He flipped her over onto her back and as he gazed down at her, he trailed the tips of his fingers along her smooth cheek. “You have it wrong, Camille. This is sweet.”
Lowering his head to hers, he placed soft little kisses upon her lips, until one of her hands curled around the back of his neck and anchored his mouth to deepen the kiss.
Her reaction was all it took to ignite a fire low in his belly, and the need to have her all over again caused his lips to turn hungry and urgent.
It was the need for air that finally forced their lips apart, and as her gaze locked with his, her blue eyes glittered with something Matthew had never seen before. Whether it was lust or love or something in between, he couldn’t guess. Nor was he going to waste this moment wondering about it. Not when she was melting in his arms.
“Oh, Matthew, I want you—so much.”
Maybe for tonight, he’d be enough for her. And maybe for the next two weeks, she’d be satisfied with just having him in her bed. But the future was a different matter.
Pushing the thought out of his head, he pressed a kiss on her forehead. “And I want you, Camille—more—than—you know.”
She wrapped her legs around him and as he entered her again, he wondered how he was going to go back to Three Rivers and live without her.
* * *
Two days later, Camille locked the front door of the diner and went to work helping Peggy stack chairs as they prepared to shut down for the evening. Gideon had left a half hour ago to hurry home and get ready for his grandchildren’s Halloween party, while Edie, the diner’s other waitress, had left the diner before him in order to drive her sick sister to see a doctor at Benson.
The day had been busy, but Camille was too happy to be feeling tired. “When are you supposed to be at Gideon’s this evening?” she asked Peggy as the women continued to place chairs atop the small square tables.
“I told him I’d be there at six thirty. I have my costume with me so I’ll change after I get there.”
“What are you going to be, Superwoman?” Camille asked impishly.
Peggy laughed. “I couldn’t pull off a bodysuit! No. I’m going as myself—a nasty witch.”
“Oh, Peg, you’re hardly a witch. Maybe a witch’s helper,” Camille teased. “But never a nasty one.”
“Ha! You’ve never seen me when I get out of bed at five in the morning,” she said, then asked, “What are you going to do for Halloween tonight? Anything special?”
Camille’s thoughts went straight to Matthew. She couldn’t wait to get home to see him, to have him back in her arms. It was insane how much she wanted the man.
“No, I’ll be staying home. In fact, I don’t even know what I’m going to cook for supper.”
Peggy groaned. “Cook again? After all the cooking you’ve done today? Uh—no way. Fix yourself a sandwich and have a bowl of ice cream for dessert.”
Camille was about to tell her that a sandwich was out of the question when footsteps sounded behind them. She glanced over her shoulder to see Norman standing just inside the swinging doors to the kitchen. What was he doing back here? He’d left for home more than two hours ago.
“Camille, let Peggy finish the chairs. I’d like to speak with you in my office.”
The short, pudgy man with thinning brown hair turned and disappeared through the swinging back doors to the kitchen. Peggy cast Camille a speculative glance.
“Wonder what he wants? Lord, I hope he’s not planning on cutting our wages. I’m barely making ends meet as it is.”
Shaking her head, Camille plopped the chair she was holding onto the top of a table, then started out of the room. “I don’t think it’s anything like that. I’m hoping he’s decided to hop on the idea of the blue plate special!”
Norman’s office was a little cubbyhole of a room directly behind the kitchen. The space was windowless and always hot, and since she’d gone to work for the man, she’d never once seen the top of his desk. There were too many stacks of papers, coffee cups and manila folders to actually see the wood beneath.
“You wanted to talk with me, Norman?” she asked as she stepped into the cluttered space.
He gestured to the folding chair in front of his desk. “Yes, sit down, Camille.”
She moved a nylon jacket and a box of table napkins from the chair, then took a seat. “We had a whale of a lunch run today,” she told him. “We’re going to have to put bread, steak fingers and gravy mix on the food order list.”
