Secrets and Solace

by Jana Richards

  Scarlet went over and examined them. “This looks like the same wood as the headboard in your room.”

  Cam couldn’t help but grin. “It is. So, you were in my bedroom?”

  Her face flushed red before she turned away to examine the headboards again. “I might have done a little snooping, from the doorway.”

  He could picture her in his room, in his bed, naked and writhing beneath him. His body responded enthusiastically, his cock pressing against the zipper of his jeans. He turned away and shook his head to dispel the powerful, erotic image. Change the subject, Cam.

  “The last couple of summers we’ve taken down a building or two and I spend the winters planing the wood and building furniture. So far, it’s mostly a hobby. I haven’t made much money at it.”

  “That’s only because no one knows what you can do. No one has seen how talented you are. A great website and a good marketing plan could change all that.”

  “But what if it doesn’t? What if the world doesn’t beat a path to my door the way you think it will? What if I’m not as good as I hope I am?”

  “What do you mean?”

  He ran his thumb over the rough wood of the headboard, avoiding Scarlet’s gaze. “I like construction work well enough, especially the creative parts of design. It pays the bills. But this…” He threw out his hand to encompass the workshop. “This is what I really want to do. When I work with a piece of old wood, I can hear it talking to me. It tells me what do to make it beautiful and useful again.”

  He stopped talking and turned his back, embarrassed at revealing so much to her. “That probably sounds crazy to you.”

  “No, it sounds like your creative process to me. And it sounds like you’re afraid. What are you afraid of, Cameron?”

  He still couldn’t look at her. His art was too close to his heart, too vulnerable. “I’m afraid of falling flat on my face and making a fool of myself. Of dreaming bigger than my talent can reach. Of being a fraud.”

  “You’re no fraud.” He felt her move closer, though she didn’t touch him. “I’ve seen the drawings you made for the cottages. Those were works of art. And all this…it’s amazing. You have every right to believe in your talent. For what it’s worth, I believe in your talent, too.”

  He turned to look at her. Her eyes were clear and calm, with not a hint of derision or doubt. “I appreciate that. But you’re one person.”

  “Are you dissing my taste, Mr. Hainstock?”

  He grinned, completely charmed by her. “I wouldn’t dream of it. But I know the things I’ve created aren’t to everyone’s taste.” They certainly weren’t his father’s taste.

  “I suppose, but if someone doesn’t like something you made, so what? Art is subjective and you’re not going to please everyone. Personally, I think someone who doesn’t appreciate your stuff has no taste at all, but that’s only my opinion.”

  He hid his grin. “Of course.”

  She started examining the headboards stacked up against the wall again. “I think these would fit in perfectly in the new cottages. They’re rustic and charming, with a kind of urban chic that I think a lot of our guests would appreciate. Would you be able to make enough headboards and mantels for all the cottages?”

  “Possibly. I think I have enough wood.”

  “Do you have enough time?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t need to sleep.”

  She laughed. “That’s the spirit. I’ll take some pictures and tell Harper what we’ve decided. I think she’ll be relieved she doesn’t have to figure it out herself.”

  “She doesn’t trust her own taste.”

  “I could say the same about you, too.” When she smiled, he remembered the softness of her lips and the sweet taste of her kiss. Longing swamped him.

  She spent the next few minutes taking pictures of the fireplace mantles and headboards in his shop. He helped her move a few pieces so she could get a better shot. At last, she stuck her phone in her back pocket.

  “That should be enough to give Harper an idea of the vibe we’re going for. I should get back to work. I’ve got some things I need to finish up.”

  “Me, too. Gotta make sure the boys don’t goof off.”

  “Any time you think you’d like to redo your website, let me know and I’ll help you out.”

  “Okay, thanks.” He didn’t know if he’d take her up on the offer, but her faith in him made him feel like he could do anything. “Scarlet, I appreciate everything you said. It means a lot to me.”

