Chapter 5

five

Not long after he got started, Cam drove a structural screw into one of the pockets he'd created in the newel post. He paused with his finger on the screwdriver's trigger when he heard footsteps on the front porch. Seconds later, Fiona walked in, stopping short as she stared at him.

He'd seen her in the parking lot less than an hour ago, but up close and personal, she packed a hell of a punch. Her big brown eyes were as fantastic as always. Her light-olive complexion was makeup-free and flawless. And she smelled amazing—like some subtle perfume and the flowery shampoo she'd always used.

He pulled off his safety glasses as he gained his feet. "Fi."

She swallowed. "Cam."

He'd hoped to be gone by the time she got home, yet he'd been waiting for this moment since the second she ran away—to finally hear her voice again. "How are you?"

She adjusted the paper grocery bag in her arms. "I'm good. How are you?"

He nodded. "Not bad."

"I didn't see your truck."

He imagined that if she had, she would have kept on driving. "I parked across the street. We got a couple of new vehicles last month. The logos haven't been painted on yet."

"Oh." She forced a small smile as they stood in the tense silence.

"Uh, the railing's nearly fixed," he said in a rush when there were so many other things he wanted to say. "The newel post needed a couple of screws."

She nodded. "Thanks for taking care of that."

"I'm happy to. Stella's out in the garden."

"Thanks. I should get these groceries put away." And with that, she turned, disappearing into the kitchen.

He hesitated, debating whether to follow, but got back to work instead, reading Fi's cues easily enough. Her guard was up, and she wanted him gone.

Fiona closed her eyes as she set the bag down on the counter, exhaling a shaky breath. She hadn't been prepared for that.

The inevitability of running into Cam was something she'd considered. Maple Ridge was too small for any other outcome. But that didn't mean it was supposed to have happened today. And certainly not in her home.

She gripped the edge of the granite, still finding herself unsteady. Because he looked good in his work jeans and a black T-shirt—as powerful and gorgeous as always, but also different.

He'd been clean-shaven back in the day. Now, he sported a short beard. The darker shade of his facial hair accentuated the boldness of his fantastic eyes.

And the way he said her name—the one simple syllable that did something jittery and ridiculous to her stomach.

Shaking her head, refusing to be any further affected by the man she'd left behind, she reached into the bag, grabbing the large carton of plain Greek yogurt and the dozen eggs, setting them in the fridge. She reached in again as someone honked outside.

Frowning, she walked to the window and grinned as Ellie Bennet pulled one of the work trucks into the driveway.

Fi headed outside, following Cam down the front path as he carried his supplies. She laughed, hurrying ahead of him as Ellie got out of the driver's seat.

" Fiona ," Cam's mom said as she wrapped her up in a hard hug, then pulled back to hold her hands, looking her up and down. "Honey, look at you. You're gorgeous as always."

Fi grinned, pretending she didn't feel Cam's presence directly behind her. "Thank you."

"How have you been?"

Fi nodded, seeing the resemblance between mother and son so clearly. Cam favored Ellie. He'd inherited her green eyes and light-brown hair. Ellie was approaching her mid-fifties, but she hardly looked a day over forty. "Good. Really great."

"That's good, honey. We sure have missed you around here."

"I've missed you, too." And she had. She'd been such a huge part of the Bennet family. Big, loud, and loving, they'd always made her feel welcome. For several years, she'd been certain she would eventually be one of them. But that's not how things had turned out.

"How's your mom?" Ellie wanted to know. "She says she's fine, but how is she really?"

"She refused to take her pain pill this morning, and she wouldn't let me help her make her breakfast, so I'd say she's well on the mend."

Ellie laughed. "That sounds like Stella."

Fi wrinkled her nose. "Yes, it does."

Ellie chuckled as she squeezed Fiona's hands. "I hear you're hanging around Maple Ridge for the summer."

She nodded, not loving that Cam was hearing the same information. Not that it mattered. "Until August sometime."

"Stella says you're still doing event planning."

Fi nodded. "I am."

"She says you're amazing and in demand, and I'm not at all surprised."

Fi's grin returned. "Thank you."

"How do you feel about meeting up for coffee one of these afternoons? Grandpa Bennet's seventy-fifth birthday is coming up, and I'd love to pick your brain for some party ideas. We want to do it up big for a man who doesn't like a lot of fuss."

Fi's heart melted. She adored Grandpa Bennet. He'd been the only grandparent figure she'd ever had. Both sets of her grandparents had died long before she'd been born. "I would love to. Whenever you want."

"How about next Monday or Tuesday?"

Fiona nodded with enthusiasm. "Definitely."

Suddenly, the back seat window on Ellie's truck rolled down, and a little boy who looked exactly like his dad blinked at her. "Who are you?"

