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  “No rush. Well…sort of rush.” Aryn laughed. “Every day is a good day to follow Tim around.” She waggled her brows then took a long swig of water from her water bottle.

  “I don’t understand. You have no desire to get serious, so why are you trying to see this guy?”

  Aryn set down her bottle and blotted her forehead with her towel. “Because he flirts back without looking for immediate commitment. Because he says nice things and gives me real compliments. Those guys are really rare. The kind who won’t hurt you, at least not right away. You know?”

  Karla hadn’t heard so much vulnerability in Aryn’s voice in a long time. “Yeah, I know.” The kind of guy she’d found in Sawyer.

  Chapter Seven

  Sawyer parked the car in Karla’s driveway and got out. Just behind him, Tim of Green Living Landscaping parked his propane powered van with trailer behind and met him by Sawyer’s car.

  “Can I get a ride back to my place when you’re finished?” Sawyer glanced around at the grass. While it was a little long, the service didn’t seem to be as much of an urgent matter as Karla had made it sound.

  “Sure.” Tim didn’t bother looking Sawyer in the eyes as he normally would. He was too busy searching the garage and yard.

  “You missing something?” He turned to see what had Tim’s attention but could find nothing out of the ordinary.

  A moment later, the door swung open and Aryn rushed down the front steps. “Tim, glad you could come so quickly. I could help you, if you need anything special done with the bushes and flowers?”

  Sawyer kept his smile to himself. He’d never witnessed Tim as anything but one hundred percent driven. His answer to Aryn would be interesting.

  “I, uh…” He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck and finally glanced at Sawyer like he was interrupting something.

  “I didn’t know you had any interest in gardening?” Sawyer asked Aryn. He loved giving Tim a hard time and he was obviously uncomfortable with Sawyer seeing the relationship—whatever it was—between himself and Aryn.

  Her eyes widened slightly. “I always have. I love flowers and tending them. Not so much grass, but I’m learning.” She sidled closer to Tim. “Tim is teaching me all about the different kinds. Did you have any clue there was more than one kind of grass?”

  Sawyer laughed as Tim turned redder. “I did, actually. Have you been helping Tim a lot? I know he’s a hard guy to catch in the summer. So hard that I didn’t think he’d be able to come here on such short notice.” It was almost like the meeting was preplanned, before Karla had ever called… He’d have to ask Tim about that later.

  Karla came outside in her usual shorts and tee. She was the only woman who could make his heart race in such normal clothes. Maybe some guys liked heels and painted nails. He liked legs in a fine pair of shorts that weren’t too short and weren’t like a grandma’s. Karla always managed to look just right.

  “Hey, good morning,” he offered before she even made it to the little group.

  Tim laughed and made eye contact with him. Busted. Well, he couldn’t help it that he was already falling for Karla, but he wouldn’t push. She wasn’t divorced yet and even when she was, she might never be ready for another relationship. At least they could be good friends. It was something.

  “Morning, Sawyer.” She gave him a smile that he’d come to see as the one she reserved just for him. There was something different about it that he couldn’t quite place, but that smile gave him hope.

  She turned her attention to Tim. “I’m glad you could come on such short notice. Aryn seemed to think there was a lawn crisis going on, but I don’t see it. Maybe she now knows more than I do about grass…what with her spending so much time studying it and all.” Karla’s gaze drifted then focused on Aryn, who chuckled nervously.

  Sawyer held in a laugh. This was great. Karla playing the same game with her sister as he’d played with Tim. How long until both of them just walked away? If he could make that happen, he’d get a few minutes with Karla…

  “I don’t know if there’s anything you can really help with today. Looks like I’ll be just mowing. But you’re welcome to watch if you want.”

  Tim turned and practically ran to the back of his van and whipped the door open, blocking himself from view.

  Aryn glared at them. “Why do you have to ruin my fun? I like this guy, so knock it off.”

