Read Home to You for Free Online

toward the house. “Aren’t you going to show me around?” I needed time. How could I tell him about another man who didn’t think I was enough?  
    “Same old Katie, always avoiding the question.”  
    My stomach clenched, but when I turned to face him, he was smiling again.
    He pulled on one of my braids—the way he always did when we were kids—and started walking toward the house. “I’ll let you off the hook this time. Follow me.”
    His driveway was void of cars, and I did a quick scan down the street looking for his old Mustang. All I came up with was a black truck with a JM construction logo on it. Johnson McGregor—the company he’d started with my brother, our names forever linked even after we grew apart.
    “What happened to Bessie?” I asked, wondering about the old car.
    He only shook his head and kept walking. I was concerned by this reaction and about to ask more about it, but then he unlatched the gate off the driveway, and we both stepped into the backyard. It was so beautiful I lost my train of thought.  
    A mixture of pine and birch trees lined the redwood fence, and lush fern and hydrangea mingled among their trunks. It looked like something you’d find in a Better Homes and Gardens Magazine, and I didn’t want to leave—but Jake quickly climbed the front steps and beckoned me to follow.  
    “Five-four-eight, five-two-eight. The code to the house.” He had me recite the numbers a few times so I wouldn’t forget, then opened the door, and gestured for me to go inside.  
    The living room was large and very masculine, with brown leather furniture and a big-screen television. A rustic-looking rug sat in front of the couch, and I ached to slip my sandals off and feel the tall pile between my toes.  
    “Wow, you’re a big kid now.” I looked up at him and smiled. “A big step up from that old house in Northridge.”  
    The corner of his mouth lifted, but his forehead wrinkled in a way that made me instantly regretted my words. Why did I have to go bringing up the past? The house that held too many painful memories for the both of us.  
    We continued through a doorway to the left which led us to the kitchen. It wasn’t large, or fancy, but the natural light streaming through the open windows gave me chills. It was a good size with simple design. Crisp white cabinets, butcher block counters, and all stainless, top-of-the-line appliances. Exactly what I would have picked out myself. I raised my eyebrows . “ All this for a guy who doesn’t cook?” 
    “It’s all about the resale value, Katie.” He grinned.
    I breathed a sigh of relief.   That was the Jake I needed right now. The smiling one. Though I couldn’t quite push all the memories from my mind. I trailed a hand over the smooth surface of the counter and his words hit me all at once. I turned around. “You’re planning to sell the place? But it’s perfect.” In the few minutes I’d been there, I was already attached. After six months, how could he even think of leaving?
    He moved to lean against the counter and his bicep flexed as he braced himself there. “It’s only a house.”  
    The way he said it made a knot form in the pit of my stomach. His inflection making me wonder if he was hinting about me—but then I remembered. Jake didn’t get attached. He didn’t commit to anything; why would that change for a house?  
    I cleared my throat and gestured toward a small dining area just beyond the kitchen. It was surrounded by a large bay window that flooded the room with warm light.
    “This is beautiful.”
    A broad smile covered his face as he pushed himself from the counter. “Come on, let me show you the best part.”
    We stepped out of the back door to a huge stone patio that could easily fit a hundred people. There was a built-in barbecue off to the left and a large table and chairs to the right. A rustic wood awning covered the deck closest to the house, and the thick beams let in the perfect amount of