“Maybe.” He smiled slightly, glancing her way. “It definitely reminds me of you.”
She caught his gaze and held it, making Jace’s heart pound in an uneven rhythm. “In a good way or bad?”
Whether it was the darkness of the night or the reminder of a time when he used to talk to Cambri about everything, Jace felt himself wanting to open up to her. But like a rusted hinge being pried open, the words didn’t come as easy as they used to. “A little of both maybe. Mostly good, though. And yes, you were right, it does have great character.”
Cambri stepped to his side and indicated the house. “You’ve made it beautiful—more so than I ever envisioned. I always knew you were talented from all the cool things you used to make in your shop classes—but this… this is impressive. It’s very you.”
Three little words, and suddenly the house was all his again. “Thanks.”
“Did you have to kill the tree though?” Cambri smiled as she said it, but there was an underlying sadness in her voice that pricked Jace’s heart.
But what else could he do? There was no disguising the tree, or changing it to make it Jace’s and not hers. Every time he’d driven down Rose Street, that maple taunted him with the reminder of a perfect kiss gone way wrong and a friendship destroyed. It had to go. “The roots were making the sidewalk buckle.”
She looked at the spot where it had once stood and shook her head sadly. “It was so big. So beautiful. So perfect.”
And so in his face. “Your attachment to that tree wasn’t healthy. You’ll thank me for getting rid of it someday.”
She cocked her head at him and lifted an eyebrow. “Just like you’re now thanking me for accidentally driving your bullet bike into the pond?”
Jace frowned. “I’ll never thank you for that. That was a travesty.”
“And you accuse me of having an unhealthy obsession,” she muttered.
“What are you talking about? You loved that bike too.”
“Not enough to fish it out of the pond and hold a burial service for it.”
“That bike was family.” Jace shook his head, then chuckled at the memory. “It took all day to dig a hole big enough for that bike.”
“I know. I helped! Remember?”
Jace did remember. Cambri, covered in dirt and sweat, glaring at him from the bottom of the hole. “This is taking forever,” she’d said. “Why don’t we just throw it in front of a semi just to break it down a little? Or better yet—have it cremated?”
“Is that what you’d want done to you after you die?” he’d countered.
“No.” She wiped her matted hair away from her face. “I would have wanted you to leave me at the bottom of the pond,” she grumbled. “Which is exactly where that bike should still be.”
And that was why Jace had insisted on burying the bike. He got to spend the entire day with Cambri because of it. Even though it made him look overly attached to a hunk of metal, it had been worth it.
“I’ve always wondered if the new owners of our old house ever dug that up,” said Jace. “It’s not like we buried it that deep. All it would take was a good tiller to expose some of those rusted old remains.”
Cambri shivered. “Don’t say that. I can’t stand the sound of grinding metal or metal scraping anything. It’s almost as bad as fingernails on a chalkboard.”
“You mean like a shovel grating against rock or the sound of car breaks grinding or—”
“Stop.” Cambri clamped her hand over his mouth. “I almost forgot how evil you can be.”
“Almost?” Jace said, his voice muffled by her hand. He’d meant it as a joke, but the humor drained from her face as she met and returned his gaze. Her hand slowly dropped from his mouth, and she looked away.
Jace would give anything to know what she was thinking.
She cleared her throat, and her voice took on a forced brightness. “Hey, you don’t, by chance, take on side projects, do you? I was thinking of having my dad’s old shed rebuilt. It’s falling apart, and he could really use a bigger one.” Her eyes met his again, looking anxious. “I’d pay you, of course.”
Her question was met with silence, mostly because Jace didn’t know how to answer. Once again, his shoe scuffed against the sidewalk, and he watched the concrete crumble. Like the digging of that ridiculous hole for his bike, he wanted to say yes, to spend more time with her. He wanted to remember the old and discover the new, but she was leaving, and Jace had learned long ago that the only thing she wanted from him was friendship. He didn’t think he could go back to that.
“I’m actually pretty busy right now with this house. But I know a guy who’d be interested if you want his name and number.”
“Oh, um, yeah…” Did she sound disappointed? “That’d be great.”
