by Amanda Tru
“That’s not true,” Jeff said, his voice thready. But the glare directed toward his sister was laced with steel.
“I’m happy to meet you, Jeff,” Bailey said, extending her hand. “You, too, Kari.”
“I’m sorry you caught me off-guard,” Jeff said, beginning to recover. “I’m not used to having women like you ask me questions. Obviously, I don’t handle shock well.”
Bailey grinned, unashamedly flashing her dimples in his direction. “You shouldn’t worry, Jeff. I think you’re thoroughly charming. Any woman would enjoy talking to you, no matter how beautiful she may be.”
Kari shook her head. “I’ve tried to tell him that. Jeff is a successful accountant with a huge heart. He’s the sweet, dependable guy every girl is looking for. No matter what I say, he can’t seem to manage to remember his own name when talking to a pretty woman.”
With sudden inspiration, Bailey reached into her purse and pulled out a business card. She then extended it to Jeff and explained, “I’m actually setting up a new matchmaking site with two other business partners. The site will be live January first of next year. If you sign up within the first seventy-two hours of the launch, then you’ll get a free match. I’d love for you to give it a try. We just may find you someone who will appreciate your unique qualities.”
Jeff accepted the card but held it as if something dangerous might jump out and bite him.
“I’d love to find you a match as well, Kari!” Bailey said brightly, extending another card to Jeff’s sister.
“Oh, I already have a boyfriend,” Kari assured. However, she still accepted the card despite the disclaimer.
“We’re an entirely different kind of site,” Bailey explained. “We focus on matchmaking, not simply dating, and we’re putting great effort into making the site safe and built on solid Christian values.”
“Oh, so is it a Christian website?” Kari asked.
As if the website were completely ready and she’d done this for years and not just a few weeks, Bailey confidently explained, “You don’t need to be a certain religion to join, but we are not interested in promoting a list of one date wonders. We want people to find a true love that ends in a successful marriage.”
“Jeff, you should totally do this!” Kari said excitedly. “How else are you going to get married or even get a date?”
“I’ll think about it,” Jeff said noncommittally.
Figuring Kari would very likely take over her job of promoting the site to her brother, Bailey said a quick goodbye. “It was nice to meet you two. I need to see if I can find my ride with the correct name now.”
With a wave and cry of, “Good luck!” Bailey went one direction, and the brother and sister headed for the escalator down to the airport exit.
They hadn’t made it ten steps before Jeff turned and hurried back to Bailey. As out of breath as if he’d just run several miles, Jeff panted, “I don’t want this to sound creepy, but do you need a ride somewhere? If that Camden guy isn’t here to pick you up, I wouldn’t want you to be stranded. But if you want to just wait, that’s okay, too.”
He’s adorable! Bailey thought, touched that even though Jeff obviously felt awkward about it, he’d still stopped to make sure she was okay.
“Thank you for the offer,” Bailey replied warmly. “Mr. Hutchins is probably just running late. I don’t even know where I’d have you take me, so I think I’ll just wait around here a little bit longer.”
Jeff nodded and flashed her a hesitant smile before turning back to join his sister.
Once again, Bailey stood in the center of the large greeting area and turned a full circle. Only this time, there weren’t really any candidates left. Impatiently, she tapped the toe of her designer heels in rhythm to the ticking clock on the wall. Clearly, her ride was not here to pick her up, and the possibility of him magically appearing seemed less and less likely.
Toe still tapping in sharp, little echoes against the tile, she stood in the empty corridor with one crucial question unanswered.
Where was Camden Hutchins?
His phone rang, and Camden immediately pushed the button to send it to voicemail yet again. He wished his mom would stop calling him. Constant phone calls made focusing on the task in front of him extremely challenging. Swimming in computer code took a lot of concentration, with important matters riding on his success. He couldn’t make a mistake. Not that his mother understood that. For all she realized, he’d just moved back to his hometown and now worked at home, which apparently meant he was at her beck and call all hours of the day.
