Drew paced up and down the same five feet of the hillside path. It had taken a full week to sort all of this out, and he was starting to get antsy. Where was Jordan anyway? He should have been here ten minutes ago.
He stopped pacing long enough to smile and wave when he saw Jordan coming over the crest of the hill. About time. He couldn't wait to get started.
"Where have you been?" Drew asked.
"I think I've made good time, considering I had to walk the last half mile or so," Jordan said. "I thought about trying to drive my truck up here, but there's too much brush beside the path." He paused for a moment, catching his breath. "What are we doing up here, anyway?" he said. "It better be good. I have a lot of work today."
"Don't worry about work," Drew said. "I have it on good authority the new general manager of the Inn will excuse you."
"The new general manager? Who?"
Drew couldn't hide his excitement, especially when he saw understanding begin to dawn in Jordan's eyes.
"You?"
"Yup. Just made official today, as a matter of fact."
"I don't understand." Jordan's face had morphed from interested to flabbergasted. "How? Why?"
"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Drew feigned irritation, but he knew Jordan was acting out of surprise and not from lack of faith in his abilities.
"C'mon, you know it's not that," he said. "I just didn't know Max was ready to retire. The Inn has been his life for decades. What's he going to do?"
"He's not exactly retiring. He's going to stay on as assistant manager for a while. Help me learn the ropes, and all that." Drew walked toward the huge oak tree in the middle of the meadow, beckoning for Jordan to follow. "He and Mom will finally be able to do some of the traveling they've always talked about."
"That's great news," Jordan said. "I guess this means you're definitely not changing your mind about staying in town."
Drew did his best to mask his irritation, but it was getting harder to do with each passing day. Why was it so difficult for anyone to believe he was sincere about moving back home? He'd had a devil of a time convincing his dad of the very same thing. His parents had been after him for years to come home and manage the Inn. Kayla loved managing the restaurant portion but had no desire to worry about the business side of things. Now that Drew had finally agreed, Max seemed to be getting a case of cold feet. Drew kept reminding himself it was probably due to a fear of retirement, rather than a concern over his abilities.
"I am not even remotely thinking about leaving town," Drew said. "In fact, just the opposite." He leaned up against the tree, ready to put his plan into action. "I'm going to put down some roots."
Jordan's eyebrows rose in question, but he waited for Drew to continue.
"I'm going to fix up this old house, and I want you to help me." Drew gestured toward the weathered structure behind him. As long as he could remember, it had lain dormant, but the foundation was sound, and the roof and windows remained surprisingly leak-proof. A lot of work needed to be done, but he had faith it could be renovated and restored to match the vision in his head.
"Wow," Jordan said. "I don't really know what to say."
"Say you'll do it. Say you'll help me." Drew had no question about what Jordan would say. He might act shocked, but he couldn't hide the glint of enthusiasm in his eyes. The man loved to build—anything. The opportunity to renovate and rebuild a house, basically from scratch, must be like winning the lottery and marrying the girl of his dreams, all in the same day.
"Of course, I'll help you, but you have to get the property first." Jordan's excited smile turned to a frown. He gave Drew a conciliatory slap on the back. "Good luck with that, my friend. I hope you're not too set on this exact spot. Before Max let me buy the carriage house, I thought I might like to build in this area, but my realtor said the owner wasn't selling."
"Sorry about that, buddy." Drew tried his best to look apologetic, but he couldn't help the amusement from shining through. This was even more fun than he thought it would be. "If I were going to sell it to anyone else, it would be you, but I kind of wanted to keep it for myself."
"Wait—it’s you? You're the owner?" Jordan shook his head, his expression a mixture of admiration and dismay.
"Yeah, well, I figured I'd want to come back here eventually, and when I did, I'd want a place of my own. I knew I'd want it to be here." It could never have been anywhere else. With all the nights he and Miranda had spent here together years ago, and their first night here soon after he got back—this had always been their special place. With any luck, it always would be. "Living at the Inn definitely has its perks. I never have to go grocery shopping, there's usually a housekeeper I can con into cleaning up after me, and there's always something fun going on. But, it's got its downsides, too, you know? My family has always lived at the Inn, but I need a little more privacy."
