“Oops.” He broke the kiss eventually and dropped his forehead to hers, his breathing sporadic and uneven. “I promised myself I wouldn’t do that.”
Hadn’t she done exactly the same? “Me, too.”
“Only I made the promise five thousand times a day, at least,” Cam continued, like kissing her was some kind of onus crime. “Do not kiss Meredith Brennan. Do not kiss Meredith—”
“I get it.” She tried to pull back, but he held tight.
“But I can’t help but want to kiss Meredith Brennan,” he whispered, his soft breath teasing her neck, her ear. “And that’s a problem because we’ve got history, we’re working together, and I don’t want to mess things up.”
She took a broad step back. This time he let her go, but one hand came up and cradled her face, her cheek. “Sorry. You just looked so cute, all self-righteous and jealous, and I…” he shrugged “…couldn’t help myself.”
“First of all.” She held up one newly manicured pointer finger. “I was neither self-righteous nor jealous.”
He barked a quick laugh, then clapped a hand across his mouth. “Of course not.”
“Secondly.” She added another finger. “You’re right. We’ve got a working relationship we shouldn’t mess up, but the last time I looked we were both adults. Adults can actually balance things, Cam Calhoun, because they’re grown-ups.” She leaned in, planted a quick kiss on his very surprised face, then stepped back and lifted the cookie tray. “I’m not seventeen anymore. Neither are you. And because it’s not exactly a crime to kiss each other, I suggest we do it now and again. Just to see.”
She’d surprised him. No, wait, make that totally stupefied him if the look on his face was any indication. Well, good. For once she was going to take the upper hand. Grasp her destiny. Take charge.
Right after she showed up late at her mother’s house and explained to the family why she was tardy, carefully leaving Cam out of the equation. But with Heather and Rory there, her mother would know something was up, because not much got past Dana Brennan, and she’d left Heather’s place over a half-hour before.
She turned at the door. “You hungry?”
Head angled, Cam contemplated her. A tiny smile quirked the left side of his jaw. “Nah. You go. Have fun. We’ll talk soon.”
“Okay.”
Talk, Mere. Keep it friendly and casual. Do not, I repeat, do not go off the deep end over your old boyfriend just because his kiss wiped all traces of coherent thought from your brain, and the woodsy scent of him turned your insides to mush. You’ve got time. Take time. No more rushing headlong into love or anything else. Got it?
Oh, she got it all right. And she knew better. As she climbed back into her run-of-the-mill sedan, she thought of Haley Jennings and the candy-apple-red sports car. Younger. Beautiful. Blonde. Ambitious. And she probably hadn’t had a two-year-long affair with a senator’s husband.
Guilt stabbed, making her reconsider her edict to Cam.
Images of Sophie and Rachel swam in her brain. Two precious girls, impressionable. They didn’t need to walk in the shadows of her past, not now, not ever. Meredith wasn’t foolish. She understood the workings of Washington better than most. If someone decided they wanted news of her relationship with Chas/Charles to come out, it would, and Sylvia Bellwater was up for reelection in November. What better way for the opposing party to thwart her efforts than a smear campaign. And if that happened, she would be in the thick of it, named or unnamed. And in D.C. circles, the unnamed always got identified in the end.
She pulled into her mother’s drive, relieved to see Matt and Callie climbing out of their car just ahead. If half the party was late, she wouldn’t feel quite so guilty. Or alone.
But knowing that what just happened with Cam shouldn’t happen again, made her feel more alone than ever.
Chapter Eight
She was avoiding him.
For nearly a week he’d been in and out of Stillwaters at night with no glimpse of Meredith. Oh, she’d been there, all right, just not when he was around. The pedicure room moldings wore a blush of soft, sage-green against dusk-rose walls. The old paper in the turret room was gone and fresh cream-colored paint brightened the arced walls. The upstairs hall had been repainted as well, a blend of café au lait and mauve, and she’d left tiles for him to examine, to make a decision on the flooring.
With a terse note.
He sighed, examined the choices, then hit her phone number, and wasn’t surprised when it went to voice mail on the fourth ring.
The kiss, no doubt.
Well, that was fine, because he’d been doing some reconsidering of his own, wondering what had gotten into him. What made him take that bold step forward? Was it her mouth, the memory of his lips on hers from days of old, wondering if it would be the same?
It wasn’t the same, it was better. And that spelled trouble all around.
Maybe he was drawn by the pale sweep of her cheek, a profile that hinted sorrow and pain? The saucy hair, a nest of curls, clipped back but wild and untamable?
All of the above, he realized. But he shoved the knowledge aside, determined to move on.
His phone rang. He glanced down and felt a pang of regret that it wasn’t Meredith’s number in his display. “Hey, Mom. What’s up?”
“Are you picking me up tomorrow?”
Tomorrow?
Cam cringed, fought a scowl at his memory lapse and nodded, unseen. “Yes. The girls and I will be by at nine-thirty.”
“That won’t work. Susan Langley called me.”
“From The Edge?” Susan Langley and her husband Gary owned the lovely hillside restaurant overlooking the Jamison Valley.