Fiona stepped closer to the truck, scrutinizing his every feature. He had Cam's eyes—the shape, color, and long lashes women envied. Their brow line, hair color, noses, and chins were identical. It was as if Ally had contributed nothing to the little boy's DNA. "I'm Fiona Willis. Who are you?"

The little boy stood on his knees on his booster seat as he leaned farther out the window. "I'm Brady Bennet."

Fiona stuck out her hand. "It's nice to meet you, Brady Bennet."

Brady grinned his father's grin as he returned her handshake. "I turned five when it was still May. How old are you?"

"Brady, we don't ask adults how old they are," Cam told his son. "It's not polite."

Fiona couldn't help but grin. "I'm twenty-seven."

"That's old. Just like my dad."

Fiona chuckled when Cam winced.

Oblivious to his faux pas, Brady continued their conversation. "I'm having my birthday party on Saturday. You can come."

"That sounds like fun. What kind of cake are you having?"

"A dinosaur one. With chocolate in it."

Fiona nodded. "That's the best kind."

Brady nodded enthusiastically. "I know ."

"What kind of gift does a boy who just turned five like?"

Brady shrugged. "My dad reads me cool books at night before I go to bed. And I like dinosaur stuff."

"That makes sense with the dinosaur cake and all."

"Yeah," he said, nodding again. "I'll see you on my birthday, okay?"

"Okay," she replied, certain he would forget he'd extended the invitation after he and his grandmother backed out of the driveway. She held out her hand again. "It was nice chatting with you, Brady Bennet."

His grin was back when he shook her hand again. "I liked chatting with you, too."

"We'll talk next week," Ellie told Fiona as she headed for the driver's seat. "I need to get this handsome boy over to the Hot Dog House before he wastes away. Wilderness camp makes a young man hungry for a hot dog and French fries."

"That sounds like quite a deal," Cam said, moving closer to the back seat. "Buckle yourself up, buddy. I'll see you in a little while."

Brady beamed. "Okay, Dad."

Ellie backed out, tossing them a wave.

"Bye, Dad. Bye, Fiona Willis," Brady yelled out the window.

Fiona huffed out a laugh as she waved. And then she and Cam were alone in the front yard. "Cam, he's amazing ."

Cam grinned. "He keeps me on my toes, that's for sure."

She grinned back. "I believe it."

"Uh, the birthday party's at one. You're welcome to come."

She knew Cam was being polite because showing up at Brady's party was a terrible idea. "That's really nice… But I don't think… I'm sure Ally doesn't want…" She cleared her throat and crossed her arms as their conversation instantly became awkward .

Cam frowned as he stared at her. "Ally won't be there. She and I aren't together."

She flicked a glance at his left hand—at his bare ring finger. "Oh."

His frown deepened as he followed her gaze, looking at his hand. "I'm raising Brady on my own."

"Oh," she repeated when their eyes locked again. "I didn't realize…" Then she swiped her hair behind her ear. "I'll try to come," she finished lamely.

He nodded, still looking at her as if he was confused. "We have a place out by the lake, off the old logging road."

She swallowed now, needing no other directions to find his home. Long ago, they'd dreamed of the space where they would put a house—the place where he'd kissed her for the first time and the spot where they'd often made love on sleeping bags in the back of his truck.

"Um, how much do we owe you for the railing?" she said in a rush, wanting to move their conversation to anything else.

He shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I was hardly here for any time at all. The post needs a little paint where I screwed in the dowels. I can take care of it, but I need to know the color."

She adamantly shook her head. "I can do it. But thank you," she added.

And then they stood there in the horrible silence, staring at each other. "I should go check on my mom."

With that, she went back inside and out to the garden, where her mom sat in her favorite rocker, tilting her head to the sun.

"Mom?"

Her mother didn't bother to open her eyes. "It's a gorgeous day."

She huffed out a quiet laugh, caring little about the bright-blue skies and mild temperatures. "You could have warned me that he was here."

"I asked Ellie to send Danny. When she didn't, I figured I'd take a page from her book and let things play out however they were going to."

Her mouth fell open as she frowned. "Gee, Mom. Thanks."

"I couldn't tell him to leave, Fiona. They were doing us a favor."

She sighed as the sun warmed her shoulders. "Cam and Ally aren't together."

"I know." Mom looked at her now. "They haven't been for a long time."

Fiona's frown returned because she'd been certain Cam and Ally would have gotten married. Cam was a family man through and through. He'd only ever wanted two things in life: to build houses with his father and brothers and to get married and have kids of his own. "But what about Brady?"

"Cam's been raising him on his own since Brady was a baby."

The surprises kept coming. "Where's Ally?"

"She left town. I don't know much about the situation. They don't talk about it."

Fiona stared at the cheerful flowers swaying in the breeze. "I had no idea."

