by Em Petrova
They spoke a while longer, and she ended the call with the usual I love you.
“Love you too, Momma.”
After he set aside his cell, he tipped his head up to stare at the ceiling. Mulling over her words of wisdom, he started to realize that…
No. Can’t be.
Holy shit.
His mindset about the bachelor life might actually be changing.
He just couldn’t let the guys know or they’d bust his balls.
* * * * *
Man, talk about a flashback to the good ole days.
Cav climbed out of his truck, gaze on the park across the street. He hadn’t set eyes on the familiar place in a long time.
The old stomping grounds looked the same yet very different. Trees that had once been small were now grown up to tower along the quiet street. The houses, which had once been large to a boy, were now dated and seemingly small in comparison to the micro-mansions of today’s specs.
And the park… he could definitely see why it was a cleanup project. Though it seemed the crew had a jump on work before his arrival, there was still a lot to do.
He strolled across the street toward the park. So many memories were entrenched in these cracked sidewalks meandering through the acres of both shade trees and wide open spaces for games of football or frisbee. Automatically, he swung his head toward the old gazebo, where he’d kissed his first girl at the age of fifteen.
The roof had seen better days, but that was why he was here, right?
As he neared a few people wielding rakes and tree trimmers, they looked up. He gave each a nod of greeting. “Heard y’all could use some help.”
A young woman with dark hair grinned. “We could use all the help we can get.” She looked him over more slowly. He was used to appraisal from women, but this one was probably thinking more of finding an able-bodied guy to haul the heavy tree limbs off.
He hitched his thumb in the front pocket of his jeans. “I’m good at taking orders, miss.”
Her smile widened. “Even better. What do you think, Jason? Start him off dragging away all the branches?”
A guy about his age, who was a head shorter and weighed a good seventy-five pounds less than Cav, turned and glanced at the path that was littered with branches. “Yeah, that’ll help a lot.”
“Great.” He pulled work gloves from his back pocket and slid them on. He couldn’t help but notice the woman’s eyes followed his actions. He offered her a crooked smile and headed down the path to start at the farthest end and work his way up.
The sun peeked in and out of the clouds, so it wasn’t as hot today and made his labor more pleasant. After a while, he was able to let his mind wander from the work, and he drifted through memories of coming here as a young boy. Countless fun had been shared with friends here, tossing a football or biking. He’d tried skateboarding, but his height made it difficult to figure out how to balance his frame that was growing by leaps and bounds.
Those memories soon took him to that day when his momma had informed him they were leaving Rose, Texas, headed for other parts where she might be able to get a better paying job.
Shocked, he’d had a teen fit of rebellion, threatening to leave her household and live with one of his friends here in town. But in the end, the stricken look in his mother’s eyes had brought him to an apology, and he had done his best to support her through the move and a new job.
Picking up at a new school with new friends wasn’t the easiest. He was big by that time, towering over everyone. But that landed him a spot on the football team and in with the popular crowd, and later, he’d been heavily recruited by all four branches of the military. Eventually, he’d chosen the Marines and after that, put in his time as a state trooper. Which then led to the Texas Rangers putting him on their payroll.
And finally, the path to Ranger Ops. A team effort to take a compound full of crazies had earned him the best job of his life.
Of course, it had its low points, like being sent to shrinks to evaluate his mental state following a failure to do his fucking job.
He clenched his jaw.
“Hey!” The feminine voice made him look up to see the woman who’d set him on this task jogging toward him. Two young boys followed, one pulling a big wagon.
Cav wandered toward them.
“I didn’t catch your name.” She craned her neck to look up at him.
“Cav.”
“I’m Sarah. Okay, Cav. These young men will be taking over hauling branches in their cart, and we could use your help on the gazebo.”
“Lead the way.”
He followed at a much slower pace to remain next to the shorter woman, and that gave him time to learn that she was a teacher at Rose Middle School and several of the people working here today were teachers too.
He felt a fond warmth to know he was giving back the same way they were. He’d heard his teammate Jess talk about volunteer work before, saying how rewarding it was to give back, and clearly his shrink was on to something as well.
Sarah kept him distracted on the walk back to the gazebo. But when he reached the area, something else caught his attention.
A round ass, perfectly hugged by a pair of leggings. His gaze stuck on the woman, and then she straightened and turned at something a teen said to her. She laughed, and when she did, she tossed back her just-below-the-shoulder-length blonde hair. Her laughter was like bells.
Sarah was speaking to him, pointing to the roof of the gazebo. “The plan is to get up there and remove the wood shingles that need replacing. The moss has crept over the entire thing, as you can see. It might make it difficult for you to figure out what’s rotten or not. Do you have any experience in construction?” She looked him over again.
He twisted his stare free of the other woman. “A little.”
“Good. Well, you’re all we’ve got, so do your best.”
At that moment, the other woman with the great ass started toward them. “Sarah, I’ve sent Zachary and Amaya to pick up trash on the pathways and then…” Her words died off as she centered her stare on Cav.
