By the time Kayla crawled into bed that night, she was pretty sure she was falling for Rowan. How had he gotten past her defenses so quickly?

He’d been curled up with Connor on the sofa when she’d let herself into the house. There were cartoons playing, but they were both fast asleep.

When he’d heard her, his eyes had slid open and he’d smiled up at her while holding a finger over his lips to keep her quiet.

He’d carried Connor up the stairs and placed the freshly bathed, pajama-clad boy into the bed. Then he’d taken her hand and walked with her to the end of the hallway and stepped outside onto a back deck she hadn’t known existed.

There was a small landing with a bench, and they sat down and talked for a few minutes about her workday and his.

Then he’d wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. When his lips touched hers, she felt her entire body heat and melt against his.

His hands had moved to her hair, holding her closer, tilting her head as he took what he wanted from her.

She’d moaned and wrapped her arms tighter around him.

“Isn’t it funny that I can’t wait for the weekend to be over already?”

She smiled. “It’s only Friday.”

“I know, but Monday is our day off.”

She leaned back and looked up at him. “You took Monday off too?”

He nodded. “I thought maybe instead of just dinner, we could spend the day together. Since Crystal is taking Connor to the resort for the day and night, I figured we could both play hooky.”

“Sounds good.” She’d have to tell her mother she needed a day off too.

“Great.” He pulled her until she rested her head against his chest as his fingers played with her hair. “I’ll set everything up. All you’ll need is a pair of hiking boots.”

“Hiking?” She glanced up at him.

“Oh no, it’s a surprise.” He nudged until she leaned back again. “Look.” He pointed towards the sky. “Shooting star.”

She glanced up in time to see the falling light.

“Make a wish,” he whispered into her hair.

“What would you wish for?” she asked.

He was silent for a while. “Too much.” He shifted beneath her. “You?”

“Health and happiness for Connor,” she answered easily.

Now, she lay in the darkness and tried to drift off, but her mind kept playing over the earlier scene. How his hands had felt in her hair and how his lips had felt on hers. It had been too long since she’d felt tenderness like that.

When she heard her phone chime, she rolled over and glanced at the screen. A huge smile escaped her when she saw Rowan’s name on the screen.

-Hey, you still awake?

-Yes

-Good, because I can’t sleep

-Try warm milk

She chuckled at the Moji he sent back

-You know when you asked me what I wished for?

-Yes

She bit her lip as she waited for his response.

-I was wishing that the night wouldn’t end

What could she say to that?

-You still there?

-Yes, I thought you couldn’t wait til Monday?

She chose to keep things light.

-I can’t. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want to spend as much time with you as I can get.

-You’re making it hard for me to focus.

-Good, now you know how you make me feel.

-Rowan, I don’t know if I can do this…

-Kayla

She waited and when he didn’t say anything more she typed.

-yes?

-Don’t think too much. Just… enjoy. Goodnight.

-Goodnight.

-Dream of me, because I know I’ll be dreaming of you.

By morning, she wondered if she would be able to stop thinking about him. Her sleep had been filled with lighthearted dreams and she’d woken more refreshed than she had in a long time.

After dressing Connor and herself, she made her way down to the kitchen where Crystal was packing a large cooler full of food.

“Oh, there you two are. I thought today Connor and I would go to the beach.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Kayla said, setting her son down in the chair. “I can pack his swimsuit and toys.”

Crystal smiled and walked over to her. “Sounds good. It’s too nice of a day to be locked inside.” She rested a hand on Connor’s.

Kayla set a freshly baked banana nut muffin in front of her son, who instantly started gobbling it up. She made herself a cup of coffee and grabbed her own muffin.

“I wanted to talk to you about your books,” Kayla said when she was settled. She pushed the folder of papers towards Crystal who was sipping her tea.

“My books?” Crystal set her mug down and frowned at the papers.

“Yes, I…” She took a deep breath. “I was going to school, before.” She glanced over at Connor. “Anyway, I was on my way to a business degree and accounting was something I was good at. I logged into your QuickBooks and looked through your numbers. There are a lot of discrepancies.”

“Joe takes care of all that part of the business.”

“Joe?” Kayla’s eyebrows shot up and Crystal didn’t miss the look.

“Yes, why?”

“What…” She shook her head. “Never mind.”

“No.” Crystal leaned forward, “Go ahead. From the look on your face, you have more to say.”

“It’s not my place.”

Crystal surprised her by laughing. “Honey, you’re living in my house, working in my business, you can talk to me about anything because you are right where you need to be. This is your place.” She gave her an encouraging smile. “Go on.”

