Cam ignored that and moved down the walk to greet his brother, bracing himself to be questioned and grilled on his year-long absence, maybe hounded about his lack of responsibility during that time, because being the oldest, T.J. had always drilled that home.
But T.J. didn’t do any of that, or even say a word. He simply grabbed Cam and pulled him in.
It had always driven Cam crazy when people so easily and casually touched each other, and yet he found himself wrapping his arms around his brother and holding on.
With a low sound of relief, T.J. hugged him hard, then shoved him away to get a good look at him, his eyes suspiciously bright. “Damn, you’re a sight for sore eyes.”
“Yeah.” Cam’s throat was tight, too tight, and he shifted on his feet, uncomfortable with the audience
Annie’s hands were on her hips as she regarded his appearance, reminding him he stood there in only his unfastened pants, still holding his T-shirt and outer shell, his feet freezing.
“Where’re your boots?” Nick asked. “Man, you’re not supposed to let a woman keep your boots.”
“Oh, for God’s sake.” Annie turned to Nick. “Are you kidding me, you’re still mad I took your damn boots?”
“Hell, yeah. Those were my favorite boots, and you threw them away. I found them in the trash.”
“They were a hundred years old and smelled like rotten eggs.”
“My favorite,” he repeated. “My dad gave them to me.”
“He did?” The temper drained from Annie’s face. “Oh, Nick. I didn’t know.”
Nick lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“No,” she said softly, “it’s not. I was wrong.”
“Wait.” Nick lifted a hand and cupped it around his ear. “What?”
“I was wrong, dammit.”
Nick smiled. “Yeah, I heard you. I just wanted to hear it again.”
T.J. stepped in front of Nick so Annie couldn’t kill him, though he hadn’t taken his eyes off Cam. Neither had Stone. Nope, they both stood there looking at him freezing his balls off. With a shiver, he worked to turn his shirt right side out. “What the hell are you all doing out here?”
“Besides watching you take your walk of shame?” Stone asked. “Coming to tell you T.J.’s back. Didn’t realize you were busy getting dumped.”
“Yeah.” Cam pulled on his T-shirt. “Thanks.”
“So how did you fuck things up in one night?” T.J. asked.
Cam yanked on the outer shell next, wishing for his boots. Or socks. Or a hammer to hit himself over the head. He wanted to say something scathing, but his teeth were knocking together.
“Men are so stupid,” Annie muttered, just as Katie opened her front door. Everyone turned and looked at her.
She tossed out Cam’s boots, then shut the door with a rather loud finality.
Annie shot Cam a
Yes, men were stupid. And he was their king.
Then the door opened again, and one more time everyone looked at Katie.
She had her gaze locked on T.J. and Riley.
“Hi,” Riley said. “I’m your counterpart Riley. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Katie said slowly, clearly surprised. “Did I mark your return date wrong on my calendar? I thought I wasn’t leaving until Sunday.”
“Just visiting,” Riley assured her. “Unless you want out of here early.”
She hesitated, and Cam’s knees actually went weak. All he’d wanted was a moment to think, to breathe, to… process his feelings for her. The thought of her going early killed him.
Her gaze touched his for a long, torturous beat, during which time he held his breath. “No,” she finally said, “I don’t need out of here early.” She turned to T.J.
“Hi. I’m the smart brother.”
Him she offered a genuine smile. “Nice to finally meet you in person.”
Cam shoved his freezing feet into his boots and then turned to look at her, but she waved at everyone except him and then went back inside her cabin.
The click of the bolt sliding home echoed in the morning air. Yeah. That sounds
Fucking up his life made him hungry.
Annie had already made the fixings for breakfast burritos. Cam threw one together for himself, took a big bite, then paused when Katie walked into the room, headed directly for the pot of coffee to pour herself a mug.
“Morning,” Annie said to her.
“Morning,” she said back, nodding to Stone and T.J. while completely ignoring Cam. Which seemed about right. He’d ignore his sorry ass if he were her too.
Annie looked at him like
She didn’t look sorry as he drank in the sight of her, and when she met his gaze defiantly, the room fell quiet.
Not to mention the temperature dropped by ten degrees.
Nick sipped his coffee with a
Stone rocked his head to whatever beat he had going on his iPod.
T.J. cleared his throat.
And Annie sighed, then shoved Riley, T.J., and Stone toward the door. “Go.” Then she turned back to Cam with a look that said “fix this now” before vanishing herself.
Katie grabbed a tortilla, slapped some eggs and sausage into it, her irritation level high enough that even Cam, reigning King of the Stupid Males, could read loud and clear. “Katie-”
“I’ve got work.”
He managed to catch her at the door, barely, and she frowned down at his hand on her arm. “Sorry,” she said, “I don’t need my itch scratched right now.”
“Katie-”
“In fact, I don’t need anything from you; but if that changes, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
With that, she tugged free, and with her nose so far in the air that she was in danger of getting a nose bleed, she took off.
Cam looked at the empty kitchen, feeling just as empty. It wasn’t a new feeling. In fact, the emptiness had become an old friend, even before his accident. In the past, he’d combat it by getting on the mountain, or finding someone to keep his feet warm for a few hours.
But his old habits didn’t appeal. Oddly enough, for a guy who’d spent his entire life avoiding conflicts, the only thing he wanted to do was go after Katie and have it out with her.
Katie didn’t go upstairs. She was going to be late, and for once, she didn’t care. She needed a moment alone, away from Stone’s knowing eyes, Annie’s prying ones, and now there would be T.J.’s as well.
Good Lord, he looked just like the rest of them, all big, bad, sexy, and wild.
The Wilders were made of some pretty fine genes.
Damn them anyway.
Still gripping her burrito, she went out the front door and was promptly blasted by the icy air. No problem, it could cool off her temper. Nibbling on her breakfast, she walked around the back of the lodge, past a set of picnic tables. She didn’t feel like sitting. It looked as if it might snow any minute, but that didn’t stop her. Even given how she’d spent her night, she had an excess of energy that she needed to get rid of. So she hit the trail that led past the storage sheds and cabins, the one they’d snowshoed all those nights ago, which wound along the bluff high above the valley. She needed the gorgeous view with no one talking, no one charming, no one looking at her from a set of green eyes that tended to melt brain cells, heart, and panties with equal aplomb.
