“This one?” he asked, pulling out a grey University of Missouri t-shirt.
“Charlie’s, at a football game - guy behind me dumped a beer down my back.”
“Nice,” he laughed. “This one?” He held up a navy t-shirt with a Cardinal in the center.
“That one’s Trey’s. The guy beside me tried to snag a foul ball and got too excited. Instant bloody nose.”
“Ouch. What about this one?” He showed me a large pink t-shirt with a radio station logo in the center.
“That one’s fun. I was at a county fair with Trina. We decided to ride one of those death trap carnival rides, and somehow my shirt got tangled up. It looked like a ‘lose the shirt or lose the arm’ situation, so my shirt took one for the team. Luckily there was a radio station booth nearby, and they had that huge t-shirt that they graciously gave me, but that was an embarrassing couple of minutes.”
“Only you, Camdyn,” he laughed, pulling out a pair of boxers. “Do I want to know?”
“Oh, good grief! Those are Charlie’s. I took an orange soda to the lap one night, and we had no extra clothes, so he offered me the only thing he could spare. By the way, no, I am not proud of that moment. I had to go into a gas station wearing those boxers. Can we stop now?”
“Yes, I’m sorry,” he stated, packing the box back up. “You know what’s funny? You have books neatly stacked in a row all the way across the wall, and they are in alphabetical order.”
“What’s funny about that? Just because I don’t have a library like you doesn’t mean I don’t like things to be orderly.”
“Point taken,” he said, grabbing a stack of books. “You are so jealous of my den, by the way.”
“Yes, I am completely jealous of your den,” I admitted. “I would buy your house in a heartbeat.”
“Like I said before, it’s not for sale.” He arranged the books into a box, grabbing another pile and stacking them in the middle of the room. I went into the bathroom to clean out the cabinets, and then moved to the kitchen to retrieve the few dishes I owned. I was sitting on the floor wrapping up a couple of glasses in paper towels when Cole came in carrying a shoebox. I knew what it was as soon as I saw it, and I stood and met him, taking it from his hands.
“Sorry, I figured you would want to take extra care of this,” he said as I held it against my chest. “Is that your grandma?” I lifted the lid and looked at the picture on top, and I nodded.
“Yeah, that’s Grandma, at my college graduation.”
“And is that Trina and Charlie?” I looked at the picture of the four of us smiling with Trina and me holding our diplomas, and I nodded.
“Yep, my family,” I told him, handing him the picture. He looked at it for a moment before he handed it back to me.
“I can definitely tell that you and Charlie are related. Who is that?” He pointed into the box at an old picture, and I pulled it out and held it in front of him.
“That’s my dad.”
“Do you remember him at all?”
“I would like to say yes,” I stated sadly. “Sometimes I think I remember things, but I know they are stories my grandma told me, rather than actual memories.”
“You don’t really look like him,” he observed. I tried to smile as I stared down at my dad, and then I rifled through the box until I found another old picture.
“No, I got that from her.” I handed Cole the picture of my parents with me and Charlie, and he opened his eyes wide.
“Yeah, you definitely look like her. That must drive you crazy.”
“Not really,” I shook my head. “I don’t remember her either, thankfully. One visit when I was six, I vaguely remember her giving me a gift, but other than that, nothing. Well, except the trip to Italy…”
“That’s all you have of your grandma? This one little box?” I dropped the pictures back inside the box and dropped the lid on top, shrugging my shoulders.
“I guess so,” I told him. “That and what’s in here.” I pointed to my heart, and he reached out and pulled me against him, wrapping his arms around me. I stood there and let him hold me for a moment until we heard a knock on the door. I smiled as he let me go and walked back into the bedroom. I made my way to the door, pulling it back a couple of inches.
“Peter?”
Ugh, Peter, why now?
“I didn’t see your car, but I guess you are here,” he said. I took a deep breath and swung the door open so he could see the boxes behind me.
“Just getting my things and moving out,” I told him, leaning on the door frame. He nodded and glanced around, looking nervous.
“I really don’t want to bother you, I just felt like I needed to apologize to you in person. I care about you, and I certainly didn’t mean to make you feel like you had to disappear.”
“I know that, and it’s okay.”
“Do you know that?” He stared into my eyes, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. What was it about me that he was so drawn to? He couldn’t love me; he didn’t even know me.
“Where did you go, anyway?” he wanted to know.
“I went to Tennessee, to try to finish my research, look for my fifth great-grandmother.”
“I thought your research was done.”
“Mostly, it is. Peter, is there something else I can help you with?” Cole walked in with a box right about then, sliding past me as Peter moved away from the door. He nodded at Peter as he made his way outside and down the steps toward his truck.
“Who was that?”
“That’s Cole. I met him in Tennessee.”
“When you were looking for your great-grandmother,” he suggested sarcastically. “What is he then, your cousin?”
“My cousin’s cousin, actually,” I told him pointedly, folding my arms across my chest. “Look, Peter, I know you feel bad about what happened, and I’m partly to blame, because I didn’t handle it well. I embarrassed you, and I’m sure your pride is hurt, but what I told you before is still the truth. There never was a relationship here. You are a very nice guy, and I wish you all the happiness in the world, but it can’t be with me.”
