Him and his grandma wandering around in the parking lot at the grocery store, looking for their truck when they’d walked there. Her leaving the oven on one Thanksgiving and setting a green bean casserole on fire. The summer she’d filled a kiddie pool for him and accidentally flooded the whole house. And a few weeks ago when she’d cut herself making pie with Ella Jane and hadn’t even noticed. He and EJ had to bandage up her hand, both of them trying to ask her if she was okay while she gazed at them with a vacant look in her eyes.
“It was just before your eighth birthday when we found out it was more than just forgetfulness. It was a lot for a little kid to handle. And by the time she was on medication and doing okay, you already had plans for the summer.”
“And now? You’re telling me now because—”
“Because doctors aren’t giving her much time. She barely eats. I took her to the ER because she collapsed. They said at this rate she might not make it another month. You’re here this summer because it’s probably her last.”
Emotions Hayden wasn’t familiar with burst through him in rapid succession. Anger. Fear. Sadness. Frustration. Anger again.
“But…” he began, struggling to get the thoughts to form into words. “All these years, why didn’t anyone tell me? I could’ve been coming every summer and helping and I would’ve—”
“Ah,” his grandpa huffed out a breath. “You had summer camp, then lacrosse tournaments, and that study abroad program. You didn’t have time for us old folk.”
Regret nearly choked him. His parents had asked a few times if he wanted to visit Gran and Pops but he blew it off year after year. He just wanted to be with his friends. Friends that couldn’t give a shit about him really. But he’d chosen them over the woman who loved him more than anyone ever had. Because he was a selfish dick.
“I don’t…I didn’t know,” was all he could say for himself. But deep down he wondered if he would’ve come even if he had known. “So they’re just doing nothing? Can’t she stay in the hospital? They could feed her through a tube or something.”
His grandpa shook his head. “What kind of life does that sound like to you, son?”
“But she can’t…she can’t just…” She can’t just die, he wanted to say but couldn’t bring himself to. “There’s got to be some type of medicine or therapy or something…”
“Hogwash,” his grandpa growled. “Your Gran and me don’t trust those kooks as far as we can throw them. This is life, son. We’ve had a long, happy life together, and that’s how we’ll go. Together. In this house. Our home.”
Hayden stood there, across from the toughest man he knew as the old man’s eyes filled with tears. But the hardened war vet didn’t allow a single one of them to fall.
“You being here this summer meant a lot to her. Don’t go ruining the rest of it by acting all sappy around her. You know nothing, you hear me?”
“Y-yes. Yes, sir,” Hayden choked out. “What about the end-of-summer thing? Surely we’re not still doing that.”
Every year he’d been allowed to throw a party on some of his grandparents’ land. A huge field that straddled the line between Hope’s Grove and Summit Bluffs. Even though he hadn’t had anything to do with them, they’d still let him have his back-to-school bonfire on their property.
Some of his buddies from back home had already been texting him about it. He’d actually been looking forward to taking Ella Jane, but now a party was the last thing he wanted.
“Yes we are still doing that. I meant what I said. Your gran would be pissed if we started fussing over her. She nearly tanned my hide for taking her to the hospital last week.” The old man got a faraway look in his eyes. But then he snapped back to the present and pinned Hayden with his I-mean-business stare. “You do your thing, business as usual. And don’t go running and telling the Mason girl—or anyone else for that matter. It would break her heart if she knew people knew and were pitying her. You break her heart and I’ll break your neck. Understood?”
“Yes, sir,” Hayden answered as he ambled off to his room.
That night he lay awake in bed thinking of all the ways he’d failed his grandparents over the years. All the summers he’d filled with asinine bullcrap instead of being with them. Maybe if he’d helped out more…but he didn’t know for sure if it would’ve made any difference.
In two weeks he’d just go back home and desert his grandma again. And a beautiful blue-eyed blonde he couldn’t stand to think of leaving. But what choice did he have? It felt like everyone had been making decisions for him his whole life. Where he went, what he did, how much he did or didn’t know. He had no idea how to get control of the runaway train that had become his life.
“I cannot wait to hear all about St. Tropez,” Raquel, Cami’s friend, excitedly gushed through the phone receiver. “This summer has sucked without you.”
“Oh, I’m sure,” Cami replied, rolling her eyes. She knew exactly what Raquel meant when she’d said the summer had sucked without her.
Cami was sure Raquel was dying to know what Cami was doing. That was kind of her thing. They may have acted like best friends, but frenemies was probably a more accurate term. Sure, they loved shopping, talking about boys, and doing all of the superficial things friends did together, but she wouldn’t have trusted Raquel with her goldfish—if she had one, that was—much less with any of her actual secrets. Add all of that to the fact that Raquel was Cami’s number one competition in all things pageant and it was pretty much guaranteed that their relationship would never be classified as solid.
“So did you give it up to some hottie poolside or what?”
“Something like that,” she answered vaguely. “I’ll tell you all about it when I get home next week,” she lied. Cami had decided that she was going to let the summer blow over and then she was going to slowly introduce Kyle to her world. By the time the new school year got underway, everyone would be over the summer vacation gossip.
