by J. D. Faver
“I wanted to see your face. It’s as simple as that.”
“You didn’t get enough last night?” Her smile froze as she caught the expression on his face.
“No, I did not,” he said slowly.
“Breck, I…”
“Don’t worry, Cami,” he said. “I’m not going to pressure you anymore. I know you don’t feel the same way.”
“That’s not it. I’m not going to let my judgment be clouded by any attraction I may feel toward you. The only reason I’m still here is because my great aunt is dead and I’m truly suspicious that it wasn’t from natural causes.”
“So, you’re not interested in the ranch at all?”
“I don’t know anything about ranching. I want to be comfortable in my environment.”
“Is there anything I can do to make you comfortable here?”
“I’m a city girl. I’m a doctor. I’ve spent the past ten years studying for this career. I have an innate need to help people. When we found Mr. Rios, some inner voice was rejoicing. I thought, finally, here’s something I can do.”
His knowing gaze sent a rush of warmth to her core. “You did a good job,” he said. “You saved his life. Can’t you be a doctor here?”
“Yes, I could, but I’m not sure I want to.”
“Too bad. You’ll be giving up a fortune.”
“Not everything’s about money, Breck. I have other priorities.”
He pressed his lips together in a firm line. “I wish I was one of them. Is there any way in which you want me in your life?” The look he gave her almost stopped her heart.
She drew a shaky breath. “I need your help. I need to find out who killed Aunt Silky, because it sure wasn’t Red.”
A look of disappointment crossed his face and then it quickly became shuttered.
“Let me take you to talk to the county medical examiner. He may be able to answer your questions.”
“I’d appreciate that. When can we go?”
“I’ll make an appointment and call you.” Breck nodded at her and walked out the door.
That didn’t go well. Cami knew she’d hurt him in some way she couldn’t fathom. This place was his whole world and he couldn’t understand that it wasn’t hers.
#
Breck stared out the picture window of the home he shared with his father. The sun setting behind the mountain range in the distance spread an array of purples and golds across the sky. He couldn’t stop thinking about the stubborn blue-eyed woman who’d captured his interest.
She’s definitely going to break my heart.
The sad thing was that Cami was right. He’d always had an easy time with females. From grade school on up, he’d been able to attract any girl he’d been interested in. Up until now.
Cami Carmichael wasn’t just any girl and if he was going to win her heart he’d have to change his strategy. If he could step back and give her some room, maybe she’d be able to take another look at him.
Damn! That was hard for Breckenridge T. Ryan to do. He was a head-on kind of guy. He wasn’t used to pussyfooting around about anything, especially something as important to him as the self-sufficient little doctor who didn’t seem to need him for a damned thing.
If she had a fiancé back in Houston, he must be quite a guy to keep her attention, even from such a long distance.
But when Breck had kissed those soft irresistible lips of hers, they’d kissed him back. She couldn’t have kissed him with such passion if she was seriously involved with another man.
It’s not the man. It’s the place. She’s a city girl and she misses the hustle and bustle of the big city.
“Breck?” His father had entered the room and come to stand by his side. “That’s a beautiful sunset, but I think there’s something else on your mind. What’s so interesting out there?”
Breck straightened his shoulders. “I’m trying to figure out how to help someone else appreciate this kind of beauty.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Cami puttered around the house and went to bed early. The next morning she woke up and found she’d made one decision. It was a good day to make the yellow go away.
She stripped the yellow satin bedspread off the bed in Aunt Silky’s room. She climbed on a chair to take down the yellow satin drapes and discovered a window seat set in the bow of oriel windows. The room already looked fresher and younger.
She shoved the furniture away from the walls. She unrolled the plastic drop cloths and spread them over the furniture and carpeting. When she was ready to begin she poured paint in the tray and rolled the first stroke on the largest wall.
The phone rang and startled her. She located it under the plastic.
“If you still want to talk to the Medical Examiner, he can see us this afternoon at two.”
“Hi Breck,” she said. His voice made her shiver in spite of her resolve. “Yes, I’d like to go.”
“I’ll pick you up at one.” He rang off without his usual good natured teasing.
Cami returned to her painting and had the first coat applied quickly. She spent the rest of the morning cutting in around the edges. Thankfully, the ceiling was white. She carefully avoided painting the tea rose pink on the white crown molding and woodwork.
She took the paint brush and roller to the kitchen sink to clean them up. The whole house smelled like latex paint. She didn’t mind the odor. It smelled like a new beginning. It smelled like Cami Carmichael was carving a little space out of this big Victorian house, just for herself.
When Breck arrived she was dressed and ready.
“You’re painting?” At her nod, he added, “That’s not what a person does when they’re planning on running off.”
“I know,” she said softly. “Want to see?”
He smiled for the first time since their previous encounter. “Sure.”
She led the way upstairs and into Aunt Silky’s room.
“Pink?” He was grinning now.
“I’m a girl,” she said.
“Yeah, I noticed.” He walked around the room. “You didn’t move this furniture by yourself, did you?”
“I’m stronger than I look,” she said. “Do you like it?”
