Czytaj książkę: «The Marriage Bargain»

Chapter One

Cameron Quinn looked around the tiny town of Red Hill Springs. Big pots of pansies, twinkle lights in the trees lining the street... Apparently the basketball team at the local high school was doing well this year—the storefronts were full of team spirit. It had charm, he guessed, if you were a person who liked that down-home kind of stuff.

He wasn’t.

Cam shrugged into his sport coat, slid his sunglasses into the pocket and started across the street. If the Hilltop Café was still the center of gossip in this small town, he’d know soon enough where to find his mother. He nearly choked on the word. She’d lost the right to be called that a long time ago.

Bells jingled on the glass door as he pushed it open. Same brass bell, same clanking melody, the childhood memory surprising him with its intensity. Or maybe it was the aroma of fresh pancakes and coffee on the burner that had him instantly back in middle school, a broom in one hand, a doughnut clenched in the other.

He stepped up to the counter, nudged aside the drape of tinsel someone forgot to take down after Christmas and took a stool. In seconds a glass of water was sweating in front of him and Ms. Bertie was greeting him with a smile. “What can I get started for you, hon?”

She had to be a grandma by now, but she hadn’t changed a bit from the days he’d come in after school for a Coke before riding his bicycle home. On the best days, she’d asked him to sweep the sidewalk in front of the café and paid him in pastries. Her small kindness had meant something to a boy nobody wanted. He drew in a breath, the onslaught of memories harder than he’d expected.

“Just some information, if you have it. I’m looking for Vicky Porter. She lives here in town. Or at least she did.”

Bertie Sheehan slapped the order pad down and rounded the counter to drag him off his stool by the elbow. “Cameron Quinn? Is that you?” She wrapped him in a hug before pushing him back to study his face. “Oh, my goodness, it’s been so long. And it’s so good to see you.”

He grinned. “Thanks, Ms. Bertie. It’s good to see you, too. I wasn’t sure you’d remember me.”

“I never forget the good ones.” She nudged him gently back into place on the stool and climbed onto the one beside him. “Mickey, get me a burger and fries,” she called into the pass-through. “I did not expect you to come walking through my door today.”

“Me, neither, to be honest. But, Ms. Bertie, I’m really not hungry. I just need to find my... I need to find Vicky. It’s important. Do you know where she lives?”

Bertie nodded slowly. “She manages a trailer park about six miles out. Her place is the first one on the right as you go in. But, Cam—”

“Thanks, Ms. Bertie. I owe you one.” He slid a twenty onto the counter.

She gripped his wrist. “Cameron, listen to me. Your mom’s not doing so well since she broke up with Jerry. And your sister’s death... Well, it hit all of us hard.”

He didn’t want to hear about how bad things were for his mom. He wasn’t here for her. “I’m not—I don’t—Ms. Bertie, where are Glory’s girls?”

“Oh, so that’s what finally brought you home.” She rocked back on her stool with a knowing, somewhat relieved smile. “You don’t have to worry. They’re not with Vicky. They live with Jules.”

The blank look on his face must’ve given him away because she laughed and pointed to an old photo on the wall of herself with her kids. “Jules—Juliet—my youngest. She and Glory were inseparable from the moment they met in nursery school. Those two were more like sisters than friends.”

A vague memory surfaced of two little girls giggling in one of the back booths here at the Hilltop. “I need to see them.”

“Jules lives at the old Parker place now, just past the Springs church.”

“Thank you.” The knot that had been building in his chest since he first heard about the car accident that killed his sister and her husband eased, just a little, knowing the girls were safe. He leaned forward and kissed Bertie on the cheek. “I mean it—thank you.”

The cook came out of the kitchen door with a white container. “Figured you might need this to-go.”

“Take it, Cameron,” Bertie ordered, in her just-try-to-argue tone. “You look a little skinny.”

Cam took the box. For years, he’d imagined that there was no one in the world who cared whether he lived or died, but he was wrong. Here was one.

The curvy road out of town was familiar and it was pretty, with pine trees sending long shadows over the pavement and bright yellow wildflowers crowding the shoulders. He noted it, like he did everything, but he didn’t see it, not really.

Instead, he was in the front yard of the shabby little house where he and his baby sister, Glory, had lived with their mom and stepfather. She’d been six, a petite fireball of a kid missing her two front teeth.

That day, he’d tossed her into the air like he had since she was a toddler and she’d giggled before clinging to his neck. He still remembered how she smelled like cotton candy when she’d lisped into his ear, “Please don’t go, Cam.”

He was nine years older than Glory—the two of them had different fathers—and when their mother married again, he’d been fourteen. He’d stuck around for another year, until his new stepfather had kicked him out.

Glory at six years old was the carbon copy of their mom. Cam was a tall, muscular teenager who, with the exception of his green eyes, looked like his dad, dark skin and all. And it was his skin color, Cam figured, that his stepfather couldn’t live with.