“Yes, but she called because she’s on the ecumenical council and they’re organizing the food for the Easter egg hunt. I said I’d help.”
Cam reached up to clean his ear, then shifted the tiny phone’s receiver. “You what?”
“I’m helping serve food at the egg hunt tomorrow.” She huffed the words as if his reaction surprised her. Cam couldn’t remember the last time his mother voluntarily stepped outside of her comfort zone, an area that included the four solid walls of her small ranch house.
“So what time do you need to be there?” He hid the tone of amazement with a master’s skill.
“Nine o’clock.”
“Then we’ll come at eight-forty-five.”
“Fine. But you’ll have to find something to do for an hour,” she added, insistent. “The kids aren’t supposed to get there until a quarter of ten.”
“Got it.”
“And don’t spend money feeding them when there will be perfectly good food right there.”
One, two, three…
Cam unclenched his jaw, but it took way more effort than it should have. “I’ll take care of it, Mom. See you in the morning.”
“Don’t be late.”
He hung up without saying goodbye, before he said something he’d regret. She was his mother.
But he’d stopped being a kid a long time ago, and her bossy, antagonistic nature pushed people away, leaving her more alone as she aged. He knew it was her own fault, but having her alone and lonely weighed on him.
And here she was, out of the blue, reaching out to the community. Would wonders never cease?
* * *
“Susan, good morning.” Meredith entered the spacious kitchen behind the Gathering Hall and grabbed an apron. “Point me where you need me to go.”
Susan Langley smiled a welcome, handed off a tray of empty coffee carafes and hooked a thumb left. “I’m putting the prettiest helpers on coffee service, Meredith, so if you’d be so kind as to find Alyssa, you can help her get set up. We’re doing coffee in the back corner because food will be going in and out of the kitchen all morning.”
> “Perfectly planned as always.” Meredith reached over, gave the older woman a quick hug and pushed through the Dutch door to check the morning’s progress.
The newly renovated youth center bustled with activity. She spotted Alyssa Michaels on the far side and headed her way as her sister-in-law, Callie, met up with them from the other direction. “We’re all on coffee duty? Sweet.”
“And juice.” Alyssa indicated trays of juice boxes and more adult versions of orange juice in tall, acrylic pitchers. “Do you think we need all three of us here?”
Meredith splayed her hands up, palms out. “Oh, do not go there. When your mother gives a direction, I follow. She sent me here, so here’s where I’m staying.”
Callie didn’t disagree. “Ditto. Strong matriarchs are to be respected at all costs and double that at community functions.”
“You guys know my mother well.” Alyssa swept the room a glance, then shrugged. “And we got an outpouring of help for this little shindig, so we’ll just man our coffeepots and have fun dishing about what’s new.” She settled a deliberately lazy look at Callie’s midsection and hiked a brow. “You first, Callie.”
Callie laughed. “There is no such thing as a secret in a small town. Who needs a JumboTron when we’ve got neighbors?”
Alyssa filled a tray with paper cups of orange juice. “Amen to that. When?”
“If all goes well, and we’re praying it does…”
Alyssa sent a nod of first trimester understanding.
“Thanksgiving.”
“Such a wonderful time for a perfect blessing, Cal.”
Callie sent a skeptical look to her right. “The smell of that bacon and sausage might prove too much for me. If I duck out the back door—” she indicated the emergency exit behind their coffee service “—it will only be for a little fresh air. Cooking meat doesn’t happen in our house right now. Matt either grills outside or we eat pasta. With plain red sauce or cheese. And yes, I am that boring.”
“Whatever it takes.” Meredith slipped an arm around Callie and half hugged her. “I can’t wait to see this baby. Hold him. Or her.”
“And with two of them on the way…”
“We’ll be busy,” Meredith added. She started filling the coffee carafes from the stadium-type urns against the wall.
“Two?” Alyssa turned, surprised. “Hannah, too? Oh, that’s delightful. And just last year I was lamenting that we didn’t have enough young mothers around here to shake a stick at, and look what’s happened.”
“I am not drinking the water in this town.” Meredith made the point-blank statement from her spot at the wall. “It’s obviously potent and dangerous.”
Alyssa moved closer and kept her voice low. “Not as potent and dangerous as working arm in arm with an old boyfriend, I’d wager. So tell us, Meredith…” She stretched the words out long and slow. “How are things going at the Senator’s Mansion? With Cam?”
“I barely see him.” Meredith kept her tone quick and light, but from the exchanged looks, she knew she wasn’t fooling these women. “I make sure I work around his hours so it doesn’t get awkward.”
“Which means it’s already gotten awkward,” Callie said. She tapped one finger along the side of her face. “And awkward almost always means a kiss. Or two.”
“At least two,” agreed Alyssa.
“Stop.”
“Two,” Callie decided.
“I concur,” added Alyssa. She leaned closer, as if she wasn’t close enough already, hovering over Meredith’s shoulder. “So…how was it?”
“What?”
“The kiss.” Callie stepped closer, too. “And I’ll bet it was last week before dinner at your mother’s place because a, you were late and, b, you were flushed and, c…”
Meredith handed off a full carafe of regular coffee and shifted her attention to the growing line of people. “Off-limits discussion and we’ve got people needing caffeine.”
