Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) (11 page)

Despite Cambri’s protests, Jace put all his home improvement projects on hold so he could help out every evening after work—and some afternoons when Sutton Hardware was a little slow. Every time Cambri mentioned her guilt at keeping him away from his own work, he’d always say, “You have a deadline, I don’t.” And no amount of coercion would change his mind, not that Cambri put up much of a fight. When the familiar sound of his truck pulled into the driveway, the day seemed to brighten. He made the work fun and the hours pass like seconds.

Gone was the awkward tension, and in its place bloomed something sturdier and deeper than their old high school friendship. Cambri had never felt so close to anyone, and her heart ached every time she thought of leaving.

On top of that, Cambri’s relationship with her father was better than ever. Every so often, when she was replanting the front yard, he’d come out, walk around, then silently nod his approval. A few times, he took a seat on the steps and asked questions about what she was doing. He ate the food she made without grumbling and didn’t argue when it was time for their daily walk around the block. He even remembered a few of her mother’s plants that Cambri had forgotten.

By the following Saturday, the yard had been restored to a younger version of its former self. The electrical line had been run, the area for the stream had been excavated, and the liner and pump were in place. All that was left was to test it and arrange the boulders that had been delivered the day before.

As Cambri carried some shrubs from the back of her father’s pick-up to the soon-to-be stream, the sun warmed her back at the same time a light breeze chilled her arms. The day would be a beautiful one, and Cambri couldn’t wait to turn the plastic-lined trench into a beautiful stream.

The sound of a familiar engine rumbled in the driveway, followed by the slamming of a door. A welcoming smile touched her lips as she turned around.

“You didn’t test it without me, did you?” Dressed in work jeans and a loose-fitting t-shirt, Jace lifted the last shrub from the truck and walked toward her with an easy smile.

“No.” Cambri couldn’t help but admire his strong arms or the way his damp hair glistened in the morning sunlight. “As promised, I waited for you, though I did fill the reservoir. And guess what? No leaks!”

“Good.” He set the plant on the ground and rubbed his hands together in anticipation. “Let’s do this then.”

Cambri knelt down and fingered the switch they’d installed the day before. “Ready?”

“Fingers crossed it works.”

Holding her breath, she flipped the switch, then grinned when a low murmuring sounded, signaling the pump had activated. Soon, water gurgled and rushed down the slight hill they’d created, looking more like a Slip ‘N Slide than a stream.

“It works!” Cambri leapt up, clapped her hands together, then skipped over to Jace and threw her arms around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is so cool!”

Jace’s arms tightened around her, lifting the heels of her sneakers off the ground as he hugged her back. “You’re acting like a kid who just built her first Lego set. I thought you’ve designed a bunch of these before.”

“Designed—yes. Built—no. I just tell a crew where to put it then admire it when it’s all done. ”

“Ah, so you’re one of
those
bosses,” he teased. Although he pulled back slightly, his hands were still on her waist, sending a happy shiver up her spine.

“I help with the planting,” she said.

“How? By telling them where to dig the holes?”

She slugged him lightly on the arm. “No. By digging some of the holes myself.” Okay, so it never turned out to be that many, but when they were under a tight deadline, she’d always step in to help out.

“Oh, so you’re obviously a skilled digger.”

“The best,” she lied. Actually, she was horrible, especially when the ground was hard and rocky.

“Can’t wait to see how good.” He grinned, nodding toward the plants waiting near the stream. “From the sounds of it, you won’t need my help today. Maybe I’ll just hang out on one of those patio seats, sip a lemonade, and observe.”

“Yeah right.” Jace was incapable of being idle when there was something that needed doing. “Ten bucks says you can’t sit still for more than five minutes.”

He chuckled. “You’re right. I probably couldn’t. Besides, I cleared out my schedule today, so I’m all
yours
.” He emphasized the last word, reminding her of her Freudian slip from the week before. Every chance he could, he found a way to bring it up in one way or another.

Cambri rolled her eyes then poked him in the chest with her finger. “You’d better be all ears too, because I have a lot of ordering to do.”

He laughed then nodded toward his truck. “Your shed came in this morning.”

“It did?” Cambri craned her neck to look around him. “Do you think we’ll have time to set it up today?”

“No,” he said. “That can wait until Monday. I took the day off, so don’t worry. We’ll get it done before you leave.”

Did he have to remind her? Cambri hated thinking about leaving on Tuesday. It was too soon. “But—”

“No buts. Today, we’re going to place those boulders, plant the rest of the shrubs, and pour the concrete for the hammock posts. Then we’re going out for dinner tonight to celebrate a job well done.” He shot her an uncertain look. “Assuming you’re available, that is.”

Cambri’s heart skipped a beat, possibly even two, even though she wasn’t sure how to interpret the invitation. Was he asking her out on a date-date, or was it really just a celebratory dinner and nothing to get excited about? Was he inviting her father as well?

“Unless you don’t want to,” Jace said. “I can always ask your dad instead.”

So it was just her. The thought thrilled her.

“I’d love to go.” The words came out rushed, sounding like Cambri was afraid he’d rescind the invitation. She drew in a quick breath and forced herself to slow down. “But only if it’s on me. I owe you big-time for all your help.”

“I’ll say.” His mouth lifted into a half smile. “But I’ll collect another time. I issued the invite, so tonight’s on me.”

“But—”

“I told you, no buts. Besides, are you really going to argue with me after all I’ve done for you?”

Cambri’s eyes narrowed. “That’s exactly why I’m arguing with you! I should be the one to pay.”

“If you’d wanted to pay, then you should have done the asking,” he said. “Since I beat you to it, I get to decide where we go and who’s paying.”

“And where are we going?”

