The Truth Within (Pelican Bay 3)

With that, he turned and disappeared the way I’d come.

“Bubbles?” Cam asked.

“Boa constrictor,” I murmured.

Cam shook his head and said, “Give me the dregs of Detroit any day.” He started back up the path that led to the parking lot.

“I can’t stay at your house tonight, Sheriff,” I called.

When he didn’t answer, I hurried to catch up with him. “Cam,” I called, hoping it would get his attention. Panic welled up in my throat at the idea of staying in his home with him. And it had absolutely nothing to do with the memory of my last night in Fright House.

Because that was still in the box.

Okay, it was mostly in the box.

Fine, damn it… partially. It was partially in the box.

Cam stopped and turned to study me. “Okay, we can stay at your house,” he said.

That was pretty much the worst idea I’d ever heard. There was no way the neighbors would miss the sheriff’s police SUV sitting outside my house all night long. And whatever the neighbors saw, my mother would know about the second she stepped off the cruise ship in Florida… or probably even before that.

“No,” I said. “Absolutely not.”

Cam turned and began walking again. “Fine. It’s my house or the hospital, Ford.”

I quickened my pace so I was able to move around him and step into his path to stop him.

“No, Cam, you don’t understand—”

“I understand just fine,” Cam snapped. “Maybe you can convince Sawyer to let you stay here, but the chances of him keeping his hands to himself around you seems less and less likely now, doesn’t it? I’ve heard you, Ford, loud and clear. Hands to myself. Message received.” Cam pushed past me. “Make your decision fast, because I plan to be home before it starts fucking snowing again.”

Even as he spoke, I felt a snowflake hit my cheek.

Sawyer was the safer bet in a lot of ways, no doubt about it. There was no chance I’d be throwing myself at the vet, even though he was gorgeous and sweet and funny.

I couldn’t say the same about Cam, who I didn’t seem to be able to keep my hands off of even after I pushed him away over and over again. And I was telling Cam shit I hadn’t told anyone ever.

Yep, Sawyer was absolutely, one hundred percent the better choice… the reasonable choice.

And I needed to remain reasonable… I couldn’t risk losing everything just because I felt a certain attachment to Cam. It was only because he’d saved me.

Nothing more.

I could will away my body’s reaction to him.

I had to.

I would.

Decision made, I turned my back on the dangerous-to-me Camden Wells. Time for life to get back to normal.

Normal was good.

Normal was safe.

Normal was where I belonged.

Chapter Nine

Cam

“Where are we going? I thought you wanted to get to your house before it started snowing.”

They were the first words Ford had spoken to me since he’d come trotting up the path from the small animal building to the parking lot where I’d been just getting my SUV started. He’d practically ripped the door off the hinges when he’d opened it and then he’d climbed into the front seat with an expression that said he was not happy.

Well, he wasn’t the only one.

Though I doubted he was in the process of mentally kicking Sawyer’s ass.

If the vet had spent any more time “checking” Ford, I would have done something very, very stupid. Especially after Ford had told Sawyer he felt really good as Sawyer had played with his fingers.

I’d never really been a jealous guy, though I’d always insisted on monogamy in my relationships to keep things from getting too complicated. I’d experimented with an open relationship once, and it’d been a mess.

“Jodi called. Walter’s awake and was asking about you. He’s pretty anxious to know you’re okay so I thought we’d go say good night to him and he could see for himself that you’re ‘really good,’” I said.

I inwardly cursed myself for putting emphasis on those last couple of words. I could feel Ford’s eyes on me, so he’d definitely noticed.

“Listen, Sheriff—”

It was the use of my title that finally pushed me over. Between my jealousy, my body’s intense need for Ford, and his hot and cold reactions to me, I was pretty much done.

“How about we not talk for a while?” I suggested. “It’ll make this night a lot less painful to get through.”

I shot Ford a glance and saw that he was staring straight ahead. He looked like I’d just kicked a puppy.

Fuck.

But I just couldn’t bring myself to talk to him anymore because talking led to revelations which led to wanting things I couldn’t have.

Ford didn’t speak again until we reached Walter’s room. His face lit up when he saw the older man.

“Ford, my boy,” Walter said as he held out his arms.