“Actually, I do,” he said. “I think it looks like you. But, you’re going to need a second coat.”
“Yeah, I can see the yellow showing through in some places.”
“I’ll help you when we get back.”
“I’ll take all the help I can get.”
They drove to Amarillo and talked to Doctor Gerard, the Medical Examiner. He opened the file he’d made on Silky Carmichael.
“Your aunt was in remarkable shape for a woman her age. The wound to her head confirmed that her death was not from natural causes. See this” He handed Cami a close up photograph of the wound to Silky’s head.
Cami took a deep breath and tried to control the tremor in her hand as she reached for the picture. The wound to Silky’s scalp had been cleaned up and showed the depression to her scull in great detail.
“It’s smooth,” she said.
“Not a horse’s hoof,” the doctor said. “The impression is five-eights of an inch wide and exactly two inches long. Notice the regular borders and the slightly oval shape on this end.”
“What do you think it was, Doctor?” Breck leaned over her shoulder to view the photo.
“Keep in mind that we have access to a huge database. I had the shape of the wound compared to a whole arsenal of tools and weapons. The wound might match the shape of a tire iron but its smaller than most. There are other possibilities, but at this juncture that’s looking like the probable weapon.
“Why didn’t you come forward with this information sooner?” she asked.
“It took some time to run the information. We had to submit it to the Dallas-Fort Worth Medical Examiner’s computer system and let them run it.”
“Now what?”
“I’ll hand the information over to the Sheriff’s Office in Langston. It will be up t
o him to follow up with an investigation.”
She frowned, recalling what she’d been told about the Sheriff being in Kincaid’s pocket. “I’d like a copy of all your findings.”
Doctor Gerard gave her a blank look and then shifted his gaze to Breck.
“Do I need to sue you for these records? My attorney, Mr. Ryan, can file the necessary papers.” Cami gestured to Breck as though he was on board with her.
Breck frowned and then gazed sternly at the Medical Examiner across his desk.
“Well, I ah, wouldn’t want these records to fall into the wrong hands.”
“I’m a doctor, Doctor.” Cami raised her brow.
“Yes, yes. I understand. I’ll have these records copied and send them to you.”
“I’ll wait for them,” she said.
While the doctor had the paperwork copied, Breck whispered, “Tough enough! Remind me not to cross you.”
“Don’t be silly. This wasn’t something to be put off and I don’t want any of these findings to be conveniently misplaced.”
“It sounds like you don’t trust Doctor Gerard.”
She looked at him. “No, I don’t trust too many people. You, maybe, but not many.”
He nodded and smiled.
When Breck drove Cami home, he parked and got out.
“Oh, no,” she said. “You really don’t have to help me paint.”
But he was rolling up his sleeves as he climbed the steps. “Yes, I do. I want you to feel like this is your house Your ranch.” He stood by the front door as she unlocked it.
“Thanks,” she said. “I do appreciate everything you’ve done to try and make me feel welcome here.”
“My pleasure.” He hung his jacket and hat on the rack. “It was self serving on my part. I wouldn’t hate it if you decide to settle here.”
“I know, but don’t get your hopes up.” She led the way upstairs where they spent the afternoon spreading another coat of tea rose paint on the walls.
“I think it looks beautiful.” Cami felt satisfied with the room. She’d never painted any room before; never personalized any space. Her dorm rooms and apartment were bathed in basic white.
“You need new bedding,” he said. “And that chair has to go.”
“Too bad. It’s an antique.” She grimaced at the gold velvet upholstery.
“Why don’t we check the rest of the house for some things that might suit your new environment?”
Cami and Breck went from room to room upstairs and exchanged the heavy mahogany furniture for some pieces that were a bit smaller. Breck shoved the large armoire out in the hall and replaced it with a smaller cherry one.
“So you like the cherry wood better?” he asked.
“I think it looks good with this paint color. It doesn’t have so much visual weight.”
“Visual weight? Sounds like someone took an art class.”
“Guilty,” she said. “I’ve never made any changes before. Wherever I lived, I just accepted it and lived with the plainness of rented spaces. If I were going to stay, I would want the house to look…” She stopped.
“Like you?”
“Precisely! I loved Aunt Silky, but this house…”
“It looks like the home of an elderly woman.”
“Yes.” She smiled at him. He seemed to understand exactly how she felt, like she was being crushed under some heavy weight.
Breck put his hand on her shoulder, his fingers gently caressing her. “I’ll help you with anything you want to do.”
She laughed. “Really? Well, I was hoping to put up a trapeze in the barn.”
“If it’ll make you stay, I’ll put a trapeze in the barn.”
Cami sobered suddenly. “I’ll only stay if I’m so happy here I couldn’t stand to leave, if I can honestly turn my back on the fellowship without regrets.”
“I’ll work on that.” He molten gaze set off a blaze in her heart. He pulled her forward and pressed his lips to hers.
She felt herself sway under the spell of Breck’s tender kiss. “The attic,” she breathed. “There’s more furniture in the attic.” She took a breath to clear her head and led the way up the narrow back staircase.
