“But you don’t believe that,” he guessed. Hell, he wouldn’t have believed it either. Not all parents were worthless asswipes like his old man.
“No way,” she said with conviction. “Setting myself aside, she and my brother had a really special relationship. She never would have abandoned him. Especially since he and my dad didn’t get along. My mom was the only reason they tolerated each other.”
“Your brother has a different dad,” he guessed again.
Audrey nodded. “Yeah, he’s eleven years older than me. He’s my mom’s son from a previous marriage. But after my mom went missing, his relationship with my dad completely unraveled. He told every news station and reporter within a fifty-mile radius that my dad murdered our mom and buried her body in the mountains somewhere. And when I didn’t take his side, our relationship fell apart.”
Damn, and he’d thought his childhood had been messed up.
Audrey’s gaze lowered to the wine bottle. She lifted it to her lips, but Cameron couldn’t help but notice how the bottle trembled in her hand. She chugged deeply, closing her eyes as though trying to get some relief or maybe rid herself of nasty childhood memories that had put shadows in her eyes.
Cameron reached out and took the bottle from her. “Easy. You’ll make yourself sick.”
Her tongue swiped across her lower lip and damn if he didn’t want to wipe it clean himself. But how much of an asshole would that make him?
“I’m sorry for making you talk about it,” he confessed.
She moved her shoulders, but they only rubbed against him again. “It’s okay. I mean it’s not okay okay. It is what it is.” A nervous laugh popped out. “What I’m trying to say is, it’s not your fault. Most people are careful never to mention it.”
Yeah, Cameron got that. “What was your mom like?”
For the first time since he’d stepped outside, she smiled. “My mom was the most amazing woman. She was tall with long blond hair, but she was the most dedicated mom. She spent all her free time either volunteering at school or with me and my brother. She loved family vacations, and we always had family movie nights every Sunday. She’d make us a bowl of popcorn; then we’d share a blanket and watch whatever my brother and I wanted to watch.”
Something inside Cameron’s chest grew tight when Audrey talked about her mom. Her voice was soft and wistful, but absent of grief. She was speaking like a child who had an unadulterated and pure love for someone who’d been taken too soon.
“You’re right,” he said. “Doesn’t sound like she would have left you.”
They were both silent a moment, finishing off the bottle of wine and watching the changing shadows over the yard as the moon slowly moved higher in the sky.
“Piper likes you,” Audrey said in a quiet voice.
Cameron glanced at her, trying to read between the lines, determine whether she might be setting him up to stumble over his own words. Was she fishing for something? “She’s a good kid.”
Audrey nodded her agreement. “Dianna did a wonderful job with her.”
Okay, now she was definitely fishing. If she wanted to know about his relationship with his sister, why didn’t she just ask?
“Don’t break her heart,” Audrey warned.
What kind of asshole did she think he was? Okay, so he hadn’t made the best first impression. Telling her to take Piper back to Boulder probably hadn’t gone very far to instill much confidence.
“Do you always assume the worst in people?” he countered instead of responding to her warning.
“Yeah, it’s kind of my default nature,” she admitted. “Sorry,” she added. “I didn’t mean to imply you’d mistreat her or anything. It’s just that she’s been through a lot, and she can’t take any more letdowns.”
“And you think I’ll let her down?” While he understood her reasons for being cautious and protective of Piper, Cameron still couldn’t help but feel…annoyed? Which was strange, because Audrey’s opinion of him shouldn’t matter.
“I think you like your life the way it is,” she pointed out. “And I think you’ve made plans that may or may not include her.”
What the hell was she talking about? Cameron shook his head. “Audrey, you’re going to have to be a little clearer. I don’t understand subtlety.”
She watched him carefully, and Cameron just knew she had more on her mind than she was saying. For some reason she held herself back.
“All right, look,” he went on. “I’m doing the best I can here. You’re going to have to understand that this whole thing is new to me. But I’m trying.”
“I understand that,” she replied after a moment.
“Do you?” he questioned.
She drew back as though he’d insulted her. “Of course. I just…” She twisted her hands around and blew out a breath. “I want her to feel like she’s number one.”
“She will,” he assured her. “But it might take me a while to get there.”
“Even if you end up moving?”
Huh? “What’re you talking about?”
She did that careful watching again, as though waiting for him to confess something. Had she found something out about his offer to coach in Denver? But she couldn’t have. Not unless Blake or Brandon had opened their big mouths.
“So you don’t plan on going anywhere?” Audrey pressed.
He couldn’t help but laugh. “Not right now.”
“I’m being serious.”
He blew out an exhausted sigh. “Audrey, if there’s something you want to know, why don’t you ask me?”
“I don’t want Piper uprooted again,” she said in a rush.
“I understand that would be a concern to you, but that’s not really your call anymore.”
She gripped his forearm with a fierceness that had his brows rising. “She can’t handle any more change.”
Cameron glanced down at her fingers and tried not to focus on the gold-painted nails. “I don’t think you give Piper enough credit. She’ll adjust no matter what.”
The grip on his arm tightened. “Promise me you won’t move her again.”
“Audrey—”
“Promise me,” she urged.
He stared back at her, noting the plea in her eyes
