Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) (9 page)

She shook her head, as if to clear her thoughts. “Then there was you. My best friend. The one person in my life who never pushed and always wanted what was best for me. You even helped me research colleges and landscape architect programs, remember?”

He remembered. Remembered inwardly cringing when Penn State gradually rose to the top of her wish list. But Jace had never said anything to discourage her. If that’s where she wanted to go, he’d help her get there.

“But then you kissed me.” She looked so troubled, even confused. “It caught me off guard and made me realize how much I cared about you and how easy it would be to say no to college and do exactly what my father wanted me to do. And that scared me. I didn’t want his dreams to become my dreams, and all of a sudden, it felt as though both of you were ganging up on me, trying to get me to stay in a place that I just
…
couldn’t.”

Jace leaned forward, resting his elbows on the counter. “I wasn’t trying to make you stay. I was trying to let you know how I felt. I never expected—or wanted—you to give up your dreams for me.”

Cambri nodded, her voice quiet. “I know. I was just so mixed up that I needed to get away and take some time to think. But when I moved to Pennsylvania, I was a country girl in a big city, lonely and intimidated. I was afraid that if I called, if I heard your voice, I’d jump on the next flight home. So I didn’t. And the more time that passed, the harder it became to pick up the phone. Then one day, I decided it had been too long and wouldn’t matter anymore.” She paused. “But I was wrong. I’m so sorry, Jace. I should have never left like that. I should have never let you slip from my life. It’s something I’ll always regret.”

The floor creaked, sounding loud in the silence. Jace didn’t know what to
say
—or think, for that matter. What did a six-year-old apology mean now? Was this Cambri’s way of getting closure, or did she want to renew the friendship and keep in touch? What did she want from him? What did he want from her?

Kiss-and-make-ups were supposed to happen before six years later. Before someone makes a life somewhere else.

The silence continued, getting more uncomfortable with each passing second. Finally, Cambri placed her hand over his. “I always thought this house deserved an amazing owner. I’m glad it’s you. Goodnight, Jace.”

He watched as she zipped up her hoodie and walked out the front door, closing it softly behind her. The air was cold and the night dark. He couldn’t let her walk home at this hour. Jace strode to the door and pulled it open.

“Cam.” Her shortened name came natural to him, the way it had in high school. “Want a ride home?”

She looked over her shoulder and nodded. “I’d love one.”

During the ride back to her father’s, Jace was quiet and contemplative, and the air crackled with unsaid words. When he pulled to a stop in front of her father’s house, he threw his truck into park. “Thanks for explaining,” he finally said. “It’s nice to finally understand why you did what you did.”

“I should have told you a long time ago. I’m sorry I didn’t.”

Jace glanced her way and shrugged. “No worries. It’s over.”

“Yeah, yeah. Water under a bridge, I know.”

He picked at something on his steering wheel, feeling restless and confused. “When are you heading back?”

“Not sure.” Cambri glanced at the house. “Soon, or else I might be out of a job. But I can’t help worrying about Dad. What if he doesn’t keep eating healthy or getting the right amount of exercise? Things between us are better than they’ve ever been, and if I leave
…
” She let the words trail off.

Jace cocked his head and studied her, feeling like they were back to where they were six years ago, with her dad still pulling her to stay. Jace wasn’t about to join in. “Don’t let your dad keep you here. He’s got friends who will look after him—including me. You have a life somewhere else, and you can’t put it on hold forever.”

“Like you didn’t put your life on hold for your grandfather?” Cambri said, her voice so quiet he almost didn’t hear.

Jace shifted to face her. “I didn’t put my life on hold for him. I’ve always loved it here, and when my parents decided to move and pass the business down to me, it was an easy thing to accept because I wanted it. Trust me, I’m more selfish than loyal.”

Cambri shook her head as though she didn’t believe him. “I’m glad things worked out for you.”

“And I’m glad things worked out for you.”

When an awkward silence started creeping in again, she yanked on the door handle. “I guess I’ll see you around?”

“I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet,” he joked. “You are stalking me.”

“Right.” Cambri smiled slightly. “Maybe I’ll peek in your windows sometime soon then.”

He watched her for a moment, feeling like this was a goodbye. A better goodbye then before, but his heart still wrenched at the thought of not seeing her again. “Or you can knock. If I’m there, I’ll answer.”

Her smile grew larger. “I’d like that. Night, Jace.” She hopped from the car and sauntered toward her house. On the front porch, she turned and lifted a hand.

Jace took that as his cue and left.

“Nickelback!” The non-expletive was the first thing Cambri heard as she walked inside, shutting the door quietly behind her.
 
Although her heart still felt heavy, it had a lightness to it that had been missing for a long time. She should have talked to Jace years ago.

“I’m telling you, I didn’t cheat,” countered Grandpa Cal. “How could I? You were sitting there the entire time.”

“You distracted me with all those stories, that’s how,” said Harvey. “I never lose at chess.”

