Chapter Ten
Giving Sandra a ride on an almost daily basis was out of character for Paxton. Having gotten to know her and her son, there was no doubt in his mind that choosing them for the house had been the right thing to do, but the more he got to know Sandra Lynn the adult, the more he appreciated any time alone with her, even if it was in the cab of his truck for the short ride to the construction site. The house was coming together faster than they’d expected. The original plan had been for the Farraday Construction company to do all the work, but for a worthy cause, just about every Farraday who could wield a hammer or work a skill saw had shown up for at least a few hours to give a hand. Never had they been so far ahead of schedule.
“Everything okay?” Sandra asked from the passenger side of his truck.
“Absolutely.” He’d spent a great deal of time the last week just sitting back and watching the movement of the sun, determining what parts of the property were in shade or sun or some combination. Once he’d gotten a good feel for the available space and the lighting, he’d been able to put his ideas on paper.
“You’ve barely said a word since we left Mom’s.”
Paxton pulled up in front of the house. It really was coming together. This was going to be the perfect home for Sandra and her son.
Opening the passenger door, she climbed out of his truck, then turning to face him again, leaned in slightly. “Are you sure nothing’s up?”
Paxton pulled the drawings for the landscaping out from behind the seat in his truck, and climbed out of the car. Totally out of character for him, he’d been nervous about letting Sandra Lynn know his plans were done. He had worked hard on them, doing his best to keep the personalities of the new homeowners in mind, and he was proud of the results. More than anything, he really wanted Sandra to be happy. In just a few short weeks, she’d become very important to him. “I have something to show you.”
“Okay.” Her brows buckled and her voice almost cracked.
He smiled. “Relax, it won’t bite. I promise. I have the landscape design here.” He held them up.
Her eyes lit up and a smile took over her face. “Ooh. Can I see?”
“Of course.” He pulled the papers out of a tube and laid them on the hood of his truck. “These are just a first draft. You get full veto power. Whatever you don’t like, we can come up with something else.”
“I don’t know that I’ve ever had veto power before.” She laughed. “I’m sure I’ll love whatever ideas you’ve come up with.”
He sure hoped so. Standing close enough that their arms touched, he sucked in a deep breath and dropped a leather weight on each side of the drawings to keep them from rolling up again.
“Wow.” She looked from left to right of the massive paper. “I can’t draw a stick figure. This is amazing.”
So far so good. He blew out a breath that had been stuck in his throat while he waited for her initial reaction.
Squinting, she pointed to one side of the drawing. “So I gather all the pretty colors are flowers?”
He nodded.
“Walk me through it all, please.”
“Of course.” Most clients required explanations of his plans, but none had meant as much as this project. He wanted desperately to give Sandra and her son the perfect home. Not till this moment did he realize just how badly he wanted her to like what he’d done. “I’ve done my best to give you what I think you’d like while staying within the budget.”
“Thank you.” She smiled sweetly. “Not that I’m paying for the plants out of my pocket, but I know the charity’s parameters are quite strict.”
“I chose low-maintenance items since I know how busy you are with work and David, and you’ve mentioned a time or two that you have a brown thumb.”
“You were listening?” She tipped her head to level her gaze with his.
“Always.” He was more than listening, he’d taken in every word and catalogued them in the back of his mind. “Unless you have a particular love of gardening, then I could put more items that need attention. Just remember, if there’s something special you’d like me to add, I can find a way to make it work.”
She put a hand on his arm. “Paxton, I’m sure it’s all perfect. If I develop an unexpected interest in gardening, I can always plant other things once the house is mine.”
He looked down at her delicate fingers resting on his arm and swallowed, hard. “Okay.” He flipped the page and pointed to the back corner of the property. “We’ll start in back. Right here we’ll plant both Golden Rod and Milkweed. This will attract a good number of butterflies. I thought David would enjoy that. Often I use Prickly Pears to attract butterflies, especially if the homeowner is a cook and interested in making Prickly Pear jam, but I didn’t think it was a good idea with an energetic little boy running around.”
“Oh, I like that. Butterflies are so pretty.”
That had been what he wanted to hear, that he’d guessed correctly. “Most of these shrubs along the back are drought tolerant. There were lots of prettier options, but I figured that you’d prefer low maintenance.”
“You figured right.” She smiled, returning her attention to the papers in front of them. “What else?”
He explained about the six-foot wood fence, a staple in Texas home ownership, and a few other things before circling back to the empty spaces in the backyard. “There’s room for anything that interests a young boy and his friends; a swing set or a trampoline—”
“Or fort,” she interrupted.
“Yes.” What he really wished is that the backyard had better trees to build a low tree house that would ease her concern and still make David happy. A good live oak would do the trick, but in this part of the country, large trees just weren’t that common. “There’s lots of space in the middle of the backyard for playing. Maybe I can talk David into a nice big fort? Especially now that he’s in school and will be making friends.”
