In Confidence

by Karen Young

  Cam rubbed a hand over his whole face, dropped his head low and conquered an urge to laugh. “Ah, the sleepover party with Mustangs’ finest, right?”

  “I guess Mom told you.”

  “She did. And you wanted to call and tell me about it in the middle of the night…why?”

  “It’s not what Robbie made it out to be, Cam.” If possible, his voice dropped even lower. “There are some men here.”

  Cam frowned. “I take it you don’t mean Robbie’s father?”

  “No, sir. I guess he knows ’em, but…they’re gay.”

  “Gay men.” Cam threw off the sheet and now sat on the side of the bed.

  “Uh-huh. And I think they want us to, you know, make out.”

  The drive to Lake Ray Hubbard would normally take two hours, but Cam cut it almost in half. Hunched forward behind the wheel, he squinted at each mile marker as it passed, but it was a moonless night, so he wasn’t certain he hadn’t taken a wrong turn. So far, the bridge Nick gave as a landmark hadn’t appeared. Couple miles beyond that was supposed to be a turnoff onto a secondary road.

  The bridge suddenly materialized out of nowhere and next, a sharp curve. In negotiating it, he almost missed the turnoff. The road, narrow and bordered on each side with deep drainage ditches, was peppered with Private Property and Posted signs. Winding through heavy-wooded acreage, it was also as dark as a whore’s heart.

  He drove only a couple of hundred feet when Nick stepped out into the glare of the SUV’s headlights. Standing foursquare in the road, Nick had his duffel in one hand and shaded his eyes from the brightness with the other. Cam swore and jammed on his brakes, wrenching the steering wheel to avoid running him down. Tires scrabbled for traction, churning up road dust and loose gravel before finally skidding to a stop.

  With his heart pounding like the SUV’s pistons, he got out on shaky legs and headed around the front, ready to take the boy’s head off. “Goddamn it, Nick! I nearly ran you down. What the hell’s the matter with you? You told me you’d wait a mile or so down the road.”

  “I’m sorry. I—”

  But that was all he managed before he turned aside abruptly. Dropping his duffel to the ground, he bent over, made a couple of choking sounds and threw up.

  “Aw, shit.” Cam went back to his vehicle and grabbed a towel that he’d thrown in the back after a workout at the gym the day before. He always had a water bottle handy and he grabbed it now, opened it and soaked the towel. He winced in sympathy, hearing Nick’s violent retching and, when he got back, was unsurprised to find him down in the grass, weak and miserable. But he’d heaved himself dry. For the moment.

  “Here, let me help you up, son.” Shoving the towel in the boy’s hands, he put an arm around his waist and guided him back to the car. He’d left the back door open and now eased him onto the seat, facing out, just in case. “Breathe deep,” he told him. “Take a minute.”

  Nick did as told, holding the wet towel against his face with shaky hands. In fact, he was shaking all over. Cam shrugged out of his jacket and draped it around his shoulders. As he waited for Nick to recover, he studied the dark road that he assumed led to the Sims’s cabin. No sound or sign of life that he could hear or see, but it was likely they’d start looking for Nick as soon as they discovered him gone. The main road was more or less deserted at this hour, too, with few highway patrol sweeps. He didn’t want to be spotted, as he did not have a good feeling about any of this.

  “We need to move on as soon as you think you can travel, Nick. Let’s hope they haven’t noticed you’re missing.”

  “Yes, sir.” Weaving slightly as he sat, Nick glanced down the road, just as Cam had done. “But I think they’re mostly too drunk to notice.”

  Maybe, Cam thought, but he would have assumed Nick was too drunk to navigate the distance from the Sims’s place to the main road, but he had. It wasn’t wise to underestimate a bunch of athletes in prime condition if they were marshaled up to search for Nick. “You think you’re about finished?” he asked.

  “You mean am I dead yet?” Nick took the bottled water Cam offered, got shakily to his feet and rinsed out his mouth. “No, I only wish I was.”

  Cam chuckled, knowing Nick’s world was probably still moving in sickening whirls. “I know the feeling. And I’d wait a while before drinking much of that water.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Cut that out. This isn’t the army.”

