Harlequin Desire June 2020 - Box Set 1 of 2

by Maureen Child

  The rumble of conversation rose and fell like the tides, and, as an outsider, Cam could see friendships and wary enemies greeting each other.

  “You’re going to get in,” Tony said easily.

  “We’ll find out soon.” In his black suit, white shirt and black hat, Camden glanced around the room and felt as if he were wearing the uniform of the TCC. Every man there was dressed pretty much as he was. Good omen?

  Then he spotted Justin McCoy, and everything in him coiled into a tight knot. The man walked through the room like he owned the place, which was just another irritation added to the rest. He carried his hat in his hand, and in the overhead light the man’s receding blond hair looked almost white.

  Cam stiffened as he followed Justin’s progress through the room. He had to wonder if McCoy would still be welcome in the prestigious club if the members knew the truth about him.

  Tony followed his gaze and sneered. “The only reason Justin’s a member is because his great-great-whatever-grandfather was a founding member.”

  “Doesn’t say much for the membership committee.” Just looking at the man made Cam’s hands curl into fists.

  “No, really doesn’t,” Tony agreed.

  When Justin spotted Cam, he headed right for him, a self-satisfied smirk on his face. It took everything he had for Cam to stay rooted to the spot. All he really wanted to do was meet him halfway and plant his fist in the other man’s face.

  Justin stopped right in front of him and gave Tony a brief nod of acknowledgment.

  “You’re not going to get in, you know.”

  Cam chuckled and his gaze never left Justin’s. “You’re the one reason that might be okay with me.”

  Justin flushed, and on his pale face, the red splotches were unmistakable.

  “But me being a member isn’t up to you, Justin. You just think you’re important.”

  “You’re not getting into this club,” Justin repeated, then leaned in closer. “And you’re not getting Beth. You don’t deserve her.”

  A part of him might have always secretly believed that, but damned if he’d let Justin say it. “You don’t want a war with me, Justin…”

  “Guys, dial it down, okay?”

  Cam ignored Tony’s warning. “Because I’m going to tell you right now, I’ve got plenty of ammo to use against you if that’s the way you want to go.”

  Justin flinched. Cam saw it in his eyes, but he still used bravado to talk his way out. “I’m not worried. Do what you want. Who here would ever believe Camden Guthrie against a McCoy?”

  When Justin moved on, Tony leaned in and said. “Don’t get yourself in a twist. The man’s a dick. No one likes him. No one listens to him.”

  Justin McCoy was all that and more, Cam thought. He forced himself to put McCoy out of his mind and concentrate instead on his own future.

  * * *

  Beth saw it all.

  Her gaze had fixed on Cam the moment she slipped into the meeting room. As if there was no one else in the place, she could see only him. He wore an elegantly cut suit and tie and held his black hat in his right hand. He and Tony were talking together when Justin came up and said something that had Cam’s features turning to stone.

  The confrontation didn’t last long, and Beth really wanted to know what they’d been talking about. But a moment later, James Harris was calling the meeting to order.

  Beth slunk down in her chair at the back of the room. She was there for the membership vote because she could at least cast her vote for Cam. But she didn’t want him to see her until she was ready.

  The Wingates had been members of the TCC for decades though it was only recently that women had been accepted. Even now though, there were still several of the old guard at the club who resented any female strolling through the hallowed halls of the Texas Cattleman’s Club.

  But, as more than one woman had said, Too bad for them.

  Beth smiled at a couple of friends, then turned her attention to James. No matter how many times someone spoke up to interrupt him, he calmly kept the meeting on track. She didn’t envy him the task of trying to ride herd on such a big group.

  Quietly she watched the wealthiest, most influential people in Royal calling across the room like high school kids, laughing and talking. Her brothers were all here, too, and she thought of them all as creating a Wingate Wall against suspicion and gossip.

  Everyone in town had had something to say about the fire at WinJet. They were all waiting to see what would happen next, and Beth was right there with them.

