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Nothing.
I locked the door behind me and scanned the room. There were no lights on inside the home, but a trail of tiny candles lit a path on the floor. Smiling, I followed that path.
It led me to the kitchen where a bouquet of red roses stood on top of the counter and a note with my name on it nestled between them.
You have two choices: take the unknown path before you and walk down this hallway or take the familiar one you’ve just traveled.
I turned back and stared at the lit path behind me. Inhaling deeply, I closed my eyes and stepped forward into the darkness.
I shook my head.
He certainly made it clear that I would walk a new and unchartered path with him. As I stared into the darkness, I expected a frisson of uneasiness, but there was none.
I walked forward, into the hallway, with a smile on my face and my shoulders back.
“In here.” His voice caught me off guard and I jumped a little. Turning to my right, toward his voice, I noted a door slightly open and a faint light inside.
Pressing against the door, I walked in. He sat on the edge of his desk, wearing a suit and a tie, his hands clasped in front of him.
I’d expected him to greet me, but he just sat there. A single candle burned next to him, making everything else in the room difficult to distinguish, but it wasn’t hard to miss the bookshelves on either side of me. This must be his office or a study or something.
“What’s going on?” I asked, having expected him half-naked on his bed rather than dressed at a desk.
“Please take a seat.”
As soon as I sat, he handed me a box.
“After last night, I realized something. Not only have I been living my life suspicious of everyone and their motives, but I’ve also been living aimlessly, without a true goal. Since we inherited our parent’s money, I’ve never gone without food or luxuries. I could buy what I wanted. Work as much or as little as I wanted. No one told me what I could or couldn’t do. Sounds perfect, right?”
I tilted my head and shrugged. “Yeah, sounded pretty damn good to me.”
“Except, I was unhappy. I had no purpose. And last night, when I started making plans for the future, I realized that you have given me what I needed the most in my life… love.”
I inhaled sharply, my chest aching from his words.
“So, I wanted to give you something as well.”
He passed me a wooden box from his desk. “Open it.”
I flipped open the gold clasp and lifted the lid. Inside was a piece of paper. Removing the paper, I noted a key underneath. I watched him as I slowly opened the paper.
It was a deed. The address was some place I vaguely recognized but couldn’t pinpoint it.
“What is this?” I asked.
“It’s a deed to McArthur’s farm. After some digging, I found out McArthur had a living relative after all. A cousin out in California. I made him a generous offer, and he signed off on the paperwork today.”
“Oh.” I stared at the deed, trying to read something that would shed some light why I was looking at it.
“It’s yours,” he said.
“Mine?” I glanced at him, watching for some telltale sign this was a joke. A smirk, a raised eyebrow. Anything!
“Why would I want a farm?” I asked slowly. Surely, I was missing something.
“It’s prime real estate, in a good neighborhood. It has access to major highways and bus stops.”
“That’s great news for the cows, I guess.”
