Fall Fireside

by Liz Isaacson

  Cami sobered and looked at her mom. “Really?”

  “I wouldn’t change my life for anything,” she said. “I love your father. But yes, I got married really young. I haven’t done some things that others get to do. I had five kids in nine years, and the ranch and family was my whole life.”

  “What would’ve you done?” Georgia asked, and Cami was as equally interested. She’d never heard her mother talk like this.

  “Travel,” her mom said with a sigh. “Date lots of people.”

  “I got that one down,” Cami said, though a new twinge of pain moved through her.

  “Dance more at the weekend celebrations in town,” her mom said, tucking Cami’s hair. “So if you need some time to figure out what you want, you should take it.”

  “That’s what I told Clay,” Cami said. “I just needed some time.”

  “I did that with Logan too,” Georgia said quietly. “If he’s a keeper, Cami, he’ll be there when you go back.”

  Cami sighed and looked at her reflection in the dark window.

  “But you can’t spend any more days crying,” her mom said. “You wanted time to figure things out, so you better use it wisely.” She got up, her pep talk for the evening obviously done. She sighed too and added, “Can we put these things in the office, dear? The wedding is so close.”

  “Yeah, sure,” Cami said. Georgia’s wedding was close, and Cami couldn’t wait to celebrate in a pretty dress with her family. She’d always have them, even if she never had kids of her own. Maybe that was her path.

  When she closed her eyes and pictured who was at her side, no matter what—it was Clay Martin. She already knew they shared the same values and morals. The number of people at the fall firesides dwindled every time there was another one, but Clay had always wanted to go, even more than Cami.

  Georgia and her mother started taking the bags of supplies into the office, and Cami leaned her head back and closed her eyes. The back door opened again, and this time Jessie and Betsy entered, talking to each other about that night’s poker game. She watched them to see if they’d spot her, and when they didn’t, she knew she’d found her new hang out seat. She could literally eavesdrop on everyone from this perch.

  “All I’m saying is he looked terrible,” Betsy said.

  “I know,” Jessie said. “But whatever happened is between him and Cami.”

  “I’m sure he told you something,” Betsy said.

  “She’s in the window seat,” Georgia said, coming back into the room, and all conversation stopped.

  Cami raised her hand in a wave, and Jessie and Betsy exchanged a glance. “How was poker tonight?” she asked. “Who’d you go for?”

  “Wyatt,” Jessie said. “And your boyfriend badgered me to no end.”

  “You told him you’d coach him,” Betsy said. “Remember how he arranged all that transportation of the cattle for you?”

  “Yes,” Jessie practically shouted, glaring at Betsy. “I just didn’t realize I’d need to pay him back so soon.”

  Cami watched Jessie, because her sister had always had a stronger friendship with Clay than Cami had. She hadn’t ever been jealous of her—until that moment. “And?” she asked, her voice almost too sharp.

  “And what?” Jessie asked.

  “What did he tell you? I agree with Betsy; he must’ve said something.”

  “He didn’t,” Jessie insisted. “He didn’t want to say anything bad about you, but he’s clearly hurting.”

  Cami breathed in deeply and nodded. “I wish that weren’t true.” She got up and started for the stairs that led down to the basement. “I’m going to bed. I’m helping Granny with her ladies’ brunch tomorrow morning.”

  And she still had loads of work to do on top of that.

  “I thought those were on Wednesdays,” Georgia said, confusion in her voice. Cami didn’t answer, because she didn’t want to admit that Granny had called and invited just her to brunch tomorrow. She’d surely have something to say about Clay, and Cami thought she better figure some things out quickly, so she’d have some explanations for her grandmother come morning.

  “Knock, knock,” she said the next morning. “Granny?”

  “Coming,” the older woman said, and Cami entered the house and closed the door against the crisp autumn morning. The cabin smelled like bacon and onions, and Cami’s mouth watered. She wasn’t even sure she’d eaten yesterday.

  “Something smells good,” she said to her grandmother when she came bustling down the hall. “Where’s Gramps?”

