M/C moves to, or back to, a town. Finds overgrown parcel with derelict (stone ?) building, possibly old grain mill, and sets up to live there. As he finds work he buys the building and rehabilitates it as home. Probably read it about 20-25 years ago on either this site or the mostly dead one.
My first thought was the Howard Faxon story Pack Up and Go to the Steam Show, but it's a sawmill, not in a town, and the story is dated 2016 so that's probably not it. It might be worth trolling through his other works as it sounds like the sort of thing he'd write.
Another one I vaguely remember from the ~dead site by an author named 762x25 (?? - some ammo size) called Aaron's tails (or similar), with a guy helping his brother in a parcel of National Forest he'd bought, rebuilding the shell of a house there from just the two end walls (there was also the remains of a dam, so possibly a mill of some form). I liked it for the rebuilding (including making a jury-rigged sawmill on an old trailer frame, and using concrete parking stops (bought on closeout) as beams across the fireplaces during rebuilding), but it included cp so I'm disinclined to look further. Again, not a town so probably not the one anyway, although I saw in probably near 20y ago. Other details I think are from that story are the hot-springs pool on the property, and the local sawmill owner makes his owm dark homebrew. ETA: the MC was a drifter, but his brother was a high-flyer who lost nearly everything.
I recollect a story of a guy who retired to a place in the south east. He bought a place with an old mill house and pond. The building was refurbished to host events with a medieval theme. The MC worked several years doing black ops stuff for hire before deciding to retire. After purchasing the mill, he goes on one last mission and comes back wounded. A nurse was one of those he rescued, and she decides to join him.
I've read the story several times and I've looked through my folder and didn't find it. So if I remember the name before some else does I'll let you know.
Edit to add
The one I was looking for is "Castle" by Richard Blaine
https://storiesonline.net/s/42391/castle
Cheers
While your story is clearly not Argon's https://storiesonline.net/s/51938/return-from-the-dark-side, the plot has a lot in common.
(but he inherits his home, the woman he meets was "filthy rich" and not a nurse).
Wasn't there one where the guy bought the mill (for unremembered reasons - maybe he retired from the military?) then met the love interest, possibly with two kids, then there were some teenagers trying to vandalize/destroy the place. Eventually they turn it into a mill and country store, with various food products (muffins, cookies, whatever you can make from milled flour) and LHEA.
I don't recall much specific about it, but ISTR that it has been requested before, either here or on Google groups.
The last one with the mill was by SW_MO_HERMIT. He was a,África Major thar I believe hasmd lost his wife and ended up buying the old water mill. He met the 2 kids and eventually the mother.
