Chapter Two
“Well, what’s she doing back?” Ben Ross, Evan’s oldest friend and owner of the Log and Jam, everyone’s favorite local hangout, poured Evan a beer and slid it down to him across the long bar that had been custom made out of one huge log. Everything in the pub was well thought out and custom designed. Ben had put his heart and soul into building the Log & Jam, even participating in the actual construction of the log cabin building. Antiques and various paraphernalia like old axes and saws that once belonged to the early loggers that settled Timber Creek lined the walls.
Evan stretched out his back and inhaled the comfortingly familiar scent of cedar that always lingered in the air of the pub. It had been a long shift after he’d stopped the black SUV with Cam behind the wheel. A torturously long shift. It was a damn good thing there hadn’t been any important calls in the hours following because seeing his one true love had rendered him almost completely useless. All he could think of was that blonde hair—those blue eyes and the last time he’d seen them at their graduation dance the night before he’d left her without a word.
It wasn’t because he didn’t love her. He did. So much it hurt. But Cam deserved more than he could offer. A lot more. He was the town screw-up: the kid always getting in trouble, narrowly avoiding the law on more than one occasion—and sometimes not—barely passing his high school classes because he thought he was smarter than his teachers and didn’t need to do the work. The one smart decision he did make back then was recognizing that he couldn’t be the man Cam needed him to be. Not the way he was. It had killed him inside to leave town that June morning, knowing she’d be left hurt and confused. But he’d done it.
He’d gone away to try to make something of himself and he couldn’t even regret it because the last time he’d been able to bring himself to ask her best friend Christy how Cam was doing, she’d told Evan how happy Cam was. Married to a successful newscaster, living the life she always wanted in Portland. That’s all he’d ever wanted for her, even if it wasn’t with him.
But now she was back.
“I don’t know,” he answered his friend. “We didn’t really have a chance to chat. I was supposed to be writing her a ticket for distracted driving.”
“As if you would give Cam Riley a ticket.” Ben poured himself a beer and leaned against the counter. “What’s she look like?”
“The same.” Only different. She was still gorgeous. But there was a seriousness about her, too. Like she’d lived a lot of life in the years that had gone by. “And she has a kid.”
“You knew she had a kid, man.” Ben shot him a look because it was true, he did know that. Christy had passed on that information as well. “Right?”
“Yeah, yeah. Of course.” Evan shook his head. “I mean, I knew it. But it’s different than knowing it. Ya know?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “But here’s the thing. She’s not so much a kid as a teenager.”
Ben took a sip of his beer and tilted his head in question. “How old?”
Evan shrugged and took a swig of beer. He hadn’t asked. “Fourteen? Fifteen? I don’t know.”
Ben shook his head with a smirk. “Damn.”
“What?”
“It’s nothing.” He raised his hand in acknowledgment of another customer farther down the bar.
“It’s something.” Ben wasn’t the type of guy to not say what he was thinking, and Evan knew he would speak his mind no matter what. It was one thing he could always count on from his friend. That and a buddy to go fishing with. “What?”
“Well, I was just thinking that if Cam has a teenager, it sure didn’t take her long to move on, did it?”
Ben’s words hit him in the gut.
“I mean, she must’ve gotten knocked up right after—”
“Stop.” It was math Evan didn’t want to do. After all, he’d already been thinking of it. At least a little. The second he’d seen Cam’s daughter, the thought was there. What if she was his? It wasn’t that far of a reach. But of course it was. He knew it was. She’d been gone a long time, and a lot could happen in sixteen years. Hell, a real lot could happen. He would be naive to think she hadn’t been with anyone else, especially considering he knew she was married. The girl wasn’t his. Even if for a split second he’d wished she was.
He took another long drink of his beer and wiped his mouth. “There’s no way. I would have heard about it. Hell, she would have told me. Cam and I didn’t have secrets. Never did.”
Ben shot him a look before he disappeared to care for his customers. Ben might be his oldest friend, but he never did understand the way things were between Cam and him. He’d never understood anything Evan had done. But he had supported him. And when push came to shove, that’s the best thing you could ask for in a friend. Ben was a rock-solid guy. Evan had leaned on him more than once over the years and with a certain blonde-haired woman back in town, there was no doubt that those days weren’t over yet. Not that Evan was going to get involved with Cam again. No way. Even if she wasn’t married, those days were in the past.
