Any pretense of politeness fled, and anger hit her hard. “I don’t answer to you, and I sure as hell don’t need your permission to—”
“Spend my money?” His voice was cold. “Your tight ass might have been enough to turn my dad’s head, but it won’t be enough to hold on to what’s mine. I’ll get it back if it’s the last thing I do.”
“Edward—”
Distracted, she yanked open the door just as Edward let loose, his rage fully engaged.
“You’re nothing but a high-priced whore who crawled out of some backwood gutter. I know about your brother. About the time he spent in prison. And I know what happened in Arizona. I’m coming for you, and you better watch your back because—”
Blue cut him off, shocked at his words and his threats. It took a few moments before she looked up to find Cam Booker standing there. By the look on his face, it was obvious he’d heard most of her conversation.
“I was looking for Tawny.” His words came slowly. Obviously, he was uncomfortable.
“She’s here.” Flustered, embarrassed, and more than a little humiliated, she spoke more sharply than she intended. “You might want to keep a closer eye on her. She’s just a little girl.”
It looked as if he was going to say something and then thought better of it, because a few moments passed before replied. “Sorry. I told her to stay out back. I had to take a phone call and deal with a supplier, and one of my guys, Dave, told me he saw her at your door.” His dark eyes were serious. “You okay?”
Blue was about as far away from okay as she was from Venus. The months of abuse heaped on her by Edward were becoming heavy, and the cracks were starting to show. Case in point, her behavior the day before. She was turning into a person she didn’t like. She took a big breath and offered up a wan smile.
“I’m fine,” she replied.
Cam looked like he wanted to say more, but she was saved by a bundle of hair and squeals that came running at them from behind and tackled Cam by the legs.
“Cam! I’m eating in the princess castle!”
Tawny had strawberry stains on her cheeks, orange juice on her top, and the biggest, sweetest, smile a little girl could have. “Can I stay and watch TV?”
Blue watched Cam closely. She saw awkward hesitation as he patted her head, and it made her wonder about their relationship. He squatted down so that he was eye-to-eye with Tawny. Before he could say anything, the little girl grabbed his face with both hands and cradled him in a gesture that was sweet and oddly…mature? She laughed. “Pretty please? It’s hot outside, and I’m bored, and I’m not done my strawberries.” Tawny dropped her hands and looked up at Blue. “Can I have some more strawberries?”
“I…” Blue wasn’t exactly sure what the deal was between this man and the little girl, but she could see Cam Booker was way out of his comfort zone. “I don’t mind keeping her inside,” she found herself saying as Cam straightened.
“I just… Are you sure?” He sighed and scratched the back of his neck, a casual gesture, but one that emphasized his muscular shoulders, an impressive chest, and a hint of flesh above his low-slung jeans. He was a beautiful man. No way around it. A rare combination of pretty-boy looks, coupled with more than a fair share of testosterone that gave him an edge. He was the kind of man any smart woman avoided.
She took a step backward, and the look in his eyes told her he was very aware of her perusal. It was in the glint that lit up his eyes, and the soft curve to his lower lip.
“This is a last-minute kind of thing, Tawny, that is, and I had no one to watch her.”
“No. Absolutely.” Thankfully, the lump at the back of her throat dislodged, and she was able to speak like a normal human. “I have no plans for today. I mean, I was going to run some errands and stuff in town, but they can wait and…” She grimaced because she was babbling like an idiot. “I want to apologize for the way I behaved on the weekend.”
He stared at her for a long time without answering. So long that her cheeks grew hot and her hair stuck to the back of her neck on account of the fact she was sweating like a demon. She wiped a damp palm along the top of her thigh and felt her heart speed up when his eyes followed her movement.
“Apology accepted,” he replied, holding her gaze for several more moments before dropping to Tawny. “You behave and listen to Mrs. Barnes.”
“Who’s that?” Tawny asked, looking up at both adults.
