Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Her reprieve was up.
At first, when Joey had agreed to share pizza on Saturday, her purpose had been two-fold. One, she needed Hendrix to know that she could feed her son. She wasn’t so desperate that she couldn’t buy food. Basic stuff, yes. Inexpensive meals like spaghetti or soup, but she and Ryder would not starve.
It was just happenstance that he’d caught her on a day when she hadn’t found the time or energy to go to the grocery store. Not after tutoring all day, dragging poor Ryder along.
Yes, her son enjoyed reading quietly while she worked with students from various ages, but he was also an energetic, creative little boy who needed to do, not just read.
Often, he enjoyed reenacting the stories he read, creating a cape from a towel and using a stick for a sword as he dashed around in front of their cabin.
Or rather, Hendrix’s cabin. He owned it.
He owned the entire campground. It was big enough that she hadn’t expected to keep running into him.
Not that he seemed to mind when she carved out time for Ryder to walk, run, explore and overall just expend some energy.
Whether it was before she tutored, or after, they managed to encounter Hendrix each time.
It wasn’t staged on his end. He looked too genuinely surprised whenever they spotted each other.
Surprised, but not unpleasantly so.
It was obvious he had no idea how it affected her. He’d smile at Ryder, and her heart would turn over. He invited her son to help with playground repairs, and Joey wanted to kiss him all over.
Hendrix was so wonderful that even if he wasn’t six feet of gorgeous, muscled male, she’d still be fantasizing about him. Wanting him. Falling for him.
Shoot, she’d already been halfway in love with the man, but now he saw her as some needy, incompetent person who couldn’t take care of her only child.
Defeat settled around her heart – until she made herself concentrate on her plans.
If the RV campground was hers, she’d add more areas for the children.
Not necessarily with expensive equipment, but with games that would keep the kids entertained outdoors instead of sitting with their devices.
To that end, she jotted down some ideas.
Orchestrating activities that included parents and kids was also a great idea, like a sand castle building competition, or a race to see who could find the most shells along the shore.
She’d love to set up a little free library to encourage reading, and it could have both books for adults and children of all ages. She’d...what? Make everyone happy?
Such a sappy thought. It wasn’t possible and she was old enough, experienced enough to know it. However, she could suggest the ideas to Hendrix, and offer to put them into effect as a way to repay him for letting her stay on through December.
Last night, instead of sleeping, she’d formulated a payment plan, as well as an idea of how she could make her stay during the month more palatable to him.
The past week, each time they’d collided, Hendrix had been nice about it. But facts were facts, and he’d made it clear that he wanted time alone.
Unless his thoughts had changed on that. She didn’t know enough about men to be sure; that had been proven when she’d so badly misjudged Ted.
But to her, it seemed Hendrix had changed over the week.
That first day of running into him on a trail had badly startled her.
At first, she’d thought Ted had showed up and panic had stolen her breath.
When she’d realized it was Hendrix, her knees had almost buckled in relief.
Hendrix had appeared equally surprised, yet he hadn’t missed a thing, including her reaction.
However, when Ryder insisted on showing him fish bones he’d found, Hendrix had patiently explained that a bird, probably a pelican, gull, or even an eagle, had likely left the carcass after eating all the flesh.
A gruesome story that Ryder had loved. So much so, that Hendrix had backtracked with them to show off a snakeskin left in tall grass. Fascinated, Ryder had held the brittle, delicate skin with reverence, while Joey tried her best not to curl her lip in disgust.
Every encounter became equally meaningful, even with Hendrix watching her so keenly.
“Do you think he’ll like it?” Ryder asked.
Clearing the distraction from her head, Joey looked up from the tabletop where she’d been working on her list. “Will who like what?”
“Mr. Becker. I made him a card.”
She accepted the neatly folded paper that Ryder handed her.
“Oh, honey, this is wonderful.” Using his colored pencils, he’d created a beautiful seascape with an enormous, dark-haired man standing on the rocky shoreline.
Given the size of his shoulders, the length of his legs, and his superhero pose, she assumed it must be Hendrix.
In the sand beside him was a decorated Christmas tree.
Above his head, a single star in the sky sent down a golden beam.
Like he was Jesus or something.
“Um...”
