by Erin Kern
“What the hell?” Brandon complained.
Cameron held his hands up in defense. “What? I was minding my own business when he came over here and egged me on.”
Brandon shook his head. “Yeah, but why do you have to say shit like that to him?”
Because Drew Spalding was an ass who deserved it. Drew Spalding was the type of man who used his own grief as a weapon and had taken things to a level with Cameron they shouldn’t have gone. He knew Brandon and Blake suspected there was more to their story than just Cameron screwing Drew’s wife.
They were right, but they didn’t have a clue why.
And Cameron would keep it that way.
“Do you remember what your teacher’s name is?” Audrey adjusted Piper’s backpack for the fifth time and smoothed her hand over the child’s hair. That morning, after setting her alarm for six thirty, she’d readied Piper for her first day of kindergarten, then spent twenty minutes trying to get Piper’s hair to look just right. Piper had scowled at Audrey’s reflection because she hated braids, and Audrey had assured her she looked just like a Disney princess, which had lessened the scowl to a mere pout.
Now they were in front of Cameron’s house waiting for the bus to pick up Piper. Audrey swallowed back a lump as she took in Piper’s pink leggings, matching sweater and boots. They’d picked out the ensemble together last night before putting in a dual effort to make Piper’s lunch. Cameron had done a surprisingly good job of shopping for Piper. They’d been gone for four hours, and the entire time Audrey had been tempted to call to make sure they were okay. She’d had to force a distraction upon herself not to invade their time together. Despite her worries, they’d returned intact, full of smiles and shopping bags crammed full of stuff. Cameron had even thought to purchase a lunchbox and two new pairs of shoes.
“Ms. Matthews,” Piper answered as she swung her backpack back and forth.
“And do you remember where you’re supposed to sit?” Audrey knew she was overworrying, or fussing, as Cameron had accused. But she couldn’t help it. Piper had never been to school before and didn’t know any of the kids. What if she got lost on her way to the classroom? What if she went into the wrong classroom? What if none of the kids talked to her?
Good grief, is this what parents went through every day? How did they not lose their minds with worry all the time? Cameron had seemed to handle it much better than Audrey as he’d simply ruffled Piper’s hair this morning before leaving for work with a muttered, “Have a great day, kid.”
Piper nodded and picked at the strap of her backpack. “Yeah, it’s the desk with my name on it,” she answered, reminding Audrey she was obsessing again and needed to chill. Best to just focus on getting Piper on the bus for now.
But maybe one last question first. “And do you remember where to put your backpack?”
Piper slumped her shoulders, indicating she was tired of all the poking and prodding. “I know, Audrey. It’s cubby number twenty-three. That’s my student number because Ms. Matthews told me.”
Yeah, okay, she needed to stop already and give Piper more credit. She’d be okay. She’d make friends and have a great time and tell Audrey all about it after school.
She heard the familiar sounds of the bus pulling around the corner, and Audrey’s heart picked up. Okay, this was it. Time to put Piper on the bus and spend her first day without the child who’d become like her shadow.
Audrey swallowed back a lump as she held Piper’s backpack for her to slip on. “You’re going to have a great day, right?”
Piper nodded. “Yeah.”
“And remember to eat all the food in your lunch.” Okay, you’re fussing again.
The warning sounded oddly like Cameron, and Audrey shoved the thought away.
“But I don’t like those red things you packed,” Piper complained.
Audrey knew that was going to be an issue, but she’d packed them anyway. “Those are strawberries, and they’re really good for you. They make you run fast.”
Piper spun around after securing her Frozen backpack over her shoulders. “No, they don’t. You’re just saying that so I’ll eat them.”
Audrey squatted in front of Piper as the bus rolled to a stop next to the curb. “Why don’t you just give them a try for me?”
Piper didn’t answer, and Audrey knew that was her way of saying, “Yeah, fat chance.”
