I chatted with him for a while as he told me stories about the farm and his family heritage. The most intriguing part was that the house I’d bought had once belonged to his family. It almost made me feel bad that I’d outbid them this morning, but he assured me that he was happy I wasn’t going to tear it down.

At least, that was my plan. I already worked it out with the sheriff to have some crews assess the damage to the roof so that it could be fixed as soon as possible. I was pushing to rush the paperwork in the hopes that I could move onto the property by the end of the week since it was vacant.

Brett and Lily were ecstatic for me, selfishly, of course, because they believed it meant that I was going to stay, but I hadn’t decided any course of action past renovating the house.

“My daughter, Autumn, has some really great ideas for the place. I’m sure she’d be happy to go over them with you.”

“Dad,” one of the sisters mumbled in alarm. It was clear that they did not share the same sentiment.

“What?” he said naively. “Maybe Colton would like to hear about all the historical aspects of the house.”

Collectively, the group turned their attention toward me and I subconsciously wiped my hands against the legs of my jeans.

“Um. . .yes. I haven’t really thought about how I’d design the interior, but keeping it historically accurate would be nice. Are there any pictures?” I asked as I let the idea fester and grow in my mind. Maintaining the house’s history would absolutely make it more appealing for renters or buyers if I decided not to stay on the property.

“I’m sure there are. Alexandra, why don’t you see if Autumn is feeling more like herself and have her come chat?” Marisol gave her instructions as a command and I peeked over my shoulder to find Alex rolling her eyes at her mother’s back.

This family had an interesting dynamic, that’s for sure.

After ten minutes, Alex never returned with Autumn, who I pieced together was the woman from the grocery store. I’d listened to Nash go on about the property and their ranch. He even let me know he went by the farmhouse frequently and did his best to keep up whatever maintenance he could. That explained why it was in far better shape than the contractor I’d hired expected. Listening to Mr. Easterly talk about the property that had once belonged to his family was fascinating and I’d wanted to stay longer, but I wanted to run by the house one more time before heading back to the Chisolm’s.

“I need to be heading back, but if it’s alright with you, I’d really like if you would join me at the end of the week when I get access to the house.”

“Well, that sounds nice, son. I appreciate it. I don’t see why I can’t get away, though it’s getting close to the corn harvest.”

“Is that what you all grow?” I asked, intrigued.

“Corn is our main produce, but we also have a small garden the girls keep up with for the local farmers market.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by agriculture. Even thought I’d be a farmer when I was younger. Then I caught the hockey bug and the rest is history.”

The man’s face lit up. “You play hockey?”

“I did.”

From the couch, one of the daughters said, “Huh. That explains why you’re so big.”

I didn’t know how to reply to that one, so I turned my attention back to Nash. Marisol walked over to stand behind his chair, gently placing her wrinkled hands on his shoulders.

“You must be the one staying with Coach Chisolm. He hasn’t stopped talking about it for the last few weeks.”

My cheeks flamed as I nodded.

“Yep. That’s me. I played for Coach when I was in the minors. We’ve kept in contact since I went to the NHL.”

“Well, I can’t say that we watch a whole lot of hockey in our house, but I do like catching a game every now and then. Predator fans here, though. Sorry,” Nash said with a chuckle as he rose from his chair and grasped Marisol’s hand.

I could tell that there was a lot of love between the two of them. It left me wanting to know more about their history.

Nash held out his weathered hand and I shook it as I made my way to the door. I’d followed him over in my truck since I wasn’t staying nearby. He’d surprised me when he showed up at the property earlier and mentioned the easement on his land. We chatted for a minute about the house and what I’d planned to do, then he invited me back to his home since all of his property surrounded mine. I hadn’t even realized that the house sat on fifty acres of land, which was far more than I needed, but I already had ideas stirring in my head of what I could possibly do with the extra space.

Maybe that hockey rink wasn’t such a pipe dream after all.

As I said my goodbyes to Nash’s family that remained in the room, I saw myself out of the house and headed toward my truck parked next to a little red sedan. When I pulled up, I hadn’t put two and two together that the girl from the store could possibly live at the house. Now she was my neighbor.