“Only because I always let you win to avoid an argument like this.”

“Then why didn’t you let me win today?” her father countered.

“To teach you a lesson in humility, remember?” Grandpa Cal said. “I should have known better. You and humility go together about as well as pickles and lemonade.”

“Spitwicks.” Cambri walked into the kitchen and found her father jabbing a finger on the table to make a point. “I am the best chess player in the county, and you and I both know it.”

“Looks like I just kicked you out of that spot.”

Her father pushed his chair back at the same time Cambri decided it was time to intervene. “I’m glad to see you’re both good sports when it comes to losing”—she shot her father a warning look—“and winning”—she turned her expression on Grandpa Cal. “Your late wives would be so proud of you both right now.”

That seemed to shut them up. At least until her father pointed a finger at Cal. “You and me, next week. Same time and place.”

“I’ll be here.”

Cambri rolled her eyes, making a mental note to hide the chess game before then. She clapped her hands together and forced a smile to her face. “Now that that’s settled, it’s time for your meds, Dad.”

Her father frowned, and Cal grabbed his jacket. He gave Cambri a side hug and pecked her on the forehead. “Thanks for dinner, Cambri. It hit the spot.”

“Yeah, like an arrow in the gut,” her father grumbled.

“Never you mind him,” said Cal. “They don’t make medicine strong enough to cure his surliness.”

“I never do,” said Cambri with a smile.

She walked him to the door, waved goodbye, then returned to her father. After handing him his meds, she leaned her hip casually against the table. “I’ve been thinking about your yard. How would you feel about me giving it a bit of a makeover before I leave?”

“Before you leave?” He eyed her with a look she couldn’t interpret. Wariness perhaps? Disappointment?

Cambri sighed and pulled out a chair, sitting across from him. “I have to go back, Dad. My life is there, not here.”

“Your life is where you want it to be.”

“Right now I want it to be there.” Although the words sounded firm and believable, Cambri’s heart still wavered. But that was only because she was here. Once she returned to Charlotte, she’d transition easily back into her old life and start looking forward instead of back.

Her father let out a breath and leaned back in his chair. “No good ever came from arguing with you. If that’s really what you want, then that’s what it will be.”

Cambri eyed him with a mixture of respect and gratitude. Where was this attitude in high school? Or when she’d first come back? It was so much easier to feel close to him when he took a step back and supported her even though he disagreed.

“But I don’t have to like it,” he added brusquely.

Cambri placed her hand over his. “Believe it or not, I’m going to miss you. But I’m not leaving yet, and I’d love to give you a goodbye present this time. I’m good at what I do, so let me make your yard beautiful before I go.”

“I doubt I’ll be able to keep it up.”

“The doctor says you need exercise,” she countered. “Pushing a lawn mower around the yard and pulling a few weeds will be good for you.”

He grunted and folded his arms. “I guess it won’t hurt to spruce it up a little. If your mother were still alive, she’d like that.”

Cambri heard the slight catch in his voice when he talked about her mother. In his own way, he’d loved her deeply, just like Cambri had. She felt her heart lighten a little bit more. “Yes. Yes, she would.”

That night, as Cambri booted up her laptop to work on the design for her boss, her mind opened, and a week of pent-up creativity came gushing out.

She quickly sketched her ideas out on paper then got to work.

Cambri blinked at her bedroom ceiling as the first rays of morning sunlight filtered through the blinds. Even though she’d spent half of the night working on the landscape design plan, she’d never felt so invigorated. She’d look it over one last time this morning, then send it off to her boss two days before the deadline. And then she’d get to work on her father’s yard. A slow smile stretched across her face at the prospect of a new day with a new project on her plate. She couldn’t wait to get started.

In no time at all, she had clicked Send, dressed in the oldest jeans she’d brought, made her father some oatmeal, and headed outside. An early spring chill made her shiver, but she didn’t care. Cambri had work to do, and she’d begin with her father’s poor excuse for a shed. It took the majority of the morning to clean it out and try to organize everything. Her father came out close to noon, asking what she was up to.

“Just reorganizing, Dad. Don’t worry about it.”

His expression wary, he eyed the boxes of fishing gear that she’d collected from the shed. “I expect everything to be put back the way you found it when you’re done. Otherwise I won’t be able to find anything.”

Cambri lifted an eyebrow. He could actually find stuff in the chaos that was his shed before? Good thing she snapped a few pictures, because unbeknownst to her father, this shed was coming down.

“You’re just going to have to trust me,” she said, shooing him back inside.

After lunch, Cambri coerced him into going on a mandatory walk before parking him in front of the TV with his favorite Discovery show on, with the volume turned up loud. Then she returned to the backyard, hefted a sledgehammer, and started bringing down the house—or shed, in this instance. The fact that a few swings of the hammer could do so much damage was proof that it needed to come down.

“What in Sputnik’s name are you doing?” boomed her father from the back patio. Evidently Cambri hadn’t turned up the volume enough.