The Summer I Loved You

by J. L. Lora

  His lips touched hers, tender and warm, pressing her against his chest. It wasn’t a kiss of desire or a hello kiss. It was a kiss of love. One that let her nerves settle in her belly so she could kiss him back. She’d missed him so much. Her hands bunched on his T-shirt and she pulled him to her, trying to fuse herself into his chest.

  He pulled back, his eyes roaming over her face. The frown was there.

  She leaned her head into his chest. “I’m so glad you’re here.” She usually had to weather the storms alone. It felt good to have him there to lean on.

  “It’s going to be okay. Walter is just trying to force my hand. Where’s Bron?”

  She pulled back and turned the monitor around so he could see. Their little girl was in front of the easel but she wasn’t painting. Her head was tilted to the side and she moved from one side, closer, then back and to the other side.

  He smiled. “I do that. She’s trying to see if she caught the light from all angles.”

  Adrianna grabbed his hand, interlacing her fingers through his. “Come on, it’s a good moment for her to see you. She has some news for you.”

  She pulled him toward the door but he didn’t move.

  “Wait, are you okay?”

  She turned to look at him again and the answer was fast. “Yes.” Because you’re here.

  He pushed off the desk and let her guide him upstairs. At the door she motioned for him to go in first. He opened the door and she followed behind. Bron was still in front of the easel, examining the paint.

  “Mom, I think you’re going to like this one,” she said without turning.

  “I’m sure she will,” Cam answered.

  Bron whipped around, her mouth turned into a perfect little O and with rounded eyes to match. “Daddy.”

  She rushed to him and he picked her up from the floor. Adrianna didn’t know who was smiling harder.

  “I thought you weren’t coming ’til the weekend.”

  “I pushed up my trip. I’m glad I did. I missed you too much.”

  She kissed his cheek. “Mom, did you know he was coming?”

  Adrianna shook her head and chose a modified version of the truth. “Not until like two hours ago.”

  “And you didn’t tell me!”

  Adri smiled, “I wanted to see that surprised look in your face when you saw him.”

  She narrowed her eyes and then looked at her dad. “Next time you call me, and we surprise Mom. Do you want to see what I painted today?”

  He nodded. “Show me.” And winked at Adri.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Coming to Baltimore was the best decision he’d ever made. Adrianna was calmer, happy if he went by the smile on her face. When her gaze landed on him, Cam was euphoric, like when he’d struck out the last batter to win the first round of the playoffs. She was quieter than usual and mostly listening and laughing at the way Bron stole his fries.

  “These are really good,” he said, holding up a fry.

  “They’re made in house, with organic potatoes. They’re chopped and marinated in cold water with basil. Then, we season them with sea-salt and crackled pepper and fry them in duck fat at three hundred and seventy degrees for eight point five minutes,” Bronwyn said.

  He looked from her smile to Adrianna’s pride flushed face. “Wow. How do you know all that? Have you made them before?”

  Bron shook her head. “No. I’m not allowed too close to the fryers but I sit on the stool and supervise. I always help out the newbies on the staff by watching the timer and making sure they add the right stuff. They always give me extras—” She clamped her lips shut.

  Cam laughed. It was great to be home. Home? “What else do you know how to make?” he asked Bron.

  “Everything in the bistro. Right, Mom?” She didn’t wait for Adri’s answer. “She says I need to know all aspects of the business because it’s mine too. I bring out the dessert menus and I help Mom with the flower arrangements. She told me yesterday during our flight that we are doing orange and pink Ranu-somethings in the summer.”

  “Ranunculus. They look like small—”

  The knock on the door had her springing to her feet mid-sentence. “It’s probably Lo. She’s only knocking because you just got here.” She went to answer the door.

  “When is Aunt Lux coming with Frida and Diego?” Bron asked for the third time in the past hour.

  “She’ll be here next week. Okay? Now you have to give me all your attention and we can start brainstorming for your Artscape solo piece. I’m so proud of you.” He kissed her forehead. It was true, his heart was bursting at how talented and dedicated she was.

  “Hey, Cam, I have a question for you,” Lauren yelled from the door.

  Where was Adri? Why was Lauren the one calling him? He stood up from the couch but kept his face neutral.

  “Can I finish your fries?” Bron asked.

  He nodded and made his way to the door. Lauren and Adri wore matching strained looks.

  He sighed. “What the fuck did Walter do this time?”

  “He showed up,” Adri said.

  “I told him to leave but he refuses.” Lauren sighed. “He wants to talk to you and won’t leave until you see him.”

  “Fine. Let’s get this over with.”

  Adrianna’s hand clamped over his wrist. Cam could barely take the weight she carried but she squared her shoulders back. “Tell him to leave us the hell alone.”

  They still had a conversation pending and it would have to be tonight. He’d dispatch Walter and come upstairs so she could tell him what the hell his father had on her. He kissed her and followed behind Lauren down the stairs.

  On the last step, she turned to him. “She has nothing to be ashamed of and your father is a grade-A asshole for what he’s done to her.”

  He couldn’t have agreed more. “It stops today.”

