Piper was in the middle of the most peaceful dream. She was in a field full of roses, of course, and there was a beautiful white horse coming closer and closer to her. The wind was blowing through her hair and the sunshine was warming her skin as she walked toward the horse. There was a man on the horse, just like in a fairy tale, but she couldn’t see his face. She could only make out that he was wearing black boots with some kind of emblem on the side.

And then she smelled smoke. And heard a smoke alarm?

Suddenly, she was awakened from her dream to realize that her bedroom was filling with smoke. Piper jumped up and ran to her door, but when she opened it, the smoke was thicker in the hallway. She slammed her door shut, put a towel under it and ran for her cell phone. She dialed 911, quickly gave them the address and then climbed out onto the roof in front of her bedroom window.

There wasn’t much space to sit, and she had no idea where the fire was coming from, but jumping would surely result in her breaking a leg or worse.

Tears were streaming down her face as she came to terms with the idea that she might never see her son again.

“Piper? Piper?” she heard someone yelling from inside her room. It was Cameron. He had knocked her door down and was standing there with a towel pressed against his face.

“Oh my God! Cameron!” she said, instinctively reaching out and grabbing his hand.

“It’s going to be okay,” he said as he climbed outside with her. She was shaking and crying. He wiped away the tears on her cheek with his thumb.

“Take some deep breaths. Come on. In and out…. In and out…”

Piper followed his instructions and calmed herself down enough to think again. His hand remained on the side of her face for a few moments, and it felt good. Warm. Safe.

“What are we going to do?” she asked through a few more tears.

“I’m going to get us both out of here safely, okay? Just promise me that you’ll listen and do what I ask.”

“I promise,” she said through trembling breaths.

Cameron climbed in front of her and peered over the edge of the roof.

“Okay, I think I see a way down,” he called back to her. “Come on!”

She crouched down and crawled behind him a few feet over where there was a wrought iron trellis leading up to the second story - covered in roses, of course. For a split second, she felt really bad that they would likely destroy some of Lola’s roses on the way down, but the feeling passed quickly.

“You’re going to have to let me go first and then I want you to climb onto my back,” he yelled.

“Are you crazy?”

“Miss Piper! Are you okay?” she suddenly heard Hector calling from below them.

“Hector! We’re okay right now,” she yelled down to him.

“I called the fire department,” he yelled, but Piper wasn’t stupid. They were in the mountains, and it would probably take a little longer for help to arrive than if they were in the big city.

“Hector, do we have a long ladder?” Cameron called to him.

“Not that long,” Hector yelled back.

“The trellis is our only option. We can’t make it to another part of the roof safely. It could cave in for all we know,” Cameron said, looking into Piper’s eyes. “You’re going to have to trust me.”

She paused for a moment and then nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Cameron slowly climbed over the edge, his socked foot perched on the wrought iron trellis. He checked to see if it would hold his weight, and thankfully it appeared to be screwed directly into the brick around the fireplace. He worried that it might not hold him and Piper, but she was so petite that it was worth a shot.

But as he climbed over, his foot slipped and he started falling, trying desperately to grab on and break his fall. When he was almost at the bottom, he was able to grab on and stop himself from hitting the ground. He heard a snap in his shoulder, but he gritted his teeth through the pain, determined to get Piper out safely.

“Oh my God! Are you okay?” she screamed from the rooftop as she looked down at Cameron.

“I’m fine. I’m so sorry, Piper. I slipped. You’re going to have to climb over.”

“I can’t!” Truth be told, she was already terrified of heights, and now she wasn’t exactly fond of burning buildings. The thought of climbing down that trellis, no matter how sturdy it appeared, was beyond reason.

“Piper… trust me,” Cameron called up to her. She glanced down and saw the look in his eyes. Genuine. Concerned. Her only real hope.

She nodded quickly and took a deep breath, forgetting for a moment to let it out. Gingerly, she got onto her hands and knees and crawled backward over the edge of the roof, hanging on to some contraption on the roof as she slipped her bare feet onto the first part of the trellis.

“Good girl… You’ve got this,” Hector called up.

She stepped down until she was totally hanging onto the trellis, forcing herself not to look down to see just how far she was from the hard ground below.

“I’m scared…” she cried out like she was a small child. She was barely able to see anything through her constant stream of tears.

