by Teri Blake
She slowly shook her head. “I don’t see you doing that. Even when you showed up on our doorstep with your giant envelope of money, I didn’t feel like you were stalking me. It wasn’t as if you’d hired an investigator or anything. Sonica did it. I even knew that then.”
He’d thought about hiring a man to look for her, not to confront her, but to make sure she was all right. He would’ve then had an address to send the check to. If that had brought her around to him, he would’ve accepted it. But Sonica’s call, even though she hadn’t been willing to tell him directly where they were, had been the answer to his prayers.
“Then I’ll stay here and we’ll keep this up.”
“And see where it leads.” She smiled at him and tugged him along faster as they reached the boardwalk. “You’ve got to run your hands over the reeds. It looks like regular grass, but it feels so different.”
He didn’t want to change the conversation back to just plain life, but her words reminded him of the old walks they used to take around the house and maybe that was what Channyon needed. She slowly brushed her fingers over the tips of the reeds on the other side of the walk and shuddered.
He laughed at the look on her face then tried it. He didn’t find it too off-putting but he played along to make her laugh. That sound was worth selling the house, finishing all the work he’d had to do, renting an apartment, and finally coming back to mend things with her.
No matter how long it took, as long as she was still trying, so would he. And if their dreams of a child ever came up again, he would make sure nothing got in the way of listening to her and making sure they were both in it together.
He strolled along the wooden raised walkway out over the water. It meandered, instead of being a straight path, making it feel more leisurely than just walking.
“I’ve only come down here once since I work a lot.” She rested her hands on the rail and took a deep breath.
“What made you go back to the pizza place?” None of her sisters had known the answer to that when he’d asked.
She smiled slightly. “I needed to help out Karla. And, I wanted to work somewhere other than the inn, so that if I have to leave I don’t disrupt her.”
If I have to leave… She really was hopeful about them and it wasn’t a decision she’d made that day. Now he knew for sure he was sticking around and would see this through to the end.
Chapter Eleven
The crunch of gravel wasn’t exactly the most pleasant way to wake up. Karla pressed a pillow over her head until she realized the incessant scraping and beeping noises were coming from next door. From the Tidewater.
She rushed to get dressed and whipped her hair up into a messy bun before bolting out the door, then stopped in her tracks at the property’s edge. A huge yellow excavator with a bucket the size of her living room dug huge scoops of dirt from the back of her yard to the lower areas.
She shoved her fist to her mouth as he tore out bushes that had been there since she was a child. She’d wanted more on her property, not less. Sawyer hadn’t told her the yard would change, only the house. The plans had been to add onto the house, so why was this big machine tearing apart the yard?
Her fingers fumbled as she dug for her phone in her back pocket. Sawyer said he’d be there to oversee everything but he wasn’t anywhere around that she’d noticed. He hadn’t been around for at least a week. She punched in his number and it only rang twice.
Karla plugged her ears and yelled into the phone, “Sawyer, I need you here. This isn’t what was supposed to happen, and I don’t think I can stop them!”
As much as she didn’t want to whine, she couldn’t keep her voice from shaking. The yard had been beautiful, a place for relaxing. Now, it was a brown mess rutted with machinery tracks.
“I’ll be there in a few minutes. Don’t worry, we’ll take care of this.” She barely heard him over the huge diesel engines.
Karla gnawed on her thumbnail and watched as the machine operator scooped up her small trees and shrubs and tossed them into a mangled pile. Within minutes, he’d completely changed the landscape to a barren, brown construction site, bare of anything.
Sawyer appeared at her side just as the excavator driver turned off the loud engine and climbed down. He headed for the front yard without so much as turning his head. As far as she could tell, he hadn’t even noticed she was there yet.
“Looks good.” Sawyer took her elbow and led her toward the back of the property. The grooves from the tracks on the excavator were so compacted that the dirt looked like solid rock and was hard on her feet with her flip-flops.
“Good? This…looks good?” How could he even say that?
“Yes. The ground will settle after they put a heavy addition on it. A lot. He had to move the dirt around, level it out, and get it ready for the construction crew. He’s going up front to get the dozer now to level everything.”
“But, my trees…” She pointed to the sickening stack a few feet away. It was much taller than she’d thought, now that she was up close to it.
“I’m sorry about those, but they had to go. They would’ve been damaged during construction and you would’ve been left with dead trees that you had to pay to have someone remove if we would’ve left them.”
“But, why didn’t I know?” The front of the house would look the same as when she’d visited as a child, but the back would be forever changed. Would it have the same attraction as the old?
“I didn’t mean to hide it from you. I think we were all simply focused on the construction, not the excavation.”
They had talked about the construction almost exclusively—what her part would be in it and the different phases that would happen over the next two months. She’d skipped over the preparation phase, but this seemed to be that step.
“Within the bid for all of this, are new trees and shrubs covered?” At least she didn’t have neighbors to complain about the mess. The house was on a corner lot and she owned the house next to it.
