“You’re wrong,” she said, and he laughed. She was unbelievable. Beautiful and perfect, his Juliet. And oh, he wanted her to be right. He wanted it so badly that he didn’t know how his heart was still in his chest and not on the ground at her feet.
Tears formed in her eyes. “We have a family. Two amazing, precious daughters who are counting on us, who also love you. Do you honestly think you’re the only one who’s afraid of getting their guts ripped out by this?”
“Jules... I—” He stopped when she put her hand on his.
“There’s that old saying, that the real you is the person you are when no one else is watching. I know who you are when no one else is watching. I love the person who plays dollhouse with a three-year-old and walks the floor with a teething baby. Who taste-tests four hundred different cupcake flavors and—” her breath hitched “—who creates a first dance for the bride who didn’t get one. I love you.
“You don’t have to say anything—I don’t even want you to say anything. I just wanted you to know.” She stood up, dropping the quilt in the chair and wrapping her arms around her middle. “Church tomorrow. I’m gonna try to get some sleep.”
She gave him a quick hug, leaning over his shoulders from behind, then took the monitor from the table beside him and left him sitting there staring into the fire. He rubbed the ache in his chest where his heart was still trying to find a beat. He wanted to believe her.
He longed to believe her.
Unlike Jules, Cam thought of himself as a risk-taker. A survivor. He’d managed not only to live after being tossed out at age fifteen, he’d thrived. But something was missing. Something had always been missing.
Cam had never told anyone else about the day he’d gotten thrown out of his family, but that was the day that everything had changed. He’d wanted so desperately for his mother to call his name, to tell him he mattered, but she didn’t. The one person who should’ve loved him unconditionally couldn’t.
Juliet would find out eventually that he wasn’t the person she thought he was. And it would be so much worse than if he’d just never loved her to begin with. He’d had these few months of having a family, of feeling like he was a part of something.
The kid in him—the one that didn’t want to risk his heart—said, A few months isn’t everything, but it’s something. Maybe it was the best life had for him, the best he could hope for.
The risk taker whispered, But what if it’s not?
Jules sat in church next to Cam, acutely aware that his arm was touching hers from shoulder to elbow. Her hands were twisted in her lap and she hadn’t heard a word the pastor said. She kept replaying last night’s conversation in her mind.
She’d told him she loved him. But what was that ill-defined emotion that flitted across his face? Was it shock? Was it relief?
Who knew?
Certainly not her.
The sound of the organ jolted her from her thoughts. Was the sermon over? She jumped to her feet alongside the rest of the people in her pew and opened her hymnal, not even sure what page she was supposed to be on. She caught up to the page and stanza at right about the time everyone else closed their hymnals and Pastor Doug said the benediction. Finally. Sitting next to Cam and not knowing what he was thinking was torture.
She had to escape. “I’m gonna run to the nursery and get the girls.”
“I’ve got to pick up Levi, anyway, so I’ll get Eleanor and Emma, too,” Jordan said. She hurried down the aisle to the back door of the sanctuary before Jules could even get a word out.
“What in the world?” Jordan wasn’t even going toward the nursery. Jules started that direction, but found herself flanked by Claire and Wynn, who locked arms with her. She glanced around for Cam and saw the back of his head, as he was being escorted out of the sanctuary by Latham.
It was starting to sink in that this was no ordinary Sunday after church with them all heading out to the farm for family lunch. She pinned her sister with a look. “What’s going on? And don’t say nothing.”
“My lips are sealed,” Wynn laughed and continued to drag Jules toward the double doors that led to the fellowship hall. Once there, she and Claire each took a door handle and pulled the doors open.
Jules found herself staring at a wedding shower wonderland. There were streamers and flowers and gleaming silver trays, pretty party food and at least twenty beaming women.
Jules said, through teeth clenched into a smile, “I’m going to kill you.”
“Not worried. Too many witnesses. And don’t worry about the kids. We asked the nursery ladies to stay.” Wynn led her to a table full of food and turned her loose, clearly of the opinion that a cucumber sandwich might help her mood.
Despite feeling like a huge fraud, Jules was so touched. The table was covered with plates and dishes holding cucumber finger sandwiches, lemon squares, tiny brownies with powdered sugar, chicken salad on shaped bread. She’d attended scores of luncheons just like this one. And as always, the offerings so lovingly prepared underscored Jules’s certainty that food was comforting. It made people happy.
She turned to the small crowd of ladies standing by, who were watching her with love shining on their faces. These were the women who had watched her grow up, come to her high school graduation, held her hand when she was grieving her dad.
“Y’all. I can’t even...” She reached for their hands. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much for doing this. What a sweet, sweet surprise.”
“Fix a plate,” Mrs. Matthews said. “We’re starving.”
The ladies standing around her laughed. Mrs. Norris nodded. “It’s true. Pastor Doug can preach a long sermon.”
Jules picked up one of the clear plastic plates. She loaded it with food and sat at one of the round tables, which the ladies had decorated with beautiful old lanterns adorned with roses and ivy from their own gardens.
