Alex sat there for a couple minutes with her mouth hanging open and eyes wide. Sammy's bark brought her out of her trance. There before her was a beautiful 2 story house, cedar plank siding painted a rustic brown, green tin roof and a covered porch with beautifully turned posts and spindles. There was a garage to the right of the house built in the same fashion. "Wow!" Was all I could manage. I was expecting a small house with a porch and maybe a swing, but not this!

I took a deep breath and started forward again. I parked in the drive beside a black truck . hmmm company already. I turned the car off and turned to face Sammy. "You will be a gentleman and not drool or jump on anyone. Understood?" Sammy made a sound somewhere between a bark and a whine. I guess that was gonna be the best I would get. In Sammy speak that was a maybe, so I thought it best to use the leash, just in case he was a little too 'happy' while meeting everyone.

As we walked to the house, a man and a woman came out and down the steps to greet us, they both wore huge smiles. The woman barely topped 5ft and had grey brown streaked hair up in a bun. The man was a good foot taller with gray hair and a sturdy build. They both had unusual eyes, hers were a blue-gray and his were a tawny yellow, their eyes seemed almost to glow.

Just as I opened my mouth to speak, the woman started chattered away. " Hello you must be Alex! I'm Shirley and this is my husband Owen. We are so happy to finally meet you. Your grandmother spoke of you quite often. I'm sure you will love it here. Did you have a good trip? Are you hungry? Dinner will be ready in a few minutes. Hope you like meatloaf." She seemed to say all this without taking a breath. Owen was just shaking his head with a small smile. "And who might you be?" She asked looking at Sammy.

I took this opportunity to jump in before she started up again. "I did have a good trip, yes I'm hungry and I love meatloaf. This is Sammy." I said with a smile. Sammy took this as his queue to move forward and give her a big slobbery lick from her hand up to her elbow. "Sorry that's his way of saying hello." I mumbled. Shirley just laughed and ushered me inside.

"Owen get her things out the car."

"That's okay I can get them later."

"No honey you've had a long trip, you need to relax." I released Sammy from his leash and he took off to sniff out the house.

Dinner was wonderful. I offered to clean up but Shirley would not hear of it. She shooed me outside on the back porch with a glass of wine. So now here I sit, swinging slowly back and forth, watching Sammy run around the yard and mark every tree and bush. The back of the house faced west overlooking the lake. The sun was just beginning to set and it was a beautiful display of red, pink and orange. I heard a knock at the front door and Shirley talking to someone. She came to the screen door with a frown on her face. "You have a guest."

She walked back with me to the door, still with a frown on her face. I was puzzled at her behavior. If there was one word to describe her it was effervescent. So I was confused at her current demeanor. When I opened the door there stood the most gorgeous man I had ever seen! He had ash blond hair in a spiky style, a chiseled face with a roman nose, muscular body with a tight fitting white tee and cargo shorts. His eyes were a sparkling deep green with flecks of gold, that looked as if he could see into my soul. When he spoke it was deep and sultry. "Good evening. I thought I would come by and introduce myself. I am your neighbor just a couple of houses down. My name is Adrian." Then I realized that he was smiling and holding out his hand. I had to shake myself mentally and with a blush shook his hand.

"Alex, nice to meet you. Would you like to come in?" Shirley huffed and that's when I realized she was scowling at him. I would have to talk to her about that later.

"No. But thank you for the invitation, perhaps another time." He smiled. As he walked to the steps he stopped and turned. "Pleasure to meet you Alex." There was a smirk on his face. Then he walked away and got into a sleek black Mercedes and drove away. Strange. I thought as I closed the door.