That damn lump that had been lingering at the back of her throat all day expanded to the point she couldn’t talk. She shook her head and murmured something unintelligible, and looked away. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had asked if she was doing all right. Hell, she couldn’t remember the last time anyone had cared enough to enquire.
She closed the door behind Cam and stood there for a long time. The day had been a confusing one, and she felt out of sorts. It was a good thing Tawny wouldn’t be around, because the little girl brought up too many sad memories. Things Blue didn’t want to dwell on. Things she’d left behind when she’d come to Crystal Lake with David. There wa
s no point going back, and she didn’t want to. She was…happy. Or at least the sort of happy that held some bit of contentment for her. She’d made a life for herself, and it was more than she’d ever expected.
So why did Blue feel so damn…blue?
5
Cam and Tawny settled into a routine, which, after a few days, they had down pat. By five a.m., Cam was working out in the basement, and by six o’clock, he was making breakfast for two. He’d learned almost immediately that Tawny needed time in the morning. There was no rise and shine and up and at ’em with this girl. Hell, no. The kid needed time to wake up, and that usually included at least an hour of TV, along with a bowl of dried Cheerios and orange juice. Only then would she allow him to brush out her hair, a task he approached with the kind of ferocious tenacity he was known for. He’d spent his entire Wednesday evening googling different ways to brush out kinky curls and how to control them.
By Friday, he was a pro, and though he wouldn’t admit it to anyone, when Tawny clapped her hands and hugged him because she loved her French braids--French freaking braids--his chest tightened and he had to clear his throat in order to speak. The kid looked damn cute, though she could use some help in the wardrobe department. He perused her clothes with a frown. Today, she’d picked out a pair of denim shorts that once again were too big, paired them with a purple T-shirt that had seen better days, and the same pair of sandals she’d worn every day since she’d arrived.
She was sitting on top of the island, his preferred spot for the daily hair ordeal, and he helped do up the buckles. “These the only shoes you got?” he asked, helping her down and reaching for her backpack.
“My running shoes have holes in them,” she answered with a shrug. Then scrunched her nose. “And they stink.”
“Well, that’s no good.” He thought ahead to his weekend. He was working Saturday, but Sunday was open. “How about we go shopping for some new clothes?”
She clutched at his hand, those big eyes of hers shining. “Can I have a pretty purple dress?”
“Whatever you want.”
“With a princess on it?”
He nodded, though he had no idea where to get the damn thing. Cam decided he’d ask Honey when he dropped off Tawny. His brother’s wife had stepped up in a big way, and Tawny had spent the week at the lake with her. Of course, as of Monday, he had to make new arrangements because Honey and Nash and their young son were headed to Florida to visit friends. Cam wasn’t one to dwell on stuff he couldn’t figure out, because he would figure it out. He had no choice. Eventually.
He whistled to Rufus, and the dog followed them outside. The grass was wet, heavy with dew, and the air fresh. Birds sang from the trees, and Rufus ran after a squirrel, spoiling the small animal’s quest to find food for the coming winter. It was already muggy, and he knew the weekend was going to be a hot one, but he wasn’t complaining. Already the dog days of summer were coming to an end. With only a few weeks of August left and kids getting ready to go back to school, the landscape had changed.
Mrs. Eddy was on her porch, watering hanging baskets filled with deep pink petunias. He waved, got Tawny settled in her car seat, and then they were off. It was almost eight o’clock, and he needed to be out at the jobsite by nine.
His brother’s place was on the lake, though it was nowhere near the vicinity of the larger estates. Nestled among trees with enough waterfront for a beach, the Booker family cottage had been passed to Nash by their grandparents, and he’d done a considerable amount of upgrading—especially once he got himself hitched. Cam had helped him out, and as he pulled up alongside his brother’s truck, he took an appreciative look around. The area was filled with older cottages, and though they couldn’t compare to, say, the widow Barnes’s place, there was a certain kind of charm to these homes that couldn’t be replicated.
One day, he planned on having his own place among the trees about fifty feet from shore.
He grabbed Tawny’s backpack and followed her and Rufus inside. Honey was in the kitchen, her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail, a loose summer dress swishing around her hips as she stirred something in a big pot. It was something that smelled good, and he sniffed the air, though what it was escaped him.
Tawny made a beeline for the baby, who was sitting in his playpen gnawing on a large blue teething ring, and the dog plopped down beside them. Cam set down the backpack and headed for the kitchen, grabbing himself another coffee and dropping a kiss to his sister-in-law’s cheek.
“Where’s Nash?”
“He’s in the boathouse. We’re taking the kids out to the island this afternoon.”
“Yeah?” Cam sipped his coffee. “The Coach House running itself these days?”
Honey laughed. “Tiny’s got it under control.”
The Coach House was a local bar in town that had been around forever. It was practically an institution and the place to go for cold beer and the best chicken wings in town. Nash had bought it a few years back, and then Honey had shown up and been hired as a bartender. Took the woman less than a year to blow his brother’s plans right out the window. Since the baby had come, he’d cut his hours and she’d never gone back. Seemed to work for them. Truthfully, Cam had never seen Nash this happy before. But a settled life with a wife and child wasn’t something Cam was after, and he was more than happy to leave his brother to it. At least he had been.
His gaze fell to Tawny. The little girl had her face pressed to the side of the playpen, and her giggles were rewarded with a toothy grin from his nephew. Gabriel tried to pull himself up and only managed to make Tawny giggle harder. Honey came up alongside him.
“She really is adorable,” his sister-in-law murmured. There was a pause. “Do you know what you’re doing yet?”
He glanced at Honey and shook his head. “I know she can’t go back to Iris’s grandmother. I know she can’t go in the system, so right now, she’s with me.”
“Oh. I meant for next week.”
Right. Cam sighed and ran his hands across the stubble on his cheek. “I might have to take her with me to the job.”