“Blue is good.” Heart knocking at her chest, Blue stood back, avoiding Cam’s eyes.
“If she’s any trouble let me know.”
“I’ll be good, I promise,” Tawny shouted, jumping up and down. Blue closed the door behind Cam and stood there for a moment, peering out the side window as he headed out back.
“You look funny.”
Blue winced as she turned around. Her cheeks were still hot, and her heart was racing a mile a minute. She exhaled, took the girl by the hand, and decided to forget about Cam Booker. He was a man. She was a woman. It was normal to react to an attractive, half-naked man this way.
“Let’s get you some more strawberries.”
She followed the little girl into the kitchen, but found forgetting about Cam was harder than she thought. His situation with Tawny made her curious, but she couldn’t exactly interrogate a child—though, to her embarrassment, she tried.
“Where are you from, Tawny?”
“I don’t know.”
“How long have you known Cam?”
“I don’t know.”
“Do you stay with him a lot?”
“Two days.”
“Where’s your mother?”
“Heaven.”
The last answer shut her down cold. She spent the rest of the afternoon doing her best to amuse a child who obviously was used to amusing herself. The girl had a vivid imagination, was easy to please, and, more importantly, won Giselle over almost immediately. The finicky cat followed Tawny around the house meowing for attention and was soon crowned prince of the princess castle. Blue kept quiet, not wanting to spoil the fun with the fact Giselle was a girl.
When Cam came for her, it was after five o’clock and Tawny was fast asleep, curled up on the sofa in the family room, Giselle tucked close against her. He scooped her up into his arms, and she immediately curled into him, her head resting on his chest. The movement was natural. Trusting. And the sight of Cam with the child in his arms did weird things to Blue.
“Thanks for watching her,” he said softly. “It really helped me out.”
Blue found herself nodding. “Are you bringing her back tomorrow?”
Cam shook his head. “No. My sister-in-law Honey is going to watch her.” He paused. “It’s a tough situation and…” He sighed and looked down at the sleeping child. “Well, she needs someone to make it right.”
He didn’t offer up an explanation, and Blue wasn’t about to ask. She followed him to the door and found herself talking when she probably should have shut up.
“I… That is, if you run into problems finding a sitter, I’m happy to have her back here.”
Cam turned back to Blue, his large hand cradling the back of Tawny’s head. His dark eyes were unreadable, and he seemed to be searching for words. “I’m good. Thanks.” He was silent for a few moments. “You okay with Edward Barnes? The guy’s an asshole. Always has been.”
That damn lump that had been lingering at the back of her throat all day expanded to the point she couldn’t talk. She shook her head and murmured something unintelligible, and looked away. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked if she was doing all right. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cared enough to enquire.
She closed the door behind Cam and stood there for a long time. The day had been a confusing one, and she felt out of sorts. It was a good thing Tawny wouldn’t be around, because the little girl brought up too many sad memories. Things Blue didn’t want to dwell on. Things she’d left behind when she’d come to Crystal Lake with David. There wa
s no point going back, and she didn’t want to. She was…happy. Or at least the sort of happy that held some bit of contentment for her. She’d made a life for herself, and it was more than she’d ever expected.
So why did Blue feel so damn…blue?
5
Cam and Tawny settled into a routine, which, after a few days, they had down pat. By five a.m., Cam was working out in the basement, and by six o’clock, he was making breakfast for two. He’d learned almost immediately that Tawny needed time in the morning. There was no rise and shine and up and at ’em with this girl. Hell, no. The kid needed time to wake up, and that usually included at least an hour of TV, along with a bowl of dried Cheerios and orange juice. Only then would she allow him to brush out her hair, a task he approached with the kind of ferocious tenacity he was known for. He’d spent his entire Wednesday evening googling different ways to brush out kinky curls and how to control them.
