Cameron (Wild Men Book 7)

by Melissa Belle

  He’s got a point. And with Cam our best player hands-down, Craig really can’t afford to lose him.

  “I don’t want gossip being spread through the team,” I say, my argument growing weaker.

  “We’ll keep it between us,” he says. “Like we said we would.”

  A date with Cameron Wild. It sounds so…amazing. But my headache…

  “I’d like to, but I don’t think I can do coffee right now. I feel like a Mack truck is standing on my head.”

  “I had a feeling you’d say that. So I came with a backup plan. Tonight. Go home and take a nap. I’ll pick you up at your house at six for dinner.”

  “Oh. Um…”

  “Yeah?”

  “I’d like to. But I kind of have this…thing at six o’clock. Do you want to come with me?”

  “Sure.” He cocks his head. “What is this thing…exactly?”

  Cam and I are the last to arrive at the law office. Hal Smith, Attorney, the sign reads.

  “Are you sure your mom’s okay with me being here?” Cam asks me.

  I smile at him in his long coat with his hair neatly styled.

  “Believe me, with these things, it’s always the more the merrier.”

  He frowns doubtfully, but I open the door and usher him inside with me.

  “Did you bring the brandy?” I whisper to Celie as she greets us the moment we step into the room.

  She still has her coat on, and she opens it to show me a little flask tucked inside. Then she points to the phone on Hal’s desk. It’s lit up with a big red light on it, and I hear Nadine’s voice.

  “Hey, Nadie,” I say back.

  “We conferenced Nadine in to lend support,” Celie says.

  Molly and Pru are on one of the couches, and Mama has the seat of honor right across from Hal’s desk. She’s emotional, and Hal has to keep grabbing at the papers so Mama won’t ruin them completely by crying onto them. A box of tissues sits at the edge of the desk within easy reaching distance of Mama’s shaky arm.

  Celie turns to Cam and extends her hand. “You must be Cameron Wild. I’ve wanted to meet you for a while now, to thank you for helping Vannah out with that horrible thug. I’m Celie, the best McMann sister.”

  “Celie’s the closest to me in age,” I say to Cam. “She also has the biggest ego.”

  Cam’s eyes twinkle as he shakes Celie’s hand. “How are you, Celie?”

  “I’m great. How do you like playing for the Cannons?” she asks him.

  “I like my new team,” he says with a wink at me.

  “Oh, yeah?” Celie’s smile broadens.

  Cam’s dark eyes fill with amusement, and Celie bursts into giggles as I glare at her.

  Molly waves at Cam from her seat, and I quickly introduce him to Pru and Mama. Nadine calls out a hello to Cam through the speakerphone, and we all take our seats on the second couch.

  Hal’s a different lawyer than the man we used for Mama’s divorce papers. He’s older and more patient. He’s quite old, in fact.

  “How old is Hal?” I whisper to Celie.

  “Shh,” she says back. “He’s a friend of Pru’s great-uncle.”

  “That doesn’t inspire confidence.”

  I turn to look at Mama again, who can’t stop shaking. She thought her husband could protect her and keep her safe the way her own father couldn’t. Grandpa was a philandering gambler with money and women, and he spent what little he saved at the bars. Grandma worked two jobs to keep the family together. “Mama has Daddy issues,” Nadine always liked to say. “But who of us doesn’t, right?”

  Mama picks up the papers again. Hal gently points to the line where she needs to sign. Mama sniffs and Hal quickly takes the papers back, and then Mama reaches for a tissue instead. Oh, Lord. This could go on forever. I fight the urge to scream. And then—

  Cam reaches over and touches my hand.

  He doesn’t linger or hold onto me. He just gently brushes my hand with his strong, calloused one.

  Meanwhile, Mama’s still waffling with the damn pen in her hand.

  And I can’t take the indecision a second longer. I stand up and walk over to the desk.

  “I know it’s hard, Mama,” I say. “But holding onto him with the house isn’t really working. He’s getting remarried, after all.”

  Mama nods. “Yes. You’re right. He is getting married.” She reaches for the papers again.

