Any Way You Build It: An Upper Crust Novel, Book 6 (Upper Crust Series) Read online

  She looked up and saw a beautiful woman with long curly dark hair getting out of her car outside Todd’s. She hadn’t seen him since the day she arrived. Well, not in person. He had started popping up uninvited in her dreams. The other woman had on a pretty floral sundress and looked as light and breezy as Sarah felt heavy. The woman walked straight up the steps and in the door as if she lived there.

  Maybe she did. Todd probably did have a girlfriend now that she thought about it. Good-looking guy who had a job, a house, and heck, even a tree house, whatever that was about. He probably had a girlfriend. That was better. If Todd had a girlfriend, then he was off-limits.

  What was she saying? He was already off-limits by virtue of being a man. No men for Sarah.

  She let the swing move back and forth. Men. She’d always liked men. In fact, if she looked back on her life on every bad decision she’d ever made or every decision that had taken her off her planned path, there was a man involved.

  Brad Jannings in seventh grade, her first boyfriend. Her friend Susan had liked him, too, and stopped talking to her after that. Brad was definitely not worth it. Did she learn her lesson? No.

  Christopher Perkins senior year. She should have gone to the dance program over spring break not hung around making out with him. He’d said if she left he’d break up with her, so she stayed home. He’d dumped her by prom. Lesson learned? Hell no.

  And Greg. Greg the father of her children. She’d met him when he was home on leave, and their attraction had been electric. Soon she was married and he was in Afghanistan. She didn’t regret her son Zach, but she’d had him alone and Greg had promised he wouldn’t reenlist. He lasted six weeks back home. They were still attracted to each other, but day-to-day life with a small kid was less sexy than he imagined it would be. He went back and she was pregnant and alone. Then came Livi. She never met her father. It wasn’t Greg’s fault he’d been in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was a war after all. So here she was alone with two small kids. Finally, lesson learned.

  Nope, she did not need a man. In ten or fifteen years, she’d only be forty-five. She could find someone then. When the kids were grown. Meanwhile, she needed to get them to that point. She didn’t feel like she was doing much of a job. Her bank account and joblessness attested to that.

  This was the time to focus. And if Todd Kowalski had a girlfriend good for him. One less thing to think about.

  Todd found Marissa sitting at his kitchen table having an iced tea.

  “Make yourself at home,” he teased.

  “You know I will.” She gave him a big smile. The truth was he missed her. Now that Marissa was in a relationship with his brother, he saw a lot less of her than he had. No more crime show marathons, fewer shared dinners and when they happened Mike was usually there, too. Todd was happy for them. Marissa had been in love with Mike for years, but he still felt like he’d lost his best friend.

  “So what brings you here?”

  “A little bird told me Esme’s niece had arrived. I wanted the scoop.”

  “The scoop?”

  “Yeah, is she pretty? Are the kids sweet? Why did she skip the funeral?”

  All excellent questions. “I’m not sure exactly why she skipped the funeral, but her daughter is in a wheelchair.” Marissa gasped. “Yeah, I know. That doesn’t seem like the sort of detail Esme would have left out of the Sarah story.”

  “That poor woman and the poor child.”

  “Yeah, so I have a feeling whatever happened took place around that time. I only met her the night they moved in. I helped her unload her van and gave them some supplies.”

  “And you haven’t seen her since?’ Marissa’s brow furrowed.

  “I’ve been busy.” The truth was he was timing his entrances and exits to be sure he wouldn’t get caught. He liked Sarah and the kids were sweet, but he needed to keep his distance.

  Those eyes of hers had been haunting him and the smell of her. She smelled like berries. But she was damaged, he could see that. Her eyes were haunted and she was not his type. Todd liked fun, low-maintenance, unencumbered women and Sarah was definitely none of those things.

  “What have you been busy doing?” Marissa asked.

  “Work.”

  “Please.” Marissa dismissed this with a wave of her hand.