  But tonight she wasn’t thinking about the family or the company. Her thoughts were focused on Camden and what her aunt Piper had said to her the day before. If they were both trying to win, they were both going to lose.

  When the vote was finally called, Beth raised her hand to vote yes on Cam’s membership, and she was glad to see that her brothers did, too. And except for a small handful of Burt Wheeler’s cronies—and Justin McCoy of course—the vote was overwhelmingly on Cam’s side.

  She looked at him in time to see him grin at Tony, and her heart did a quick leap. Cam was the one she wanted, and she’d realized earlier that day that Piper had a point. Why should she wait for him to come to her? Didn’t she have the same right as a man to go after what she wanted ?

  She smiled to herself at the realization. But tonight wasn’t the time for her to face Camden and tell him how she felt. He was surrounded by people shaking his hand and welcoming him into the TCC. This was a night for him to concentrate on his win. She could wait until tomorrow.

  Still smiling, she slipped out of her seat and headed for the door. She felt better than she had in more than a week. She’d made a decision to go for it. To risk it all for a chance at love and happiness. She whispered, “And I won’t take no for an answer.”

  “Beth!”

  She groaned and half-heartedly turned to wait for Justin McCoy. If Cam looked over here, he’d see her. Hopefully, he had as little interest in Justin as she did.

  “I didn’t know you were coming tonight,” he said, face flushed from rushing through the crowd to catch up with her.

  She smiled up at him. “Well, my brothers and I wanted to be here to vote for Cam.”

  His lips thinned into such a fine line his mouth looked like a wrinkle in his chin. “I wish you hadn’t done that.”

  “Well, I’m sorry you feel that way.” Beth inched toward the door. “I really can’t stay, Justin.”

  “Now, no need to rush off.” He draped one arm around her shoulders and Beth squirmed out from under him.

  “Justin…”

  “Beth,” he said patiently, “it’s time you got past this infatuation with Camden Guthrie and realized that you and I are meant to be.”

  She blinked at him. Really, she couldn’t even think of anything to say to that. How did you argue with someone who was so removed from reality?

  “I understand you have some memories of Guthrie, but those are long dead. The future is for us.”

  “Justin, that’s never going to happen.”

  He held on to her again, pulling her to his side, and Beth had to work harder this time to get him off her. She didn’t want to make a scene—people were talking about the Wingates already. But if he didn’t stop pawing at her, Beth might show him a few of the anti-male moves her brothers had taught her when she was a teenager.

  Staring up into his eyes, she willed him to pay attention. “Listen to me, Justin. The answer to you is no. It will always be no.”

  “You heard the lady.”

  Beth jolted. She had been so focused on getting rid of Justin that she hadn’t noticed the man she loved walking up to them. Now he and Tony were standing side by side, and Cam’s gaze was fixed on Justin. No one else had really noticed anything going on because the noise level was loud enough to drown out anything.

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nbsp; All Beth could see was Cam. His dark eyes flashed with heat and banked fury, and she wished Justin McCoy to the other side of the planet. She laid one hand on his forearm and felt the tension in his body. “It’s okay, Cam. I’m fine. And Justin’s leaving.”

  “Yeah, he is,” Cam said, staring at Justin with an angry glare before flicking a glance at Beth. “There’s a lot of things I’m willing to take, but this isn’t one of them.”

  “What’re you talking about?” Beth moved closer to Cam.

  He looked down at her again. “If you don’t want me, that’s fine. Your choice. But damned if I’ll watch you hook up with this son of a bitch.”

  “Who’re you calling an SOB?” Justin demanded.

  “Excuse me?” Beth said, outraged that he would think she’d be interested in Justin. If he’d seen the man drape his arm around her, hadn’t he also seen her trying to escape? “You just heard me tell him ‘no’ again.”

  “You’re not saying it loud enough,” Cam argued.

