“Sorry,” I whispered repentantly. “I didn’t know you had a tattoo.”
“You don’t want to finish the job?” he asked, holding the sunscreen out to me and watching the color fan into my cheeks again with a smirk.
“What is it?” I stammered, daring to look into his eyes. His gaze pinned me to that spot, and I instinctively lifted my hand toward my neck.
“Well, it’s a premeditated functional piece of artwork on my chest to keep me out of trouble, but you can call it a tattoo if you like.” He smiled so I would know he was teasing, and I managed to breathe out a small laugh.
“I know it’s a tattoo. I meant, what is Proverbs 4:23?”
“I’m sorry. You’re just so adorable with the blushing, I couldn’t resist joshing you a little.” He squeezed some sunscreen into his hand and then handed the bottle back to me. “The version I like the best says, ‘Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.’”
“How long have you had it?” I asked, swallowing hard as he rubbed the sunscreen across his muscles.
“Long time,” he said. “I got it when I turned twenty-one. Thought I might need the reminder.”
“Have you? Needed the reminder, I mean.”
“It’s kept me out of trouble a couple of times,” he admitted with a slight smile. “Take a moment like this, for instance. I’m standing with a beautiful woman. I can tell she is totally into me. Don’t deny it – I can see it all over your face. You manage to get my shirt off somehow, which of course you did, because you’re sneaky, telling me I need sunscreen. Suddenly you want to know what the tattoo means. Boom, there’s my reminder to guard my heart, put the shirt back on, and walk away.”
“You’re very clever,” I stated as he slid his shirt back over his head. Instead of moving toward the truck, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me against him.
“Hmm…I don’t think it would work on you, though,” he whispered.
“Why not?” I asked as I rested my cheek against his t-shirt.
“Because when I’m with you, my heart is completely in your hands,” he told me. I didn’t say anything as I stood there contentedly in his arms for a moment.
“Come on lovebirds, we’re waiting on you!” Rachel yelled from the truck. Cole kept one arm around me as we walked back up the bank and to the grass, explaining that we would take Jeff’s truck to where the canoes waited. He said we would have met other canoes if we had floated near the bed and breakfast, but since we went so far out on private property, he would be surprised if we saw anyone at all. He assured me it would be very peaceful and relaxing.
When we reached the truck, Cole stepped up into the bed and looked down at me expectantly, and suddenly it dawned on me that Sara and Tony were in the back of the truck instead of the front.
“We’re riding in the back of the truck?” I asked skeptically. “That’s not safe, is it?” Cole laughed and Jeff looked at me like I had sprouted an extra head.
“Don’t tell me this is a first for you, too?” Jeff questioned, pausing before he got into the cab of the truck. I shrugged my shoulders as Cole reached out his hand for me, and I took it as he hauled me upwards and then sat down, pulling me next to him. I supposed if Cole was willing to ride back there, it must be alright. The trip out of the pasture was fairly bumpy, but once we were on the gravel road, it wasn’t so bad. It didn’t take very long to pull up to where the canoes were sitting, and the six of us piled out of the truck and walked down to the river. The boys debated about where to put the cooler, eventually deciding that Rachel and Jeff were the least likely to flip, so it would be safest there.
I watched as Cole drug a canoe over and smiled at me, telling me to get in. Stepping inside, I sat down only to have him tell me to face the other direction, so I spun myself around and waited. He pushed us out into the water and then swung himself into the canoe. For a split second terror shot through my veins as I rocked sideways, but as soon as I realized I wasn’t going overboard, all was well.
“Any bets on how long it will take Camdyn to flip?” Tony asked, grinning over at me.
“Camdyn’s not going to flip today,” Cole stated. I almost felt vindicated that he was going to stick up for me, until he mentioned that the reason I wouldn’t flip was because he was steering the canoe.
I decided right away that this was something that could be a lot of fun – floating calmly down the river, laughing with friends, watching the scenery drift by. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I could hear Cole singing quietly behind me most of the time. For most of the journey downriver our canoes were side by side in the middle of the water as we all talked and laughed together, but occasionally when we went around a bend we would separate and the paddles would show themselves briefly. On one such turn, Cole and Jeff managed to steer adeptly around a log in the river, but Tony was not as experienced and unsuccessful, and I watched with wide eyes as Sara and Tony toppled over the side of the canoe into the water. When they emerged from the river it was to laughter, and Sara really let Tony have it about his lack of paddling skills. I almost felt sorry for him, but he seemed to laugh it off, and Rachel whispered to me that this happened all the time.
I only had one close call myself, and that was when Rachel tossed a bottle of water to me from her canoe. She launched it a little too high, and as I reached for it, I rocked the canoe to the right quite a bit. Luckily, Cole compensated for my overreach and balanced my weight perfectly, so all that happened in the end was a quick whispered sorry to my canoe captain, who merely winked at me in return. In the end it didn’t matter that we stayed upright, though, because Tony made certain that he thoroughly soaked each of us with his paddle as repayment for laughing at his misfortune.
The remainder of the floating adventure was mostly uneventful, with the exception of one specific moment. We had pulled the canoes to shore and were eating sandwiches along the riverbank when Rachel sat very near to me and leaned in close.
