Page 16 of California Dreaming

But instead of his wooing her with his smooth moves, she’d discovered him on his backside, trapped halfway up the stairs. What an embarrassing way to kickstart their working relationship. And since he was currently imprisoned in his lounger with his aching left leg raised, he didn’t have much else to do but recall that moment.

Tessa hadn’t hesitated, however. Not even for a second. She’d rushed to his side, and with impressive strength considering she was so much smaller than he was, she had helped him back to his chair.

Then, once she knew he was safe and comfortable, she’d told him off. In that moment, she’d been sexy nurse, librarian, and high school gym teacher all rolled into one.

He’d liked her style even as he realized he was actually being told off. She wasn’t playing the sexy nurse. Not playing at all, in fact. More like a drill sergeant. And the truth was that he’d been impressed she’d had the gumption to speak to him that way. People usually talked to him as though he was special.

But Tessa hadn’t. And her confidence in her position as his caregiver had impressed him. It was yet another sexy thing to add to his list….

Jay had sent over the new script for Shock Tactics, and Arch wanted to read it through, but before he could reach for the binder containing the script, there was a knock on the front door. It swung open, and he figured Tessa must have forgotten something.

His heart leaped a little, and in a flirty tone, he called, “Miss me already?”

When his mom walked through the door, he cringed.

Betsy Davenport raised one eyebrow, one of her classic mom moves. She was already on to his crush on the new caregiver.

“Just me, Archer,” she said, entering the sunny living room with a smile on her face and a grocery bag in her arms. “Sorry to disappoint.”

Arch greeted her warmly, but strangely, he did feel a sense of disappointment. He loved his mom more than anything, but he was already missing Tessa’s eyes and the dark curls he longed to free from her ponytail.

“How are you feeling?” She put down the bag and came to give him a hug.

Arch let himself feel comforted by the familiar scent of his mom’s lotion and the tight grip with which she hugged all her children.

“It’s not too bad.” He didn’t want her to worry, but in truth, the leg ached constantly. It hurt far more than he’d let on to anyone. And he planned to keep it that way—otherwise he ran the risk of his family and friends smothering him with offers of help. He appreciated that he had a wonderful circle of people who cared about him, but for the time being, he wouldn’t mind some alone time with Tessa. Not to mention the fact that he absolutely hated feeling like an invalid. He’d always been strong and able to take care of himself. It still rubbed him the wrong way that he’d managed to get himself injured. If only he’d been a little quicker off the horse, then none of this would have happened.

“I’ve brought you a fresh batch of oatmeal cookies,” his mother said, “still warm from the oven.” She gestured at the paper grocery bag. “And a tub of rocky road ice cream. Before you say anything, I do know you movie stars are supposed to watch your calories, but a little comfort food won’t hurt.”

Arch grinned and thanked her. Oatmeal cookies had been his favorite sweet treat as a child, and he was touched. She knew exactly how to comfort him.

“You’re not teaching this afternoon, Mom?” he asked as she put the ice cream in the freezer and set about brewing tea.

“I had morning classes,” she answered. “My students were quite excitable today. We were reading the Greek tragedy Antigone, and, well, let’s just say that opinions were divided, and the discussion got heated.”

Betsy Davenport had been a brilliant Stanford professor before she moved to Carmel and a quieter life, but she never seemed to regret giving up her highbrow academic career. In fact, she was always happiest when all her six children were home—which she complained wasn’t often enough since they all had busy lives and demanding jobs. When she wasn’t being the world’s best mom, she taught Classics at the community college in Monterey and California State University Monterey. Arch was proud of her and knew that her students adored her.

Betsy set the brewed tea and a plate of cookies on the glass coffee table, shifting it so Arch could reach. Then she paused to gaze out the window. “That view of the ocean. You just can’t beat it.” She stood watching the waves.

He eyed the cookies hungrily. Just one wouldn’t hurt. He’d have to act fast, before Tessa returned to give him another scolding.

“So, how are you really feeling?” His mom took a seat on the leather couch opposite him. “We joked about you breaking a leg at Howie’s birthday, but you didn’t have to take it so literally.” Her blue eyes, which matched Arch’s own, twinkled with humor, but he could tell he’d really worried her.

At last, he admitted that his leg hurt quite a bit. He just couldn’t keep the truth from his mom, even if that had been his initial plan. “But the real pain is how foolish I feel for messing up the stunt.”

His mom squeezed his hand and then gently let it go. There was tenderness in her eyes, but also a firmness to her mouth that meant he was about to get a talking-to. For the second time today. He steeled himself.

His mom took a breath—a rather shaky breath. “Arch, you could have died.”

He shook his head. “No, I was fine doing the stunt. It was the prop dynamite that spooked the horse. That’s why he went down. I’ve tried to explain this to everyone, but no one seems to believe me.” But instead of calming her, his explanation only seemed to make things worse.

“Please, Arch,” she said, “all I’m asking is that you let the professionals do the really dangerous stunts in the future.”

He was about to defend himself again when she held up her hand.

“Don’t answer me now. I feel bad for even asking you to consider this—it goes against who you are. But I’m your mom, and I can’t help myself. So just promise me you’ll at least think about not doing the dangerous stunts.” Her voice cracked as she added, “Because you’re still my baby, and I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Arch felt his heart plummet to his toes. It would break his mom and dad to have one of their kids seriously hurt, let alone to lose one. But he had to live his own life. And that meant playing by his own rules and trusting his instincts—just as they’d raised him to do. At the same time, he understood that he needed to find a way to live life on his terms while avoiding taking foolish risks. The issue at present was that he wasn’t exactly certain how to do that.

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