  “Sometimes he’s just not the right man, Mama,” Nadine says through the phone. “And that’s okay. Sometimes it’s just not right.”

  Mama looks at the phone as if she can see Nadine in it. Maybe she’s thinking of Nadine’s own divorce all those years ago and how Nadine cried for weeks while she talked about what a failure she felt like. Then, she met Brad and she realized what a good decision that divorce was.

  Molly gets up and comes over. “It was a long time ago, Mama. It’s been six years and counting.”

  Mama looks at Molly. “Six years,” she says with a wry smile. “That is a long time, isn’t it?”

  “It is,” Molly agrees.

  I hear Celie whisper something about the brandy, but I shake my head. I’m afraid at this point it will become a distraction.

  Mama gazes into space like she’s looking into the past. “Your father could be so good to us. Remember how he was always the first one any of us would call when there was a problem?”

  We all nod. It’s true. Our father was great in a crisis.

  “But of course, there were a lot of bad times with that man. Too many of them to count,” Mama says with a heavy sigh.

  I look at my mother’s worn face. My father’s moods were so intense, and that made everything feel dangerous.

  “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while. And now seems as good a time as any.” Mama holds up her left hand, and then takes off her wedding band and engagement ring.

  Celie, Molly, and I gasp.

  We’ve never seen Mama without her bands. She wears them in the shower, to bed, to the beach. Everywhere Mama goes, those rings go with her. To Mama, the divorce was just a piece of paper, but the rings represented what was in her heart.

  “I can’t very well fool myself anymore, can I?” She scoops up the rings and puts them into her purse.

  She looks down at the papers and reaches for a pen. Hal once again points to the correct line, the line that needs a Cynthia Lennox McMann signature on it.

  I can practically hear Celie holding her breath from here, not daring to come closer.

  Then, all of a sudden, Mama signs. Just like that. She picks up the pen, and she puts it to the paper and she signs it. Once she actually does, it all happens so fast.

  Thanks to Pru and his lawyer friend, Mama is now the sole owner of the house at 405 North Frances Street.

  Celie cheers. Hal smiles as he wipes his brow with a handkerchief. Molly hugs Mama.

  I whisper to Cam I’ll be right back, and then I excuse myself for the privacy of the restroom down the hall. Once I get there, I look into the mirror over the sink and stare at my reflection.

  I’m wiping my eyes with a paper towel when Molly knocks on the door. “Vannah! We’re going to celebrate—you coming?”

  “Be right there!” I call out.

  I grab my purse off the counter and step out into the hallway.

  Chapter Sixteen

  We take Mama for a celebratory drink at the bar on Main Street.

  Cam and Pru offer to drive everyone home, so Celie orders “the ladies” a round of whiskey shots. We take seats at the bar, and Cam and Pru start talking about hockey. Pru’s heard about our winning streak, and Cam invites him and Celie to a game.

  “Ooh, that sounds like fun,” Celie says. “Let’s all go!”

  When Cam excuses himself for the restroom, Celie turns to me. “Well, I know what I’m doing next week. Us three girls are going to watch ourselves a hockey game.”

  “Why next week?” Molly says. “What’s that mea—” She gasps. “That’s the Caves game!�
�

  Celie and I look at each other, and I nod, letting her know she can tell Molly.

  “Daddy sent Vannah a text.”

  “No!” Molly stares at me. “You look like you’re handling it well. Too well.”

  “Right.” Celie reaches over and hugs me. “Which is why we’re going with her. In fact, let’s go to tomorrow’s game as practice.”

  “You guys hate going to hockey games,” I protest.

  “That was before,” Celie says. “Now we’ve got a hot guy to root for. Your about-to-be boyfriend.”

  “He’s not my boyfriend and you know it,” I say.

  “Cel, I love this idea,” Molly says. “We’ll sit in the stands and cheer Cam on. That’s very romantic, Vannah. Maybe he’ll dedicate one of his goals to you.”

  I glance over at Mama. She’s chatting it up with a middle-aged man who looks like he’s been here a while already.

  Celie surreptitiously beckons to the bartender. Not a minute later, the server drops a yellow-colored drink in front of Mama.

