Sawyer, Rita - Uncommonly Brazen [Brazen Sisters 4] (Siren Publishing Classic)

by Rita Sawyer

  “You went to college, right?” Georgie’s off topic question took her by surprise.

  “What does that have to do with this?” She couldn’t see a link between her going to school and dating Cameron.

  “Humor me. You went to college.” Joey nodded and Georgie continued, “While you were there you played softball, you participated in the student government.”

  “You made me do those things.” It was a weak defense, but it was true.

  Georgie shook her head and rolled her eyes, obviously as just disgusted with her response as she was. “The point is that you did it and had a good time. Never in the four years did you ever consider going into politics or professional sports, right?”

  “Yeah, but those weren’t meant to affect my life. They were fun ways to pass the time.” Now Joey was getting the point.

  “Maybe Cameron is, too. Someone once said ‘you need to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince.’”

  “What if he turns out to be a prince?” she countered, knowing from spending so much time with him that it was a big risk.

  Just talking about this with Georgie was dangerous, which is why she’d been trying to avoid it. Georgie always found a way to make even the most outrageous idea seem reasonable. Damn it! More than reasonable, she made them sound downright sensible.

  Joey liked to think she had a logical nature, and in most cases she did. So why was it so hard to think of Cameron in a practical way? Deep down, she knew the answer, but she just wasn’t ready to admit it yet.

  “You know it probably wouldn’t go anywhere anyways.” Georgie shrugged her shoulders and took a sip of her soda.

  Hearing the certainty in her sister’s voice almost had her blurting out what they’d done. “What makes you say that?”

  “Because I know you.” Georgie’s laughter wasn’t meant to tease it was too playful for that. “You’ll put so many rules and conditions on everything he’d change his mind. Sometimes you can be almost as controlling as Jessie.”

  Could it really be that easy to make a guy back off? She’d never tried putting rules on a relationship before, but if it might work, she was willing to give it a shot. In her case, it may be a little hard since they already screwed each other until neither of them could stand, literally. Then they’d dropped to the floor and did it some more. And now that Georgie had shown her there was another way to deal with the situation, maybe they would do it again.

  “So where’s that handsome man of yours?” Mildred placed fresh sodas on the table and picked up their empty glasses.

  “Who?” they asked in unison.

  “Don’t you two try to play dumb with me. You were both in here with him just the other day, but word around town has it Joey’s the one that hooked him.” The wink Mildred gave her made her wonder just who’d been talking and how much.

  * * * *

  Cameron was getting used to the strange and even hostile looks the people around town were giving him. In fact, he hoped it meant his plan was working. Either way, he wasn’t going to spend a lot of time wondering what was going on. He just smiled at them and went about his business. Though he did wonder if Joey was getting the same looks wherever she was hiding. She’d blown off their meeting this morning, claiming an emergency with another client. He suspected it was more than that but let her get away with it.

  He strolled through the market, tossing things into his cart. Tonight when she stopped by he was going to be ready. The plan was to have a nice, light dinner, something sweet and chocolaty for dessert, and maybe a few candles waiting for her. All right, the candles may be pushing it a bit, but he was going to do his best to get her to stick around as long as possible. They could eat while they worked and then—maybe if things went right—have dessert out on the little deck.

  If she balked, he had a story all set that would hopefully sway her. After all, her brother-in-law had instructed him to use the place as much as possible because it would help them determine what needed the most updating. The cabin itself was sturdy, but if Cam wanted to live there long term, they may need to knock it down and start from scratch. He really hoped not. The place had a good vibe, and he could use a little of that in his life.

  He paid for his stuff and left the store. Jessie and Bobbie were standing on the sidewalk talking to a police officer. His uniform was a bit casual, jeans, a tan button down shirt, and a baseball hat. The guy stared down at Bobbie, who was beaming a smile in his direction.

  Jessie spotted him first and raised her hand. “Cameron.”

  Arms loaded, he couldn’t wave back, so he nodded. They quickly closed the short distance between them, the cop following.

  “How nice to see you again so soon.” He couldn’t help but notice the way the guy stepped closer to Bobbie.

  “You, too. How’s everyone else?” He made sure not to come off too personal.

  “Fine. This is Jake Gurion, the local sheriff.”

  “We haven’t met officially, but I’ve heard a lot about you in passing.” The Mitchell cousins had filled him in on Jake, warning him it was much better to have as friend than an enemy.

  “Same here.” Yeah, he figured after he got the call from Joey, Alec had made a few calls of his own.

  Bobbie pushed up on her toes and peeked into his bag. “I hope you’re not thinking about getting Joey to cook for you.”

  “No, I plan to cook for her.” Both women gasped, and Jake chuckled but quickly covered it with a cough.

  “Does she know?” The way Jessie asked made him want to reconsider just for a second before he found his balls and manned up.

  “No, but she had to rearrange our appointment due to another client, so I figured we could eat and work at the same time.”

  “So it’s a business dinner.” Jake nodded his head as he said it, and Cameron grabbed onto the hint.

  “Yeah. A hundred percent deductible, too, so she should like that.” They all laughed along with him, and he hoped he was off the hook.