“Friends.” Lips pressed tightly, she nodded. “We didn’t have many friends in Chicago.”
He’d noticed that even after starting school, David hadn’t seemed to make a lot of friends yet. Of course, even though Tuckers Bluff was a small town that was growing, lots of kids lived far out on ranches.
Looking up, Sandra’s gaze darted from the drawing to each direction he pointed to in the front yard as he explained about the Nandinas with their pretty red foliage and the combinations of perennials, grass and stone.
When he finished, he rolled the papers up again and slid them back into the tube. “So, what do you think about all this?”
Sandra looked around at the yard and what Paxton had envisioned. There was only one thing missing. She looked up at him. “Do you think there’s room for a peach tree?”
“If you want a peach tree, we’ll fit in a peach tree.” Paxton looked at the house then back to her. “Where would you want it?”
Instead of asking to see the plans again, she wandered around the corner to the backyard. Stopping nearly dead center of the yard, she spun around, her arms out, thinking about all the delicious fruit they’d have in a few years. “Right here, Paxton.”
“Right there sounds good.”
She stepped several feet to her left and spun again. “Am I pushing my luck if we plant two?”
That had him chuckling softly. “I don’t think two peach trees will break the bank.”
Lunging forward, she almost hugged him, but instead stopped mid stride. The job site was no place for public displays of affection, even if it was nothing more than friendly gratitude. She couldn’t believe how everything was coming together. She’d always wanted a house, fruit trees, a big yard, and who knows, maybe one day a dog. Little boys should have dogs. No matter how you sliced it, all of her dreams of home ownership were coming true.
“Would you like more?”
This time she couldn’t resist. The man was just so dang amazing, squealing with joy, she practically jumped up and down before throwing her arms around his middle in a squishing bear hug. He was solid and warm and she had to fight not to melt into his shoulder.
In the awkward way men did when they didn’t know what else to do, his hands patted her back. Stiffly at first, and then, when she didn’t move, his arms settled around her. “Should I offer to plant four trees?”
Realizing how awkward it was to be hugging him in the middle of the yard, she reluctantly let go, and taking a step back, looked up at him. “I’m sorry. I guess I got a little carried away.”
Like a laser, his gaze seemed to bore right through her. What she didn’t have a clue about, was what he was thinking.
“No, worries.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’ve just never had anyone be this happy over a tree.”
She laughed. “I guess it’s silly, but you listened to me and actually planted a fruit tree.” Maybe something so small shouldn’t make her so happy, but it did. After all, she’d been through in the last few years, she would take her joy where she could find it. And in Paxton’s arms seemed to be a very pleasant place to start.
“You two having fun yet?” Holding back a chuckle, Jamison came up the walkway.
Hoping she wasn’t blushing all the way to her toes, Sandra took a quick step back. “We’re talking trees.”
“Trees?” This time Jamison flashed a full-blown smile that seemed to shout that he didn’t believe a word she’d just said.
“What are you doing here?” Paxton pulled his hands out of his pockets and crossed his arms.
“I’ve got a few hours free. Thought I’d give a hand. Unless, of course, you don’t need it.”
Paxton pushed away from the truck he’d been leaning against. “The more the merrier.”
Jamison actually sputtered.
“Don’t even think about it,” Paxton scolded his cousin.
Holding his hands up in the air, Jamison shook his head. “I didn’t say a word.”
“No.” Paxton moved forward his expression almost menacing. “But you were thinking about it.”
Knowing where their minds had probably gone, the interaction between the two cousins was almost as fascinating as the plans for the landscaping of her new house. She’d always enjoyed being a part of the large Farraday clan, but at the moment, with his fists clenched at his side Paxton looked ready to slug his cousin. “Gentlemen,” she interrupted.
Both heads whipped around to face her.
“Don’t we have work to do?”
The two men nodded at her.
“I’ll head on in the house and see where I’m needed.” Jamison nodded at Sandra and darted up the front steps into the house.
“I guess it’s my turn to apologize. Sometimes my cousins are more childish than their children.”
“To quote a friend of mine, no worries.”
As she’d hoped, that made him smile. But too soon the smile slipped and a serious tone took over his face seconds before he started to reach forward and then quickly, instead, shoved his hands back in his pockets. “Since tomorrow is Saturday, is there any chance I could talk you into joining me for dinner? As much of a pain as Jamison can be, he runs a fun pub.”
All the air in her lungs rushed up and caught in her throat. Was this dinner as in a date, or as in friends?
“I’m sorry.” He took a step back. “I shouldn’t have—”
“No.” She cut him off. “I mean yes. I’d like to join you for dinner tomorrow night.”
A broad smile appeared and made his eyes sparkle. “Great. I’ll pick you up after David’s bedtime. Is that okay?”
“Perfect.” The air had returned to her lungs and her cheeks hurt from smiling. She still didn’t know if this was a date, and had no idea what she wanted, but one thing she did know, she really wanted to have dinner with Paxton, and she wouldn’t mind another hug too.