Righting a Wrong (A Ripple Effect Romance Novella) by Rachael Anderson Page A

warm breath, more shivers. Man, he felt good.
    “It locked.” Cambri’s voice came out sounding weak and breathless.
    His chuckle became a laugh, reminding Cambri how wonderful it sounded. When she stopped squirming, he loosened his grip and stepped in front of her, his hands still on her waist. “Why don’t you tell me what you have in mind for back here? If you can convince me it’s a good plan, it’ll be two against one.”
    Cambri didn’t answer right away. She liked his hands where they were, and once she agreed, he’d move them. But she couldn’t exactly keep quiet forever either.
    “Deal,” she finally said.
    Just like she expected, he dropped his hands. “Okay. I’m all yours.”
    She blinked up at him, feeling her heart drop to her toes. “All mine?” She didn’t mean to actually say the words—especially not in that lovesick, breathless way—but they were out before she could stop them.
    “Yours?” His brows furrowed together.
    “You said, ‘I’m all yours.’”
    The corner of his mouth tugged up. “No, I said ‘I’m all ears .’”
    Nice, Cam, real nice. Now she was both a stalker and a wannabe Valentine. “Oh. Right. Ears.” Too bad hers weren’t working properly.
    A knowing smile on his face, Jace cocked his head toward the spot where the shed used to stand. “What’s going there?”
    Glad for an excuse not to wallow in embarrassment, Cambri sighed. “Dad loves fishing, so I thought I’d put in a small stream, some flagstone pavers, a tree, and some shrubs scattered around. It would be the perfect spot for a hammock. The shed, on the other hand, will work better against the house over there.”
    Jace nodded slowly, as though considering it. “A water feature would be cool, and a hammock even better. And you’re right, it does make more sense to keep the shed out of sight and on the existing concrete pad.”
    “Thank you.” Cambri felt like hugging him. “Why can’t my dad see that?”
    “Because he’s stubborn and likes to be contrary.”
    Cambri threw up her hands. “Well, now what? As much as I’d love to show him that I can be equally stubborn, I don’t want to do anything that’s really going to upset him, and this is his yard. So, do I hire someone to pour a slab back here, replace the shed, and forget the water feature?” She frowned, not liking that option at all. If her father would just let her do it, she was positive he’d love the end result.
    Jace glanced at the house, looking amused. “What do you say we let your father cool off and go order that shed? We have a few catalogs at the store.”
    Wait, he was offering to come with her? Cambri blinked at him, tempted to take him up on it. But then she remembered his house. “Thanks, but I’m sure you have better things to do with your time. I’ll stop by the store a little later, after I’ve calmed down and can make my dad see reason.”
    “My projects can wait.” It sounded so final, as though no amount of arguing would change his mind. Jace would help her whether she liked it or not.
    Cambri’s stomach flip-flopped.
    “Now that I think about it,” Jace said, rubbing his chin. “Last fall, Larry brought back a waterfall pump he’d ordered through a catalog and didn’t end up using. It’s a decent size, and I bet it would work great for this project.”
    “You still have it? Why didn’t you send it back?”
    He shrugged. “It was past the return date.”
    “And yet you let Larry return it.” It was a statement, not a question, because of course Jace did. He was the sort of guy who’d take a loss so someone else wouldn’t have to. A lump formed in her throat.
    “It wasn’t a big deal. I figured I could resell it in the spring,” he said. “But if you think it will work for this and can take it off my hands, it’s yours. I’ll even help you build it.”
    “I thought you had a lot going on with your house?”
    His eyes met hers in a look that made her heart skip. “It’ll