“That can’t be good,” Jas said. “Maybe she’ll just bite me instead of spraying.”
Cam shook his head. “You don’t want that. It’s practically guaranteed you’ll get rabies.”
Jas cringed. “Bears and skunks! Jesus, I cannot catch a break!”
Cam watched the mother skunk. “We’re okay unless she raises her hind legs. Step away from the kits slowly and get on the other side of the tree trunk.”
“This is why I don’t like to leave the boardroom,” Jas muttered under his breath.
Jas moved slowly, lifting his foot when the mama skunk let out a high-pitched screech and shot toward her kits.
“Run!” Cam called.
The brothers took off, crashing down the mountain, batting their way past prickly evergreens and leafy aspens.
“Do you smell anything?” Bren called.
“No!” Cam answered.
“Is she chasing us?” Jas asked.
Bren pulled ahead. “I don’t want to look!”
Jasper kicked up his pace. “Somebody needs to look!”
“Can she chase us and spray us at the same time?” Bren asked.
Cam shook his head and caught up to his brothers. “I don’t think so?”
Jas glanced over at him. “You’re the brother who knows all the outdoorsy summer shit!”
“How does that include knowing what happens after somebody steps on a skunk nest?” he shot back.
Christ! After this, he’d never complain about squirrels again.
“You think I wanted to do that?” Jas threw back.
“Shut the flip up and keep running!” Brennen called, taking on the role of the middle child, otherwise known as the sibling peace negotiator.
They kept sprinting until they made it down to a winding gravel road, and Cam caught Jasper’s eye, and the two started laughing.
“What?” Bren asked with a heaving breath.
“Bren, you’re with us. You don’t have to talk like you’re making balloon animals at a toddler’s birthday party!” Cam said, grateful to be laughing with his brothers.
Brennen threw up his hands. “I can’t help it, man! I used to have a vocabulary that would make a sailor blush. But after meeting Abby, I changed. Love makes you do crazy things.”
Jasper nodded. “I can second that.”
They walked down the road, catching their breaths, as a small gas station and a few old shops came into view.
“Where’d you park?” Cam asked, checking the gas station’s small cracked asphalt lot.
“There,” Jas said and pointed out to a clearing where a helicopter sat.
Cam’s jaw dropped. “You took a helicopter here?”
Jasper frowned. “What did you think we’d take? A hot-air balloon?”
“A car! I figured you drove here.”
“Cam, we’re Bergens. We have things. Expensive things that fly,” Jas answered.
“Hold on,” Bren said and pointed toward the shops. “I need to go check and see if they have any of those doorknobs Cadence has been looking for.”
“In that rundown antiques place?” Jas asked, pointing to the small building with a sun-bleached sign reading antiques and other novelties.
Bren nodded. “I was here at the beginning of the summer and stopped in. They didn’t have any at the time, but the shopkeeper said he might be getting some in.”
The breath caught in Camden’s throat. “So, there might be a daisy doorknob in that store?”
“Yeah.”
Cam swallowed hard. “If there’s one in there, then I know I’m meant to stay.”
Jasper looked at him as if he had ten heads. “I tell you all about how you almost drowned and how I almost lost Elle to try to make you see that you need to forgive yourself and let the past go. But it’s a damn doorknob that may keep you here and bring you back to Cadence and Bodhi?”
He nodded. “Abby told Bren that she needed one more set of knobs for the house, and that would be fate’s way of telling her where she needed to be, right?”
Brennen nodded.
“If I have the doorknobs, that’ll be the sign that she and Bodhi are meant to be with me,” Cam said as fear and excitement surged through his veins.
Bren let out a low whistle. “That’s a whole flipping lot riding on a doorknob, bro.”
No shit.
Cam turned to Jas. “If that doorknob is there, I’m going to need to make a pretty big purchase. We have lawyers to do that kind of thing, right?”
Jas grinned. “In spades, little brother, in spades. Whatever you need, they can make it happen.”