“It’s just, over the past two years, there appears to be a little over twenty thousand dollars missing.”

Crystal was silent for a while. “It’s probably the yoga…”

Kayla shook her head.

“No, that’s beside the money taken out for the yoga. Well, that was before I knew Joe just came in and took cash from the cash register every Friday night.”

“He said it was easier than cutting a check to him.” Crystal tilted her head.

“Of course, I’ll need some time to really look at things.” Kayla pulled the file towards her. “But at a quick glance, not only is there money missing, but it appears that some taxes have not been paid.”

“What?” Crystal sat forward and for the first time since she’d known the woman, a worried look flashed behind her eyes.

“I can look further into this, if…”

“Yes, please do. Let me know what you need.” Crystal took her full cup to the sink and dumped it out. She remained facing the sink, looking out the large window towards the backyard. After a moment of silence, she turned towards Kayla. “I’ll see if Olivia can fill in a couple nights a week so you can have time in the evenings. Is there anything else you need from me?”

She thought about it. “I might need some passwords and your taxes for the past few years. Since Joe took over.”

Crystal grabbed a key ring from the hook by the back door. “These are to my office in the back. Everything is there on my desk.” She took a set of keys off the ring and handed it to her. “Keep me posted.”

“Crystal.” She stopped the woman from walking away. “Until I’m done, I think it would be best if Joe didn’t take cash from the register anymore.”

“I’ll take care of it.” She took several deep breaths and then turned to Connor. “Are you ready to go to the beach with me?” She picked him up.

“I’ll go get his swimsuit and things.” She set her dishes in the sink and turned to go.

“Kayla,” Crystal said, causing her to pause in the doorway. “Thank you, for… everything.”

Kayla smiled. “Thank you. Without you doing all this”—she glanced around— “I don’t know what we would have done.”

“It was a happy accident that you came to us.”

Kayla’s eyebrows shot up in question.

“You know Bob Ross?”

Kayla thought about it. “The painter guy on PBS?”

Crystal chuckled. “There are no mistakes in life, just happy accidents. Such wonderful wisdom to live by, don’t you think?” Crystal turned away and started singing and bouncing Connor on her hip.

Kayla watched the pair and smiled when her son started clapping his hand against his cast as Crystal sang, “If you’re happy and you know it, clap your hands.”

When she parked at her mother’s place, she decided she would work on the outside of the house for the day.

The yard needed some serious work. The grass was so tall that in spots, it was laying down and brown. She knew there was a mower in the garage, since she’d stepped around it all week.

She’d worn a pair of shorts and tennis shoes and figured she could probably find a pair of work gloves somewhere in the garage, along with anything else she might need.

Her mother continued to work inside as she pulled off her button-up shirt and pulled out the old electric lawn mower. She found a new extension cord in the pile of garage things and plugged it in on the front porch.

After the first swipe of grass, she knew she was in trouble. The mower, though it was in decent shape, was not powerful enough to cut through grass that was over a foot tall. Which meant that, instead of walking in rows, she had to push the mower around like a vacuum cleaner instead.

When she started to cut the grass, a million mosquitos flew around her. She rushed into the garage and looked for a can of bug spray. Her mother had hoarded everything from yarn to power tools, but after digging through the mess of the garage, she came up empty when it came to bug spray.

An hour later, her shoulders, back, and arms burned as she worked her way across the front yard. The backyard was twice the size as the front, and she dreaded starting back there.

She had just finished half of the front yard when she heard a car park in the drive.

“What on earth are you doing?” Rowan asked as he moved towards her. He was wearing worn jeans and a T-shirt and looked ready to work.

* * *

Rowan had a few appointments first thing that morning, but when he was done, he cleared his schedule and went home to change. He’d planned on helping Kayla out as much as he could. He knew her mother’s yard needed a lot of work and decided to put his new mower in the back of the old truck he still kept around.

When he pulled in the drive, he saw Kayla pushing an old electric mower through the grass. She was wearing worn shorts and a silver tank top that hugged her perfectly. The fact that there was a line of sweat down her back told him that she’d been out there working for some time.

“What on earth are you doing?” he asked when he got out. He quickly unplugged the mower. “Trying to kill yourself with heat stroke or electrocute yourself?”

“I’m mowing the yard.” She flipped a strand of hair out of her eyes. At least she was wearing a pair of gloves and sunglasses to protect her hands and eyes.

“With that?” He chuckled and shook his head. “It’ll take you all day to get this done.”

“Tell me about it.” She frowned down at the machine.