  “He’s over doing something with Rhodes,” Granny said, smiling at Cami. She enveloped her in a hug. “How are you, dear?”

  “Okay,” Cami said, because she hadn’t cried in ten hours. So, progress.

  “How are you enjoying the fireside series?” She turned and went into the kitchen, but Cami’s appetite had fled.

  “It’s…okay,” she said. “I don’t think I’m going to go anymore.”

  “There are only three left.” Granny peered at her over her shoulder. “What happened?”

  “Granny, do you…believe everything the pastor says?”

  The way she didn’t answer right away was the answer Cami needed. She hunched over to pull the breakfast casserole out of the oven. “I believe,” Granny said, tossing the oven mitts onto the counter. “I don’t know or understand everything,” she continued. “Even at my age.”

  Cami appreciated her honesty, and she crossed the room to hug her grandmother. “Did you hear him say the other night to surround yourself with people with the same goals and morals as you?”

  “Did he?” Granny asked, reaching for the silverware drawer. “Is that why you broke up with that cowboy? The one that was perfect for you?”

  A perfect storm raged inside Cami. “We’re from two different worlds.”

  “Oh, well, that’s easy to fix,” she said. “You marry that cowboy, he’ll come around.” Her eyes lit up. “I mean, that’s what I did to your grandfather.”

  Cami giggled. “What does that mean?”

  “It means that we were the same enough, in all the most important ways. Everything else, dear? It doesn’t matter.”

  “But what are the important ways?” Cami took the plate Granny handed to her, desperate for answers.

  “We loved each other,” Granny said. “And we were both willing to forgive. That’s all that really matters.”

  Really? Cami wanted to ask, but she didn’t. She wasn’t in love with Clay—yet. But maybe she had ended things with him a little prematurely. So she needed to talk to him—and find out if he was the forgiving cowboy she hoped he was.

  Chapter 14

  Clay knotted his tie, a sigh cutting him to the core. He wanted to attend the fireside tonight, but he also thought getting behind the wheel and driving until he ran out of gas sounded good.

  He’d worked all day without running into anyone who’d asked him about Cami. Poker night had been torture enough with two of her sisters there. Not only that, but Jessie hadn’t really given him all of her secrets, the way she’d agreed to.

  He’d run down the lane with Trooper and thrown the ball. He’d eaten dinner alone and showered, and now he was trying to get himself out to the cab of his truck to get to the fireside. He was dressed. Ready.

  He couldn’t move.

  Trooper barked, looking at Clay like There’s an intruder! Intruder! He panted as he ran over to the front door and barked some more.

  Someone knocked, and it wasn’t Cami, though Clay’s hopes had soared toward the stratosphere.

  “Come on in,” Clay called, finally getting his feet to take him out of the mouth of the hallway.

  Wyatt and Newt entered, and they both had their church clothes on too. “You’re coming to the fireside tonight?” he asked.

  “You need a ride, right?” Newt asked.

  “No.” Clay’s brows furrowed. “Why would I need a ride? And you guys never come to the firesides.”

  “Yeah, well,
you met yourself a pretty girlfriend.” Wyatt adjusted his tie and puffed out his chest. “And we want to do the same.”

  Clay laughed, some of it coated in bitterness. “You must not have heard that she broke up with me after only five days.” Saying it so bluntly sent a wave of agony through his body. His smile slipped, but he wasn’t sure his friends noticed.

  “We heard,” Newt said. “That’s why we’re going with you tonight.” He gestured for Clay to come with them. “So hurry up. I hear these things fill up.”

  “You guys really don’t have to do this,” he said.

  “We want to,” Wyatt said, pausing in the doorway. “Clay, I know you don’t make friends all that easily, but we’re your friends.”

  He was saying so much more than that, and Clay cleared his throat. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “I am glad I don’t have to go alone.” Part of him wanted to be alone. That was his default. But it didn’t have to be, and he basked in the chatter and vibes of Wyatt and Newt as they drove the thirty minutes to the church for the service.

