by Lydia Rose
Abby nodded her head up and down. “I’m going to move my bedroom downstairs to the back bedroom. The stairs are getting too much for me these days.” Abby chuckled. “I get to the bottom of the stairs and forgot I left something upstairs.”
“Gran, you can always get a lift to bring you up the stairs,” Jane suggested.
“That’s not necessary, Jane. I’ll be just as happy down here.” Abby took her granddaughter’s hand. “You know this place will be yours when I’m gone.”
“You’ve told me, Gran, but what is really on your mind?” Jane put her hand on top of her grandmother’s. “Do you want me to stay?”
“Well, I was thinking that you and Erin can move in here. You’ll have the entire top floor to yourselves.”
Jane looked at her grandmother hoping she could explain why she didn’t think that was a good idea.
Abby began to speak before Jane could answer. “I know you think you’ll be running around naked in the apartment and making love in each room, but that doesn’t last. Trust me, I know.” Abby smiled. “You and Erin can do whatever you want to update this place. The kitchen has already been done. The master bedroom needs remodeling. You can change the furniture in any room you want. I don’t care. This house needs a new couple to love it the way your grandfather and I did.”
“Gran, can I talk to Erin about this before I give you an answer?” Jane asked softly.
“Yes, and I don’t want you to force her into agreeing if this is something you two do not want to do. I’ll be fine on my own and that shouldn’t be part of your decision. Okay?” Abby lifted Jane off the seat and hugged her.
“I love you so much, Gran,” Jane whispered in Abby’s ear.
“I love you too, baby.”
****
Erin got to the house a few hours later. Abby had already gone upstairs to read.
Erin went straight to Jane when she walked in the door. “Hi, honey.”
Jane walked over and kissed her mouth. “How was your visit with Casey?”
“Good. She’s dating someone new.”
“I’m glad. Casey deserves to find someone to love.” Jane took her hand and led her to the couch.
“I spoke with my grandmother tonight about me moving in with you.”
“Was she upset?” Erin asked taking her hand.
Jane grinned. “No, but she had another idea.”
Erin’s brow furrowed. “What idea?”
“She wants to move her bedroom downstairs and give us the second floor.”
Erin’s eyes opened wide, but she didn’t comment.
“Gran said we can make any changes to the house that we want. We can change the furniture, update the bathrooms, anything,” Jane shrugged.
“But this is her house. Why would she let us do that?”
“Because she said the house is going to be mine someday anyway.”
Erin got up and went into the kitchen for a bottle of water. Jane came up behind her and wrapped her arms around her.
“Is this something you would want to do?” Erin asked.
Jane shrugged. “I’m not sure. We won’t have the privacy that we would at your apartment.”
“It’s been a long time since I lived in a home.” Jane smiled at Erin’s words. “I know your grandmother would give us the privacy we would want, but I couldn’t make love to you on the living room floor.”
Jane laughed. “Is that something you are interested in doing?”
“Jane, I’m thirty five years old. Yeah, I can still do it, but who am I kidding? I’d be so sore in the morning. I like our bed. Can we make a big shower in that master bathroom?” Erin asked pointing her chin up the stairs.
“There’s four bedrooms up there plus the one down here. We can always steal room from one of the bedrooms to increase the size of the bathroom.”
“While we are updating, can we soundproof the master bedroom?” Erin asked wiggling her eyebrows.
“Anything you want, Erin. Anything,” Jane said laughing.
EPILOGUE
Jane and Erin had been living in the newly-remodeled house for three months now. Abby had been great and welcomed all the changes to her house. She even insisted on paying for all of the upgrades. Spring was finally in the air and Erin went out to the garage to get the lawnmower. She pushed the lawnmower onto the grass and began to pick up debris before she started the machine. As she was near the back fence, she stopped to watch the two kids playing in the yard behind their home. A smile appeared on her face as a little girl walked toward her.
“Who are you?” the little girl asked through the cyclone fence.
Erin got down on her knees to meet the girl’s eyes. “I’m Erin.” She looked into the deep blue eyes of the little girl.
“Do you live here?” the girl asked.
“Yes I do.” A little boy approached them. “What are your names?” Erin asked.
“I’m Lizzie and this is my brother, Noah.” The girl pointed.
“How old are you?” Erin asked.
“I’m five and he’s three,” the little girl answered.
“Well, I’m happy to meet you both,” Erin said standing. She now noticed a tall woman coming out the back door. “Hi,” Erin said as the woman approached.
“Hello. Are you two bothering this woman?”
“No,” Lizzie answered.
The two women chuckled. “I’m Erin Walters.” She put her hand over the fence.
“Jennifer Connelly,” she said taking the offered hand.
A blond now came out the back door and approached smiling.