  “Marissa, I do have a lot of people relying on me. I need to upgrade my apps and they’re waiting on the next one. I know you think it’s some teenage hobby, but it is a real business.”

  She gave him the stare. “Toddy, I know you run a real business, but I also know you have enough money to never work again, so I do think if your new neighbor is in a predicament you can probably rearrange things to give her a hand.”

  “First of all, not my job. Second of all, we don’t know what her predicament is, and third . . .” He took a sip of drink.

  “Third?”

  “Third, I don’t think she wants our help.”

  “And you got all that from one afternoon, huh?”

  He nodded. She did seem independent and she’d made it this far without him.

  “You didn’t answer my question, Todd.” Marissa gave him a look that seared his soul. “Is she pretty?”

  There was no way to answer that wasn’t going to get him into trouble. “You know me, Marissa, I think all women are beautiful.”

  “You’re a coward, Todd.”

  Yep, he was. He was terrified of ending up in any situation like his childhood. And that was why he had rules. No stepparents. No single moms. No kids to screw up. Keep it clean and uncomplicated.

  #

  Sarah and the kids walked back from the shops. Zach was riding ahead on his bike. She didn’t want to let him. The thought of something happening to him terrified her, but she knew she couldn’t wrap him in cotton wool. He couldn’t be punished for someone else’s mistake. She was already paying and so was Livi, so he didn’t need to take a hit, too.

  Her funds were getting low. She’d bought the minimum at the shops today. She hoped she would see a sign in a shop window looking for help, or on a community noticeboard but nothing. The local paper she’d been scouring didn’t seem to have much by way of job ads either. She was getting anxious. The truth was her aunt had left her a house full of belongings and jewelry. She could start selling stuff off but that felt so wrong.

  She wished she had someone to discuss this with. She needed a sounding board, but the truth was she was alone. Sometimes the loneliness was almost overwhelming. She was in a new town, and she didn’t know anyone. Those tears that were never far away pricked at her eyes.

  “What do you think, Mom?”

  She realized she’d drifted off. Zach was asking her a question and she wasn’t even listening. She needed to focus.

  “Sorry, honey?”

  “You think Todd would let me see his tree house?”

  “Maybe. He and Aunt Esme were very good friends so maybe.”

  She looked at her sweet son. He needed more friends and he wanted more adults in his life. She needed to get it together and fast. He didn’t deserve a mother who was a screw up.

  That’s what she was thinking about when her ankle went. One minute she was walking down the pavement thinking she needed to get her butt in gear, and the next she was lying on her butt holding her ankle.

  “Mom? Are you okay?” Zach was bent over her, looking in her eyes. The tears that never seemed too far away pricked at the corners, and she reached for her ankle.

  “Yep. Just took a little tumble. I’ll be up in a sec.”

  She needed to hold it together. Last time Zach had seen someone flat out on the sidewalk it had been Livi. She’d left in an ambulance and come back in a wheelchair. The kids did not need her to panic.

  But when she tried to stand, she couldn’t put any pressure on her ankle. They were on her block. That was something. Once that wave of pain passed she knew she could crawl home. She had already crawled in front of Livi’s chair so her sweet girl could see she was not
too badly injured. What a great way to meet the neighbors, crawling past on all fours.

  “I’ll call nine one one,” said Zach.

  “No, honey, it’s not that bad. Just give me a minute to think.”

  “I know. I’ll get Todd.” Before she could stop him, he was down the block.

  “Will you be okay, Mama?” Livi asked.

  “Of course I will.” I have to be, was what she was thinking. “Everyone takes a tumble every now and then. I guess I was so busy enjoying our lovely walk I wasn’t looking where I was going.”

  She heard feet pounding and looked up to see two handsome men coming her way. Zach had found Todd and he was shirtless. Dear heaven. And wet.

  “Hey.” He bent down to look at her. “Are you okay?”

  “Were you in the shower?”

  “Yeah. Don’t worry about that.”

  At least the sight of his bare chest was a pleasant distraction from the pain in her ankle. “Let’s have a look.”