Weren’t they?
A little voice in the back of his head chimed in.
Those days were in the past. Once upon a time, Evan would have fallen apart, stood up and then fallen all over himself trying to get her back. But he’d learned a lot over the years and he definitely wasn’t the same person he once was. No way. Now he was a war veteran, a police officer serving and protecting the town he loved most, and a whole lot wiser than the punk-ass kid Cam once knew.
But that doesn’t mean you don’t still love her.
“Dammit,” Evan muttered to himself. He chugged the last of his beer and slammed the glass down on the bar. He pushed up from his stool, threw a twenty on the bar and walked away.
That dammed voice never did know when to shut the hell up.
“You’re going to love Timber Creek High.” Cam forced a cheerfulness in her voice she certainly didn’t feel. She’d given Morgan a few days to settle into their new place, but now with Monday upon them, it was time to move forward and start their lives. They couldn’t hide in their tiny little apartment forever. Especially considering it was so small that Cam was pretty sure the close proximity to each other was doing their relationship more harm than good at the moment. She needed to get Morgan out and into society. If she could meet even one or two friends her own age, Cam had no doubt that would go a long way in helping her adjust to their new life. And Lord knew her daughter could use a friend.
“I’m sure I won’t.” Morgan appeared from the bathroom and Cam did her best not to react to her daughter’s new look. She was only trying to get a rise out of her. There was no point taking the bait. “It’s a small-town high school—what’s to love?”
Cam swallowed all the comments she so desperately wanted to make about Morgan’s thick black eyeliner and lips so red they, too, were almost black. She was clearly trying to make an impression on the first day of school. Even if it wasn’t the one Cam would have liked to see her make. She’d learned to pick her battles, and this one was definitely not a fight she had the energy to engage in.
“The sports programs are amazing,” Cam chattered on cheerfully, pointedly ignoring Morgan’s scowl. “The Timber Wolves are known to be some of the strongest teams in the state. You might want to try out for—”
“I don’t do sports, Mom.” Morgan squared off in the space Cam was trying to call a living room, even if it was acting as her bedroom, having given Morgan the only room. “Have you ever known me to play a sport?”
“Well, when you were little you were a great soccer player. Maybe you could—”
“Because they have a soccer team out here in the middle of nowhere? If you wanted me to play soccer, we should have stayed in Portland.”
It had been three days since Morgan made any reference to the fact that she’d moved them. Foolishly, Cam hoped she was over it, but her daughter’s words stabbed her in the chest. “You know we couldn’t stay, Morgan. Not after—”
“Whatever. Shouldn’t we go?”
Cam put the smile back on her face and nodded. She loved her daughter, but lately, being her mother took a level of energy she wasn’t sure she had. “Yes.” She grabbed her purse from the counter and the folder of resumes she’d done up the night before, printing them off Junky’s office printer in the shop below. As soon as she registered Morgan with the school, she was going to hit the pavement and see what she could drum up in terms of work. Ryan hadn’t left much in the joint bank account; the fact that he’d left anything at all was only because he cared enough about his daughter to make sure she was fed and cared for.
Not that he cared enough to see her or hear about how she was doing.
The anger and resentment that was becoming all too familiar bubbled up to the surface, but Cam pushed it down again before it could take root. She had too much to do. She couldn’t afford to let thoughts of Ryan in. Not today. Today was going to be a good day.
She looked at Morgan and couldn’t help but notice that despite the heavy makeup, she’d put on her nice jeans and a clean black top. She may be trying to make a statement of some kind, but she still cared. At least a little bit. Cam reached out and squeezed her hand, trying one more time. “You know,” she said. “The school also has an amazing drama program. For a small-town school, they produce some pretty impressive productions. Always have.”
Morgan shrugged, but she didn’t pull away, so Cam gave her hand another squeeze. It might take a little time, but they’d be okay. She knew it.
The high school was almost exactly the same as she remembered it, down to the brick walls painted a strange, almost sickly shade of green, the trophy cases where if she stopped to look, she could probably still recognize some names, and the rows and rows of grey lockers. She smiled to herself as they walked through the foyer and the familiar feelings washed over her. She’d expected to be embarrassed to walk through those big doors again after all this time, but it was quite the opposite. She’d had some good times at Timber Creek High. Maybe some of the best years of her life.
