“Edith, I forgot, there was one more change I wanted to make.”
“Okay.” She shook her head and pulled out her pen.
“Since the book won’t come out for a few more weeks…change my name to Camdyn Parker.”
“Done,” she said with a knowing smile.
I asked Jesse to take me to Ellis Island, and I was actually able to convince him to peruse the area with me instead of staying with the car. I thought maybe Cole would call me in the morning, since he hadn’t been able to call me the night before, but no such luck. I couldn’t help checking my phone all afternoon, though, hoping he would make contact. It was nearly seven by the time Jesse returned me to the hotel, and I decided to order room service and stay in. It felt strange to be eating in bed while watching television, like I was getting a glimpse of my old life for a moment.
By the time ten o’clock rolled around, the lack of contact from Cole had officially driven me half crazy. I punched his number into the phone and listened as it rang.
“Hi, beautiful,” he answered. I really wanted to be miffed at him, but the sound of his voice melted my resolve.
“I miss you,” I stated simply, and then I heard him sigh into the phone.
“I miss you too. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything’s fine.”
“Your flight still gets in at 1:15 tomorrow?”
1:15 tomorrow, I will finally see Cole. What is that, fifteen hours from now?
“Yes, the flight hasn’t changed.”
“Okay,” he breathed. “Listen, sweetheart, I’m still working, and I’ve got a lot to do, so…”
Ugh, are you kidding me?
“Why on earth are you working so late?”
“I just have a job that I have to get done, that’s all. I’m running against the clock.”
“Okay,” I relented. “Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”
“Definitely. I love you.”
“I love you, Cole.” With that, he hung up and my phone went silent.
-§-
Thursday morning, I had Jesse take me to the office so I could say goodbye to Lex and Edith, and then we were off to the airport. When Jesse handed me my luggage, he also smiled and gave me a hug, much to my surprise. He told me very solemnly that I was a good girl, and it had been his pleasure to make my acquaintance. At that, I kissed him on the cheek quickly and told him that he had honestly been the best driver I ever had. Naturally, he laughed and suggested that he was the only driver I ever had, to which I replied that he was correct, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t the best.
My plane ride back to Memphis wasn’t nearly as fun as the one to New York City, since I had no one to talk to. The man sitting next to me was wrapped up in some kind of stock report, and most of the other passengers were quiet. The only exception was one young man two rows in front of me who insisted upon telling people that he was some sort of reality television star. I had never seen him before, and neither had anyone else on the plane, and it was apparently driving him crazy. The closer we got to Memphis, though, all I could think of was the fact that I would see Cole soon, and that was certainly enough.
Walking into the airport, I tried to contain my excitement, even though I desperately wanted to sprint into the terminal. When I emerged to the waiting strangers, I scanned the area for a familiar face, finally finding him. The problem was, it wasn’t Cole; it was his friend Jake. I couldn’t keep the disappointment off my face.
“It’s nice to see you, too,” he chuckled sarcastically, taking my carry-on. Deflated and borderline depressed, I let my shoulders sink a little.
“Where’s Cole?” He smiled as we began walking, and I let my guard down enough to smile back at him sadly.
“He said he was finishing up a job, so he needed me to pick you up. It was no big deal – Artie and I couldn’t do anything today because we were waiting for Cole anyway.”
“Well, I suppose we’ll just have to make the best of it!” I suggested, more as instruction to myself than to Jake. We walked out into the parking lot and Jake quickly found his truck, putting my luggage securely in the back.
“You know, it’s funny, heartbreaker,” he told me. “This is the second time Cole has asked me to take you somewhere. He must have more faith in me than most people.”
“Why would you say that? People don’t trust you?”
“Not really, and they probably shouldn’t,” he stated with a wink. “Cole’s one of the few guys who has ever been a friend to me, though, so I wouldn’t do anything to damage that.”
“Why do you think that is?” I asked. “Is it because of your way with the ladies?” He laughed out loud as he glanced over at me.
