Page 152 of Whisper Sweet Nothings
“I love when you whisper sweet nothings to me, Archie,” she said, her words sounding sleepy.
I wrapped her up in my arms and held her tight.
My best friend.
My wife.
My love.
My forever.
extended epilogue
Archer
Twenty years later
“I can’t believe we’re finally breaking ground,” Cutler said as he glanced around at the expansive land, surrounded by the most beautiful mountains. Water splashed against the shore in the distance, and I breathed in the cool air.
“It’s one of the best things he ever talked us into,” Bridger said after ending his phone call and walking over to us.
Twenty years ago, a gorgeous plot of land had become available in Blue Sky Bay, and I’d called everyone in my family immediately. It wasn’t something I could afford on my own, and Bridger had offered to buy it for everyone, but we all wanted to invest in it together. So, my brother and Wren, and all my cousins and their significant others, chipped in, and we purchased the land together.
All with the idea of building on it someday.
But then we got busy having babies, and watching our kids grow, and sending them off to college.
The land appreciated, of course, and Emerson had come out here to help Cutler move into his new home two years ago. She’d planted the seed about us finally building on this land.
My nephew had expanded on his father’s construction company and opened his own ROD Construction in this quaint little town that sat between Rosewood River and Magnolia Falls, right on the bay. It had always been a secret little place that not many people knew about, but now this town was booming. It was the place to be. Cutler went to college not too far from here, and he’d gone on to architecture school, and now here we were.
He’d gone on to get both his contracting license and his architecture license. He’d designed the family home that we were about to break ground on, and now he’d be building it as well. Emilia had offered to provide some guidance on the interior, but she was busy running her own business back home, so we’d need to find someone local. The exciting thing was that we’d all share this place, which would become a generational home that we’d pass down for years to come to our children and then to their kids.
It was time.
“You don’t think we’re going too big on this?” I asked as I scratched the back of my neck.
It was going to be a mammoth home, with twelve bedrooms and just as many bathrooms, not to mention the gym and the game room and the movie theater.
“We want to be able to all use it together, too, so I think the size works.” Bridger shrugged.
“You know what they say, size matters.” Cutler laughed. “Go big or go home, boys.”
“Of course that’s what you’d say, hotshot.” I clapped him on the shoulder. “Those plans you drew are something else.”
He was a talented kid, no doubt about it. He’d always been the coolest kid I’d ever met, and to say he’d grown into an even more amazing man would be an understatement.
Cutler Heart was as good as they came.
“Thanks, Uncle A,” he said. “We’re ready to get started. It’s going to take some time, because it’s an enormous home, but it’ll be worth the wait.”
“All good things are,” I said.
“I disagree,” Bridger grumped. “I like microwave popcorn, and that’s fast. I prefer a short movie to a long movie. I am always a fan of short conversations versus long ones. And I can make money in minutes. So, there you go.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know Emilia is going to be as involved as she can be from a distance, but do you think we should find a local designer? We’ll have a lot of decisions to make, and if we don’t want this to take years to build, then it might be wise to have someone who’s here.”
“No chance you can get Gracie to take this on?” Bridger asked.