“What time is it?” Cam asked as the rush wore off and a calm set in.
He was doing this.
Brennen glanced at his watch. “It’s two.”
Cam blew out a slow breath. “And the regatta’s at three?”
“Yeah,” Bren answered.
He stared at the antiques shop and thought of his father’s words.
Look at where you want to be. Find that spot and focus on it.
“If I find that glass daisy doorknob in there, can we make it to Smith Lake in time for the regatta?”
Jas crossed his arms. “It’ll be damn close, but I think so.”
Mountain Daisy had given him hope. Daisies had brought him home. If he were meant to stay, the daisies would let him know.
He closed his eyes and thought of his parents and Cadence’s husband, Aaron.
The ball’s in your court. If there’s a daisy doorknob in that shop, I’ll know what it means—and I’ll never forget.
He opened his eyes then nodded to his brothers. “All right, here goes everything.”
19
Cadence
“Bodhi stay where I can see you and don’t put your boat in the lake yet!”
“Okay, Mom! Tell Camden I’ll be down by the water when he gets here.”
Cadence glanced around Smith Lake as families congregated near the water’s edge, laughing and carrying cardboard regatta boats.
“Are you okay?” Abby asked.
Cadence scanned the boathouse and then the playground.
Why was she looking for Camden? That was a stupid question. She still loved him. She loved this man who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders. But she also wanted to kill him when she caught a glimpse of Bodhi searching the crowd as well.
“I don’t know what I am, Abby,” she answered.
“Well, probably rich,” her friend offered with a little smile.
Elle’s antique expert friend had gone nuts over the watch—the two of them talking quickly and going back and forth over video chat. If what they thought was true, this pocket watch could easily garner over a million dollars at auction.
A million dollars.
She’d spent the last three years pinching pennies, convincing Bodhi that mac and cheese three nights in a row was a fun game instead of a cost-saving measure when her bank account had dwindled down to almost nothing in the days before her paycheck got deposited.
Would she have known the watch was there had those squirrels not caused her to scream and brought Cam crashing into her life?
“Okay, Cadence,” Elle said, dropping her phone into her bag. “My friend’s flying out first thing tomorrow.”
“She’s coming here? To Colorado?”
Elle nodded and fanned herself. “This is huge. It could change everything for you, and Christ on a cracker, it is hot out!”
A few families glanced over at Elle, and she smiled brightly. “It’s okay! I’m six months pregnant with twins and allowed to say anything I want at this point. Doctor’s orders.”
“Oh, Elle!” Abby said, shaking her head.
“You try walking around in this heat with two watermelons wreaking havoc on your uterus, and then I’ll let you sing all the cookie jar and head’s up seven up chants you want.”
“Your friend really thinks it’s the real deal?” Cadence asked, still finding it all so hard to believe.
> Elle stopped fanning herself. “You’ve got the papers. The watch is in pristine condition. This is the kind of find antiques lovers dream about. Yeah, she needs to see it herself, and she knows a watch expert who also wants to take a look, but she just told me she’s ninety-nine percent sure you’re in possession of an extremely valuable timepiece.”
“Holy pickles and relish,” she said with a dazed whisper.
“That’s a shit ton of pickles and relish,” Elle added then pointed to her belly when a woman walking by gasped.
Cadence pressed her hand to her mouth and chuckled. “I’m glad you and Abby are here. Thank you. I’d never have known the value of that watch without you.”
Tears welled in Elle’s eyes. “God, help me! I hate hormones. If I’m not cursing out my flat iron, I’m crying when the guy at the bakery hands me a bagel and tells me to have a nice day. A nice day! So sweet, right?”
Cadence rubbed her friend’s back. “I was the same way when I was pregnant with Bodhi. For me, it was fabric softener commercials. I’d burst out in tears because I’d never used fabric softener before, and I couldn’t help thinking of all the cuddle fresh softness I’d missed.”