“So you think I have a way with the ladies, do you?” he wanted to know, raising his eyebrows suggestively. “No, it’s a long story, actually.” I stared at him silently, suddenly very interested in knowing what made Jake tick.
“We’ve got plenty of time,” I suggested, and he nodded as we turned onto the interstate.
“That we do, I reckon,” he agreed, staring straight out at the road ahead. “Alright – I suppose I can give you the dirt – I’m sure you’ll find it out in that small town soon enough anyway. Long story short – I have a kid. She’s three – lives on the other side of Jackson. Her name’s Bailey.”
“Wow, Jake – I never would have guessed,” I stated sincerely.
“Yeah, well, I guess that just goes to show that you can’t judge by appearances,” he replied. “I was only dating Bailey’s mom for a few weeks, not exclusively or anything, and I really didn’t care much for her, so I stopped seeing her. Problem was, she came to me a month or so later and told me she was pregnant. I told her to get a paternity test, because I didn’t believe her that the kid was mine. Well, in the meantime, she decided to relay that message to her entire family. Basically, the entire population of three neighboring counties is related to this woman in some way. I was public enemy number one, and all of a sudden I couldn’t get work, didn’t have many friends…
“Anyway, this was right after Cole came back to town. I ran into him one day, and he asked me if I wanted to work with him. I knew people around here respected Cole, so I explained the situation to him right off the bat. He told me that everyone makes mistakes, and that was the end of it. He never asked me about it again. When Bailey was born, long story short, I found out that she really was my daughter. Cole was the only guy who really never harassed me about it or said ‘I told you so.’ He’s been a good friend – the only one I had at times.”
“Wow,” I said. “I really would have never pegged you for the fatherly type.”
“No, and I’m not sure I am one,” he stated. “Oh, I see her and everything, but we don’t have what you would call a close relationship.”
For the first time, I was looking at Jake and seeing a broken man, not an egotistical, flirting Casanova making every vain attempt at flattery.
“I feel for you, Jake, I really do. You can change, though – you can be a different person.”
“Hmm…that’s the thing,” he reasoned, staring over at me. “I’m not sure I want to.”
I didn’t know exactly what to do with that statement. I thought about saying that he was only hurting himself, but that wasn’t true. Finally realizing that I had no words of wisdom, I let out a sigh.
“I know you don’t want my advice, but I just want to say that I know what it feels like not to have a parent around. It will affect that little girl forever.”
“I’m not sure,” he speculated, squinting his eyes. “I think she may be better off without me.”
“Well, I’ll keep hoping you change your mind about that,” I told him. He smiled at me slyly, and then changed the subject. We actually talked quite easily on the way home, and I was only slightly bothered by the fact that Cole had not picked me up himself. By the time we pulled into the driveway of the bed and breakfast, we were talking like old friends, which was enough to leave me surprised. Th
e other thing that surprised me was the fact that Cole’s truck was in the driveway. I fought a perturbed emotion that poured over me, wondering why he was too busy to pick me up, and yet he was here at Rosalie’s. Jake helped me get my luggage from the back of the truck, and then he grinned.
“See ya later, heartbreaker,” he chuckled.
“Jake, don’t you think you should use my real name now?” I asked him sincerely.
“Nah, heartbreaker fits you,” he stated. “Take it easy.”
I watched him back his truck up the driveway before I headed inside, expecting to see Cole. Instead, I found Rosalie mopping the hardwood. She asked me if I had a good trip and managed to get a couple other questions in there before I questioned Cole’s whereabouts with mild annoyance. She smiled and told me he was in the backyard, and then she went back to cleaning. Taking a deep breath, I deposited my luggage in the bedroom and then moved to the back door, peeking around the curtains. As soon as I saw him, my heart caught in my throat and I started crying. Swinging open the door, I took a couple of steps, and as soon as he looked up and saw me, I began to run. I flung myself into his arms, sobbing into his shirt. He put his hand gently on my hair and kissed my forehead.