By Friday, he was a pro, and though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, when Tawny clapped her hands and hugged him because she loved her French braids--French freaking braids--his chest tightened and he had to clear his throat in order to speak. The kid looked damn cute, though she could use some help in the wardrobe department. He perused her clothes with a frown. Today, she’d picked out a pair of denim shorts that once again were too big, paired them with a purple T-shirt that had seen better days, and the same pair of sandals she’d worn every day since she’d arrived.
She was sitting on top of the island, his preferred spot for the daily hair ordeal, and he helped do up the buckles. “These the only shoes you got?” he asked, helping her down and reaching for her backpack.
“My running shoes have holes in them,” she answered with a shrug. Then scrunched her nose. “And they stink.”
“Well, that’s no good.” He thought ahead to his weekend. He was working Saturday, but Sunday was open. “How about we go shopping for some new clothes?”
She clutched at his hand, those big eyes of hers shining. “Can I have a pretty purple dress?”
“Whatever you want.”
“With a princess on it?”
He nodded, though he had no idea where to get the damn thing. Cam decided he’d ask Honey when he dropped off Tawny. His brother’s wife had stepped up in a big way, and Tawny had spent the week at the lake with her. Of course, as of Monday, he had to make new arrangements because Honey and Nash and their young son were headed to Florida to visit friends. Cam wasn’t one to dwell on stuff he couldn’t figure out, because he would figure it out. He had no choice. Eventually.
He whistled to Rufus, and the dog followed them outside. The grass was wet, heavy with dew, and the air fresh. Birds sang from the trees, and Rufus ran after a squirrel, spoiling the small animal’s quest to find food for the coming winter. It was already muggy, and he knew the weekend was going to be a hot one, but he wasn’t complaining. Already the dog days of summer were coming to an end. With only a few weeks of August left and kids getting ready to go back to school, the landscape had changed.
Mrs. Eddy was on her porch, watering hanging baskets filled with deep pink petunias. He waved, got Tawny settled in her car seat, and then they were off. It was almost eight o’clock, and he needed to be out at the jobsite by nine.
His brother’s place was on the lake, though it was nowhere near the vicinity of the larger estates. Nestled among trees with enough waterfront for a beach, the Booker family cottage had been passed to Nash by their grandparents, and he’d done a considerable amount of upgrading—especially once he got himself hitched. Cam had helped him out, and as he pulled up alongside his brother’s truck, he took an appreciative look around. The area was filled with older cottages, and though they couldn’t compare to, say, the widow Barnes’s place, there was a certain kind of charm to these homes that couldn’t be replicated.
One day, he planned on having his own place among the trees about fifty feet from shore.
He grabbed Tawny’s backpack and followed her and Rufus inside. Honey was in the kitchen, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, a loose summer dress swishing around her hips as she stirred something in a big pot. It was something that smelled good, and he sniffed the air, though what it was escaped him.
Tawny made a beeline for the baby, who was sitting in his playpen gnawing on a large blue teething ring, and the dog plopped down beside them. Cam set down the backpack and headed for the kitchen, grabbing himself another coffee and dropping a kiss to his sister-in-law’s cheek.
“Where’s Nash?”
“He’s in the boathouse. We’re taking the kids out to the island this afternoon.”
“Yeah?” Cam sipped his coffee. “The Coach House running itself these days?”
Honey laughed. “Tiny’s got it under control.”
The Coach House was a local bar in town that had been around forever. It was practically an institution and the place to go for cold beer and the best chicken wings in town. Nash had bought it a few years back, and then Honey had shown up and been hired as a bartender. Took the woman less than a year to blow his brother’s plans right out the window. Since the baby had come, he’d cut his hours and she’d never gone back. Seemed to work for them. Truthfully, Cam had never seen Nash this happy before. But a settled life with a wife and child wasn’t something Cam was after, and he was more than happy to leave his brother to it. At least he had been.
His gaze fell to Tawny. The little girl had her face pressed to the side of the playpen, and her giggles were rewarded with a toothy grin from his nephew. Gabriel tried to pull himself up and only managed to make Tawny giggle harder. Honey came up alongside him.