Alyssa bent for the second carafe and whispered, “This conversation is not over.”
“Oh, it is,” Meredith assured her. “My vow of silence confirms that.”
Busy now, Alyssa grabbed the decaf pot and moved down the table to fill coffee cups while Meredith continued to fill carafes.
She’d forgotten how good it felt to laugh and tease with her colleagues and friends. She’d had few friends at the spa. It was hard to form strong bonds when you were the boss because complaints of favoritism ran rampant. Remembering Heather’s stand on that, she realized again how she might have done things differently.
At Stillwaters, she would. With Heather’s help and straightforward approach, a work crew would start out on the right foot. Meredith recognized the wisdom therein. Taking over the operation in Maryland meant she absorbed old problems as the woman in charge. Here? A fresh start. On multiple fronts.
“Meredith, hi!”
“Hi, Meredith.”
Two excited voices hailed her from the middle of the room, accompanied by a totally cute dad, looking way too good in work boots and blue jeans. Bookended by the two precious and precocious girls, Cam’s grin made the bright, new room pale in comparison.
“Coffee. You’re a lifesaver, Mere.”
She raised the just-filled carafe and grasped a cup the same moment his hand went for it, then tried to pretend his hand on hers meant nothing, that a ping of sweet sensation didn’t wrangle its way up her arm and settle somewhere in the vicinity of her heart.
He felt it, too. The grin widened. The sky-blue eyes crinkled and laugh lines that didn’t see enough use made him seem less scholarly, quite approachable. The feel of his hand magnified the effect and she was pretty sure she’d inadvertently pour coffee on his hand instead of into the cup if he didn’t let go.
“Allow me.” Keeping his gaze on hers, he took the carafe while the girls helped themselves to juice boxes, and oh-so-slowly poured his coffee, her hand still trapped beneath his.
Alyssa smiled.
Callie cleared her throat with meaning.
And Meredith realized that going eight days without seeing Cam, talking to Cam, working with Cam had done nothing but raise the stakes. And funny, with him right there, her hand between his and the foam cup, she didn’t feel scared. Or concerned. Looking at Cam, gazing into his eyes, a tiny direct connection of protection and care bore into her heart, her soul.
“I suppose if I want to drink this coffee…” He shifted forward a little, halving their already narrow separation. “I need to let go so you can let go.”
“And if I don’t want to?”
He straightened, released her hand, then accepted the full cup while he met her gaze straight on. “Then you have a pretty funny way of showing it, Mere. Day nine of being ignored, avoided and shut out.”
His direct approach deserved nothing less in return. “Running scared.”
He shrugged and the next comment cut deep because of its veracity. “What else is new?”
She hated that he was right. And that he called her on it. Especially when her choices hinged on protecting his daughters. And him. But he’d never know that and she wasn’t about to make excuses. “True enough. But while I’m here to stay this time, I’m not in the market for anything other than work.”
He tipped his cup in salute and angled his head while the girls busied themselves with doughnut holes from the Tops Market in Wellsville. “Not what you said last week.”
“I was being impetuous.”
He nodded and sent her a serious look, one that meant business. “I wasn’t. But I appreciate the heads-up. Strictly business from this point forward. Got it.”
He turned to head toward the girls as the big room filled with anxious, excited egg-hunters and their parents, then swung back. “When we’re not kissing, that is.”
Alyssa�
��s grin said she heard and approved.
Callie’s laugh agreed.
He didn’t wait for Meredith’s rebuttal, and she remembered that Cam’s timing had always been spot-on. Which meant his calm, cool facade was often hiding the man within, a man who managed to touch her heart and soul in the past few weeks.
He disappeared outside with the girls. Luckily the crowd looking for coffee and juices kept her busy enough to not notice his absence, not long for his deep voice, his gaze of amused affection. The quiet persona that said so much.
He’d called her a gypsy last week. And it probably seemed that way to him, that she’d traipsed around, seeking fulfillment in her quest for success. That journey had tripped her up, but it also allowed her to develop some wonderful skills along the way. Skills she’d use here in her hometown.
By the time the egg hunt had concluded and clean-up was nearly done, she realized that being part of a community service event like this felt good. Real good. Right until Evelyn Calhoun cornered her outside the ladies’ room. “Meredith.”
She knew that voice. A little more querulous, perhaps, but still dogmatic. Tough. Acerbic.
Which only meant she’d smile brighter. Longer.
She turned and met the older woman’s tight gaze. “Mrs. Calhoun. How nice to see you.”
Evelyn took a bold step forward. “You’re working with my son.”
Um, your thirty-four-year-old son, plenty old enough to be taking care of himself. Meredith flashed perfect cheerleader teeth. “And loving it. Cam’s amazingly talented, and those girls, well—” She raised her shoulders. “How could anyone not fall in love with those girls?”
Evelyn’s eyes narrowed. Her lips thinned. Dark, shaggy brows drew close over the bridge of her nose. “Them girls don’t need to be all gussied up, their heads filled with all kinds of nonsense. They’re smart and have the common sense of their mother and I don’t want you messing with that.”
A Family to Cherish Page 9
