Changing the Rules

by Erin Kern

  Cameron had wanted his Sunday morning to himself. A cup of coffee, the sunrise, and the Sunday paper. Then maybe he’d kick back in his chair and catch something on ESPN. Blake Carpenter, the bogarting bastard, had swooped in and sent Cameron’s serene morning into oblivion. He’d waltzed in with game film and a lopsided smirk that had Cam’s back teeth grinding together. The only reason he’d forgiven his friend was the giant pink box of donuts. Blake had even brought Cam’s favorite: coconut.

  So he’d abandoned his ESPN for game film, which had spanned the last three hours.

  The only thing that had kept Cameron from losing his mind was the fact that Audrey and Piper had made themselves scarce today. He’d seen Audrey leave this morning, then return about two hours later. Then, he’d gotten a glimpse of Piper running around in the backyard, trailing that damn stuffed cat after her. But the weird thing was that, other than the fact that Piper’s shenanigans had made him smile, he missed them. But how could that be? They’d been here less than a week, and he didn’t even like them.

  Okay, he liked Piper. It would be impossible not to like that kid. But Audrey? She was a whole other story. She bothered him. Like hot and bothered him. Like sweaty palms, tongue-tied bothered. She probably thought he was avoiding her, and she’d be right. Because every time she looked up at him with those golden eyes, he saw something other than the bristly, bossy woman. He saw vulnerability. He saw fear. But mostly he saw concern for Piper. Worry for her.

  Audrey didn’t trust him. He’d figured that out pretty quickly. To be honest, he hadn’t really gone out of his way to prove she could trust him with his own niece. Because he hadn’t cared. He’d taken one look at Piper and wanted to turn the other way. But his mother’s words kept chipping away at his resolve. And then he’d looked at Audrey and seen the way she looked at Piper, and he’d realized how personal it was for her. Audrey loved Piper, probably like her own daughter. Cameron had yet to understand that sort of love, because he’d always lived for himself.

  “Yo,” Blake snapped.

  Cameron blinked from his kicked-back position on the couch.

  “Am I doing this alone?” Blake wanted to know.

  “Sorry,” Cam muttered.

  “You distracted or what?” Blake asked as he paused the game film.

  Distracted? Like Blake wouldn’t believe.

  Blake nodded toward the backyard, where Audrey and Piper were lazing around on the hammock. “How’s it going with them?”

  Cameron blew out a breath and stacked his hands behind his head. “Shit, I don’t know. They’ve been keeping to themselves, mostly. But the whole thing was sprung on me with no warning.”

  Blake gazed outside. “She’s a cute kid,” he observed.

  Cameron shook his head. “I don’t know what the hell to do with her. She looks up at me with these big green eyes like I’m supposed to make it all better, and it kills me. The kid’s been through a lot, and the last thing I want to do is let her down. She’s already lost too much.”

  “Strange that Dianna never told you,” Blake commented.

  Cameron just shrugged. “Dianna and I were never that close. She knew the issues I had with our dad, and it affected our relationship.”

  “But you’re going to do it, right?” Blake wanted to know. When Cameron just looked at him, Blake continued. “Let her stay?”

  “I have to.” It was the first time he’d said the words out loud. Funny enough, a bolt of lightning hadn’t incinerated him. “If I turn her away, then I’m just another person who’s abandoned her. I can’t do that to her.”

  “Yeah, we all kind of knew you wouldn’t,” Blake surmised. “You’re not that much of a dick.”

  Cameron’s brow arched. “Gee, thanks.”

  Blake’s attention returned outside. “What about the other one?”

  Cameron feigned ignorance. After all, it was better than saying, “All I want to do is screw her brains out,” which was normally what he would do. Cameron rarely met a woman he’d been able to say no to. So he had a healthy sex life—so what?

  The thing was, just being around Audrey made him feel like it was wrong, like he was a dirty bastard who wasn’t worthy of her. She was far too good for him, with her open smile, bright eyes, and the unconditional love she had for a child that wasn’t even hers. Hell, she probably volunteered at soup kitchens and belonged to a knitting club. Her Saturday nights were most likely spent reading something like Little Women while she sipped on a hot cup of tea, maybe soaking in a bubble bath. With candles. All naked and slippery and…

  Shit!