  Pastor Dahl spoke a bit more about cleansing. Making sure all the negative influences in his life were gone. Only allowing in the good. Clay agreed with him, he did. He just wished he’d been deemed good enough for Cami.

  By the time he and Wyatt and Newt spilled back into the night, Newt said, “Whew. You owe me big time for that.” He loosened his tie and removed it, practically whipping the person next to him with it.

  Clay wasn’t sure why, but he found that funny, and he started laughing. And laughing.

  “Ah, there he is,” Newt said, joining in. “Okay, boys, I’m feeling parched after that. Who’s in for a soda at that fancy new shop?”

  Clay definitely was, and Wyatt had literally never said no to a soda pop. They headed toward Newt’s truck, and Clay didn’t even see Cami until Wyatt yelled her name.

  Everything stopped in his world, and he lifted his eyes to hers. She stood next to Newt’s truck, a perfectly pretty yellow dress swaying in the autumn breeze.

  “Oh, boy,” Newt said, pausing next to Wyatt. Clay could only stare at the woman, and he had no idea what to say.

  “Do you boys mind?” Cami took a step forward. “Can I borrow Clay for a minute? I can give him a ride home.”

  “I don’t know.” Newt stepped in front of Clay, as if defending him. “Are you driving that sedan? Because our boy here can’t fold his shoulders into a sedan.”

  “Newt,” Clay said, almost under his breath.

  “We need him,” Wyatt said, joining Newt. The two of them made a human wall between him and Cami, and Clay actually appreciated the gesture. Newt and Wyatt felt like…brothers. Like they’d have his back, no matter the situation.

  “Guys,” he said.

  “I have my sedan, yes,” Cami said. “Not all of us drive big, old, smelly trucks.” She kicked a grin at the lot of them, and Clay ducked his head and smiled. Her heels clicked against the asphalt as she walked toward them. She put a palm each on Wyatt and Newt and said, “I’ll bring him home, boys, good as new. I promise.”

  “It’s okay,” Clay said. “Really.” He wasn’t sure what Cami was going to say, but he wanted to hear it.

  “All right,” Newt said, a highly dubious quality to his voice. “But you call me if you need something.” He gave Cami a cocked-eyebrow glare, to which she simply smiled at him. He watched Newt and Wyatt get in the truck and drive out of the parking lot, and then he looked at Cami.

  “Did you go to the fireside?” he asked.

  “Most of it.” She clenched her hands together, her nervous energy pouring off of her in waves.

  “You don’t have to say anything,” he said, though he didn’t have a ride back to the ranch now.

  “I came to say something,” she said. “I’m just having a hard time finding the right words.”

  “Just blurt them out,” he said. “Like ripping off a bandage.” She’d already done that—two nights ago when she’d announced she didn’t want to see him anymore.

  “I think I made a mistake,” she said slowly, nodding toward a car a row or two over. Most of the people in the parking lot had cleared out already, and Clay spied her car easily. “I don’t know why I got so caught up in certain…differences between us. I think we have plenty of time to get to know each other, and I don’t think we need to have everything worked out right now.”

  They arrived at her car, but she didn’t get in. “Can you forgive me?”

  “Cami.” He reached out and tucked her hair behind her ear. “I think it’s dangerous that you think I’m so perfect,” he said. “For one. But I can forgive you.”

  “Yeah?” She grinned up at him, a playful glint in her eyes the orange street lamps accentuated.

  “Yeah.” He swept one arm around her and pulled her into an embrace. She smelled like flowers and mint, and Clay took a deep breath of the scent of her hair. “I sure do like you, and I think if we had enough time, we could fall in love.” Clay couldn’t believe he’d just said that, but he felt it from head to toe.

  “Let’s start with the fireside tomorrow night,” she said. “We might as well finish out the series, right?”

  “Right,” Clay said, a ray of sunshine bursting into his life, filling his heart.

  “Now, do you really think you can’t fit in a sedan?” She giggled, and Clay burst out laughing.

