Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella)

by Rachael Anderson

Cambri knelt down and fingered the switch they’d installed the day before. “Ready?”

  “Fingers crossed it works.”

  Holding her breath, she flipped the switch, then grinned when a low murmuring sounded, signaling the pump had activated. Soon, water gurgled and rushed down the slight hill they’d created, looking more like a Slip ‘N Slide than a stream.

  “It works!” Cambri leapt up, clapped her hands together, then skipped over to Jace and threw her arms around him. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is so cool!”

  Jace’s arms tightened around her, lifting the heels of her sneakers off the ground as he hugged her back. “You’re acting like a kid who just built her first Lego set. I thought you’ve designed a bunch of these before.”

  “Designed—yes. Built—no. I just tell a crew where to put it then admire it when it’s all done. ”

  “Ah, so you’re one of those bosses,” he teased. Although he pulled back slightly, his hands were still on her waist, sending a happy shiver up her spine.

  “I help with the planting,” she said.

  “How? By telling them where to dig the holes?”

  She slugged him lightly on the arm. “No. By digging some of the holes myself.” Okay, so it never turned out to be that many, but when they were under a tight deadline, she’d always step in to help out.

  “Oh, so you’re obviously a skilled digger.”

  “The best,” she lied. Actually, she was horrible, especially when the ground was hard and rocky.

  “Can’t wait to see how good.” He grinned, nodding toward the plants waiting near the stream. “From the sounds of it, you won’t need my help today. Maybe I’ll just hang out on one of those patio seats, sip a lemonade, and observe.”

  “Yeah right.” Jace was incapable of being idle when there was something that needed doing. “Ten bucks says you can’t sit still for more than five minutes.”

  He chuckled. “You’re right. I probably couldn’t. Besides, I cleared out my schedule today, so I’m all yours.” He emphasized the last word, reminding her of her Freudian slip from the week before. Every chance he could, he found a way to bring it up in one way or another.

  Cambri rolled her eyes then poked him in the chest with her finger. “You’d better be all ears too, because I have a lot of ordering to do.”

  He laughed then nodded toward his truck. “Your shed came in this morning.”

  “It did?” Cambri craned her neck to look around him. “Do you think we’ll have time to set it up today?”

  “No,” he said. “That can wait until Monday. I took the day off, so don’t worry. We’ll get it done before you leave.”

  Did he have to remind her? Cambri hated thinking about leaving on Tuesday. It was too soon. “But—”

  “No buts. Today, we’re going to place those boulders, plant the rest of the shrubs, and pour the concrete for the hammock posts. Then we’re going out for dinner tonight to celebrate a job well done.” He shot her an uncertain look. “Assuming you’re available, that is.”

  Cambri’s heart skipped a beat, possibly even two, even though she wasn’t sure how to interpret the invitation. Was he asking her out on a date-date, or was it really just a celebratory dinner and nothing to get excited about? Was he inviting her father as well?

  “Unless you don’t want to,” Jace said. “I can always ask your dad instead.”

  So it was just her. The thought thrilled her.

  “I’d love to go.” The words came out rushed, sounding like Cambri was afraid he’d rescind the invitation. She drew in a quick breath and forced herself to slow down. “But only if it’s on me. I owe you big-time for all your help.”

  “I’ll say.” His mouth lifted into a half smile. “But I’ll collect another time. I issued the invite, so tonight’s on me.”

  “But—”

  “I told you, no buts. Besides, are you really going to argue with me after all I’ve done for you?”

  Cambri’s eyes narrowed. “That’s exactly why I’m arguing with you! I should be the one to pay.”

  “If you’d wanted to pay, then you should have done the asking,” he said. “Since I beat you to it, I get to decide where we go and who’s paying.”

  “And where are we going?”

  “I was thinking Fort Collins for sushi. We can tell your dad we already caught the fish from the stream and ate it for dinner so we don’t have to follow through on our promise to stock it.”

  “Very funny,” said Cambri. “And you’re kidding about the sushi thing too, right? Because I have this phobia of eating raw fish.”

