“Why?”
“To see if you’re as great as Camdyn says you are. So far, you’re living up to your reputation.”
“Oh.” Turning back to the window, I tried to hide the impact of his words. Camdyn’s brother was most definitely getting under my skin, in the best of ways.
“Camdyn’s an awesome sister, and I wouldn’t trade her for a million bucks,” he continued. “Just don’t tell her I said that. It would ruin all the fun we have teasing each other.”
He pulled the car into the parking lot of a shopping mall, locating a parking spot quite a distance from the doors. As he stilled the engine, I pushed open my door, drawing a deep breath of the cold winter air. Within seconds he was standing next to me. When I realized I was thinking about taking his hand, I forced my fingers into my pockets. A car whizzed past on my left, and he reached out and looped my hand into the crook of his arm.
“Just looking out for you,” he insisted, pausing a second with his fingers against mine on his arm. Drawing my focus to the mall, I began walking beside him.
“Tell me about your baseball obsession,” I suggested, bringing myself slightly closer to his side as I walked.
“I wouldn’t call it an obsession.”
“Your bedroom and your wardrobe would beg to differ.”
“Ouch. I guess I do really like baseball. I have as long as I can remember.”
“But you didn’t play?”
“I really wanted to, but I wasn’t any good.” He chuckled as he shook his head. “Really no good, to the point that the coach actually asked me to stop trying out for the team because he felt sorry for me.”
“That had to hurt.”
“A little. The truth is, I’ve always felt like baseball was supposed to be part of my life.”
He didn’t elaborate as we stepped through the sliding glass doors and into the warmth of the mall, but I couldn’t let that statement go unexplained.
“Supposed to be part of your life?”
“Yeah.” He drew to a halt in front of a pretzel stand, turning toward me. “This might sound a little crazy, but baseball is the only thing I remember about my dad. I had this small, worn brown glove, and he was really patient with me. I can still see his face as he tossed the ball to me, his eyebrows lifting with every flip of his wrist. It always stuck with me, I guess, because it’s the only memory I have of him. Do you think it’s odd?”
“No, not odd. I think that’s lovely.”
He nodded his head slightly as a hint of a smile curved up the corners of his lips. “Good.” He began walking again, and I self-consciously pulled my hand away from his arm. “The truth is, when I think about being a dad myself someday, that’s what I see. Me standing out in the yard, a small tyke with a mess of blond hair, and a little brown baseball glove.”
“That’s beautiful.”
“You’re beautiful.” He shoved his hands in his pockets as he tilted his head toward a storefront. “I guess I shouldn’t say so, though. I’ll try to keep my thoughts to myself.”
Charlie stepped inside a trendy shop and began perusing clothing racks rather absently, not really focusing on anything, and I fought the urge to look at him by peering at a nearby display of jewelry.
“So, what does the doctor do for fun, in his spare time?” I made sure to ask the question loud enough for him to hear, but didn’t dare look at him with the incriminating smile on my face.
“I study a lot, actually.”
“That leaves no doubt you’re Camdyn’s brother.”
I turned to see him motioning toward the door, so I quickly stepped up behind him, following him back into the crowds.
“I’m sure I don’t study like she does. She’s always had her head in a book for as long as I can remember. But I definitely want to get my money’s worth, and I want to be good at my job when the time comes.” He paused to glance in my direction. “And I’m glad you’re acknowledging the whole doctor thing. Not that it really matters, but since you put so much emphasis on it…”
“That was mostly a joke. Just because you imagine something doesn’t make it any more likely to become reality. A couple days ago, Camdyn was imagining herself as a Chinese peasant or something. She said she was fighting the Comintane or something like that.”
“The Comintane?”
“You know Camdyn and her big words. I have no idea what she was talking about.” For a second I felt slightly ridiculous, but his deep laugh allowed me to take a quick breath and let out a giggle myself.
