Page 125 of Loving Kai

“I guess no one, now.”

Abe took her hand and kissed it, then continued down the drive a half-mile to the old Victorian-era house.

Maggie held her breath for a moment. “I love this house.”

“I know you do. It’s not in bad shape. It won’t take much to fix it up.”

Maggie opened her door. “Yeah. For someone.”

Abe got Kai, then they went up the steps to the porch, which wrapped around the entire house. Maggie peered through a window. “I don’t even know how many bedrooms there are.”

“You’ve never been inside?”

“No. I just knew I wanted it. I didn’t care what the inside looked like. With an outside like this, it has to be good.”

Abe took the key out of his pocket. “Let’s go check it out.”

Maggie turned away from the window, then looked at the key in his hand. “Why do you have the key?”

He held it out. “It’s yours.”

“What do you mean? The key?”

“The key, the house, the old barn, the twelve apple trees, and the fifty acres.”

She took a step back. “What are you talking about?”

“The place is yours, Maggie.”

She shook her head. “No, it’s not.”

He grinned. “Yes, it is. Escrow closed yesterday. You do have a co-owner, though.”

“Who?”

“Me.”

She rushed to him and threw her arms around him, making Kai giggle. She kissed Kai on the cheek, then pulled back and looked at Abe. “You’re not just…”

“No. That would be really mean.”

“You bought it. You bought the Mayhew place.”

“I bought it for you.”

“It’s really ours?”

“Yeah. Do you want to look inside now?”

She took the key from him. “Oh my gosh, yes.”

They went into the house and toured the place. Maggie loved every inch of it, from the crown moldings to the real hardwood floors. The kitchen was amazing, with an old gas stove that could have been the original.

Maggie went to Abe and hugged him. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“I did it for you.”

Her smile faded. “Do you think he was holding on until he knew the place was in good hands?”