  She shot him a wry smile over her shoulder and pointed him to the table at the corner of the room. Walter sat there, facing away from the window. He glanced at his watch several times, the vessel glinting against the light of the table candle.

  “I’ll bring you a beer, unless you need something stronger?” Lauren asked.

  “Beer’s fine, thanks.” He made his way to the table, ignoring the rage and urges to haul Walter by the neck of his shirt and kick him onto the sidewalk.

  His father looked up, a happy-to-see you smile creeping up his cheeks. Cam dismissed the fresh wave of heat creeping up his spine. He wasn’t going to let anger get the best of him. He was going to listen to Walter, then tell him to get the fuck out.

  “Cameron.”

  “Walter.”

  His eyes narrowed. “Father,” he corrected.

  “You know the biggest lesson I learned playing in New York? Don’t boast about titles you haven’t earned.” He took the chair across from him. “Make it quick.”

  “You have to help me. You cut me off and I had to go to a loan shark. Now, I need to pay him.”

  Cam shook his head. “That’s none of my business. I gave you a stipend for years. I went to bat for the family after you gambled away even our house that one time. I won’t do it anymore. Lux and Chase are adults and you kept my daughter from me.”

  He shrugged a shoulder. “I didn’t do that. Not technically. The Hayes girl did.”

  “Arenas, and because you forced her to.”

  Walter smiled. “She told you what I know?”

  Cam said nothing.

  “Oh. She didn’t. The apple doesn’t fall far from a tree. She’s got Fausto’s genes. Though she and her mother may just be worse than him.”

  Cam scoffed. “You can’t even ask for things like a normal human being. You need me. I don’t need you. Act like it.”

  “Don’t be so sure. If I revealed what I know, you’d be the one begging me for help. Your mother told me you had the kid tested. Congratulations. You’re about to learn the sacrifices a parent makes for his ch
ild.”

  His stomach dropped. He couldn’t take much more of this.

  “Here’s your beer, Cam.” Lauren called out a few feet away. She approached the table and placed it in front of him.

  “I’ll have some water,” Walter said.

  She leaned closer and smiled. “You don’t want me anywhere near anything you have to eat or drink.”

  She walked away still smiling, her long ponytail bouncing with every step. Walter’s lip curled, making Cam chuckle.

  “That girl is another piece of trash. You and your brother should be forever grateful of what your mother and I did to protect the two of you. At least you were smart enough not to bring your tail home.” He tapped the table as if to signal he finished talking.

  Cam was still stewing over his implications. “First, Adrianna and Lauren are not trash. They never were. You need to leave and never come back. And don’t ever show your face anywhere near Bronwyn’s school. I will personally have you arrested if I see you again.”

  “No, you won’t. Because I’m your father and I always protected you. You got to do the same for me with the loan shark. You know these people hurt those who don’t pay. You got to help your daddy.”

  Cam stomach rolled this time. Daddy was a word he now loved and would work the rest of his life to always deserve. But the man in front of him would never hear it from his lips. “Leave, Walter. Go find a new cash cow. I’m done with you.”

  Walter stood up. He was calm like he’d gotten what he came for. “I’ll give you until tomorrow to get me what I need. I can’t be responsible after that. Talk to Adrianna. I’m sure she’ll tell you how important it is to be there for your father.”

  He walked away. Cam’s hand tightened on the beer. He needed answers.

  He headed upstairs, waving to Lauren. The living room was empty and the house all quiet except for the whispers coming from Bron’s bedroom.

  “Is your head hurting tonight?” his daughter asked.

  “No, I think I just need some sleep.” Adri’s voice was soft but heavy.

  Fucking Walter.

  Cam move to the bedroom door. Adrianna lay on the bed with Bron’s face pressed against her chest.

  “Your heart’s beating really fast, Mom.”

  Adrianna opened her mouth but said nothing.

  “It’s because I’m around,” he said, finding himself in the center of her worried gaze.

  “Oh, you make her heart beat fast because she’s in love with you?” Bron asked in that sing-song way children use to tease.

  Cam chuckled. “A little, right?”

  “A lot,” Adri said, staring into his eyes.

  A knot settled at his throat. He didn’t know how to ease that pain in her eyes. Her gaze shifted to their daughter and her hadn’t realized he was holding his breath.

  Bron smiled hard, her little hand pressing closer to her mom. Adri pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Hey, how about if you do bedtime with Daddy tonight? That way I can help close downstairs?”

  Bron nodded, padding the spot her mother left vacant.

  Adri gave him a smile on the way to the door, then stopped and turned to look at Bron again. “By the way, remember this afternoon when I picked you up from school and you and Ayla moved away to talk?”

  Bron nodded.

  Adrianna’s face was serious now. “I don’t know what you said to her. Do you know why that is?”

  Bron shook her head.

  “Because it was private between the two of you. I was curious about what you had to say to her but everyone’s privacy has to be respected. I respected yours, so from now on I expect you to respect mine, Daddy’s, and everyone else’s. I don’t want you eavesdropping anymore.”

