by Rye Hart
Cameron always cooked breakfast, so if he was tired enough to sleep in, then he obviously needed the rest.
I plated some eggs and some toast as I heard small footsteps running down the hallway. I turned around as Audrey came rushing into the kitchen, her eyes bright and wide with her hair billowing behind her. She climbed up into her chair, and I set the plate down in front of her before getter her some milk.
“Morning, Miss Heather.”
“Morning, Rebecca. How did you sleep?”
“Good. You?”
“I slept well, thank you for asking.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Do you want anything else to eat?” I asked.
“This is okay,” she said. But I could tell something was on her mind.
“Are you sure you slept okay last night?” I asked as I sat down.
“Mhm.”
“Is there anything you want to talk about?” I asked.
Her eyes trailed over to me, and my heart stopped. I knew it. She was confused about what was happening with her father and me. My body braced for impact and for the questions I knew would roll off the tip of her tongue. Did I need to go wake up Cameron? He should be here for this conversation so I didn’t stick my foot in my mouth.
“You’re like someone,” Audrey said.
I furrowed my brow as I studied her face. “Who am I like?”
She looked down the hallway, almost like she was afraid Cameron would come walking up on our conversation.
“It’s just you and me,” I said. “I promise anything you have to say to me is alright.”
“Promise?”
“I promise.” I reached out and took her hand as a smile crossed her cheeks.
“You’re like the mommies at the park.”
I brought her hand to my lips to kiss before I released her grasp. “I’m glad I remind you of them.”
“Does that mean you’ll be my mommy?”
Shit. There it was. “I think that’s a question for your father.”
“He said it was up to you.”
I nearly choked. “When did he say that?”
But before she could answer, I heard Cameron’s low tones from down the hallway. Audrey clammed up and continued eating her breakfast as my mind swirled. I was touched by her sentiment, but I had no idea what to think. It sounded like she had already brought the issue up with her father, and he directed it back to me. Why?
I really needed to talk to him about this. Audrey was getting attached to me, as I was to her, and I still didn’t know where we all stood with what was going on.
I got up to fix Cameron a plate. I’d lost my appetite and no longer felt like eating. I set the plate on the table as he emerged from the hallway, but he looked terrible. There were bags underneath his eyes, and his skin had grown pale. He leaned against the wall like he needed the strongest support he could get to hold him up.
“You made breakfast,” he said.
“I did. Sit and eat.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s not a problem, but you look like you could use some coffee.”
“Make a pot and stick a straw in it.”
I giggled at the idea as I turned the pot on.
Breakfast was relatively silent, and after shoveling in almost two whole plates of food, Audrey got down from her chair and ran off to her room. I reached for the orange juice to pour myself a glass but immediately felt a heavy presence behind me.
I turned around and took in Cameron’s form as he leaned against the kitchen island behind me.
“Hudson called this morning.”
I froze in my spot, the orange juice halfway to my lips. “What’s wrong?”
“They’re in town,” he said.
“Wait. You mean in Whitefish?”
He nodded his head, and it caused me to stumble backward. He reached for the glass in my hand as I continued to back away from him. I thought the threat was localized, still in the outer towns surrounding us. Yes, he’d warned me, but like something in a movie, I didn’t really think the danger would get closer, more immediate.
“I thought you said if we laid low—”
“I know,” he said. “And I’m sorry. I thought if we did stay up here and not go into town, they would trickle off and leave. But that’s not what’s happening, not according to Hudson.”
My hand mindlessly fell to my stomach as Cameron took a step toward me, but I backed up, needing space from him again.
“Heather.”
“Don’t,” I said.
“I know you’re scared.”
“You have no idea what I’m feeling right now,” I said.
“I really do.”
“You’ve lived with this for two years, Cameron. I’ve lived with this for a few days.”
My hand squeezed my stomach as my mind raced to my child. Our child. How in the world was I supposed to protect our child?
“What do we do?” I asked.
Cameron’s silence frightened me.
“They’re on our doorstep, Cameron. What the hell are we supposed to do?” I asked.
“I talked to Hudson this morning, and we’re coming up with a plan.”
“Are you going to tell me this plan?”
“He’s supposed to get back to me within the next twenty-four hours to fill me in on the specifics. When I know, you’ll know.”
Tears rose to my eyes as I turned away from him. My eyes trailed down the hallway as Audrey’s laughter spilled into the room. How were we going to keep her safe? How was I going to keep myself safe? Cameron didn’t even know what in the world to do, so how was I supposed to know? My legs felt weak as I stumbled over to the couch, and I was glad when he didn’t follow me. I needed time to myself to think and breathe without his scent near me.
My hands cupped my stomach as the first puzzle piece fell into place. I didn’t know where Cameron stood with our child, but I knew one thing for certain as danger loomed over our heads.
I wanted to be a mother. As a mother, it was my responsibility to protect my child at all costs, and if Cameron didn’t like the fact that I wanted to stick around after our child was born, then he could fight me in court for custody.
