That Night with You by Alexandrea Weis

was often
prized by the socially ambitious and highly affluent.
    “ Two acres in this
neighborhood is quite a find,” Hayden stated as he stepped from the
rear of the car. “My clients inherited the property from a wealthy
aunt, along with a sizable amount of money to build their dream
home.”
    “ Why don’t they want to
build further out where they can get more land?” Adam
probed.
    “ You don’t pass on a chance
to build in Turtle Creek, Adam,” Hayden explained. “There are very
few lots left in this neighborhood.”
    Madison glimpsed the stone mansions
that rose up close to the curb on either side of the property. They
appeared old and grand, with wide steps that climbed to thick,
carved doors and colonial windows covering the façade of the first
and second stories. The homes were opulent, impressive, and
demanded the attention of the onlooker, but Madison thought they
lacked originality.
    “ Whatever we design it will
have to be set back,” she muttered, waving to the property. “We
can’t give any hint of being natural with these homes on either
side. It will take away from the aesthetic.”
    Hayden faced her. “What
else?”
    “ We need to keep the front
grounds intact and allow the home to blend in,” she affirmed as she
moved from the street to the curb.
    “ That’s what I was
thinking,” Adam agreed. “We need more trees in front,
actually.”
    Madison turned to him. “It’s a lot,
not a grove, Adam. Add more trees and you’ll kill the grass and
brush beneath. Better to leave the nature already in place intact.”
She shifted her gaze to Hayden. “Does the property back up to the
creek?”
    “ The lot covers three
hundred feet along the shore of the creek, right past the ridge.”
He waved to a high ridge rising up in the center of the
lot.
    Madison climbed from the curb onto the
grass. “Let’s go and see it.”
    “ Wait, what?” Adam’s face
fell. “You don’t want to actually walk through that, do
you?”
    She spun around. “Why not?”
    Adam’s hand swept down his black
pinstripe suit and black leather shoes. “We’re not dressed for
hiking through an uncleared lot, Madison.”
    She glimpsed her short yellow dress
and black flats. “If I’m willing to walk in this, Adam, you can get
a little dirt on your shoes.”
    Aghast, Adam’s green eyes rounded.
“They’re two hundred dollar shoes, Madison.”
    Hayden’s alluring chuckle broke the
tension in the air. “Come on, Adam, it will be fun.” He removed his
suit jacket and flung it in the back of the car. Tugging his yellow
tie from about his neck, he threw it on top of his
jacket.
    Madison could see Adam’s reservations
about the trek through the property stamped all over his face, but
he did not dare voice his refusal. Shrugging his jacket from his
shoulders, Adam reluctantly left it on the backseat of the
car.
    “ Come on, boys,” Madison
taunted, kicking off her flats and leaving them next to the curb.
“Last one to the creek is a rotten egg.”
    Madison took off down a dirt path to
the side of the lot, running along as the brush and grass scraped
against her bare legs. The late morning sun had finally come out
and was filtering through the trees as a gentle fall breeze brought
goose pimples to her skin. She could not remember the last time she
had just run through the grass, feeling all the zest for life of a
child.
    “ Madison, don’t go so far,”
Hayden’s voice called behind her.
    She ignored him as she darted along
the narrow path. She could feel the cool, damp earth beneath her
toes with the occasional crunch of a twig or leaves coming up from
the ground. As she jogged along, she took in the topography of the
lot, noting how it dipped sharply after reaching a rise, and when
she continued down an embankment, she could smell the creek just up
ahead. The ground beneath her feet became mushier, and soon
brambles and thorny bushes closed in around her, sticking her with
their burs.
    She was picking a thorn