The hunter

The Cottage

Isabella woke to the wake-up call she requested at 6 am she showered and dressed then made her way to the lobby for some coffee and breakfast she sat in a small booth eating eggs and toast reading the local paper and enjoying her coffee She checked her phone and seen she had 45 minutes before she was to meet the realtor to see the cottage.

The thought of that made her giddy and excited about this new path she is making for herself she finished her food and coffee threw her trash away and went just outside the motel and began looking for a cab or Uber she could get but there was not either service offered in town well damn what can she do now.

Her phone dinged, and she saw it was from James. Good morning, beautiful. I hope you slept well. What plans do you have for today? I wanted to offer to be your driver and maybe show you around?" She read the message three times before she decided to answer him back." Good morning, James; thank you. I slept fine, and I would like for you to be my driver today. How soon can you come? I am meeting with the realtor at 8 am. to look at the cottage I want." His reply was instant." Be there in five, thank you. I promise you won't regret it."

With that, she waited for him to arrive. When she spotted his black truck, she went out the doors, waited, and climbed inside once he stopped. He drove after they greeted each other, and she asked if he knew the realtor. He said she was his cousin and they could meet at her office.

They chatted comfortably while he drove to the office when they arrived he showed her inside and she greeted Ashley Gains owner and operator of Country Homes Reality after a short chat she informed Isabella she had two places to show her today that she may like so they left to followed Ashley to the first property she wanted to show her.

James talked about the local stores and people in the area the property is located five miles from town and has 4 acres of land along with a two-bedroom cottage and two out buildings a chicken coop and a goat pen neither of those she knew nothing about James laughed when she said that and told her it was easy and he could teach her if she needed him to she chuckled at him he was very forward and seemed to be an honest person and don't forget he was good looking to. When they arrived at the property, they walked around, and Ashley told her all the details of the property, it was great, but she wasn't sure about it, and she didn't get the same feeling she got when she saw the other place online.

Noticing her hesitation, Ashley suggested they go to the next one, and she can decide from there, or they can keep looking for whatever she wanted. James asked what place was next and frowned slightly before he said." That place is in the hunting reserve. I didn't know they were selling that place," Ashley told him what the owner said about the cottage and property, and the listing had been made the week before.

James seemed to drop it for now and led Isabella back to his truck he didn't say much and it made Isabella think something may have been wrong so she waited until they had been driving in silence for over five minutes driving her thoughts crazy she blurted out "Why do you seem upset by the selling of this place? Does it mean something to you?"

James looked over at her shît he made her feel uncomfortable he thought he sighed " I'm sorry Bell I wasn't trying to make you uncomfortable it's just my boss had the cottage for years and nobody ever stays in it but with rumors and what not in small towns things get around fast and it is known that Steven Summers built that house for his future wife when he was younger it is a beautiful property but when he married his wife refused to live in the middle of nowhere so he never did anything with it other than pay his employees to maintain the cottage and property I myself has been there on guard duty and asked to check and make sure it was secure usually no one lives on the reserve unless you work there so it surprises me that he is selling it." Hmm, she thought that is odd she replied "Well I only saw pictures of the cottage online two days ago, and I loved it instantly. That's why I booked a flight the next day." she giggled when she thought about what everyone must be thinking about her leaving right away. Like she did, she let her brother know where she was going.

She told James a little about her moving plans but left out the reason for her wanting to leave her home in Houston and start fresh after driving 20 minutes they turn on a dirt road and followed it down and around a bend and the cottage came in to view she gasped softly at seeing it in person. "Oh my goodness, this is even better than the pictures. " He chuckled at her reaction." Wait till you have seen it all. You like it now from the front. There's so much more. It truly is a beautiful place."

She smiled at him." Well then, lead the way." Then she left the truck walking around to the front to take in the view of the home. She was in absolute awe looking at the white and blue trim cottage with a black painted pipe fence that surrounds the yard the clean cut green grass in the front yard looks soft and inviting then the flower beds on each side of the steps full of colorful flowers. wow, Isabella breathed out, laughing at her and opening the gate, Ashley led the way up the stone path to the front door,

As they entered the home Isabella was speechless the house was open and the sunk in living room had two small steps down the room was large and had a large flat screen mounted on the wall and the dark blue furniture set around the room with a large sectional that wraps one side and two recliner chairs side by side sat opposite of the room there was a large round coffee table in the middle but her attention was drawn to the large bay window right in the center of the room with a bench seat to snuggle into.

She turned to see James and Ashley smiling big at her she smiled back even bigger." I absolutely love this. What else? I'm excited to see the rest. " They laughed, and Ashley said,"The kitchen is right there, pointing her hand to another room. Isabella followed it and walked towards a large area.

She walked into the room and was surprised by the amount of storage space in there. Along with the sterling silver appliances that were brand new, she went further in and opened cabinets and drawers. she kept smiling." I am going to enjoy cooking in this kitchen." she told them, giggling, then turned to look out the windows lining the wall." I can not believe how perfect this place is. Where do I sign, and who do I pay? I don't even need to see it anymore. This is it. This will be my new home."

Ashley was excited for her." Let's finish the tour, and we can get to the legalities soon enough." she was so happy she couldn't keep the smile from her face she just knew this was going to be the best place for her to start fresh and make a life for herself that she always dreamed about.....