We continued to chat as we ran, moving to more comfortable topics. Eventually we passed Marvin’s Masterpieces, and I was disappointed that instead of my long-imagined unicorn, Marvin had a well-preserved longhorn steer on display in front of an oversize barn beside an undersize house.

Teo gave the steer a nod. “Meet Houston. Marvin loved that old steer. When Houston finally went to that big cattle range in the sky, Marvin hauled his carcass into the barn with a tractor and spent weeks preserving him as a memorial.”

“A friend of yours? Marvin, not Houston.”

“Marvin prefers animals over people, but sometimes I can entice him out of his workshop if I promise to listen to lectures on the relative values of glass eyes versus acrylic.”

I was beginning to tire at exactly the point when Teo slowed to a walk and pointed ahead. “My place.”

The house was raised off the ground on brick pilings, with a wide shaded porch surrounding the front and the sides. I thought there must be a second story because there was a gable in the sloping tin roof.

“Wow, this is cute. Isn’t this what they call a cracker house?”

“The main house was more of a shack than a cracker, but what was left after a century of hard living was redesigned by a local architect who added the second story and porches, adjusted the slope of the roof and lived here himself for a while. It’s small, but it has a lot of living space.”

“Plenty, I’d say.”

“I was lucky to find it and luckier to buy it. Not everyone wants to live this far from Seabank, and Marvin and Houston scare off the rest.”

“What’s in the back?”

“A screened porch. I have coffee out there every morning to watch the wildlife. It’s all woods behind me. I’ve bought enough acres to keep a developer from eyeing the rest.”

“I can see you here.” I paused. “But maybe not. It’s isolated. You never really liked to be alone.”

“I’m surrounded by people and dogs all day long. These days I like having a retreat.”

“I have people around me, day and night, but luckily I live alone in half a duplex. Unfortunately, my wildlife lives in the other half, rides a Harley-Davidson and shows up around midnight, sometimes with lady friends.”

“I have something to give you. And I have lemonade to go with it.”

I needed something to drink. I pinched my tank top and wiggled it to create ventilation as I followed him inside.

The entryway was fronted by stairs up to the next floor, along with a woodstove that probably heated the entire house. Past the stairs, a great room spread back to the screened porch, with a kitchen and dining area to the right and what was probably a bedroom to the left. The open floor plan made the space feel larger than it was, but it was still cozy, with different areas well defined by casual furniture.