“I was thinking Fort Collins for sushi. We can tell your dad we already caught the fish from the stream and ate it for dinner so we don’t have to follow through on our promise to stock it.”

“Very funny,” said Cambri. “And you’re kidding about the sushi thing too, right? Because I have this phobia of eating raw fish.”

“Yeah, I know,” he joked. “That’s what you get for not asking first.”

“Okay, fine.” She shrugged, acting as though she didn’t care. “But if it were up to me, I’d take you to Burgers On High and get you a double-decker with sweet potato fries.” That had been Jace’s favorite place to eat in high school. Was it still?

He grinned. “But you’ve never liked that place.”

It was true. The burgers were greasy, and Cambri had never been a sweet-potato-fry fan. But it was better than raw fish. “My taste buds have matured over the years,” she said. “I now love sweet potato fries.”

“Liar.”

Cambri loved that he still knew her so well. “Do they still have a live band on Saturday nights?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s good enough for me. We can go there for old times’ sake. What do you say?”

For a moment, his eyes deepened with something that went beyond humor. But then he dropped his gaze to his feet and scuffed at the grass. “Yeah, okay. Burgers On High it is.”

“Great. Then I’m paying,” said Cambri.

He shook his head. “Let’s save that fight for when we get there. Otherwise, we’ll be arguing all day long.”

“Okay, just promise not to tell Dad where we’re going. He’ll insist I bring him back a burger, and he’s not allowed to eat those anymore.”

“It’ll be our secret.”

For the next couple of hours, they placed boulders and rocks, shifted them around to wherever Cambri thought they’d look good, then shifted them again when they didn’t. Jace teased her about giving manual labor a whole new meaning, and she teased him about it being
free
manual labor.

When Jace finally placed the last boulder, Cambri took a step back and inspected their work with a critical eye. It looked awesome. Better than she’d hoped. “I love it,” she pronounced.

Jace quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? Because you’re way pickier than I remember—not to mention indecisive—so I’m having a hard time believing that we’re actually done.”

Cambri responded by splashing him with a handful of water.

Jace splashed her back, and a water fight ensued. When Jace grabbed the hose and sprayed her with frigid water, Cambri’s laughter rang out. She tried to wrestle it away from him, and in the end they both ended up drenched. Although Cambri shivered from the chill, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had that much fun.

“You two planning on getting any work done today?” called Harvey’s voice from the back porch. He looked more pleased than upset.

“Yes sir,” Jace answered. “Just needed to soften the ground a bit to make planting easier.”

Cambri snickered, then tried to cover it up by placing her fist over her mouth and clearing her throat. Jace shot her a way-to-give-us-away look, making her snicker some more.

Her father gestured toward the house. “I’ve already made me a tuna sandwich on wheat, and there’s extra inside if you two get hungry. I’m heading out for my afternoon walk, so feel free to get some actual work done now.” Then he disappeared, leaving Cambri staring after him with her mouth hanging open.

He’d made them lunch? He was going for a walk all on his own? “Who was that man, and what did he do with my dad?”

Jace pointed a finger at Cambri. “Let that be a lesson to you. If a crotchety old man can change, anyone can.”

Cambri laughed and dropped the hose. “I’m freezing. Why don’t we go make some tuna sandwiches and dry off for a bit?”

“Sounds good to me.”

Cambri retrieved some towels while Jace made the sandwiches, and by the time her father returned from his walk, they were back in the yard, ready to plant shrubs and mix concrete. Jace dug the post holes, while Cambri arranged the shrubs. Once she had them situated to her satisfaction, she started planting.

“Out of curiosity, where did you get those shrubs? I don’t recognize most of them.”

Cambri squinted up at him. “I would have bought them from your store, but Sutton’s Hardware doesn’t have that great of a selection, so I’ve been getting most of them from a nursery in Fort Collins. I hope that’s okay.”

“No worries,” he said. “I know we have a limited selection. We’ve been stocking our small nursery with the same plants every year, but I don’t know what else to do. I’m not familiar enough with plants to know what will sell well and what won’t.”

“I’d be happy to give you some suggestions if you’d like,” said Cambri.

“Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

She gestured toward the stream. “It’s the least I could do after all you’ve done to help me.”

He planted his shovel in the earth and rested his elbow on top of it. “About that. I was sort of hoping I could convince you to draw up some plans for my yard. Not before you go, or anything, just sometime when you can spare a few minutes. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I really like what you’ve done here and would love something similar in my yard.”

“Are you kidding? I’d love to.” Did he actually consider that a favor? Already, Cambri’s mind spun with ideas and plans. A flagstone walkway, a new maple tree, evergreens mixed with a few perennials, and a dash of lush. “Your yard’s so small, it won’t take me long to come up with a design. Maybe I could even stay another week to help you get going on it.” She’d actually love nothing more. Another week with Jace—

“Cambri.” He leveled her a look. “You’ve already pushed your departure date back a week for your dad. There’s no way I’m letting you push it back again. I’m sure you’re needed home.”

Home.

The word had been on Cambri’s mind a lot lately. Was Charlotte really her home? It didn’t feel like it at the moment and maybe never really had. But Jace was right. At some point, Cambri needed to go back. Her job and life were there, and she couldn’t keep postponing her stay indefinitely just because she wanted to. Besides, Dillon had already been more than generous to give her as much time away as he had. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him to keep her up-to-date on all the meetings she’d missed.

She nodded. “Okay. I’ll get you a plan as soon as I get back.”

“Hey, no rush, okay? Just whenever.”

“Got it.”

He grabbed the shovel, giving her that half smile that always tickled her insides. “Okay, let’s get this done then. I’m ready for a shower and some really greasy hamburgers and fries.”