Chapter Three
Florida
Three Months Later
Owen glanced in the rearview mirror of the moving truck he’d procured and backed into the drive of their new home in Sparkleberry Hills, Florida.
Jessica hadn’t spoken much on the long drive from Chicago, but she’d agreed to come and that was all that mattered to Owen in that moment.
After watching her nearly grieve herself to death for the past three and a half years, Owen was willing to do just about anything to bring her back from the edge. That included moving to a small town in the panhandle of Florida.
Sparkleberry Hills had been the last place Owen wanted to go. He loved Illinois. He’d been born and raised in Chicago, had a great job as a bank manager, and a decent retirement already built up. At thirty-eight years old, Owen had managed to buy a nice home and make some pretty smart investments. Life had been good until the accident that claimed his only son’s life.
Not a day went by that Owen didn’t think of Jacob. He had grieved the death of his son to the point of almost losing his mind. He’d been forced to hide his grief behind a mask of strength he didn’t feel in order to be strong for Jess.
The Jess Owen had married had faded away to a shell of her former self. She’d lost so much weight that her clothes hung on her and dark circles rested beneath her pretty green eyes.
He hoped and prayed he hadn’t made a huge mistake in bringing her to Florida. “Am I clear on your side?”
She rolled down her window and stuck her head out to look behind them. “You have about a foot clearance over here. But there’s a low-lying limb that might scratch the truck.”
Tugging the gear into drive, Owen pulled forward a few feet, turned the wheel a little and backed up once more.
“You’re good,” Jess called, her head remaining out the window.
Owen stopped the moving truck and switched off the engine. “Let’s go have a look.”
He waited for Jess to get out before opening his door and climbing down as well.
The pale-green cottage sat under a copse of giant oak trees. Moss hung from their low-hanging branches, gently swaying in the breeze blowing through. Rose bushes grew beneath the two white shuttered windows on the front of the house, giving the place a warm, inviting feeling.
Owen glanced at Jess. “What do you think?”
“It’s prettier than the pictures.” She never took her gaze from the house as she spoke. “Though it looks kind of small.”
“Let’s go have a peek. I was told the inside was bigger than it appears from out here.”
Jessica nodded, trailing slowly up the driveway that lead to the front porch. She stopped and waited for Owen to unlock the door.
He preceded her inside, flipping on the lights as he went. Though it was just after noon, the shade from the many oak trees made lights a necessity during the day.
The living room walls were a mint green, trimmed in white. The floors boasted of varnished wood that were bare of any rugs.
They moved on into the dining room to find the same matching paint and floors.
“Watch your footing,” Owen warned, nodding to the dip at the entrance to the kitchen.
Jessica stepped down into the spacious room, a small gasp escaping her lips.
It was the first positive reaction Owen had seen from her in longer than he could remember. “You like it?”
“It’s beautiful.” She moved forward, running her fingertips along the red-tiled kitchen counters.
The backsplash had been tiled as well in a black-and-white checkered pattern. The sink, stove, and refrigerator were a deep onyx and the microwave a blood red, same as the counters. The checkered floor tiles set off the rest of the room as did the deep, red rug in the center.
After spending several minutes admiring the kitchen, Owen left Jessica to acquaint herself with the rest of the house while he unloaded the truck.
She eventually wandered out to help him.
“You should go rest,” Owen offered, watching her struggle with a box. “The movers will be here shortly with the furniture. They can help me with this stuff.”
“Are you sure?”
A moving truck turned onto the street just then. “I’m positive. In fact, there they are now. I’ll have them set up the bed first thing so you can relax a bit before dinner.”
She set the box down by the back of the truck. “What are we going to do for dinner?”
Owen shrugged. “We’ll Google some local establishments and see what pops up. Hopefully, they’ll have Chinese.”
Attempting a small smile, Jessica nodded and trailed back toward the house.