“Can’t wait! I’ll see you soon! Kisses!” Raquel disconnected the call, leaving Cami wondering why she’d ever even attempted a friendship with her. Kisses? Really?
When she pulled her phone from her ear, she noticed a new text message. It was one she’d been dreading all summer. Hayden.
We need to talk when you get home.
Cami thought about how to respond for the better part of five minutes. What does he need to talk about? She knew that when they’d agreed to take a break this summer, there had been an unspoken agreement that when school started back up they’d be back together, but things were different now. She messaged him back.
I’ll call you when I get back in town.
They had been friends for long enough that both of them knew the other person wasn’t truly content with the façade of a relationship they put up. Surely Hayden would understand that she was in a new relationship. He’d be happy for her. She hoped.
The summer sky was overcast that day, and according to weather reports, Cami and Kyle’s first official date was set to include a thunderstorm. Rescheduling was out of the question too. Nothing but thunder and lightning over the next few days.
She fiddled with the strap of the dress she was wearing as she watched out the front window for him to arrive. Mother Nature was right on cue, and as soon as she saw his truck pull into the driveway, the clouds opened up, releasing a summer’s worth of rain.
She giggled as Kyle booked it from his truck to the front door, using a bouquet of fresh daisies as a makeshift umbrella. Before he could knock, Cami pulled one of the double doors open and motioned for him to come into the foyer.
“Nice place,” he exhaled as he caught his breath and looked around her house, shaking the water from his head and hands. All those nights spent with Cami in the backyard and this was the first time he’d actually been inside.
“Thanks,” she grinned, waiting for him to hand her flowers. “Those for me?”
“Maybe,” he chuckled, tucking the flowers behind his back. “What’ll ya give m
e for ’em?”
She tiptoed up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “This,” she whispered, lightly pressing her lips to his. Before he could snake his free hand around her waist and cinch her to him, she reached behind him and grabbed the flowers from his hand.
“Hey!” He tried to grab her hand, but she gracefully spun away, taking her daisies with her.
“These are beautiful.” She beamed, admiring the ribbon-wrapped bouquet in her hands, and made her way into the kitchen.
“Yeah they are,” he agreed. “Definitely worth more than some measly peck,” he teased as she placed the flowers in a vase she had waiting on the counter. He made his way up behind her as she arranged the flowers the way she wanted them and wrapped his arms around her.
“I suppose I owe you a proper thank you,” she conceded as his lips burned hot against her neck.
“I’ll take an IOU.” He laughed. “Right now we need to figure out what we are going to do since my mostly outdoor date has been sidelined by the rain.”
“Lucky for you, I’m an excellent date planner,” she sassed. “I actually checked the weather.” Cami pulled away from Kyle’s embrace, linked her fingers between his, and led him out the French doors to the place they always seemed to end up. The steady flow of rain danced across the top of the pool as Cami and Kyle stood side by side under the porch awning.
“I hope you’re not wanting to take a swim,” Kyle said. As if on cue, a clap of thunder rumbled overhead.
“Nope,” she grinned and pointed at the pool house. “We’re headed there.” A soft glow illuminated its windows. She dropped her hand from his and, with a playful wag of her finger, invited him to follow her.
Despite her best efforts to make a mad dash across the patio, by the time Cami slid the glass door open and stepped in, the drenched turquoise sundress she’d picked out especially for Kyle clung to her skin. As she attempted to detangle her rain-soaked hair, Kyle stepped through the door behind her.
“What’s all this?” he asked, running his hand through his wet, sandy-colored hair. The low platform bed in the center of the room was surrounded by dozens of glowing candles.
“I didn’t want our date to be a total waste because of the rain.” Cami pulled a towel from the shelf next to her and wrapped it around her shoulders before tossing one to Kyle. “I thought maybe we could move our picnic inside,” she added, walking over to the bed and opening a picnic basket that was waiting in the middle.
Before Cami could retrieve the items from the basket, Kyle stepped up behind her, closing the basket lid.
“Not hungry?” Cami asked, turning to face him. “I cooked all day for you,” she said, trying to fight back a smile. “And by me I mean Sophie.”
She expected Kyle to give her some grief about being a stereotypical spoiled, rich girl who couldn’t cook, but his eyes said that whatever he was about to say was serious.
“It can wait.” Reaching for the towel Cami held snugly around her, he tugged her toward him. “There’s something I need to do first,” he stated.
Cami felt her heartbeat speed up as Kyle removed the towel from her shoulders and tossed it aside. She thought about the first day they met and how she was quick to reveal what she had under her towel. But now, something had changed. Despite the fact that she was fully clothed under that towel, she felt ten times more vulnerable than that first day.
Maybe it was the fact that she knew what was about to happen in that candle-lit pool house, or maybe it was the fact that, unlike that first day, she was in love with the boy standing in front of her. But she was pretty certain that it was because she knew, without a doubt, that no one was ever going to love her the way Kyle Mason did.
THIS was it. The moment he’d thought about pretty much every hour on the hour since he’d first laid eyes on her. Kyle felt his hand tremble as he brushed a piece of hair from her face and hoped that she couldn’t sense how nervous he really was. He’d never told a girl he loved her before, and as much as he wanted to shout it from the rooftops, a small part of him was worried she’d reject him. She was champagne and caviar and he was beer and corndogs.