  “Mama, don’t drink that,” Molly says immediately.

  But Mama, like me, is a little tipsy, and she already has the drink to her mouth.

  “Oh, my, isn’t this delicious?” she says. “What in the world is it?”

  “Midori Sour,” Celie says. “That’s more your speed, Mama. Forget the whiskey.”

  The man beside Mama asks her a question. The music’s so loud Mama has to lean over to hear him. We see her laugh, well—we see her giggle and say something back. The man raises his glass, and Mama clinks hers to his in response.

  “So. The game.” Celie elbows me. “Are we on?”

  “I guess so. Tomorrow’s game is early, though; it starts at three.”

  “No problem. I’ll leave work early,” Celie says.

  “I know seeing Daddy here next week will be hard,” Molly says to me quietly. “But tomorrow’s game will be harmless. Plus, the three of us have done this before.”

  “We did it for New Year’s Eve one year, remember?” Celie says. “Daddy had you drive us all to the game, Vannah. He was so disappointed you drove ‘like a woman.’ I mean, the nerve of you!”

  I playfully hit her in the arm. “Why are you bringing that up? It’s not a good memory.”

  “Memory lane,” Celie says. “Once you get moving, you can’t stop the train sometimes, good or bad.”

  “He said I should drive more like you,” I say softly.

  “Yeah, well, he said I should look more like you,” she shoots back. “More feminine, more beautiful. You inherited Mama’s good looks, after all. You look like a Minnesota princess with your thick dark hair and green eyes. And the best part? Your big heart shines through all of it.”

  I glance over to see Cam heading toward us. His dark gaze is fixed on me even as a woman grabs at him when he passes the pool tables. He walks right by her like she’s not even there, and as he reaches my side, Celie whispers in my ear, “And somebody definitely likes all of you—a lot.”

  After a short while later, I’m more than ready to leave.

  “So before we all separate,” Celie says as we all stand outside our vehicles in the frigid Minnesota night, “let’s talk about how Mama got hit on tonight.”

  “What?” Mama says. “I was not hit on.”

  “By the man next to you,” Celie says. “He was flirting with you!”

  “What did the man say to you, Mama?” Molly asks her.

  “Oh, he just said what a wonderful night it was,” Mama says. “He heard Celie mention that I own a house now, and he wanted to be the first to congratulate me. He was very nice.”

  “And did he ask you out?” Celie says.

  “Celie, please,” Mama says. “He was very gentlemanly. I think maybe he was lonely, sitting at that bar all by himself.”

  Maybe he wasn’t the only one who’s lonely. I look at my mother as she rubs her empty ring finger.

  Pru says he and Celie will take Mama and Molly home, and Cam and I get into his truck alone.

  He turns on the engine, and I sink into my heated seat. But he doesn’t put his hands on the wheel.

  We watch Pru drive off with my mother and sisters, and still Cam doesn’t move.

  My stomach lurches into my chest.

  Cam’s long black coat hides his hot body, but all I’m staring at is his face. His facial hair is neatly trimmed, showing off his dark, kind, caring eyes, and he looks sexy as hell.

  “You look nice,” I say in a rush of words.

  Cam’s gaze goes to my pink chiffon top peeking out from my open coat. He swallows. Twice.

  “You’ve been killing me all night, Savannah.”

  “I’ll take it you mean ‘killing you’ in a good way,” I joke.

  “Definitely in a good way.”

  He leans across his seat and brushes his lips against my cheek. My palms start sweating and I clench my jaw.

  “Are you all right?” He catches me by the wrist.

  “Fine.”

  He searches my expression. “Are you maybe a little nervous still?”

  “Nervous?” I give an anxious laugh. “No.”

  Cam grins. “Okay. Let’s get out of here, ‘Ms. Not Nervous.’”

  But still he doesn’t move. And before I realize what’s happening, he leans in and kisses me on the lips.

  Holy crap. Cameron Wild just kissed me on the mouth. Not with tongue or anything, but his lips alone are enough to get my legs shaking. Luckily, I’m sitting down.

  “How was that?” His breath tickles my skin.

  “G—” I clear my throat and try again. “Good.”