He smiled. “That’s why I brought the beast over.” He nodded towards his truck. “Why don’t you take that thing away and grab yourself a glass of water.” He moved to the truck and hoisted down his new mower.

“Wow, that’s a nice mower.” She stood beside him.

“Yup, just got it a few weeks back.” He pushed it to the side of the yard she’d already mowed. “I brought my edger and Weedwacker, too.”

The grass was a mess. There were many tall blades she’d missed, and she hadn’t mowed in straight lines like he liked to.

He glanced over before turning the mower on. “I could use some water.”

Her eyes narrowed. “If I get you water, will you let me try your mower?”

“Maybe. You’ll have to mow in straighter lines than that.” He nodded to the mess she’d already done.

She rolled her eyes as she disappeared into the house.

He started the beast and by the time she stepped out on the front patio again, he’d completed mulching the mess she’d already cut. He got the half of the yard she’d cut looking much better and then pushed the mower to the other side of the yard and started making his way through the thick mess.

Half an hour later, he took a break and drank a glass of lemonade while sitting on her front porch.

“Wow, it looks so much better,” Kayla said from her spot on an old chair. She glanced around the front porch and frowned. “Do you think you could work on the backyard while I tackle this mess?” She motioned to the cluttered patio.

“How about I finish the backyard and we tackle this mess together?” he said, reaching for her hand.

“I owe you big time,” she said after a moment. “I didn’t think I was going to get through this all.” He noticed she was scratching a bug bite and frowned.

“I have a can of bug spray in the truck.” He nodded to the bites on her arms.

She glanced down and frowned. “It’s funny, my mother has spent the last few years buying everything under the sun and hoarding it, but she doesn’t own a can of bug spray.” She chuckled and he could tell there was more than humor behind her statement.

“Hey.” He squeezed her hand. “We’ll get this all done.”

Her eyes moved up to his. “It’s not…” She shook her head. “What am I doing here?” She closed her eyes and he heard the weariness in her tone.

“You’re helping your mother out while getting a fresh start for you and your son.” He took her hand up to his lips. “And doing an amazing job at it.”

Her eyes moved to his. “I just don’t… can’t see a future here.” She looked around the house. “Sure, I can see myself hiding here until one day, Connor graduates school and goes off on his own. She dropped his hand and walked over to the railing. “But I wouldn’t be any better than my mother. Hiding in her house, collecting stuff.”

He moved over next to her. “What does Kayla want?” He placed his hands on her shoulders and turned her until they were eye to eye.

“That’s just it. I don’t know. I thought I did for a while.”

“What happened?”

She bit her bottom lip and he saw the side of her lips tug up. “A happy accident.”

It took a moment to register, then he smiled. “You’ve been hanging around with my aunt too much.”

“She’s right.” Her shoulders rose and fell under his hands. “You know that book, Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events?”

He nodded. “A classic.”

“My life has been a page taken from that book.” She leaned back. “Every decision I made led me to a path that was worse than the one before.”

“Your family has had their problems,” he started, “but you’ve still got your mother and JT.” He took a step closer to her. “Not to mention Connor.” He smiled when her eyes turned happy and her lips curled upward.

“Yes, my happy accident.”

He chuckled. “Okay, my aunt’s odd philosophy aside, I think you are one of the strongest and most amazing people I know. You’ve come thousands of miles with a three-year-old to start fresh. You’re an amazing mother, you’re smart, beautiful, and”—he moved closer— “a great kisser.”

The burst of laughter that escaped her lips was just what he wanted to hear.

“Who cares that you can’t mow a yard,” he added, not wanting to see that smile of hers disappear. “You’ve got other skills.”

She pushed him away, playfully slapping his shoulder. “I make a mean bologna sandwich.”

“Good. I’m sure I’ll need one after I tackle the jungle in the backyard.” He took another step backward.

“Your aunt is going to let me go over her business finances.” She picked up the pitcher and poured more lemonade into his glass.

“Oh?”

“Yes, she’s agreed to talk to Joe and stop him from taking money until things are settled.”

His eyebrows shot up. “Then you’ve already done the impossible. Both Serenity and I have been trying to get her to not trust that man for years.”

“Who is he to her?” she asked, taking a sip.

He rolled his eyes. “No one really knows. There was a time when we thought they were just lovers, then they became business partners and…” He shrugged and shook his head. “The man is a leech.”

“Well, until I balance the books, he won’t be taking another dime from Crystal’s business. At least not under my watchful eye.”

“Like I said…” He waited until her eyes met his. “You’re amazing.”