Finding Joy (Love's Compass Book 5)

by Melanie D. Snitker

  She caught Parker watching her and she blinked away the memories. He’d stepped up onto the part of the dock that had already been completed. By her estimation, there were still dozens of planks left to be placed. “Stress relief, huh?”

  Parker shrugged.

  Chelsea pointed a finger at him. “If you tell me to sand the floor, I’m walking out of here.”

  Parker chuckled, his deep voice rolling over her. “No. And while the truck could use a good wash and wax, we will be working on something much more difficult.” He bent down to retrieve a pair of hammers from a toolbox at his feet. “We’re going to nail some boards.” He hefted the tools. “Which one do you want? Blue or red?”

  Chelsea pointed to the hammer with the red handle. “Are you going to show me how to drive a nail into the board with one swing?”

  “I sure will.” Parker puffed out his chest. “As soon as I figure that out myself.”

  Chelsea laughed. She’d never nailed a thing in her life. How pathetic was that? Dad always hired someone to do any work around their place. The hammer felt completely foreign in her hand. “Okay, Mr. Miyagi, show me how this is done.”

  Parker picked up a board from the pile and placed it on the two rims of the dock. Then he knelt on the boards that had been secured. “We’ll place two nails on each side. I’ve measured and cut everything so it should come together quickly.” He lifted his head to make eye contact with her. “Does that sound good?”

  “Sure.” She hoped she projected more confidence than she was feeling.

  Parker put a box of nails down in the space between them. He took one out of the box, placed it, and drove it into the wood with four strikes of the hammer. He made it look easy.

  Chelsea took out a nail, held it with one hand, and raised the hammer above her head. Without warning, she felt a large hand cover her own.

  “Hold on. You’ll smash your fingers if you do that.” With his hand still on top of hers, he lowered the hammer and took it. He scooted over until he was directly behind her, his chest pressed against her back.

  Chelsea sucked in a breath and tried to ignore the tendrils of electricity that assaulted her nerves. She could smell the mixture of pine and soap, feel his chest move as he took a breath. What was it he was saying? She shook her head and forced herself to focus.

  “Start out with small hits until you’ve got the nail partly into the wood. Then you can move your hand and hit it harder. Like this.” He demonstrated with the nail she’d been holding. He dug another out of the box and passed it to her. “You try.”

  Taking the nail from him, she willed her hands not to shake. She placed the nail and took the hammer back, their fingers brushing. Her heart pounded in response when he still hadn’t moved away from her. She prayed he didn’t hear her pulse and tried to mimic what he’d shown her.

  “Better!” He took her hand in his again and adjusted it on the handle. “This will make it easier. After a few nails, it’ll become second nature.”

  She finished driving the nail into the wood and looked back at him. He nodded in approval. “I’m pretty sure you’ll get done with this a whole lot faster without me.”

  “Nah. It’ll give me time to position the next board.” He winked.

  They worked in companionable silence for a half hour. True to his word, she got faster over time. Nothing like Parker, though. The guy was a beast. He could get his two nails in, retrieve the next board and have it placed before Chelsea had finished her set. She was definitely slowing him down, though he didn’t seem to mind.

  “I have to admit, you’re right.”

  Parker stopped mid-swing. “That’s something I rarely hear.”

  Chelsea’s lips quirked. “Never mind.”

  “Sorry, go on.” He feigned disinterest, but his eyes never left hers.

  “This is therapeutic.”

  He nodded. “I’ve always thought so.” He hesitated. “I take it you had no building sessions with Daddy Dearest, huh?”

  A cynical laugh slipped past her lips before she could put a stop to it. “Oh, he wouldn’t have been caught dead doing something like this. He’d hire someone, and then hire someone else to oversee everything to make sure it was done right.”