“Reese, come meet our neighbor,” Jennifer said holding out her hand. “Erin, this is my wife, Reese.”
Erin’s smiled opened wide. “I’m happy to meet you Reese.” She took Reese’s hand. “Your children are beautiful. I can tell which child each of you gave birth to.” Erin saw that Lizzie was the spitting image of Jennifer and Noah looked exactly like Reese.
Jennifer laughed. “You’d be wrong because Reese gave birth to both of them.”
“But…”
“I know, but you’d be wrong,” Jennifer said with a wave of her hand. “Nothing happened to Abby?”
Erin shook her head. “No, no. Abby is fine.” She turned when she heard the back door slam. “Jane, come over here and meet the neighbors.”
“Hi, Jane,” Reese greeted her.
“Honey, I know the neighbors. I’ve known Reese for many, many years. Jennifer for the last eight years.” Jane turned to Erin. “This is my fiancé, Erin Walters.”
The two women on the other side of the fence raised their eyebrows. “Wow, I can’t believe how many lesbians are in this neighborhood,” Jennifer said laughing.
“Are there more?” Erin asked.
“We have friends across the street from us who own a beach home, Kelly and Kate.”
Jennifer smiled at Jane. “It’s good to see you happy, Jane.”
“Thanks, Jen. I am very happy,” she said taking Erin’s hand.
“We’ve seen a lot of work going on in Abby’s home,” Reese said. “Is that because you both moved in?”
Jane nodded, “Yep. We couldn’t leave my grandmother alone.”
“So when’s the wedding?” Jennifer asked.
“August 10th,” Erin answered.
Noah walked over to Reese and pulled on her leg. Reese looked down. “You want up, young man?”
“Mommy, up,” he said holding out his arms.
Reese picked up Noah and held him.
“Aren’t they beautiful?” Jane asked taking Erin’s arm.
“They are,” she answered.
Reese moved closer to Jennifer. “Maybe someday the kids will have some friends to play with?”
Jane and Erin looked at each other and laughed. “Maybe,” Jane said holding onto Erin’s arm.
“It’s time for the kids’ snack,” Reese said. “I’m glad to have met you Erin and good to see you Jane.”
Jennifer watched as her wife took the two kids insid
e. “Don’t be strangers. We will introduce both of you to Kelly and Kate when they come down. You can never have enough friends. Enjoy your day.”
“You too, Jen,” Jane offered with a wave.
“So what’s the story with them and the kids?” Erin asked after Jennifer went into the house.
Jane laughed. “Come into the house and I’ll explain.” She handed Erin a bottle of water and they sat at the kitchen table.
“Lizzie looks just like Jennifer and Noah looks exactly like Reese, but Jennifer said Reese gave birth to both kids.”
Jane smiled. “That’s right, but what you don’t know is the donor for both kids is Jennifer’s cousin Bobby.”
“Yeah, but—”
Jane held up her hand. “Jennifer’s mother and Bobby’s mother are sisters. Their fathers are also brothers.”
“You mean to tell me that each sister married a brother?”
“Yep.”
“So those kids really have a lot of Jennifer’s DNA?”
“They do.”
“Wow, that’s really fantastic.” Erin shook her head. “That was really nice of Jennifer’s cousin to do that.”
“Bobby is gay and he and his husband don’t want kids, but they love Elizabeth and Noah so much. You should see them together.”
“Do you want kids, Jane?”
“I never really thought about it before you came into my life.” Jane took Erin’s hand. “Is it something we should talk about?”
“Maybe someday, Jane. I think we should concentrate on getting married first.”
Jane leaned over and kissed Erin’s mouth. “I love you so much, Erin.”
“I love you, too. I guess we picked the right neighborhood to move into.”
Jane smiled and sat on Erin’s lap. “We certainly did.”
To Be Continued in Return to the Shore
Return to the Shore brings back Jane and Erin along with their friends from The Summer of Our Love and What are You Doing the Rest of Your Life?
If you enjoyed reading my book, please take the time to write a review on Amazon or Goodreads. As a self-published author, I depend on reviews to continue writing new stories. As always, I appreciate the support my fans have shown for my work.
Other Books by Lydia Rose
The Summer of Our Love (2014)
What Are You Doing the Rest of Your Life? (The Summer of Our Love Sequel (2014)
Stay With Me (2014)
The House on the Lake (2014)
The Country Girl (2014)
Coming Home (2014)
Are you the One (2014)
The Story of Annabelle & Alison (2014)
Love Comes to Alaska (2015)
Family Ties (2015)
The Cruise (2015)
My Heart Wants You (2015)
Somebody Like You (2015)
Lost Memories (2015)
Just What the Doctor Ordered (2015)