by Dora Hiers
She turned around, the smile barely rounding the edges of her mouth. “Thank you for being my best friend, Camdon. For never expecting more than just friendship.” She pivoted and hustled from the courtyard.
He let her go, her words lodging in his chest like a bullet wound.
Would she always see him as just a good friend? And, if so, was he willing to risk ruining their friendship for something more? Could he surrender his dream of a forever love and a family of his own?
Oh, God, what do I do?
6
What was that noise? Sierra lifted her heavy eyelids and stared at the clock next to the bed. Five thirty? As in AM?
Her phone buzzed again, and with blurry eyes, she managed to make out Violet’s face. Violet was calling this early? Something was wrong.
She snatched the phone and glanced over at Wilma’s motionless form on the other bed. She scooted up against the headboard, fluffing the pillows behind her back. “Morning, sweetie.”
“What’s shaking?”
“You, apparently. You’re never up this early for school. What’s up?”
Wilma moaned and flopped to her other side, dragging a pillow over her head.
“Hold on a minute.” Sierra lifted her legs over the mattress and wiggled her toes in the carpet. She shuffled to the bathroom, closed the door, and perched on the edge of the tub. “Okay, I’m back.”
“Wyatt likes me.” The excitement in Violet’s voice practically reached out of the phone and smacked her in the cheek. What a way to wake up. Who needed caffeine when you had a thirteen-year-old daughter?
“Who’s Wyatt?”
“A boy at school.”
Oh. Sierra fumbled with the phone, almost dropped it in the tub. She took a deep breath and slouched against the tiled wall, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“You still there?”
“Yeah. I’m still here. Just surprised is all since I’ve never even heard you mention this boy’s name before.”
Her daughter’s heavy sigh came across the phone, loud and clear. “Well, if I had, you probably would’ve shut me out.”
Wow! Where had that come from? She’d always strived to keep the communication lines open between her and Violet. What else had her daughter not told her?
“Don’t I always listen?” She gulped, pushing back the fear that snaked up her throat.
“Mostly. But you don’t like to talk about men in general, and I would lump boys in that category. After all, they do grow up to be men.”
Ouch. Violet had a point there. Every time her daughter brought up the “b” word, Sierra cringed. They hadn’t discussed boys too often. But that’s because Sierra thought Violet wasn’t interested in the topic. Guess she’d been wrong.
Time to change that. She squeezed her eyes closed and swung her legs out along the tub. “Okay. Tell me about Mr. Wyatt.”
“He’s the bomb.”
“The bomb?” She thought she knew what her daughter meant, but it wouldn’t hurt to have Violet spell it out for her.
“Yeah. You know. Awesome. The best.” This time the sigh was not from long-suffering. More like awestruck.
“What makes him awesome?”
“He called me last night.”
Sierra rolled her eyes. Yep. It was definitely time for that heart-to-heart chat with her daughter. “Well, I can see how that would make him awesome.”
“Mother, really? Sarcasm?”
“Sorry. Hanging out in the bathtub at five thirty in the morning will do that to a person.”
“And why are you in the tub?”
“I didn’t want to wake up grandma.”
“Too late!” A crabby voice grumbled through the thin bathroom door.
Shaking her head, Sierra slid into the tub and dragged the shower curtain closed around her. The best she could do under the circumstances. “So? What else makes him awesome. Besides calling.”
“He walked me to all my classes yesterday. Even offered to carry my book bag but I wouldn’t let him.”
“That was sweet.” She’d give the boy that much at least. Violet’s book bag weighed a ton.
“And since I couldn’t get through to Camdon last night, Wyatt helped me with my math homework.”
Of its own accord, Sierra’s eyebrows arched. Any boy that helped Violet with math homework deserved…wait a minute. “You called Camdon?”
“Yeah. Around nine thirty.”
About the time they’d been talking in the courtyard. “Why?”
“He helps me with my math homework all the time.”