Cami pursed her lips the way she always did when things started to get intense. He would have bet money that she was racking her brain for some sarcastic remark to detour the palpable tension that had thickened the air in the room. But as Kyle ran his hand down her arms, helping her fight the chill of the air conditioner against her wet skin, he watched her pull in a breath and let her eyes fall shut at his touch.
“I haven’t told you just how pretty you look tonight,” he said, placing his lips on her bare shoulder. Her hands found his chest and fisted the damp gray T-shirt he was wearing, pulling him closer. “I mean it, Cami.” His lips hovered above her skin as he moved his mouth up to her ear. “You’re amazing. I, um, I…” Kyle nervously stumbled over his words while trying to read her expression.
He remembered one of their lounge chair conversations. The one where she confessed that she had never been in love. Hell, the girl had told him that she’d never even said those words to her parents, and sadder yet, they’d never said it to her. He couldn’t imagine growing up in a house where he didn’t hear those words. His mom told him and his sister that she loved them all the time.
Back then, it was easy for him to give her a flirty response “Let’s see what we can do about that then.” But that was two months ago, and he knew now that they were beyond a summer fling. He loved this girl and he wanted a future with her. He wanted to be the one to say I love you to her every day.
Just as he’d finally mustered up the courage to tell her how he felt, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. The urgency of her mouth against his led him to believe she was done talking.
Her hands moved down to tug at the hem of his shirt. He lifted his arms, allowing her to pull it over his head. A questioning smile appeared on his face as she tossed the shirt to the floor. A questioning smile that silently asked if she was sure she wanted to continue. He had never pressured her to do anything with him. In fact, he was the one who had set the pace for their physical relationship.
Cami may have been reluctant to get to know Kyle back in the beginning. She’d made it pretty clear that day they met that if he’d wanted to hit it and forget it he could have. As he looked down in her brown eyes, he was glad he’d suggested they take it slow. Sure, it might have resulted in more than one cold shower on his part, but he’d known the moment he saw her that she was something special.
Every Sunday they’d spent together in that lounge chair—the sweet kisses in the pool, the late night phone calls and texts, the sharing of secrets and dreams. They had all led here. To this moment. A moment that would change the rest of their lives.
His body moved to hers and he slipped one strap of her dress down her shoulder. As if to confirm her desire to be with him, she reached her hand up and pushed the other strap down, sending her dress to the floor.
The heat of their damp skin against one another’s seemed to only intensify their bodies’ reactions as their lips collided. Cami smoothed her hands up Kyle’s back as his moved down hers, locking his wrists behind her back. He slowly lifted her up onto the tips of her toes, their lips never parting, and walked her backwards to the bed. Where they spent the rest of the evening, completely tangled together.
“UM, Hayden? I think the roses are good,” Ella Jane said softly, cutting off the water before he drowned her mama’s garden. Hayden was out of it today. In fact, he’d been out of it all week. She was trying extremely hard to convince herself it wasn’t because summer was ending and he was blowing her off.
“What?” He turned to her with a blank stare. “Oh shit. Sorry,” he said, shaking his head as he wound the hose around his arm.
“You okay?”
He grinned at her, but it wasn’t his usual grin. The cocky one she loved and couldn’t resist kissing off his face. This one was fake. Forced. “I’m great.”
She tried to ignore the
fact that he hadn’t called her angel face. Or babe. Or even by her actual name. “Gran doing okay?”
His eyes widened for a split second but then he shrugged. “Oh you know. Same old same old.”
“All right. Well I’m going to head over to my friend Lynlee’s house in a little while. She’s been in California all summer. She’s only back to visit for a few nights so I want to hang out with her while I can. You could join us tonight if you want. We’re thinking of going to a movie or something.” She bit her lip, knowing he probably wouldn’t want to go with them to some chick flick. “Or we could meet up at The Ridge later. Watch the night train. Just me and you.”
“Uh, no. I’ll take a rain check.” He gave a quick glance at the sky, since it looked like actual rain was coming. “I’ve got some stuff to do for Pops. But you two have fun.”
She tried to get him to look her in the eyes but he busied himself putting the hose away.
Her stomach twisted. This was it. The brush-off she’d prayed wouldn’t come but kind of assumed would. Summer was almost over, and her brother had been right. Maybe it was just a fling for Hayden. Maybe he really was an asshole who was just toying with her for lack of anything better to do.
It hurt. It was hurt on top of hurt.
Angrily, she stormed around the property, picking up discarded tools and tossing them roughly into the shed. With every step, she cursed herself internally. Even though it had seemed too good to be true, she’d fallen for his “And that’s when I fell in love with you” BS.
She’d let herself fall in love with someone who didn’t feel the same way. Again. At least with Hayden she wouldn’t have to see him all the time. And in a way, she couldn’t even bring herself to regret what they’d had because he’d helped her get over her silly crush on Coop. But now she was barely fighting off a broken heart and it was sucking up all the energy she had left.
Storm Warning (Broken Heartland) Page 15
