Farmhouse

"Wow. You're even more beautiful than I thought," he told her with complete sincerity.

She was watching his eyes like a hawk and felt confident he was being truthful.

"You're not disappointed?"

"Nope. Not in the least," he assured her. "So are we done with this hiding thing?"

"I think so," she told him as she smiled again for the first time since the lights came on.

"Would you like to join me?" Doyle asked as he stood up.

"Well, the shower is pretty big," she said offering him a hand.

He helped her stand then kissed her and held her for a long while before she buried her head in the crook of his neck.

"You really do smell good, you know," she told him.

"I guess I'll just have to trust you on that."

"It's the closest thing I have to...a thing."

"Scent?" he asked quietly.

"Uh-huh. I don't know where it comes from, but I like a man to smell like a man."

She looked up at him then said, "Don't worry. It's not a fetish or anything."

Doyle smiled then said, "Even if it was, it wouldn't bother me. That's pretty tame compared to a lot of things."

"Do you have any...things?" she asked.

"Um...no. Not that I can think of. I do like women who are feminine. Butch is a real turnoff for me, but other than that, I don't think so."

Doyle couldn't help but wonder if her late husband may have had a 'thing'—or two—but he wasn't about to ask.

"Come on," he said taking her hand and leading into the very large, beautiful-but-dated master bathroom she and her husband had built. As showers went, this one was enormous and left all kinds of room to do all kinds of things.

Both Doyle and Lori spent quite a while in there doing them as they soaped each other up, washed and cleaned the other's body, and made love before doing it all again.

After dinner Doyle told her he should probably go check on the farmhouse before heading home.

"I understand," Lori told him. "I just wish you didn't have to go."

"I'll be back tomorrow," he promised.

"Doyle?"

"Yes?"

"Does my age really not bother you?" she asked.

"It really doesn't," he told her. "Not at all. Why?"

"Just wondering," she said with a smile.

"Does mine bother you?" he asked wondering if it did.

"You know, in my mind I'm still your age. I feel young and happy and full of life. But I'm not. I'm nowhere near your age."

"Why does that matter?" he asked her. "If we share things in common, if we've experienced things few other people understand, and if we enjoy being with each other, why would that matter?"

She leaned her head on his shoulder and said, "You sound like my daughter."

"Then she sounds like a smart girl."

"Yeah. I guess she is," Lori said before walking him to the door and kissing him goodbye.

It was late by the time Doyle got home, and his mother told him she was getting concerned.

"Sorry, Mom. I should have called," he said politely.

"Does this have anything to do with the cologne thing the other day?" she asked hoping not to sound too nosy.

"Mom? Can we talk?" Doyle said knowing his mother's suspicions would be running wild.

She never interrupted him once as he explained who it was he'd met and how he felt about her.

Her only question was one he'd just heard:

"Don't you want children?"

Doyle smiled then tried to answer her the best he could. With Chelly, he'd just assumed they'd have one or two kids, but it had never been his dream. It was more something he'd just assumed married people did. Chelly had wanted children, and Doyle was sure he'd have given them to her. But now, a child was the last thing on his mind, and he did his best to make that clear to his mother even as his own mind tried to process all this new information and feelings.

"You're disappointed, aren't you?" he asked.

"Well, I've always wanted grandchildren. I mean, since you and Chelly got engaged anyway. But more than anything else in life, I've wanted you to be happy, Doyle. So, if you are, then I'm happy for you," she told him as she put a hand on his cheek.

"I'd like you to meet her, Mom."

"I'd like that," she said. "Why don't you invite her over for dinner?"

"Okay. I'll do that," he told her.

And he did. Lori agreed to meet Dora that Saturday evening. Both women were a bundle of nerves worried about what the other would think until they got to know each other. By the time Lori left, Doyle was feeling like the odd man out as the two women talked endlessly about one thing after the other they had in common the entire evening.

"I was so nervous about meeting your mom," Lori said as Doyle drove her home.

"I think you've got a BFF," he told her with a laugh.