“Yes, that was part of the bid. This home is a business and the appearance is very important. We’re missing the prime planting season, which is right now, but if it doesn’t look like they’ll be harmed, Tim will plant and landscape everything as soon as construction is finished.”
“Tim is handling it?” She should’ve known but he seemed more like a yard maintenance guy than a landscaper.
“Of course, that’s his specialty. He’s really great with design. I can show you his plan for your backyard if you want to see it. I hadn’t shown it to you yet because there are a few things he’s not certain he can get, but it’s mostly ready for your approval.”
The bare dirt yard would be a little easier to handle knowing what was coming. “I’d like that.”
“It’s back at my office. Ride with me?” He reached out his hand for her.
The action seemed so natural but holding hands wasn’t common. Rob had never done anything like that. Though, that thought alone made her want to go ahead. She slipped her hand in his and realized he’d offered because getting across the yard was somewhat treacherous the way he went. He released her hand as soon as they reached the side yard where the grass, though flattened by the smaller dozer, was still growing.
Sawyer opened the passenger door to his truck and held it for her, then closed it behind her before going around to climb into the driver’s side.
“I assume the car is working fine?” He stuck the keys in the ignition.
“It is. Thank you. The kids were so thankful they didn’t have to ride with Channyon more than one day.”
He laughed. “I should’ve waited a few days. Channyon probably liked bringing them to school.”
She cleared her throat. She hadn’t talked to him in so long and there was a lot he needed to know. “Rob called again.”
Just as quickly as he’d turned on the engine, he killed it. “What did he want?”
She’d thought telling Sawyer would be like fessing up, but instead, it was more li
ke sharing an accomplishment.
“Money. He wanted a ‘couple thousand.’”
Sawyer sucked in a deep breath. “Wow, that takes something. I can’t believe he would call you when he doesn’t even have the kids to use as leverage.”
She hated to think that was what he’d done first, but of course it was. That request had worked. “I tried to give him suggestions on how to earn money and get food, but he wasn’t willing to listen. He thought I would just bow to his need and give him the money. He even went so far as to suggest other giving options, like, if I couldn’t give two thousand, maybe I could do one.”
“Wow, he’s as subtle as those charities that send out the cards with different donation levels.”
She couldn’t even laugh. His statement was too close to the truth. “He claims he would pay me back, but I doubt it. I finally told him if he was going to call me, he could only do so to talk about the kids. That’s it.”
Sawyer smiled as he turned the ignition. “I’m proud of you. That’s a big step.”
His acceptance and praise made the discomfort a little easier. “Not sure if he’ll stick to it, especially since he made some sort of vague threat having to do with the divorce, but it’s a start.”
Sawyer pulled out onto the street and kept his eyes on the road. “Threatening will get him nothing. The only thing left to distribute is the kids and you already have a solid plan that will work if he sticks to it. Unless he suddenly decides he doesn’t want to sign the divorce, you’ve got nothing to fear.”
She leaned back and laid her head against the headrest. Both kids had subtly mentioned they weren’t happy about the arrangement. If she fought for custody, would that bring up all these other problems? She closed her eyes and refused to think about that just yet. She’d successfully set some boundaries and she would celebrate that victory.
“The best part of all of it is that I told him what needed to be said…then let go. In fact, I’m learning to let go of a few things.”
She hadn’t gone through the house and dusted every knickknack to make sure they were perfect and in order. She hadn’t scrubbed the counters, in fact she’d even purposely spilled coffee and left it to see how long she could stand it. Someone else even cleaned it up before she could finish her test. At least she’d taught someone in the house to be neat.
“Good. We’ll go see the plans at my office and take care of that worry too. Then you’ll have one less stressful thing to keep you up at night.” And one guy who cared enough to make sure she didn’t.
Sawyer glanced at Karla across the cab of his pickup and wished he knew what else to say. Karla wasn’t like other women he’d known over his life. Most of them wanted him for his help or his money. Karla wanted help when she needed it, and to be independent most of the time. Other than when he’d offered it, she had no interest in his money.
Most of the time, she acted as if he was just as budget wise as she was, insisting they stay in for meals and not go and do anything. Though, he had to admit, it was just as likely she didn’t want anyone to think they were dating.
He’d considered that fact often over the last few months, especially since she’d finally met with a lawyer and gotten the settlement she deserved in the form of the house in the separation. But a separation wasn’t a divorce.
He pulled into his parking place at his headquarters and met her at the front of the truck since she hadn’t waited for him to come around and open the door for her. He led her up to his office and nerves prickled at him. He’d never invited her there before. When he’d worked for her months ago, everything, including the contract, had been done at her kitchen table. What would she think of the building and of his office?
She went right for the bank of windows overlooking the city. “The view is fantastic. How do you get any work done?”
