31 Stay (1/2)

The drive up to the main house from the main gate took about seven minutes, but it felt like the longest seven minutes of Ash's life. She felt butterflies in her stomach, and even the butterflies were feeling dizzy.

When they got out of the car, Ash stood in front of the doors of the largest house she had seen in her life.

Up to that point, the largest house she had ever been to was the state orphanage. The House had belonged to a wealthy couple who had left their estate as a donation to the government. The estate had included the family home, which the couple expressly provided in their Last Will and Testament was to be turned into a childcare institution after they died.

The two-storey stone house had 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, a front lawn and a sizeable backyard. It had housed up to 20 children at one point, cramming 5 children in each of the 4 bedrooms. The children had needed to eat their meals in 2 scheduled rounds just to fit everyone at the table.

The Guzman compound had about 10, 000 square feet of living space on the nearly 750-acre estate. The main house alone had 4 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, a formal dining room, an informal dining room next to the large kitchen and 2 living rooms. From what Ash had seen, the main house could easily fit at least two, maybe even three state orphanages inside of it.

”You'll meet my parents at dinner, so we'll set you up in the guest house for now.”

Hunter carried Ash's duffel bag on his shoulder as they walked through the main house. Behind the main house, there were 4 other buildings that Ash could see. From the look of it, the 2 larger buildings were probably guest houses while the 2 smaller buildings were caretaker homes.

Ash had assumed that she would be staying in a bedroom in the main house, but apparently she would have a whole guest house to herself. As a little girl who liked to play house, Ash was thrilled at the prospect of having her own little house, even if it was just for two weeks.

Ash loved the guesthouse. It was a smaller terracotta version of the main house, with the same warm colors, only cozier. It had a receiving area with a love seat and 2 chairs. It had a dining area with a glass-topped table and 4 dining chairs. It had a small kitchen with a stove and a fridge. And she had a bedroom all to herself with a queen-size bed. She was so happy with the space that when she sat on the bed, she had to stop herself from wiggling with joy. It felt like a childhood dream had come true.

Hunter put Ash's duffel bag on the floor in front of the closet and scanned the room. He was satisfied that everything was spotless. Ash had been staring at everything when she walked in and he was nervous that she would find something out of order.

”There's a buzzer by the light switch if you need to call the caretaker for anything. There's a phone if you need to call the main house, but we don't really use it anymore. You could just text me if you need anything.”