There it is, Camden thought, identifying the small piece of code he’d been looking for. That’s the problem. That’s why it isn’t working right.
He fixed the problem quickly, sent out a few emails and just started tackling another issue when his phone rang again.
Camden sighed. She obviously wasn’t going to stop.
He picked up the phone and answered, “Hi, Mom.”
“Camden, do you know how many times I’ve tried to call you?” Lydia Hutchins asked, her tone clearly upset.
“Three or four?” Camden answered. “Sorry I couldn’t talk, Mom. I’ve been working on something important.”
“Ten, Camden! I’ve called you ten times!”
Camden winced. “I’m sorry, Mom,” he said sincerely.
“Do you know what time it is?”
Camden sighed, wishing they could pass the twenty questions phase and get to the point of why she’d called in the first place. He knew that the rest of the world faded into the background when he focused on work. He also knew he lost track of time, obligations, and everything else. He didn’t need his mom submitting evidence when he already knew he was guilty.
“No, Mom,” he answered honestly. “I can’t say that I have any idea what time it is.”
“It’s seven. On December twenty-sixth. Does that mean anything at all to you?”
Seven. December twenty-sixth, Camden mused. That doesn’t really sound familiar. Now five-thirty on December twenty-sixth, on the other hand. That sounds…
Oh, no!
Camden jumped up, knocking his chair over in his haste. “The airport! I’m supposed to pick her up at the airport!”
“‘Her’ is Bailey Whitmore. And you were supposed to pick her up. At five-thirty.”
“I’m leaving right now,” Camden said, knocking things off his desk in an effort to find his wallet and keys. “Do you have her phone number? I can call and tell her I’ll be there—”
“In an hour?” His mom’s voice chided as if he were eight. “Camden, Brighton Falls is an hour away.”
“I’ll get there as fast as I can.” Putting his mom on speaker, Camden grabbed a sweatshirt off the back of his couch and tugged on a pair of running shoes, not even bothering with socks.
“It’s too late.”
“What do you mean it’s too late?” Camden fumed, wishing his mom would stop tap dancing around what she actually wanted to say.
Camden threw open the door of his apartment, ready to sprint down the stairs.
“Israel is picking Bailey Whitmore up at the airport right now. He’ll bring her to our house.”
The adrenaline abandoned Camden in a rush, and he stopped abruptly. Leaning his head back against the hallway wall for support, he closed his eyes in dismay. Not Israel. Anyone but his brother, Israel. Needing his older brother to clean up his mistakes was not going to come cheap, at least emotionally speaking.
Camden glanced at the time on his watch again, wishing for different numbers on the display. Unfortunately, he was already an hour and a half late from when he was supposed to pick up his new business partner. He no longer had a choice in the matter.
“Bailey called your cousin, Elise,” Lydia explained brusquely. “When you didn’t answer Elise’s phone call, she called me and explained that Bailey was waiting for you at the Brighton Falls airport. I knew Israel was working late tonight in Brighton Falls, so I asked him to pick her up and
bring her back to Crossroads. Then I called Bailey directly, apologized for you, and told her to expect Israel to pick her up shortly.”
“I’m really sorry to put you in that position, Mom,” Camden said with genuine remorse. “I was busy working on something important and lost track of time. But I’m sure you’re quite familiar with that excuse by now. I’ll come over and make my own apologies to Bailey.”
Feeling like a total failure, Camden straightened from the wall and returned to his apartment. He shut the door behind him, closing the door on the possibility of actually retrieving Bailey and fixing his mistake.
“Fortunately, Elise is so sweet that she won’t think ill of you,” Lydia said, almost comfortingly. “But that’s not exactly the first impression you want to make with a new business partner you’ve never met.”
And the comfort just went out the window.
I never seem to outgrow the lectures, do I? Camden thought dejectedly.
“I’m not sure what more I can say, Mom,” he admitted. “I’m sorry. You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know. I’ll try to make it up to Bailey somehow.”
Lydia’s tone softened, “I just don’t want you to screw this up, Camden. Elise is depending on you, and this other woman is, too. You can’t be off in your own little world anymore.”