“I’ve got you, Piper. I won’t let you down,” she heard Cameron say with such strength that she almost had to look down just to see his face. Who was this guy? Certainly not the man she’d met at Mr. Dylan’s office the other day.

Her thought process was suddenly broken by a sound that was concerning. First it was a snap, and then it was a shout from below. Before she knew it, the trellis was unattached at one side and she was free-falling toward the ground below.

But she didn’t hit the ground. Instead, she landed in Cameron’s waiting arms, who stopped her about six inches from the hard Earth.

They both toppled onto the grass with her on top of him, knocking the wind out of Cameron with a loud thud. In the background, Piper could hear the firetruck coming up the driveway, and she could see Hector running toward it, waving his arms wildly.

“Are you okay?” she asked softly, her breath ragged and shaky. She couldn’t help but feel the beating of his heart against her chest, most assuredly from the high anxiety situation they both found themselves in at the moment.

“Never better,” he said with a smile. Wait. Was he flirting with her? Impossible.

“I’m so sorry I fell on you,” she said, struggling to get herself upright again. She finally pushed back onto her knees and sat up.

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” he said. As he sat up, he made a grunting noise and seemed to be favoring his right shoulder.

“Look,” she said, pointing as she turned around and glanced behind her. “There’s smoke coming out of my room. I wonder how much damage there will be?”

“I don’t know, but we’d better get away from the house and let the firefighters do their work,” he said, hopping up to his feet and putting his hand down to pull her up.

They moved away from the home, sitting under a huge oak tree in the front yard. All Piper could think was how grateful she was that Lucas and her mother weren’t living there yet.

“I guess we can’t get to the guest houses right now,” she said as she struggled to stay warm. It was freezing cold outside, and she certainly hadn’t planned on being out there in her pajamas.

“You must be freezing,” Cameron said as he put his arms around her in a tight hug. At first, she was stunned. Who was this guy? But then she was warm, at least where he was touching her, so she wasn’t going to complain.

They sat under the tree for a long while as he rubbed her back with his hand in an effort to keep her warm. He had to be freezing himself since he was only wearing a pair of warm up pants and a white t-shirt. Well, it used to be white. Now it was marked up with smoke and grass stains.

Even with firefighters working inside and outside of the house, it seemed completely quiet under that tree. A peaceful moment in the midst of so much chaos. And Piper had to wonder how that was possible given their tumultuous relationship over the past few days.

“Are you getting warmer?” he asked as he rubbed vigorously up her arm.

“Yes. Thank you. I know you must be freezing too,” she said. She made the mistake of looking up at him, and their noses were an inch apart. She could feel the warmth of his breath across her cheek and smell the lingering scent of coffee from their hours in the kitchen.

Time stopped. He stared into her eyes, and she stared into his. It would’ve been awkward with any other person, but not with Cameron. It felt, for just a split second, like she was finally right where she was supposed to be.

And then the firefighter interrupted the moment.

“Excuse me,” he said, clearing his throat like he’d just interrupted something a lot more erotic than two people sitting under a tree.

“Oh, hey. Sorry,” Cameron stammered as he let her go and the cold air invaded every pore of her body again. They both stood up.

“What’s the damage?” Piper asked.

“Not too bad. Looks like there was a short in the kitchen, most likely the oven. You’re going to need to get a good electrician out here. Mainly just a lot of smoke. We can recommend a good cleaning crew to get rid of the damage from that. But this house is going to need airing out for at least a day or so. You folks got somewhere to stay?”

Cameron looked at Piper for a moment before answering. “Yeah. We can stay in one of the guest houses for the night.” She quickly nodded before Hector went back to talking to the firefighter.

“Glad it wasn’t worse,” she said after a moment.

“Me too. It would’ve killed me to see this house burn. I guess I never realized how many good memories I had here with my grandparents.”

“This is your legacy, Cameron.”

“It’s yours now too,” he said with a smile.

---

After being given permission by firefighters to quickly run into the house for a change of clothes, albeit smoky ones, Cameron and Piper headed for the extra guesthouse where her mother would be living in another few days.

That’s when Piper noticed him favoring his shoulder again. She sent him right back outside to have the EMT’s check it. Sure enough, he’d popped it out of the socket, and she couldn’t bear to watch them pop it back in.

She was exhausted - both mentally and physically. The thought of hosting the apple festival, getting her mother moved in and having her son join them was almost too much to think about.

