Chapter 7
Camille finished applying her mascara with a sigh, setting the silver tube on the antique vanity. It was Wanda’s birthday, and all her children had agreed to get together—even Sawyer and his brothers. She had offered to spend the evening in her room reading, not wanting to get tangled in family politics, but Sawyer had insisted that Wanda wouldn’t have it any other way than to have Camille there. He’d dropped Camille and September off to pick out dresses at the closest mall—more than an hour away, Camille remembered ruefully—and now she was so nervous she could hardly breathe.
She’d barely been able to look Wanda in the eye when she and Sawyer had returned from their hot night in the trailer, but she hadn’t seemed to notice that they hadn’t come home. Camille had taken a hot shower and a nap the next day, trying not to seem too eager when Sawyer returned home from another rodeo and took her for a walk around the ranch. The man who had once been a stranger now felt like a friend—a friend who made her feel pleasure beyond her wildest dreams.
Making sure her makeup was even, she met Sawyer and September in the foyer of Wanda’s house, and they led her to a formal dining room at the back of the house, overlooking the pond and pasture where the horses grazed in the sunset.
As she walked in, she was greeted by the three older men she knew were Sawyer’s brothers: Trenton, Cody, and Ben. They could have been triplets, they all looked so alike: creases between their eyebrows, dark hair, and gaunt cheeks. They were so different from Sawyer and September that she had a hard time believing they were all related.
“We’ve heard so much about you,” Trenton, the oldest brother, said. He embraced Camille, but his eyes remained very cold.
Is it because I’m black? Camille wondered. What the hell? It feels like the temperature in this room just went down ten degrees at least. They might hate Sawyer, but why would they hate me?
“Let’s eat,” Wanda said brightly. Of course, she had cooked, even on her birthday—she wouldn’t trust anyone else with the menu. Steak, squash, potatoes, and spinach salad weighted the table, and Camille couldn’t wait to dig in. Let the brothers be assholes all they’d like; it wasn’t going to stop her from celebrating this meal with a woman who had become like her own mother.
As the three older brothers chatted amongst themselves and Sawyer and September teased each other, Camille stayed quiet, keeping her eyes on her plate. It wasn’t until Wanda brought out the apple pie for dessert that the brothers turned their attention back to Camille.
“I find it hard to believe you haven’t gone back to Atlanta,” Cody said with a pinched smile. “Sawyer here isn’t known for treating women well.”
“Stop that,” Wanda said sharply.
“It’s true, you know,” Ben chimed in. “It’s not like he took any interest in bringing anyone home before the will.”
Camille felt sick as she swallowed the first bites of apple pie, even though it was delicious. “What will?” she asked quietly.
Sawyer was staring at the chandelier above the table, jaw fixed and hard. “Can we have this discussion another time?” he said tightly.
“Were you going to tell her that her baby is the reason all this is yours? Or were you going to wait until she couldn’t run away?” Trenton sneered.
Camille pushed her plate away, fighting back tears. “Can someone please explain what’s going on? Why do you all hate me so much?”
“Now, please—” Wanda started.
“The first Adkins son to have a child is the one to inherit,” Cody said. “Sawyer’s using you, sweetheart.”
Camille’s eyes were so blurry with tears she could hardly find her way back to her bedroom as she left the table. She saw Sawyer rise to stop her, but she pushed her way past him.
Fuck this stupid place, she thought. I wish I’d never laid eyes on any of it. I wish I had never met Sawyer Adkins.
******
Sawyer couldn’t believe his brothers had stooped so low. He knew they hated him, but he didn’t realize that they would be willing to sabotage everything that made him happy for an inheritance he didn’t even want. After Camille left, he pulled a crumpled document out of his pocket.
“I was going to wait to share this until after dessert,” he said bitterly. “I want you to know that I talked to the lawyer and that I set us up as equal partners. There was no need to play games with Camille. You were going to get a fair share anyway.”
September’s eyes were huge as she looked from Sawyer to her brothers. Wanda was resting her head in her hands.
“You boys never did understand the importance of family,” she said. “So I think it’s time we lay it out right now. That woman is carrying your niece or nephew”—she turned to Sawyer—“your child. Isn’t that more important than money? No one’s leaving this table till we get that straight.”
******
It was late when Sawyer knocked on Camille’s door.
“Come in,” she said, staring at the ceiling. When Sawyer walked in, she couldn’t hide the hurt and anger on her face. “You could have just told me you only wanted my baby,” she said. “It would have saved me a lot of time.”
Sawyer sat on the rocking chair in the corner of the room. “You were always what was most important to me.”
“Really? Not the billions of dollars you stood to gain here? You’re telling me that doesn’t matter to you at all?”
“Camille…”
“No,” she said. “I thought I loved you, but it was clear I was mistaken. Please, just leave me alone. I’m driving back to Atlanta the next chance I get.”
Sawyer watched her intensely, with no trace of the smirks that had been so common early on.
He has grown up, Camille thought. But it doesn’t matter now.
“I love you, Camille,” he said. “You’re the only thing that matters.”
“It’s too late,” Camille said, turning to face the wall. Sawyer left the room and shut the door quietly behind him.
Another knock came a few minutes later, louder this time.
“Who is it? Please just go away, Sawyer,” Camille said—but the person who entered the room was September.
“Mom wanted me to check on you,” she said, and reached out to touch Camille’s belly as she had made a habit of doing the past few months. “Can I touch?”
“Yes,” Camille said. September’s hands were pleasantly cool on her stomach.
“I was so excited about being an aunt,” September said sadly. “I was really hoping you would stay.”
“I’m sorry, Ember,” Camille said. She was about to say a real goodbye when, to her shock, a fluttering feeling filled her belly. It happened again, and this time she could tell September felt it, too.
“That’s the baby!” September said with a grin. “It’s a sign, Aunt Cammy.”
“Maybe it is,” Camille said, filled with wonder.