“Whenever he’s around.” Because ‘all the time’ sounded as if—
“And even when he’s not. He told me to call him whenever I get stuck. Which, as you know, is almost every night.”
Didn’t she know it? But she didn’t know that Camdon had been helping Violet via the phone...she gulped. Every night? No wonder Violet—
“Oops, gotta go, Mom. Camdon’s calling now. He must have just heard his voicemail.”
Sierra blinked, opened her mouth, and then clamped it shut.
“See you later, alligator.” The phone went silent.
So did the room. All Sierra could hear was the swooshing of her pulse as blood rushed through her ears.
The toilet came to life, water cycling through the pipes, startling her.
So Camdon had told her daughter to call whenever she needed help. Why hadn’t he ever mentioned that to her? What else had he done for Violet that she didn’t know about?
****
“Good morning.” Camdon repeated the greeting for at least the fiftieth time as he held the door open to the resort’s gathering room. Sierra had designated him as the lookout for any seniors who couldn’t find their way to breakfast. He nodded at the silver haired lady who shuffled through the door.
“Thank you.” A bit oversized for seventy-something, her cane didn’t bump along the floor at its normal pace. A tremor worked up her torso. She jerked the sweater tighter against an abundant, sagging bosom.
“You doing all right this morning, Ms. Judy?”
“Think I’m trying to come down with something. Nothing a little exercise and fresh air won’t cure, I’m sure.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe eating a hearty breakfast will also help.”
Chuckling, she patted her generous belly. “I think I’ve done enough of that over the years. Don’t think eating’s ever kept me from getting sick, but if you insist, I’ll give it a try.”
He threw back his head and laughed, then followed the straggler into the breakfast area, greeted by the wonderful aroma of bacon and coffee and eggs. The breakfast of…seniors? That made him smile. He was still smiling when he spotted Sierra.
But her glower practically turned his gut inside out. What? Why was she frowning? She never frowned. Had Violet hammered her with more questions about her father this morning?
Following her gaze, he spotted Wilma standing in the buffet line next to Monty. The elderly man leaned in and said something, and Wilma’s face splintered into a huge smile.
Ahh. So that was it. Wilma and Monty were at it again.
He stepped over behind Sierra and leaned close to her ear. So close those silky strands of hair tickled his jaw. “Looks like your plan isn’t going to work.”
She startled and whipped around to peer up at him.
His gaze dropped to her lips, red and full and…kissable. Very inviting. He closed the gap. Didn’t even care that there were fifty seniors in the room to witness their first kiss.
She gasped and jerked back, her fingers latching around his arm for support. Her touch burned through the heavy material of his sports coat, sending electric currents of awareness to zap up and down his arm. She cleared her throat. “What did you say?”
So much for the kiss. He breathed out his disappointment and scanned the buffet line again, stopping at Wilma and Monty huddled close together, both smiling and giggling like teenagers in love for the first time. He flicked h
is head toward the pair. “Your plan to separate those two. Doesn’t look like it’s going to work.”
Her emerald orbs glinted with determination. A suede boot took a firm step toward Wilma.
This time he grabbed her arm. “Not so fast.”
“Let go.” She shrugged out of his hold.
She didn’t get far before he gripped her shoulders and twirled her around to face him. He lowered his head to meet her gaze. “The more you try to keep them apart, Sierra, the more they’ll resist your meddling. Learned that in Psych 101.”
“I didn’t take that course, remember?” Pain flashed across her features before she shielded it behind a smile. “Too busy raising my daughter and working full time.” Her sigh came from the bowels of her soul. He knew going to college was one of her goals.
“You’ll get your chance to go back to school.”
Why shouldn’t the city reward their employees who had a desire to learn and grow within the organization? Why couldn’t they implement and stand behind a program for reimbursing college education for their employees who met certain criteria? He made a mental note to look into possible funding. But even if the city didn’t step up to the plate, he would find a way to make her dream a reality.
