AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Don’t rush on my account.”
“Oh trust me, I won’t have anything to do with it.”
By the time she reached the top of the stairs, David was already wrapped in a towel. Turning to her mother, she didn’t say a word, but the question was obvious.
Her mom shrugged. “He even managed to wash behind his ears. Clean as a whistle.”
Another minute and David was in his pajamas and calling down the stairs for Paxton to come to their room.
By the time Paxton took the steps two at a time, David had already crawled into the folding bed. It was hard to miss the way Paxton casually glanced around the room, his gaze pausing at the bed, the two nightstands on either side covered with books, creams and what nots that two women kept at their bedside, then over to David. “All ready, buddy?”
David nodded and handed him a book. The story had been one Sandra had loved as a child.
Seated at the foot of David’s bed, Paxton opened the book to the bookmark. His voice took on a beautiful cadence as he turned each page doing every voice and every sound effect. Even Sandra could have fallen asleep to the melodic tones of the rise and fall of his words.
Her son snuggled further down into the covers, no doubt lulled deeper into his exhaustion by Paxton’s delivery.
This man was the real deal. The kind of man that made a woman believe in knights in shining armor and Prince Charming. Somehow Paxton Farraday seemed to be both; just the thought of it warmed her to her toes. She needed to get a handle on her imagination, there simply was no way her upside down world could lead to happily ever after. Her gaze drifted back to Paxton, pulling the blanket up over the sleeping child’s shoulders as he softly whispered, “Sleep tight, buddy.” Then again, didn’t they say that truth was stranger than fiction?
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.”
