Page 5 of Wrong Number, Right Lion

Tears filled my eyes, and I glanced at the house while blinking them away. “I like that. Will need to remember it.”

Kalen had said he was good with his hands, and an image popped up in my head of his fingers sliding along my shaft. Had the temperature suddenly risen? There was still a stiff breeze, and it wasn’t the only thing that was stiff. Thank gods I was wearing a jacket and an oversized shirt.

But he hadn’t told me he would fix the roof.

“Can you do something about this?” I waved my free hand toward the house.

“I’m sure I can.”

How weird was it that the wrong number I’d dialed had not only brought this gorgeous man into my life—or my garden—but he also had the skill to do the repair work. Or so he said. He could be a conman and charge me an exorbitant fee for doing little. My bank balance would be deleted and my heart crushed. But I decided to take a chance.

Maybe a foolhardy one, but I sensed Kalen was a good guy.

“Repaired many roofs, have you?” I had to at least find out if he had clamored on top of a house. Helping out his dad could mean he hefted bags of cement or unloaded steel beams.

“I have, and I understand the physics of it all.” Okay, that was more than I did. I’d flunked physics. “Can’t have you living in a house that’s not watertight.”

We agreed we’d need to call a tree-removal company to remove the silver maple, and again I got emotional thinking of saying goodbye to my favorite tree. But it had to be done. Kalen couldn’t assess the damage until the tree was out of the way. I’d arrange to keep some of it to burn in the fireplace. Being warm and toasty would be my tree’s last goodbye.

“They’ll be busy with the damage the storm caused.”

But Kalen had a friend, and he took his phone from his back pocket. “Don’t dial the wrong number,” I quipped.

He caught my eye, and there was a flicker of movement. “I’ll try not to, but if it works out like yours did, I’ll chance it.”

He turned away as the person on the other end answered while I tried to interpret whether what he’d said referred to meetingme or that he needed a job, or that I was in need and he had the skills to help out.

If the tree people couldn’t come today, I might have to move out. But that would create more water damage, as I wouldn’t be here to empty buckets. The water level would be rising in the containers in the minutes Kalen and I had been talking, so I’d have to get back to the house soon.

“They’re on their way.”

Was this magic? That the company happened to be free on what might be their busiest day of the year. I sniffed the air, but other than the scent of crushed leaves and bark intermingling with Karen’s scent and the whiff of mud, I didn’t detect anything unusual. But how would I know what magic smelled like?

“That’s amazing. Thanks.” He relayed the estimate, though they couldn’t give me a definite figure until they arrived.

Now what? Did I offer him a cold drink while we waited?

“Got any potting mixture in that shed?”

Kalen wanting to do gardening in this weather was a little surprising, and my brain couldn’t form an answer. “Ummm, yeah. Did you want to borrow some?”

“Nah, not for me but that little guy you’re holding.”

“Oh, the cutting. Good thinking.”

We skirted the tree, and I patted the trunk, told the tree they could rest now and the little shoot would make him proud. I lifted the cutting so its leaves brushed against his parent, saying a final goodbye.

Gulping back more tears, I got a pot from the shed and we emptied soil into it. After putting the cutting into the soil, I gave it a little water.

“Here’s to new life,” Kalen said.

4

KALEN

The wind was still intense as I pulled up to the house and climbed outside. It was wreaking havoc on my beast because all the smells were just flowing by, too quick to separate them before they were gone and a new batch was there. The neighborhood was filled with a lot of felled trees, the fresh wood the predominant undertone.

It was going to take a lot to clean up this neighborhood, that was for sure. Most of what I could see were tree branches, but when I faced the house I was heading to, it was clear that this was not just a branch. It was a tree—a beautiful tree at that.

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