She scoffed and flicked a curtain of dark hair behind an ear. “Yeah. Maybe after Violet graduates from college herself.” Shadows darkened the soft curves lining her face for an instant before her lips curved into a smile. “But that’s okay. I wouldn’t trade having Violet for school, so it’s all good.”
“That’s my girl.” Since she’d forgotten about Wilma for the moment, he relaxed his hold on her shoulders and dug his hands deep into his pockets to keep from touching her. He sent a warning to his brain to ignore the faint hint of ripe raspberries and delicate peaches that drifted into his zone and wiped out the strong flavors of bacon and coffee. Her shampoo? Or was it her perfume?
“Now that we’re discussing Violet, I didn’t know that you helped her with her homework over the phone.”
“It’s no big deal.” He shrugged and blew out a breath, but then he had to breathe again. It was a vicious cycle, and one he didn’t see himself winning. He gave in, and just inhaled the alluring fragrance that was Sierra.
“It is to me.”
“Why?” He regarded her. Was it because of the dad comment? Or—
“She shouldn’t bother you like that.”
“Bother me?” He twitched, couldn’t stop the frown. As if Violet’s sweet voice over the phone would ever be a nuisance. “I wouldn’t have offered to help if I didn’t want to.”
He’d been around Violet since she was a pudgy little toddler, learning to walk on the kitchen floor. She couldn’t be more precious to him if she were his own flesh and blood. And helping Violet with her homework was just one way he could ease Sierra’s load. He’d do so much more if she’d just let him.
Her dark lashes flickered against her ivory cheeks. Soft, he bet, his fingers itching to graze the line of her jaw.
“Thank you, Camdon. You’re such a sweet friend. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life.”
He sucked in a breath, but all he got was fruit and flowers. He was sunk.
“Especially now that she has a boyfriend.” Her smile tightened a fraction.
Huh? Oh. Violet’s boyfriend. “I heard.”
“She told you about Wyatt?”
He nodded.
“I’m having a hard time with that.”
He was having a hard time with the pink tongue that slid from between full lips to lick her upper lip. He blinked. Focus, man, focus.
He forced his gaze to her boots. One of them tapped out an anxious rhythm on the tile floor. He figured she’d have trouble with Violet’s excitement over having a boyfriend. Maybe more so with that than Wilma’s harmless flirting with Monty. “You’re a good mother, Sierra. You’ll figure it out.”
“Thanks for your vote of confidence, Camdon. But I don’t know if I’ll survive her teen years.” Arms folded over her chest, the light sweater she wore extended past her hips and the— what were they called? —leggings showed off well-defined thighs.
“You might feel more comfortable about the whole thing if you got to know him better.”
A deep “V” crinkled between her eyebrows. “Yeah. I’m sure you’re right.”
“How about if we take them out to dinner one night?”
Her face and shoulders visibly lightened as if a weight had lifted, and her arms unfolded. “That’s a wonderful idea, Camdon! We’ll take them out to dinner. It’ll give us both a chance to get to know Wyatt. You can tell me what you think about him from a man’s perspective.”
From a self-imposed surrogate dad’s perspective, he wanted a chance to check out Wyatt for himself. Make sure the boy treated Violet with respect. Maybe even have a man-to-man chat.
“You know, I had been considering canceling our stay and heading back home, but you just talked me out of it.” Sierra flicked her head.
His forehead lifted with surprise. “You’d do that?”
“For my daughter?” She scoffed. “In a heartbeat.”
“One of the reasons why you’re such a good mother.”
“Violet might appreciate that, but my boss and—” Sierra hitched her chin and included the entire room filled with graying and balding heads in her gaze. “The rest of these folks, probably not so much.”
“Daniel understands that family takes priority.” He didn’t note too many redeeming qualities about the Director of Parks and Rec, but that was one of them.