Mrs. McReedy, the school secretary, greeted her with a hug. She’d always thought the woman was the oldest person she knew, and that was over fifteen years ago. Now, Mrs. McReedy must be at least a hundred. But she still had that sweet smile and strong arms that could either hug you or smack you depending on the situation. Although Cam was pretty certain smacking the students across the knuckles was no longer a common or accepted practice. Even for Mrs. McReedy.
She ushered Cam and Morgan into the office, where Cam signed a stack of papers, Morgan was handed a schedule and just like that, her daughter was a student at Timber Creek High. Just the way she herself had been a lifetime ago.
“Do you want me to walk you to class?”
The question was met with an eye roll and an exasperated look that Cam should have seen coming.
“Your first class is just down the hall, dear.” Mrs. McReedy pointed the way. “Second door on your left. Mr. Muldoon, science. Just give him your enrollment slip here and he’ll get you all settled in. If you have any questions at all, you know where to come.”
Morgan took the slip, shrugged and without a backward glance at Cam, made her way down the hall. Nostalgia and a mixture of hope and anticipation filled Cam as she watched her go. She had a lot of good times at Timber Creek High. Some of the best days of her life with a group of great friends and a boy she thought she’d spend the rest of her days with. It would be good for Morgan. It had to be good for Morgan. Because if it wasn’t, she had no idea what else to do.
The last few months had been rough for her daughter, and that was putting it mildly. Her troubles had begun before the divorce: skipping classes, hanging out with the wrong crowd. Little things that mostly Cam could chalk up to typical teenage rebellion, but after everything went down with Ryan, things only got worse. A lot worse. And Cam definitely couldn’t ignore the phone call from the principal when Morgan had been caught cheating on an exam, and then lipping off the teacher who busted her. The behavior was so unlike her soft-spoken, studious child, it didn’t take a parenting expert to know something was up.
They’d both needed a change of scenery. A fresh start. Hopefully Timber Creek was just the place for them to get it.
“She’ll be okay.”
Cam was jarred from her thoughts by Mrs. McReedy, whom she’d forgotten was still standing there.
“I’ll keep an eye out for her, but I’m sure there’ll be no need. She’ll fit right in and make friends in no time, just like her mama. Don’t you worry about it.”
“Thank you, Mrs. McReedy.”
The older lady waved her gratitude away. “No need for that. I sure was sorry to hear about what happened with your husband. Couldn’t have been easy on your girl. A little change of pace is exactly what the child needs.”
The blood drained from Cam’s face. “You heard? What happened with Ryan, I mean?”
“I’d reckon everyone heard, dear. At least everyone in the West Coast broadcasting district. We get the KQRZ Nightly News here, ya know? And knowing his connection with our little town…” She gestured to Cam in case she didn’t realize Mrs. McReedy was referring to her being the connection. “Well…word’s going to get out. But don’t you worry. No one around here is going to judge you for a single thing. Divorce happens every day and if you ask me, you’re much prettier than she is.”
Cam swallowed hard. She knew Mrs. McReedy was lying, but she’d take what she could get. But one thing Mrs. McReedy was most certainly not right about was that no one around there was going to judge her.
Cam had grown up in Timber Creek; she knew how things worked and she definitely knew that whatever else happened, she was definitely going to be judged. Especially if word had already traveled as far east as a small, nothing town in Central Washington.
She sighed and managed a small smile and a word of thanks before she left. All Cam really wanted to do was go back to her tiny apartment, crawl back into her lumpy couch bed and forget everything. But that wasn’t an option. She was running out of money fast and even though her little apartment over Junky’s didn’t cost much, it still cost something. Cam needed a way to make money. Fast.
As she drove away from the high school and into the main part of town, her cell phone beeped. She risked a glance at it, despite the fact that the officers in town were clearly on the watch for distracted driving. Not officers necessarily, but one officer in particular. Evan. Just remembering his smile and the way his eyes lit up when he realized it was her behind the wheel filled her with some kind of feeling she couldn’t completely define. And even if she could, she didn’t have time for it anyway. First things first: she needed to get back on her feet and make sure Morgan was okay. That was the only thing that mattered.