Why did I even think I could do this? She’s right. I really am going to screw this up!
Unfortunately, though none of it had been his choice, Camden knew exactly how he’d landed here, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Finally convincing his mom to at least pause the lecture until he arrived at her house, Camden signed off with her and tossed his phone to the couch. Intending to turn off his computer, he reached down and righted his chair. Reaching over it, he then entered his password with the keyboard and caught another glimpse of the time when the screen woke up.
If Israel was picking Bailey up now, it would be at least fifty minutes before they arrived at Camden’s parents’ house. It was about a ten-minute drive to their house from Camden’s current apartment. Realistically, that meant that he had at least thirty minutes before he needed to leave and meet them there.
The more he thought about it, the more he realized that he really didn’t want to arrive too early and give his mom further opportunity to lecture with no one else around.
Camden promptly slid back into the chair and focused once again on the computer.
Thirty minutes, Camden promised himself. I’ll leave in thirty minutes.
“Bailey, can I get you another piece of apple pie?” Lydia asked eagerly.
“Goodness, no!” Bailey replied. “I am stuffed. I feel like I just had Christmas dinner all over again!”
What she didn’t say was that this was actually the only Christmas dinner she’d had. While yesterday hadn’t included a traditional meal, Lydia’s leftovers this evening had more than made up for it.
Bailey watched wistfully as Lydia bustled around the kitchen cleaning up. How was it that Lydia Hutchins could be so warm and inviting, but graceful and sophisticated at the same time? She was a dainty woman, only about the same height as Bailey. Her hair, though likely helped by the aid of a bottle, shone glossy brunette in a cute, chin-length style. She hurried around the kitchen serving Bailey, her son Israel, and granddaughter, Chloe, whatever their hearts desired, but her movements weren’t frenzied. Instead, there was an enviable grace about her that lent beauty to even the motions of cleaning off the counter with a rag.
What would it be like to call a woman like Lydia “mom” and belong to a family like this? The warm, homey atmosphere was one that Bailey had never experienced. Growing up being shuffled around between her divorced parents, Bailey had never felt like she belonged.
Israel Hutchins had picked her up at the airport and brought her straight to his parents’ house where Lydia, having never met Bailey before, had welcomed her as if part of the family.
Strangely, Bailey felt almost as if she did belong.
Even the sound of little, three-year-old Chloe whining and pulling at her dad’s collar with a ridiculous demand to go swimming didn’t at all quell the envy of home.
“I was hoping to stay until Camden arrived,” Israel said, shooting an irritated glance at the large clock on the wall. “Chloe is getting tired, though, so I’ll need to get her in bed soon.”
“I not tired!” Chloe howled. “I hot! I want swimming!”
While Israel glared at the clock and tried to explain that it was December and swimming outside wasn’t an option, Lydia plopped another spoonful of ice cream onto her granddaughter’s half-eaten piece of pie.
Chloe immediately stopped complaining, turning her attention back to her dessert. The little blonde girl was adorable, but there was an air of sadness about her that Bailey didn’t quite understand. The fact that Israel’s wife had not been mentioned and he’d talked about needing to get Chloe to bed made Bailey suspect that he was a single parent. Their small talk in the car had consisted of the weather, his work, and Chloe. Bailey’s observations now only confirmed her suspicions that, for whatever reason, Chloe’s mom was not in the picture. Furthermore, if Bailey could venture a guess, the fine lines on the father’s face made her suspect he was more than a little bit over his head with such a task.
Though clueless as to what had caused the change in his daughter’s attitude, Israel’s forehead immediately relaxed with the reprieve from her demands, and he consented to another sliver of pie for himself.
The sound of the front door opening caused everyone to turn expectantly to see a tall man appear in the kitchen doorway.
“Uncle Cam!” Chloe squealed, leaving her ice cream and hopping off her chair to greet the newcomer with a hug.
Bailey startled, blinking as if she expected the man in front of her to disappear and be replaced by someone else. This man wasn’t short, bespectacled, or awkward. In fact, in almost every way, he was the complete opposite of what Bailey expected.