His mom had walked to the door with a defeated expression. He’d waited a horrible long minute—wanting her to stop him, waiting for her to say she didn’t want him to go—before he’d gently set Glory on her feet and walked away without looking back.

He’d returned only once, when Glory graduated high school, but his stepfather threatened to kill him if he ever came near them again. He never did, but that didn’t mean he forgot about his baby sister.

Now Glory was gone and Cam had done the one thing he’d sworn he’d never do—come back to the small town where he grew up. Because when Glory died, she’d left two little girls behind, and he was here for them. He might’ve been a powerless, penniless kid when he left Red Hill Springs, but he was far from that now.

He turned onto the dirt road that led to the Parker place. Cam wasn’t sure what he expected, but the house that he remembered as a sagging pit was the bright white centerpiece to a pristine yard with a black minivan parked in the driveway.

When he got out of the car, the sun had disappeared behind the trees and a chill bloomed in the air. Decades-old camellia bushes with candy-colored blossoms flanked the stairs. A light clicked on in the house. He’d come so far to see them and now nerves jittered in his stomach.

He cleared his throat and knocked.

He waited. And waited, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to look back at the highway, until the door slowly opened to reveal a pint-size version of his sister, wearing a pink nightgown and sucking her thumb. He lost his breath.

Her big green eyes studied him. “I’m Eleanor.”

“Hi.” Cam smiled at his niece, but inside he was reeling.

“Eleanor Prentiss, what did I tell you about opening the door without a grown-up?”

Cam looked up as a woman walked into view. Her blond hair was piled into a loose knot on top of her head and she carried a baby wrapped in a towel. Brilliant blue eyes locked on his and her feet stuttered to a stop, along with his heart.

He blinked, trying to gather the thoughts that scattered like leaves from winter-worn trees. “I’m Cameron Quinn. Glory was my sister.”

Those blue eyes had gone ice-cold as she stepped between Eleanor and the open door. “I know who you are. What are you doing here?”

“Eleanor and Emma are my nieces.” He could’ve told her about the promise he’d made himself, that he would find them. That, unlike him, they would never wonder if they were wanted or loved. But instead, he let those simple words hang in the air.

She stared at him for a long minute, then, with a deep breath, nudged the door open a little wider. “I guess you should come in.”

* * *

“People have been coming to the door with food and presents for the girls for weeks. Eleanor likes it.” Jules led her guest calmly into the family room, but inside, her stomach was quaking. Glory’s brother had been missing since she was a kid. But there was no denying those eyes.

“Understandable.” He glanced around the room. “Nice place. I remember it a little differently.”

“Yeah? It’s kind of a disaster right now. I’m usually at work all day so being home with kids is new.” She grabbed a couple of toys and a fleece blanket off the seat of the club chair with the hand not trying to keep hold of a naked, wiggly, slippery baby. “Have a seat. I’m going to find some pajamas for Emma and be right back. Come with me, Eleanor.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her.”

Jules hesitated. She might be new at this mom thing but she was pretty sure you weren’t supposed to leave your kids with someone you didn’t know. Even if that someone was drop-dead gorgeous and happened to be their long-lost uncle.

He held up his hands. “I’ll sit right here in this chair. Besides, I wouldn’t even make it out of the driveway before the cop sitting in the patrol car across the street pulled me over.”

She paused midstep and looked back. “Ah, yeah. My mom doesn’t hesitate to call in a favor. Sorry about that.”

“She’s the one who told me where to find you.”

“Hedging her bets. Pretty much my mom in a nutshell.” With Emma squirming vigorously now, and minutes if not seconds before the need for a diaper would become extremely obvious, Jules had to make a decision. “I’ll be right back. It won’t take but a minute.”

The girls’ room had, until six weeks ago, been her guest room. Now the walls were painted pink and the designer curtains she’d chosen so carefully had given way to sheers with pink and mint-green pom-poms. The dresser with its pretty flower arrangement and artfully placed picture frames instead held the changing table and baskets of diapers and wipes. She placed nine-month-old Emma on the changing table and tucked a diaper underneath her, mind racing.

Was he here to try to take them from her?

Jules had been there for both children’s births, for Eleanor’s first steps. For preschool plays and birthdays and holidays.

He might be their blood. She was their family.

She tucked Emma’s pudgy little arms and legs into a sleeper covered in ballerina bears, and zipped it up. “Up we go, pumpkin.”

As she walked into the family room, Cam looked up from where Eleanor had fallen asleep in his arms. Jules swallowed hard. His eyes were an exact match for his sister’s.

She missed Glory so much. Every bath, every feeding, every time she tucked the girls in and turned out the lights, she wished she could turn to Glory and say, “Wow, what a day, but these are some amazing children you made.”

Cam’s soft voice pierced her thoughts. “I read one story and she was out like a light. I hope I didn’t mess up her schedule.”