“I almost finished before you got home,” he stated. Pulling slowly away from him, I took in the project he was working on. The precise image of the gazebo I had seen at the florist was now standing in Rosalie’s backyard. “The arbor’s going to be right here,” he pointed, “and covered with every color of the rainbow, just like you wanted.” He brushed some sawdust off his jeans and gazed down at me with those chocolate brown eyes.
“Oh, Cole…” I whispered. He rested his hand gently on my face, brushing away a tear.
“You do like it?” he wanted to know.
“I love it,” I told him, having trouble getting the words out. “You have to be the most thoughtful man in the world.”
“I just want everything to be perfect for you,” he said, taking off his baseball cap and wiping his forehead with his sleeve.
“Even if we got married in a mud pit, it would still be perfect if you were my husband,” I stated. I took his face in my hands and kissed him earnestly. He put his arms around me again, and I held him tight.
“I’m sorry about sending Jake to pick you up,” he chuckled. “I would have sent Mom or Rachel, but I didn’t think they could keep my secret. I hope he wasn’t too obnoxious.”
“No, he was fine,” I replied. “He told me about what you did for him, and why he’s so grateful to have you for a friend.”
“Well, I never felt like I could afford to be unforgiving when someone made a mistake,” he stated in a low voice. “So what ended up happening in New York? Did you have to see Lex again?”
“Oh, gosh, it’s a long story, but Lex and I are actually friends now,” I said. “I have so much to tell you.”
“Hmmm…I want to hear all of it, eventually, but right now I have something else in mind.”
“What is that?” I wondered aloud. He pulled back and smiled warmly before he kissed me. I said nothing as he put his lips on mine, because I couldn’t think of anything I would rather do.
Chapter Sixteen
Cole finished working on the gazebo that afternoon while I just kind of hung around him uselessly. I did try to help a couple times, but I was only getting in his way, so I finally settled for sitting on a side railing and watching him. Once I caught myself staring so intently that I apologized, but he insisted that it didn’t bother him, so I pretty much gawked at him unashamedly from that point forward.
When he was finished, we went to his parents’ house for dinner. As soon as we walked through the door, Liz made a comment about being surprised to see us, because she was certain we would want some time alone after I had been away. I glanced over at Cole but didn’t say anything, because I was fairly certain that the reason we were there in the first place was for the express purpose of not being alone.
Two more weeks, Camdyn. Two weeks is nothing.
We hadn’t been there for a whole minute before Liz called Rachel and asked her to come over, too. She said she knew Rachel would want to see me, and since Cole was okay with having his parents around, she was sure he wouldn’t mind having his sister there, too. It took about twenty minutes for Rachel’s family to arrive, and the minute they hit the door Charlotte was hanging on my leg. I picked her up and gave her a warm hug.
“Aunt Cammie!” she exclaimed. “Mommy said you were a princess.” I widened my eyes and looked over at Rachel for an explanation.
“No, Charlotte, Mommy said Cammie was being treated like a princess.” I chuckled and stared into Charlotte’s intense little face.
“That is true,” I told Charlotte. “I had my own carriage and I stayed in a castle.”
“Really?” she asked breathlessly. “Mommy, can I go to the York too?”
“Maybe someday,” Rachel assured her. “Have Aunt Cammie take you there, since she’s so important now.” She shot me a teasing glance, and I smiled.
“Go ahead and laugh,” I stated. “Maybe you won’t think it’s so funny when you see me on television in a month or so.”
“We’ve already seen you on television,” Jeff interrupted, earning a glare from my direction.
“Thank you, Jeff, for making sure I feel like an idiot,” I said.
“Dinner’s ready!” Liz announced, and we all made our way to the table. As usual, Charlotte insisted upon sitting by me, so I piled some spaghetti on her plate and gave her a piece of bread. Not much was said as the food was being passed around, but as soon as everyone was settled, the conversation resumed.