We strolled past a storefront with a variety of keepsakes in the window, and a snow globe immediately caught my eye. The cozy home nestled inside held a dusting of snow on the roofline, and the trees nearby held their own smatterings of snow. It reminded me of home, back in Cape Girardeau. The home that now belonged to Mr. and Mrs. Pan, an elderly couple who would not be sliding around on their socked feet. Not related to Peter Pan, either—I asked, and they did not think my question was amusing. Just trying to lighten the atmosphere, since they were ripping out my heart.
“Found something?” Charlie asked, causing me to jump.
“No, just looking at this snow globe. It reminds me of home. I mean, the home I grew up in back in Cape Girardeau.”
“You miss being there for Christmas?”
“Yes and no. My parents sold the house a couple years ago and moved to Nebraska, so I couldn’t go home if I wanted to.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. If I went home, I wouldn’t be here right now, and I’m having a good time, believe it or not.”
He took a step closer and put his hand on my shoulder as he looked at the snow globe. “You know, when you’re not being completely honest, your eyes change color.”
“What?” My breath caught in my throat as I stared at his profile.
“Yeah, they change to a slightly darker color of brown, like the difference between regular coffee and the stuff I brew when I’m cramming for a test.”
“What exactly are you accusing me of lying about?”
“Who said you were lying?” he asked, facing me. “You had that look in your eyes when you were pushing around the cereal in your bowl this morning, and earlier when you were talking about Ash, like you’re hiding something. Just now, you said not to be sorry about you being here, but I can tell it bothers you.”
“A little.” I glanced away lest he see anything else in my eyes that I would rather keep to myself.
“Because you feel like you went away to college, and your home disappeared?”
“Something like that.” I pretended to look at the other items behind the glass. “You know, you’re probably right. I should be honest about Ash.”
“And?” His tentative tone made my heart skip a beat.
“I’m not sure why Camdyn told you that, but I haven’t dated a football player since high school. I don’t know anybody named Ash, except a girl named Ashley who lives in our dorm. And I definitely don’t have a boyfriend.”
He chuckled as he reached a hand up to the back of his neck, shaking his head. “Nicely played, Cammie. What a bratty little sister move.”
“Why would she lie about that?”
“Oh, I know exactly why,” he muttered. “I saw that picture on the dresser, and I said, ‘Wow, you didn’t tell me Trina was a knockout.’ She said, ‘Off limits, Charlie. Anyway, she has a boyfriend.’”
“That’s really what happened?”
“God’s honest truth. But you and I have talked on the phone a few times, so I feel like we’re over the first hurdle.”
“Oh?”
He smiled, turning my stomach inside out. “Yeah, and I came home early hoping I’d get to spend some time with you.”
“You’re messing with me.” I fell into step beside him as he began moving through the throngs of people.
“Nope.” I felt the tips of his fingers tickle across the palm of my hand right before his fingers laced through mine. “The truth is, I bought Camdyn a present a coupl
e weeks ago. But I’ll probably be shopping for Camdyn’s present a few more hours, at least. For your sake, of course, since you need a present.”
“Yeah, about that. I bought her present a couple months ago.”
“So you came along just to be with me.” He rewarded me with a smile as his thumb rubbed along mine where our hands were linked together.
“Pretty much. Does that make me a bad friend?”
“The worst, but I’ll give you a pass.” He stopped in the midst of the crowd of people, turning to grin at me. “So, how are we going to keep this a secret?”
Chapter Six
Three hours we spent “shopping” for Camdyn before Charlie suggested we return to the house, in case they got suspicious. Judging by the look Willa gave me when we came through the door, the suspicions were already floating around. Strangely enough, though, they hadn’t seemed to make it to the one who might have protested. Her perceptiveness when it came to my feelings was definitely hindered in that setting.
To be perfectly honest, I felt mildly guilty. Just when I would begin thinking about coming clean and spilling the beans about Charlie, he’d catch my eye across the room and I’d feel my heart start pounding again. He was pretty much the perfect catch: Loved his sister and his grandma, was studying for a successful career, and wanted his own family someday. He even had a perfectly good, sigh-worthy excuse for his weird baseball obsession.