CHAPTER 27
CAMERON
Heather had been distant, but I couldn't blame her. Until I had news from Hudson on what the fuck we were supposed to do, I had nothing to give her. All I could do was keep her here and keep her safe until Hudson told me otherwise. There was nothing I hated more than feeling so helpless. I hated that things had spiraled so far out of control. She walked around with her hands on her stomach like it was the only thing she could do to protect our child, the only thing she had in her control she could still look out for.
Heather and I argued most of the morning. She wanted to go into town to see Nicole, and I told her she couldn't. It was a risk I wasn’t willing to take, and seeing as she was pregnant, it wasn’t a risk she should’ve been willing to take, either. So, I compromised and told her Nicole could come see us, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. I knew she needed her friend, someone other than me to lean on. It didn’t stop me from worrying Nicole would be followed, however. She could be tailed or tracked like an animal. Like I had been for over two years.
I heard a car driving in the distance as my phone rang in my pocket. Heather sprang off the couch and dashed for the door, but I held my hand out to stop her. The look in her eye was nothing short of anger. I didn’t know why Hudson was calling. For all I knew, he’d be telling me to not open the door for anyone.
“It’s Hudson. Give me a second.”
“It’s Nicole. Just Nicole,” she said.
“Will you just hang on?” I asked as I answered the phone.
“Cameron.”
“Please tell me you’ve got something,” I said.
“I’ve got a plan, but I’m not discussing it over the phone. I don’t know what’s compromised and who I can trust.”
“The hell does that mean?”
<
br /> “I’m coming into town, and we can talk then. My plane just landed. Stay where you are, and I’ll be in Whitefish within the hour.”
A knock at the door caught my attention, and Heather went to open it.
“Hold on,” I said sternly.
Heather grunted, but she did as I asked.
“Hudson. How bad is this?”
My eyes caught Heather’s as another knock came at the door.
“Life or death, Cameron. Stay put. I’ll call you when I’m headed up the mountain.”
I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket. I knew Heather would hate me for this. I knew she might not ever forgive me for it, but as I put my hand down and drew in a deep breath, I forced myself to form the words that would blow her through the roof.
“Nicole has to go back,” I said.
“Nope. Not happening.”
“Heather. This is getting very serious. Hudson just landed, and he’s going to be in town soon. We all have to be here when he gets here.”
Her hand came off the door, and she turned toward me as fury bubbled over the surface in her eyes.
“I have a business, Cameron. A life. And if I don’t do anything with that business, it’s going to go under along with my life and along with the risk I took on when I opened that place. I can’t abandon it, Cameron. You can’t keep me cooped up here any longer.”
“I’m sorry Heather but it has to be this way until things are cleared up.”
“I have an appointment, Thursday. With a doctor! What in the world am I supposed to do about that?”
“Heather? What's going on?” Nicole asked from the other side of the door.
“Send her home,” I said.
“No. I’m not. You told me I could talk to her and I could tell her. You were the one who asked her to come here instead of me going into town.”
“That was before Hudson called. Things have changed.”
“Things always change, Cameron, and they always will change. But I have a business and an apartment and doctor’s appointments to keep.”
“You can keep the appointment because I’ll be coming with you,” I said. “You’ll be safe during that.”
“So I can’t go anywhere unless you’re with me? Are you going to come to work with me every day and peek out the back windows of my bakery?”
“If that’s what it takes to keep you safe, yes.”
“I’m in this position because of you.”
“Open this door now, Heather!” Nicole exclaimed.
Her fist came down onto the door, and Heather reached for the knob again.
“Look, I know you’re in this position because of me, and I’m trying to fix it. I’m trying to change it. But for now, you have to listen. You just have to listen, Heather. You’re carrying my child, so I get a say in what you do.”
“Excuse me?” she asked.
Fuck.
“You’re carrying my child,” I said again.
“Trust me, I know that more than anyone. So you’re going to listen to me while I have your ear. You don’t own me. You don’t control me. You put me in this situation, but I don’t have to bend to your every will. My best friend is standing behind this door, and I’m going to go talk to her. I’m going to confide in her like you said I could, and if you don’t like it, then you can go fuck yourself.”
“I know this is all outlandish, but this has been my life for over two years. I watched my brother die. I saw what the Mafia did to him. You can’t put yourself at unnecessary risk. You’re pregnant.”
“And your daughter is coming out of her bedroom.”
I held my breath and listened as small footsteps padded down the hallway. I heard the door open and looked up, then watched Heather walk out the door. Nicole’s eyes were on fire, glaring at me as Heather slipped out onto the porch. I went to reach for her, pull her back into this fucking cabin, and lock her in until I knew the coast was clear.
But Audrey’s voice hit my ear as the door shut in front of me. “Daddy?”
“Yes, princess?” I asked.
I heard car doors slamming before the sound of tires rolling away filled the cabin.
“Can I have a snack?”
I looked out the window and watched a car drive away with my beautiful Heather in it. Fucking hell, that woman was stubborn, and she was going to get her fucking stubborn ass killed and my child right along with her.