It was nearing 2AM, and Piper sighed as she plopped down onto the tan sofa in front of the wood stove. After getting help from the paramedics, Cameron was now fiddling with the wood stove, stoking the fire and sending jolts of heat into the small space.

The guest house wasn’t much with just a sitting area, small kitchen and bed in the corner of the room. It would be plenty for her mother who would likely find it cozy and quaint and a far cry better than her single wide dilapidated mobile home.

“Warm enough?” he asked, turning around.

“Yeah. I think you singed my eyebrows,” she laughed. The room was dark except for the orange flickering flames. “How’s your shoulder?”

“It’ll be okay. Sore, but I’m thankful it wasn’t worse.”

“Sorry you had to catch me,” she said with a tired giggle.

“Glad I could be of service. Tired?” he asked as he came to rest beside her.

“Exhausted.” She struggled to keep her eyes open.

“Me too. But I also feel restless. Probably won’t sleep much tonight. Why don’t you take the bed?”

“Too tired to move…” she moaned as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the arm of the sofa.

---

This was bad. Really bad. Supremely bad.

She was so adorable. And sweet. And tiny. And sexy. And…

She was the total package.

Danger sirens blared in Cameron’s head as he watched her sleep a foot away from him. The rise and fall of her chest and the completely peaceful look on her face made his heart ache.

Watching her up on that roof was gut wrenching, but when she fell, he’d nearly had a heart attack. All he could think was that he’d rather die than have her hit the hard ground, so he’d thrown his arms up ready to break them both off if needed.

But when they’d come to rest on the ground, her on top of him, his brain had been temporarily interrupted by a series of impure thoughts that would’ve certainly gotten him kicked out of any small Southern Baptist church.

This wasn’t at all what he’d planned the day he met her in Mr. Dylan’s office. All he saw was some poor girl from south Georgia who was out for his grandmother’s fortune. After just a few days, he was certain that Piper wasn’t doing this for the money at all.

She moaned a little, pulling her knees into her chest, so Cameron reached behind him on the sofa and retrieved a blanket. As he started to cover her, she suddenly shifted positions and flipped to her other side, her head landing on his shoulder and then sliding down onto his chest.

Cameron froze in place.

Thankfully, the sofa had a recliner function, so he pushed back a bit so Piper didn’t have to crane her neck. She snuggled in further, obviously unaware that she was making such close contact with him. At least that’s what he assumed.

She wasn’t interested in him… that way. She was focused on the business and the apple festival and her son. She was just being nice because she was that kind of person. She wasn’t trying to flirt with him. Right?

Slowly, Cameron covered her with his right hand and then allowed it to come to rest on her back, feeling the comforting motion of her breathing. The soreness of his shoulder seemed to disappear.

Her cheek was pressed against his chest, and he was worried that the pounding, jackhammer motion of his heartbeat was going to wake her up any minute now. But it didn’t, and before he could realize it, she reached her right arm around his midsection and pulled him tighter.

Cameron was sure he’d never felt more content and happy in his life, and for a split second he thought of his grandmother and realized that this situation was no accident. And that thought made him smile.

---

Daylight peeked through the window shades. Piper could barely open her eyes. They were irritated from the smoke, and the bright sunlight was like acid against them. It seemed that sandpaper against her cornea would’ve felt better.

It was hard to remember where she was for a moment. But then it came rushing back to her. Smoke. Firefighters. Sitting under the tree with Cameron.

Cameron.

Where was she? She struggled to open her eyes again, straining to see in the darkened room. The guest house. The wood stove. The sleeping man she was currently snuggled up with.

Wait. What?

And then it dawned on her. She was hugging Cameron, her face pressed against his chest. She slowly looked up and saw the contentment on his face as he slept. It was nice. Normally he looked so tense, like the weight of the world was on his shoulders at all times.

Right now, he looked handsome. Unassuming. Cute.

She debated with herself on whether to sit up and possibly disturb him or continue snuggling with him. After all, it had been a very long time since she’d been in the arms of any man. And she’d never felt as safe and serene as she did right now.

“Good morning,” she heard him say, his voice gruffer than normal. Startled, she looked up. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. I think I woke you up…”

Piper sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, stretching her tight shoulder and neck muscles. Then she felt Cameron’s hands, which were surprisingly strong, rubbing the tension from her shoulders.