He’d seen a lot of women in his days, but he’d remember those eyes anywhere. Dark and sparkling with life, rimmed in the thickest lashes he’d ever seen on a woman, in his youth or later in adulthood.
“Arielle.” His voice came out grittier than normal.
Her jaw dropped. “Oh my God. Are you…?”
“Cav,” he supplied for her.
“Yeah, I know you’re Cav. Good God, you’re huge!” She had grown much taller since the eighth grade too and stood mid-chest height on him. Her slight adolescent curves had morphed into the very sexy ones he was staring at today. And while her face had changed a lot, he could still see the girl she’d been underneath it all.
She searched his face a moment as if trying to determine if he was lying about his identity.
“Wait—you guys know each other?” Sarah looked between them.
Arielle McPhee, or she had been years ago, tore her stare from him. “Yes. We went to Rose Middle School together.”
“Wow. That’s crazy, right?” Sarah opened her mouth to say something else, when a girl in a massive hooded sweatshirt approached.
“Miss Gunn, I’m reporting for duty,” she said.
Sarah turned with a broad smile and then walked away with the girl to give her instructions.
Leaving him alone with Arielle.
Her eyes were just as striking as he’d thought them to be back then. Except now, he saw a depth of emotion that only came from an understanding of life.
She blinked up at him. “I can’t believe it’s you. Do you still live around here?”
“Uh, no. I actually moved my sophomore year.”
“Aww. That’s too bad.”
He nodded. “It is. I wanted to leave about as much as you did. Speaking of… you’re back.”
“I am.” She smiled, and the corners of her mouth bowed upward in that same sweet way that had caught his pubescent att
ention. “I’m a teacher at the middle school.”
“Now that’s life coming full circle.”
She tipped her head, and her thick blonde hair brushed her shoulders again. “It was a good decision for me. And restoring this park to its former glory will be another.” She sighed. “It’s a lot of work, though. I might have gotten us in over our heads for just a weekend’s worth of work.”
He arched a brow. “I’d say we can knock a lot of this out today. Things like mowing the field can wait till next week.”
She nodded and waved a hand toward the man he’d met earlier. “Jason is our eighth grade math teacher, and he is in charge of the grass.”
“Well, I guess if we’re getting anything done on the gazebo, that’s on me.” His chest was feeling tight just from having her gaze on him. “Can I talk to you later, though?”
“Absolutely.” When she smiled, there was a reservation in it that hadn’t been there at fourteen. People changed, age and circumstances did things to them. Was it odd that he wanted to hear about those things?
“Maybe we can grab some dinner afterward,” he said.
Her full lips parted. “Oh. Yeah, it’d be great to catch up.”
He tossed her a smile and turned for the gazebo, where someone had set up a ladder for him to gain access to the roof. For hours, he sat up there using a pry bar to remove some of the old wooden shingles. From this vantage point, he was able to look over the park and mark the progress they’d made.
He was also able to keep an eye on Arielle.
Being a red-blooded bachelor, he was used to checking out a woman without coming off as a creeper. Right off the bat with Arielle, he’d noticed she didn’t wear any rings, but around her neck was a chain that disappeared beneath the buttons of her plaid shirt. From his guess, she was unattached.
Odd, but he wasn’t even thinking of fucking her.
Okay, he was. His dick had been half-hard since the moment he’d set eyes on that round ass of hers. But first he wanted to actually talk to her.
That made for some progress his shrink would approve of. For once he wasn’t only thinking of pussy.
* * * * *
Cavanagh Wraggs. Back in eighth grade, the name was usually whispered in the girls’ bathroom, accompanied by giggles and blushes. If only her old school friends could see him now…
Arielle threw him another look under the guise of tying off a trash bag. Not only was the man huge but bulked out with muscle. His size and strength gave the impression he worked outdoors or in construction. Whatever he did… he sure did it for every woman and even a few of the teen girls here in the park today.
Her own body was feeling a little out of touch with the sensations coursing through it. Darren had been dead for two years now, and she’d been far from ready for sex. But Cav made her think about breaking that dry spell.
Immediately.
She cut a look toward a grouping of bushes not far away. They’d be shielded enough there, right?
She bit down on her lip, almost laughing out loud at herself. These thoughts weren’t anything she’d entertained over the past couple of years of her grief. But she was alive… and lonely, if she was truthful.
Plus, she’d always had a small crush on Cav and seeing him again had caused all those breathless moments she’d once felt at simply passing him in the hallway to resurface.
A nudge against her shoulder had her snapping out of her reverie. She looked up into Sarah’s blue eyes. “All right, girl, spill it. I need to know all about that hunky guy on the ladder.”
Both of them turned their eyes toward the gazebo as Cav planted a foot on the rungs and began to climb down. His jeans pulled across his muscled thighs, and Arielle suddenly wished she was standing behind him to get a different view. But this was good too, especially when she spotted the veins snaking over his bulging forearms as he gripped the ladder.
Sarah issued a soft puff of air like she’d just been punched. “He’s quite…”
She nodded. “Yes, quite.” Her mouth was dry. If women got catcalls on the streets, surely there must be a female version of that.