“Let Daddy make a phone call, and then I’ll get you something, okay?” I asked. “Get up in your seat and be thinking about what you want.”
“I want ice cream.”
“Then, ice cream it is.”
“Can Miss Heather have ice cream?”
Her question punched me in my gut. No, Heather wouldn’t because she’d abandoned us as readily as Audrey’s mother. Was it only a matter of time before she demanded her millions like my ex had as well?
No, that wasn’t fair. I shook my head. Heather wasn’t like my ex in the slightest. She was just angry and overwhelmed, that was all. I had to believe she would put the baby’s safety over her own selfish needs.
“Sit down, and I’ll get some ice cream for you in a second,” I said.
Then I pulled out my phone and dialed Hudson.
I raked my hand through my hair as I looked down the hallway at Audrey. I felt caught between a rock and a hard place. I couldn't risk Audrey’s life by taking her into town, but Heather was pregnant with my other child. I had to make sure she was okay, and this was the only way I could do it.
“What is it?”
“Heather just left,” I said as I walked down the hallway.
“Who the fuck is Heather?”
“It’s so much, and I can’t get into right now, but I need you to listen and not ask questions. Heather is the woman I was going to do the surrogacy with, but we cut it off. We had an encounter before all of us left town to do all that testimony bullshit. She got pregnant, so I brought her here to stay with me so I could keep her safe. She knows what’s going on, but she’s upset. Overwhelmed. Tired of being cooped up and being told what to do.”
“Shit Cameron, this isn’t good,” he said.
“She’s upset, and I get it. I understand it. But she’s out there with this risk in town carrying my child, Hudson. She left with a friend of hers. Nicole. They’re driving a navy blue Nissan Sentra. The front driver hubcap is missing.”
“What does Heather look like? And don’t think we aren’t talking about this later,” he said.
“Long brown hair. Dark brown eyes in the shape of almonds. Slightly tilted up. Five-foot-six, lightly-tanned skin. Owns a bakery in town called Heather’s Bake Shop. Her studio apartment is a mile and a half west of her shop up the main drag in Whitefish. She’s on top of a craft store, address is 55-D West Main Street.”
“What does Nicole look like?” he asked.
“Dyed red hair, blond roots. Very tall, I’d say at least five-ten. Slim. Gangly. I don’t know what color her eyes were. She was wearing a bright yellow shirt. That’s all I caught of her.”
“Better than nothing. I’ll look into it and see if I can’t track down Nicole’s address as well, though it’ll take some time. I’m racing into town, still about thirty minutes out, but I’ll keep an eye out for her and her friend.”
“Thanks, Hudson. I appreciate it.”
“Keep your phone close,” he said. Then, he cut the call.
“Ice cream now?” my daughter asked.
“I think I might even have a bowl with you,” I said. Anything to get my mind off the chaotic spiral my life had become.
CHAPTER 28
HEATHER
“I knew something was wrong. And hearing him yell at you that way behind the door? I wanted to take a shotgun to his head,” Nicole said.
“Thanks for bringing me here,” I said.
“My place is your place. Always,” she said. “Now tell me what the hell’s going on.”
“I’m sorry I couldn't tell you sooner,” I said as I dro
pped down onto her couch. “It’s so outlandish I sometimes I think I’ll wake up any second and this will all be some crazy dream.”
“Then, get it off your chest. Let me help you shoulder some of this burden.”
I began to tell her the story. I started from the beginning and went all the way through. I told her about how he came into the shop and how we had sex on my metal table. I told her about how I found out I was pregnant and how ecstatic Cameron had been. Then, I told her what he’d revealed to me about how his brother died and who “Andrew” really was and what their names were. I told her about the Mafia and how Cameron thought they were chasing him down. With each word that poured from my mouth, Nicole’s jaw dropped further. Her eyes widened a little more. She listened as I spoke, trying to digest the whole of it. All of it seemed so crazy, and yet all of it made perfect sense in this twisted sort of fashion.
“I told you he was keeping me there to protect me,” I said. “Just not from Charlie, though that jerk didn’t help matters much.”
Nicole blinked at me as I reached over and closed her jaw.
“What. The ever. Blessed. Hell have you gotten yourself into, Heather?”
“I don’t even know anymore,” I said. “I should’ve run the second he told me, but I was so far pulled into his web that I couldn't release myself. I’m at such a loss, and the only thing I can think about is keeping my child safe.”
“So you want to keep the child,” she said. “Have the two of you talked about that at all?”
“With everything else looming over us, no. I can’t say we’ve gotten a chance.”
“Can we just put a pin in that bullshit for a second?” Nicole asked. “Let me ask you this. Are you worried for your safety?”
“I am,” I said.
“Do you feel safe in that cabin with him?”
“I feel trapped.”
“That wasn’t my question. Do you feel safe?” she asked.
“I do when I’m not feeling smothered or stuck.”
“Okay. Well, you know you’re safe here, and you’ll be okay here. My place is off the beaten path in this town, and I keep it that way for a reason.”