  A slight blush swept across her cheek, tempting him to touch the soft skin. He wanted to play connect the dots with the freckles sprinkled across her nose, kissing each one in turn.

  They stared at each other, neither of them making a move for the door. Then, Scarlet lifted her chin. “Thank you for showing me your workshop, Cameron.”

  He answered honestly. “It was my pleasure.”

  He followed her to the door. After locking up, he jumped in his truck and waved at her as he sped out of his yard. He barely saw the road as he drove. All he could see was Scarlet greeting him at the door when he came home from work, Scarlet in his bed and in his arms. Overwhelming longing nearly had him turning around and going back to her.

  He quashed that idea with brutal force. Scarlet had her own life in Chicago, and she was going back to it in a few months. She didn’t belong in small town Minnewasta anymore, and she didn’t belong with him.

  Cam turned onto the main road and pressed down on the accelerator. He had to get the hell away from her before he changed his mind.

  After a stop at the hardware store in town, Cam made it back to the worksite just as Harper and Maggie brought coffee and goodies for the guys. Tessa skipped alongside the little wagon they pulled, pigtails bouncing. Seeing his daughter so happy made him smile.

  After they’d passed out coffee and juice and cookies, Cam approached Harper with the bag from the hardware store.

  “Here. This is for you,” he said, handing the bag to her.

  Her eyes widened in surprise. “For me?”

  He grinned. “Yeah, but don’t get too excited. It’s nothing special. Just restocking your supplies.”

  She reached inside the bag and grinned as she pulled out a plastic gallon container of chainsaw oil. “Thanks. I was running low.”

  “The perfect gift for the girl who has everything.”

  She laughed. “Hey, chainsaw maintenance is important.”

  “Don’t I know it. I wanted to say thanks.”

  “No problem. I was happy to help.”

  Cam ducked his head, not quite able to look her in the eyes. Apologies didn’t come easy for him, and this was his second of the day. “I also wanted to say I’m sorry. I thought you married Ethan for his money, but that’s not the truth, is it?”

  “No.” Harper’s voice was barely a whisper. “I love Ethan. I’d love him just as much if he didn’t have a dime.”

  “I see that now.”

  Her gaze drifted to the half-finished cottage. “I’m not gonna lie. His money makes all this possible. Without it, I would have had to sell the lodge.”

  “I know.”

  “But if the money disappeared tomorrow, it wouldn’t matter. I’d still love Ethan and he’d still love me. We’d figure something out. Together.”

  Cam nodded and looked away. “He deserves that kind of loyalty.”

  She touched his arm briefly. “So do you.”

  Scarlet’s image flashed into his mind’s eye. Would she be loyal, or would she play around on him like Laura had? He rejected the idea. He couldn’t imagine her being unfaithful.

  He shook his head. There was no point speculating.

  Instead, he changed the subject. “Don’t let your loyalty to Willy blind you, Harper. He’s using you.”

  “Maybe that’s true, but I can’t simply cut him loose. I can’t abandon him like everyone else in town has.”

  “If he knows you’ve got his back, he has no reason to change.”

/>   She pursed her lips together. “How do you know that for sure?”

  “Because I’ve been there. I was Willy a few years ago. Until I was confronted with the hurt I was causing my family, until they told me that unless I straightened out they couldn’t stand by and watch me destroy myself anymore, I wasn’t ready to work on my sobriety. I had to stand on the brink of losing everything, and everyone, before I finally changed.”

  “Is that the only way? Threatening him? Abandoning him?” She shook her head, her face full of misery.

  “It was for me.”

  “You think I’m enabling him, don’t you?”

  He wouldn’t sugarcoat it. “Yes.”

  She studied her shoes. “That’s what Ethan says. I don’t know what to do.”

  “Why don’t you go to an Al-Anon meeting and talk with people in the same position as you? I’ll come with you if you want me to.”

  She lifted her gaze to his. “Really?”

  “Sure. And I know Ethan would come too.”

