Faint strains of music limited Norah’s retort to, “Wimp,” as she dug out her phone. One look at the display had her smile fading. “Excuse me.” She passed the roasting rod to Miranda and strode toward the line of cars parked at the edge of the pasture.
Cam gave her five minutes’ lead time before he headed in the same direction on the pretense of grabbing a blanket from the truck for his cousin. He found Norah leaning against the wheel-well of his truck, hidden from view by a Suburban. Her hands were empty.
“Who was that?”
She grimaced. “My dad.”
“Did you tell him?”
“No. Because I’m a coward. He just wanted to check in since he’s finally back from Saint Bart’s.”
Cam leaned beside her. “Have you told anybody else?”
“Just you.” She flashed a humorless smile. “Somehow, you’ve become my official secret keeper. I don’t know if that’s because you’re circumspect or because you’re one of the secrets.”
“The sneaking around we’ve done the last two weeks isn’t what’s putting those shadows under your eyes.” He skimmed a thumb down her cheek. “Honey, you’re not built for keeping secrets. Hanging on to this is eating you up inside.”
“I can’t come clean about it until I’ve figured everything out.”
“Have you actually been working on that?”
She dropped her gaze. “I’ve been trying to figure you out.”
He tipped her face back up. “I’m a simple guy.”
She frowned. “You want people to think you are. You’ve got this easy, good ole boy, Zen gardener thing going on. But really you’re hanging out behind the scenes taking care of everybody around you, all quiet-like, so most of them don’t even realize it. Me included. Did you think I wouldn’t notice? Nobody takes care of me, Cam.”
He braced himself, scrambling to think of some response that would make her see that it had nothing to do with him thinking she wasn’t capable of taking care of herself.
She laid a hand over his heart. “Most people assume I don’t need anything or anyone. I’ve got years of experience proving exactly that. It means a lot to me that you see that I’m not invincible, that you’d do what you can to lighten the load in such a way that it’s supportive rather than overbearing. But until I figure out some direction, I’m kind of stuck in the stewing portion of the process.”
Because her fingers felt like ice, he took them between his hands and began to rub. “Has it occurred to you that coming clean might help you figure it out? That holding on to this secret is keeping you from moving forward? You’re so focused on the dread, you can’t look beyond it to what’s next.”
“I don’t know what’s next.” Frustration sharpened her tone.
“Maybe you don’t. And that’s okay. But I’m gonna make some observations. You’re happy here. You’re among friends and family. I haven’t seen you look anything but stressed out and unhappy whenever Chicago comes up. That ought to tell you something.”
“I haven’t been happy in Chicago for a long time.”
Cam could tell the admission was grudging. “Well there you go. Seems like a pretty big sign from the Universe. If your life isn’t making you happy, you change it. Period.”
Norah stared at him as if he’d just started speaking ancient Greek. “I can’t just change everything without a lot of careful thought.”
“That’s fine, if that’s what you need to do. You take your time, consider all the angles. Just be sure to factor this into the equation.” He pressed her back against the truck and lowered his mouth to hers.
She rose to meet him, hungry, heated, her hands sliding up his chest and into his hair. God, he loved how responsive she was, loved knowing that beneath that calm, collected exterior, she was a fever.
Still waters…
With considerable effort, Cam eased back, waiting a moment for his breath to even out. “You matter, Norah. I didn’t expect it, wasn’t looking for it. But there it is.”
“This was supposed to be a vacation for me. Downtime and a chance to think. You were supposed to be a distraction. I didn’t expect…more.”
Neither had he. And thank God for defied expectations. “Life would be pretty boring if we always got what w
e expected.”
“Cam! I’m freezing my butt off. Did you get lost?” Miranda’s shout came from somewhere down the line of vehicles.