Vanished

Epilogue

Selma chased Bear through the mostly empty main floor of the house. His paws skidded on the hardwood floors as he tried to turn the corner in the foyer, and Selma easily bounced past him. And the chase continued with him chasing her.

"That's it," Ellie yelled from the kitchen. "Take the dog outside."

My brother chuckled, and I held back a grin even though Ellie couldn't see me. I was happy Bear and Selma got along, at least somewhat, and less concerned about the mess they made. But Ellie liked her things organized, and she liked her rules.

I put down the box I'd been going through in search of a pair of scissors. But there was no use. I had no idea where I put them.

"Might as well fix that gate," I said and called for Bear to follow me towards the garage where the tools should be, hoping they'd be easier to find than the scissors.

A fence surrounded the entire backyard, which was full of large live oak trees, a few pines and some palm trees. There were several shady spots for Bear to relax, and he loved it out there.

A large pool glinted invitingly in the sunlight. The patio surrounding it didn't yet have any furniture, and neither did the deck off the back of the house. But Ellie and I had placed an order, so it was on its way.

The property was my own piece of heaven. I knew as soon as I saw that was where I wanted us to live and raise a family. It was everything I'd ever dreamed of and getting to share it with my favorite people and furry friends was a dream come true.

"I'll grab some water bottles while you find your tools," my brother grinned and walked towards the refrigerator. I rolled my eyes. He knew it might take me forever to find them.

Ellie was in the kitchen baking cupcakes in the new oven, because her sister's family was coming over for a visit.

We didn't have much of anything in the house yet. We'd just closed on it a few days earlier, and the only furniture we had was a new king-size bed in the master bedroom. But even with no furniture, I had moved in. It was my house and I could wait to make memories.

We'd spent the last couple of days deep cleaning and painting the bedrooms. It was a newer house with four bedrooms, a den I'd use as my home office, and a large kitchen with a view of the backyard. The kitchen and the open living room were Ellie's favorite part. She loved the house almost as much as I did.

My brother had approved of it as well, but he preferred the backyard with the large in-ground pool and the cabana.

"I think that pool will be occupied all summer," Ellie had giggled happily once we'd gotten the key to the house. "Between Alex and Brielle, we'll have constant company."

Just the way I wanted it. "That works for me," I'd told her.

I couldn't wait to have Ellie's sister's family over for dinner, or to host parties with some of our old friends we'd reconnected with. To be able to relax at home while surrounded by happy, laughing people. Those were things my brother and I had never done, but planned on doing in the future.