  “Sure. If all else fails, that point may save you.” Jessie voice had a teasing tone.

  “From what?” He asked wondering what the hell he’d missed.

  “Well, Sam’s waiting, so we should really get going.” Jessie grabbed onto Bobbie’s arm.

  “Oh, right. Talk to you later.” They scampered into the store, leaving him standing there on the sidewalk with Jake.

  “You gonna to give me a clue as to what that was about?” he asked Jake.

  “I’d be risking my neck among other things, but even if I could, I can’t because I’m not sure. Sorry.” With the smile the sheriff wore, Cam didn’t think he was really that sorry.

  “No problem. Wouldn’t want to cause a rift.” Seriously, he wouldn’t because it was bound to come back to him.

  “Great. Now that’s settled, and we’re alone. I’d like to ask you a few questions.” Jake’s tone didn’t sound like he was giving him much of an option, and with him being the sheriff Cameron really didn’t a choice but to answer.

  “All right. Can we walk and talk?” He shuffled the bags in his arms.

  “Sure.” Jake slapped him on the shoulder, grabbed one of the bags, and they headed off in the direction Cam’s truck. “I think it’s only right that I tell you I’ve run a complete background check on you.”

  “From what Joey and Alec have told me about you, I kind of expected that it was bound to happen sooner or later.” Jake’s position granted him the power to basically dig through his life, looking for any skeletons Cameron may have buried.

  “Want to tell me what I found?” At least Jake gave him the chance to come clean.

  “Other than some trespassing charges that were eventually dismissed, I’m guessing not much.” Cameron wasn’t cocky about it, but he knew better than anyone just how clean his record was.

  Jake leaned against the truck crossing his arms across his chest. “You know, a guy your age should have a little something more on his record. Like, at least speeding ticket or two. Otherwise, someo
ne might see right through the neat little background someone obviously spent a lot of time putting together.”

  Cameron froze his upper half still in the truck. Jake had to be taking a wild stab in the dark. His background was so thickly developed no one was supposed to be able to find the threads that would lead back to certain places best left undetected. Jake didn’t come off as a man who played games, so he must have found something. Shit! Cameron was going to have to make a few calls before Joey got there.

  “You’re the first one who ever questioned it.” Cameron hoped he sounded calmer than he felt.

  “That may be, but I knew what was missing, so I knew what to look for.” Jake’s confidence had Cam wondering exactly what his background entailed.

  “Have you mentioned this to anyone?” he asked, hoping he hadn’t.

  “No, but Victor came to me a few days ago.” Jake pulled a sheet of paper out of his pocket and held it out to him. “He doesn’t know, but he was curious about your Hollywood influences.”

  “I’m a just photographer, plain and simple. I told him those days were far behind me. Anything else I may have dabbled in is in my past, too, and believe me, I only dabbled.” Still if Jake sensed something was off someone else might too.

  “Whatever agency you reported to thought you were in deep enough to clear your record.” Damn the guy sounded confident in his accusation.

  “True.” Cam’s admission had Jake smiling. “But only so I can’t be linked to them. Or at least that’s what they told me.”

  “Truthfully, even if your record was spotless, and you were just a photographer, the situation between you and Joey would still be far from simple.” He knew Jake was right about that.

  “Joey and her sisters seem like a tight little unit.” He fished to see if that was what Jake had been hinting at.

  “They are. I’m sure Alec told you enough about them to keep you from getting in trouble. But it didn’t work, did it?”

  “Fuck no! He left out just enough to let me dig myself into a hole.”

  Jake laughed hard and loud enough to turn a few heads in their direction. “Nope, trust me you would have been neck deep with or without him.”

  “How the hell have the guys around here not managed to fall head first?” The question had been driving him nuts.

  “Most of them have, but they’re smart enough not to let the girls see it.” Jake obviously knew a lot about the subject.

  “They don’t seem like the type that would trifle with a man’s emotions just for fun.” With Jake being a friend of the family, Cameron didn’t need to defend them, but it just came out.

  “One thing about the Brazen sisters you should know is they don’t play games. They’re straightforward and tell it like it is. So, instead of getting shot down, the guys wait for them to make the first move.” The way Jake explained things, it all made a weird kind of sense.

  “You don’t have to tell me, but is there a trail of broken hearts around here?” The chances had to be pretty high with six beautiful women roaming about.

  Jake shrugged and said, “Less than you’d think, but there’s a few guys you’ll want to steer clear of until you and Joey decide just how far this thing between you is going.”

  “Let me guess, the guy in the post office is one of them?”

  Jake laughed and then gave him a list of names as long as his forearm. Not all the guys were men she dated, but they were all interested in her. Jake laughed the whole time he told him the story behind the guy in the post office. Turns out Joey dated him in junior high school. Phil was still carrying a torch, hoping some day she’d see him and realize he was Mr. Right. Cameron had a queer feeling that if things didn’t work out between them, he’d spend years pining away, too, because even though she had an identical twin, Josephine Brazen was a one of a kind woman.