  Sawyer lifted his hands in surrender. “Tim works for me. If I didn’t say something, he’d think I’d found a new gardener. If you two want to act all cutesy, go right ahead. But I’m also not going to find a new guy to tend your yard or landscape the inn, so don’t scare him off.”

  Aryn snorted. “I never let anything go that far. It’s not like we’re in love. Just flirting. It’s fun. Nothing more.” She turned on her heel and headed around the house.

  “I’d bet she finds a place in the brightest sun she can find and plants herself so he’ll have to look at her the whole time. His rows will be all crooked…”

  Karla laughed, a sound he was loving more and more as she felt comfortable enough to do it. “That’s not Aryn’s style. She’ll sit in the shade with a cold sweet tea and wait until he gets close, then lure him in like a fish.”

  “Well, who can blame the guy, I mean, sweet tea…” He laughed.

  “Speaking of, would you like a glass for your very own?” She tipped her head slightly toward the front door as an invitation. Since he had to stay until the lawn was done, he might as well enjoy himself.

  “That depends, am I a trout?”

  Karla paused on her way up the front steps. “No, I don’t think so anyway.”

  He refused to look any further into that statement than he should. She wasn’t trying to flirt with him and maybe that wasn’t what their relationship would ever be like.

  “That’s good, I don’t like the smell of fish.”

  She held the door open for him. “Then I guess I shouldn’t offer to cook my baked salmon? Too bad. I think it’s pretty amazing.”

  Unlike Rosewood House, where Karla and her family had lived for a short time a few months ago, this house had central air and the coolness hit his face and arms as goosebumps appeared almost instantly. “Wow, cool in here.”

  Karla laughed nervously. “I had to leave Davin’s window open for an hour this morning. Once it had aired out, the house was sticky. I’ll turn it back to a reasonable temp when the humidity is gone.”

  He was more than familiar with the need to air out boys’ rooms. By the time he was thirteen, his mother had taught him to do his own laundry and she wouldn’t set foot in his space for her own safety. He was much better now, but there was something about a teen boy getting used to all those hormones that was just…funky.

  “Sorry.” He shrugged, not sure what else to say.

  Karla stalled in front of the fridge with the door open. “Channyon thinks Davin is smoking because he smelled funny this morning. I just can’t see him ever doing such a thing. Neither Rob nor I were smokers. Where would he have picked it up? Maybe I’m naive but I just can’t see it.” She seemed to recall what she was doing and finished pulling a pitcher from the fridge.

  “It’s possible Rob has started new habits. It’s not like he hasn’t changed completely in other ways. I didn’t see or smell anything on Davin when I played hoops with him the other day, but he’s a lot grumpier than usual.”

  “You think his grumps are withdrawal? Channyon thought it was pot, not nicotine. Does that even have withdrawal?”

  He didn’t know much about pot but smoking certainly did. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t ignore what Channyon says just because you don’t want to believe it. Things like that are sure to come out eventually.”

  She nodded and set the glass in front of him. “It’s so strange to see you here during the day again. I almost want to hand you a paint brush.” She laughed.

  He’d helped her finish the Tidewater Inn, which was how they’d become friends. “I know. My part
ner Tyrone is there today, but he’s been more absent lately. His wife is due around Christmas and he’s got appointments and all sorts of things. Keeps him busy and away from the office.” Which was adding to his own stress. He’d thought paternity leave would only be once the little guy finally arrived. But that didn’t seem to be the case.

  “It’s great that you have the flexibility to let him do that. Not all employers do. I know Rob couldn’t even take a day off when I had my ultrasounds. Though, maybe he just didn’t want to be there.”

  Want to or not, Sawyer wished he had the choice. He’d go even if it meant taking the day unpaid. Being the boss, he’d never have to make that decision, but Rob should’ve been there.

  “I would hope it was his work, but you just never know. Can’t change the past now anyway.” He sipped his sweet tea and loved that it was always just sweet enough.