“So what was this about television?” Liz wanted to know.
“Oh,” I muttered around a mouthful of spaghetti, holding my hand in front of my face until I was finished chewing. “I’m going to be doing my exclusive first interview on The Tilly Show.” Liz’s eyes grew wide, but Rachel shook her head.
“She’s kidding you, Mom,” Rachel interjected.
“No, I’m actually not,” I insisted. “And the day after The Tilly Show, I’ll be on three of the morning shows.”
“Camdyn, that’s incredible!” Liz stated. “You’re going to do so well – I just know it.”
“Thank you, Liz. I wish I had your confidence!”
“So is that what your meeting was about?” Rachel wanted to know.
“Well, that and other things. I extended my book deal, went over the Willa book with my editor…”
“Were there a lot of changes?” Rachel asked. I shook my head with a smile.
“Only one big change, and I made that one myself,” I told them. “I changed my name to Camdyn Parker.” Cole squeezed my hand under the table and grinned.
“Wow, you shouldn’t have done that,” Jeff informed me. “Now you really have to go through with it.”
“Wild horses couldn’t drag me away,” I said to Jeff, “especially after he spent the entire week building that gazebo.”
“Yeah, you really need to stop doing that sort of stuff, buddy,” Jeff ordered Cole. “You’re making the rest of us look bad.”
“You don’t need help to look bad,” Rachel snorted. “You handle that well enough on your own.”
We went on talking about my previous books being made into movies and the television appearances, with Liz and Rachel both offering me advice. Every once in a while Charlotte would say something nonsensical to me about a kid movie I hadn’t seen. Cole wasn’t saying much, but kept messing with my hand under the table. The only one who was eating in silence was Ted, and he just seemed to be enjoying the show. When dinner was over, we all retired to the living room, where Ted turned the TV to some detective program.
“Cam, I almost forgot,” Cole suddenly said, “Charlie sent a big box of your stuff to me in the mail. He said he found it in the attic.”
“What was in it?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” he laughed. “It wasn’t mine to open.”
Okay,
that has definitely piqued my curiosity.
“Let’s go over there now and look,” I suggested. He looked into my eyes and then one of those wary smiles spread across his face.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” he told me. “Not tonight.” At that point, admittedly, I rolled my eyes just a little. This not being alone stuff was getting ridiculous. I don’t think Cole saw my expression, but Rachel did, and she gave me a sad little smile.
“You know, we haven’t been to your place in a while, Cole,” Rachel stated. “I’d like to see your landscaping. We could go over there with you two.”
“Rachel,” her mother scolded. “Maybe Cole and Camdyn want to be alone. You shouldn’t invite yourself over there.”
“They don’t want to be alone, Mom, that’s the whole point.” Rachel gave her mother a stern look and then smiled apologetically at me.
“Don’t be silly,” Liz warned her. “Why wouldn’t they want to be alone?”
“They don’t want to be alone,” Rachel said, making a funny expression with her eyes.
“Why not?” Liz asked.
“Mother, they don’t want to be alone,” Rachel repeated, emphasizing the words. I could feel my face turning red, and I didn’t dare look at Cole for fear that I would burst out giggling.
“You said that already,” Liz added. “Cole, what is she talking about?”
“Just drop it, Mom,” Cole muttered. By this time Jeff had launched into laughter, and I feared Rachel was about to follow.
“I must be missing something,” Liz murmured, and Rachel lost it.
“Lizzie, I think they’re talking about not consummating the relationship,” Ted blurted, not taking his eyes off the TV.
“Oh my heavens!” Liz gasped. I put my face in my hands and rested my head against the couch, feeling a little mortified.
“You know what, Rachel, let’s go to my house,” Cole suddenly suggested, and I was only too happy to follow him out the door. As soon as we were in his truck, he looked over at me and started laughing. “That was awkward. Sort of like when I was a teenager and my mom tried to give me ‘the talk.’”
A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2) Page 21