That Night in Texas
“And you don’t think I can do that?” Cam demanded, irritation coating his words.
“I think you like your own way and you are not scared to demand it,” Vivi said, carefully choosing her words.
“I have many interests in many businesses. I can be a silent partner.”
“Could you be that with me?” Vivi demanded.
“I don’t see why not.” His frown deepened at the skepticism he saw on her face. “What? I can back off.”
Yeah, sure. “Like how you backed down when I said I didn’t need a new car? The way you listened to me when I told you I didn’t need a personal shopper, or that Clem was too young for a professionally designed nursery? It’s like you hear my words but they have no meaning.”
“That’s because you are stubborn!”
“No, it’s because you are controlling.” Vivi whipped back. She waved her hand around, trying to encompass the kitchen. “This has been my domain for three years. I know every inch, every piece of equipment. I know that the mixing machine sticks on three, that the oven is a half degree off, which pan makes the best sauce. This is my domain, Cam.”
“And I’m trying to restore it to you!” Cam yelled, obviously frustrated. His anger didn’t frighten her, so Vivi didn’t react when his words bounced off the walls. “I want to give you what you want, what you need!”
And wasn’t that the problem? She didn’t need him to ride to her rescue. She could save herself. She’d done so three years ago, made something of herself without his help, and she could do it again. She needed to do it again. She couldn’t allow herself to rely on him, to let him become her safety net, because she understood that people were fallible and frequently let you down at crucial moments, mostly when you needed them the most. No, it was better to rely on herself, only herself.
And if that meant giving up Rollin’, then she would do exactly that. She’d just find a new spot, make a new home.
“You are stupidly, ridiculously, irrationally independent!” Cam stated.
“I worked damn hard for it, Cam. I won’t give it up.”
“But how much are you prepared to sacrifice in your bid to remain independent? Where’s your red line?”
She didn’t know.
Before she could answer him, not that she had an answer, Cam shook his head, obviously disappointed. “I’ll see you at home, Viv.”
Home, Viv thought, her thoughts immediately going to the house in River Oaks. Dammit, it might be his home but it wasn’t hers. She was confusing fantasy with reality again.
She was not a lead character in a rom-com movie and Cam was not her happily-ever-after. Real life was hard, gritty, messy. It was best that she remembered that before life slapped her sideways again.
* * *
Ryder had thoroughly enjoyed this evening and the company of his friend Camden and Camden’s new woman, Vivi, who cooked like a dream. He looked at the younger man who sat in the chair across from him, his daughter lying in his lap. Cam reminded him of his younger self, reckless, brave, so very convinced of his firm grip on life. Only now did Ryder realize how little he’d known then.
And after sharing a quiet family dinner with Cam, his brand-new daughter and the woman who was currently turning Cam’s life upside down, Ryder realized how much he missed having a family, being part of one.
Yeah, his first marriage hadn’t worked out, but he’d adored Elinah, his second wife, and she’d loved him back. He remembered many nights when Maya had fallen asleep in his arms, her sweet face tucked into his neck.
Looking at Camden’s daughter, he recalled how fifteen years ago, Maya—the child of his heart but not his genes—had often been curled up like that, her mouth pursed. Now she was eighteen and demanding he tell her the exact details of her birth, about how she arrived at their house under circumstances that most people would term as suspicious. A tiny girl with medical issues...
How did he even start to explain? What words would he use to unravel the tangle that was Maya’s birth? Hell, even Maya’s biological mother didn’t know that he was raising the daughter she’d given up nearly two decades ago. And he had no intention of her ever finding out that Maya was, originally and for a very brief period, hers.