  “Yeah, I know,” he joked. “That’s what you get for not asking first.”

  “Okay, fine.” She shrugged, acting as though she didn’t care. “But if it were up to me, I’d take you to Burgers On High and get you a double-decker with sweet potato fries.” That had been Jace’s favorite place to eat in high school. Was it still?

  He grinned. “But you’ve never liked that place.”

  It was true. The burgers were greasy, and Cambri had never been a sweet-potato-fry fan. But it was better than raw fish. “My taste buds have matured over the years,” she said. “I now love sweet potato fries.”

  “Liar.”

  Cambri loved that he still knew her so well. “Do they still have a live band on Saturday nights?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s good enough for me. We can go there for old times’ sake. What do you say?”

  For a moment, his eyes deepened with something that went beyond humor. But then he dropped his gaze to his feet and scuffed at the grass. “Yeah, okay. Burgers On High it is.”

  “Great. Then I’m paying,” said Cambri.

  He shook his head. “Let’s save that fight for when we get there. Otherwise, we’ll be arguing all day long.”

  “Okay, just promise not to tell Dad where we’re going. He’ll insist I bring him back a burger, and he’s not allowed to eat those anymore.”

  “It’ll be our secret.”

  For the next couple of hours, they placed boulders and rocks, shifted them around to wherever Cambri thought they’d look good, then shifted them again when they didn’t. Jace teased her about giving manual labor a whole new meaning, and she teased him about it being free manual labor.

  When Jace finally placed the last boulder, Cambri took a step back and inspected their work with a critical eye. It looked awesome. Better than she’d hoped. “I love it,” she pronounced.

  Jace quirked an eyebrow. “You sure? Because you’re way pickier than I remember—not to mention indecisive—so I’m having a hard time believing that we’re actually done.”

  Cambri responded by splashing him with a handful of water.

  Jace splashed her back, and a water fight ensued. When Jace grabbed the hose and sprayed her with frigid water, Cambri’s laughter rang out. She tried to wrestle it away from him, and in the end they both ended up drenched. Although Cambri shivered from the chill, she couldn’t remember the last time she’d had that much fun.

  “You two planning on getting any work done today?” called Harvey’s voice from the back porch. He looked more pleased than upset.

  “Yes sir,” Jace answered. “Just needed to soften the ground a bit to make planting easier.”

  Cambri snickered, then tried to cover it up by placing her fist over her mouth and clearing her throat. Jace shot her a way-to-give-us-away look, making her snicker some more.

  Her father gestured toward the house. “I’ve already made me a tuna sandwich on wheat, and there’s extra inside if you two get hungry. I’m heading out for my afternoon walk, so feel free to get some actual work done now.” Then he disappeared, leaving Cambri staring after him with her mouth hanging open.

  He’d made them lunch? He was going for a walk all on his own? “Who was that man, and what did he do with my dad?”

  Jace pointed a finger at Cambri. “Let that be a lesson to you. If a crotchety old man can change, anyone can.”

 
; Cambri laughed and dropped the hose. “I’m freezing. Why don’t we go make some tuna sandwiches and dry off for a bit?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  Cambri retrieved some towels while Jace made the sandwiches, and by the time her father returned from his walk, they were back in the yard, ready to plant shrubs and mix concrete. Jace dug the post holes, while Cambri arranged the shrubs. Once she had them situated to her satisfaction, she started planting.

  “Out of curiosity, where did you get those shrubs? I don’t recognize most of them.”

  Cambri squinted up at him. “I would have bought them from your store, but Sutton’s Hardware doesn’t have that great of a selection, so I’ve been getting most of them from a nursery in Fort Collins. I hope that’s okay.”

  “No worries,” he said. “I know we have a limited selection. We’ve been stocking our small nursery with the same plants every year, but I don’t know what else to do. I’m not familiar enough with plants to know what will sell well and what won’t.”

  “I’d be happy to give you some suggestions if you’d like,” said Cambri.

  “Yeah, I’d appreciate that.”

