Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Cam

I'm riding high as she lets me help her into her coat, as she sits on the couch and shoves her feet into her boots, as she lets me take her hand and draw her outside.

The sun is setting, and I need to show her why I bought this place.

Need .

Yeah.

To her credit, she doesn't question me, just walks by my side as we pick our way across my yard. The gravel path is riddled with puddles, the rocks scattered this way and that from the storm, but it's traversable and pretty soon we make it to the clearing at the back of my property.

Her exhale tells me enough.

Because it tells me that she feels it too.

"It's why I put an offer in on this place, even though the cabin's walls were practically crumbling down," I say, clambering on top of the boulder and extending my hand.

She hesitates for a moment before taking it, before allowing me to draw her up next to me. "This is beautiful," she says on a sigh, settling by my side and staring out at the valley that sits between me and my neighbor. The sun is setting in the distance, turning the sky into a watercolor of reds and pinks and oranges.

"It is," I agree, slipping an arm around her shoulders.

"But"—she glances up at me, lips twitching—"you bought a house for a view?"

"Well, it certainly wasn't for the house."

Her brows flick up.

"I bought this place from the old owner," I explain, "and the fact that the bridge washed away probably speaks to the state of the property when I first started working on it." I shake my head. "Total shambles—a leaking roof, a rotten floor in the bathroom, electrical that needed replacing, and a septic tank that was pretty much a hazardous waste site."

"Yikes."

"I think the owner was so thrilled to have an offer that he couldn't get out of here fast enough. And my realtor advised…well pretty much against everything to do with this place. But—" I nod out at the valley again.

"But this," she whispers.

"This," I agree, and we stare out at the view for long moments before she speaks again.

"It's clearly not in shambles now."

"No. But it took almost two years."

She glances at me and I see those brows have shot up again.

"I did a lot of work myself." Higher now, and I shrug. "I tore it down to the studs over one off-season, fixed plenty of dry rot, and then spent the next season and then off-season building it back up."

"That's really awesome."

"Though, I did have help with the electrical, plumbing, and the septic tank." I wink at her. "I can handle a piece of tile that's not perfectly level, but a toilet that doesn't flush or a light switch that tries to electrocute me? Not so much."

She grins. "Yeah, I'll take a no on the fire hazards as well."

"Exactly. But, all in all, it was a great project. I learned a lot, cursed a lot, and now I have a great place up here."

"Wow," she says, shaking her head. "How did I not know this?"

"If you knew that Mom stocked my freezer with cinnamon rolls, I'd lose my stash."

Laughter fills the air, and for a moment I feel a hundred feet tall. But then she exhales and hits me with those deep brown eyes. "No really, Cam. Why didn't I know?"

And there's no way I can't give her the truth, though I try to give her the most glossed over version. "I'm good at keeping stuff against my chest until I'm ready to share."

That has her tilting her head to the side, studying me closely. Then her mouth twitches. "Yeah, I'd say so." A beat. " Ten years of saying so."

"This is you making a joke about emotions?"

Her mouth twitches again. "It's out there already. If I can't make a joke, I'll run screaming for the hills."

"Thanks," I say dryly

Her face changes. "I didn't mean?—"

I bump my shoulder against hers. "I know. I'm teasing."

But there's still sadness in her eyes. "I don't know how to do this, Cam. I'm…well…I'm afraid that there are things inside me that are broken permanently."

"I think you're selling yourself short."

" I think you're not looking at this with a clear head." She clenches her hand into a fist, taps it against her thigh. "I'm dangerous. I?—"

I take her fingers, carefully release them from the taut grip. "Look, I shared something with you that I haven't told anyone, and you came to me with compassion and understanding?—"

"And whisky."

I tug a lock of her hair, well aware she's using the joke to put distance between us. " And whisky. But before the whisky," I say, "you listened. You listened and then you shared, cupcake. About yourself. Which I know isn't easy for you."

She exhales.

"If that's not knowing how to do this then I don't know what is."

She falls silent for a long moment, staring out at the setting sun. Wind is rustling through the pine needles and the temperature is dropping, but the water is trending the right way and if we can finagle a ride out of here tomorrow then we'll be back to reality.

Back to normal.

That has a spot between my shoulders tensing.

But I force it to relax.

She sees me know. She knows it all.

And she's still here.

Fine. I know the river is playing a small part of that, but…

It doesn't matter.

Fuck if I'm going to let her go.

I just…well, I just need to make her fall in love with me before we go back to reality.

So, that's why I don't push when she hops off the rock, takes my hand…

And leads me back inside.

Back into the bedroom.

I'm not giving up.

I'll win her heart?—

One way or another.

"What do you think?" I ask the next morning.

Dan shakes his head across the ravine, but it's his voice I hear through my phone pressed to my ear. "Fucked royally. You'll need a whole new bridge."

Considering that half of it washed away and the other half is pinned to the rocky bed by a big ass tree, this isn't a surprise.

But I still hear cash register sounds in my head.

Cha-ching. Cha-ching. Cha-ching!

"How long will that take?"

His pause is long enough that I tense before I bite out, " Dan ."

"We can put in a temporary one to get the cars out—though it'll take a couple of weeks." A sigh that vibrates through the speaker. "But one that'll pass inspection and last you? Months."

I drop my head back, stare up at the sky.

Bright without a cloud marring blue—no sign of the freak summer rainstorm.

No sign of a summer in my cabin to lick my wounds and come back stronger.

"Okay, well can we start working toward that?"

A nod. "Sure thing. Still need a ride to town?"

I glance down at the river, watch him do the same. "When do you think it'll be safe to get across?"

"Tomorrow?"

Monday. Back to reality.

Back to normal.

Back to…

I flick my gaze to Athena, who's sitting on the porch, feet up on the railing, laptop open, brow furrowed in concentration, and…

I know I need a little more time.

I turn away say quietly, "Tuesday?"

There's a flash of white on the other side of the riverbank and I hear the amusement in his voice when Dan replies. "Have a call out here Wednesday afternoon. That work for you?"

I grin.

Best wingman ever.