  The air between them felt weighted with Parker’s curiosity. He didn’t say a word, and Chelsea was tempted to stay quiet and let the moment go. She appreciated that he didn’t ask more questions. Maybe that’s what loosened her tongue. “My parents are wealthy. They have been all my life. I had more things growing up than any one kid should have in a lifetime.” Chelsea wiped dirt off her hands. “I had everything except parents who were there for me. They had plans for me and my sister. I thought sticking to those plans would make them proud of me.” She swallowed hard. “I was naïve.”

  Chapter Eleven

  The vulnerability in Chelsea’s voice gripped Parker’s heart. He set another plank of wood in place and sat down beside her. “And you’re working here at the ranch because…”

  She shrugged. “Because I need to find out who I am, prove to them I have my own identity outside of being a Blake and their money. My parents enjoy their wealth, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But most of the time, it didn’t include my sister and me. Most of the memories I have playing games and being read to include our nannies. All while my parents were out exploring the world during their vacations.” She used the nail she was holding to pick at a knot in the wood. “I was a spoiled, rich kid. I didn’t know any different and I didn’t care.”

  “What changed?”

  Chelsea dropped the nail and waited for it to roll to a stop. “Daddy was grooming me to work for a big law firm in New York. He’d scored me an internship, and I knew he’d been instrumental in getting me that spot. There were five of us interning that year, all vying for one permanent position with the firm.” She let out a humorless laugh. “I thought if I proved myself to the company and got that position, I’d give my dad something to be proud of.”

  She paused and Parker frowned. “I take it you didn’t get the position?”

  “I would’ve. But I was walking past my boss’s office, Mr. Sandrove, and I overheard him talking to George, one of the other interns. He told George that he’d get the permanent position if it were up to him. I didn’t deserve it, but he had to offer it to me because of my father. That my father had invested so much money into the law firm and expected me to end up in management at some point. Mr. Sandrove was afraid that, if he didn’t make me a permanent part of the firm, his job might be in jeopardy.”

  Parker wanted to say something but didn’t have the words. He could imagine overhearing something like that and the devastation it would bring on many different levels.

  Chelsea shifted and sat with her legs crossed. “I was angry. I couldn’t believe Mr. Sandrove was going to make that kind of decision just so he could appease my dad.” She shook her head and frowned. “Then it hit me. I was no different. Every decision I’d made as a teen and young adult was based on whether or not Dad would approve of the outcome. That’s when I decided I had to stop being Henry and Cadence Blake’s daughter and figure out who Chelsea really was.”

  She hammered another nail in a little harder than the previous ones.

  “I take it they weren’t happy with your decision?”

  “I was supposed to end up in management for one of the biggest law firms in New York.” She rolled her eyes. “Now I work for a temp agency, I live above my sister’s photography studio, and I’m out here nailing boards. What do you think?”

  Picturing Chelsea working for a law firm was impossible. And he had no idea Mom had used a temp agency to hire her. Yet he had a hard time imagining any parent being unhappy with how Chelsea had turned out.

  He finished nailing in another board before speaking again. “You said they’re coming to town tonight. Where are they coming from?”

  “Sadly, I’m not even sure. Somewhere in Europe. Other than a month at Christmas when they go back to their ho
me in New York, they’re touring the world. I lost track a long time ago.”

  They worked together in silence for a while. Parker continued to consider what Chelsea said. The whole thing was sad. It’d be hard for a kid to grow up like that and not feel a sense of abandonment.

  Chelsea, for the sixth or seventh time, gathered up her blonde hair and twisted it into a rope to get it out of her eyes. He understood why she’d want it out of the way. But when it flowed down like a waterfall to pool onto the wood at her knees as she bent over the dock… Parker’s fingers itched to reach out and feel it. To run his fingers through the golden strands.

  He squeezed the hammer tighter and tried to focus on his own work. His mind drifted to their argument on Monday.

  “I need this job more than you can imagine.”

  She was right, he’d judged her without knowing all the facts. How many times had he been frustrated with people doing that very thing with him? The realization hit him hard in the chest.

  “I wish I knew what I’ve done to make you dislike me so much.”