  “Yeah, I’m sure he would.” She sighed deeply. “Willy is the only thing we’ve argued about. I hate it.”

  “He’s afraid for you. He doesn’t want you to have to go through with Willy what he went through with me.”

  “I’ll think about Al-Anon, okay?”

  “Okay. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be there.”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  “My pleasure.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The morning was hot and still, the water on the lake silent and smooth, with not a ripple to disturb the calm surface. Even the birds had decided it was too hot to sing. An eerie silence settled on the forest.

  Early morning at the lodge had quickly become Scarlet’s favorite part of the day. It was a time to quietly reflect, to watch the lake and feel the forest come alive. For the last couple of weeks, she’d set her alarm an hour early to drink a cup of coffee on the front porch and watch the sun rise over the lake, turning the sky from fiery red to endless blue. She hadn’t realized how much she’d missed this.

  Scarlet finished drinking her morning coffee and went back into the cottage to shower. In deference to the heat that would only get more intense as the day wore on, she dressed in one of her coolest outfits, a sky-blue cotton sundress with spaghetti straps. By the time she emerged from her room, Maggie was already in the kitchen making breakfast. She was surprised to find her alone.

  “Hasn’t Cameron dropped off Tessa yet?”

  Maggie shook her head. “No. I haven’t seen them. They must be running late today.”

  A moment later, Ethan knocked on the door of the cottage before letting himself in. “Have you seen Cam?”

  Scarlet exchanged a worried look with Maggie. “No, not yet.” She checked her watch; five minutes after eight. In the past couple of weeks, he and Tessa usually arrived at the cottage by seven-thirty.

  “Have you tried calling him?” Maggie asked.

  Ethan nodded. “Yeah, several times. No answer. We had a meeting scheduled at seven this morning with the mason who’s building the fireplaces, but Cam didn’t show.”

  Unease settled in the pit of her stomach. Something had to be very wrong for him not to show up without any explanation. Tessa could be ill, but if she was, he would have called Ethan.

  “That doesn’t sound like him.”

  “No, it doesn’t. Unless…” Ethan shook his head and looked away.

  “Unless what?”

  He lifted his gaze to hers. “Unless he’s started drinking again.”

  Scarlet shook her head before he’d finished speaking. “No, no way. He wouldn’t do that. Especially not while Tessa is staying with him.”

  “Then why isn’t he answering his phone?”

  “Maybe his phone’s dead, or he lost it. There could be a hundred different reasons.”

  “Maybe that would explain why he hasn’t answered my calls, but it doesn’t explain why he hasn’t shown up for work.” He headed for the door. “I’m going to look for them.”

  “Ethan, wait.” Scarlet stopped him at the door. “Let me go. I need to use Cameron’s laptop today anyway. I’ll go to his house and see if he’s there. I’ll give you a call.”

  She didn’t like to think about the possibility but if he had been drinking, she didn’t want Ethan and Cameron to get into an argument, not in front of Tessa.

  Ethan’s jaw clenched. “I don’t want to put you in the middle of this.”

  “You’re not. This is my choice. I want to make sure Tessa is okay.” She didn’t want to examine too closely her desire to see to Cameron’s welfare as well.

  Ethan stared into her eyes, then gave her a curt nod. “Fine. But make damn sure you call me whether he’s there or not.”

  “I will.”

  “I’d better get back to the work site, but I’ll have my phone on me.”

  “Okay.”

  He hesitated, as if he wanted to say something else but in the end, he simply nodded and left the cottage. Scarlet let out her breath in a rush of relief.

  Maggie touched her arm. “Do you want me to come with you?”

  She covered Maggie’s hand and gave it a quick squeeze. “Thanks, but I’ll be fine.”

  “Call me, too. Okay?”

  She enveloped Maggie in hug and kissed her cheek. “I will. I promise.”

