by Taylor Hart
A low laugh came out of him. “That’s it. You’re sabotaging everything because of your fear of intimacy.”
She took a long breath. “Stop it.” All her fears and insecurities bubbled to the surface. “You’re being idiotic.”
“We’ve known each other a long time. I don’t understand why you cling to this notion of some sacred thing your grandfather taught you about waiting until marriage. It’s archaic.”
They’d had this fight before. “Fine.”
“Fine what?”
“Then don’t come.”
“There’s no funding.” His voice was quiet.
“What?”
“I spoke to Talbot tonight. It didn’t work out.”
She was speechless. Was he just saying there was no funding to hurt her?
“Katherine, we have so much we could give to the world—to academia, to publishing. We could impact generations with our ideas. But you want to help delinquents.”
She didn’t even know what to say. More tears fell down her cheeks.
After a long pause, he said, “Maybe your mother was right. You’ve always believed in fairy tales.”
“It’s over, Steven.” She pressed end.
Every part of her was alert and awake, and she bolted out of bed, trembling. She steadied herself against her dresser. Overwhelming sadness washed over her. Was he right? Was she living in a fairytale?
* * *
When Kat showed up for her tour Saturday morning, she wasn’t sure if it would be a single canoe trip or a family she would be taking down the river. To her surprise, the only person waiting for her had a ball cap, sunglasses, and a not-so-shaggy-anymore beard. Part of her heart delighted to see him, but the other part—the frail, recently broken part—didn’t want to be within ten feet of him.
Were things really over with Steven? She had a headache, a numb pounding behind her right eye from all the crying. She was a wreck, but she pushed the conflicting emotions away.
She had to be strong. Cam was just another client. This was no big deal.
Of course he came right over to the van and reached in to grab the canoe. They locked eyes and sized each other up. He grinned.
The smug smile on his face made her want to both slug him and kiss him. She definitely wasn’t doing the latter.
He got an easy grip on the canoe and yanked it out in one motion. “I’ll be down at the river.” He moved away.
How could he do this to her? Make her feel all these feelings all at once? It wasn’t fair. Taking the life jackets and the paddles, she went to the river and faced him. “You need to leave. I’m not doing this with you today.”
He put his hands up. “Listen, I just want another trip down the river.”
“You didn’t know I was the one guiding this trip?” she asked incredulously.
“No,” he said way too quickly.
“Liar.”
He threw up his hands. “Fine! I might have booked it because I knew you’d be giving the tour, but …” He sighed. “I didn’t know you would be hanging out with me last night too.”
She threw him a life jacket and then put on her own. This time she didn’t have to waste time with all the safety precautions, because she knew he knew them. They simply hopped into the canoe and started on their way. “Don’t talk to me today.” She did need the money. That was how she rationalized not turning him away.
“So what do you want to talk about?” Cam asked nonchalantly five minutes later.
“I told you not to talk to me.”
“But you’re my guide. Shouldn’t you at least be polite?” He pointed at her. “Anyway, why are you being so weird?”
“I’m not,” she said quickly.
“Yes, you are.”
She sighed. “I think we should just enjoy the scenery this morning.”
So that’s what they did for the next half hour. They took in the view and silently maneuvered the canoe down the river. Kat thought about how seamlessly they worked together. They anticipated each other’s moves and easily compensated or put the oar down for drag when they needed to.
This time with Cam was peaceful. Kat knew he was trying not to look at her, but he wasn’t putting out any weird vibes or anything.
Then he did something that changed the moment. He started singing his song—the song he’d written, she knew, about her. As he sang, he didn’t look at her, but she could feel the passion and the energy coming off of him.
All of the feelings he sang about had opened up in her without her realizing it. Especially the attraction. That was a huge one. She tried to ignore the way she would catch whiffs of the cologne he wore. It was almost like she could sense how close he was. How close he wanted to be.
Memories of dancing with him filled her mind. She thought of the small dimple in his left check when he smiled. She might not have noticed the dimple with his beard, but she’d been around him enough in the last couple of days to see it.
She thought about Steven, about what he’d said the night before. Were they really over? She pressed her hand above her eye, trying to press out the pain behind it. Could it really be over so quickly?
“Kat, are you paying attention?”
The tone of his voice startled her out of her thoughts, and she saw the cliff-like part of the rapids coming up. “Drag left!” she shouted as she thrust in her oar and tried to drag them to the easier part of the rapids, the part that guides usually took their tours on.
Cam obeyed, and with his added force, they maneuvered to the easier side of the river, coasting down.
Her adrenaline had spiked, and now she couldn’t stop the relieved laughter that escaped her.
Cam was laughing too. He took his oar and splashed at her. “Admit it. My song put a spell on you.”
She laughed and splashed him back. “Oh, back to the magic thing, are we?”
“Of course,” he said solemnly.
She hesitated, then asked, “Do you think I live in a dream world?”
He frowned. “Why would you ask that?”
Letting out a breath, she shook her head. “My mother told me that a few days ago; then Steven told me that last night. Actually, they both told me to quit believing in fairy tales.”