  “No.” Still unsteady on his feet and clutching Cam’s jacket, which dwarfed him, he stood with his legs spread for better balance. “And I appreciate you coming out here, makin’ this drive and all, in the middle of the night.”

  “I’m glad to do it.”

  “I tried calling my dad, but I could only get his voice mail.”

  “Huh.”

  He made a valiant effort to stand tall and look decisive. “And I appreciate you not calling my mom about this. She didn’t want me to go, but I talked her into it. Well, Dad overruled her, I guess, when I called him.”

  Good ol’ Teddy. “She has to know, Nick. First thing tomorrow.”

  “Okay,” he said, blinking owlishly.

  “So, you about ready to go now?”

  Pleased at having put off a hairy scene with his mom, Nick nodded. But the movement made him dizzy. He would have gone down, but Cam sprang forward, catching him before he tumbled backward into the ditch. He placed the boy’s arm around his own neck, hauled him back to the SUV and buckled him in.

  By the time Cam reached the driver’s side, Nick had already flipped the lever that reclined the seat and was sinking fast. Stretched out flat now, he threw an arm over his eyes in a maneuver Cam recognized as an effort to shut out an unstable world and went down for the count. His thoughts, as he headed back to Rose Hill, were grim. Nick hadn’t given many details yet, but Cam got the gist of it. Nick, among other young athletes, had been set up as targets for sexual predators.

  Rachel rose early Saturday morning because Kendy was going to the zoo in Dallas with her friends. After coaxing her to eat some breakfast, Rachel had drifted out onto the patio to savor her coffee in sweet solitude while Kendy waited inside watching TV until Madison’s mom arrived in the van. The day was full of promise, bright and sunny, crisp without being cold. Sitting down in the swing, she gave it a gentle shove, wrapped her hands around the warm mug and heaved a satisfied sigh. Her mother was in the shower, getting ready to go to Moody Gardens in Galveston overnight with three of her friends who were gardening enthusiasts. Nick probably wouldn’t be home until nearly dark, as Lake Ray Hubbard was a two-hour drive, and if she knew teenage boys, they wouldn’t want to leave until they had to. It gave Rachel a rare chance to simply do nothing but admire the day and think about last night.

  She had tossed and turned for hours, and not because of Ted’s unexpected appearance or his troubles. Perhaps that is what should have occupied her mind, but after those kisses in Cam’s kitchen, Ted’s self-pitying whining made barely a blip on her sympathy meter. It would take more than a few mealymouthed regrets and halfhearted resolutions to make amends before she’d take him seriously ever again. No, her restlessness came from her own conflicted feelings about Cam and his restraint last night.

  She watched a spirited hummingbird, one of the first of the season, zoom into Dinah’s hanging feeder. It was impossible, now, to pretend that she was indifferent to Cam. For a while lately, she had let herself wonder what it would be like to have him as a lover, even though such a thing was unlikely. A man with Cam’s sophistication would hardly want a fling with a small-town high school counselor who was also a single mom bogged down with a recent divorce and all the problems that came with it. Too sticky, from his perspective. And even if he were interested, it would be brief.

  She knew now it would be dangerous.

  She meant it when she told him she was not casual-sex material. The kiss hadn’t changed her character, but what it had done was destroy her notion that she could continue seeing Cam and invo
lving him in her personal life without falling in love with him. She could do that so, so easily, she’d learned last night. Ted’s treachery had hurt and humiliated her, but the same treatment from Cam would be far more devastating.

  Which, if she stopped and thought about it, didn’t make much sense. She had eighteen years of marriage, two children and many shared experiences with Ted and just a few months of tentative friendship with Cam. Lucky she had a taste now of just how lethal he could be when he set out to charm her. Forewarned was forearmed.

  The squeak of his back door had her looking across the way to his house. He stood on his back porch holding a coffee mug, wearing nothing but faded jeans and a killer tan. He didn’t look like a man who made his living writing books, she thought, admiring the smooth symmetry of line in the breadth of his shoulders and flat tummy. He must have a workout room somewhere in that house to be so fit. Realizing suddenly that she was staring, she took a quick gulp of coffee and promptly choked.