Before Cam had a chance to click open the text message on her phone, it beeped again.
Stop hiding.
Followed by, I mean it, Cam.
Christy.
Only one of Cam’s best friends had elected to stay in Timber Creek to raise her family. The only problem was that Christy and her high school sweetheart Mark had never actually had that family they so desperately wanted. But Christy still loved Timber Creek and everything the town had to offer, and when Cam told her she was going to be in town, she’d not only been excited, she’d prepared a bedroom and insisted that Cam and Morgan stay with them. An offer Cam had politely declined. Having their own space was important right now; they needed to heal. At least that was her excuse. It was also her excuse for not seeing Christy yet. They’d been in town three days and Cam still hadn’t called her friend. She couldn’t get away with it for much longer. Not without a really good reason. And she didn’t have one except that she was embarrassed and exhausted plus the last thing she felt like doing was talking about her failed marriage. Even with one of her best friends. And that wasn’t a good enough reason to put Christy off any longer.
Cam pulled her car into the parking lot of Daisy’s Diner and texted Christy back.
I’m at Daisy’s.
She half expected, and maybe hoped, for Christy to say she was busy, or maybe even at work. It embarrassed Cam that she didn’t know whether Christy had a job or not. She hadn’t been a very good friend lately.
Her phone beeped with a response almost immediately.
I’ll be right there.
She was not going to love Timber Creek High. That was Morgan’s distinct verdict after spending one full day in the classrooms full of kids she didn’t know. Kids who definitely weren’t anything like the kids back in Portland she’d gone to school with.
Nothing was like Portland.
But that was a whole lifetime away, or at least it felt like it.
As soon as the bell rang for lunch, Morgan pushed out the back door of the school into the field. There was a grassy berm with some pine trees that edged the football field, and sitting alone under a tree was a whole lot more appealing than sitting alone in the middle of a cafeteria.
Morgan moved quickly across the grass until she found a spot close enough to hear the bell that would signal the start of afternoon classes, but far enough away that she’d be able to pretend she was anywhere else.
The grass was cool beneath her when she laid back to stare up at the clouds.
For once, she didn’t put her earbuds in, choosing instead to listen to the birds that chirped and flitted through the trees above her. At least Timber Creek had that going for it. It wasn’t a big city.
Not that she didn’t like the city, but she couldn’t remember the last time she’d heard birds chirping, or seen a deer just wandering around. Well, okay, she’d never seen a deer wandering around like she had the day before.
And that was kind of cool.
If she had to be ripped out of her life, at least that part of Timber Creek wasn’t too bad.
Morgan pulled her phone out of her pocket and checked again for any messages from her dad.
Nothing.
She tried not to let it bother her. He was probably busy with a meeting or something at work. She opened his contact but hesitated before calling him. Instead, she tapped out a text message.
Hey Dad. I started school today. It’s great.
It was a total lie, but her dad wouldn’t know that. Besides, if she told him the truth, that she hated everything about her new school and she was miserable, he’d probably only get all defensive and tell her that it was her mom’s fault they were there.
But it wasn’t and she knew it.
It was his fault. He’d cheated on her mom. It was totally his fault her life had been flipped upside down.
But she still missed him.
Sounds great! He texted back.
I miss you, Dad. When do I get to see you?
Morgan held her breath as the text sent. She squeezed her eyes shut until the ding that announced an incoming message sounded.
Sorry, princess. Things are kind of crazy right now, I’m not sure when I’ll be able to get out there.
The sharp stab of hurt hit her in the gut, but Morgan was determined not to let him see it.
Okay. I get it.
She didn’t get it. Not at all.
Morgan tucked her phone back into her pocket and looked out over the field. She wasn’t the only one who’d escaped the confines of the brick building to enjoy the spring day. A group of kids sat a little bit away. Far enough that she couldn’t hear their conversation, but close enough so that when one of the boys looked over, he saw her looking at them.
Shit.
The last thing she needed was to stand out.
The guy waved at her, but she didn’t return his greeting. Instead, she laid back on the grass, closed her eyes and waited for the bell to ring.