He waved his hand in a dismissive way. “That’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. In fact, you’re going to have to start taking care of all the orders and shipments.”
She stared blankly at him. “Me? Why? Are you taking some time off or something?”
“Permanent time off.” He turned his palms up in a gesture of resignation. “I’ve decided I’m going to sell the diner to you. That is, if you still want it.”
Camille’s heart was suddenly thumping loudly in her ears. Two months had passed since she’d made an offer to Norman for the diner, and in between then and now, he’d not given her any sort of hint as to his feelings on the matter.
Incredulous, she scooted to the edge of the chair. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Jan and I talked it over. I don’t have to tell you I was reluctant about the idea. This place has been my baby for many years and it’s been good to us.” His shrug was a sign of surrender. “But we both decided that time is ticking by. We want to do some of that traveling we’ve always talked about.”
Seeing he was actually sincere about his decision, excitement bubbled inside her. “You’ve stunned me, Norm. Are you sure you really want to do this?”
The smile he gave her was a bit melancholy. “Yes. With the understanding that you’re still willing to give what you offered. We think it’s a fair price.”
“Oh, yes! The price is fine with me!” She jumped up from the chair and clapped her hands with glee. “Thank you, Norm. Thank you! This is wonderful!”
Her happy reaction caused him to shake his head with dismay. “A few months from now I hope you still feel the same way. Running this place isn’t easy, Camille. I don’t have to tell you that it’s more than just cooking. There’s finding the right food distributors, keeping deliveries on schedule, the utilities and licenses and insurance. I could go on and on, you know.”
“I’m not blind, Norm. I’ve seen how hard you work and everything it involves, but I believe I can handle the job.”
“Good. I’m glad you feel confident about it. Now I can go home and give Jan the news. I promised to take her to Tucson tonight. It’s our wedding anniversary and she wants to go shopping.”
“Congratulations! You’ve sold the diner, so tell Jan she can buy as much as she wants,” Camille joked.
He let out a mocking laugh. “Ha! Technically I’ve just become unemployed. She’ll have to cut back on her spending.”
Camille laughed. “Norm, you can’t fool me. I’ll bet you have the first penny you ever made.”
He smiled knowingly. “Not exactly. But I will say the diner has been good to me. And I hope it will be just as successful with you at the helm, Camille.”
“Thank you, Norm.” She reached across the desk and shook his hand. “So, when do you want to officially do the deal? I’ll need to make some banking arrangements.”
“I’ll have the papers drawn up next week,” he told her. “In the meantime, you might want to give Peggy and Gideon and Edie the news. Just in case they hear a rumor and worry. Jan says she won’t say a peep, but that’s like me saying I won’t eat a bite of your pie.”
Camille laughed. “Okay. And they needn’t worry. I’d never dream of replacing them. They’re like family.”
Norman nodded, and after they discussed a few more minor details about the sale, he ended the meeting and left for home. Once he was g
one, Camille raced into the dining area, where Peggy was just finishing the mopping.
She grabbed her friend around the waist and with a loud whoop, swung her around in a joyous circle.
“Camille!” the waitress exclaimed. “What the heck are you doing? My floor! We’re making tracks on my wet floor!”
Laughing, Camille tugged her into the kitchen and after pushing her down on a step chair, explained that she was buying the diner from Norman.
“You’re kidding, right?” Peggy asked in disbelief.
“No. I’m very serious. The diner is going to be mine. We’re doing the deal next week.”
“Oh, my word! This is unbelievable. I knew that you pitched the idea to him about the blue plate special, but I had no idea that you’d tried to buy the place!” Peggy shook her head. “Uh—Camille, are you absolutely sure about this? Look at what running the diner all these years has done to Norman. He’s bald and overweight and has high blood pressure.”
Undaunted, Camille shook her head. “I understand it will be lots of work. But I intend to run the place a little differently, and if business picks up and we need more help, I’ll hire more help. Until then, you and Gideon and Edie will be my extra helping hands. And don’t worry, I intend to keep your salaries and benefits as they are. And possibly make them better.”