"That's the way you've seemed to want it. After you left, you were so determined to carve out a new life for yourself. Melody and I knew how much you needed to move on, so we let you. Were we wrong?"

She shook her head, thinking of her childhood best friend, whom she frequently talked to. "No, you weren't wrong."

"He's an excellent father, Fi. Loving and attentive."

She nodded, expecting nothing less. "He lives out by the lake."

Mom nodded this time. "For the last couple of years now. He and his family built the place."

All of this was coming as the biggest of shocks. Nothing was how she'd imagined it in her head. "I think I'm going to head out for a while. The newel post needs some paint. I'll grab a sampler at the hardware store."

"Are you okay?"

She didn't know what she was, but she smiled at her mother as she nodded. "Call if you need anything."

"Okay, honey."

Cam pulled up in front of the job on Clarke Street, wanting to check on his crew, but mostly, he wanted to talk to Ezra.

His lifelong best friend was the best drywaller in the business. He'd also been dating Fiona's best friend for the last several months.

During that time, Cam had tried his damnedest to honor boundaries and rarely ever asked Ezra about Fi. On the few occasions he, Ezra, and Melody had met up socially, he'd bitten his tongue, figuring that bringing up Fiona would be crossing some sort of line. Because he understood the shitty situation both of their friends were in. Today, he didn't care.

Cam walked in through the back entrance, heading down the stairs. He and his team were approaching their third week on the current renovation project. The new apartment space for Stewart and Melinda's youngest daughter, who sought independence but still needed guidance due to her intellectual disability, was well underway.

"Things are looking good," he said, stopping next to Ezra as his friend drove screws into the new piece of drywall that had just gone up.

Nearly as tall as Cam and just as broad, Ezra swiped at his forehead, pushing back the black kerchief keeping the worst of the dust off his short dreads. Born into a multiracial family, Ezra had inherited his dad's Irish blue eyes and his mother's caramel-colored skin. Lately, he'd been rocking a scruff beard.

"We'll have things taped and ready to rock and roll by Thursday at the latest."

Cam nodded, satisfied that they were back on pace after a couple of unexpected complications. On the first day his team tore into the walls, they'd discovered a pipe that had been leaking into the insulation for years. Mold and rot had definitely been a problem.

"I just saw Fi."

Ezra paused long enough to glance at him. "How did that go?"

"Not awful but not great. I stopped by her place to fix a newel post for Stella. She got home from the grocery store as I was finishing up. She was polite."

Ezra winced. "I guess that's better than her telling you to fuck off."

Cam shrugged because maybe that would have been better. "She met Brady. My mom swung by to say hello."

"And?"

"Brady invited her to his party."

Ezra laughed. "Of course he did."

Cam rubbed at the tension squeezing the back of his neck. "She had no idea Ally and I aren't together."

Ezra drove the next screw into the wall.

"She didn't know," he repeated, waiting for Ezra to say something.

Ezra kept his focus on his work. "I imagine she didn't."

Cam frowned now. "What does that mean, exactly? Because how can that be a thing? You and Melody have been dating for like six months now. My name must have come up."

Ezra shook his head as he went after the next screw. "No, not really. At least, not the way I know you mean."

"I call bullshit."

Ezra stopped, sighing as he looked at him. "Melody may have mentioned that she and Fi don't talk about you."

Cam ran his tongue along his teeth as he rocked back on his heels. "They don't talk about me. You're going to have to expand on that one."

"Apparently, it's an unspoken rule."

"An unspoken rule." He huffed out a humorless laugh as he raked his fingers through his hair. Because this kept getting better. "Fi looked at my left hand like she was expecting to see a ring—like I was supposed to be married . To Ally, who's been gone for a long damn time."

Ezra restlessly scratched at his jaw. "Look, man, when things went down, it really messed Fi up. Melody told me she tried to talk to Fi about you a couple of times when they were both still in college, but Fi shut it down. Hard . Melody and Stella wanted her to be able to move on so conversations about you don't happen."

Cam paced away, absorbing the next sucker punch as his rough-to-rile temper bloomed to life. "This whole time … Nearly six years…"

"Do you think she would've come back if she'd known that Ally left?"

He shook his head at the unfinished ceiling. "No. I don't know. Probably not."

"Fiona has a life in Seattle. She has a big-deal career. But she's here now. Let things play out how they're supposed to."

"Yeah," Cam said, glancing at his watch, pissed about the entire situation—the fucking shame of it all. And the worst part was, he only had himself to blame. "I need to pick Brady up."

"Call me later if you want," Ezra hollered as Cam walked away. "I'll come over, and we'll have a beer."

"Yeah, sounds good," he yelled, heading back up the stairs as Jimmy made a cut with the circular saw.