“Okay, that’s really messed up, Cadence!” Elle replied through tears when Harriet Bergen’s voice rang out.
“Hello, darlings!” Harriet said and pressed a kiss to their cheeks. “How are you feeling, Elle?”
Elle grinned warmly. “Like I want to punch Jasper in the throat.”
Harriet nodded. “That sounds just about right. When I was pregnant with Griffin, I would dream about what it would be like if Ray had to give birth.”
Elle patted her belly. “It’s good to know that homicidal tendencies run in the family.”
“And Cadence, dear, I don’t know what to say. When Brennen called and told me what had happened, I made sure he and Jasper sprang into action.”
Cadence shared a look with Abby. “What did you say to Brennen?”
“Just that Camden may need a…reminder.”
“A reminder?” she echoed.
She should have guessed Abby would say something. And she’d looked off when she returned to the kitchen after her phone call with Brennen.
Harriet sighed. “Bergen men have hearts like no other, Cadence. But it’s a double-edged sword, darling. To love that deeply means that when they make a mistake, that pain eats at them. It weighs them down, and they can lose perspective.” She turned to the group. “You three smart, driven women brought my grandsons back from a very bleak existence. I’m grateful to each of you.”
Cadence blinked back tears. “But Cam’s gone, Mrs. Bergen.”
Harriet waved her off. “None of that, Mrs. Bergen. I’m Harriett. And you can never say never with my grandsons. Camden loves you, and he loves Bodhi, too.”
Cadence swallowed past the lump in her throat. “But he left me.”
Harriet nodded then squeezed her hand. “He did, darling—and he shouldn’t have. But it’s not because he doesn’t care,” she added then glanced over her shoulder as Ray Bergen approached. “I can tell you that after more than fifty years of marriage to a Bergen man, I know for a fact it’s because he does.”
Ray pointed at his watch, and Harriet nodded.
“Well, then,” she said, composing herself. “I always blow the foghorn to start the regatta. Looks like it’s time for me to stand on my perch at the boathouse.”
“We’ll find you after the race,” Abby said as they waved goodbye to Ray and Harriet.
“How many minutes do we have until the regatta starts?” Cadence asked.
Abby bit her lip. “Thirteen.”
“Thirteen,” Cadence echoed as a low mechanical hum filled the air, and a helicopter made a pass over Smith Lake, rippling the smooth surface.
Cadence stared open-mouthed as the chopper landed in the middle of Baxter Park’s empty sports field. “Is that…”
“Yep, it is,” Elle said, shaking her head.
“Those brothers do know how to make an entrance,” Abby added as the helicopter blades slowed, and all the children cheered.
“Mom!” Bodhi cried and ran to her side. “It’s Cam and Brennen and Jasper! They’re here! I told you Cam would come.”
She was standing, so she knew she was still breathing, but the sight of him, her Mountain Mac striding toward her, left her breathless.
Abby leaned in. “What do you want us to do?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure he’s going to want to talk to you,” Elle whispered.
“It’s okay. I’m okay,” she answered.
Liar. She was the furthest thing from okay.
The brothers made their way to them, their matching strides and steel-blue eyes were a riveting sight, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Cam. What was she supposed to say to him? What’s up? How was your impromptu vacation?
Luckily, Bodhi was the first to speak.
“That was awesome! Will you guys take me up in a helicopter someday?”
Jasper and Brennen greeted their wives, then high fived Bodhi.
“We sure will,” Brennen answered as Cam held her gaze.
“Are you ready for the regatta, Bodhi?” Jasper asked.
“The SS Daisy is ready for action!” her son replied then reached for Cam’s hand. “I knew you’d be here. I painted our names on the boat this morning.”
Cam took a knee to be eye to eye with the boy. “That’s awesome, Bodhi. Do you mind if I talk to your mom for a minute before the race?”
Bodhi threw his little body at Cam and wrapped his arms around the man’s neck. “I’m glad you’re back. Mommy smiles a lot more when you’re here.”