“Have you thought about what you’re going to give Cole for a wedding present?” she whispered, glancing to where he stood across the gravel bar. I looked from him to her very quickly, and was satisfied that he couldn’t hear us from that distance.
“Present?” I hissed. “What present?”
“It’s a tradition in our family to give each other gifts the night before the wedding,” she explained quietly as she stared at Cole.
“Why didn’t I know this?” I wondered aloud. “I am so glad you said something, Rachel. I would have been mortified if Cole gave me something and I had nothing for him.”
I spent a significant amount of the rest of the float trip contemplating gift ideas for Cole and drawing a blank. I had a feeling that subject would occupy my time for quite a few days, at the very least. It had to be something perfect, after all.
When we finished the float and pulled the canoes onto shore where we had camped the night before, Tony and Sara said their goodbyes. Cole and Jeff loaded the two canoes in Cole’s truck so we could take Jeff and Rachel back to their vehicle. By the time we pulled into Cole’s driveway, the sun was almost ready to set. He headed inside to grab my keys, and then he met me at the door, asking where I was going. I told him I needed to use the restroom, so he waited outside on the porch. As I shut the door behind me, I couldn’t help thinking that he was taking this whole being alone thing a bit to the extreme. When I walked back out onto the porch, I couldn’t resist tormenting him a little.
“I could stay a while,” I said, shrugging my shoulders. He lifted his hand to his face and rubbed his forehead, and then he smiled.
“Could you?” he mocked me gently, taking my hands in his. “I think you should probably go back to Aunt Rosalie’s.”
“Come with me then,” I pleaded. “I want to be with you. We can watch a movie, or figure out the rest of this wedding stuff.”
“Okay,” he breathed out loudly, as though I was twisting his arm. “I’ll take a shower and get cleaned up, and then I’ll come over to
Aunt Rosalie’s. That okay?”
“Thank you,” I smiled as I turned away from him and walked to my car, waving quickly before backing out of the driveway, satisfied that it would only be a short time until I saw him again. I made quick work of the drive back to the bed and breakfast, where I rushed inside and said hello to Rosalie before hopping in the shower myself. I hurriedly dried my hair and pulled it into a twisted knot on top of my head, not caring about the few tendrils that escaped and hung around my face. Sliding on a pair of black cargo shorts and a gray tank top, I managed to make my exit from the bedroom right as Cole was walking in the door.
We sat on the couch together for several hours, talking about wedding plans. We worked out all the details we could imagine, from the guest list to the exact location we wanted to use in the yard, and we both concluded that we wanted to keep it pretty simple. Cole was in agreement with the cake flavors Rosalie and I discussed the day before, and we were able to agree on food for the guests. He asked me what my dress looked like twice, but I refused to give him any details. I agreed to take care of the invitations on Monday, and then get with Liz for addresses and such. The only thing left to do was to get a minister, and Cole said he would take care of that at church the next day.
When he finally said goodbye, Rosalie had already gone to bed and I couldn’t hear any of the overnight guests rustling around upstairs. I walked him out on the front porch, lifting his arm and pressing my lips softly against the back of his hand. He leaned down and gently kissed me, telling me to go back inside. I stood there leaning against the portico as I watched him walk slowly to his truck in the soft glow of the porch light, and then glance back at the house. When he saw me standing there, he rested his back against the bed of his truck and crossed his arms, a smile spreading across his face. He only paused for a few seconds, and then he motioned for me to join him. I ran across the yard, allowing myself to be swept into his waiting arms. He held me tightly for a moment, and then I felt his fingers untwisting my knot of hair atop my head, sending it cascading over my shoulders. He stared down at me for a moment, and I watched him quizzically, finally smiling up into his brown eyes.
“What are you doing?” I asked quietly. He gave me a slightly sideways grin and twisted one of my curls around his finger.
“Just imagining what it’s going to look like when I’m getting ready for bed and that hair is all fanned out across my pillow,” he stated.
“Hmm…I kind of like that image,” I admitted. He kissed me quickly and then gently shoved me back, and I knew he wanted me to go back into the house. I stepped backwards slowly, not averting my gaze as I stared into those eyes. He started laughing quietly, but he didn’t break eye contact with me. When I was about five feet from him, he reached behind him and pulled up on the door handle of his truck.
“Guard my heart, Camdyn,” he breathed huskily. With that he was in the truck, and I slowly backed to the house and watched as he disappeared up the driveway.
Chapter Ten
That Sunday morning I helped Rosalie with breakfast for her guests before I took a quick run and prepared for church, slipping into a black sleeveless sundress with white dots and piling my hair on top of my head. I had told Cole that I would ride with Rosalie and he didn’t need to pick me up, so I was surprised when he showed up at the door with a bouquet of wildflowers. As I put water into a vase, I wondered if it would always be this intoxicating to know that Cole loved me. Feeling his eyes on me from behind, I turned and gave him a huge smile. After I leaned back against the kitchen counter and looked at him for a moment, he finally gave me a suspicious smile of his own.
“Something’s going on in that head of yours,” he reasoned. “What is it?”