  If he could go back in time and change his behavior, he would do it in an instant. He didn’t dislike her. If anything, he probably liked her a little too much. The fact was, in his old life, he’d have asked her out a long time ago. He’d have taken her out on a few dates, and they’d have gone their separate ways by now.

  That wasn’t what he wanted. All those short-term relationships had been empty. Meaningless. Just a way to pass the time and make him feel good about himself. And that included his relationship with Brenda. It’d taken his accident to make him realize how shallow his life had been.

  He put another board in place and held it firm while Chelsea hammered in the nails.

  “I think you’re brave.”

  Chelsea paused, her eyes widening. “What?”

  “It takes real courage to break away from everything you know and blaze a new trail all on your own. You should be proud of yourself.” Parker reached out to a wavy bit of hair hanging by her cheek. He twirled it gently around one finger and tucked it behind her ear. He let his hand linger there, lightly brushing her neck when he pulled it back.

  With a sharp inhale, Chelsea’s hand holding the hammer drifted, resting on the dock. Her gaze followed it before those long eyelashes lifted. The depth in her eyes pulled Parker in and all sense of time disappeared.

  Before he realized what he was doing, Parker leaned in until his lips brushed against hers. It was a whisper of a kiss, but the softness of her lips combined with the scent of her skin made him want to pull her into his arms.

  Chelsea’s phone chimed from her back pocket. She jerked as though she’d been stung, color flooding her cheeks. She ran a hand over her forehead and reached for the phone. Whatever the message was, it sure was consuming a lot of her attention. She cleared her throat. “It’s my sister. Apparently, we’re having dinner with my parents at seven.” Her gaze shifted from the phone to the pond.

  Was she thinking about her family? Or their kiss? Because maybe it barely qualified as a kiss, but his lips were still on fire from the contact. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.” Her eyes focused on him for a moment before she picked up the hammer, her emotions hidden behind a wall of determination. “We’d better get back to this.” She attacked the project with a new level of focus.

  Parker hoped it was stress because she knew she’d be seeing her parents in a few hours, and not because of their moment earlier.

  A moment he shouldn’t have allowed to happen. Except, even looking back now, he was completely powerless when it came to ignoring the pull she had on him. Did she regret their kiss? As much as he tried, he couldn’t.

  He enjoyed kissing Chelsea Blake. A lot.

  ~

  Chelsea had been home almost an hour and she could still feel Parker’s lips against hers. For crying out loud, they’d barely kissed, but her heart was still pounding harder than any hammering she’d done on that dock all afternoon. He’d totally taken her by surprise, too. The way he’d watched her with those eyes that changed color depending on his mood. As if she were the only thing he wanted to see.

  And he’d listened. Truly listened. She’d never revealed that much about her past to anyone except for Laurie.

  The truth? She’d wanted him to kiss her then. She’d held her breath, knowing there was no way he would, but hoping anyway.

  What she hadn’t been prepared for was the range of emotions that’d pummeled her. Part of Chelsea had wanted to melt into his arms and have him really kiss her. The other part of her knew it would be a mistake.

  But why had he kissed her? Did he feel something for her, or was he as caught up in the moment as she’d been? What if he regretted the whole thing? Anxiety gripped her heart. She couldn’t risk her job. She especially needed to stay gainfully employed now that her parents were in town. Chelsea knew she’d get an earful about what she was doing with her life. Being unemployed would not enter into the mix.

  And if Parker became any more to her than an employer, things were bound to blow up in her face. Goodness knows she’d argued with him as often as they’d had polite conversations. They’d gotten along for a whole four days now, the other shoe was about to drop.

  Chelsea rolled her eyes as she checked her reflection in the mirror. Everyone else was at the hospital right now meeting Nicholas before going to one of the restaurants downtown for dinner. Her parents had already made the reservation. The place was well known for its amazing food and high prices. Prices for a meal that neither she — nor Tuck and Laurie — could normally afford. Was it wrong to hope Mom and Dad paid for the meal?