He wished he could say it didn’t distract him, but it did. “I stand there at the window just like you are when I need to. It’s not nearly as often as I want to.”
She laughed and turned back to face him. Her beautiful eyes were full of light and happiness, making her even prettier than when he’d met her.
“I don’t doubt it.” She moved to the desk and sat.
He went around and tugged the rolled plans from his bottom drawer then slowly spread them out. Karla leaned forward and sighed. “I see the back of the inn cuts more into the backyard than I thought.” Her face scrunched up in thought.
“That had to happen. Your rooms need to be a certain size in order to compete. As it is, you’ll be up against all the bed and breakfasts along the beach and the big-name hotels. You won’t be either one.”
She nodded. “That could be good or bad. I’m big enough that unless someone is having a wedding, they aren’t going to book all the rooms. But I’m not big enough to have the amenities that hotels do.”
“But you do have a great location. You do have the intimate touch of on-site dining. Many of the hotels don’t have that. And, you do have the option of making your inn completely exclusive to small, intimate events.”
“Like a wedding.” She nodded. “I’d thought about that. A lot, actually. With fifteen rooms available, including one large master suite, it’s not like we could house all the guests, but we could house the bride and groom, plus some of the wedding party if they want. The new dining room will be big enough to seat seventy-five.”
“That would be a small wedding.” Though he would want his own to be even smaller. Maybe just himself, his bride, her kids, her sisters, and maybe Becker if he turned out to be as good a man as Sawyer thought he was.
She frowned and nodded. “Maybe you’re right. I hope I haven’t done all this just to wreck my business. My first two months went really well. Once I got the title transferred, I had bookings all week long. There wasn’t one single day when the house didn’t have guests. If the draw was because they could have the whole house to themselves, then I’ve ruined a good thing.”
She would be catering to a completely different crowd and advertising would be different, but the guests would come. “I don’t think you should worry about anything yet. You’ll have a beautiful inn with an amazing backyard and lots of great options.” He pointed to the new patio on the plans. “Look, here is where your guest will take their coffee in the morning, probably with one of those muffins of yours.”
She glanced down at her hand and he resisted the urge look closely to see if she still had a scar when she’d burned herself on a muffin pan the first day they’d met.
“Those muffins were very popular.”
“People will probably come back just for the muffins. I know I did.” He laughed as her face took on a look of mock offense.
“I figured you stuck around for my sparkling personality. Now I know it was the açai berries.”
“Nope, not those. The pomegranate ones though, definitely those.” He grinned at her stunned face.
She laughed and tossed a pen at him. “Okay, you win. I won’t worry about this, yet. But it is new. You’ll be there for me when I go crazy during this build? Because, I know I’m going to need you.”
He almost choked at her admission. She hadn’t come right out and asked for his help in a long time. He’d even worried that if she didn’t need him, she would eventually quit calling and he’d find himself alone again.
“You need me? That’s new. You haven’t needed me for quite some time. I don’t think you really need me now because you’ve got this. But, I will be here in the event you need a copilot.”
She laughed. “I like that. I could always use a copilot. As long as I don’t have to wear a hat. I’ve never looked good in hats.”
He couldn’t imagine anything that wouldn’t make her look good. “Then I’ll be your copilot. Since you’re the captain, I’d better get you back to the build site.”
She gave him a mock-salute. At least he’d managed to take a morning that had started out horrible for her and turned it around without taking over the situation for her. He didn
’t want her angry with him again and walking that line was hard.
If Rob hadn’t turned her into a perfectionist who needed to be in control, managing his steps around Karla wouldn’t be so hard. She was so sure that every man wanted to tell her exactly what to do that she pulled in the complete opposite direction and wouldn’t let him do anything for her without asking.
They walked through the ultra air-conditioned hallway back down to his waiting truck and he realized the one time she let him do anything for her was when they got in. At least she allowed him to open her door for her when she climbed in every time.
He mentally noted that if they ever got married, they would have to have a clear plan about both financial and family expectations. His need to lead and help was strong, but her needs were just as important, maybe even a little more since hers had been trampled for so long.
He reached over and squeezed her hand slightly. “This copilot is ready whenever you are.”
Chapter Twelve
Karla enjoyed the ride until Sawyer pulled to a stop in front of her house and her phone rang. She glanced at the screen and her heart sank.
“Yikes, is it Rob again?” Sawyer killed the engine.
She almost wished it were. The school never called unless there was an issue. She held her breath and took the call. “Hello?”
“Mrs. Maples?” A nasal voice rang in her ear.
“Yes?”
“This is Mrs. Johnson at Driftwood Bay High School, Your son was caught smoking in the bathroom. He is currently away from the other students in the media center office. He will be attending in-school suspension for the following week.”
Smoking. Just as Channyon had said. “How could he smoke in the school?”
Mrs. Johnson’s voice turned condescending and almost accusing. “Well, those little devices are pretty easy to hide. I could ask how he smokes at home?”