“He’s all man, isn’t he?” Sarah sounded dazed.
She felt just as stunned when Cav turned from the ladder, and with what seemed like a flick of his wrist, pulled the heavy metal contraption away from the roof, flipped it and stuck it over one shoulder.
“Where do ya want this?” he asked the group of women gawking at him.
This was going to be the talk of the teacher’s lounge come Monday morning.
She stepped forward. “Uh, Jason brought that. His truck’s parked up that way.”
Cav craned his head around to the street lined with their vehicles. “Which one’s his?”
Another nudge came, this time from behind. Sarah really could be a bossy woman, she was quickly realizing.
“I’ll show you which one.” Arielle offered him a smile, and he returned it with a sexy crooked grin, the likes of which she’d only ever seen in movies featuring Clint Eastwood or his son.
She dragged in a full breath before she passed out from lack of oxygen and began walking. Cav caught up in a long stride.
“Is that too heavy for you? I can help carry,” she said.
“Nah, I’m good.” He wasn’t a bit breathless, and she couldn’t have even taken a few steps with the weight of the long metal ladder.
“Okay then. You did great up there. The new cedar shingles are going to hopefully stop the leaks inside the gazebo and maybe more people will be willing to use it.”
“What brought you back to Rose?” His question came out of the blue.
She nibbled her lip. She wasn’t one to spout out her loss to everyone. But Cav wasn’t just anyone—he was an old friend and if they went out for dinner, she’d probably tell him anyway.
But she wasn’t quite ready to throw her bruised heart into the ring.
“I wanted roots.” She glanced at him.
His eyes sparked. “That’s right—you were an Army brat. You came from out East before landing in Rose, right?”
She nodded. “You have a good memory.”
His expression darkened a moment before he said, “Always could be better.”
“That’s true for us all.” She reached the street and pointed out the truck.
Cav walked up to it like he owned it and eased the ladder into the bed. She watched his every move. Not many had so much confidence—something she’d always been attracted to. She liked a man who knew what he wanted and how to get it.
Also, Cav seemed the type to know exactly what he wanted between the sheets.
And how to get it.
Her pulse beat faster as he turned to face her, his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Can we knock off now and get that dinner?”
Her urge to say yes was very strong—stronger than she expected. She had to force herself to speak in an even tone when she said, “Soon. We need to check on the playground progress. Maybe if we lend a hand, it will go faster.”
He gave an efficient nod that shouldn’t be sexy but was.
After returning to the corner of the park where a new jungle gym was being erected, she spread rubber mulch while he showed off his skills with a drill and bolts that had her convinced he did construction for a living. She’d have to ask him at dinner.
“Are you staring at his butt?” Sarah’s whisper jolted her.
“Absolutely not,” she answered as smoothly as possible. “What would make you think that?”
“Because I am.” Her mischievous grin was contagious. Around her friend, it was difficult for Arielle to ever have so much as a bad day. She was very grateful to be back in Rose. Everything was working out as she’d hoped.
* * * * *
It was early for dinner, yet Cav wasn’t willing to let Arielle out of his sight. They left the last of the tasks surrounding the jungle gym—hanging the swings—to a few of the other volunteers and once again strolled toward the street where their vehicles were parke
d.
“Which one’s you?” he asked.
She pointed to an economical red car. “Let me guess—you’re that truck.” She pointed it out without pause.
He chuckled. “How did you guess?”
She shrugged. “Some things never change, especially from a boy who always talked trucks in math class.”
His smile spread and then he sobered as he contemplated her. “I’m not taking you away from anything important, am I?”
She shook her head. “I had plans but nothing that can’t be changed.”
“What kind of plans?” He was prying and didn’t know why. He just felt the need to know everything about this long-lost and beautiful woman who had once shared a classroom with him.
“This evening I planned to cook a gourmet meal. It’s kind of my hobby. Well, one of them.”
“Yeah? How gourmet are we talking? Flambé?”
Holding his gaze, she bobbed her head. “Yep. We’re talking a kitchen filled with gadgets and a stocked fridge and freezer.”
He cocked a brow. “You only cook for yourself?” Here was the real question. If she said she had a boyfriend, his heart would sink but he’d find a way to walk away, instead of trying to persuade her to set the guy aside and give him a chance.
“Yeah, just me. After cooking—and eating what I make—I was going to take a drive in the country. I like photographing the wildlife. It used to fascinate me to see animals in the wild when I lived here before. It was one thing I couldn’t wait to get back to when I decided to move.”
“Okay, so cooking and driving.” He ticked off two fingers that would dwarf hers if he got so lucky as to catch hold of her hand. “Is that enough for one day or was there more on the list?”
“Oh, there was more. I have papers to grade.”
“Of course. Do you sleep?”
“I like to stay busy.” When she said this, her tone was light, indicating nothing was untoward. But he was watching her eyes when she spoke, and it was obvious something else was at play here, a reason for her keeping so busy.
“I would think heading a park cleanup and kicking ass on it would be enough for one day. How ’bout I take one of those things off your list and buy you dinner instead of you making it?”
