Falling For The Right Brother. Kerri Carpenter
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There was one particular bad memory she’d give anything to erase. “That was a long time ago, Cam,” she said defensively.
Frowning, he turned in his seat to face her. “What was a long time ago?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Seeing his blank expression, she paused, then decided to get it all out in the open. “The video...about Jasper,” she whispered, even though they were alone in the truck.
If she closed her eyes, she could see her dad’s disappointed face as he watched his only daughter hiccup and slur as she drunkenly professed her love for Jasper Dumont.
How could she think making that video would get Jasper to notice her? Maybe because the alcohol hadn’t allowed her to think at all. It definitely didn’t help when her oversize T-shirt had slipped off her shoulder, giving way to a wardrobe malfunction that would have made any reality-TV star blush.
To be honest, it wasn’t as though Elle had obsessed over the video every day for the last decade. Certainly not while she’d lived in Italy, the most beautiful place in the world. Why was it, then, that as soon as she stepped onto the sidewalk of her hometown the memory of the one bad thing she’d ever done came slamming back in crystal clear vision?
To her shock, Cam started laughing, his deep voice filling the truck. “Oh, my God, I forgot all about that.”
What the hell? How could he act so blasé about the fateful event that almost got her suspended and laughed right out of town? Even now the thought of it could produce an embarrassed blush on her face the color of a ripe Italian tomato.
He must have noticed her doing her best blend-in-with-the-seat impression because his own expression softened. “Don’t tell me that stupid little video is why you’ve stayed away all these years?”
Stupid? Little? No way. It had been the single most humiliating experience of her life. And while it might not have been the reason her dad had shipped her off to college in a galaxy far, far away, it hadn’t helped matters.
In the end, her dad had, as usual, been right. She’d needed to get far away from Bayside—to forget, and to become her own person, without all the baggage weighing her down. Besides, she’d loved college, especially when she took a year to study abroad. Her love affair with Italy began then, and concluded after her graduation, when she’d moved to Florence for grad school. Staying in Italy for an art history major was a no-brainer. She’d been able to work in the most amazing museums and galleries. Every second she spent at the Uffizi, San Marco Museum, the Accademia or the Palazzo Vecchio had been among the most amazing moments in her life, and did help her forget. A little.
Still, she’d missed home.
“Happy to be back?” Cam asked as if he’d read her mind, before pulling out into the light traffic.
“I missed...certain things.”
“Your dad,” he supplied softly.
She smiled for a moment before it faded. The worry that had nestled inside her belly began to spread, causing her to roll down her window.
“How is he really?” she asked quietly.
Elle still couldn’t believe her dad had kept the cancer diagnosis from her. When he’d finally told her, he’d been so flippant about it. “Oh, it’s only bladder cancer. That’s one of the easy ones.”
There was nothing easy about cancer.
Cam followed suit and rolled his own window down. “He had some rough moments toward the end of the treatment period. But I think overall he’s doing really well. Except for a couple days off here and there, he never stopped working.”
For twenty-four years her dad had been the chief of police in Bayside. After her mom had died, they’d moved back to her father’s hometown for a fresh start. While he’d retired a couple years ago, no one could keep a man who’d been working since the age of ten at home. He’d been volunteering as security at the local high school ever since.
“Really?” she asked.
Cam nodded. “Sure. Heard he broke up a minor fight last week.”
“A fight? Is he okay? Should he even be doing that right now?”
He slanted a steady glance in her direction. “He’s fine. Don’t worry. The whole town’s looking out for him.”
Yeah, the way they’d looked out for him ten years ago? Elle shook her head and willed the memories away. It hadn’t been the town’s fault he didn’t get voted in as county sheriff. That had been her doing. Her and that damn video. She wiped her sweaty palms on her khaki linen pants.
Cam turned the truck onto Bay View Road, heading away from the center of town. They passed the fork in the road, the one that would take them to either the east side, known as the nice, wealthy portion of town, or to the west side, where she lived.
“Really,” he added with another sidelong glance as she raised an eyebrow.
“Please tell me the truth.” She could hear the urgency in her voice.
“The truth is he has cancer.”
She gulped. “I gathered that part already.” Typical. The very few conversations she’d ever had with Cam had been pretty similar. He hadn’t been known for his words. Or his demeanor. Really, he’d been a loner. A tall, somewhat scary kind of recluse.
Elle didn’t know what she was expecting now. To be honest, the fact that he was giving her a ride home was a huge step toward the socialization of the Cameron Dumont she knew.
Then he did something that surprised her. Cam reached over and squeezed her hand.
Her eyes grew wide and she inhaled sharply. If anyone ever asked, she would claim it was nothing short of shock at him being nice. The reality of the situation was that the touch of Cam’s callused hand on hers made her feel...something.
“He’s going to be fine,” he said.
She didn’t know why, but the statement made her feel better for the moment. “So,” she began, searching for something to say as she reclaimed her hand and clasped it with the other one. “You’re still in Bayside.”
“Yep.”
“Working for your parents’ company?”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Nah. I started my own business.”
“Really?” That was a surprise. Cam was the oldest son in a four-generation family business. Naturally, he was supposed to take over the reins. “Also doing real estate?”
“Construction. I’m a contractor.”
“Bayside Builders,” she said, putting it together. He looked over. “I saw the name on the side of the truck.”
“That’s my company.”
She wanted to ask more questions, but they’d reached 14 Bay View Road. Cam threw the truck into Park and slid out of his door. But Elle didn’t move. Instead, she let her homesick eyes drink in the sight of the one level house she’d lived in for most of her life. It looked exactly the same, even though she could tell it wasn’t. Her dad had put a fresh coat of paint on. There were new shutters and the landscaping was different.
But it was home and therefore would always be exactly what she needed to see.
“Traditionally, you leave the car when you reach your destination.”
She glanced up at Cam standing in her window, watching her. Rolling her eyes, she offered him a small smile. “Good thing you’re here to help me with these super hard ways of the world.”
His mouth twitched before he opened her door and reached across her to unbuckle her seat belt. Elle caught a whiff of a very masculine scent. Something musky, but clean. Like a really fresh soap laced with wood.
“When