  Grabbing her purse and her tote bag, she left the cottage and hurried to her car. She drove straight to Cameron’s place. She arrived to find his truck parked in front of the house. Scarlet ran to the side door. The outside door was wide open with only the screen door closed. It was odd that Cameron would leave the door open on such a hot day when the air conditioner was running at full capacity. She knocked.

  Then knocked again. “Cameron? Are you there?”

  Still no answer. Scarlet opened the screen door and stepped inside. The house was still and quiet. Everything was as neat and tidy as usual. When she came to Tessa’s room, everything looked the same. Until she noticed the open closet door. All of Tessa’s clothes were gone and some of her favorite stuffies were also missing. Scarlet’s heart beat frantically. Something was wrong.

  She retraced her steps to the side door and ran down the stairs. With his truck still there, Cameron had to be close by. Perhaps he was making something in his workshop and lost track of time. She clung to that hope, even though the alarm bells ringing in her head were telling her something was terribly, terribly wrong.

  The door to the shop was locked. She banged on it with her fist. “Cameron! Are you in there?”

  No answer. Scarlet tamped down the rising panic in her chest and tried to think. Was there a back door to the workshop? She’d only been inside that one time, but she thought she remembered an overhead door at the back of the building.

  She followed a path around the side of the building to the back and then she heard it, a thumping sound, as if something was being hit hard with force. When she rounded the corner and saw Cameron stripped to the waist, splitting a log in half with an axe, she nearly dropped to her knees in relief. Instead, she took a few cautious steps closer.

  “Cameron? Ethan was worried when you didn’t show up for work this morning.”

  His axe stilled for a moment, but he didn’t look at her. “Go back to the lodge and tell Ethan I’m still alive. I’ll be at work tomorrow.”

  He hefted the axe and split the next log in two, sending one half flying across the yard. Scarlet hesitated. Cameron was in a strange mood. She should take his advice and leave. But the tense set of his shoulders and the way he wouldn’t look at her made her feel she had to stay. Whatever he was dealing with, he was dealing with it alone, and something told her he shouldn’t be.

  Whatever he’d told her in the past, and despite all his denials, right now he needed her.

  She stepped closer. “Why didn’t you go to work this morning? Is something wrong?”

  He split another log in half. The ax landed on the stump with a punishing blow. He stood
the half log on its end and prepared to hit it again. “Go back to the lodge, Scarlet.”

  “Cameron, where’s Tessa? Why are all her clothes gone?”

  A mixture of anger and despair crossed his face. He swung his axe over and over, turning the log on the stump to kindling. Scarlet held her breath and watched.

  Finally, exhausted, his skin shiny with sweat, he stopped. He bent over and leaned on the axe for support, his head bowed and his chest heaving. His voice was barely a whisper. “She’s gone.”

  Scarlet carefully removed the axe from his hands and tossed it to the ground. “Gone? You mean back to her mother?”

  He straightened slowly and turned to look at her. The searing pain in his eyes made her gasp.

  “She’s gone for good. Laura’s moving to California and she’s taking Tessa with her. I’m never going to see my daughter again.”

  The shock on Scarlet’s face, the disbelief and grief, made him wish he’d kept his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted was to inflict her with the same hell he was going through. He turned away from her, pushing her hand from his arm. “Go home, Scarlet.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.” She grabbed his arm again, preventing him from picking up the axe, the tool he’d used to keep himself from reaching for a bottle. “I won’t leave you alone.”

  Ignoring the sweat and dirt, she wrapped her arms around his waist and held him tightly, resting her head against his chest. His body stirred to life at her touch, disgusting him. His world was crumbling around him and all he could think was that he wanted to bury himself inside her until she screamed his name.

  “Go,” he said roughly. If she was smart, she’d run away and never look back. He was a bad-tempered, recovering alcoholic with nothing to offer her. He wasn’t worth the risk.

  She looked up at him, her blue eyes clear and steady. “No. I won’t leave you.”

  He pushed her up against the wall of the workshop, not sure if he was trying scare her away or make her stay. “I don’t want to hurt you.”