The bus doors swooshed open with a soft hiss. Piper turned around, ready to climb on the thing, but Audrey stopped her. She turned the girl around and gave her a fierce hug, willing the tears to hold off at least until Piper was on the bus. It wouldn’t do either of them any good for her to turn into a blubbering mess now. Piper needed Audrey to be strong, even though she was crumbling inside at the idea of Piper being gone for the whole day.
For months, it had been the two of them. Piper would turn her big, green eyes to Audrey’s, or slip her fragile hand in Audrey’s bigger one as though to say, “You’ve got my back, right?”
The amount of trust Piper had in Audrey was both staggering and unfamiliar. She was unused to someone, especially someone so small and vulnerable, depending on her. For her entire adult life, it had been just her, and for a glimmer of a moment, Audrey understood the apprehension Cameron must have felt when he’d met Piper.
Piper squirmed, indicating the hug was over. “Bye, Audrey.” And then she turned and marched up the bus steps.
“Hey,” Audrey called out before the driver could close the doors. “I’ll be waiting right here for you after school.” Piper gave one last nod before disappearing.
The lump that had filled her throat finally burst, and the first tears leaked out. Audrey swiped them away as the bus rumbled down the street and made a left turn to fade from view.
She should be happy for Piper, and she was, actually, but Audrey couldn’t help but fight back the emptiness that took place of the little girl that had come to mean so much to her. And the urge to run after that bus wasn’t a good sign. If Audrey was this much of a mess just seeing Piper off to school, what would it be like when she had to say goodbye for good?
Just thinking about never waking up to Piper’s soft voice in the morning or seeing that ratty stuffed cat she dragged around was even more depressing than seeing the girl off to school.
Maybe she should…
No. Relocating was not an option. Her life was in Boulder. Her business she’d spent so many years building. All her friends. Her town house. Her empty town house.
Still, she couldn’t uproot her life and move to the other side of the state for a little girl and her drop-dead sexy uncle.
Piper would be okay with Cameron. She still wasn’t sure Cameron would be okay with Piper. Audrey could still see a thread of uncertainty in his eyes whenever he looked at Piper, as though he thought Piper would shatter.
Audrey turned from the street and headed back to the guesthouse. On her way, she passed her car and noticed the yellow Post-it on her windshield.
Knowing who it was from, Audrey was already grinning. She was like some needy teenager who’d been passed a note in science class by her crush.
Seriously pathetic.
She snatched the note off the car anyway.
I noticed the air in your front tire was low. So I filled it.
C
Just a capital C. Not even his full name, because they had grown that comfortable with each other. Audrey didn’t even flinch, because she liked that he was comfortable with her. It meant she was on her way to cracking that badass exterior he wanted her to think he had.
She was already convinced he wasn’t the hard-ass he wanted people to think. Not when he went around doing things like cooking breakfast with little girls, not calling the police on nosy old ladies, and filling Audrey’s tires for her.
Not only had no man ever done anything like that for her, but she also liked that he noticed, then took it upon himself to fix it.
He was a fixer. A doer. Which meant he cared more than he wanted her to
think.
Audrey’s smile widened as she tucked the note to her chest, like it was some kind of declaration of love.
Yeah, right. She’d guess Cameron Shaw had never made such a declaration to a woman before. He wasn’t the type. No, he was the type who showed how he felt rather than wasting his time with words.
She entered the guesthouse and tucked the Post-it note away with the other two he’d left after fixing the porch step and the water line to the house.
Okay, so it was silly, keeping his little notes. But one day, when she was gone and had moved on with her life, she’d be able to look back and remember that Cameron Shaw had a heart, and he hadn’t been too proud to show her.
Did that make her special? Audrey wasn’t sure yet, but she knew there was something there. Something…different between her and Cameron that she hadn’t felt before.
Audrey poured herself another cup of coffee and left the guesthouse for the back door to Cameron’s house. He told her, shortly after they’d moved in, that he’d leave his sliding glass door unlocked should she need anything.