  She gestured toward the stream. “It’s the least I could do after all you’ve done to help me.”

  He planted his shovel in the earth and rested his elbow on top of it. “About that. I was sort of hoping I could convince you to draw up some plans for my yard. Not before you go, or anything, just sometime when you can spare a few minutes. It doesn’t have to be fancy, but I really like what you’ve done here and would love something similar in my yard.”

  “Are you kidding? I’d love to.” Did he actually consider that a favor? Already, Cambri’s mind spun with ideas and plans. A flagstone walkway, a new maple tree, evergreens mixed with a few perennials, and a dash of lush. “Your yard’s so small, it won’t take me long to come up with a design. Maybe I could even stay another week to help you get going on it.” She’d actually love nothing more. Another week with Jace—

  “Cambri.” He leveled her a look. “You’ve already pushed your departure date back a week for your dad. There’s no way I’m letting you push it back again. I’m sure you’re needed home.”

  Home.

  The word had been on Cambri’s mind a lot lately. Was Charlotte really her home? It didn’t feel like it at the moment and maybe never really had. But Jace was right. At some point, Cambri needed to go back. Her job and life were there, and she couldn’t keep postponing her stay indefinitely just because she wanted to. Besides, Dillon had already been more than generous to give her as much time away as he had. She knew it hadn’t been easy for him to keep her up-to-date on all the meetings she’d missed.

  She nodded. “Okay. I’ll get you a plan as soon as I get back.”

  “Hey, no rush, okay? Just whenever.”

  “Got it.”

  He grabbed the shovel, giving her that half smile that always tickled her insides. “Okay, let’s get this done then. I’m ready for a shower and some really greasy hamburgers and fries.”

  “Gross.” But really, Cambri couldn’t agree more.

  Twangy country music blared through large speakers in the small, crowded room. Cambri glanced around, noting how it hadn’t changed at all. Same barn-style walls, same wooden floor, and same ugly florescent lights. The only difference was it seemed more crowded than she remembered. Even at 5:30, the place was already packed. A quick look around brought her back to high school and how she’d let Jace coerce her into coming here way too often.

  “Wow,” said Cambri. “Either the food is better than it used to be, or the band must be a popular one.”

  Jace murmured something unintelligible as he focused on something behind Cambri. She turned around to see a familiar looking woman with long, blond hair headed their way. Her hand was being held by a curly-haired guy trailing behind.

  When she caught up, her smile brightened. “Jace, what a surprise to see you here.” The guy moved to her side, still holding her hand.

  “Hey, Jace, how’s it going?” he said.

  Several more people walked in the door, crowding the space. Jace pulled Cambri in front of him and rested his hands on her shoulders, sending shivers down her spine. “Cambri, this is Eden and Drew, some really good friends of mine. They live in Bridger as well and were married a few months ago. You might already know Eden. She was a sophomore when we were seniors.”

  No wonder she looked familiar. “Oh, that’s right.” She nodded at Eden then glanced at Drew. “But you’re not from Bridger, are you?”

  He shook his head. “Jace and I met in college.”

  “Oh,” said Cambri. “Is that how you two met? Did he introduce you?”

  An awkward silence descended, making Cambri wonder what she’d said.

  Jace finally chuckled. “That’s one way of putting it.”

  Another awkward pause.

  “What’s another way?” Cambri asked, more than a little curious.

  “I was dating Eden when Drew came to town and stole her away from me.”

  “Oh.” Open mouth, insert foot. Cambri cringed, not liking the thought of Jace dating someone else, talking to someone else, getting emotionally involved with someone else. Had he once been her best friend as well? “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to bring up—”

  “It’s okay,” Jace cut her off. “Everything worked out for the best.”

  Eden watched Jace with a nervous anticipation. “Really?” she said.

  “Really.” He sounded so sure, so unaffected by it all. His fingers squeezed Cambri’s shoulder, as though assuring her it was true.

  Drew put an arm around Eden and hugged her close. “You guys want to join us?” He gestured in the direction they’d come from. “There’s plenty of room at our table.”