“No. She didn’t nap today, so she was probably ready. I’ll tuck her in. Just need to get a bottle out for Emma.” Jules put the baby in the portable crib with some toys and went into the fridge for a bottle. She ran some hot water into a cup and set the bottle in it, ignoring how weird it was to have a stranger in her house watching her do it, even this stranger with her best friend’s eyes.

Jules leaned over Cam and picked Eleanor up from his arms. The sleepy toddler buried her head in Juliet’s shoulder. “Be right back.”

In the bedroom, she flipped off the light, leaving the room bathed in the soft pink glow from the ballerina night-light. She laid Eleanor in the bed and placed her silk lovey within arm’s reach. Eleanor burrowed into the pillow and murmured, “Mama be here when I wake up?”

She brushed the wispy baby hair away from Eleanor’s eyes. “No, baby, but Aunt Lili will be here.”

“Mama with Jesus and God?” The three-year-old’s eyes never left hers. She’d asked the same questions all day, every few minutes, right after the accident. Now it was only in unguarded moments, when it was almost like she’d forgotten. Jules wanted to scream at the injustice of it all, but instead she just smiled softly at Eleanor.

“Yes, my sweet girl. Mama’s in heaven with Jesus, but I’ll be here when you go to sleep and I’ll be here when you wake up. Promise.” She held her pinkie finger out to Eleanor, who gripped it with her own small finger. They’d been doing that since Eleanor was a just a toddler. Pinkie promise, I’ll see you in a couple of weeks. Pinkie promise, I’ll bring you the best cupcake.

For the past three years, a pinkie promise had been their solemn oath—a pledge given and received with the utmost confidence. Tears filled Jules’s eyes and she blinked them back again. The pinkie promise had no power to make anything better for Eleanor. Not this time.

Jules rose slowly to her feet, grief a heavy weight on her shoulders, and another problem to shoulder was waiting for her in the living room.

Eleanor’s eyes popped open in panic. “Aunt Lili, don’t go.”

“I’ll be right outside. I’m not leaving.”

Cam glanced up from the photo album he was holding as she walked back into the living room. His eyes were glossy and her feet faltered. He gestured at the baby monitor. “I heard your conversation. Is it always like that?”

She continued to the kitchen to pick up the bottle and test the temperature on her wrist. “Yes. Not quite as bad as in the beginning, I guess.”

Jules picked Emma up from the portable crib and laughed when the baby started kicking the moment she saw the bottle. She glanced at the clock to note the time and settled in the rocking chair with a sigh.

“It seems like they’re doing really well.” He closed the photo album and set it aside. “Eleanor’s not that much younger than Glory was when I left home. Her hair’s a little lighter, but she’s got Glory’s eyes and smile. Her spunk, too. It’s...”

“Uncanny. I know. She’s funny, too, or at least she was. Before.” Jules paused. “People say kids are resilient. I hope that’s true, for their sake.”

He was quiet for a moment. “I don’t know. I hope so.”

“Cameron, why didn’t you ever try to make contact? Clearly, you’ve been very successful as an adult.” That was, if his fancy watch was any indication.

A frown wrinkled his brow. “From all accounts, Glory seemed to be happy. I guess I told myself she didn’t need me stirring up the past. I thought I’d—I don’t know—have more time.”

“And now? Why did it take you so long to get here?”

“I was out of the country. Off the grid.” He grimaced. “Way off the grid. I write adventure travel books and it took some time for my office to find me.”

She hadn’t expected that excuse. “What do you want? I’m sorry to blurt it out like that, but I’m a practical person. I don’t like unanswered questions and I hate surprises.”

A slow smile spread across his face and those crystal clear green eyes warmed. Her heart picked up speed.

Huh. That was a reaction to mull over later.

“I didn’t know where the girls were. Or more important, if they were safe.” He shrugged, spreading his hands. “It’s really very simple. I came for them.”

“And now that you know they’re safe?” Her voice was soft because she was holding the baby, but what she felt inside had jagged edges.

He didn’t look away. “I’m still here for them.”

She shifted the sleeping Emma to her shoulder and patted the baby’s back. “Do you know what Eleanor’s middle name is?”

“No.”

“It’s Cameron. Her name is Eleanor Cameron.” The words stuck in her throat—they were so painful and so hard because her friend wasn’t here to say them herself. “I know Glory would want you to know your namesake. She’d want you to be a part of their lives, so I’m not going to stand in your way. But if you hurt them, there won’t be a second chance.”

“I’m not gonna...” He rubbed a hand over his close-shaved hair, impatience simmering in the move. “Okay, that’s fair, I guess. I haven’t exactly been present the past few years.”

“Take some time to think about it, because the girls need people who will stick around.”

He nodded slowly, rising to his feet. He picked up his jacket from the back of the chair where he’d slung it when he arrived. “I haven’t had a family in a really long time, Jules. I’m not about to mess this up. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Juliet watched as he walked across the room, pulled open the door and strode through it. When the door closed behind him, she let her head drop back onto the cushion. Either she was doing the right thing letting Cameron into their lives—and she really, really hoped she was—or she was making the biggest mistake of her life.