“He’s the guy with the pool?”
I looked down into my son’s mossy green eyes and tried not to burst into tears. He looked so much like his dad, right down to the smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose.
“He is the guy with the pool. He promised to lock his gate from now on, but you help me keep an eye on the other kids, yeah?”
Blake looked back at his siblings who had all moved on to other outdoor activities. Lucy was pushing Jace in the umbrella stroller and Abby had pulled out her scooter. “Helmet, Abs!”
She rolled her eyes, but didn’t argue. That was progress.
“Yeah, Mom,” Blake agreed. “But Abby will probably figure out a way to climb the fence.”
I tried not to smile; he was too smart for his own good. “Just tell me if she does, okay?”
“Okay.” He dropped his arm and started dribbling the ball while watching Ben make progress across our yard. I could see the distrust in his expression and the tension in his shoulders. Blake had never liked strangers; he’d always been the shiest of my children. But this was different, I could feel the slight animosity he felt for Ben Tyler. I didn’t necessarily blame him because I often had those same types of feelings, but I didn’t like it on Blake.
“Oh, and Blake?” He looked over at me, his shoulders still rigid. “He said we could use his pool any time we wanted.”
He instantly relaxed and his face lit up with a new brightness, a light, like he was shining from the inside out. I loved it when my kids smiled like that. It happened so little these days.
“For real?”
“For real.”
“Today?”
“Probably not today. I can’t take you all swimming by myself. We’ll have to wait until Auntie Emma can come with us.”
Some of that beautiful light dimmed in Blake’s face, but he stayed easy and cool. “Okay.”
I stepped out of the way so he could go back to shooting hoops. Abby still struggled to snap her helmet, so I stepped around the stroller and Jace and went to help her.
We spent the rest of the morning in the driveway, riding various bikes and scooters, playing catch and laughing. It was the most relaxing morning we’d had in a very long time. And all the while the sound of the mower kept us company.
Eventually Ben moved to the back yard. He disappeared from sight, but we could hear him the whole time. The sound was shockingly comforting. After being on my own for six months, I was pretty confident I would never get the hang of it. There were just too many things to do, too many responsibilities to juggle.
Ben stepped in when I desperately needed help and that meant more to me than I could share with him. I wondered where all of this gratitude was coming from. I’d never felt like this when the college kid mowed our yard…
But then again, he had done that for money. Ben did this because he genuinely wanted to help us. There was a difference.
“Hungy!” Jace tugged on my jeans and grinned up at me with a dirt-smeared face.
I reached down to rub at his chubby cheeks. “You’re hungry?” He lifted his arms and jiggled his wrists. I swung him up into my hold and held him tightly against my chest. “Did you start snacking on the flower beds? You’re filthy.”
“He fell out of the stroller,” Lucy offered matter-of-factly.
“He fell out? Or he got pushed out?”
She tried not to smile. “It was an accident!”
“Sure it was.” But since Jace wasn’t in tears, I didn’t give her too hard of a time. Four-year-olds probably shouldn’t be put in charge of strollers anyway.
“I’m hungry too!” Lucy tugged on my arm. “Starving actually!”
“Oh, boy. We can’t have that. Put your toys away and we’ll go inside for some peanut butter and jellies!”
Lucy ran off screaming her enthusiasm for peanut butter while I called to the other kids and threatened them until they finally started picking up.
I hadn’t noticed the mower shut off until Ben rounded the corner to the house, pushing the now silent machine. He didn’t look sweaty or fatigued, but I still hurried into the garage to grab a bottle of water for him. It was the least I could do.
When I turned around, he was standing right there and I nearly screamed again.
“You’ve got to stop that! You’re like a ninja!” Jace squealed in my ear and tugged on my ponytail. That might have been the reason I didn’t hear Ben’s approach.
Ben grinned at me and eyed the water bottle, “Is that for me?”
I thrust it out to him. “I thought you might be thirsty.”
“Thank you.”
“No, thank you. Seriously. You saved me such a headache.”
He stared at me intently while he unscrewed the cap and took a healthy drink. I looked away, pretending to supervise the kids as they brought their toys into the garage. I could feel him watching me though and I wanted to squirm.
I didn’t know why it bothered me so much, but I was completely unnerved by him. Maybe it was because he was so completely male. He seemed to radiate with virility. His tanned legs were nothing but toned muscle behind athletic shorts and his forearms were just as cut and golden brown. His dark hair had been pushed back from his face and gave him this completely ruffled, reckless look. His cheeks had darkened from the sun and exertion and his full lips were now wet from the water.
He was unfairly gorgeous.
And that bothered me. I would have much preferred our new neighbor to be some stodgy old man that yelled at us to keep off his lawn.
Ben Tyler was the kind of beautiful that people openly stared at. And I didn’t want to be one of those people.
I didn’t think I was at risk of sending him the wrong signals, what with the dead husband and four children and all. But I didn’t want to act like a swooning teenager around him either.
I wasn’t usually intimidated by good looks. I didn’t know why I had to start now with him.
“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked after long moments of awkward silence.
My focus swung back to him. “What do you mean?”