Molly and Janice, a couple of her friends from high school, joined her. They talked about kids and preschool and which kid had which teacher at the moment. Her friend Molly asked whether she was going to sign Eleanor up for T-ball. T-ball?
Jules lifted her eyebrows. “Now I know you’re teasing me. They don’t really play sports at three, do they?”
“Oh, yeah, they do. And it’s serious business.”
Feeling like a dark cloud just parked itself over her head, Jules said, “Girl, I’ve barely got my head above water as it is.”
Her friend Janice set her pink lemonade on the table. “That’s the thing no one tells you about being a mom. Everyone feels that way. Like you’re spinning plates and they’re all about to fall, all the time.”
Molly nodded. “At least we had time to get used to the chaos before we added number two. You got two at once. A baby and a toddler.”
Janice widened her eyes, leaning forward conspiratorially. “How do you think Elaine Calvin is doing? Did you hear she had triplets?”
“No!” Jules put her fork down on the table. “I haven’t heard any news since the bakery’s been closed, too.”
Janice’s and Molly’s eyes met across the table. Janice said, “We peeked in the window when we were out walking the other day. It looks so great in there. We totally can’t wait for you to open back up.”
“Oh, you guys. That makes me feel so good. I’m glad you’re excited about it. I can’t wait for you to see the new menu.”
One of the older ladies who’d been friends with Jules’s mom for years dinged her water glass to get everyone’s attention. “Jules, we just wanted you to know how much we love you and how thrilled we are that you’re happily married.”
The uneasy sensation in Jules’s tummy was back with a vengeance. She was married, at least. That much was true.
Mrs. Jackson continued, “We know you don’t need all the usual shower items, so we pooled our resources and did something a little different for you
and we hope you’ll enjoy it. We wish you all the best, hon.”
Claire set a small square basket filled with tissue and envelopes in front of Jules, who lifted one from the basket and opened it. Inside, she found four tickets to Bellingrath Gardens. Oh.
The next envelope held four tickets to the nearby zoo. The next, a family membership to the kids’ science museum.
Each envelope held an experience, a way for their family to enjoy spending time together. Jules could never have imagined a more perfect gift. She had to wonder if they would be using them as a family of four, or if Cam would be off on his next adventure by the time they used the tickets.
She loved him. Now she had to trust that it was enough.
She sighed, but smiled and stood so she could address the small group of ladies. “You guys have no idea how much this means to me. Our family was formed, I guess you could say, a little unconventionally.”
That comment got a chuckle from the ladies around the room.
“But your support and love and joy in celebrating with us means the world to me. Thank you.” Jules made her way to the door, and as the ladies gathered their trays and started for home, she hugged each one and thanked her personally.
Later, as she went to the nursery to pick up the girls, she couldn’t help wondering what had happened to Cam and if he’d had a similar ambush.
And if he had that same uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that she did.
* * *
While Jules was eating finger sandwiches with her friends from high school, Cam, Ash and Latham were eating barbecue with the husbands, some of whom Cam remembered vaguely from middle school. “It was nice of you guys to take me out to lunch.”
“It was either this or go to the shower with the women. I’m not into food I have to eat twenty of to make an actual adult-size portion. Plus, sausage balls don’t count as actual meat.” Ash held up a rib. “This is meat.”
Cam grinned as he bit into his own barbecued rib. He’d never had friends like Juliet’s brothers before. He’d never had friends. Not really.
His smile faded. This life he’d walked into was even better than he’d imagined it. The girls had stolen his heart. The house he’d bought had become a home to him, maybe the first he’d ever really had. The woman he’d married...she wasn’t perfect, even though she’d like to be.
She had a blind spot. She loved him.
He let a slow breath out. She’d shocked him last night and he hadn’t slept much, with her declaration running through his mind. Running through his heart—like streams of water in the desert.
“I’ve been elected to say a few words. Or actually, I think as the most recent newlywed, I drew the short straw.” Latham cleared his throat. “So, Cam, we’re all very happy to have you in the family, especially because you are a beast on the soccer field. You lucked out when Jules decided to marry you. She’s a keeper and you got me and Ash and Joe as brothers-in-law. Congratulations.”
There were chuckles around the table as Latham pulled an envelope from his front jacket pocket and handed it across the table to Cam.
“What’s this?” Cam wiped his hands on a napkin, took the envelope and slid his finger under the flap. He stared down at the card. It was a voucher for three days in Gatlinburg, in a penthouse suite. He looked up. “Guys, I don’t know what to say.”
Ash grinned. “We know you and Jules didn’t get to have a honeymoon and this isn’t much, but it will get you out of town for a few days. We’ve arranged for Mrs. Matthews to watch the girls for you. You’ll just have to let her know the dates.”
“We’d have liked to send you off to Europe or the Caribbean or something, but let’s face it, we’re too poor for that.” Latham laughed. “Oh, and Joe pitched in, too.”
“Joe pitched in for what?” Cam’s other brother-in-law stood in the door, gold police chief badge clipped prominently to his waist. Cam couldn’t see the service weapon, but he assumed it was under the jacket, too.