She let herself inside his quiet, cool house, inhaling the scent that she’d come to associate with Cameron. The whole place smelled like him. Warm. Manly. A lot like the man himself.
She knew where he kept his Post-its because they’d gone back and forth enough times. She opened the kitchen drawer and snagged a pen and the last little yellow square, making a mental note to grab more.
Thanks for fixing my tire. BTW, you’re out of Post-its.
A
She slapped the note on the television screen, where she knew he’d see it because he always watched a quick recap on ESPN in the living room every night before bed.
Not that she’d been learning his habits or anything.
Still, Audrey couldn’t help the grin that sneaked along her mouth as she let herself out the back door.
Eleven
Audrey returned home fifteen minutes before Piper’s bus was supposed to drop her off from school. After an exhausting day of Skyping with her business partner, grocery shopping, then meeting at Annabelle’s to discuss her nursery, Audrey was ready to drop with a glass of wine. Or maybe the whole bottle.
Except the last time she’d done that, she’d ended up lip-locked with a man who sent her hormones into hyperdrive. So maybe wine was a bad idea.
She had just enough time to unload all the groceries, which may or may not have included extra cookie dough ice cream and a jar of marshmallow cream. Just for those nights when the urge to slip in Cameron’s back door was so strong that her fingers actually itched. Yeah, ice cream was a totally suitable substitute.
But the ice cream would have to do, because it was becoming increasingly hard to keep her cool around him. To keep her sly glances to herself. To control the trembling of her fingers whenever he was in the room. Talk about a massive crush. Audrey couldn’t remember the last time she’d crushed this hard.
The bus pulled in front of Cameron’s house just as Audrey was walking to the curb. Three kids got off, each running off in different directions. Then Audrey’s heart lifted at the sight of Piper, whose hair had become unraveled from the two braids she’d spent twenty minutes on that morning. Piper bounded down the steps with all the energy and enthusiasm of a six-year-old. She turned and waved to the bus driver, causing Audrey’s heart to pinch even tighter. Her hair was a mess of baby-fine waves, from the braids. There was a grass stain on her left knee and a funky-looking green spot on the bottom of her pink sweater. Despite the mess, Piper was just about the sweetest thing Audrey had seen all day. She’d missed the squirt like crazy.
But as Piper hopped off the bus, Audrey fought back the wave of sorrow, because Dianna should have been the one to greet her daughter after school. She should have braided Piper’s hair and done all the school shopping and packed Piper’s lunch with a note to have an awesome day. But she wasn’t, and Audrey was assaulted again by the unfairness of the situation. There would be no family dinner around a table tonight, no mother to help her with her homework or tuck her in.
But she has you.
Audrey lifted her chin, determined not to let the thoughts show on her face.
“Hey, kiddo.” Audrey picked the girl up, backpack and all, and hugged her little body close. She hadn’t expected to miss Piper so much.
Piper jumped up and down when Audrey released her. “I got on green today.”
Audrey took Piper’s hand and led her to the guesthouse. “Green?”
“Ms. Matthews has three colors on the wall. Green, yellow, and red,” Piper explained. “Red is for when you’re bad, and Carter got on red because he talked during story time. But I didn’t. I got on green because I didn’t talk.”
Audrey grinned down at her as the entered the house. “Of course, because you tried your best, right?”
Piper nodded and dropped her backpack on the floor. “Yep.” She turned and blinked up at Audrey. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
“Okay, you know where it is,” Audrey responded, even though she knew how Piper was going to respond.
She shook her head, sending her soft waves around her shoulders. “You have to come with me, remember?”
Audrey lifted a brow and jabbed a hand on her hip. “Piper, we’ve talked about this. You need to start using the bathroom by yourself. How do you go at school?”
“I just go with a friend.”
Audrey pondered her options, knowing she didn’t have many with a tenacious six-year-old. She blew out a breath. “I’ll walk you to the bathroom, but I’m not staying in there with you.”
Piper grabbed Audrey’s hand. “But I’m scared.”
