Once we get started, it doesn’t take long to get everything packed up and in the back of my truck. We will have to come back in a week to clean the rest out but we got everything they will need for now.
“Baby, we’re here,” I whisper, running my finger down Ellie’s cheek, not really wanting to wake her up. She had fallen asleep with her head on my thigh ten minutes after we left the restaurant we stopped at after getting gas. I don’t even think she realized what she was doing when she laid down. I know she has to be exhausted after everything that happened.
Blinking up at me, she wipes the corner of her mouth then sits up quickly, looking around.
“This is your house?”
Looking out the front windshield, I wonder why she looks so scared. It’s not the nicest house on the street, but when it came on the market a year ago for a hundred grand under market value, I had to buy it, and have been slowly fixing it up since then. “Yeah.”
“It’s really nice.” She swallows then looks at the other houses on the block, which look similar to mine.
“It’s your home now too,” I say softly, wanting to get rid of that look on her face, the one saying she feels like she doesn’t belong here.
“Until I have enough money to get somewhere else,” she murmurs, rubbing her eyes.
Ignoring that comment, I grit my teeth and get out of the truck before I can tell her there is no way in hell she’s ever moving out.
“Get a grip before you scare her the fuck off,” I growl under my breath, opening her door and helping her out. I then open Hope’s door and grin when her face lights up.
“You wiv in a castle!” She smiles, unhooking her belt, catching me off guard when she throws herself at me.
Looking back toward my house, I guess it kind of does look like a castle. The old grey brick Victorian with two round rooms on each side of the house gives the look of towers, the white scalloping along the edges, and in the middle is a window that resembles a lookout point.
“I guess I do,” I tell her, setting her on the ground.
“Sooo cooool,” she breathes, peering up at me with her big brown eyes, making my chest ache.
Pulling my hat off, I turn toward Ellie. “Why don’t I take you guys inside and you can look around, while I bring everything in?”
“Are you sure?” she asks, picking up Hope then looking in the back of the truck at all of her stuff, most of which is in black garbage bags.
“I’m sure. Plus, you really should be in bed resting after everything that has happened,” I say quietly, taking her hand and leading her up the front steps, letting her go long enough to open the door and walk over to the keypad to shut off the alarm. “The code is zero-four-zero-three. I want the alarm on anytime I’m not in the house with you.” Watching her nod, I take her hand again and lead her through the house, showing her the living room, kitchen, and downstairs bathroom before moving her to the stairs. “You can have your pick of rooms.”
“Where’s your room?” she asks when we make it to the second-floor landing.
“At the end of the hall.” I nod my head toward my room and she looks in the opposite direction. Dropping my hand, she sets Hope on the ground, opening the door in front of us, almost the farthest from mine, which makes me bite back a smile. A few feet and a couple doors between us isn’t going to matter in the long run, but I’m willing to give her the sense of space for now. “We’ll take this room.”
“There’s plenty of space for Hope to have her own room,” I tell her softly.
“I’d feel better if she was close, at least for now,” she replies just as quietly, taking the piece of hair that is constantly falling out of the bun on top of her head and tucking it back behind her ear.
“Mama, I wanna wiv in the tower like a real pwincess.”
Turning my head, I see Hope has opened the door at the opposite end of the hall from mine, the second room that has a round section that juts out into the front yard, with large windows, and a seat underneath them.