“I know, and I really just wanted to apologize to you, but when Carlos called and said you and your boyfriend were moving your things out, it just hit me the wrong way. Why didn’t you tell me you had a boyfriend a long time ago?”
“Because I didn’t have a boyfriend,” I stated. “Were you having Carlos spy on me or something? How do you even know Carlos?”
“No, I wasn’t having anyone spy on you. I just came over here a few times looking for you, and finally asked him to call me if you came home. I gave him twenty bucks.”
I stepped out of the way as I saw Cole come into the doorway, and I looked up at him pleading for help. He winked at me and turned around to face Peter.
“You must be Peter, right?” Cole asked, holding out his hand, which Peter hesitantly shook. “Cole Parker. It is really awesome of you to come over to help Camdyn move, but I think we’ve just about got it all wrapped up. There are a couple more boxes if you want to grab one with me.”
“Oh, no, I think I should probably get going,” Peter said, backing up a little. “Camdyn, I really do wish you the best.”
“Same here,” I told him with a nod, and then he turned and made his way down the steps. I closed the door and walked back toward the bedroom with Cole, where the only things left were two boxes and my guitar case. I carried the guitar out to the truck, while Cole stacked both boxes and hefted them down the steps.
“How did you move this stuff by yourself?” Cole wanted to know as he shoved the last boxes into his trailer.
“Well, last time I moved from Alexandria to Richmond, and that wasn’t so far. I just made a few trips with stuff in the back of my car.”
“And your bed?”
“I sold my bed in Alexandria and bought a new one here.”
“You had no one who could help you?”
“Who would have helped me?” I laughed sadly. “I’m
alone.”
“Not anymore,” he stated, kissing me on the forehead before he closed the door to the trailer. We walked back into the apartment hand in hand, and I did a quick sweep to make sure I had left nothing behind. Content that everything was gone, I set my key on the counter while Cole came up and let out a sigh, standing across from me with his arms crossed.
“Can you believe I was jealous of Peter?” he asked.
“Honestly, no.”
“In my defense, that was when I thought I couldn’t have you,” he stated with an impeccable smile.
“What do you think now?” I asked as I grabbed my purse and the shoebox.
“I have allowed myself to entertain a little hope.”
“You haven’t changed your mind, now that you have seen the inner workings of my kingdom?”
“Please, what have I learned today, besides the fact that you are accident prone and you move around a lot? I knew those things already.”
“Touché.”
“So, breakfast?” I nodded and headed toward the door, and he wrapped his arm around me. “You’re off on a new adventure.”
Yeah, a brand new adventure. And as long as you are next to me, I could probably conquer the world.
-§-
At some point during our drive out of Virginia, I started thinking about what I was going to do. Eventually Cole was going to ask me where to take my things, and I had no idea what to tell him. I stared out the window as I contemplated my options, and in time he reached over and touched me on the arm.
“You seem deep in thought,” he said.
“Yeah, just trying to decide what to do, that’s all.”
“What to do?”
“With all my stuff…”
“Oh, I see. What have you come up with so far?”
“I don’t know,” I told him with a sigh. “Without knowing where the road is going to take me, I feel like I don’t have a lot of options. Maybe I should just head back to St. Louis for a while.”
“Is that what you want?” he asked quietly.
“I have no idea.”
“Well, you don’t have to make any hasty decisions. You can leave your things at my place until you decide.”
“Thank you for that, and for everything else you’ve done for me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”
He pulled up at a scenic overlook and looked over at me with a smile.
“Come on, we can see the scenery, and I could use a break.” We got out of the truck and walked up to the platform to look out at the Appalachians. I pulled my hair out of its ponytail and flipped my head over, combing through it with my hands. When I raised up, I stood there quietly with my hands against the railing.
“If you really think about it, you and your ancestor have a lot in common,” Cole pointed out. “You both left Virginia with all of your things loaded up, not really sure what the future held.”
“Yeah, I guess so,” I sighed.
“Do you think she knew where she was going?”
“No, I just think she was running.”
“From what?”
“I don’t know, that’s my dilemma,” I said, turning to look at him. “If I knew her reason to run, I could have been finished with that book by now.”
“Well, I guess you have that in common with her too,” he told me. “You were running when you wound up in Tennessee, weren’t you?”
“That’s different,” I stated, shaking my head and staring out at the landscape.
“Because you know your reason to run? I’m not sure you really do.”
“Please do not get all philosophical on me!” I begged him. “I’m having a hard enough time thinking as it is.”
“Okay, sorry,” he said as my phone started buzzing. I looked down and saw that it was Trina again, and Cole reached over and took it from my hand. I tried to get it back from him, but he just held me back with one arm and hit the speaker button with the other.
“Hello?” I heard her. “Camdyn, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here,” I said as I tried in vain to wrestle the phone from him.
“You never called me back yesterday!”
“I’m sorry about that. It was really late by the time we got to Richmond.”
“Well, you’re forgiven, but you have to tell me what is going on with Cole. The last time we talked, you told me he despised you.”
