The Thing About Trouble (Crystal Lake 1)

She was momentarily stunned. “No one would believe such a thing.”

“You so sure about that? The right whispers in the right ears is all it would take. Even if it was eventually disproved, he’d lose that kid in the process. And there would always be someone who believes. Someone who wouldn’t let the rumors die. Someone like me.”

“You are evil,” she whispered hoarsely. “How David fathered you is beyond me.”

“Like I said, I’ve been called worse.” He reached into his coat and pulled out a large beige envelope. “Clock’s ticking. You have forty-eight hours to get these back to me, and then I want you gone from this town. I don’t want to see your face or hear your voice or so much as smell that fucking perfume you like. I want to forget you ever existed.”

He left without another word, and Blue’s knees gave out. If not for the sofa, she would have ended up a puddle on the floor.

She wasn’t sure how long she sat there. Numb and shivering and on the verge of tears that were frozen from the ice in her veins. How had things gone so wrong? How had Edward Barnes managed to find out about Tawny?

Her cellphone pinged more than once, and, wearily, she got to her feet. She headed for her office and closed the door behind her. It was Poppy. She was running late, and a large Christmas order had just arrived. She couldn’t meet up with Blue.

Blue stared at the phone for so long, her vision blurred, and jumped when it pinged again. This time, the message was from Cam.

Dinner at my house.

Wooden, stiff fingers closed a

round the phone, and she fought the urge to throw it against the wall. She wanted to break something. Hurt something. Do anything to take the edge off her agony.

She knew Edward. He would follow through with his threats. If she didn’t do what he wanted, he would separate Tawny from Cam. He would destroy Cam’s reputation and his family. A little girl would either go back to what Cam had said was a drug-addicted father or into the system. Blue would not be responsible for that. Not even if it meant she would lose everything she’d come to love.

Her watch told her it was nearly three o’clock. She grabbed her cell phone and called her lawyer. He agreed to meet with her in twenty minutes.

She needed to shower and gather her strength to do what it was she needed to do. She slipped into her jacket, switched off the lights in the studio, and, with tear-filled eyes, grabbed the large envelope Edward had given her. She headed out into the early evening gloom, a biting north wind in her face and a few snowflakes that melted on her cheek. She didn’t feel anything.

Shoulders hunched, she headed for her car. She hoped David would forgive her for what she was about to do. But more than that, she hoped Cam wouldn’t hate her, because he wouldn’t understand. She could never tell him about this deal with devil. She had to make him believe she was the woman from before—the one he’d first met. The spoiled rich gold-digger who cared for no one but herself. She would do this because it was the only way for Cameron and Tawny to be a family.

She would find a way to exist in a world without the two people she’d come to love more than she thought possible. She would do it, she thought bitterly, because she was a survivor.

She put the car in Drive and disappeared down the road.

23

“Do you know where my red crayon is?” Tawny scrunched up her little face as she concentrated on the piece of paper in front of her. Her hair was all over the place, but she’d begged him to leave it be. She’d been working on something for Blue for the last forty-five minutes and was more concerned about getting that done than the corkscrew curls that sprang into her eyes.

“Floor?” Cam asked, glancing down quickly before testing the red sauce he’d made. Tawny had asked for spaghetti for dinner, and he’d decided to make his own. It had taken a bit of time, but considering the fact that he had a lot to celebrate, he didn’t mind. The table was set for three, candles glowing softly from the center. Red wine was open, a mature Argentinian Malbec, and he had garlic toast in the oven.

“Nope.”

“I don’t know, then, sweets. Use something else? Orange, maybe?”

Tawny dug through the container of crayons, and Cam glanced at his watch. It was nearly six o’clock, and he frowned, wondering where the hell Blue was. She wasn’t often late. But he supposed with the studio and all, she was busy and time had gotten away from her. He was about to call her when he heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. Right on cue, his body reacted to the very thought of Blue, and he gave his head a shake. Seriously. He was acting like a damn teenager on a first date. He and Blue were way beyond that, but he supposed the fact that he was planning to officially suggest they combine households might have something to do with that.

Or he was just so damn gone for the woman, he couldn’t help himself.

The doorbell rang out, and Rufus began to bark. Weird. Normally, Blue just walked in. He crossed the room and opened the door, thinking it was someone else, but found the woman in question standing on his porch, shivering in the cold.

“Hey,” he said warmly. She didn’t react. In fact, the expression on her face was blank. Or cold. Or something. “You okay?” he asked, watching her carefully.

“We need to talk,” she said, not quite meeting his eyes.

Unease rolled through Cam, and he moved aside, giving her room to come in. She did, but didn’t take off her coat. Tawny’s head popped up, and she jumped from the stool and ran toward them.

“Blue!” the little girl cried excitedly. “I made you a picture.” She threw herself at Blue and wrapped her arms around her tightly. Normally, Blue would have hugged her back. Thrown in a kiss too. Instead, she gently extracted herself from Tawny, and the three of them stood there in awkward silence.

“Why don’t you go and put your crayons away and wash up for dinner.” Cam kept his voice light, though Tawny hesitated anyway. She was good at picking up on vibes, and right now, the vibe in this house wasn’t a good one.