  Even his fantasies were unworthy of her.

  He lifted a shoulder. “Fine,” he answered.

  Blake narrowed his gaze, and Cam knew his friend saw through his bullshit. “Think you can keep it in your pants around her?”

  Cameron’s gaze narrowed even more. “You’re a shithead, you know that? Besides, she’s not my type.”

  Blake let out a bark of laughter. “Yeah, she’s nice and wholesome. Definitely not for you. How’s it going to work with Piper if you end up not staying in Blanco Valley?” Blake questioned.

  Shit, he hadn’t even thought about that.

  “I guess I’d take her with me,” Cameron answered.

  Blake nodded. “And Audrey’s okay with that?”

  Audrey didn’t even know about Cameron’s offer to coach in Denver. “It’s not her decision.”

  Blake gazed back at him. “Don’t you think that’s something she’d like to know?”

  Possibly, but that was the least of Cameron’s worries right now. “I don’t even know if I’m going to go yet. They gave me until the end of the season to decide.”

  “Do yourself a favor and give her a heads-up now,” Blake suggested. “Don’t let that shit blindside you.”

  Just then, the sliding glass door opened and Audrey let herself through, followed by Piper, who was clinging to Audrey’s legs. The kid’s inquisitive gaze was locked on Blake as though she didn’t know what to make of him. Cameron had already learned that his niece was painfully shy around people she didn’t know. And Blake was a giant of a man with extra wide shoulders and a penetrating stare. Of course, Cameron was just as big, but for some reason Piper had an easy time around him.

  A set of grocery bags dangled from Audrey’s fingers. “We were hungry for an early dinner.”

  Cameron shoved down the powerful kick of warmth that flooded his system. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail, and several fine strands had slipped free and brushed her face when she moved. The slight caressing of hair only emphasized her glowing, makeup-free face and made Cameron want to skim the pad of this thumb along her jawline. He bet her skin was soft. Touchable. He’d never thought of a woman having touchable skin because he was usually too busy worrying about unsnapping her bra.

  She took a step forward, and Cameron used a nanosecond to assess her skinny jeans and long-sleeved T-shirt. She looked like she had a perfectly pinched waist that he could get both hands around. A seamless indentation for his palms.

  Blake cleared his throat, and Cameron glanced at him in time to catch his friend’s eye roll.

  “You want to go somewhere?” he asked Audrey.

  “No, I was going to cook,” she told him.

  “Here?” Because, for some reason, having her and Piper in his house was so…personal. Sort of like sealing the deal. Even though he suspected it was already sealed.

  Audrey gestured toward the guesthouse. “Unless you’d rather do it over there.”

  Hell, he’d do it anywhere with her.

  “Here’s fine,” he said. Then he shifted his attention at Piper, who was still eyeing Blake. “Did you get some good nap time in on the hammock?” Why couldn’t he ever think of anything to say to the kid?

  She gave a slight nod, without taking her eyes off Blake.

  Cameron looked at Blake, then back at Piper.

  Thankfully, Audrey jumped in and saved him. “Piper, do you remember Mr. Car
penter? He coaches the football team with your uncle Cameron.”

  Uncle Cameron. The words still created a shiver of uncertainty through his system. He’d never been anyone’s uncle or anything else to anyone.

  Piper nodded again, and Blake lowered himself to the kid’s level.

  “You can call me Blake,” he told Piper. “What’s your friend’s name?” he asked as he fingered one of Jellybean’s ratty, discolored ears.

  Piper hugged the stuffed cat closer. “Jellybean,” she muttered in a soft voice.

  “She keeps you safe, huh?” Blake guessed.

  Piper hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

  Blake ruffled the kid’s hair, which was already a mess of tangled blond waves, then stood as his phone vibrated. He withdrew the device and thumbed the screen. “I’ve gotta run. Annabelle wants pizza.” He leaned toward Audrey. “Be careful with this one,” he warned with a pointed look at Cameron. “He’s OCD about cooking.” Blake’s mouth turned up in a wicked grin.

