Colby is in the hall having a discussion with the girls and Mitch about driving arrangements. Cambree worked her magic on him and convinced him that Addison and Brielle flying back makes sense. That way they will be there earlier and can get back to the kids. I know she just didn’t want to deal with the millions of questions her sisters would bombard her with. That little girl has grown up into a smart young woman, and she isn’t above manipulating Colby or me. We are suckers for her sweet smile; both of us see the best of our wives in her. That is a hard combination to say no to.
Brielle walks in looking triumphant, and Cambree’s smile slips right off her face. She knows if Brielle is happy, then Cambree didn’t get her way. This should be a wonderful road trip. Addison walks in, and I can’t read her emotions, which is odd. She goes to stand next to Cambree, and Colby walks in looking pissed. He is glaring at his wife, and I know he is thinking of many punishments. I personally don’t know why he even tries to reason with that woman. I just let her do what she wants because she will anyway, and it is less painful not to argue with her.
Max and Mitch are in the hallway deep in discussion, and when Mitch claps his brother’s shoulder and walks in the room, he looks to Cambree. “Hey, sweet girl, they are fixing to spring you. I am heading out now, so I can finalize all the plans for security. Take care, and I will see you soon.” He looks back one time when he gets to the doorway, and the look that passes over his face is so eerily similar to what I see when Colby is talking to Cambree. Pure pride, and filled with love, but with just enough amount of protector. I am just wondering when Mitch slipped into that role.
I hear Cambree grumble, “I take it you two aren’t flying back?”
Addison says, “We are. Tyler and Colby are taking us to the airport, we have your car loaded.”
Cambree looks at Brielle, and I know she is wondering why Brielle looks so damn giddy. Addison continues, “Our flight is in about an hour, so we have to run, but your doctor is in emergency surgery, and he hasn’t signed your discharge papers yet. So . . . we are headed out, and Max is staying with you until you are discharged, and then he is driving you back to Tennessee.”
Damn, they are good. The way Addison rushed through the end of that, it took Cambree a few seconds to catch on to what she actually said. “N . . . o . . .” she stammers. “I can wait for them to drop you off at the airport and then come back and get me. I will be fine.” She is trying to get out of a car trip with Max. I personally don’t like the way she was set up, but sometimes forcing the issue is the only way to fix it. I should know about that.
Brielle says, “Nope, it is all settled. We have to get going.” She bends over and brushes Cambree’s hair behind her ears. “We will see you at home, and so glad you are okay. Love you.”
Cambree can hold her own with Brielle, and says, “Payback’s a bitch.” Then she glares at Addison, “You taking the getting even thing a little too far?” We all know she is referring to her telling me about the twins. I see Addison flinch from that verbal slap, but she quickly composes herself.
“No getting even, little sis. Turned out it was the best thing that ever happened, and hopefully we are helping you find your best thing.”
Colby doesn’t seem too keen on leaving Cambree with Max. I know it is more a protective brother thing than it is not liking Max. What I know of the dude . . . he is okay.
I tell Colby, “Take the girls down, I want to say bye to C.”
“Listen, C, say the word and I will risk castration from Brielle and stay with you. What you need to feel safe right now is the most important thing to me.”
She hugs me, and when she pulls back, says, “Problem is, Ty, I do feel safe with him. I don’t want to, and that is the bitch of it. Every time I see him, feel him, or smell him near, I immediately feel safe. When does that feeling go away?”
Damn, she is in deeper than I realized. I feel a dull ache in my chest when I realize my little Cambree is grown up and has dealt with heartache. “What feeling? The feeling of being home?” She nods. “Well, sorry to tell you, if it is the real thing, no matter what, that feeling never ends. Your home is your safety net, and when you find your home in another person’s arms there is no escaping it. You can run from it and deny it all you want, but once you stop hiding from it, those same arms will catch you and hold you up. That feeling . . . that never goes away if you’re lucky. And baby, I hope you are that lucky. Maybe not now, but someday that is all I can hope for you.”
“Love you, Ty.”
“Love you, too, C.” I kiss her forehead and walk out to Max. “Precious cargo. The most fragile right now, you feel me?” He just nods. I turn and go to the truck to get this long ass car trip over. At least the girls will be on a plane, and sooner rather than later, because while I know Cambree is grown up and making her life choices, part of me is pissed as hell the girls would push her into this. I know logically I am more pissed that I am losing my first “little girl,” and that hurts. My twins better never grow up, and every kid Addison and I have after this better be a boy. I can’t take any more of this.
Chapter 11
Max
I knew that she wasn’t going to be happy riding home with me. I was going to let her set the pace, let her decide how much she wanted to talk or share with me. She used to be an open book with me. I never had to ask her. She would just spill.
I help her out to the car, and her silence is killing me. Once she buckles up, and I start driving, I ask her, “You hungry or you want to wait a bit to eat?”
“I want some distance between me and this city. Drive for a bit, please.” I know she is burying this shit, and yet it is right there on the surface. I never want her to feel fear or unease. I reach over and squeeze her hand.
