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 hadloved. 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.”
Hendrixwasnice – 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?Sogorgeous, even with worry lines etched between his thick, dark brows, and smaller lines that fanned out from the corners of his gray eyes.