The inflection of emotion in the girl’s voice tugged harder on Audrey’s heartstrings. She squatted and took both of Piper’s small hands in her own. “Honey, the bathroom isn’t a scary place. Why are you afraid of it?” she asked, even though she knew the answer. Ever since Dianna had passed away, Piper had been terrified of using a bathroom by herself.
“Just am,” Piper said in a low voice. She averted her gaze to her scuffed boots and sniffed.
Audrey resisted the urge to pull Piper into her arms and tell her it was okay. Just give her a little reassurance, that she wasn’t alone. Then she remembered Cameron’s words about being too fussy, so she held back.
Instead she settled on resting her hands on Piper’s tiny shoulders. “Sweetie, you’re going to have to get over your fear of the bathroom. I won’t always be here to go with you.”
“Why can’t you?” Piper questioned.
Oh, God, not this again. They’d had this discussion a few times, and Audrey thought Piper understood. She knew Piper wanted Audrey to stay, but how was she supposed to respond to that?
“You know why, Piper,” Audrey answered. “Because I have to go home eventually.”
Piper blinked at her. “But why can’t this be your home?”
Yeah, Audrey. Why?
“Because my home is in Boulder.” Yeah, great answer.
“But why can’t this be your home?” she asked again. “Don’t you like it here?”
If only it were that simple…“Of course I like it here. I love Blanco Valley, and I love being here with you. But my work is in Boulder. I can’t just leave my business.”
Piper scratched the side of her face. “Why can’t you move your business here?”
Okay, she was running out of reasonable excuses here. “Because…” Shit, because why? “Because I have a business partner who I work with, and I can’t leave her to do all the work herself.”
Piper blinked again, and Audrey knew she didn’t understand. And why would she? Her world consisted of cartoons, a stuffed cat, and jelly beans.
“Can she move down here?” Piper asked with all the confidence of someone who thought they’d figured it out.
“No, honey, she can’t. Now how about we use the bathroom now?” Audrey pushed, desperate to put an end to the line of questioning. Piper could be relentless when she pu
t her mind to it, as were all kids, Audrey imagined. But it broke her heart to see the confusion written all over her sweet face. Audrey wanted to do everything in her power to make Piper happy, to give her the stable home she’d once had with Dianna. She feared that when she left, she’d rock the girl’s world all over again.
They used the toilet, while Audrey waited in the hall, giving Piper an extra reminder to wash her hands.
“Is Cameron here? I wanna tell him about how I got on green today.” Piper skipped out of the bathroom and headed for the kitchen.
Audrey followed her, knowing the girl was hungry. “Nope, he’s still at work. But he’ll be home around dinnertime, and I’m sure he’d love to hear about your day.”
As Audrey made Piper a snack of sliced cheese with crackers and grapes, Audrey questioned her own words. How much interest would Cameron really have? Okay, she knew she wasn’t giving him enough credit, but her own protectiveness for Piper was coming out and landing square on Cameron. She needed him to be more involved in Piper’s life. More important, Piper needed him to be more involved, to know her schedule and her teacher’s name and how to pack her lunch.
She made a note to talk to him about it later and went about making Piper’s snack.
They spent the remainder of the afternoon hanging around the guesthouse; then Audrey took the time to go through Piper’s school folder while Piper went to the backyard to play. There were a half dozen forms Cameron needed to sign.
Daylight slowly faded into twilight, and Cameron pulled his rumbling Camaro into the driveway around six thirty.
Her traitorous heart did a triple beat when she watched him unfold his long legs from the driver’s seat. Piper skipped toward him, but Audrey remained behind the screen door, grateful for the cover so she had a moment to compose herself. He already saw too much when he caught her watching him. She didn’t need to be giving the man any advantages.
Lord knew he had too many.
Piper jumped up and down on two feet as she followed Cameron to the front door. Audrey couldn’t be sure, but she thought maybe he’d glanced in her direction as though wondering where she was.