  When she looked up again, Cam was heading her way. He’d pulled on a T-shirt, something old and soft with age. His feet were shoved into shoes that looked as if he’d picked them up at the Goodwill store, and did he ever comb that unruly dark hair? He looked rumpled and a little rough around the edges, sleep deprived and supremely sexy. He might have stepped right out of her best dream.

  “You’re up mighty early,” he told her, zinging her with that half smile as he approached the patio.

  “Kendy’s having a day at the zoo with friends, so we’re up early.” She wondered if he could see that she was flustered, remembering last night.

  “Taking along her trusty digital cam, I assume.”

  Rachel smiled and sipped her coffee. “She might forget her shoes, but never her camera.”

  “Gorgeous day for a road trip.” Leaning against an old chest, he asked casually, “She’s coming home tonight?”

  “Actually, she’s spending the night with Carly, her best bud.”

  “And it’s this weekend that Dinah and her buddies are heading for Galveston to check out Moody Gardens, isn’t it?”

  She looked at him. “Is it?”

  “Hmm.” Sipping coffee. “So, what are your plans for the day?”

  She was shaking her head, but before she decided whether or not to be honest about having no plans, the door flew open and Kendy dashed out. “Mom, my camera’s gone! I had it yesterday when I was taking pictures of a hummingbird drinking out of a flower. I put it on the shelf in the kitchen with Gran’s cookbooks where you told me to always keep it and it’s gone, Mom. And I know where.”

  “Wait, wait.” Rachel was already up off the swing and heading for the door. “Are you certain you didn’t put it in your backpack when you packed last night?”

  “I looked already! But you don’t need to check anything, because Nick took it.”

  “Nick? Nick wouldn’t take your camera without asking, Kendy. Have you looked in your room?”

  She stamped one small foot. “I don’t have to. He wanted to use it and I told him no, I had to take it to the zoo. So he just stole it, Mom!”

  “If it’s truly gone,” Rachel said, straightening the collar of Kendy’s shirt, “I’ll give you some money and tell Madison’s mom to pick up a disposable camera to use just for today.” She started toward the door. “But first, let me just make a quick search to see if I can find it.”

  Kendy ignored that and instead looked over at Cam. “Will you take me to that stupid lake where he is, Cam? I bet it’s in Nick’s stupid duffel bag. He’s so stupid all the time now. He can’t even make good grades anymore.”

  “Kendy.” Rachel’s tone was stern. “Cam can’t take you anywhere. You’ll have to make do with a disposable today. I’m sorry, and if Nick truly does have your digital, he will be in serious trouble.”

  Cam, who’d been listening, said to Kendy, “Are you positive your camera’s in Nick’s duffel?”

  She nodded vigorously. “He wanted to take pictures of girls at the party,” she said with disgust.

  “I might be able to resolve this problem,” he told Rachel. “Nick is asleep in my guest room. I think his duffel is in my truck.” He reached for Kendy’s hand. “Let’s go check it before your ride gets here.”

  Rachel was rooted in place. “Nick’s asleep in your house? Why? What—” She caught sight of something in Cam’s expression and her eyes narrowed. “Are you serious?”

  “I’m serious. And I’ll explain. In fact, I came over to tell you but decided it could wait until you’d finished your coffee. Let me check out the duffel and as soon as Kendy’s on her way, we’ll talk.”

  Kendy, looking from one adult’s face to the other, said in a gleeful tone, “Nick’s in trouble, isn’t he, Mom?”

  In spite of the fact that Nick had been doing some troubling things lately, Rachel was shocked to find that he had taken Kendy’s camera. It was in his duffel, which was on the floor of Cam’s SUV, just as he’d said. When Cam handed it over, Kendy shot them both a triumphant look and said, “See, I told you. He’s gonna be grounded, isn’t he, Mom?” Fortunately, Madison Snow’s mom pulled into Dinah’s driveway just then and there was no time to discuss what was in store for Nick. As soon as Rachel waved her daughter off, she marched back to Cam’s house.

  “He’s upstairs,” Cam told her before she had a chance to ask, “in the shower. And if you have any compassion in your soul, you’ll cut him some slack until he can focus. Nothing you can say will make him feel worse, anyway, considering his condition. He’s hungover.”