  He gently lifted her leg and looked at her ankle. “I’m no expert but it looks like a bad sprain. Of course, they can hurt more than a break but they heal faster, too.”

  “Great.”

  “So, we need to ice it and elevate it.” He was taking charge and there was not much she could do about it. “Zach, good man for coming to get me. Quick thinking. Can you push Livi and I’ll carry your mom back to your place?”

  Zach’s face was solemn with responsibility. “Sure.”

  “I’m sure you don’t need to carry me. If I just lean against you.”

  He leaned in, his voice warm against her ear as the kids headed off in advance. “Honestly, it looks pretty bad, Sarah. I don’t want to do anything that might make it worse. I don’t think you should put any pressure on it if you can avoid it.”

  “That’s going to make life very interesting, isn’t it?” Seriously, when was her luck going to change?

  Interesting was not the word Todd would have chosen. Impossible seemed better. How was a single mom with a house full of stairs and two kids, one in a wheelchair, going to cope if she couldn’t walk? They would have to deal with all that later, right now he needed to get her home.

  Todd let go of her soft calf, even though he really wanted to rub his hands up and down her legs and maybe in a few other places as well.

  “Up we go,” he said, lifting her into his arms. She smelled like strawberries again and was remarkably light. Todd knew that Sarah was a dancer and was teaching dance back in Ohio. Her body was the perfect combination of soft and firm. Firm, he tried not to think about that word.

  Really, what was wrong with him? The poor woman was injured, she didn’t need him feeling all hot and bothered just because she fit perfectly in his arms. He clearly needed to get out of town and get laid.

  She blinked up at him. And that feeling stirred again. He was definitely attracted to Sarah. It felt like more than that, like a connection, and of course that was the problem. She was a beautiful woman and he was allowed to be attracted to her, physically. Emotionally, she was way out of bounds.

  “Thanks, Todd, for coming. Sorry we got you out of the shower.”

  That reminded him that he was indeed wet and shirtless and the only thing between them was her tank top. Oh yeah, and the prying eyes of the whole town. Her mouth was inches from his, and it would be so easy to lean in and kiss her. She bit on her bottom lip, and he looked away.

  Eyes on the road, Todd, nothing to see here.

  “No problem at all. Glad I was home.”

  “Yeah, I’m honestly not sure who I would have called. I was just walking along thinking I needed to make some connections in town, and then bam, I was writhing on the pavement.”

  Todd wanted to see her writhe but not in pain. Dear heaven, he would need another shower after this.

  “Okay, kids,” he said as he crossed her lawn. “I’ll take your mom in and pop her on the sofa, and then I’ll come straight back. You wait here after you open that door for us, buddy.”

  He looked down at Livi. Where was that sweet girl supposed to go? She looked scared. Of course she was. She was so vulnerable. A close inspection of Zach’s face said he was worried, too. He needed to stop thinking about the sexy woman in his arms and instead focus on what needed to be done to help solve this problem.

  He went into the house, which was already warming up on this summer morning, and placed her on the floral sofa in the front room.

  “Okay now, your kids look terrified so we just need to play this down, don’t you think?” She gave him a nod as he adjusted some pillows beneath her ankle. “I’ll grab some ice once I get the kids in here.”

  He was back outside in a beat. He knew he could lift Livi and the whole chair. Maybe that was easiest. He didn’t know enough about her condition to know the best way to handle things.

  “Here we go, your turn now, princess,” he said to the small girl. “Zach buddy, can you hold the screen door?”

  “Mom usually lifts her out of the chair,” Zach’s tone was conspiratorial, “but I think that’s because it is too heavy.”

  “Okay. Thanks.”

  He didn’t find the chair that heavy at all and in fact made it into a bit of a rollercoaster ride, which had Livi squealing in delight. It was a glorious sound. Her face lit up and Zach joined her in laughter. He was happy to have broken the anxious spell that had hung over them since he arrived.