“You’re Camden?” Bailey sputtered. “Camden Hutchins?”
Holding the little girl in his arms, an amused grin lifted the corners of the man’s mouth as he returned Bailey’s gaze.
Bailey unashamedly examined him from the top of his sandy, brown, disheveled hair, past the gray-blue eyes and the strong jaw that hadn’t seen a razor in several days, over the solid chest and strong muscled arms extending out of a short-sleeved athletic shirt, and finally ending past the khaki cargo shorts at the white socks and running shoes on his feet.
“Sure am,” Camden replied smoothly.
Bailey swallowed. “Well, that’s a relief,” she covered. “Since you’re dressed for June weather, of course I assumed that I’d somehow landed in the twilight zone and not December twenty-sixth in a town that probably didn’t get above freezing today. I’m glad to know that you’re actually Camden Hutchins and not an alien or anything.”
“I don’t know that I’d go that far,” Israel inserted, his voice low. “Camden is definitely a different species. He dresses like that year-round. We aren’t exactly sure where he came from.”
Camden shot Israel a withering glance, apparently not appreciating the humor. Setting Chloe down carefully, he pointedly turned his back to his brother and addressed Bailey. “I’m really sorry I wasn’t there to pick you up at the airport. I have no excuse, I just forgot, and I apologize. Hopefully, I can make it up to you someday.”
“You’ll have to get used to Camden, Bailey,” Israel said, unperturbed by Camden’s attitude. “‘Dependable’ is not his middle name.”
Israel’s remark earned him another icy, but silent, glare from Camden.
“You’re later than I expected,” Lydia chided quietly, reaching up to give her son a quick hug. “After I talked to you on the phone, I thought you’d be right over. I didn’t expect you to arrive so much later than Israel and Bailey.”
Camden smiled warmly at his mom and returned her hug. “I missed picking up Bailey on accident. I didn’t
come earlier on purpose. I was honestly trying to avoid a sequel on the lecture I had over the phone.”
Lydia playfully swatted his arm. “Typical naughty boy.”
“Thanks for waiting so I could see Chloe,” Camden said, turning to his brother. “I haven’t seen you much since I’ve been back, and yesterday was so busy, I didn’t get to talk to you much or play nearly enough with my best girl.” To emphasize his words, Camden tossed Chloe in the air a couple of inches and then caught her, much to her squealing delight.
Israel’s eyes softened. “I’m sorry to hear about your job, Camden. I know Mom and Dad are happy to have you back in Crossroads, but that’s a rough way to do it. Not all companies are laying off right now. Mine isn’t.”
Bailey looked at Israel with curiosity, trying to read him. Why did it seem that everything he said to Camden had a hidden meaning and teeth attached?
“Israel is right,” Lydia said, squeezing Camden’s arm in an affectionate gesture. “With your skills, I’m sure you won’t have a problem getting a new job. Your new job will be much better than the old one. You just need to wait for exactly the right one.”
“I don’t think you need to worry about Camden,” Israel assured. “He’s picky. I’m very familiar with the fact that He won’t take just any job.” A calculating light dawned in Israel’s gaze. “Unless your services were no longer needed for a reason other than company downsizing. If that’s the case, you might be considerably less desirable for any job.”
“Israel, don’t be rude,” Lydia chided, looking up from where she swept the hardwood kitchen floor with a broom. “Of course, it was company downsizing. Why else would they let someone with Camden’s skills go?”
“Why exactly are you unemployed Camden?” Israel persisted. “I haven’t yet heard the official story. I’m sure it’s a good one. Were you laid off or fired?”
“I’m not unemployed,” Camden clarified, obviously impatient with being the topic of his mom and brother’s conversation.
Camden walked over and gently took the broom and dustpan from his mom, silently insisting on doing the work himself. “I’m building a website for the company I own with two others.” With the broomstick in hand, Camden gestured to Bailey. “And here’s one of them. Meet my business partner, Bailey Whitmore.”