“Despised, did I say that?” I asked her, pleading with my eyes for Cole to return the phone, but he just stood there smiling.
“Yes, I’m sure, you were quite unhappy about it.”
“Well, we’re getting along okay now,” I offered.
“Getting along okay?” Trina asked sarcastically. “You are on a road trip with a guy who, if I am not mistaken, you ranked a thirteen on a scale of one to ten, and all you can tell me is that you are getting along okay?”
“Oh my gosh, Trina, Cole put you on speaker again. Please stop talking!”
“Hi, Trina,” Cole stated. There was silence for a minute before she spoke.
“Hello again,” she said. “Any chance you can pretend you didn’t hear any of that?”
“No, afraid not.” He smiled down at me but still wouldn’t hand me the phone. “Hey, Trina, can you help us out with something?”
“Maybe. What is it?”
“Well, Camdyn’s trying to figure out where to go next. I figured you might be able to give her some helpful pointers.”
“That’s easy,” she began. “St. Louis is beautiful this time of year, Cammie. Of course, I could use your help when little peanut gets here, and that won’t be too much longer now. He’s going to need his Aunt Cammie.”
“What about Tennessee, though?” Cole asked. “You don’t think she should give it a chance? I know little peanut will be here soon and everything, but he won’t even realize who she is for a while yet.”
“No, she definitely needs the city. I cannot even imagine Camdyn in the middle of nowhere, no offense.”
“None taken, but I disagree with you on that point. Camdyn and Tennessee seem like a pretty good fit.” I shook my head at him as I listened to them argue over where I should live, almost amused.
“Okay, Camdyn, you know that we have all kinds of resources for you to research your books. Plus, you love going to the Cards games. You can’t get that in Tennessee.”
“She has a point,” I teased Cole.
“Well, if you stay in Tennessee, you can use my den any time you want,” Cole stated.
“Oh, Trina, you should see his den!” I exclaimed. “It’s more of a workout rock and roll library. He’s got gym equipment and guitars and all these bookcases.”
“Wait a second,” Trina whined. “That is almost cheating, throwing in Camdyn’s version of utopia.”
“You see there, Camdyn?” Cole said, pointing at the phone. “Even Trina agrees that Tennessee is perfect for you.”
“Okay, Cole,” Trina interjected. “Camdyn did grow up here. What do you have against St. Louis, exactly?”
“I don’t have anything against St. Louis. I’m just thinking about how exhausting it’s going to be to drive up there every weekend, and how much I’m going to miss her during the rest of the week.”
“Wow,” Trina sighed. “Camdyn, if you are not kissing that man right now, talk about a missed opportunity.”
“I can’t kiss anybody because I’m talking to you,” I laughed.
“Point taken. Talk to you later sis.” With that she was gone, and Cole handed the phone back to me.
“Thirteen, huh?” he asked with a smile. “I’m starting to think you might like me a little.”
“Hmm, maybe a little,” I told him as I stood on tiptoe to kiss him softly.
“We should take our picture,” he suggested, grabbing my phone again.
“No way. I don’t have any makeup on, and my hair is all over the place.”
“What are you talking about? You’re gorgeous.”
Wow, Cole, I so love you.
“Okay,” I relented as he put his arm around me, holding the phone in front of us and putting his face right next to mine. When he was finished, he pulled the phone back and held his hand over it to block the sun, inspecting the picture.
“I would say that’s a keeper,” he stated, handing me the phone. I looked down at the two of us, noticing that the phone had perfectly captured Cole’s incredible smile.
“You have the most beautiful smile I have ever seen,” I sighed.
“In the picture?”
“No, all the time.” He laughed and put his arm around me.
“We better get going,” he said as we walked toward the truck. I told Cole I was going to send the picture to Trina, and I hit the send button right before he opened the door. It was only a few seconds later when my phone buzzed again.
“Well, what did she say?” he asked.
“She said, ‘If I was you, I would stay in Tennessee.’”
He laughed and started the truck, and we headed down the road again.
-§-
It was really late when we pulled back into Rosalie’s driveway. I had drifted off to sleep somewhere just outside Nashville, and Cole hadn’t bothered me until I heard the truck engine shut off and sat up, squinting my eyes. In the dim light of the truck, I could see him staring over at me.
“I am so tired,” he said, “but I still hate to drop you off. Part of me always wonders if you’ll be here when I come back.”
“Where else would I be?” I asked.
“I guess you wouldn’t go far, with all your stuff at my house, would you?” He opened his door and walked around the truck, helping me down and then turning to walk toward Rosalie’s back door. When we reached the porch, he turned to look at me and gently took my hand. The feel of his touch and his intense gaze made my whole body feel warm, and I was grateful that it was dark outside so he couldn’t see the heat rising in my cheeks.
“All those things I said about you staying in Tennessee, Camdyn, I hope you know that I really do hope you don’t leave.” He rubbed his thumb along the back of my hand, and I suddenly felt very awake.
“I know,” I whispered.
“Do you?” he asked. “I’m not going to pressure you into a decision because I’m being selfish, but this is my home, and it’s hard to imagine not being here.”
A Reason to Run (The Camdyn Series Book 1) Page 27