As the reality began to sink in for Peggy, she gathered Camille in a tight hug. “This is just wonderful, Camille. Now I don’t have to worry about you leaving and going back to Three Rivers.”
Camille smiled wanly. “No. My home is on Red Bluff now. And I don’t expect my family is going to be thrilled with the news about the diner. But I think they’ll eventually get used to the idea.” The faint smile fell from her face as she suddenly thought about Matthew. Her darling Matthew. In a way, their relationship was just now beginning, but to Camille it felt as though she’d loved him for ages and ages.
Loved him? No, Camille. You don’t love Matthew. At least, not yet. You love how he makes you feel. You love to look at him, listen to his voice and have his arms around you. You need to have him near and want to believe that he needs the same from you. But to love him with the deepest part of your heart? To spend all the days of your life with him? No. It’s too soon for you to feel that much.
“Camille? What’s wrong? You look sad. Are you worrying about your family?”
Shaking her head, she gave her friend a reassuring hug. “No. I’m not worried about them. I was just thinking—about someone and wondering how he’s going to take the news.”
Peggy’s dark eyes narrowed with speculation and Camille blushed under the scrutiny.
“He?” she questioned. “I didn’t realize you had a man in your life.”
“I didn’t realize it, either. Until recently.” Pausing, Camille let out a sigh that was both dreamy and hopeless. “I—you see, I’ve known this man since I was a teenager, but we were never close—I mean, other than casual friends. And since I moved down here to Red Bluff, I’d not seen him in more than two years. Not until he and some of the ranch hands came down this past week to move cattle onto the grazing ranges.”
“So he’s a cowboy?”
Camille nodded, while thinking the term didn’t begin to describe all the things that Matthew was as a man and as the foreman of Three Rivers Ranch.
“He’s the foreman of my family’s ranch and has been since around the time my father died.”
Peggy’s lips formed a big round O. “That was several years ago. Why are you just now developing a thing for this man?”
Camille had asked herself that very same question and she’d come to the conclusion that there was not one certain answer. “First of all, he was married a long time ago. That’s when I was a senior in high school. She was a fluff head and it didn’t last long. After that, he pretty much shied away from women. Which was understandable.”
“Hmm. Because after her, he couldn’t trust women?” Peggy asked.
Shaking her head, Camille said, “I think it was more like he couldn’t trust his judgment in women.”
Peggy slanted her a meaningful look. “I’ve heard you say the same thing about yourself and men. But if you’re seeing this guy, then you’ve obviously gotten rid of that fear.”
No, Camille thought, she was a long way from getting over that anxiety. Maybe if she knew for certain that Matthew loved her, she’d feel confident about him, about herself and the future. But since the night he’d gone to bed with her, Matthew hadn’t come close to voicing the L word to her. In fact, he’d skirted so far around it that sometimes she felt the chasm between them was as wide as the Grand Canyon.
“I’m trying to get past that. And I believe he’s trying, too,” she said. Then, with a rueful groan, she sank onto the wooden stool sitting near the work counter and covered her face with her hands. “Oh, Peggy, I’m so mixed up. I’m thrilled and happy and worried all at the same time. I don’t know what’s going to happen with me and Matthew. He’ll be going home in another week or so and I have this terrible feeling that he won’t be back. Not until next fall.”
Frowning, Peggy questioned, “Next fall? I don’t know a whole lot about ranching, but if the cattle are here for the winter, won’t he have to come back in the spring to get them and take them back to the other ranch?”
“You’re right. Come spring, most of the cows and calves will be moved back to Three Rivers. But at that time of the year Matthew doesn’t come down here to Red Bluff. It’s a terribly busy time at the big ranch. What with spring roundup and branding, my brother, Blake, can’t spare Matthew. He sends a different crew of ranch hands down here in the spring. And anyway, seeing a man, even twice a year, couldn’t be counted as a relationship.”
