drive. He rode the quad over, likely having checked on his newer batch of cattle on his way, which is why he’s late.
It’s fine. Don’t bother me none, except I didn’t have anyone to bitch to about the state of the house when I pulled up. And I bitched. Because holy fucking shit, this is going to be an undertaking.
I don’t know if Beckett was thinking about making this his new home with Maisie, but it’ll be a good long fucking while before they’ll move in here, if they even want to be in here. This house isn’t as big as the Cooper main house.
Our families have always been huge, way back generations, and I highly doubt they’re going to be shrinking, not with Beckett and Maisie just finding out they’re starting their family earlier than anticipated, something that Beckett didn’t tell us until their wedding day.
The reason they moved the wedding up by half a year.
I couldn’t be happier for them, but there is no way in fuck this place will be ready by the time the baby gets here, not with just us renovating it whenever we’re not working our normal jobs.
It’s going to take a good long time to get this place up and running, and no way do a new mom and baby need to be here while we do it.
“Looks like you’ll be staying in the main house,” I mutter.
Beckett chuckles. “Figured as much,” he murmurs. “Do you think we should just demolish it?”
“No,” I snap without hesitation. “It’s got decent bones, I think. Just neglected a bit.”
Beckett snorts but doesn’t say much else. “You want to go inside?”
No, I don’t.
But at the same time, I do.
Together, we climb the sketchy steps to the sketchier front porch, then I reach out, wrapping my fingers around the screen door handle before I tug it open.
I already know from Jordan, the Ackermans’ son, that the front door is unlocked.
There wasn’t a reason to lock it up before they left, and I brought a new door lock for the front and back anyway.
Stepping into the entryway, I wince at the scent of dust, old wood, and damp corners that have been left alone, untouched, for far too long.
Flicking on the lights, I shake my head once.
The living room light is so dim that it’s a wonder the Ackermans could even see their own hands in front of their faces.
Moving through the house, I turn on every light I can, but it stays dank and dark. Beckett goes through and opens up all the curtains, sending layers of dust flying into the air. Holding up my hand, I cough as I use my other hand to swat at the dust particles.
“Holy fuck, I didn’t think it was this bad. Jordan never said,” Beckett mutters.
“He probably didn’t realize just how rundown it was. He was doing his own thing in the city. This was his childhood home. Probably didn’t even notice half this shit was covered in layers of dust, or broken.”
“Yeah,” Beckett mutters. “And also, yeah, I don’t think any of this would be ready for Maisie and the baby.”
I don’t say anything immediately in response. I’ve got something in mind, but I don’t want to announce it yet. I do a somewhat quick walk-through of the house, including the bedrooms.
Luckily, one good thing they did was make sure the whole place was empty, so there isn’t anything else we need to clean out of here. It’s a blank slate, one that needs repairs and updates desperately, but it is a blank slate.
Making my way back downstairs, I walk into the kitchen, where Beckett is taking in the 1970s appliances that no doubt still work like a goddamn champ. He turns to face me, and that’s when I let him know my thoughts.
“I’m going to move in here, fix it up.”
His lips twitch into a smirk, his eyes searing mine. “Figured you’d say that.”
“Yeah?”
He snorts. “Yeah. I know my brother. The house is getting crowded, and it’s going to get loud soon. I would venture to guess that Boone and Briggs will be following sooner rather than later. Guessing marriage and a baby don’t make for good single living.”
They don’t. But I wouldn’t tell him that, because I would live there with them and I would never complain—too much. But this is a four-bed, two-and-a-half-bath, which would work well for us. We’d be sharing bathrooms, but we’ve done that our whole lives anyway.
“Figure we can work on shit easier if we’re living here.”
“And maybe find a woman to share it with?”
“Then what will Boone and Briggs do?” I ask.
“Find women and settle down, maybe build their own places.”
My lips twitch as I cross my arms over my chest and rock back on my heels. “Maybe buy up the surrounding ranches with houses and create a whole fucking gigantic compound.”
I feel Beckett’s hand clamp down on my shoulder, and he shakes me once. “Hell fucking yeah.”
Hell. Fucking. Yeah.