  Chapter 3

  Sarah heard Livi shrieking with laughter and Zach joining in. It gave her pause. It was a long time since she’d heard Livi’s laugh. Maybe six months. In a matter of a couple of minutes, Todd had done that. She had no idea how she was going to thank him for this.

  The trio entered the room, and Livi and her wheelchair came to a safe landing back on the ground.

  “Now, we need ice for your mom.”

  Sarah watched his fine back head into the kitchen. That man looked as good going as coming. He wasn’t super muscular like a weight lifter, but it was obvious he worked out and he had some fine calves to go with his firm chest.

  “Zach, do you want to take those groceries into the kitchen and pop that milk in the fridge for me?”

  “Sure, Mom.”

  She watched her son unhook the bags from the handles of the wheelchair and follow Todd.

  “I couldn’t find much in the freezer,” Todd said, returning. “So, I’ve made a bag of crushed ice up. Hopefully, it doesn’t leak. I’ve got peas at my place, so I’ll get those in a minute.”

  He strode across the room and put the cool bag on her ankle. She tried not to wince but it stung.

  “Now, we need a doctor,” he said.

  “No,” she practically shouted. She couldn’t afford a doctor. And she really couldn’t afford a house call.

  “No?”

  “I’m fine. I’ll just rest for a bit . . .”

  “Sarah, Doc Morrison lives at the end of the street. He and his wife were friends of your aunt. If I don’t call him and get him up here, my life in this town will not be worth living. My name will be mud.”

  “I can’t . . .”

  Todd leaned down close and took her hand. “It’s going to be okay. Doc Morrison isn’t a big city doctor with an HMO, he’s a local guy. And I’ve got this.”

  The feel of him holding her hand was so good. The tenderness with which he looked in her eyes melted her heart. She was a white-hot mess and this sexy guy being kind to her wasn’t helping. She could not afford a doctor, but she also couldn’t sit here on her butt for days, heck even hours was going to be a challenge.

  She gave him a nod.

  “Right, Zach, come with me. Let’s go to my place and get some peas for your mum and perhaps a shirt for me. I’ll call the doc, and we’ll be back in a jiffy.”

  She looked up at Livi who was still smiling.

  “That was a fun ride, huh, baby?”

  “Yeah. I like Todd. He’s nice.”

  That was the problem. He was nice and Sarah knew already she lik
ed him way too much.

  An hour later, Doc Morrison had confirmed Sarah’s ankle was just a bad sprain, provided a spare pair of crutches from his collection, and headed off with the advice that she rest up.

  “And young lady, when you are up again in a day or two, you and I need to have a proper chat about your entire situation.” Todd watched his eyes fall on young Livi before he left. He hadn’t been able to say much on the phone when he’d called the doctor because Zach was standing beside him, but he wasn’t surprised to know he was unaware about Livi’s condition.

  It was true Sarah had only been here a little over a week, but it seemed like Livi might need regular care, of course Todd had no idea what her prognosis was.

  Todd walked the doc to the door. “Make sure she calls me, son, and let me know if I can do anything else. We can’t let Esme down.”

  That was it. Todd was here because of Esme. That’s what he needed to keep telling himself. Not because he was drawn to Sarah for reasons he couldn’t quite fathom. Not because the way Zach looked at him made him feel like a super hero or because the sound of Livi’s laugh had melted his hard heart. No, it was all for Esme.

  Then he looked at Sarah sitting on the sofa, her ankle bandaged, and knew he was just kidding himself. She’d pulled her long dark hair into a sloppy bun on her head, no doubt to cool down, she wore basic jean shorts and a simple red tank, and Todd had to admit he was as attracted to her right now as he had ever been to any woman.

  While the doctor had examined her, he’d taken the kids and set them up in the next room with the television. They were alone. It was eleven in the morning, it was a boiling hot summer’s day, and he really couldn’t see how he could leave her here.

  “So . . .” he said, crossing the room. “You never know how your day will turn out.”