“I’m glad I’m back, too, B,” Cam said, emotion lacing his words.
“Will you show us your boat, Bodhi?” Brennen asked.
Bodhi pulled away from Camden and smiled up at Brennen and Jasper. “You guys won’t believe how cool it looks! Come on!” he said over his shoulder, skipping away toward the lake.
“Hey,” Cam said and set his backpack on the ground.
“Hey,” she echoed, completely at a loss for what to say.
“I’ve missed you so much, Cadence.”
“We’ll give you guys a minute,” Abby said, but Elle stayed put and eyed the man.
“Not before I warn you, Camden Bergen. I may be six months pregnant and as big as a house, but I could still take you down if I wanted.”
“Duly noted,” he answered.
Elle turned to her. “Are you going to be all right if we leave, Cadence?”
“Yes, I’ll be fine.”
There she was, again, lying.
Her friends made their way to the lake toward the guys and a waving Bodhi, and she steadied herself.
“How are you?” Cam asked.
“About as good as someone who got left on a darkened road by the man that she thought had loved her.”
He took her hand. “I do love you. I love you and Bodhi so much. I’m sorry I left you like that. But I ran down a mountain to get to you today. I dodged angry skunks to be here.”
She frowned. “That would explain the smell.”
Cam gave her the hint of a smile. “They didn’t spray us. This is just what a guy smells like after a week in a cabin.”
She released a sad little chuckle. “Do you know how angry I am with you?”
His shoulders crumpled. “I can imagine.”
“Do you know how hard it was keeping it together for Bodhi when all I wanted to do was scream and cry and curse your name?”
“I’m sure it was torture.”
“Why are you back?” she asked, unable to rein in her frustration.
He lifted his chin. “Because I love you. Because I know we’re meant to be together. You, me and Bodhi are meant to be a family.”
She released a shaky breath. “You’ve told me this before. What’s going to happen the next time Bodhi gets hurt, or something happens to me? How will I know you won’t leave us again? Because Cam, I do
n’t think I could stand it and can’t even imagine what it would do to my son.”
He tightened his grip on her hand. “I thought I had to bear it all. I thought, if I couldn’t keep you and Bodhi safe, I didn’t deserve you.”
She shook her head, hating that they were back to this. “Nobody has that power, Cam.”
He held her gaze. “I know that. And I know that there are going to be hard days. But instead of me trying to control everything that happens, trying to save you from heartache or pain, I understand now that we need to meet those days together. You and me.”
She dropped her chin to her chest as tears slid down her cheeks.
He tilted her head up gently. “One, two, three. Eyes on me,” he said softly.
“That’s my line,” she replied with a teary smile.
He cupped her face in his hand. “You’ve given me so much, Cadence. You were the spark of hope that gave me the strength to come home. I thought I had to be your protector. I thought it was my job to never let anything hurt you or Bodhi—but I didn’t take into account your strength and your resilience. As much as I don’t want anything to hurt you—that’s just not how life works. My brothers helped me see that I need to be your partner, not your protector. We’ll meet whatever life dishes out to us head-on, and we’ll do it together.”
How she wanted to believe him! How she wanted to rest her head against his chest and melt into his warm embrace. But she couldn’t because it wasn’t just her heart that was on the line.
“How can I trust you? It’s one thing for you to break my heart. I’m a grown woman. I’ve buried a husband. I can take the pain. But Bodhi…” she trailed off.
Cam blinked back tears. “I have something I need to give you. Something I have to show you that will prove I’m not going anywhere.”
He unzipped his pack and pulled out a worn brown paper bag.
“What is it?”
He reached inside it and removed two glass daisy doorknobs. “It’s the universe telling us Mountain Daisy and Mountain Mac were always meant to be together.”
He handed her the final set, the last items she needed for the houses to be completed and the renovation to be over.
“Brennen told you what I said,” she whispered, staring at the intricate daisy encased in glass.
Man Find (Bergen Brothers Book 3) Page 25