  “The only way I could be louder is with a microphone.”

  “Stay out of this, Beth,” Justin said.

  “Agreed,” Cam said, his gaze boring into Justin’s. “This is between me and you.” Cam kept his voice low enough that only their tight circle could hear him. “You think I’ll let you anywhere near Beth when we both know damn well what you did to Julie.”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “What did he do?” Beth asked, shooting a wary look at Justin before turning her gaze back to Cam.

  Cam speared Justin with a hot glare that should have set fire to what was left of his hair.

  Speaking quietly to Beth, he said, “I promised Julie I’d never say a word about this. But she’s gone now and damned if I’m going to let him strut around here acting like he’s got nothing to be ashamed of.”

  Justin’s cheeks flushed red and his eyes shifted from side to side as if looking for an escape. He didn’t find one.

  Cam continued and Beth couldn’t tear her eyes from him.

  “Justin seduced Julie. Set out to get her and he did. Got her pregnant and then tried to force her to marry him. He wanted into the Wheeler family,” Cam said, voice dark and low. “He wanted her money. Wanted a piece of the ranch, and he didn’t mind telling her any of it once he was sure she was going to have his baby.”

  Justin puffed out his chest and lifted his chin. “That’s a lie.”

  Beth didn’t think so. Glancing at the man now, she could see the truth etched into his hard features. She felt immediate sympathy for Julie. To have been used like that must have crushed her.

  “It’s the absolute truth and you damn well know it,” Cam said.

  “How could you do that to her? To anyone?” Beth asked.

  Justin looked at her, and his mouth thinned into that straight, bitter line again.

  “When she told Justin she was pregnant, he told her that she had to marry him.” Cam looked the man up and down dismissively. “He knew Burt would be furious so he figured he had Julie trapped.” Cam shot Beth a quick look. “But she wouldn’t go along with it. She was scared to tell her father the truth, so she came to me.”

  Beth’s heart hurt. For Julie. For Cam. For all of them. Well, everyone but Justin. “God, Camden…”

  Apparently, Justin saw that Beth believed every word. He knew now he didn’t have a shot with her, so he faced Cam angrily. “If you repeat any of that story, Guthrie…I’ll sue.”

  Cam moved in on him. “You stay the hell away from Beth, I’ll keep quiet about all of this. But not for you,” Cam ground out. “For Julie. She doesn’t deserve to be gossiped about. You did enough damage to her life.”

  “Julie was an idiot,” Justin said, dismissing the girl he’d used and ruined. “If she’d just married me like I’d planned, none of this would have happened.”

  Beth sucked in a deep breath as Burt Wheeler stood up from a nearby chair. None of them had noticed him. But clearly he’d heard everything. Burt was trembling with barely controlled rage as he stalked directly to Justin.

  “You did all of that to my girl. You bastard.”

  Justin backed up a step and bumped into Tony Alvarez. He was trapped, and the expression on his face said that he knew it.

  Burt wasn’t finished. “If I ever hear my Julie’s name coming out of your mouth again, I swear by all that’s holy, I will beat you into the ground.”

  Justin believed him. Beth could see that truth on the man’s face. He backed away again slowly and Tony let him go. When Justin saw a clear path out of the building and through the crowd, he took it, crashing into people as he made a hasty exit.

  Sympathy welled up in Beth’s heart for Burt. The man looked as if his own heart had just been ripped from his chest. He took a shaky breath, then stepped up to Cam and held out his right hand.

  “I was wrong about you, Guthrie. And I’m sorry for it. I’m sorrier still that my girl was too afraid to come to me when she needed help.” His eyes were wounded, and Beth knew that he would be haunted by that knowledge for the rest of his life.

  Cam shook the older man’s hand and said, “Julie loved you, Burt. She wasn’t afraid you’d hurt her. She was afraid of disappointing you.”