  She sat down wordlessly in the chair he nudged in her direction. On her way back from seeing Kendy off, she’d thought about what to say to Nick for sneaking off with Kendy’s camera, but that transgression was almost forgotten now that she knew he’d been drinking once again. She braced herself for who knew what else he might have been doing. “How did he happen to wind up at your house?” she asked Cam. She had so many questions that it was a toss-up where to start.

  “He called me from Robbie’s party. He said he tried to reach Ted but couldn’t. And he didn’t want you driving alone out there in the middle of the night. I give him credit for that.”

  “So he was at the party.”

  “Yeah.” Cam took a mug from a cabinet and poured her a cup of coffee. “I don’t have all the details myself as he was pretty wiped out when I got there. He fell asleep in the car, but I did get this much. There was some questionable goings-on, and nothing like what he expected. He had the good sense to leave.”

  “Kendy said he took the camera to take pictures of girls. There weren’t supposed to be any girls. It was supposed to be all boys, mostly athletes and, of course, Robbie’s father was to be there.”

  “No girls and Robbie’s dad wasn’t there. Robbie probably lied about that for obvious reasons. There were adults, but hardly the type you’d want as chaperones for Nick. You can get the details firsthand,” he said, glancing at the stairs. “He’s coming down now.”

  Nick was pale and moving gingerly, but he made his way gamely into the kitchen and eased himself down on the chair across from Rachel. Bright morning sun poured in the bay window, and with something like a whimper, he turned away from it. Cam sat down beside him.

  “You want some juice or something?” he asked, then smiled when Nick closed his eyes, putting up one hand in mute refusal. “Still a little queasy, huh?”

  Nick looked across the table at Rachel. “I’m sorry, Mom. I know I’m grounded for all time, but I swear I didn’t know what was going down at that party. And you’re probably mad ’cause I woke Cam in the middle of the night and made him drive all the way out there to pick me up. So, just give the lecture.”

  His eyes were bloodshot and his hands weren’t quite steady, but she firmly quelled a spurt of sympathy. “Why don’t I save the lecture until I know exactly what I’m to lecture you about? Just tell me what was going on at the party.”

  “Before I get into that—” he looked at Cam “—I just want to s
ay that you don’t have to pay me anything to help you with flooring the attic or working on the roof when you get ready to do the job. I owe you big time.”

  “We covered that last night. You don’t owe me. And I’m glad you felt you could call me. Next time, don’t hesitate.”

  “There won’t be a next time,” Nick said fervently. “Believe me, that kind of party is not my thing. And it wasn’t that I was just upset over what was going down. I was disgusted and pissed off at being so damn dumb to think a bunch of senior varsities were inviting me because they liked my smile.” He rubbed his finger over a small scar on the table. “Well, actually one person liked my smile and also my exquisite amber eyes and my fabulous cheekbones. Called himself Joseph, no last name. None of them had last names.” He added with a twist of his mouth, “Joseph was a cinematographer and would love to put me in a video.”

  “I think I’m beginning to get the picture,” Rachel said, frowning. “So what did you do when you realized what kind of party it was?”

  Nick drew his knees up close to his chest. “I went outside on the back porch where it was pretty dark and deserted. I’d had a lot of beer…” He chanced a quick look at Rachel. “I know it was stupid, Mom, and it was just about then that I wished I’d been drinking Pepsi. So I needed a minute to calm down and to figure out how to get home. No way was I gonna sleep there.

  “About that time, I saw these two people coming up from the lake, one of ’em a big, burly guy, but I didn’t know then who it was. So they get real close and I hear them plain as anything, and even if I couldn’t see them properly, I hear the big guy use Jace’s name.”

  “Jason Pate,” Rachel said. This, at least, was no surprise.

  “Yeah, that’s when I knew it was Jace and Coach Monk was the other guy. It was just so…out of sight, you know? I was, like, shocked. And here’s the real shocker, Mom. I could tell by what Coach said. They’d been having sex.”

  Half an hour later, Rachel sent Nick back upstairs to bed, promising him she’d deal with the consequences of his behavior later. As Cam said, he was in no shape to be chastised, but he was clearly aware of the implications of what he’d seen. And he had done the smart thing in leaving, even though she chided him for not calling her instead of Cam.