Ryder crowded close. “It would be so cool to have a Christmas tree on the beach. We could decorate it with shells and seaweed.”
“That would be very cool,” she agreed, “but the wind would probably blow it over.”
Ryder didn’t seem concerned with that probability. “I’m going to add more stars.”
Whew. “This star seems to be shining on –”
“The tree.” He smiled over his cleverness. “But I need more stars.”
Oh good, so that wasn’t a heavenly beam on Hendrix. “More stars would be pretty. You could show them reflecting on the water, too.” Whenever possible, she tried to give him artistic suggestions without intruding on his own ideas.
Ryder had an enormous imagination – like making Barbie into Wonder Woman – and he possessed a unique bent of creativity. Despite having an absentee father and being largely ignored by his grandparents, he saw the best in people.
From the day Ryder had met Hendrix, he’d wanted to know him better. Occasionally, he’d say things like, “Mr. Becker would understand,” or “Mr. Becker is the nicest.” He loved spotting him in the park, and often dragged her along just to say “hi.”
Hendrix was nice – for a man who mostly kept to himself. Joey tried to respect the privacy of others; she wouldn’t want anyone digging into her past, judging her on her failed marriage or current state of financial woes.
Still, she couldn’t help wondering why a man like Hendrix wasn’t married, or at least seriously involved.
He looked to be in his early thirties. He had a solid, muscular, fit body.
And his face? So gorgeous, even with worry lines etched between his thick, dark brows, and smaller lines that fanned out from the corners of his gray eyes.
Just thinking about his face, about the intensity of his eyes, made her pulse quicken. She hadn’t been attracted to a man in a very long time. At least a year before her marriage had finally ended. Once she’d stopped having interest in Ted, it was as if her sexuality had died.
Failure could do that to a person.
But around Hendrix? Her sexuality was alive and kicking, even demanding a little attention.
Not that she could do anything about it. Her main focus now was in ensuring that Ryder would never suffer that type of despair. No matter what else happened, she wanted him to feel secure, well-loved, and appreciated.
With that in mind, she said, “You folded this so neatly, too. Great job, honey.”
“Thanks.” He threw his arms around her neck and treated her to a tight hug before scrambling back to his own seat.
“It’s a beautiful Christmas card, and I’m sure Mr. Becker will love it, but I think...” How did you explain something so sensitive to a child? “That is, I’m not sure Mr. Becker likes Christmas very much.”
Still working on adding stars, Ryder asked without looking up, “How come?”
She wondered the same thing. “Sometimes, people have sad things that happen to them and certain days or activities remind them of it.”
That got his attention.
“Remember how I told you I cut my foot on Halloween when I stepped on a broken bottle? For years, I didn’t like Halloween.”
“Cuz you cut your foot real bad, huh?”
“Yes. The bottle was in the dark.” And a jagged piece had gone completely through her arch and out the top of her foot.
She hadn’t much liked the dark after that, either, at least not until her teenage years when she’d discovered how fun it was to be in shadows with a favorite boy.
“After that, whenever I thought of Halloween, I remembered how my foot had hurt, and how I hadn’t been able to wear shoes for so long. ”
Considering that, he looked at the card with doubt. “You think my card will make him sad?”
“No, honey, I didn’t mean that. I’m sure he’ll love the card.” He better, Joey thought. “But if he doesn’t say the right things, it might have something to do with him, and whatever might make him sad. Just don’t think that it has anything to do with you or your beautiful card.”
“Cuz my card is nice, huh?”
“Your card is amazing.” She reached across the table to tickle his chin. “Like you.”
Laughing, he ducked his face – and a knock sounded on the door.
Her heart shot into her throat.
“Mr. Becker!” Ryder popped out of his chair so fast, Joey barely managed to catch the back of his sweatshirt.
On edge, she spoke with a too-high voice. “Ryder, what did I tell you about never opening the door until we know for sure who it is?” Like her in-laws, she assumed that Ted had left town, but she wouldn’t take any chances. Not with her son. Not ever. “I’m the only one who opens the door, remember?”
“But it’s –”
“You assume that it’s Hendrix, but I like to make sure.” Because Ted was impulsive, and capricious. If he did show up, she couldn’t be certain of his mood.
Eyes widening with worry, Ryder lowered his voice and whispered, “Do you think bad people are here?”