"Yeah," Jordan said. "I get it."
Drew laughed. He had expected a little more of a reaction, but Jordan was already sizing up the land, probably trying to figure the best landscape design, or the average cost of replacing the sunken front porch. It didn't matter...the next thing Drew had to say would grab Jordan's attention.
"If a man is going to have a family, then he should also have a place of his own for them to live, don't you think?" Drew's nervous smile widened, relishing Jordan's obvious surprise.
"A family?" Jordan asked. "I'm assuming you're referring to Tommy and Miranda. Are you moving in together?"
"Better than that, my friend," Drew said. He contemplated carefully what he was about to say. He'd thought long and hard over the past week, and he knew it was the right thing, but saying it out loud made it so real, and Jordan was the first one he'd shared it with. He took a deep breath and forged ahead. "I'm going to ask her to marry me, tonight."
Drew knew he had to square things with Jordan first. They'd made so much headway over the last month, and he didn't want to jeopardize that. Not only was Jordan a lifelong friend, he had cared for Tommy and Miranda. He'd been there for them when Drew hadn't, in ways Drew probably couldn't even imagine, and he wanted to prepare him, before he popped the question.
"Well?" Drew said, hesitantly. "What do you have to say? What do you think?"
"I think..."
Jordan stared at him for a long moment, eyes boring into his with a white-hot intensity, that made Drew’s nervous smile morph into a dry cough and his feet shuffle in anticipation. The next thing he knew, his feet were up in the air and Jordan had him in a giant bear hug.
"I think it's about time," Jordan said. "I'll admit my feathers were a little ruffled when you first came back, but I know Miranda belongs with you. I guess I always did. I think, for a while, I got a feeling of protectiveness confused with love, but I'm over it now. She’s still one of my best friends, though. I love them both, and if you screw up again, there's not going to be another chance—not with her, and not with me. Understand?"
Drew nodded. He understood what a precious gift he had been given. He wasn't taking it lightly.
"So," Jordan said, "have you thought about how you're going to ask her?"
"I'm not sure yet," Drew said. "I want it to be romantic, but after everything we've been through, I also need to make sure she understands I'm a changed man—that I intend on being there for her, always. Too much fluff, and she might think I'm not serious. Not enough fluff, and she might think I don't care. I want it to be something she's always going to remember, you know?"
"Yeah," Jordan said. "I'm sure whatever you say will be the right thing. Just make sure she doesn't drop dead from shock of you actually saying it."
"Right," Drew said. "Thanks for always having my back, man. I appreciate it." He gave Jordan an awkward smile. "What do you say we ditch the sentimental crap, and get back to discussing plans for the house?"
"I'd say that sounds like a great idea," Jordan said. "Why don't we go back to my office and start looking at some design ideas? I've got all kinds of plans on file from when I was working on the carriage house. We can start from there. See if any of them appeal to you."
"Awesome," Drew said. "I can't wait to get started. I've got a few ideas of my own that I'd like to implement as a surprise for Miranda."
“What’s your budget for this thing, if you don’t mind me asking?”
Drew couldn’t help but laugh. Jordan knew Drew’s employment history the last several years had been sketchy at best. He looked like a kid who’d just been given a balloon in his favorite color, but was afraid to play with it in fear that it might break.
“No worries, my friend,” Drew said. “Thanks to my new promotion at the Inn, and my dad’s co-signature, I’ve already been guaranteed a loan that should cover most of it. The rest, I’ll have to chip away at over time, I guess.”
"Great—sounds like you’ve got the financing all figured out, and I'm sure those surprises you have in mind can be incorporated into any design we find. I've got a friend who's a great contractor. We can give him a call—see if he has some time to meet with us."
"Let's make it soon," Drew said, as they started walking down the hill together. "I've already waited seven long years. I don't want to wait another moment to get started on our lives together."