Jace nodded toward the house. “C’mon in, and I’ll get it for you. I’ll even let you take a look around—in a non-creepy, legal way.”
“Ha ha,” she said.
Inside, Jace watched Cambri as she walked slowly around the bare room. She ran her hand up and down the smooth banister, across the white fireplace mantle, and briefly touched the gray semi-gloss paint before turning back to him.
“It’s beautiful,” she said. “Did you do all this work yourself?”
He nodded. “I like to stay busy. It keeps me out of trouble.”
“Since you were always such a troublemaker,” she joked.
“I was,” said Jace. “Mr. Badboy himself.”
Cambri laughed at that, and Jace stiffened. He hadn’t heard that laugh since she’d returned. It was her real laugh—the one that used to warm him up from the inside out and make his days happier. The one that brightened the bare, dimly lit room now. The one that would be walking out the door in just a few minutes.
She wandered into the kitchen and ran her fingers across the ugly orange laminate countertop. Other than the floor, Jace hadn’t done anything to the kitchen yet.
“What do you plan to do in here?” she asked.
“Leave it as is,” came his answer. “I’m a sucker for that orange.”
Cambri laughed again, and the room brightened a little more. Even the countertops looked a little less hideous. “You could always paint the cabinets black and make it Halloween-ish since you love that holiday so much,” she teased again. Jace had once made the mistake of telling her that he hated Halloween and all the gruesome costumes that came with it. From that point forward, she’d shown up on his doorstep every October 31, wearing the most hideous costume she could come up with.
Jace leaned against the counter and folded his arms. “I should enlarge some of those pictures of you in that Joker costume to hang on the wall.” Thinking about it still gave him the heebie geebies. The blackened eyes, the white, crackled face, the bright red lips that bled beyond the point where lips should bleed. And her hair—all scraggly and oily looking.
“I used to dress up as a princess or maid or movie star,” said Cambri with a wistful smile. “But then I got to know you and… things changed.”
“I’ll say. I brought out the worst in you.”
Cambri looked down and picked at the corner of the counter, where a bit of laminate had come loose. “Maybe when it came to Halloween costumes. But otherwise I really liked myself when I was with you. With everyone else, I always felt like I had to say the right thing, look the right way, and fit the right image. But with you, I could be goofy, stupid, ugly, and silly, and I knew you wouldn’t care. You liked me no matter what.”
She peeked at him in a hesitant way, and a palpable energy filled the space between them. Why did you leave then? Why didn’t you return my calls? Why didn’t you keep in touch? And why did you kiss me back? Because she had. It had been tentative at first, but then her fingers were in his hair and her lips moving hard and hungry against his. For a brief moment, Jace had felt like he’d somehow managed to get the one girl he never really believed he could ever get.
But then Cambri froze, slowly backed away, and asked him
to drive her home. Two days later, she’d left town and that was that. No explanation, no goodbye, nothing. Just gone.
The feelings of way back when slammed into Jace once again, feeling fresh and raw. Six years, and he still hadn’t put it behind him. Six years, and she could still make him feel this way. His jaw clenched in frustration.
“Listen, Jace.” Cambri was back to picking at the laminate with her fingernail. “I know this is long overdue, but I owe you an apology.”
Jace swallowed. “No need. It’s all water under the bridge now.”
Her head shook. “Maybe for you it is, but not for me. It never has been. I know I have no right to ask you anything, but I’d really appreciate it if you’d hear me out.” She paused. “Please.”
With a sigh, Jace dropped down on a barstool and nodded.
The mole to the side of her lips twitched a moment, and then she began. “When Mom died, everything changed, including Dad. He went from being the person who stayed out of my way and let Mom deal with me to someone who was always in my way. Nothing I did seemed to satisfy him. He hated that I was a cheerleader. He didn’t like my friends—except you, of course. And when I started talking about going across the country to school, he got after me about that too. He couldn’t understand why I wanted to go to Penn State over CSU. It didn’t matter that Penn State had the program I wanted to attend and CSU didn’t. And the more he pushed, the more stifled I felt.”
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 o
f 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.”
Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) Page 6