  “Piss off,” Cameron told his friend.

  Audrey placed her hands over Piper’s ears. “Child present.”

  Cameron cleared his throat, not used to having to censor himself. Was piss a bad word to say around a six-year-old? “Sorry.”

  Blake collected the game tape and with a quick “See ya in the morning,” he was gone, leaving Cameron alone with two females who’d upended his life and were currently looking at him with mixed expressions.

  Cameron gazed down at his niece, wishing he knew what made her tick. He wished like hell he understood her more. What went on in her head? Was she still grieving for her mother? Obviously she was; after all, Dianna had only been gone for about two months. But from what he could tell, Piper had adapted well. Cameron understood loss. He knew how it felt to have everything come crashing down. But this was different. His father had chosen to leave, because he’d been a weak, selfish bastard. Dianna had been taken from Piper, leaving her little girl with no one, except one fiercely protective temporary guardian and a clueless uncle.

  He gestured toward the bag Audrey was holding. “What do you have in there?”

  Audrey watched him for a moment, as though she didn’t fully trust him. Then she lifted the bag and opened it. “Bacon, eggs, and a pancake mix.”

  “A mix?” he questioned. Who the hell made one of the greatest breakfast staples from a damn mix?

  Audrey blinked, as though she didn’t understand the question. “Yeah. What’s wrong with using a mix?”

  Cameron snorted and led her toward the kitchen. “It’s artificial, that’s what’s wrong with it. If you’re making pancakes in my kitchen, we’re doing it from scratch.”

  Audrey set the grocery bag on the counter. “I have a feeling you’re more than OCD about food,” she speculated.

  “I like my food made a certain way.” He jerked his chin toward the bag of food. “None of that artificial stuff.” When his father had cut out, his mom had taken two jobs to provide for both of them. She’d worked nights, leaving Cameron on his own and fending for his own dinners. Not that he’d ever resented his mother for how often she’d been gone. Pamela Shaw had busted her ass to provide for her only son, and Cameron loved the hell out of her for that. Because he’d been on his own so many evenings, he’d learned the art of food, how to play around with recipes and to make do with what was in the pantry.

  Cameron turned to Piper. “You and Jellybean want to have a seat at the bar? It’s the best seat in the kitchen.”

  Piper nodded, then climbed onto one of the wooden stools. She arranged Jellybean on the stool next to her so the cat could watch too. Cameron turned back to the food in time to see the slight tilt of Audrey’s mouth, as though he had her approval.

  Which was all fine and stuff, except he didn’t need her approval.

  Okay, but you totally do.

  Whatever. Let Audrey think what she wanted to think.

  Cameron rustled around in the pantry and fridge for the necessary pancake ingredients. He’d just set the flour on the counter when he stopped Audrey in the process of placing the bacon in a pan.

  “Whoa, what’re you doing?”

  She blinked at him with a strip of limp bacon hanging from on hand. “Making the bacon?”

  Cameron resisted an eye roll. Typical amateur cook. “Bacon doesn’t go in the fraying pan. It goes in the oven.”

  “The oven,” she repeated.

  Cameron turned the oven to 400 degrees, then took a baking sheet out of the bottom drawer. “It cooks more evenly and doesn’t make a huge mess,” he told her as he took the strips of bacon out of the frying pan.

  “But it tastes better when it cooks in its own grease.”

  Cam lined the baking sheet with parchment paper. “It’ll still cook in the grease, only it won’t splatter everywhere.”

  “Who cooks bacon on parchment paper?” she questioned.

  Cameron slanted her a look. “People who know what they’re doing.”

  Audrey narrowed her eyes and folded her arms, which only enhanced the plumpness of her breasts. The first day they met, he’d gotten a nice view of the goods underneath, cupped nicely in a pink bra. Yeah, she had a nice rack. But when she crossed her arms like that?

  Daaaaaamn.

  Cameron almost dropped a slice of bacon.

  Audrey waved her index finger at him. “I’m not sure about his whole setup.”

  “Then feel free to take a step back and let me do the cooking.”