“You’re pretty amazing, that’s all,” I said with a shrug of my shoulders. “I like knowing that you were thinking about me.”
“I was actually thinking about you a lot this morning,” he admitted, rubbing his hand along his jawline. “Do you think I should start shaving on a more consistent basis? I really wanted to get your opinion before I made a decision.”
I regarded him silently for a moment, in his salmon-colored button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up above his elbows, tucked neatly into his dark wash jeans. There was something about that shadow creeping up the sides of his cheeks that made him look so effortlessly perfect. I sighed as I folded my arms across my chest.
“Are you going to acquiesce to me on all decisions of this nature?” I asked teasingly, causing his smile to spread across his face.
Beautiful, beautiful man. So can’t believe he’s mine.
“I might,” he stated. “I do want you to be attracted to me, after all.”
“Hmm…I don’t think there’s anything you could do to stop that from happening,” I laughed. “If you want my honest opinion, though, there’s something really appealing about that scruffy look you have, with your hair all disheveled. I bet you just roll out of bed looking like that, don’t you?”
“Scruffy and disheveled?” he chuckled. “Yeah, I probably do roll out of bed like that, doesn’t everybody?”
“True, but you manage to make it look good.” He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around my waist, staring down into my eyes.
“I am very relieved that was your answer, because I wasn’t looking forward to shaving every day.” He paused just long enough to kiss me, and then he leaned back with a smile. “You ready to head out?” I nodded my agreement and went to tell Rosalie I was leaving before following Cole out the front door.
I quite enjoyed walking into church that morning, holding tight to Cole’s arm while he asked people if they had met his fiancée. I felt so unbelievably fortunate to be with him that I was almost shocked every time he introduced me to someone proudly, and looked at me as though I was something to be treasured. When we finally made our way to Cole’s family to sit down, Liz happily moved down and patted the seat next to her. Looking past her to Rachel and Charlotte, I almost grew teary-eyed at the thought that these people were going to be my family. Quickly turning away from them, I took a deep breath to hold it all together.
Charlotte bounced back and forth from my lap to Cole’s through nearly the entire service, although she was fairly quiet. She was fascinated by my ring, holding my hand between both of hers and then turning to look up into my face with a shy grin. I slipped it on her finger once, and she looked at Cole nervously as though she was doing something wrong. When he saw the look on her face, he pulled her over and gave her a tight hug.
After the service Cole was determined to talk to the minister about the wedding, so we waited around for a little while. Liz offered to hold lunch for us, but Cole insisted we wouldn’t be long, so they should go ahead without us. The look she gave me as she walked away told me that she would definitely be holding lunch, so we shouldn’t dawdle. I didn’t need to tell Cole, though, because he pushed forward at the first opportunity.
“Parker,” the minister said brightly, “I take it this is your much talked about fiancée. Small town, news travels fast you know.” He directed the last bit at me, and I smiled tentatively.
“Camdyn Taylor,” I stated matter-of-factly, holding my hand directly in front of me. He shook it slowly with a smile at Cole.
“Pete Simmons,” he told me, “and none of that Pastor or Brother business - it’s just Pete.”
“Got it,” I nodded. He was probably about ten years older than me, if I was to guess, and he had an easy manner about him that made him seem very relatable.
“We’re actually here on official business, Pastor Simmons,” Cole said, giving a slight smirk. “We were wondering if you would be available for our wedding, June first?”
“June first?” he asked, looking first surprised and then a little disappointed. “I’m sorry, Cole, you know I would be honored, but that’s the weekend Beth’s mom is having her surgery. We’ll be in Florida.”
“Crap,” Cole muttered, glancing from me to Pete. “Sorry, Pete, I can already hea
r my mom telling me not to say crap in church.”
“Yeah, well, your mom’s not here and crap is crap, as far as I’m concerned,” Pete proclaimed, a glint in his eyes. I decided then that Pete was kind of awesome. “You know, you could always see if the Associate Pastor is available.”
“Oh, no, I don’t think that’s really necessary,” Cole stated hastily. Too hastily, considering we needed a minister and there was someone else available. I looked at him quizzically and got the feeling he was silently willing me to drop it, but I couldn’t make myself.
“Who’s the Associate Pastor?” I asked Pete. Cole gave me a look that indicated a mild annoyance, but I was too interested to let it go now, especially after his easy dismissal.
“Tony Devens,” he replied, raising his hand in the air and making a motion with his arm. I turned to see Tony coming toward us, and I couldn’t help but give Cole a mischievous grin.
“No, absolutely not,” Cole whispered to me. “I’m serious, Camdyn.”
“What’s up, Pete?” Tony asked as he walked into our little circle. His shirt featured a large guitar, and he had shaved a music note into his hair right beneath his mohawk. I wondered if Cole had been right about Tony doing more primping than most girls.
“You’re the Associate Pastor,” I stated to Tony, simply wanting an acknowledgement. He gave me a lopsided grin and threw his arm around my shoulder.
“Not what you expected?” Pete asked me with a laugh. I glanced at Cole’s wary face and stifled a grin.
“I am actually finding this to be absolutely fascinating,” I told Pete, who nodded his appreciation.
A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2) Page 13