Chapter 34

thirty-four

Cam spotted the sporty Jeep Wrangler with the Florida plates as he pulled into a parking spot at Maple Ridge Coffee Shop. Gripping the wheel as he steamed out a breath, he killed the engine, not looking forward to the next several minutes.

For most of the morning, he'd managed to keep himself busy, finding a new rhythm with his family of three. When Fi had assured him that she felt fine after a better-than-average start to her day, he'd left her and Brady to check on his crew and help out where he could after being gone for close to a week. Now, it was time to have the conversation he'd been dreading for days.

Getting out of his truck, he walked into the shop, settling his aviators on top of his head as he breathed in the heavenly aroma of good coffee. He spotted Ally, tossing her a wave when she smiled at him.

She was undeniably beautiful in a pair of snug jeans and a black-and-white striped tank top as she stood by the counter. She'd pulled her hair up in a ponytail and wore subtle makeup that accentuated her high cheekbones and blue eyes.

"Hey," he said as he stopped before her.

"Hi." She smiled again. "Welcome home."

"Thanks."

"Are you thinking about a hot or cold drink?"

"I'll probably grab an iced tea."

"Me too."

"We'll take two iced teas, please," he told Dianne, who'd worked behind the counter for as long as he could remember.

Dianne smiled. "Sure thing, honey."

Moments later, he paid for the drinks Dianne set in front of them. "Thanks."

Ally picked up her iced tea. "Thank you, Cam."

"No problem. How about a walk? It's a gorgeous day." Plus, he wanted plenty of privacy for what was bound to be a dicey exchange.

"Sure."

Pushing through the door before Ally, he pulled his aviators back on, walking next to her as they started down the sidewalk.

Ally settled her stylish sunglasses in place in the early afternoon sunshine. "I decided to wait until this morning to come to town. I dropped the papers off with Darius' secretary when I got here. She said they look good—that she'll file them before the court closes today."

"Thanks for doing that."

"Of course."

"Should we head to the park?"

Ally nodded, crossing the street with him at the crosswalk. "This is great, Cam—me living much closer. I hope we'll be able to do this regularly. I want to be friends. For Brady's sake."

He took a sip from his paper straw as they moved down the tree-shaded path. "That would be nice."

"I want us to be able to spend time together."

"I'm sure we can figure something out." He gestured to the closest bench, eager to say what he needed to say. "I'm hoping I can talk to you about a couple of things."

Ally nodded as she sat down. "Yeah. Sure."

Sitting next to her, he felt his shoulders growing tenser as she smiled at him. Because Ally could go from amiable to nasty at the drop of a hat, especially where Fiona was concerned. "As Brady's parents, I want us to be able to communicate openly and honestly."

She nodded. "I agree."

He sighed. "Brady and I were in Seattle for the last few days."

Her smile vanished, and her posture changed as she sat ramrod straight. "Did you see Fiona?"

He nodded. "She came back with us, Ally."

She rushed to her feet.

"Wait," he said, snagging her hand before she could walk away. "Please sit down. Please talk to me."

She sat back down, staring at the sidewalk. "Obviously, you two aren't just friends."

He shook his head. "Not long after she came home, we started talking again."

She huffed out a laugh. "Talking. Right." She looked at him now. "So, it's serious, then? You guys are together again?"

He nodded. "Fi quit her job. She's moving in with Brady and me."

"No," she said as she rushed up again. "That woman is not raising my son."

He stood now before she could storm off. "She's been raising your son. All summer long, she's helped me out."

"So that's just it? I don't get a say?"

He shook his head. "Not when it comes to who I spend my time with. Not when that person is good and loving and amazing with our child."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. " We're Brady's parents, Cam."

He nodded. "That's true. But I'm asking you to make some room for Fiona."

She shook her head. "I can't do that."

He sighed as he raked his fingers through his hair. This was going about as well as he'd expected. "Ally?—"

"The entire time we lived together… The entire time I carried your child… You never once showed me even a modicum of the affection you always showered on her."

He steamed out another breath because that was absolutely true. The way he loved Fi and this new little life were incomparable to his experience with Ally. "I tried to be supportive. I did the best I could."

"You're never going to love me."

He blinked his surprise, totally caught off guard. Because it had never been his intention to start anything romantic with Ally. "No. Not the way I think you want me to. But that doesn't mean we can't work together as co-parents."

She huffed out a laugh as she stared at the sidewalk. "It was supposed to be the three of us. You, me, and Brady."

"That's not going to happen."

"Clearly."

"I don't want to hurt you, Ally. I care about you. I respect you. You're Brady's mother. But there was never going to be a you and me. That ship sailed in high school."