  She shook her head, sending her ponytail sliding over one shoulder. “Nuh-uh. I came over here to cook the dinner, not to let you take over.” She yanked a piece of bacon out of his hand. “Give me that.”

  “Not too close together,” he instructed, then backed off when she shot him a withering look over her shoulder.

  It was safe to say they were both OCD about how they liked things done. Great makings of a relationship.

  Relationship? Had he lost his mind? There was no such thing in the future for them. She was here for Piper; then she’d be gone.

  “By the way, I’ve decided to stay until the end of the football season,” she announced, as though reading his mind. “Which has sent my business partner into fits, but it’s best for Piper.”

  He lifted a brow at her as he started tossing pancake ingredients together. “Because you’re not sure you trust me yet?”

  Audrey finished with the bacon and set the pan aside while the oven continued to preheat. “I don’t know, can I?”

  “She’s my niece,” he pointed out.

  “I’m aware of that, but…”

  Cameron tossed baking powder into the bowl. “But I didn’t make the greatest first impression.” Yeah, he was man enough to admit that.

  She offered a tight smile. “You were insistent on me taking Piper back to Boulder with me, so…not really.”

  Okay, he’d give her that.

  “Cut me some slack,” he told her. “I wasn’t exactly prepared for…all this.”

  Audrey lifted a brow.

  Yeah, I mean you too, sweetheart.

  The oven dinged, so Audrey slid the pan in and set the timer. “Well, all things considered, I’d say you’re not doing too bad.”

  He smiled despite himself. “Gee, don’t be too nice.”

  “Cut me some slack, okay? I’m just trying to protect Piper.”

  Cameron whisked the ingredients together, then set the bowl aside. “Okay, I’ll give you that.”

  “How magnanimous of you.”

  Cameron leaned a hip on the counter, deliberately crowding Audrey. She smelled damn good. Like cinnamon and peaches. Last time he was around her she smelled like lemons, but both scents were intoxicating and reminded him of summer. Hot afternoons. Hotter sex.

  And he really needed to stop thinking about sex around her.

  “Why are you always so suspicious?” he asked her.

  Audrey’s shoulders went stiff when Cameron entered her personal space, close enough that he could see a faint
scar that bisected her chin. But she didn’t back up. Not that he expected her to. No, Audrey wasn’t the sort of woman to back down from anyone. She’d stand her ground, chin lifted and spine straight, a trait that he admired.

  Hell, it turned him on.

  “Not suspicious, just…cautious,” she answered.

  He took a step closer so that his hip rested near hers against the counter. She sucked in a deep breath, which nudged the tips of her breasts against his chest. Cameron knew the second she noticed the contact because her eyes went wide, and her pupils filled her golden irises.

  Damn. If such a brief glance could make his pulse elevate like that, what would happen if they really touched?

  He cupped her chin and stroked his thumb across her scar. “And why are you so cautious about everything, Audrey?”

  He liked the way her name sounded on his lips. Natural and sweet. Kind of like her.

  “I’ve learned from experience that things rarely ever work out the way you plan.”

  “You sound more jaded than cautious,” he pointed out.

  Her tongue swiped across her lower lip. “If that’s what you’d call it.”

  “I’m asking what you’d call it.”

  “I already told you,” she murmured.

  He wasn’t so sure about that. In fact, Cameron would bet all the money in his bank there was a lot she hadn’t told him. A lot she no doubt wouldn’t want to tell him. And it seemed as though they both had trust issues. Cameron didn’t trust people to do what was right, and Audrey…well, he had a feeling that Audrey didn’t trust anyone.

  Where did that leave them?

  More important, where could they go from here?

  Audrey’s gaze dropped to Cam’s mouth as he shifted his thumb to graze along her lower lip. She was soft and full and everything a woman should be, and how was he supposed to keep his distance from her?

  It would be a completely shitty thing to sleep with her. She was here for Piper; then she’d return to her life in Boulder. And all Cameron could offer a woman was a good time between the sheets. It was all he wanted to offer a woman, and Audrey didn’t strike him as the type who was into recreational sex. Plus, it would make the situation too awkward, and he needed to start thinking about Piper.