She reached for his hand then said, "Yes. Maybe even two of them."

Doyle stayed with her that night; the first of many times that followed.

Sandy joined them for dinner about once a week, and Doyle saw her very differently from the girl who'd come on to him at the Pick & Shovel. She was just a young, attractive, insecure girl trying to find love in a world where it was often hard to find and even harder to keep. She'd been very hurt by her ex-husband, but like Doyle and her mother, she was unwilling to give up trying.

Lori spent her days at the farmhouse helping her handsome, much-younger boyfriend finish the place, which was as gorgeous as anything she'd even seen on the HGTV shows where people flipped houses for a living. It had a beautiful, rustic charm to it with a modern flare in places, and Lori loved that Doyle took her suggestions and incorporated them into the old farmhouse.

When it was finished, they had a small open house with family, friends, and Kathy Perkins who ranted and raved about how beautiful the place was.

"So are you going to sell it, or do you think you might live here?" she asked Doyle.

"Well, that depends," he replied.

"The market is hot. You could sell this for well over $800,000," Kathy informed him.

"It isn't that," Doyle said.

Kathy raised an eyebrow and everyone else standing around was waiting to here his answer.

"It's really too big for just one person," Doyle told her while looking around at the other ten or people.

"But if I had someone to share it with me, then I think I'd end up staying here. At every step of the way, there was someone offering me ideas; ideas I built into this place."

When his eyes met Lori's, she stopped smiling and began holding her breath as he reached into his jacket and produced a small box.

"All of you know I lost my wife two years ago. I was so depressed and without hope I was ready to give up. When I first came here, this was just going to be a project. Something to help me get my mind off of the self-pity and sadness."

He moved over to Lori and stood right in front of her. She was now covering her mouth and shaking as Doyle continued speaking.

"But I met someone who knew exactly what I was going through. Someone more amazing and beautiful than I could have ever imagined. And that woman made me want to live again. And because of who she is, she made me want to love again. Without her, I'm not sure I'd even be alive today. Most of all, because she is such an amazing person, I fell in love with her."

Doyle got down on one knee and as he opened the box, he saw both his mom and Sandy starting to cry.

"Lori? You literally saved my life. I owe you everything, and everything I have I freely give to you. This house, my time, what little money I have, and all of my love. Nothing would make me happier than for you to be wife. Lori Collins? Will you marry me?"

"Mom? What are you waiting for?" Sandy called out. "Say 'yes' already!"

Lori was fighting a losing battle as she tried not to cry. She shook her head up and down several times before she could say, "Yes!" as Doyle placed the beautiful ring on her tiny hand then stood up and kissed her as everyone applauded and laughed and said, "Ahh!" as the women all hugged each other as well as the guys who were there.

Just two months later, Lori married Doyle in their brand new home with Sandy proudly serving as her Maid of Honor. Her new best friend, Dora, was thrilled for her and her son as she watched them exchange vows.

Lori put her first dream home on the market and within a week, it sold for as much money as their new home was worth, most of it being profit from years of appreciation.

They used some of that money to go on a honeymoon to Europe then came back and furnished the house with items from Lori's home along with a few new things they bought together.

Doyle returned to building homes, but did so only when he felt like it. Work was plentiful and his finished products were well known thanks to the publicity from Kathy who mentioned the handsome, young, general contractor to any potential client looking for a new home or those who wanted their existing home remodeled.

The happy couple never did have children, but they were happily married for just over 32 years. Their first love was staying home and spending time together, but they also traveled and did as many things as they could. Much of that time was spent outdoors seeing as much of the world's beauty as they could and making love often and with the same passion they felt that first time.

As they grew old(er) together, Doyle never once saw his gorgeous wife as anything but beautiful, and Lori never regretted following her heart—and her daughter's advice—and marrying the handsome, young man who restored the home just down the street; the beautiful farmhouse where she lived out her days with the man she so dearly loved and who made her feel like the most important and most beautiful woman on earth.