She scoffed. "You didn't seem to mind fucking me that night at the cabin."

He clenched his jaw, hating that she brought it up—that she forced him to remember his biggest mistake that had given him his amazing son and ruined his relationship with the woman he loved. "That never should've happened. That never would have happened if I hadn't been drunk."

She shook her head again. "You're going to marry her?"

He nodded. "Eventually. Fiona's pregnant."

Her head whipped up. "Aren't you full of surprises?"

"It wasn't my intention to surprise you. I'm trying to communicate with you—to tell you what's going on."

"I was pregnant once, too. Where was my proposal?"

"The two of us getting married… That would've been bad for both of us. It definitely wouldn't have been good for Brady. You and I have never been good at anything but friendship."

More tears fell down her cheeks. "It's always been her."

He nodded again. "It will always be her." There was no point in denying what they both knew was true.

She walked several steps away, then came back. "I want to withdraw the papers I dropped off with Darius. I want partial custody of my son."

His heart kicked up to a wild beat as his worst fears started to materialize. "To punish me?"

She jerked her shoulders as she glared at him through the light tint of her lenses.

He clenched his jaw. "This isn't going to happen. You aren't going to use Brady as some pawn."

She tossed up her chin as she crossed her arms. "He's mine, too. I have rights."

The slow burn of rage boiled his blood. "Don't do this, Ally. Don't make me come at you with everything I've got. Don't make me bury you in family court."

Her spine snapped straight again. "Are you threatening me?"

He shook his head. "I'm promising you. Take a couple of days to think this through. Meet Fi and me for the psychologist appointment next week. Let's find a way to work together before there's no coming back from this."

"I'm no longer interested in playing by your rules, Cam. You'll be hearing from my attorney," she said as she walked off.

Fiona hummed the Miley Cyrus song still stuck in her head after Brady had requested that she play it on repeat while they tackled their chores and adventures throughout the morning. She grinned as she hung her favorite pair of black slacks in Cam's closet, trying to decide if it was a good or bad thing that she had similar musical tastes to a five-year-old.

Chuckling as she rolled her eyes, she reached into the box for one of her go-to sundresses, hanging it on an empty hanger. "This should fit us for a while yet—probably for the rest of the season. Before you start growing a bunch, and I have to buy us new clothes," she said to her belly, well aware that the baby couldn't hear her yet. But it thrilled her nonetheless that there was a little person sleeping safely in her womb.

"And there we go. We're finished," she said as she grabbed the blouse at the bottom of the box, hanging it in its color-coordinated spot among the other shirts on her side of the walk-in space.

Satisfied that another to-do had been checked off the list, she stepped into the bedroom with the empty box. Her smile returned as she studied the gorgeous summer blooms she'd arranged in a pretty vase and set in the center of the dresser. She'd done the same on the dining room table and kitchen island, choosing different-colored hydrangeas and alstroemerias for each room.

Heading downstairs, she moved toward the laundry room, ready to fold the next load, when a car door slammed outside. She frowned as she glanced at the wall clock because she wasn't expecting anyone for at least another hour.

Moving back toward the front of the house, she sighed when Cam walked in, yanking off his boots as he clenched his jaw. "I guess I don't have to ask you how things went with Ally."

He frowned as he met her gaze. "What's wrong with your mouth?"

It was her turn to frown. "I don't know. What's wrong with my mouth?"

"Your lips are purple."

She slapped her hand over her mouth.

He moved to stand in front of her, pulling her hand away. "What did you eat?"

"It must be from the blueberries Brady and I picked at the farm. I had my first official craving. When I got home, I washed them up and ate an entire carton."

He huffed out a small laugh. "Where is he?"

"With your mom. She called when we were on our way home. She wanted some Brady and Grammy time. I hope that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine."

She nodded. "I would've texted before I dropped him off, but I knew you were busy. I'm still trying to figure out how all of this works—our new dynamic…"

"Let's keep doing things the way we've been doing them. I love you. I trust you with Brady."

"Okay." She touched his arm. "Tell me about your meeting."

His jaw clenched again as he shook his head. "Ally's withdrawing the paperwork she dropped off with Darius."

She closed her eyes as her stomach dropped. "Oh, Cam… I'm so sorry."

He jerked his shoulders. "She's decided she wants to share custody after all."

"I can—I can go stay with my mom?—"

"And what the hell is that going to change?"

She blinked, taking a step back when he snapped at her. Because Cam had never spoken to her like that.

"Fuck," he muttered as he let his head hang. "I'm sorry." He pulled her into a hard hug. "I'm so sorry, Fi."