Yeah, Charlie Taylor was definitely dangerous in the best possible ways.
So, instead of dwelling on the possibilities or the guilty feelings, I offered to help Willa make dinner. She patiently showed me how to make meatloaf and twice-baked potatoes, and while the meatloaf was baking, she led me through making homemade icing to go with Charlie’s birthday cake. She even showed me the secret box where she kept her handwritten recipes, explaining that those were to go to Charlie someday. Most everything sentimental she figured Camdyn would want, but she didn’t want the recipes to go to waste. When I couldn’t hold back a laugh at that tidbit, she gave me a conspiratorial smile and glanced into the living room. Camdyn had draped her legs over the back of the couch with her curls hanging over the armrest, a book five inches in front of her face.
“My Camdyn will change the world someday, but it won’t be through cooking,” Willa whispered, patting me on the shoulder. “At least I hope not, because I wouldn’t want her to wind up in prison.”
We sat down to dinner, the four of us, where Willa promptly began bragging about how I had cooked the meal with no assistance. That wasn’t entirely true, but I didn’t correct her. Besides, with Charlie’s leg touching mine under the table, I didn’t have the nerve to say much of anything, lest I become obvious and let the proverbial cat out of the bag.
After dinner, Willa brought out Charlie’s cake and Camdyn sang off-key as he cringed. When Willa retreated to the living room to prepare us for a Charlie Brown evening, I watched in fascination as they all settled into their spots for the ritual. Camdyn plopped into the recliner, pulling a worn brown crocheted afghan over her. Willa planted herself in the glider, rocking back and forth. Charlie settled onto the couch, taking up the whole of the space with his long legs and his elbows behind his head. As I glanced around the room at the lack of seating options and prepared to lower myself onto the floor, Charlie pulled his legs back and sat up, relinquishing one of the couch cushions.
“It’s my birthday, and you’re forcing me to give up the couch,” Charlie complained under his breath.
“As though you need an entire couch,” Camdyn complained. “Trina, how did you put up with him while you were shopping today?”
“It was rough,” I assured her, easing myself down next to Charlie.
“I treated her like part of the family,” he said. “Be quiet, because the show’s starting. I could really use a pillow.”
“Go get a pillow then.” Camdyn shifted her attention away from Charlie and focused instead on the television.
He stretched and leaned toward me, placing his head on my lap as he looked in the direction of the TV. My eyes widened, and I glanced at Willa, but her attention was elsewhere.
“Trina makes an excellent pillow,” Charlie teased, causing Camdyn to look in our direction.
“Ugh, why do you have to be so weird? Just push him off the couch, Trina. You don’t have to put up with that.”
She failed to observe the fact that my fingers were brushing Charlie’s shoulder, her brother’s back was warm against my thigh, and my heart was effectively in my throat.
Charlie glanced up at me briefly, a clear signal to me that he had managed to enable physical contact between us while keeping his sister convinced that he was trying to be obnoxious. I shrugged my shoulders and gave Camdyn a defeated half-grin. She shook her head in disgust and went back to watching Lucy torment poor Charlie Brown.
Our own Charlie kept on tormenting me in his own way throughout the cartoon, occasionally reaching his hand up to drag a finger slowly down my arm, eyeing Camdyn to be certain she wasn’t watching. It was a very bratty move, but my desire to keep our growing attraction under wraps won out over my instinct to swat him.
After the Peanuts gang sang the closing number, Camdyn and Willa announced they were going to bed, and Camdyn offered to let me crash in her room. I assured them I would be fine on the couch. Charlie complained about being tired and disappeared before either of the ladies could.
Slightly disappointed, I spread the sheets and blankets on the couch, lowered my head to the armrest, and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. A million thoughts began tumbling through my head, my mind refusing to calm. Were my parents sad that I wouldn’t be sharing Christmas with them? Should I have faced my feelings instead of running to St. Louis? Was Charlie simply toying with me?