“Hey, I promise. I will do a better job and keep you safe. Don’t be afraid with me.”
“Thanks, I will be okay.”
“I wish you would quit using the work ‘okay’ to describe how you are feeling. You have every right to not feel okay. I just want you to be honest about what is happening with you.”
“Thanks for the therapy, Max. Just send me the bill. How I deal or don’t deal with this is my business, not in your control. I know how you hate for something to be out of your control, but with this you have no choice.”
“Damn it, Camy. Quit being a bitch. Don’t use your attitude as a defense mechanism. You never did before, don’t start now.”
“I was a different person then. I was stupid, naïve, and childish. I confused affection and attention for a relationship. I have since realized that since two people were not engaged in said relationship, it wasn’t that. I don’t have a word for it, does fuck buddies work to describe us?”
“I swear, Cambree, one more word like that, and I will put you over my knee. You know we weren’t fuck buddies, and don’t try and cheapen us. We were in a relationship, and don’t deny that. And for the record, you weren’t stupid and naïve, but childish at the end? Yes, you were. You wouldn’t listen to what I had to say, you ran away to another school, but no matter what, all that you were, that is who I wanted and who I was falling in love with.”
She finally doesn’t say anything back. It is a good thing because I need to get my temper under control. She has lost her damn mind talking to me like that, cheapening what we had. I took her virginity for God’s sake. I reach over and turn up the radio. Hopefully she will get the hint and not talk for a bit.
Once we have been on the road for a few hours, I ask if she is hungry. “Not really, but whatever you want is fine.”
“You have to eat, you have your medicine to take, and you need to keep your strength up.”
“Will a milkshake work?” She has a wicked sweet tooth. “Can we eat in the car?”
She doesn’t want anyone to see her bruises. I pull off the interstate and go through the first fast food restaurant I see.
I hand her the milkshake. “Don’t forget to take your pills.”
She just smiles at me and
says, “Truce?”
I laugh at her. I can’t help it. She can get pissed off and usually is over it in ten minutes, whereas my anger lasts, unless it is in regards to her. All she has to do is look at me, and I start getting over it.
“Okay, but let’s stick to neutral subjects for a while.” She agrees.
“How long are you going to take off from school?” I ask her.
“Truthfully?”
“Honesty is the best policy.” She starts laughing.
“Pot . . . kettle” She has me there.
“Yes, truthfully, Camy.”
“I am not going back. I was trying to figure out a way to tell my sisters, and this happened. I still have to tell them.”
“Why? What are you going to do?”
“Well, I thought about getting a pimp, and then I realized that I didn’t want him taking a cut of my profits, so I think I can work the corner on my own.”
“Not funny, don’t even joke about that shit.” I am dead serious.
“Okay, okay. Well I am going to take some online courses and look into the community college. I want to go back to working at the gym. Hopefully when my pre-requisite classes are done, I will have an idea of what I want to do. Right now I feel like I am wasting time and money.
“Good plan. No matter what, don’t sacrifice what you want. You can do anything,” I tell her, and I mean it. She amazes me every day.
I can tell she is getting sleepy from her medicine. I reach behind her seat and grab her a pillow and blanket I put there earlier. I hand it to her, and she thanks me. I watch her prop the pillow on the window and curl into a ball. I turn the radio on for her. Before long she is snoring away. She could put a grown ass man to shame the way she snores, but funny thing is, I find it cute. I can still remember the first time I saw her . . .
June 2017
I was working out with Mitch at the gym that her family owned. I had just arrived in Tennessee to help Mitch work this case. I was in the corner going at the punching bag pretty hard when she walked in. Her long tan legs were what first captured my attention. I am totally a legs man, and with her tiny shorts on I could see legs for a mile. When she bent over and started stretching on the mats I had seen the cheerleaders using, I was captivated by her ass. I know it is superficial, but most of the relationships I entered into were.
I tried to resume my workout but found my focus kept getting pulled back to her. She started jumping around the mat, and I will admit I have no clue what cheerleaders do, but I felt like I could watch forever. The way she held herself, she was in total control of her body whether it was flipping on the ground, or it was in the air. I noticed Mitch had even stopped to watch what was going down, and I have to admit I was curious because I had just met Kayleigh, and he seemed pretty into her.
I walked over to Mitch. “You think your woman would approve of you checking out fresh meat?”
Mitch narrowed his eyes at me. “That is Cambree. She is not fresh meat, hell she isn’t meat at all.” Well damn, this is my big brother’s baby sister. I guess that means she is off limits. Even though there is no relation with us that would just be too weird, not to mention Mitch may actually kick my ass if I did my usual pump it and dump it routine on her. Besides, she was barely seventeen, and I was going on twenty. All of her siblings may frown upon that.
She picked that moment to walk up and give Mitch a one-armed hug while scrunching up her nose at his sweaty body. Seeing her up close, I realize for the first time that she is breathtakingly beautiful. Her eyes. They are the exact same color as Hope’s. How does Mitch look at her without feeling the pain in his chest like I am experiencing?