He took her hand. “I think you’re more real than any woman I’ve ever met.”
Even though she knew he was being nice, she felt the sincerity in his voice. “Thanks.” She tugged back her hand, uncertain of everything at the moment.
“I wouldn’t lie to you.” Cocking his head to the side, he pulled off his sunglasses to clean them on his T-shirt. “Have you forgotten I saved your life, Foster?”
The reference to her last name made her laugh. “You make it sound like we’re on a sports team together.”
Hesitating for a second, he put back on his glasses. “Maybe it’s because you wear that ridiculous Storm hat.”
She hadn’t even thought about her hat. It was just what she wore for protection while going down the river. “Right. Football again?”
“Hey, it’s always football.” But he frowned, evaluating her. “Are you okay?”
She shoved away her emotion. Touching the hat, she pulled it tighter onto her head. “Sorry, I’m not the cheerleader type, I can’t always be happy.”
He let out a slow breath. “I don’t like the cheerleader type.”
She lifted her eyebrows, pointedly. “Got something to say, Cruz?”
“Nope.”
For a few moments neither of them said anything.
“So Steven thinks you live in a fairytale.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
Cam rolled his eyes. “You brought him up, so I’m asking some questions.”
“You can ask, doesn’t mean I have to answer.
“You said that he’s going back to London next semester.”
“So.” She couldn’t stop herself from answering.
“But you’re not going with him?”
“I … I can’t talk about this right
now.”
“Why doesn’t he stay with you in Denver?”
“Why should he?”
“Because you’re … together …” He trailed off.
She didn’t appreciate his tone. “I mean it. I’m not talking about it.”
Pausing for a second, he exhaled loudly. “Maybe it’s easy to be with someone who’s not in the same geographic vicinity.”
After a couple of seconds of glaring at him, she shook her head, trying to cover the fact that he’d hit on a nerve. “Just shut up.”
“Sorry.” He put both of his hands up.
But the chord he’d struck was still playing loudly in her mind. It’d been kind of a fear of hers. “This is rich, coming from you.”
He shrugged. “If I found the right woman, I wouldn’t leave her side.” She glared at him, but he held her gaze. “What’s wrong with you today?”
For a few minutes she didn’t answer, just turned away and paddled both sides of the canoe to get her aggression out.
Leaning forward, he reached out to stop her, but froze when he noticed that tears were already forming. “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to tell you.”
He sighed and cocked an eyebrow.
“Steven and I are over.”
Cam looked away. “If someone think you’re living in a fairytale, I think it’s okay to break up.”
Pulling in a long breath, she shook her head. “It’s fine. I just …”
“I’m sorry.” His lips were turned down.
More tears fell down her cheeks. “I can’t believe he said that to me, I—I’d told him my mom told me that a few days ago.”
“That was low.”
“Yes, it was.”
Cam sighed.
“But I guess he had cause because I did kiss you.”
Cam tilted his head to the side. “But you did tell him.”
They got to the company van that was always left for the tour, and he helped her get maneuver over to it. When they got out of the river, Cam picked up the canoe and helped her get it all in the van.
Kat was embarrassed and ashamed and … totally confused. She went to the front of the van and stared at the river. Thoughts of her grandfather came to her mind. For some stupid reason, she thought of how much he would have liked a guy like Cam. “A man’s kind of man,” he would have said. She smiled.
“So.” Cam stood next to her, surveying the river. “What do you have on tap for the rest of the day?”
She turned to him. “I told you I can’t do this.”
“What?”
Closing her eyes for a second, she shook her head. “I just need to go.”
“Okay,” he agreed.
But she didn’t move. He didn’t move, either.
They both stared at the river, watching the mesmerizing currents flow on. “The river’s addicting, isn’t it?” Cam asked.
This surprised her, coming from him. “Yeah, actually, it is.”
His eyes swept up and down the river. He bent and picked up a rock, chucking it and skipping it once.
She bent, picked up a rock, and threw it in. It got four skips.
“Ah, and she’s competitive?” Cam bent for another rock.
Before she knew it, they were taking turns seeing how many skips they could get. Cam was terrible at it; the most he got was two skips.
Finally, she reached for a rock and held it out to him. “Take it.”
He gingerly took it.
She picked up another. “You have to turn it onto its side, so it’s flat.”
He obeyed.
She went in front of him. “You’re throwing it like you throw a football.” She made a ball-throwing motion.
Cocking an eyebrow, he grinned. “Okay.”
“You need to take it to the side and turn it like this.” She demonstrated the motion. “It’s more like you’re throwing a baseball slider.”
Holding his arm to the side, he looked her up and down. “How do you know how to throw a baseball slider?”
For dramatics, she spit to the side. “I pitched little league baseball until fifth grade.”
“No!” He acted shocked.
Silly pride filled her. “Oh yeah. My mom hated it, but I loved it.” She shrugged. “Eventually, my mom won out. She put me in an all-girls school that didn’t have sports.”
