Wanted

Your Lies Become Drama

Monday Afternoon 

Prince's voice sang softly throughout the cab of Riya's truck, her eyes flickering from the road to Julio sitting in the passenger seat. The man was leaning back in the seat with a leg propped up as he held his phone out. He was having a conversation with someone regarding a new deal that he was trying to broker and his left hand was waving around in the air. Riya tightened her grip on the steering wheel and wondered why had she agreed to go and see the house without her brother.

"I'll call you back in ten minutes," Julio spoke ending the call before he turned to Riya. "You look good mama."

Riya was wearing a sheer, light pink button-down shirt that was buttoned up to the third button going down. The shirt was tucked into a pair of high-waisted black shorts with a G.O. belt around her waist and a pair of light brown gladiator sandals. Peaking from underneath the pink shirt, was a black, lacy, pushup bra and she rolled her eyes, knowing that her chest was where Julio was mainly staring.

"So, what made you decide to buy me a house?" Riya asked before she added a teasing tone to her voice. "Did your mommy put you up to this?"

"Naw, mama. It was a gift from me, from the heart," Julio scoffed before turning his head towards the window and letting a soft swear slip from his lips.

Riya had hit it right in the money that Julio's mother had told him to buy the girl the house. It had taken the older woman a long time to weasel out of the younger woman what her dream house was. Once she had gained the information, she told her son and pushed him to find and buy it for her. Julio's mother wanted her son to stay with the chocolate-skinned woman and for Riya to become her one and only daughter-in-law.

"So, why did you pick a place that was far from the city?" Riya asked as she jumped off the freeway and onto the feeder.

"I remember you saying that you wanted a place with lots of land when we first got together," Julio said, pointing off to the side of the sea of endless trees.

Where he pointed was a long dirt road and Riya turned onto it, Julio reaching out and turning down the music when the song 'Love the Way You Lie' came on. Looking at him with an eyebrow raised, Riya decided to ignore it for now and slowed down, not wanting rocks to fly into her truck from her speed. Eventually, they neared a large metal and hardwood gate in between large stone pillars with steel bars stretching out further than Riya could see. Reaching into his right pocket, Julio pulled out a small remote and clicked the red button on top. With a low 'buzz', the gates started to open inwards and Riya slowly moved her truck through the opening gates as Julio tossed the remote into the cup holders. After driving half a mile from the gate, the large farmhouse came into view. Just like when she saw the house on Google Maps, Riya felt shock run through her veins as she parked the truck and killed the engine. Julio jumped out of the cab and held his arms out as he stood in front of the house with a large smirk on his lips.

"Welcome home mama," Julio said as Riya climbed out of the cab and bounced her purse on her shoulder.

The outside of the ranch house was made from limestone and it had a galvalume roof. Three structures provided comfort and privacy between the main house, the bunkhouse, and what looked like an apartment over the garage. Behind the main house, was a small pool house and sixty feet from the pool house was the horse stables.

"The whole area is twenty-seven acres, but only ten acres of trees were knocked down. I fenced in the area where it's clear to separate the forest from the living space. So, the main house has a living room, dining room, kitchen, master bedroom and bath, three bedrooms, four and a half baths, and two office spaces. The bunk house has two bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus a living area," Julio listed off as the pair stood in front of the truck. "A breezeway connects the main house to the bunkhouse."