  “Well, you’re right. I can’t change it.” She shifted the centerpiece on the table just a fraction of an inch. “And I’m glad you give Tyrone the freedom to choose.”

  Karla wanted to slap her own fingers. Why did she have to turn to straightening things when she was uncomfortable? At least Sawyer hadn’t noticed yet. Only Channyon, the sister she’d always been closest with. Until now.

  Between keeping the secret of her marriage for five years and her refusal to forgive Sonica—not to mention threatening to run away yet again—Channyon had pulled back. Karla wasn’t sure how to mend the rift between them.

  Sawyer finished his drink and set the glass down. “I may be giving him the right choices, but it doesn’t make it easy. He’s gone more than I expected him to be. We’re going into a busy time of year, one where I had hoped to be here to oversee your project because he’d be there to help me. I’ll manage though.”

  The calm way he just laid out the whole issue fascinated her. She’d never been able to go from point A to point B so that each decision was small. She’d always had to look at the whole matter. “I’m glad you can see the positive in it. Not knowing when he could be at work or not would stress me out.”

  He shrugged. “What good would that do me? He’s good. The best. That’s why I asked him to be my partner. If I didn’t think he was worth this brief time where he can’t be there like he usually is, then I wouldn’t have offered him the position. And it’s not like it’s constant. It’s an appointment here and an ultrasound there. If he couldn’t be there for weeks, that would be something else.”

  If only people were like that outside of work, but regular people in their regular lives did change. Sometimes, a person changes in a way that no longer fits. And suddenly, they don’t feel comfortable anymore. Even worse when the change was slow and subtle. Like waking up to Rob being a completely different person one day. The change had been slow, but she hadn’t realized that until much later.

  “What about if he did change? What if having a child means he’s going to constantly miss work?” It wasn’t like he could see that ahead of time.

  “Worrying about that right now does me exactly no good. It would just make me question Tyrone’s loyalty and decisions. If something comes up with his child and he needs to miss work, I’m there. Just like if something comes up with a friend’s divorce and I need to be there, he can take care of work.” He smiled at her.

  She wanted to take comfort in that. Sawyer would be there at the divorce if she asked him to be. In fact, he was there whenever she needed him. So much more than Rob had been even in the beginning. But they’d both been so young, so selfish at that age. Neither of them would’ve given up too much for the other and she was sure she’d loved him then.

  “I’m glad I can count on you. I need to take a page from your book and learn how to deal with stress in a ‘don’t deal with the whole apple’ way, like you do. I’ve always looked at the whole picture, not the parts. I don’t even see the parts.” She wove her fingers together to keep from finding something in the room to fix to make her less uncomfortable about admitting her issues.

  He raised to his feet and stood in front of her, gently rubbing her arms. “We all learn to cope with problems differently. Some poorly, some not, but the great thing is, we can learn new ways if we want to.”

  “Rob called me to ask for cash,” she blurted out what had kept her up all night without filtering it through her usual “shut up and deal with it” method.

  “He called you? I would think you’d be the last person he would dare ask for money.” His features turned stony, but the gentle course of his touch along her arm didn’t change.

  “This was when he still had the kids. He told me he needed money for food. It wasn’t much, but now I’m stressed out. It felt like a trap.” She’d believed she had to give him the money or risk his lawyer telling the court that she didn’t care about her kids. She couldn’t make such a claim against Rob because everything negative he’d done had been against her, not them.

  “It may have been. What did you do?”

  Unloading the burden on him felt better, but she hated doing it. He was so good at stepping in and just fixing everything that she sometimes kept issues from him for a while. Not to keep secrets but to see if she could handle them first. “I gave him the money, of course.”

  “I think that was a good decision. I think you should let that stress go and not let it consume you anymore. You made it, you can’t change it. If he asks for any more, the kids are here and you can ignore him.”