“The honeymoon,” Cam said. “And thank you. All of you. It means a lot.”
“Cam, can we have a minute in private?” Joe asked, his face set in serious, hard lines, his eyes sheltered by silver-lensed aviators.
Cam paused in the middle of sliding the gift into his jacket pocket. “Of course.”
He followed Joe outside the small restaurant. There was a warm, soft breeze blowing, one of those early spring days in the South when it felt more like summer. Cam couldn’t think of anything he’d done wrong, but still he felt uncomfortable, a brief irrational sense that he’d been “found out” in some way.
“Joe, is Jules okay? The girls?”
“Yes, they’re fine. I’m sorry if I worried you.”
Cam frowned. “What’s this about, then?”
Joe slid his sunglasses off. “It’s about your mother. There’s been a development.”
A development? Cam searched Joe’s face and found no clue. He crossed his arms and waited, because he knew one thing: it couldn’t be good news.
Chapter Sixteen
Unmoving, Cam stared at the badge on his brother-in-law’s waist. “What about my mother?”
“She’s been arrested by federal marshals for credit card fraud, among other things. She’s being held at the county jail until her detainment hearing, which is probably on Monday. I thought you and Jules would want to know.” Joe’s words and face were expressionless. It obviously wasn’t his first time dealing with the family of someone accused of a crime, and the chief of police in their little town was definitely aware of Cam’s difficult history with Vicky.
“I appreciate you coming out here to let me know.”
Joe hesitated. “I don’t know if you have any experience with this kind of thing, but there’s a good chance someone from the federal defender’s office will call you to see if you will vouch for her in court. They might even ask if she can live in your home until trial.”
The idea of it was a slap of reality. “I’m not putting the girls in jeopardy for her. Not when she was willing to use them for money.”
“I understand. Family can be hard. I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this.”
Cam shook Joe’s hand. “Thanks for bringing it to my attention.”
He walked back inside the restaurant and stuck his head into the private room where they’d been eating. “Fellas, I’m gonna have to go, but it was fun. Great meal, great company. And thanks again for the card.”
During the smattering of congratulations that followed, his phone buzzed in his pocket, but Cam didn’t look at it, not until he walked to his car, got in and closed the door. Then he turned the phone in his hand so he could see the readout. It was a number he didn’t recognize, but he assumed it was about his mother.
He couldn’t ignore the call forever—there was no one else to be responsible for her—but he could wait.
Rolling down the window, letting the warm air buffet his face, he took a deep breath. There were so many ramifications from Vicky’s arrest. The first and most important was that the girls would now be safe from the specter of being raised by their grandmother.
But the second... Juliet had married him to keep the girls safe. Now that the question of custody was resolved, Cam was left with an even bigger one. Would Jules realize she’d made a mistake? And would she want him, now that she didn’t need him?
* * *
Jules had the mixer going and an array of spices open in front of her, trying to decide which ones she wanted to combine in these carrot cake muffins. They needed to look like muffins and taste like cake. Oh, maybe a cream cheese filling. She made a note on the recipe, her heart rate picking up speed when she heard the garage door open.
When Cam walked into the room, she was happy to see him, but she felt something else. Wariness. She’d bared her soul to him last night, and even though she’d told him she didn’t want him to
say anything, she desperately wanted him to say something.
Anything. Anything to stop the flood of random thoughts through her mind.
He leaned against the counter, looking weary. His collar was unbuttoned, his tie already loosened, but he pulled it the rest of the way off, looping it in his hand. “How was the ladies’ party?”
She pointed to the basket of cards she’d left on the kitchen table with the girls’ diaper bags and sippy cups. “They gave us gift certificates to stuff we can do as a family.”
Cam let that process for a minute. He nodded. “Nice.”
“How was the guys’ party?”
He pulled an envelope out of his coat pocket and tapped it. “They gave us a honeymoon.”
“A honeymoon?” The flush started on her chest, and she could feel it creeping up her cheeks. Spending a weekend alone with him, without the girls as a buffer, especially after what she’d said last night? How much humiliation could she take? Would he go that far to keep up appearances?
“In Gatlinburg, so we don’t have to be gone from the girls too long. They even arranged for Mrs. Matthews to babysit,” he laughed. “Or at least, their wives did. I can’t imagine the guys coming up with this idea.”
“That sounds fun. Listen, Cam, about our conversation last night—”
He stopped her with a hand on her arm. “Before we talk about that, I have news.”
Jules could hear the seriousness in his voice. She turned the mixer off, knowing the batter was probably hopelessly overworked by now, anyway. “What’s going on?”
“Joe came by the restaurant. He was working, but he wanted to tell me that my mother was arrested on Friday afternoon. Federal charges, so he didn’t have to be the one to arrest her, thankfully.”
Her hand crept up to cover her mouth, her eyes never leaving his.
“She’s going to spend some time in prison. It’s only a matter of time. There’s a possibility she could get out at the detention hearing, but it’s not likely unless I vouch for her and give her a place to live, and that isn’t happening. Not as long as I’m responsible for Emma and Eleanor’s safety.”
The Marriage Bargain Page 14
