stared at each other for a few seconds, and he was struck by the realization that she was a lot prettier than the persistent tagalong he and Drew had spent so much time ditching when they were all growing up together. Her light brown hair was pulled back into a wavy ponytail, framing a pixie face still lightly freckled from the summer.
And then there were those eyes. A unique combination of green and gold, he knew they could twinkle with humor one second and slice through you the next. Smart and sassy, the Kinley boys’ only sister had ridden roughshod over them all their lives. And for some reason Cam had never been able to fathom, every one of them just stood by and let her do it.
Realizing the silence had dragged on for a while, he kick-started their lagging discussion by dangling the keys. “Still wanna see inside?”
“Sure,” she replied, lifting a shoulder as if it didn’t matter much one way or the other.
But something in her expression said otherwise, and Cam got the feeling that renting this vacant building was just as important to her as it was to him. The idea that she might be in some kind of trouble entered his mind, but he pushed it aside as he strolled over to unlock the glass-paneled door. Her personal life was absolutely none of his business, he reminded himself sternly. If things worked out, they’d be professional neighbors, and his only concern would be whether or not her rent checks cleared.
With the mess his life was in right now, he didn’t have the time—or the strength—to take on anyone else’s problems.
He opened the door and stepped back to let her walk through ahead of him. The air was a little musty, but opening the windows would take care of that. Not wanting to get in her way, he stayed near the front and let her wander around the large, empty space, curious to hear what she thought.
One thing about Erin, he mused, you never had to worry about her sugarcoating her opinions to avoid hurting your feelings. Good or bad, she always told it like it was.
“Obviously,” she started off in a brisk, no-nonsense manner, “I can’t run a retail business in this canyon of a room. I’ll need display cases and shelving, both on the floor and hung from the walls, which need to be painted something other than this lovely beige. Do you want to lay down some ground rules for what I can and can’t do?”
He wasn’t crazy about having to rip out a lot of furnishings if she ultimately decided not to take this albatross off his hands. Then again, if he let her do pretty much what she wanted, it might entice her to sign the purchase agreement sooner rather than later. While he meant to sound agreeable, he was stunned to hear himself saying, “Not really. If you want, I’ll even build the stuff for you.”
Her eyes widened in surprise. “Seriously?”
“Sure.” It wasn’t like him to leap out there like that, and he was already regretting the impulsive offer. But he’d done it, and there was no backpedaling from it now. “Now that the renovations on the café are finished, I’ve got some spare time. And spare lumber,” he added, hoping to sweeten the deal.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Flashing him a grateful smile, she continued her assessing stroll. “This building’s been vacant for a while now. When were the furnace and water heater last serviced?”
“I had ’em done about a month ago, when I repaired the roof. I did that myself, but mechanicals aren’t my specialty so an HVAC company from Ferndale took care of those. You can call them if you want.”
Her icy demeanor thawed slightly, and she gave him a tiny smile. “That’s not necessary. I believe you.”
“Because I’m Drew’s friend?” He cringed at the insecurity he heard in his voice, and he covered it with a grin, hoping she’d assume he’d been joking.
“Because in spite of our many differences, you’re a good guy and I know you wouldn’t lie about something that important to trick me into leasing this place.” She paused with a somber look, as if she was trying to decide if she should continue. After a few moments, she went on, “The main reason I’m asking is that my son and I will be living in the apartment upstairs. I want to make sure he’s comfortable and safe.”
Son? Cam was no actor, and he couldn’t have disguised his astonishment if he’d wanted to. “I had no idea you were a mom.”
“The ring bearer at Drew and Bekah’s wedding was my foster son, Parker Smith.”
The name and circumstances rang a bell in his memory, and for some reason he felt a rush of relief. Close on its heels came the thought that this tenacious, protective woman would probably make a fantastic mom. Shoving that observation aside, he said, “Oh, right. I think Drew mentioned that, but I didn’t know the details.”
“Parker’s had a really tough time of it,” she confided softly, looking up at the ceiling, then around the dusty interior, before coming back to Cam. “I can’t change what happened to him in the past, but I’m determined to make sure he has a better future.”
“It sounds like you’re thinking about adopting him.”
“I am, but Social Services has to try locating his parents first. All he could tell them was he was born in Kentucky and that he and his mother lived in a lot of different places.”
“With such a common last name, it’d be almost impossible to find the right family, even if you had some idea where to look.”
“Very true,” Erin agreed with a resigned sigh. “Anyway, I’ll be filing the paperwork ten minutes after his parents are officially declared unreachable.”
He admired her generosity in taking on someone else’s child and raising him on her own. “You haven’t changed a bit. I lost track of how many critters you rescued when we were kids.”
“There were a few,” she acknowledged with a smile. “Mom and Dad used to pretend they didn’t notice me sneaking them up to my room. It gave me time to come up with a good reason to keep them until they were better. Just before Dad died, I started the Oaks Crossing Rescue Center out at the farm. The day we opened, he said he’d never been prouder of me.”
Her wistful tone made Cam frown. “I’m sorry you all lost him. Justin was a great man, and I really admired him. He stepped up big-time when my dad left, and I’ll never forget how hard he tried to help me.”
“He thought you had a lot of potential.”
“Too bad I proved him wrong.”
“Oh, please,” she scoffed, clearly trying to switch tracks to something slightly more cheerful. “You could’ve done anything you wanted, but we all know you chose construction ’cause it would give you the best tan.”
Her accusation made him laugh, something he hadn’t done much of the past few months. “Got me there.”
Shaking her head, she looked past him to the door that led upstairs. “Is it liveable up there?”
“I guess that depends on how picky you are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Don’t get all riled up, bug,” he said, making a calming gesture with his hands. “It’s just that I remember you being pretty fussy about things like that. Now that you’re a mom, I figure you must be even more worried about it.”
“Do not call me that,” she spat, just about tearing the old door off its hinges. “We’re not kids anymore.”
Tell me about it, Cam mused as he followed her up the creaky wooden steps. Two years younger than he was, the very headstrong Erin Kinley had always been a handful. Now she was even more so, and he pitied the guy who was unfortunate enough to lose his head over her.
She’d probably hand it back to him on a platter.
* * *
In truth, Erin didn’t need a tour of the building to know she wanted it.
What