Opening the attic door, Cami let out a little gasp. “I haven’t been up here since I was a child. “Look, this is my doll, Rebecca.” She pointed to a doll with a painted china head, hands and feet.
“It looks like something my grandmother would have played with,” Breck said.
“Aunt Silky got it for me. She said she’d had one similar when she was a child.”
They found a wooden trunk with a bowed top. It was in good condition and the insides were intact but filled with memorabilia. Cami chose a cherry rocking chair and a round moss-green ottoman. Breck dutifully carried them down the stairs to the now pink room.
“I should have insisted that you empty out this trunk before I lugged it down here.”
“I’ll look through it when I have a little time.”
Breck moved the wrought iron bed in from the room Cami had been sleeping in and placed it so she could look out the windows to enjoy the view of the purple mountains in the distance. He put the trunk at the foot of the bed and set the television inside the armoire.
“How do you like your room?”
“Much better,” she said. “Thank you for everything. I could never have done it by myself.”
“Glad I could help.”
When Breck left, Cami returned to the pink room. It was the room she had wanted when she was a little girl. It looked like part of a doll house. The heavy satin draperies were gone and the bed was dressed in a hodge-podge of linen, but Cami felt happy. She set Rebecca in the middle of her bed and straightened her dress. The doll regarded her with a smug little smile on her painted face.
#
Breck hadn’t meant to kiss her, but when she’d told him she would only stay if she was so happy she couldn’t stand to leave, he’d been unable to resist. He knew that giving up the fellowship would be the big hurdle. She’d said, ‘without regrets’. He’d hate it if he won her heart and she always resented giving up her dreams.
And he’d held off kissing her goodbye when he left, although he’d wanted to. She looked so happy in her pink room, like a little girl playing house.
He understood what his new role was to be. He would help her redecorate the big old Victorian house to suite the tastes of a woman not yet thirty. He didn’t care if she did the whole house over in pink or, for that matter if she painted the Ryan Ranch house pink. Whatever it took to satisfy her nesting instinct, as long as he was curled up in her pink nest with her. Surely she wouldn’t go to the trouble to paint and paper her aunt’s house and then go back to Houston? Surely she wouldn’t leave him?
#
Cami always felt like she was driving a barge when she got behind the wheel of the Lincoln. It handled easily but its width and the area it took to turn a corner was a far cry from the used Jetta she’d purchased to run around Houston. Of course, the small corner of Houston she inhabited was restricted to the Medical Center, her nearby apartment and the area known as the University area where Clay had a small bungalow.
She steered the candy apple red vehicle into the town of Langston, passing the city limits sign. The population was listed as just over eleven thousand. Where were they, she wondered? Perhaps the census takers had counted the cattle and coyotes.
She pulled into La Hacienda and checked on Milita who gave her a good report on her father. She was introduced to Milita’s uncle Enrique who had taken over the major cooking tasks. Cami placed a take-out order for beef and cheese enchiladas with Spanish rice. She thought she’d treat the men tonight.
She set her bag of food on the floorboard and made a slow circle of the main street. She wished she’d had a chance to look around Amarillo.
There was a small boutique with the name Mamie’s Antiques and Gifts painted in ornate letters. The last thing she needed was any more antiques, but she was restless and wasn’
t ready to go home.
She parked the Lincoln and thought about the word, home. She wasn’t sure what that meant to her, but she supposed it was Aunt Silky’s, no…her house on the ranch. That had been her home since her parents died. She walked into the cluttered boutique and smiled when a pony-tailed pregnant woman called out to her.
“Hey, there. Come on in and make yourself at home. Is there something special you’re looking for?”
Cami thought this woman was about her own age. “I’m just looking around.”
“This is a good place to look around,” the woman said cheerily. “I’m Sara Beth Jessup and this is my store. There are some things on consignment on the back wall. Everything’s marked but I’m willing to negotiate.” She looked Cami over from top to toes. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
“I’m just…visiting,” she said. “I’m Camryn Carmichael. Call me Cami. Oh, my!” She gasped and stared at a delicate quilt hanging on the back wall. It was done in shades of pink and white with the exact color of her new wall color included in the pattern. Cami reached out to touch it and admire the fine stitching. The pattern was a series of interlocking circles all around.
“Isn’t it beautiful?” Sara Beth asked. “Old Mrs. Carter made it. She takes the blue ribbons every year for her quilts and fancy hand work.”
Cami smiled, recalling what she’d been told about the county fair by Aunt Silky’s three lady friends. “It’s lovely.” She turned it over and found a tiny print of roses on a pale pink background on the other side.
“It’s called Double Wedding Ring.” Sara Beth ran her finger over the interlocking circles.
Cami knew she couldn’t leave the store without it. She could always take it with her back to Houston. She imagined it on her bed in her apartment. No, it would look wonderful in her newly painted room at the ranch. Maybe, when she and Clay were married, she’d put it on the bed they would share. That thought made her frown. She knew Clay would balk at sleeping in a pink room.
She took cash out of the envelope and paid for the quilt. “When are you due?” she asked.
“Two weeks. I can’t wait to see this little one. My feet are so swollen I can’t stay on them very long.”