“I see about the ranching and the cattle. But I don’t see everything about you. Or maybe I do,” she said. Then, leaving her seat on the step chair, she walked over and placed a steadying hand on Camille’s shoulder. “I’m getting the feeling, my dear friend, that you’re falling for this guy in a big way.”
Dropping her hands away from her face, Camille looked uncertainly at the other woman. “Okay, Peggy, I’ll be honest. I’m getting the feeling that I’m falling for him, too. He makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my life. But he’s been divorced for nearly ten years and ever since then he’s chosen to remain single. He doesn’t want a wife or children. That doesn’t leave me with anything except a short, hot affair.”
Thoughtful now, Peggy walked to the end of the cabinet and dumped the grounds from the industrial-sized coffeemaker. “Now you’re buying the diner. Which means your life is going to be here, while his life is up in Yavapai County. It might be a little hard to have any kind of affair with more than two hundred miles between you.”
Sighing, Camille slipped off the stool. “I can’t worry about that. I tried giving up my wants and wishes for a man before and it didn’t work. I’m not going to give up my dream for this diner, or my home on Red Bluff. I can’t see how Matthew and I can happily fit our lives together. But I’m hoping for a miracle. They do happen, you know.”
Peggy made a cynical grunt. “Maybe at Christmastime. But today is Halloween. You’re a long way off from a Christmas miracle.”
Chapter Eight
“You wanta go to Benson with us tonight, Matthew?” Pate asked him as he and the rest of the men unsaddled their mounts. “It’s Halloween. We want to see if we can go stir up a bit of mischief.”
As TooTall predicted, yesterday they’d captured the last four steers and turned them in with the other sixteen to be shipped to Three Rivers. Today Matthew, TooTall, Pate and Abel had moved two separate herds to the eastern slopes of the ranch. The area had been thick with more chaparral and Matthew knew his horse was probably carrying just as many thorns in his hide as he was in his arms. The notion of going out on the town was enough to make him curse.
“No. Not interested in going
to Benson. And the mischief better not be any more than drinking a beer or two,” he warned the young cowboy. “I don’t aim to bail any of you out of jail.”
“Aww, Matthew. Sometimes you act like an old man. Don’t you ever wanta have fun?”
“Depends on what you call fun.” Matthew hefted his saddle onto his shoulder and started into the tack room, all the while thinking that young Pate wasn’t all wrong. In many ways, Matthew was like an old man, because he’d never had the chance to be a child or a teenager. He’d been too busy trying to work at any kind of job he could find to help his mother and sister and himself stay afloat. Fun had always been something for the other kids to have, not Matthew Waggoner.
“Don’t worry, Yellow Hair,” TooTall said as he followed him into the tack room. “We won’t let the little greenhorn do anything silly.”
Matthew said, “I’m not worried, TooTall. Just be careful driving. That’s all I ask.”
TooTall hung a bridle and breast collar on pegs running along one wall, then turned and glanced at Matthew. “You look tired, friend.”
“I’m okay,” he replied. “We had a long day.”
“Yes, but a good day. You should be happy.”
“I am happy, TooTall. See?” He plastered a wide grin on his face.
His eyes narrowed shrewdly, TooTall waved a dismissive hand at him. “That’s phony. Not honest.”
Sighing, Matthew sat down on a low wooden bench and began to unbuckle his spurs. “Okay. Whatever you say, TooTall.”
“I say you have a sickness. In here.”
Matthew glanced up to see the ranch hand tapping a finger to the middle of his chest. The idea that TooTall could be so damned perceptive was downright annoying and he couldn’t help but glare at him.
“I don’t have any kind of sickness,” he retorted.
“Yes,” he countered. “Are you homesick?”
Homesick. That might be the perfect word for what he was feeling, Matthew thought. He was homesick but not for Three Rivers. He was sick from continually longing for something he knew he couldn’t have. Like having Camille as his wife and the mother of his children. Like having a real home with her, where they would always be together. Where she would never walk away from him for any reason.
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