  Bron nodded again, her mouth taking the downturn of someone who’s been chastised. The sadness in her eyes wrenched at Cam’s heart and he wanted to tell her it was okay and not to be sad, but the forbidding look her mother was aiming his way had the words drying in his throat. She could read right through him.

  “Good night, princesa,” she said and headed out the door.

  Cam cleared his throat and made his way to the bed. He lay next to Bron, who was still looking down. “You want to talk about it?”

  “Mom’s really mad at me.”

  His chest squeezed. Damn his fucking heart.

  Still, he understood. Adrianna was making sure they didn’t have eager little ears during tonight’s conversation. “She’s not mad. She’s just serious.”

  “What’s the difference?”

  “When you’re mad, your body gets hot and you’re angry and upset.”

  And you want to punch your asshole father for all he’s done.

  “When you’re serious, you just want the other person to know that what you’re saying it’s important and they should listen.”

  “Oh, okay,” she said.

  “So, no more eavesdropping, right?”

  She smiled, her eyes twinkling, and nodded.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  It had taken all his willpower to stay awake. The only thing that kept Cam from falling asleep beside Bron was the need to put whatever secret Adrianna was keeping in the rear view. As soon as Bron sighed her first soft snore, he jumped out of the bed, tucked her in and headed for Adri’s office.

  He considered putting his head down on the desk until she got back but soft steps tapped up the stairs and he stood up. Their gazes met when she reached the top step. She had a thick folder in her hand and a wary look in her eyes. The sigh that rushed out of her lips tore right through him.

  “I put the monitor in Bron’s bedroom. She promised she wouldn’t eavesdrop, but I swear she looked like Chase when she said it.” He was only half joking and trying to coax a smile out of her. It didn’t work. “Chase was a learning experience. I hope Bron doesn’t get half as good at fibbing as he used to be.”

  Her lips inched up but didn’t bend enough to pass for a smile. “What did Walter want with you?”

  He shrugged. “What he always wants, money.”

  “What did you say?”

  “I pretty much told him to go to hell. He’s not getting a dime from me.”

  She winced. “It’s not your responsibility to give it to him.”

  “Exactly,” he agreed.

  She walked around the desk, stopping to glance at the monitor, and then placed the thick folder on top of the desk. “It’s mine. That’s why I want you to give him this.” She pushed the envelope toward him.

  His heart thumped, and he almost laughed at his own dramatic reaction. He gave it a brief glance. “What is that?”

  “All the bistro’s papers, the deed to the building, and what’s left on my bank account,” she said.

  God, he hated that fucking blank look on her face.

  “I’m not giving this to him. That’s yours. You worked hard, sweated, and went without for it. Walter has never had to work for a damned thing in his life.”

  “Whatever I have to give so he can leave my Mom and Bron alone, it’s worth it.”

  “Adri, he’s a bully. You would tell Bron not to give in to a bully.”

  “This is not a fucking infomercial, Cam. He has us. Don’t you get it?” Her face stayed blank, even as she swore like she’d already resigned herself.

  “I think it’s time you told me everything.”

  “Fine, sit down.” She motioned to one of the chairs but took the one behind the desk.

  “Come sit next to me.”

  She shook her head. “It’s better if I’m on this side.”

  It irked him. Not just her words but the drama and everything. “Okay, fine. But please don’t stall. Don’t drag it out. Just spit it out, Adri.”

  Her eyes lit up in such a familiar way. He’d seen that light in every explosive fight they’d ever had and his most vivid memory of it had been that afternoon by the falls when she’d banned him from her life and he’d been stupid enough to listen.
He wouldn’t have a repeat and opened his mouth to try and modify what he said.

  “My mother and I shot my father and left him on the side of the road. He called your father and told him the whole story before he died. Your father has a recording of it. When I got pregnant with Bron, he threatened to send the audio to the cops if I went to you. How’s that for blurting it out?”

  Cold rushed over Cam’s stomach, freezing his blood in place. He hadn’t known what she would say but this was definitely not what he expected. “Okay, I think you should start at the beginning.”

  He would have preferred she’d reacted like this was any other fight. That she’d shoot him an I-told-you-so look or yell at him for not letting her tell him at her pace. Instead of all the things he would have rather seen, her face was unreadable again.

  “You know my father went to jail and escaped. My mother had warned me like a million times not to let him in the house. He’s an escaped felon, hon, and even though he is your dad, we need to follow the law. He did something wrong and had to answer for it. But she never told me about the other things, like the beatings she took at his hands or how he’d steal from her. Fausto used me to manipulate her into giving him what he wanted and never pressing charges.”

  He reached across the desk and tried to take her hand but she moved out of his reach and kept talking. His body shocked at the rejection.

  “One day, he came to the house while she was at work. He told me we could be a family again. That he was sorry about all he had done. That all he wanted was a chance. When I didn’t let him in, he talked about family being there for each other and how he had not eaten and wasn’t well. He said he would be gone after he ate something and before Mom got home. I let him in. He showered, and I made him food but he wouldn’t leave. When my mom came home, he was sitting at our table. He sent me out of the room to get her something to drink. When I got back, my mom was crying and Fausto said we were going for a family ride.”