  He kisses me again, even more softly than the first time. “That’s good,” he whispers.

  I stop breathing. “Uh-huh.”

  “Take a breath, Savannah.” He cups my cheek with his hand.

  I exhale.

  “Okay?” His dark eyes lock onto mine.

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  “You ready?” He smiles at me as he puts the car into drive.

  Not even close.

  “Is your head feeling better since this morning?” he asks as we drive.

  “Much,” I say. “Thanks for taking care of me last night.”

  “Your sister’s sweet. She looks out for you.”

  I raise my eyebrows. “You met Molly last night?”

  “I couldn’t find your bedroom. She told me which door it was.”

  “Oh.” I wonder what else she told him.

  “She warned me not to mess up with you.” His lips turn up in a casual smile, but as he shifts to face me at a stop light, his eyes say something else.

  I clench my hands in fists. “Don’t listen to her. She’s a bit protective. All three of my sisters are.”

  “I like that she does that for you.” He pulls off at the same lake we went to before the fundraiser. “Can we talk for a few minutes?”

  I figured he’d probably want to talk about the family drama I just dropped him into on date one.

  “Of course.” I unbuckle my seat belt as he parks in the empty lot.

  I can’t see the lake, but I can feel the vast body of water in front of us, and it soothes me.

  “So this thing at the lawyer’s all went down okay?” he asks in a casual tone.

  “Yeah, it was fine.” I wave my hand in the air as I twist to face him. “Mama didn’t even need brandy for the signing. She needed it for the divorce papers, but not the house. So that’s progress.”

  “That is,” he agrees. “Was it a family affair last time too?”

  “It was. Mama couldn’t get it done without all of us present. Lawrence McMann isn’t an easy man to let go of.” I’ve run out of words, and without the loud bar music or Celie’s rambling, I feel the silence for the first time since I was alone in the bathroom at Hal’s.

  “Was it difficult?” Cam looks into my eyes and asks me the hard question, the one I don’t want to have to answer.

  I glance at him, trying to act casu
al. But I can’t lie to him. “Yes,” I say as my throat tightens. “It was difficult. It sounds so stupid, but it was.”

  He shifts over to the middle seat and puts his arm around me, pulling me close to his beating heart. “It doesn’t sound stupid. Honey, I’m not trying to judge your relationship with your father.” Cam’s voice is low and soothing. “My father and I have a fucked-up relationship ourselves, and I’d be the last person to make a verdict on yours. I don’t know what your life was like with him.”

  I lift my head and try to thank Cam for coming with me tonight, but he takes my hand, and I forget my words. His eyes darken, and I know what’s coming.

  He leans in to kiss me, and instead of handling it casually like I’d vowed to do, I back away like a prey animal.

  “Too fast?” he says.

  “No. Sorry.”

  “Is this not okay?” he asks.

  “No!” I say. “It is! I mean yes. It is.”

  Cam leans in again, and the same thing happens.

  I back away from him.

  “Savannah.” His tone is calm and level.

  “Sorry.” I dip my chin in the collar of my coat and go silent.

  He puts his hand on my shoulder and buries his nose in my neck. “Do you expect to be rejected?” he asks me in a whisper.

  His question is so raw, so honest, but I can’t answer him, because to give a response of any honesty would unleash a torrent of confessions I’m sure he’s not ready to hear.

  But Cam doesn’t know my backstory. And keeping such a big part of my life from him doesn’t feel fair. I can’t expect him to understand me in the present if I don’t let him into my past.

  So I take a breath and risk sending Cam running clear across the state when I blurt out—

  “Do you want to know about him?”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Cameron

  “Yes,” I say immediately. “Of course. I want to know anything that’s related to you, Savannah.”

  I shift back so I can look at her. Her expression is tight, and I’m getting a sense of what it’s taking for her to let me in like this.

  She twists her hands in her lap, and I wait quietly for her to continue. The heat blasts out of the truck vents, and the dark, cold night feels somehow far away from whatever’s happening in this vehicle. Because whatever Savannah’s about to tell me, she’s clearly been holding it in for a long fucking time.