THE HOUSE ETHAN COLE BUILT FOR TWO
Chapter 18
One evening, Ethan sat on the porch after Lily had gone to bed.
The town was quiet.
The harbor lights were visible in the distance.
He looked at the house.
The house he had once thought was simply a purchase.
Wood.
Nails.
Paint.
Roof.
Walls.
Windows.
Now it was something else.
It contained memories.
Lily’s first breakfast.
Her first day at school.
Their first Christmas.
Their first argument.
The night she called him Dad.
The sound of her footsteps running down the stairs every morning.
The little things.
The things that couldn’t be measured.
Ethan leaned back.
He remembered the person he had been when he first arrived in Greyhaven.
A stranger.
Someone passing through.
Someone who never stayed long enough to become attached.
Now there were toys beneath the couch.
Drawings on the refrigerator.
A child’s coat hanging beside his.
Two toothbrushes in the bathroom.
Two plates on the table.
Two lives under one roof.
Ethan looked toward the window.
A small light was still on upstairs.
Lily had probably forgotten to turn it off.
He smiled.
Then stood.
He walked inside.
Turned off the kitchen light.
Checked the front door.
Looked upstairs.
The house was quiet.
Safe.
Warm.
Home.