“You don’t have to…”

“I know I don’t,” he whispered in her ear from behind. He couldn’t see her, but she smiled and blushed. Feeling his breath against her ear as he whispered sent an amazing rush of feelings from her toes up to her head.

“Sorry I apparently fell asleep on you,” she said with a laugh.

“Do you hear me complaining?”

Summoning her courage, she turned around to face him. “Okay, what are we doing here, Cameron?”

He stopped rubbing her shoulders and cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that this whole situation… here… is a little…”

“Close?” he said softly.

“Yeah.”

“Does that bother you?” he asked, staring into her eyes in a way that made her fidget in her seat a bit.

“I don’t know… I just…”

“Relax, Piper,” he finally said. “We just both had a long night. You fell asleep and when I went to cover you up, you shifted this direction. I wasn’t going to wake you up.”

There was something about his expression as he said it. He looked hurt or irritated or something she couldn’t name. And then he stood up and started checking the wood stove.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t saying that you did anything wrong…”

“Good. Because I didn’t. Don’t worry. I wasn’t trying to take advantage of you. I’m not that kind of guy no matter what people in this town say.”

There it was again. What had he done as a teenager to make people think he was a bad guy?

Piper stood and started folding the blanket. “I know you’re not.”

“And how do you know that?” he asked.

“Because you did everything you could to protect me last night. You caught me with a hurt shoulder and fell to the ground yourself. You kept me warm under that tree. And you slept in this ungodly uncomfortable position to let me get a good night’s sleep. You’re a good guy, Cameron. You’re certainly the best guy I’ve ever known personally,” she said, reaching out and touching his arm.

He looked stunned at her words. “Thank you. But I think you’re overestimating who I am.”

“Look, I don’t know what you’re struggling with, but you can talk to me any time. I’m no Dr. Phil, but I’m pretty good with advice,” she said with a smile.

“You’re a lot better looking,” he responded with that crooked smile that showed one dimple. She wanted to run her tongue over it.

“Thank you,” she said shyly.

“Okay, you want to know why the old biddies in this town don’t like me?” he said. She was shocked that he was bringing it up.

“If you want to tell me…”

“Sit,” he said, pointing at the sofa. She sat down as he finished stoking what was left of the fire. He joined her on the sofa and turned to face her.

“I was a young punk. My grandmother had a hard time keeping me in line. I was devastated by the loss of my parents and the whole life I’d known before they died. I was a mess, and no one could talk to me or get me in line. I ran rampant in this town, toilet papering yards and pulling fire alarms. And I did a little stealing too.”

“You were a kid, though.”

“Then there was this girl.”

“Oh,” Piper said softly as she looked down at her hands.

“I was seventeen. She was sixteen.”

“You don’t have to go on…”

“She got pregnant.”

The silence was deafening. Piper had no idea what to say.

“So you have a child?” she finally asked.

“No. I never did. Everyone here assumed I knocked her up, but we never even slept together. But it was easier for her to tell everyone that, and I felt bad for her. Her father was the town preacher, and she couldn’t tell him she was actually sleeping with a twenty year old guy from the next town over. Her father would’ve killed her… and the guy. So I took the heat. I left as soon as I graduated and never looked back.”

Her heart ached for him. He’d been misjudged his whole life, and she had judged him just like everyone else. The irony was that Cameron had done the exact opposite of Johnny. When Johnny had learned he was having a son, he bolted. Cameron not only stayed, but he took the heat for a child that wasn’t even his.

Piper slid closer to him on the sofa, their faces just a few inches apart.

“I’m so sorry that happened to you, Cameron. You’re a good man. Take it from a woman who really was abandoned by the father of her child.”

His eyes looked like they started to well with tears, but he quickly looked down and took a breath before meeting her gaze again.

“Eventually, she decided to give the baby up for adoption,” he said. “But they never changed their minds about me, as you can tell. To this town, I’m the problem child who knocked a girl up and made her give the baby away.”

“And she never set the record straight?”

“No. I can’t blame her, though. I guess it was just easier.”

“Not for you,” Piper said, feeling a surge of anger for the girl and the people of Whiskey Ridge who judged him so wrongly. “Did you love her?”

He looked at her, his face less tense now. “I thought I did at the time. But looking back… no. I’m not even sure I know what that feels like.”

They stared at each for what seemed like an eternity until a loud knock at the door startled them both. “Miss Piper? You in here?”

Hector. What crappy timing he had.