“I SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD coffee this morning. Something more soothing would have been better. Maybe warm milk.” Katie’s tummy quivered as she rode in Jess’s truck. A sign announcing Wide Load had been attached to the roof of the cab.
Ahead of them shimmied the wide load itself, her grandmother’s house. Jess was humming “Over the River and Through the Woods.”
“You’re not helping, you know, with that humming,” Katie said.
“Who says? It’s helping me.”
“So you admit you’re nervous? While they were jacking it up and loading it on the flatbed, you looked cool as a Sno-Kone. You even made jokes with Gabe.” Katie gasped as the flatbed rounded a bend and the house swayed.
“I’m nervous. I’ve never moved a house before.”
“But you think it’ll work, right? I mean, getting it on the truck was the hard part, wasn’t it?”
He hesitated. “All of it’s the hard part. That’s a very sharp curve we have to navigate before we get to the property.”
“Maybe we should have picked a different lot.”
“You love that lot.”
“I do.” It was a mile down the road from Jess’s house, and the view of “A” Mountain was even more spectacular than Jess’s.
“Okay, here we go.” Jess sucked in a breath as the flatbed started up the winding road leading past Jess’s house. “Come on, baby. Hang on.”
“Are you talking to me or the house?”
“Both. If you have any influence with your grandmother, now would be the time to use it.”
“Funny you should say that. I’ve been thinking about how happy she’d be right now.”
Jess nodded. “Let’s keep it that way.”
“Right.” Katie crossed the fingers of both hands and concentrated on the house, balanced so precariously on the flatbed. But much as she wanted the building to make it to the lot in one piece, she was prepared for failure, too.
Whenever she thought of the love Jess had shown by deciding to move this house, she got a lump in her throat. If he managed to save the house, she would be forever grateful. If the house tumbled into a ditch, she would be forever grateful. He’d tried. That was all that mattered.
They passed Jess’s house with the Sold sign in the yard. He’d put it on the market as a show of faith that moving the house would work. They’d have their wedding in the backyard and live in it until they were old and gray. He’d told her that keeping his house as backup was the chicken’s way out, and they didn’t want to start out as wimps.
But the curve looked ten times worse than it had when they’d driven the road last night. And the house looked ten times bigger and more unstable than she’d imagined.
As the flatbed entered the curve, Katie glanced at Jess. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” He didn’t take his attention off the house.
“No matter what.”
“That’s good to know. Oh, shit. Look at the way it’s tilting.”
Katie didn’t want to look, but she made herself. If the house went down, she should have the courage to watch it go. Holding her breath, she willed the house to right itself.
“Straighten up, damn it,” Jess murmured. “Straighten up.”
The curve seemed to go on forever, and the house tilted even more. Katie groaned and fought the urge to cover her eyes. She should have picked a different lot, one that didn’t have a curve like this. She should have—
With a rumble the house straightened.
Jess blew out a breath. “Thanks, Grandma.”
Katie looked at him in surprise. “You really do think she’s watching over this move, don’t you?”
“I don’t know, Katie, but that house is what brought us together after all these years, and when I got the brainstorm of moving it, I knew I wanted us to live in it together. You said that your grandmother and grandfather had a—what did you call it?—a great love affair. And so do we.”
Her heart swelled. “Yes,” she said softly. “Yes, we do.”
“So it seems as if this house move has to work. Your grandmother would want it that way.”
“It’s going to work.” And suddenly Katie was absolutely sure it would.
Hours later, when the crew had eased the house off the flatbed without incident, she wasn’t surprised. After everyone else left, she and Jess stayed on, arms around each other as they gazed at the little adobe.
“Think it’ll be big enough?” Jess asked.
“For two of us? Of course.”
“I was thinking three, maybe four of us.”
She turned into his arms. “If this is your subtle way of asking if I want kids—”
“It is.”
“The answer is yes. Kids, dog, play set in the backyard—”
“I can build that for them, you know.” He pulled her closer.
She wiggled against him, teasing him into responding just because she could. “Don’t you mean you’re going to erect it?”
“Exactly.” He cupped her bottom and settled his hips firmly against hers. “And it’ll have lots of levels, because I feel the urge to erect it so it’s thrusting skyward. I’ll use lots of screws and nuts and bolts, too, not to mention my big ol’ hammer.”
She batted her eyelashes at him. “Jess, are you talking about sex?”
Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers. “No, you’re the one who talks about sex, Crazy Katie. I’m the one who takes action. Let’s go back to the truck and I’ll show you my tools.”
“You want to do it in the truck?” As usual, all it took was a light kiss and a sexy suggestion and she was willing and eager.
“Yeah.” He nibbled on her lip.
“It might be a little cramped.”
“No problem.” Lifting his head, he gave her a smile so sexy it took her breath away. “I’ve memorized the Kama Sutra.”