  Jake told him his secret was safe with him but also warned him that if things started to get serious, he better tell Joey about his past employment, however brief, or he would. Cam agreed, and satisfied with his response, Jake shook his hand and told him to stop by the tavern with Alec for a game of pool. Cameron hopped into the truck and started it up. The short ride wasn’t long enough for him to think his problems through. Cam’s life was about to take a new direction, and people were going to be asking a lot of questions.

  He wasn’t sure how the fact that he’d done some spying for his country would sit with the Brazen sisters. He hadn’t even told his family about it. They would have been sick with worry every time he left. None of them had reason to worry anymore. He’d been telling the truth when he told Jake it was all behind him.

  The proposal he’d received from the local University to head up their photography program was proof of that. It was a great offer that would give him the opportunity to work with not only college kids, but with the local high and middle school students. He’d still have plenty of time for his own projects to. The offer was so good that at first he thought Alec was playing a joke on him. It took a meeting with the President, Vice President, and the heads of the art department to realize they were perfectly serious.

  He wanted to talk it over with Joey before he made final decision. Cameron needed to know how the position was going to affect his tax status for the next few years. She would be able to tell him everything he needed to know. Money wasn’t the issue. He was fine with the amount they offered. Cameron would deal with any artistic license issues.

  Once he made up his mind, he’d talk it over with his mom and sisters. He knew they were going to be thrilled. At least twice a month, he got a lecture on how he wasn’t getting any younger and should really start thinking about settling down. They probably thought he hadn’t been listening, but he had. If fact he’d put a lot of time into his decision to basically give up his vagabond lifestyle and find a job close to home. Of course, not too close.

  Cameron knew that he’d never be able to handle it if his mom and sisters could pop in whenever they felt like it. The seven hour drive between where they live in New Hampshire and his cabin up here in Northern Maine would be just enough to keep that from happening more than once a month. Maybe twice a month during summer vacation. He could handle that much of them, more of his nieces. The girls would be able to come whenever they wanted, and he’d let them stay as long as they wanted. He loved spoiling them.

  As he hefted the bags into his arms and carried them into the house, he wondered if he missing the chance at having rug rats of his own to spoil. At twenty-seven, he was far from too old, but by the time he found someone he wanted to have kids with, he might be.

  Cam had two reasons to make sure that didn’t happen. First, his mother would never forgive him. Being the only son, it was his job to carry on the family name, which meant he needed to have a son or two. It was a tall order, and he figured he better get right on it.

  The second was more selfish. He wanted to be a dad. He thought he’d be a good one. It didn’t matter if he had girls or boys. He just wanted a bunch kids filling his life with laughter and fun. Cameron wasn’t kidding himself. He knew kids were hard work and with the laughter came tears, but in his mind it was all worth it.

  By the time he had everything put away, Cameron was in the state of mind to find out how Joey felt about kids. She was a little bit younger than him at twenty-three, and if she didn’t want kids, he was pretty sure it wouldn’t stop him from pursuing her. Things between them were just getting started, and they had plenty of time to see where things would go. He was just damn curious, and even though he knew it was a dangerous track to follow, he couldn’t seem to stop himself.

  Before Cameron knew it he had the pasta going. The shrimp, garlic, and tomatoes were sautéing for the simple yet unforgettable sauce his sister, a professional chef, had taught him how to make. The garden salad was already on the table. When he’d set the table using the chipped mismatch plates and silverware, he realized some things around there he could change sooner rather than later. He made a mental note to buy a decent
set of dishes and maybe even a few other items to give the place a homier, but classy, feel Joey may appreciate. Not that he was trying to impress her or anything.

  He heard a car pull up, but instead of going to see if it was her he stayed at the stove. The perfunctory knock sounded on the door before it opened.

  “Cam?” Joey’s voice reached him even though she hadn’t yelled.

  “I’m in the kitchen.” he shouted. After a few seconds he heard her heels clicking across the floor.

  “Wow, that smells great.”

  “Glad you think so. Have a seat.” She stared at the table for a few seconds.

  “Let me just go take care of this first.” She patted her laptop hanging at her side and headed for the pantry-office.

  Cameron took the fact that she hadn’t made a fuss as a good sign. If he could get a little food and maybe wine in her, it may help her to relax. Then he could tell her about the job offer and slowly lead up to asking her some of the more personal questions pinging around his mind. She came back into the room as he was serving them each a healthy portion of pasta. They’d only had two meals together so far, and she’d cleaned her plate, so he knew she could handle it.

  “Damn. I hope that looks as good as it taste.” He pulled out a chair, and she slid right into it.

  She had a fork full of pasta up to her mouth before he even sat down. He liked that about her. She wasn’t one of those women who picked at their food like a bird. God, that type of woman drove him crazy. Joey’s eyes fluttered shut and moan escaped. She didn’t bother to hide the fact she liked it just to make him wait.

  His dick jerked at the blissful sound she emitted. When she licked the remaining sauce from her lips, his whole body went stiff. He’d like to think she knew what she was doing, but it was innocent. She probably had no idea how she was affecting him. Cameron was glad the table hid the way he responded. He took a deep, calming breath, which didn’t help at all, before he spoke.