  After staring at her closet for way longer than was necessary, Chelsea had almost chosen one of her fancy dresses she used to wear back in New York, but she’d hung it on the rod again. Everything else about her life had changed, why give her parents any illusion it hadn’t? She chose a nice pair of black slacks and a peach-colored, long-sleeved blouse. She almost always got compliments when she wore it and she needed that encouragement going into dinner tonight.

  Chelsea said a prayer for Laurie. No matter how nervous Chelsea was, Laurie would be the one who spent the most time with their parents. She didn’t envy her sister one tiny bit right now.

  Everyone else was waiting for her when she walked into the lobby of the restaurant. Laurie gave her a smile, grabbed her arm, and pulled her to the group.

  “Chelsea, it’s good to see you.” Mom put a hand on each of Chelsea’s arms and kissed both cheeks. “The peach blouse is an interesting choice. I’ve told you how nice you look in bolder colors, haven’t I?”

  “Yes, you have.” Mom had her head turned expectantly, and Chelsea kissed her cheek. “You are beautiful, Mom.” Chelsea was always amazed by how her mother never changed. Seriously, she hadn’t aged in ten years. It was as if time had no effect on her.

  Her father, on the other hand, had aged a lot since they saw him at Christmas. But he had that same charisma that won over every businessman he ever spoke to. “Hi, Daddy.”

  “Hello there, Chelsea.” He gave her a proper hug, resting his chin on the top of her head for a moment before moving her at arm’s length. “Have you been getting some sun?”

  Mom stepped closer to peer at Chelsea’s face. “Make sure you don’t get too much sun. It’ll cause freckles and you know men don’t like a woman with freckles.”

  Chelsea’s hand flew to her cheek and then to her hair. Could they really tell that she’d been spending quite a bit of time outside lately? Parker came to mind again, subsequently heating her face. But the conversation immediately moved from her to the waiter as they were escorted to their table. She caught Tuck raising an eyebrow at Laurie before his wife playfully elbowed him in the side.

  They got to their table and sat. Chelsea noticed Laurie wince as she lowered herself. The incision from the C-section probably still hurt a great deal. Poor Laurie, she’d be a lot more comfortable at the hospital or her house. Or anywhere but here.
And Tuck? That guy was a saint.

  The group mulled over their menus and placed their orders before any real conversation began. Chelsea smiled. “Isn’t Nicholas precious?”

  Dad grinned then. “My grandson is a handsome little guy. He has the Blake nose. Don’t you think he has the Blake nose, my dear?” He put an arm across Mom’s chair and practically beamed.

  Mom took a sip of her water. “I do believe he does. Such a tiny thing, though.” She dabbed at her mouth with a cloth napkin. “I think you should consider formula, Laurie. It will help him to gain weight much more quickly.”

  If Laurie clenched her jaw any tighter, Chelsea was certain they’d hear teeth cracking any minute now. Laurie had texted her several times during this last week and the pediatrician was thrilled with Nicholas and his weight gain. There was nothing wrong with giving a baby formula, but Nicholas was doing quite well on his mama’s milk.

  Tuck cleared his throat. “He’s gaining weight wonderfully this week. The doctor is hoping he’ll go home Monday or Tuesday.” He reached for Laurie’s hand and kissed her knuckles before cradling it in his own. “We can’t wait to have him home with us.”

  As it was, Laurie was staying with Nicholas at the hospital through the night and Tuck was going home to take care of Rogue. During the day, the family stayed together. Chelsea knew they were hoping the baby would be home before Tuck had to return to work a week from Monday.

  Chelsea’s parents talked about Nicholas and how the red hair had come from a great aunt on their mother’s side. Which then morphed into a conversation about distant aunts and cousins Chelsea never even knew.

  It was a relief when the waiter brought their food to the table and they had something else to do. Chelsea accepted her ricotta and had to force herself to let it cool for a few minutes before eating. She’d been starving since before she got home and knew she should’ve had a snack. She’d been way too nervous to eat before.