“Yes, I know.” Sierra nodded. “He’s always been really good about letting me off to take care of Violet. And he’s not just that way with me, but also with everyone else on staff as well. I know that has to be tough...dealing with all the employees he manages and all the different family issues that crop up.”
She peered up at him with a cheeky grin. “Knowing you, you probably helped make that a city ordinance, didn’t you?”
He smiled. “Not quite. But family has always been a priority for me. I just make sure that the department heads are all on the same page from time to time.”
“I figured as much.” She glanced forward and surprise lit her face. “Looks like the line died down. Come on. Let’s get some breakfast. You’re going to need it.”
“Why’s that?” He followed her to the end of the line.
Sierra inched along. Her gaze trailed Wilma and Monty as they settled in next to each other at the long table.
She looked good in those skinny legging things and the matching suede boots. Too good.
Her lips curved. From pleasure or because that’s how she dealt with life? Her life’s philosophy. Smile, and when life kicks you in the gut, smile wider. “Exercise class is next on the agenda.”
“Exercise class?” He chuckled. “That should be interesting. Do you have the paramedics on standby?”
“We’ll definitely have to make it more challenging for you.” She grinned wider.
The challenge would be trying to stay focused when all he really wanted to do was watch her. “Are you leading the class?”
She shook her head. “Only as an encourager. I plan to participate.” She held up an arm and flexed a tiny bulging muscle.
Oh, sweet heaven above! He sucked in a breath, ramming a hand across the whiskers stubbling his jaw.
Lord, You’re killing me here. This definitely wasn’t what I had in mind when I asked for a little help.
****
“Come on, Ms. Martha, you can do it.” Sierra strolled through the room encouraging the ones who looked as if they needed it. Gave her the perfect opportunity to keep a watchful eye on Wilma and Monty. Just to make sure the pair didn’t sneak out the back door.
But, what really snagged her attention?
Camdon.
How his muscles rippled underneath his long-sleeved shirt.
How the material snugged against his chest and tapered to his slender waist, emphasizing his
broad and powerful physique.
His long legs...
She gritted her teeth at the helplessness that still haunted her. Chased away the faded image of Violet’s father, his strong legs winding around hers, holding her hostage, wrapping her so tightly that she hadn’t been able to wrestle free, even after she had changed her mind.
Camdon harnessed a powerful body, for certain, but she was sure he’d never use it against anybody, especially in that way. And Camdon looked nothing like Violet’s father. Steve had been shorter, with light features. Really, there was nothing remotely similar between the two. Even their personalities were total opposites. Steve was all about the moment. Camdon was all about…forever.
She blinked that thought away. One quick glance at the thighs straining against the flimsy material of warm-up pants wouldn’t hurt, though, would it?
She dared a look. Yep. Just as she suspected. His legs looked just as good wearing workout clothes as they did in suit pants. And everything else she’d ever seen him wear.
She sucked in a ragged breath and let it out slowly, drawing her gaze up the length of him. When she reached his face, she gulped. The crinkles fanning out from his normally serious eyes were the only sign that he’d caught her gawking. But then his dark eyebrows arched, and his lips curved in a slow grin.
She gulped again. What was going on here? Camdon was her rock, her constant in an ever-changing world, the only encourager in her corner besides her grandma. She couldn’t allow herself to be attracted to him. It would ruin a forever friendship.
She gave her head a little shake and forced leaden legs to move further away from him. From the magnetism that jerked her to the back of the room where his mat was. From the gentle tug of his heart.
Oh, this was so not good on so many levels. She didn’t report to him, but ultimately, he was her boss as much as Daniel. Not just that, but he was her longest and dearest friend. Even worse, his heart already belonged to someone.
Drat it all, Wilma! Or maybe it was Violet’s fault.
Sierra huffed, frustrated at the tiny seeds of longing they’d planted in her heart. For companionship. For a man to look at her like Monty gazed at Wilma. With affection, with pleasure, with attraction.