“She really is adorable,” his sister-in-law murmured. There was a pause. “Do you know what you’re doing yet?”
He glanced at Honey and shook his head. “I know she can’t go back to Iris’s grandmother. I know she can’t go in the system, so right now, she’s with me.”
“Oh. I meant for next week.”
Right. Cam sighed and ran his hands across the stubble on his cheek. “I might have to take her with me to the job.”
“How’s that going, by the way? Nash said it was a big project.”
“It’s going well.” Thankfully, Bluebell Barnes hadn’t surfaced since day one, and he’d been fine with that. Something about the woman threw him off his game, and right now, he needed his game more than ever.
“What’s she like?” Honey’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “The infamous widow Barnes.”
He made a face. “Since when do you care about Bluebell Barnes?”
“I don’t really. I mean, I don’t know her. I just think there has to be more to this woman than what the local gossip mill churns out. I heard she’s working at Poppy’s place down by the boardwalk.”
That yanked his head around. “I doubt that.” The woman had more money than most anyone in Crystal Lake, including the Blackwells. Why in hell would she be putting in time at some boutique?
“It’s what I heard.”
Cam finished his coffee and handed the empty cup to Honey. He didn’t have time to sit around and worry about where the widow Barnes was spending her time. The fact that she hadn’t been home all week (as far as he knew) was all that mattered. “I gotta run. I’ll be by later to get Tawny.”
“Stay for supper?” Honey nodded toward the kitchen. “I’m making homemade goulash.”
“I knew you had something good in there.” He flashed a smile. “Goulash is a hell of a long way from burnt Kraft dinner.”
Honey made a face. “Can’t believe Nash told you that.” She gave him a hug, and he tousled the top of Tawny’s hair on his way out. The kid didn’t bother to look up, and he supposed that was a good thing.
Twenty minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of the Barnes residence. Rufus ran ahead, and Cam followed the dog around back. His guys were there, and the materials he’d ordered for the new deck had been delivered.
“Okay, boys,” he said, grabbing his tool belt. “Let’s get
to work.”
By noon, the landscape crew was half done with all the planting, while he and the construction crew managed to get a good chunk of framing done for the deck. He’d just called quits for lunch when Dave walked by and nodded toward the side of the house.
“You got company.”
Cam wiped sweat from his brow, pulled his cap back low, and turned as Edward Barnes made his way carefully through the construction zone and headed toward him. Rufus was nearby and ran a few feet, a low growl rumbling from his chest and a warning bark following.
“Easy, boy.” Cam put his hand on the dog’s head.
Edward Barnes was tall and well built, no doubt from hours in a gym, because as far as Cam knew, the man wasn’t the type for physical labor. His brown hair was thinning, his features sharp, and his expression was all business. He was dressed for golf, sporting an emerald-green collared shirt, gray-and-white-plaid shorts, and sandals that weren’t exactly appropriate footwear for a yard under construction.
“Booker,” Edward said conversationally as he approached.
Cam knew the man casually—they didn’t exactly rub elbows and run with the same crowd. He offered his hand. “It will be a hot one on the links.”
Edward smiled and nodded, though it did nothing to thaw the frost in his eyes. He glanced at Rufus. “Dog doesn’t seem too friendly.”
“He’s friendly enough.”
“He bite?”
“He’s been good today.” Cam kept his voice light. He didn’t like the man, and he sure as hell wasn’t about to play games with him. “What can I do for you?”
Edward shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts and turned in a full circle, his forehead marred by a frown and all pretense of politeness gone as his gaze settled on the house.
“She home?” Contempt dripped from each word, and the man’s eyes hardened. “I rang the doorbell and knocked, but there’s no answer.”
“If you mean Blue, I haven’t seen her.” Cam took a step back, unwilling to be pulled into family stuff that didn’t concern him. Everyone in town knew there was no love lost between Edward Barnes and his father’s widow.
The Thing About Trouble Page 4