Garrett Bravo's Runaway Bride. Christine Rimmer
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“Ma had three boys, me included, and two girls with dear old dad. And then, when Sondra died—the day after her funeral as a matter of fact—my dad married my mom.”
“Ouch—I mean, wow, that was fast.”
“No kidding. Everyone was pissed off about it, that my dad couldn’t show just a hint of sensitivity to Sondra’s memory, that Ma couldn’t wait a little longer after all those years of being my dad’s ‘other woman.’ At the time, we were all pretty much at war, me and my mother’s other kids on one side, our half siblings on the other.”
“It sounds awful.”
“Yeah. But eventually we all grew up and realized it wasn’t our fault that our parents couldn’t manage to behave responsibly and respect their marriage vows. Now we’re tight. We all like getting together, looking out for each other, knowing we can count on each other, all that family stuff. My half siblings are even nice to my mother, which I find really impressive. Not only is she the woman my dad cheated on Sondra with, she’s not a friendly person. She’s distant, hard to get to know.”
Cami made a low, thoughtful sort of sound. “Are your mom and dad still together?”
“They were until he died six years ago. Now, when she’s not traveling, which she does a lot, she lives alone in the mansion he built for Sondra, just her and the housekeeper.”
“That sounds kind of sad.”
“You’d have to meet her. She’s not someone people feel sorry for. Like I said, she comes off kind of cold and superior. And then there’s the whole matchmaking thing I mentioned the other night. She’s driven us kind of crazy with that crap lately.”
“Because she loves you and wants you to be happy.”
He grunted. “Right. I’ll keep telling myself that.”
“And I did the math. Your dad had nine kids total?”
“That’s right.” Garrett laced his hands behind his head and stared up at the shadowed rafters overhead. “You sound impressed.”
“I kind of am. And jealous, too. I always wanted at least a sister. Preferably two. And I would have loved to have a brother. I truly do believe that if my parents had only had more kids, they wouldn’t have been constantly on my case to do things their way. More kids keep the parents busy, you know? The parents have to chill a little and accept that they don’t have absolute control.”
“But you’ve finally broken free, right? You’re going to do things your way now.”
“Oh, yes, I am.” She said it gleefully. “I’m finally going to find work that makes me happy. And I’m fortunate that I won’t have to take just any job to get by. My trust fund matured three years ago, when I was twenty-five. I have my own investments and a good chunk of change in savings, too. My life is my own from now on.”
“You really think your dad might have tried to cut you off just to get you to do what he wants?”
A silence from her side of the room. From the rug by the sofa, the tags on Munch’s collar jingled as he gave himself a scratch. The sound was followed by a soft doggy sigh.
When Cami finally spoke, she didn’t really answer his question. “Well, it doesn’t matter if he would or he wouldn’t. He can’t. My money is my own. I’ll be able to support myself while I figure out what I want to do with my life from now on.” She sounded both wistful and determined.
He wanted to get up and go to her, pull her into his arms and promise her that from now on her life was going to be downright amazing. He wanted to...
He cut the thought off before he got to the end of it.
He liked her. A lot. But she was going home to Denver and he was going back to Justice Creek. This, right now, in the cabin, just the two of them? It was only one of those things that happened sometimes. She’d needed some help and he was willing to give it.
They got along great and he enjoyed her company.
But that was all there was to it. Day after tomorrow, he would drive her down the mountain and that would be the end of it.
* * *
Tuesday pretty much flew by.
And that night in the dark, they talked some more.
She said she liked it on the mountain so much, she just might find a getaway cabin of her own. “Eventually. You know, after I figure out where I want to live and what to do with my life.”
Garrett opened his mouth to tell her she could use the cabin any time she wanted to—and then caught himself before the words could escape.
It only felt like he’d known her forever. Tomorrow, he would take her home. Maybe he’d talk her into giving him her number. Who could say what would happen from there?
For now, though, offering her the use of his getaway cabin whenever she wanted it was going too far.
* * *
In the morning after breakfast, they loaded up the Jeep with Garrett’s clothes, his camping stuff and the leftover food. He turned off the hot water, drained the tank and shut off the water to the cabin, too, just in case he didn’t make it back up the mountain before winter set in. He unplugged the fridge and braced the door slightly open. Then he locked the cabin up tight.
At the Jeep, Cami paused to take in the plain, unpainted structure with its narrow front porch and red tin roof. “I’m going to miss this place.”
Garrett couldn’t stop himself from reaching out a hand to cradle the side of her face. Her black eye was open now, most of the swelling gone, though it was still a startling blend of black, brown and purple fading into green. She gazed up at him solemnly.
“I’ve loved having you here,” he said.
Her throat moved as she swallowed. Her soft lips parted. He had no idea what she was going to say.
And he decided it would probably be wiser not to find out. “Come on. Let’s get moving.” He dropped his hand from her cheek and opened the door for Munch to hop in.
* * *
She didn’t say much on the drive down the mountain. That surprised him.
He realized he’d been bracing for some kind of resistance from her. But she was quiet and accepting, her thoughtful gaze focused on the winding dirt road ahead.
Was she too quiet?
He hoped she was okay, that she hadn’t started to stew over what would come next.
“So, Denver, then?” he asked when they approached the turnoff.
“You know,” she said casually, “just take me to Justice Creek, if that’s okay.”
“But I thought—”
She cut him off with an airy wave of her hand. “No, really. I’ll rent a car and drive myself back when I’m good and ready. But for now, I think I’ll try Justice Creek for a while.”
“Uh, you will?” Not only was he surprised at her abrupt change of plans, but he was suddenly ridiculously happy, which alarmed him a little.
“Yeah. I’ll get a hotel room. Do you know a good place?”
He eased onto the state highway going west, toward Justice Creek. As he made the turn, he decided he couldn’t just leave her at some hotel. “How about this? Come to my place first. We’ll drop Munch off and put the food away and then we can, you know, talk about your options...”
The smile she gave him made the sunny day even brighter. “That sounds like a great idea. Your house, it is.”
* * *
Cami’s heart swelled with gratitude.
Garrett Bravo was not only hot and way too handsome, he was a good guy. A real-life hero,