She returned his embrace, feeling his heart hammering against her chest. "It's okay."

"No, it's not." He eased back enough to hold her gaze. "I'm scared, and I'm angry. But not at you. None of this is your fault."

"It certainly feels that way. Things were fine before I came back?—"

He adamantly shook his head. "She's not calling the shots. She doesn't get to reappear after being absent for five years and dictate our lives."

"How can we make this better?"

"I don't know." He stepped away, raking his fingers through his hair as he paced down the hall. "I put in a call to Darius, but he's in court for the next couple of hours."

He met her gaze as he moved in her direction again. "I keep replaying the conversation she and I had. Her move to Boston… I think she was hoping that we were going to start things up again."

Fi swallowed as she stared at the floor. "And I messed up the plan."

He shook his head. "She and I were never going to happen. We made each other miserable . When we dated… When we lived together at my parents' place… I don't understand why she can't seem to remember that."

"Maybe now that you're both older, she was hoping things might be different."

Cam raised his brow. "Or she's pissed because we're together—because you and I make each other happy. Ally wants me because she can't have me. That's her MO."

Fiona shrugged when she didn't necessarily agree. Because she knew what it meant to love Cameron Bennet. It had been impossible to shake him from her heart. She'd tried and failed for nearly six years. "I guess."

"I love you . I want to be with you . You make my life better. You make Brady's life better. End of story."

She nodded, but clearly, Ally didn't feel the same way.

"None of this is even about Brady," he said as he moved down the hall, riling up again. "She's not doing this because she wants to be his mother. This entire thing is about making me pay for hurting her." He started back toward the entryway. "Why can't she love Brady the way you do? Why can't she see that he's an amazing kid?"

She heard the agony in his questions. "I don't know." She walked to him, standing in his way, capturing his hands in hers.

"He's so damn awesome , Fi."

She nodded, bringing his knuckles up to nuzzle against her cheek, eager to banish his pain. "He's the absolute best. It's her loss if she doesn't see or want that."

He sighed as he closed his eyes.

"He's so well loved , Cam. He knows that. You've done such a great job with him."

He swallowed as he looked at her again—as his eyes radiated with grief. "But someday, he'll want to know where she's been. He'll want to know why she didn't want him."

"And we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." She wrapped him up in a hug. "I'm sorry this is hurting you so much. I wish I could make it okay."

He returned her embrace. "Holding you feels pretty great."

She hugged him harder. "We can stay like this for as long as you want."

"So, forever works for you?"

Smiling, she eased back. "We're going to figure this out."

He nodded.

"Have fun with me in the meantime," she whispered as she stood on her tiptoes, nuzzling his nose with hers. "I don't want her ruining what's left of our day—what's left of Brady's summer break. In two days, he starts school. Let's make this a special afternoon."

"I need to be able to take Darius' call."

She nodded. "But after that. Brady will be home soon. I promised him we would make blueberry muffins."

"That sounds good."

She nodded again. "But we can also swim and roast hot dogs on the fire. We can make those fruit kabobs with the vanilla cream cheese dip that Brady gobbles up. Let me love you guys up and take care of you."

He settled his forehead against hers. "I love you, Fiona. So much."

"I love you, too."

He sighed. "This is going to get messy. We're bound to be in court for years. Because I'm going to fight like hell for my son."

"We'll be fighting together. We're in this together."

He nodded. "Maybe I should try calling her. Or sending her a text."

She adamantly shook her head. "Give her a couple of days. You just told a woman who's clearly in love with you that you're making a life with someone else. That we're having a baby. That's a lot to digest."

He sighed again. "You're right."

"I tend to be. It's one of my superpowers."

He sent her a weak smile. "I'm sorry again, Fi. For snapping at you. I was completely out of line…"

She shook her head. "No more apologizing. It's over."

"Okay," he said as he tucked her hair behind her ear. "How are you feeling? How's Baby?"

She stroked her fingers along his cheek, seeing easily enough that he was still very much shaken up. "We're good, especially after I dropped Brady off with your mom. She hugged me within an inch of my life and peppered me with a million subtle questions."

He chuckled. "I bet ."

"She wants us to come over for dinner Saturday night. She's inviting my mom, and Grandpa will be there, too."

He nodded. "That sounds like fun."

"Absolutely."

He smiled. "Do you really want to swim today?"

She nodded. "If you do. Summer won't last forever."

"Sure. But you should probably keep your eyes open when we get in the water. I have a feeling Lake Shark might make an appearance."

She grinned. "Brady will be thrilled."