Read Online Lauraine Snelling by Breaking Free - Free Book Online Page B

heard himself ask, while at the same time he kept telling himself,
It takes a long time to find a house you want.
    “Of course.”
    “Could we move in before escrow cleared if we wanted to?” He could feel Eddie watching them, gazing back and forth, like he was watching a tennis tournament.
    “That would be a possibility.”
    “Sprinkler systems are in?” Gil tried to think of all contingencies.
    “I’d have to check on that.”
    “How big is the barn?” Eddie asked.
    “I’m not sure, but I can show you the plans back at the office.”
    “What are they asking?”
    She told him and he nodded. The amount wasn’t out of sight for this place. Under Eddie’s scrutiny, he made plans to call the saleswoman tomorrow.
    As they walked back to the car, Eddie turned his chair and looked back.
    “What is it?”
    “Just thinking what it will be like to live here.”
    Great. Gil watched the Realtor drive off. The sound of hammers and a drill motor came from the interior of the house, while a concrete saw whined from the backyard.
Up the street children laughed
. A car drove by. Ravens complained from the California oak trees scattered about the field. Twenty acres was a lot of land to fence. The three of them studied the property.
    “The brochure said there were trails for riding.” Eddie looked up at his father.
    “The drive to school will be longer.”
    “Bonnie will have more room to sniff,” Eddie countered.
    Gil tried to think of all the minuses. “It will be farther to shopping, Maria.”
    “So I shop bigger at one time.” She smiled at Eddie.
    “No view like we have now.”
    “Eddie and his horses playing in the field is a good view to me.”
    Once they were ready to go, Eddie caught his dad’s gaze in the mirror. “Did you like the swimming pool?”
    “I guess. It’s bigger than the one we have. Why?” He watched his son in the mirror. “Oh, you’re thinking about getting in and out. Don’t worry, we can fix that before it’s finished.”
    “She said we could move in a month?” Eddie asked.
    Before school started, but at least Eddie wouldn’t be changing schools. He’d been enrolled in a private Christian school for prekindergarten and been there ever since. Gil had never regretted it. Although they weren’t every Sunday in church, Gil made sure to contribute both time and money to the school—more time this last year than all the other years combined, but who was counting. Other than perhaps Eddie.
    Gil cleared his throat. “I just want to remind you that this is totally out of the ordinary. Buyers never find a house this fast.”
    Eddie just grinned at him. Maria too.
    Oh, Lord, in spite of all his warnings, he was going to buy the first house they saw. Did God give a small boy’s prayers precedence over those of his father?

SIX
    A t the barn, Maggie stopped outside Breaking Free’s stall and watched him come toward her. Ears forward, he hung his head over the door.
    “Well, hello to you too.” She dug a candy out of her pocket and palmed it for him. He sniffed it, lipped it, and then crunched. Mr. James had said that today they would turn him out in the corral while she cleaned his stall to see if he’d let himself be brought back in. She stroked his neck, still surprised he wasn’t head shy. But he didn’t like his ears to be touched, jerking away when her hand got too close to them.
    Maggie checked to make sure the horse had water before heading over to the storage stall to get a couple flakes of hay.
    “He let you pet him.”
    “I know.” She nodded to Jules who had spoken, one who talked so rarely it caught her by surprise. The woman was forever sneaking up behind and watching Maggie. It was unnerving. “I never dreamed we could have such change so fast. But according to Mr. James, it often works that way.”
    “Can I watch you work with him?”
    Maggie hesitated. “I don’t know. Ask Mr. James.”
    “I—I . . .”
    “He’s one of the kindest men I think I’ve ever