Chapter 4

four

Cam mindlessly watched his total climb as he filled his tank at the Gas-n-Go. The pump eventually kicked in his hand, yanking him back from his thoughts.

Pulling the nozzle free, he put it back, then pressed the button for a receipt. Pocketing the piece of paper, he turned toward his truck, doing a double take when he glanced across the street.

"Holy shit," he muttered as he stopped in his tracks, staring at the woman he'd been afraid he would never see again. But there she was, walking through the grocery store parking lot with her cell phone at her ear. Fiona Willis was just as gorgeous as she'd always been.

He swallowed, shamelessly watching her, taking her in after six long years. All of that long, glossy brown hair and her deep dimples that popped every time she smiled… How she still moved with purpose…

He hadn't laid eyes on her in a long damn time, not that he hadn't tried a couple of times. But her social media pages had vanished shortly after she did.

He'd heard through the grapevine that she'd graduated from college a semester early and taken the job in Seattle. If he'd occasionally attempted to get a peek at her on the Laurier Group Instagram page over the years… Her name had been mentioned a time or two, but otherwise, he'd had no luck.

She looked so much the same as she waved her thanks to the car that let her cross to go inside. But he also noticed the sheen of city sophistication, even as she wore baggy ripped jeans, a pair of low-rise sneakers, and a snug white spaghetti-strap top.

She'd clearly spent some time in the gym. Fi had always been slim, but now she had a little muscle tone on her drool-worthy five-foot-six frame.

He got in his truck as she disappeared behind the sliding glass doors, debating whether to drive across the street, grab a cart, and accidentally bump into her in one of the aisles. But he hesitated with his finger on the ignition, remembering the devastation in her eyes and the tears streaming down her cheeks on that long-ago summer day.

Steaming out a breath as he shook his head, he sat back. Never had he fucked anything up as supremely as he had things with Fiona.

His cell phone started to ring in the console. Snatching it up, he smiled a little as he answered. "Hey, Mom."

"How's my boy this morning?"

He grinned as he thought of his son. "He's at wilderness camp until lunchtime, undoubtedly having the time of his life."

Mom hummed her delight, forever adoring her grandson. "Do me a favor and let me pick him up today."

"You know he'll be thrilled to see you."

"How's my other boy?"

His smile dimmed as his gaze wandered back to the grocery store. "I'm hanging in there."

"I'm glad to hear it." Mom cleared her throat. "Sweetie, I just got off the phone with Stella."

"How's she doing?"

"Pretty good, considering. She was able to head home from the hospital last night." Then Mom paused before she cleared her throat again. "Fiona's with her, honey."

He nodded. "I heard something about that." And that's what he was going with because he was still taking it all in.

Mom huffed out a laugh. "Maple Ridge and its gossip mill."

"Mm-hmm," he replied. Then he opened his mouth to say something else when his mom spoke again.

"She's back for a while, Cam. Stella said Fi's taking an extended leave of absence. She'll be here for the next several weeks."

He scratched his jaw, shocked all over again. Fi hadn't come back to town since the day she left. Now she would be in Maple Ridge for most of the summer. "Huh," he said this time—the best he could do when the surprises kept coming.

"Maybe you two can finally talk and clear the air."

"Yeah, maybe."

"I imagine all of this is a lot, but I need a favor."

"Anything."

"Stella asked if Dad could head over to the house to look at her banister. She said it's wobbly, and she's a little unsteady with her bruised ribs and her arm in a cast. Dad's out at the Dawson site for most of the day…"

He clenched his jaw, understanding what his mother was asking. The situation wasn't ideal. He didn't have a problem with Stella. She'd been perfectly polite to him and his son anytime they'd run into each other over the last several years. But this wasn't how he wanted to see Fi for the first time after so long.

He had things he needed to say. Maybe she did too. Today was hardly the day for that conversation.

"If it makes you too uncomfortable…"

"No. It's fine." He glanced at his watch. "I have some time now since you're picking Brady up." If he discovered anything but a quick repair, he'd take his leave and send one of his guys over.

"Thanks, honey."

"No problem. I'll see you later." Hanging up, he looked at the store again as he turned over the ignition and headed toward Stella's place. He certainly knew where it was.

Cam arrived at the house less than ten minutes later, parking along the curb across the street.

Stella opened the door, bruised, bandaged, and cast, still wearing her pajamas, as she stepped out on the front porch. "That was fast. I talked to your mom half an hour ago."

He smiled as he headed up the path to the porch steps. "Wobbly banisters shouldn't wait."

Stella smiled back. "Where's your beautiful son this morning?"

"He wanted to try wilderness camp this week. As soon as he found out they would be looking at owl vomit and touching snakes, he begged me to sign him up."

Stella laughed. "To be young and curious."

Cam shrugged. "Mostly, I'm just trying to keep him busy now that preschool's out for the summer."

Stella chuckled again. "Come on in, Cam."

"Thanks," he said, stepping inside as Stella gestured him in before her.

It had been a minute since he'd walked through the Willis' front door. Stella had added a couple of plants and changed out the couch in the cozy living room. Otherwise, not much was different.

He moved out of the way so she could tell him about the banister on the far side of the small entryway.

Stella wiggled the newel post. "It's squeaking and moving. I'm not quite sure how to fix it. Now that I'm trapped in this cast for six weeks, I can't do it myself."

Cam stepped closer, giving the post another wiggle, watching the entire banister sway as it squeaked. "This looks pretty classic—like the post came off the original dowels. We see this a lot in older houses. But it's an easy fix. A couple of structural screws should have you back to good."

Stella nodded. "I don't mind an easy fix. The post upstairs feels loose, too."

"I'll check it out. Let me grab my stuff from the truck, and I'll get this taken care of. It shouldn't take more than twenty minutes."

"Thank you, Cam. I'm going to make myself a cup of tea and take it to the garden. Let me know if you need anything."

"I will." Glancing at his watch, he headed outside, confident he could be gone before Fiona made an appearance.

Grabbing his toolbox and level, he was happy to see that he still had some of the three-quarter-inch stock dowels from the renovations he and his team were working on over on Clarke Street.

He went back inside, hearing Stella fiddling around in the kitchen as he walked up the steps, eyeing the top post when he gave the banister another shake. He paused at the top of the stairs, noting that the door was open to Fi's room.

Sunshine poured in through the windows as his gaze tracked around the pretty space: Fi's suitcase tucked away in the corner, her laptop set up on her small desk, and the noisy-ass bed they'd had sex in whenever they were alone in the house.

He grinned, remembering how they'd often opted to sit on pillows on the floor. Because fooling around when Stella had been home hadn't been an option otherwise.

His smile vanished when he spotted her collage mostly taken down and the photos of the two of them thrown away in the trash.

"Fuck," he muttered, turning away, trying to ignore the sting. Clearly, Fi had come home to take care of Stella and ditch what was left of her past.

Focusing on his job, he tested the post again, fairly certain the problem would correct itself when he dealt with the issue downstairs.

In a hurry to be gone, he headed back down the steps, set up a drop cloth, and got to work.