The girl intrigued me for sure, but I was in no shape mentally or emotionally for a relationship. But maybe she’d see the appeal after a few nights in my bed.

Settling in my truck, I looked up at one of the second-floor windows wondering if any of them belonged to her. The house was massive, so there was a good chance she could be anywhere in the home. As I inspected the windows, my eye landed on a curtain pushed aside as if a hand held it out of the way so the person beyond could see out. Before I could blink, a small hand shot out against the window and I could just make out the imprint of a middle finger jutting up in the air.

I couldn’t be sure which sister it belonged to, but I had a feeling it was attached to the woman that captured my attention.

Chuckling, I turned the truck around and headed down their driveway and back to the main road. I’d have to get Nash to tell me who built his gate and fencing. They marveled me as I crossed the threshold. A perfect mix of modern and classical.

As I continued down the road toward the Chisolm’s house, an incoming message read through the stereo.

Brett: Change of plans. Meet at the HS.

Stopping the truck in the middle of the road, I did my best to complete a three-point turn, but it ended being six or seven due to the narrow lane, and I made my way in the opposite direction. At least it meant I could drive by my soon-to-be house one more time.

I gazed out at the Easterly’s farm as I passed their entrance and found myself sighing. Those girls had no idea how lucky they were to grow up in a place like that with the parents and family that they had. I would have given anything when I was younger to have just a smidgen of that.

My soon to be house stood proudly as a few crewmen still milled about the place. The setting sun cast yellows and golds on her faded exterior, but I swear the house looked happy. It had to be nothing more than my imagination, but it seemed like she was alive. Which was both exhilarating and terrifying. A weird horror story was not something that I was cut out for.

As I continued past the house and maneuvered slowly around the bend in the road that I was determined to tackle before leaving Tennessee, I thought back to my conversation with the sheriff. The current owners had stopped paying state taxes on the house a decade ago and despite years of trying to reach out, the state decided they’d had enough. All parties involved seemed to be thrilled and surprised that I was willing to pay everything off as quickly as possible so I could move onto the property. I had the money just sitting in the bank and needed to find a good investment. My financial advisor thought I was crazy when I spoke to him early this morning and hashed out my plan to buy the estate Brett had mentioned was going up for auction today.

Everything seemed to fall into place just as it needed.

I continued on the main road until I came about a mile outside of the hub of the town and took a turn that Brett had shown me yesterday when he gave me a drive-by tour of Ashfield. I still couldn’t grasp that he drove to this school every day and assisted with coaching the minors team. There were no quick trips anywhere in this town, everything was half an hour minimum. I’d been spoiled in the city where I could walk everywhere if I wanted. My apartment had its own luxuries in the building, so I rarely had to leave.

At the school, I quickly spotted Brett’s truck and I parked beside it. The rest of the lot had older cars and trucks splattered throughout. I was surprised at how new everything looked, from the school to the stadium. I had been expecting a century-old building in decay and an outside rink. This looked more like a well-funded private school.

Stepping down from my truck, I grabbed my duffle out of the back seat. I’d kept my practice equipment with me, just in case. And it seemed that I’d made a smart choice because, despite my retirement, I still felt alive on the ice.

My feet crunched with each step as I approached the doors to the stadium, where I assumed Brett was holding practice. Adrenaline started pulsing through me and for the first time in what felt like forever, I was nervous. What if these kids looked at me and saw nothing more than a joke? A retired old man that couldn’t hack it anymore.

Pulling the door handle, I took a deep breath. The smell of the ice immediately washed over me and I felt at home. The nerves didn’t disappear, but they changed when twenty sets of eyes turned in my direction.

“Holy shit,” a voice called out, abruptly followed by many of the same sentiment.

Brett’s voice belted over the others. “Hey! You made it,” he said as he walked over to me from the stands. “They were just running some drills.”

“They seem surprised to see me.”

“Well,” he began, his hand rubbing against the back of his neck. “I didn’t say anything just in the off chance you didn’t get my message or weren’t ready to come out.”

What he was saying was that he didn’t want to disappoint them.

“That’s okay. I was headed back to your house when I got your message. I just happen to have my practice stuff in my truck.”