  Some of the pain in his eyes eased. “That’s something, I guess.” Burt sighed heavily and slowly shook his head. “I’m going inside to talk to James. I want to change my vote on your membership.”

  Nodding, Cam said, “Thank you, Burt.”

  He nodded. “You did right by my Julie. You took care of her and helped her when she needed it most. I was too blind to see that sooner, but I do now, and I thank you for that.”

  “That was kind,” Beth whispered.

  Cam was watching the older man thread his way through the people in the room. “He’s not a bad man. Just a hard one.”

  Beth was silent for a second or two before turning on Cam. “You honestly thought I was ‘with’ Justin?”

  He frowned at her. “You looked pretty cozy to me.”

  “So you didn’t notice me trying to get away from him?”

  “That’s why I came over. I didn’t like him touching you.”

  “Okay, I’m gone.” Tony Alvarez moved away, leaving Cam and Beth alone.

  Beth said, “Why haven’t you called me all week?”

  “You could have called to tell me you wanted to talk to me.”

  “Seriously?” Her jaw dropped. “I have to tell you that?”

  People were turning to look. Everyone had missed the upset with Justin and Burt, but now they were paying attention.

  “Damn it, Beth—” He grabbed her hand and led her through the crowd and out into the parking lot.

  She had to hurry to keep up and didn’t mind a bit. It was past time they talked. Really talked. Cam didn’t stop until he was in a far corner of the darkened lot, where the shadows were deep and the nearby oaks dipped low enough to provide some privacy. A soft, warm wind blew past them and brought the scent of coming rain with it.

  Beth didn’t care. Lightning could have split the sky and dumped gallons of water down on them and still she would stand there, looking up into the dark chocolate eyes staring down at her.

  “Look,” he said tightly, “I waited a week. Gave you the time and space or whatever the hell else you needed, but I’m done now.”

  Her heart took another high leap. “Is that right?”

  “Damn straight it is.” He dropped both hands to her shoulders and pulled her close. “I get that you don’t trust me. I’ll earn that back if I have to work at it for the rest of my life.”

  She did trust him and would have said so if he hadn’t kept talking.

  “And, if you think I’m going away again, you’re wrong. I’m here for good. And if I ever did decide to leave, I’d go nowhere without you.”

 
; Her heart was pounding, her breath coming in short, hard puffs, and she felt as if she could fly. Beth read the truth of his words in his eyes, in his expression, in the hard grip on her shoulders. “I believe you.”

  That surprised him. “You do?”

  “Of course I do.” She reached up and cupped his cheek in her palm. “I was done waiting, too. I was going to come to you tomorrow to tell you that I want you to marry me. I want us to have kids. Make a family. And live on your ranch just like we used to dream about, remember?”

  He wrapped his arms around her, looked down into her eyes and said, “Why do you think that’s the ranch I bought when I came home? I remember everything, Beth. And just so you know, I was coming to you tomorrow, too.”

  “Really?” She smiled up at him, and everything inside her settled into a warm glow that filled her so completely it should have been spilling from her fingertips.

  “Really.” He let her go long enough to dip into his jacket pocket and come up with a blue velvet ring box. “I drove into Dallas this afternoon. I wanted to have it with me when I asked you.”

  She took a breath and held it while she blinked frantically to prevent tears from filling her eyes and spoiling the view of the man she loved holding a ring.

  “You have it with you now,” she said softly.

  “I have you with me,” he countered, “and that’s the most important thing. This—” he flipped the lid open, displaying a huge, square diamond flashing up at her “—is just a celebration of that.”

  Beth’s breath caught as she looked up into his eyes again. “It’s beautiful, Cam. It’s perfect.”

  “Not until it’s on your finger it’s not.” He lifted her left hand and kissed her knuckles. Beth felt that kiss all the way to her bones.

  “I love you, Beth,” he said, his gaze locked on hers. “I loved who you were then and I love who you’ve become. I don’t want to spend another day without you. Beth Wingate, will you marry me?”