My eyes tried to focus on the small, blinking colored lights on the Christmas tree across the room. They began swimming together, so I forced my eyes closed, trying to fall asleep.
“Psst,” I heard near my feet, and my eyes flew open, focusing on Charlie in his plaid pajama pants and navy-blue T-shirt. Sitting up, I nervously shoved my hair away from my face, drawing the blanket up to my chest.
“I know this is late notice, but I was wondering if you had plans this evening.”
All thoughts of him toying with me flew to the wayside as I stared at his handsome face as he waited for my answer.
“What do you have in mind?”
“Oreos,” he stated, producing the package of cookies from behind his back. “Maybe we could just talk?”
“You had me at Oreos,” I told him, moving my feet from the couch so he could sit next to me.
♥
“I can’t believe she never told me that story,” Charlie said with a laugh, taking care to keep his voice quiet. “I bet she has all kinds of embarrassing stories that she’s kept hidden, doesn’t she? Come on, tell me another one.”
“Hmm…” I bit my lip as I looked toward the ceiling briefly. “Oh, did she tell you about the movie incident?”
“You mean Harry Potter?”
“Um, no.”
“The Notebook?”
“How many movie incidents can there be?”
“Apparently several. Please, continue.”
“I think it was the first year we roomed together, pretty close to the holidays. She gets so worked up toward the end of the semester about her grades that she exhausts herself studying. Well, I really wanted to go watch The Holiday, you know…Jude Law, Kate Winslet, Jack Black.”
“Irrelevant information,” he whispered.
“I beg your pardon? I hardly think Jude Law is irrelevant.”
“In this instance, maybe?”
“No, he’s completely relevant. That’s part of the reason I wanted to watch the movie. Anyway, she told me she was tired, but I still coerced her into going to the late showing. We were even on time for a change. She wore her sweatpants so she wouldn’t be cold, and she never took her coat off. I guess she must have gotten all warm
and toasty, because she dozed off.”
“Nice.”
“Yeah, except it gets worse.”
“Camdyn’s involved, so of course it gets worse.”
“She got a little too comfortable while she was sleeping, and she kept leaning farther and farther toward the guy sitting next to us. Finally, he put his popcorn in the way to keep her from laying on him.”
“She knocked the popcorn over?” he asked.
“Nope. She pretty much face-planted in it, and had no idea. I kind of poked her when the movie was over, and she just sat up like nothing happened. While we were walking out, people were giggling, and she asked very seriously, ‘What’s so funny? Did I miss the funny part?’ I honestly couldn’t give her an answer to that myself until we got out to the lobby and she turned to look at me.”
“And?”
“Blonde curls covered in popcorn on one side of her face. She looked like she face-planted in it. It was so hilarious. But I was a good friend and tried not to laugh.”
“I’ll bet.” He offered a charming smile as he glanced at the wall. “That clock says it’s three in the morning. Do you think it’s right?”
Returning his grin, I tilted my head to the side. “It’s been right the rest of the day, so I’d guess it is now.”
“It doesn’t feel that late. You’re pretty entertaining.”
“So are you.” He leveled his gaze on me, and I forced myself not to smile as I pressed my teeth into my bottom lip. “So, what happens on the 22nd? Since obviously the 21st and Charlie day is now gone.”
“Sadly, that is a disappointing fact. On the 22nd, Grandma always goes to church to help prepare food. They have this big neighborhood-wide dinner on Christmas Eve, so it takes a lot of effort ahead of time. Tomorrow…or today, I guess, is mainly a work day. The 23rd is always fun, though, because we bless someone who can’t repay us.”
“Very cool,” I whispered, grinning.
He continued to stare at me, so I focused on the tree again. The warmth of his fingertips trailed across the top of my hand, and I glanced down as he lifted my hand and looked at the palm, tracing his finger across it slowly.
Unwrapped (The Camdyn Series Book 5) Page 4