  She nodded, agreeing with his assessment. She’d needed to hear that she was right from someone else. When was she ever going to be able to make a decision without someone there to pat her on the back? She stepped back from Sawyer’s touch and moved the centerpiece back the way it was. “I think I like it better this way.”

  He might never know the significance, but she did. Perfection in her life would not make problems any more or less easy. Expecting it from others was toxic. She had to learn to look at her problems like Sawyer did, one mini-step at a time. Then, let them go or deal with the consequences after. Because you couldn’t go back and change them.

  The rumble of a lawn mower kicked to life outside.

  “Wow, that sure took him a while to get started.” Karla laughed, feeling better for the first time that day after talking through Davin’s situation and Rob’s.

  “Well, let’s face it, he wasn’t really here to work on the lawn. I just hope he doesn’t charge me for this one.”

  She instantly felt bad for calling him. He shouldn’t have to pay for an extra visit and Tim’s time was expensive if it wasn’t needed. “I’m sorry. I really assumed Aryn knew more than me. I’ve never worried about the grass before and only notice it when it nips at my ankles when it’s too long.”

  He glanced out the window. “It’s not a big deal. I just think they worked it out ahead of time. He’s been tough to reach lately. I wonder if he isn’t hanging around his house later than usual because he looks forward to her visits when she does her morning run. Hanging around makes him late the rest of the day.” He shrugged. “Only speculating because he mentioned she’d run by his place a few times.”

  Karla joined him at the window and watched as Tim made quick work of the lawn, standing behind two long arms that turned the machine on a dime. Aryn sat on the patio furniture out of the way, but obviously enjoying her chance to stare at Tim as he rode around on his propane-powered mower. The guy was all about the green, every shade of it, from money, to lawns, to environmentally conscious equipment and no chemicals.

  “She did mention she’d talked to him a few times and had even asked him if he would hire her.”

  Sawyer laughed as he met her gaze. “Wouldn’t be the first guy to use a job to get close to the girl he had his eye on.”

  A strange surge fluttered from her stomach outward. Was he talking about how he’d worked with her or was it just a comment about Tim and Aryn? She was so far from her flirty teens she really couldn’t tell.

  Chapter Eight

  Channyon cringed as Karla ope
ned the door to let Becker in. Sawyer already sat in the living room, talking to Sonica and Aryn. Their laughter drifted to her on the other end of the house.

  She’d been avoiding the crowd and hoping Becker wouldn’t come even though Karla had invited him. Every time they tried to talk, she was left feeling like her emotions had been run through a cheese grater.

  Now she was stuck. She’d been helping in the kitchen to avoid the living room, but Karla would expect her to sit with Becker anywhere but in the kitchen where they would be in Karla’s way. Even though Karla would never come out and say that they were in her way, they would be.

  Becker found her hiding place almost immediately and his presence elevated her senses. He didn’t bring anything with him this time and that somehow made seeing him easier. She didn’t have to respond to anything but him.

  “Good evening,” he offered.

  “Evening.” She wasn’t quite sure if it was good yet. “We should find somewhere else where we won’t be underfoot.”

  Karla laughed and picked up a spoon. “That’s right, I’ll whack both of you.”

  Channyon tried to laugh, but knowing she must have another conversation with Becker kept her from doing it. She led him out onto the back patio and pushed up the umbrella before she took a seat. The three-sided porch gave the illusion of privacy.

  He sat down across from her and leaned back in the comfortable chair. Unlike his last few visits, he wasn’t dressed like he had business to attend to. He had on khaki shorts and a polo shirt. Even though it was much hotter than where they’d lived before, he didn’t seem uncomfortable.

  “Well, here we are again.” She took a deep breath and let it out.

  “Yes, it would seem so.” Though her statement could be taken poorly, nothing in his tone or posture indicated that he’d taken it the wrong way.

  “Look, we’re both doing fine all on our own.” Though fine wasn’t exactly as good as it could be. She could admit that much.