“Hey, Mitch. Haven’t seen you in a while around the house?” she says, laughing.
“Yeah, sweet girl, figured I would leave that alone for a bit. Let it cool down.” Mitch tells her. Knowing the whole story, I am surprised she is joking about it.
“Oh, cooling down is not what I would say to describe what is going around the house. I am surprised the SWAT team isn’t called out daily for the hostile conditions.” She says it with amusement in her voice.
“Oh, and let me guess, you are still playing innocent?” Mitch asks her. She looks down at the floor and won’t meet his eyes. “It is okay, Cambree. It needed to happen. Don’t sweat it.”
When she looks back at Mitch, she has a shimmer of a tear in her eye, and says so softly, “I am worried Addison will be so pissed at me.”
“Hey, no crying. She may be pissed at you, but your heart was in the right place, and that is all that matters. She will eventually see that, and if not, y’all will get past it. You’re family,” Mitch tells her and bends down and kisses her forehead. “I promise.”
She just smiles at him and glances over to me. She looks back to Mitch and raises her eyebrows in question. “Cambree, this is my brother, Max. I told you he was moving down here and going to Tennessee probably next semester.”
She turns and says shyly, “Hey.”
I can tell she is trying to flirt, but she is shit at it. She is too shy and not at all sure of herself. I don’t know if she doesn’t have mirrors in her house, or what her story is, but she should have all the confidence in the world. I reach my hand out to shake hers and let it linger just a bit longer than normal. The pink creeping up her cheeks tells me I am right on the money. This could have been fun.
“Nice to meet you, Cambree. Mitch has told me about your whole family. I am sure I will be seeing you around.”
She doesn’t speak for a few moments and then seems to recover. Some guy calls out to her across the gym, and he doesn’t look thrilled I had her hand in mine. “Have to go finish up practice. Mitch, don’t be a stranger, we are having a cookout next week, come over, bring Kayleigh.” She looks back to me. “And your brother is welcome.” She adds the last bit like that wasn’t her intention all along.
As she runs back over to the mats, I feel a slap on the back of my head. “Ouch.”
Mitch growls, “Eyes off her ass, Max.”
“I was looking more at her legs, but her ass is pretty damn spectacular.” He hits me on the back of the head again. “The fuck?” I ask him.
“Would that be cool if some jackass was checking out Hope in front of you?” Point proven.
“Her eyes.” That is all I have to say to Mitch when I see the pain flash in his. He just nods his head.
“Her heart is just as sweet, too. All of the girls are such innocents, even with the bad shit in their life, they all managed to come out on the other side. I wish Hope would have. I can’t help but think if she would have had them, she would have been okay.”
This case is killing him. He is hurting over past choices and mistakes every day. The sooner we wrap this up, the quicker he can move on. I still don’t know how he is keeping his distance from his other siblings. Mitch is a family man, first.
As we pack up to go, my eyes keep deceiving me and finding Cambree. I wish the situation were different, because she may just change my mind about commitment. Or at least for a little while. I need to hit up that chick I met at Myrtle Beach earlier this month. She said she lived close to here, I think. I don’t even know her name. I think it started with a K. I will have to search through my phone.
Once we get out to the car, Mitch says, “Unfortunately, if we are going to make an appearance next week over there, we need to clear the air with Tyler and Colby, and this isn’t going to be fun.”
Oh, I beg to differ. I think the situation he brought on himself by pretending to be Addison’s baby daddy was hilarious. Before his hand connects with my head again, I duck.
Chapter 12
Cambree
I wake up as we pull into the driveway to Brielle and Colby’s where I see everyone has gathered. I don’t make a move to get out of the car.
“What is wrong?” Max asks me.
“I don’t want the kids to see me like this.”
“Hang on.” He jumps out of the car and makes his way to the door.
>
He returns a few minutes later and starts the car. “Where are we going?”
Laughing, he says, “You are staying with me for a bit.”
“NO!” I shout at him. He is still laughing and on top of being extremely uncomfortable about him saying I will be staying with him, he is pissing me off. I am slowly understanding that Brielle is serious every time she threatens to do time. If he doesn’t quit trying to run my life and make decisions for me, I may just murder him. My bruises may even give me street-cred inside.
“Relax, Camy. Everyone thinks it would be fine for you to stay at either Addison’s or Brielle’s house, but your comfort is most important. You are more than welcome to stay with me, but I figured that would go over as well as it just did. How do you feel about the farmhouse with Amelia? Colby’s parents are there right now, too.”
That sounds perfect right now. It wasn’t always that easy being there, that is why Addison built her house. Being in the house that my grandparents started raising us in was difficult at the beginning. Right now, the comfort and familiarity of it sounds like heaven.
“Perfect,” I answer him honestly. I wish at that moment I wasn’t looking at him, because the smile that spreads across his perfect face is almost too much. To see him relaxed and not so guarded is something I haven’t seen in a while. Right before we broke up to be exact, and that brings the pain back front and center. I hate remembering all the memories and stupid mistakes made. “That is a good look on you.”
Parker Sibling Series Box Set Page 38