  “It’s not easy,” he admitted. “But I’ll try.” He started to move around the car, but she grabbed onto his hand.

  “Wait a second, cowboy. You’re not getting away without giving me a kiss.”

  “Is that right?” His heartbeat rippled through his chest as she balanced on her toes and touched her mouth to his. Clay cradled her face in his hands and kissed her like a man falling in love—because he was.

  A couple of days later, Clay stood with the rest of the congregation at the end of the last fall fireside. The whole series had been fantastic, and while Clay didn’t have all the answers to all the questions in the world, he felt satisfied. He knew who he was, and what he wanted, and now he just had to work to get it.

  He sang in a loud, clear voice, and when he looked at Cami, she was once again mouthing the words. He smiled and shook his head, but she didn’t start singing. The service ended, and she sighed.

  “Well,” she said, looking up at Clay. “We made it.”

  “Didn’t miss any,” he said, smiling down at her. “And now we’re having dessert at your grandparents’ house, right?”

  “It’ll be a zoo,” Cami said. “I think Granny invited the whole town.”

  “So we’re not going?”

  “Oh, we’re going,” she said. “I’m just warning you.”

  “I think I can handle it,” he said, though he wasn’t a fan of crowds. He was a fan of being with Cami, and she had a special relationship with her grandparents.

  When Clay pulled up to the cabins along the entrance road at the ranch, there were indeed several cars and trucks parked anywhere possible. A blip of anxiety pulled through him, but he laced his fingers through Cami’s and went with her into the cabin.

  A zoo was a pretty accurate way to describe the happenings inside the cabin. The scent of chocolate hung in the air, though, and that was enough to keep Clay in the house. People talked, and laughed, and ate brownies and ice cream. Clay simply looked around, taking in the sense of family in the scene before him.

  And he loved this family, and he’d count himself lucky to be part of it.

  “Hello, Clay,” Granny said, and he startled. He wasn’t even aware the woman knew his name. “How did you like the firesides?”

  “They were amazing,” he said. “What about you?”

  She shot a glance at Cami. “Oh, that Pastor Dahl. He sometimes says things that make me think too hard.”

  Clay knew exactly what she was talking about. Cami made a noise Clay didn’t know how to classify, and he found her trying to hold back laughter.

  He was glad she could laugh about it now, bu
t it sure hadn’t been funny on Wednesday night. She let the laughter out, and Clay chuckled with her.

  “I’m right,” Granny said. “Just like I always make the right match for my grandchildren.” She gave them both a knowing look and motioned for them to come get some desserts.

  “Is she serious?” Clay asked.

  Cami simply smiled and said, “Quite,” before leading him over to the brownies.

  Chapter 15

  Cami stepped over to her sister, her chest pinching. She’d already watched two of her sisters walk down the aisle, pack their lives, and move out of the homestead.

  But Jessie’s departure felt like it might break Cami. Tonight, she’d sleep in the basement by herself. Rhodes and Capri didn’t get married for three more months, and Cami wasn’t sure she could survive on her own in that huge house by herself for that long.

  “You look so beautiful,” she said, her voice cracked so all the emotion came right out.

  “Don’t cry, Cami,” Jessie said, though she was definitely teary herself.

  “I can’t help it.” She drew Jessie into a hug. “We’ve always been close, and I can’t—I mean, I’m so happy for you and Flynn. I’m just….” She shook her head and stepped back, pulling in a breath to steady herself. But she felt anything but steady and strong.

  “You’re not alone,” Jessie said. “I know what you’re thinking.”

  “I can’t live in that house by myself.”

  “Then move into the cabin,” Jessie said. “Rhodes has told you that a hundred times.”

  “I might,” Cami said, though she hadn’t really considered moving down the road and becoming her brother’s next-door neighbor.

  “And besides, you and Clay will be married soon enough.”

  “We’re not even engaged,” Cami said, brushing Jessie’s hand away from her hair. “Leave it. It’s perfect.”

  Jessie faced her, and Cami saw her raw nerves right there in her face. “I’m so nervous. Why am I so nervous?”