“That’s sad.” He glanced at her.
“Ah well, that’s life, right? We just try to survive our childhoods.”
Cam gently took her hand and squeezed. “Yeah, but that still sucks.”
Warmth filled her. She looked at their hands and hated and loved how they felt together.
Quickly, he let go and turned back to the river, throwing a rock and getting four skips. “Yes.” He fist-pumped his arm.
She laughed. It felt good to laugh.
He turned and put out his fist. “Fist-bump.”
Obliging him, she found it strange that even though they were just bumping knuckles, there was electricity between them. Gesturing to the van, she said, “We better get back.”
They rode in silence for a few minutes before he asked, “Do you want to stop for breakfast? My treat? I should thank you for not almost getting us killed today.”
“Shut it.” She grinned, hating that she found his sarcasm funny.
“So that’s a yes?”
“I have to get to work.” But she looked over and found him on her phone. “Hey.” She tried to grab for it, but he held it out of reach.
She pulled into the starting point next to his truck.
He typed on her phone. “What are you doing?” she asked, not trying to reach for it.
“Putting my number into your phone. Ya know. Just in case you get bored and need someone to hang out with.”
Then she heard the noise that her phone made when it sent a text. This time she reached for it and got it. “Who did you just text?”
He grinned. “Duh, me. So now I have your number too.”
The turn for her grandfather’s ranch was up ahead. She could see the for sale sign. After hanging up with Steven last night, she’d told herself he was right; her idea was stupid and far-fetched. But …
Kat knew this was a mistake, but she couldn’t stop herself. She gave the van a hard turn and pressed on the gas.
Slamming back into the seat, Cam laughed. “I guess we’re going somewhere?”
She flashed him a grin, anticipation stirring. “I want to show you something.”
Chapter 20
Cam glanced over at Kat as they took the five-minute drive to her grandfather’s ranch. He saw the tire swing out front and the little garden and the old horse stalls. The ranch house was small, but there were a lot of outbuildings.
He considered it more than a stroke of good fortune that she and Steven had broken up. Granted, he wouldn’t say that to her, but there was a part of him that just wanted to get on with things between them. He knew he wanted her, and the fact she was available made the desire grow stronger.
But, he told himself, he would be patient. She needed time to sort things out.
Right now, she seemed to have forgotten about Steven. “The place is run-down, but I couldn’t believe it when I looked online last night and saw it for sale.”
A stir of excitement filled him. “It’s for sale?”
She grinned, and her eyes turned to the other car in the driveway. “Hmm, maybe it’s being shown.”
A silver-haired man wearing a white shirt and dark dress pants got out of the car. Cam thought Kat was right—this must be a realtor.
A determined look took over her face. “I want to try to buy this place for my project. I know it’s a long shot, but I’m going to try to get the funding through a grant I’ve been working on. It’s a grant I saw a while back. I think it would work.” She turned to him, and he could feel her excitement. “I want this place to be the place that the kids come to in the summer.”
He grinned back, though it was a little tentative—while
he wanted this to work out for her, he didn’t want to be recognized.
As they got out of the car, the realtor turned to them. “Can I help you guys?”
Cam feigned a call, putting his phone up to his ear. “Hey.” He turned to Kat. “I gotta take this. It’s my sister. I’ll meet you guys in a sec.”
She nodded and introduced herself to the realtor.
Holding the phone to his ear, Cam moved a bit down the driveway and pretended to talk. He watched her. She was glowing, looking around, softly touching the outer edge of the front door while the realtor was letting her in. Turning back and catching his eye, her grin widened into a silly smile and she gave him a thumbs-up.
Excitement stirred through him, and he gave her a thumbs-up back. He imagined that she was feeling pretty nostalgic at the moment, thinking about her grandfather. Every part of Cam felt alive. It felt like he’d been led to this moment with her. Being with her made him want to be better, to reach out and help people. Not that he’d never helped people, but she was giving him a vision he could share.
Her plan to help at-risk kids through nature was becoming his vision. He could see a group coming here, going out to the horses, and riding on this property. The river ran next to them, flowing close to another rope that hung from a tree. All sorts of thoughts and ideas went through his mind.
Before now, he’d been a boat without a rudder, without a guide. With Kat, suddenly his life felt like it could have a meaningful purpose.
On impulse, he called his own realtor.
“It’s always a great day to talk to Cameron Cruz. What’s up, my man?”
An image of his realtor, Jenner Parker, flashed into Cam’s mind. Of course Jenner would think it was a good day to talk to Cam. He’d done well from the commission on the house Cam recently bought. Jenner was a fair and decent guy, and Cam liked him. “Hey, Jenner, I’m wondering about a listing.”
“Aren’t you happy with your house?”
“Yes—this listing would be kind of an investment.”
“Lay it on me.”
Cam rattled off the address.
“Oh yeah. Man, this place is in foreclosure. It’s at a rock-bottom price. A place like this in Jackson will be snatched up fast at this price. Want me to put in a bid?”