  Jace’s fingers slid from Cambri’s shoulder to her hand, where they interlocked with hers, leaving behind a trail of tingles and goosebumps. Hmm… she could get used to this.

  “If it’s okay, we’ll pass for tonight,” said Jace. “But definitely some other time, okay?”

  “Okay.” Drew nodded in understanding, then looked at Cambri. “It’s really good to meet you, Cambri.”

  “You too.”

  Eden waved goodbye and followed her husband away.

  Cambri leaned against Jace’s chest and glanced up, breathing in the spicy smell of his cologne. “What was that all about?” she murmured.

  A slow smile touched his lips. “Let’s just call it restoration.”

  “I see.”

  Jace relinquished her fingers and placed his hand on the small of her back, guiding her toward one of the few empty tables left in the room. Cambri purposefully slowed her steps so she could enjoy his touch. It suddenly felt as though their friendship had morphed into something that went a little deeper. She liked it.

  She squeezed past a large man in a cowboy hat and slid into a seat.

  They ordered their meal and had to raise their voices to be heard above the noise of the ever-increasing crowd. When the food arrived, Cambri picked up a limp sweet potato fry, gave it a shake, and laughed when it bounced.

  “Hasn’t anyone told you not to play with your food?” Jace stole it from her and ate it. “I can’t believe you don’t like these.”

  Cambri dunked one in ketchup and gave it a try. It turned to mush in her mouth, and she grimaced as she swallowed. “And I can’t believe you do. It tastes like baby food.”

  “How do you know what baby food tastes like?” he teased, shoving a few more fries in his mouth.

  “Okay, Mr. Semantics. It tastes the way I imagine baby food would taste. Happy?”

  “Happy.”

  She picked up her burger and took a large bite. Either she was hungrier than she realized, or it had been too long since she’d had one, because it actually tasted good. Well, decent at least. “Not bad,” she said.

  Jace grinned. “Congratulations. It only took you ten years to say what your heart’s known all along. Whether you
like it or not, you’re a sucker for good, old-fashioned American food. Admit it.”

  She leaned across the table and lowered her voice, as though ready to tell him a secret. “Never.”

  “Killjoy.”

  Cambri laughed. She’d almost forgotten what it felt like to connect to someone the way she did with Jace. Her mother once told her to marry her best friend, but at the time, Jace wasn’t even close to the romantic figure she’d dreamed of marrying. She’d responded with a “Gross!”, making her mother laugh.

  But then a few years came and went, and her friendship with Jace grew stronger. She’d even found that she liked his arms around her when he gave her a hug and enjoyed his touch when he’d nudge her or lean close to whisper something only she could hear. And when he’d kissed her… suddenly the thought of marrying her best friend didn’t seem gross at all. That’s what scared her the most. As much as she cared about her best friend, she didn’t want to be held back. There was too much she wanted to do.

  So she’d left to have her experiences, go to school, and get away from temptation. She met new friends, dated a bunch of guys, and eventually realized that friends like Jace were about as common as seeing dragon fruit in the produce section of a local grocery store. Not common at all.

  As she finished off her hamburger, she couldn’t help but wonder that if she hadn’t gone away and experienced a life outside of Bridger, would she have appreciated Jace the way she did now? Would she realize how rare a find he was? Probably not. Sometimes it took going without to make you realize that you’d rather have it with. And Jace was definitely with. She knew that now.

  “Want to dance?” he asked.

  Cambri eyed him with hesitation. This wasn’t a new thing, him asking her to dance, but it had always been to an upbeat song—unlike the slow, romantic melody that now played in the background. What would happen if she danced with him? How much more would her heart break in a few days when she had to leave and say goodbye?

  Jace stood and held out his hand to her. “You know we can’t leave here until we do. It’s tradition.”

  Could something still be a tradition even after years of it not happening? Cambri placed her hand tentatively in his, and he pulled her to her feet. Then he linked his fingers through hers and led her to the middle of the room where a few couples were already dancing in a small, circular area devoid of tables, including Drew and Eden. They smiled and nodded.