How could she have known she was smothering the child? Cameron had felt the need to gently point it out to her, then wanted to kick his own ass for making her doubt herself.
Audrey was too special for self-doubt. And she didn’t need him heaping onto what was already a world of grief after dealing with Dianna’s death. Audrey had been through a lot: the disappearance of her mother, her strained relationship with her brother and father. Starting her own business. Losing a friend.
And then throwing all her energy into Piper, setting aside her own life to make sure Piper was happy. Audrey gave new meaning to the word selfless.
Cameron grinned to himself when he thought about calling Audrey selfless. She’d probably argue with him, because the woman argued everything with him. That should annoy him, but Cameron found it an oddly refreshing change from the women who only wanted to get in his pants. They’d come around for a good time, then offer him a satisfied smile as they strolled out the front door.
It was all so…empty.
And it had worked for him. Until Piper had blinked up at him with sad green eyes and forced him to reevaluate his entire existence.
Even though he still wasn’t sure what to do with the kid, and still felt a surge of panic every time she looked at him, Cameron knew he couldn’t carry on the way he had been. The question was, where did he go from here?
To Denver and drag Piper to another city? Or did he turn his dream offer down and stay in Blanco Valley?
Beside him, Blake blasted his whistle and called the players to huddle. As he approached the team to go over mistakes, Cameron consulted his notes and realized he hadn’t written a damn thing.
Brandon nudged him. “You’ve got that look on your face again.”
Shit, he seriously needed to work on his poker face. Maybe he should practice in the mirror. He chose not to say anything, mostly because he didn’t trust his voice.
“Would it be so bad to get a little tangled up with her?” Brandon suggested, obviously knowing what Cameron was thinking about.
Cameron watched Blake go over plays with the team. The kids were sweaty and hot but determined. “Is that what you thought about Stella?”
Brandon moved his shoulders, as though not comfortable with the question. “I didn’t think I had any kind of future with Stella.”
Cameron snorted and turned to face his friend. “Yeah, and I’ve got such a bright future with Audrey? We don’t even live in the same town.”
“What if you end up in Denver? It’s not that far from Boulder.”
“I haven’t decided about Denver. And I owe you an ass kicking, by the way,” Cameron added.
“Don’t you think she was bound to find out?” Brandon shot back. “How did she take it?”
Cameron kept his focus on Blake and the kids, even though he felt Brandon’s intent gaze. Blake ended his instruction, and the team dispersed to run through the play again.
“You haven’t even talked to her about it yet, have you?” Brandon questioned. Then he laughed and shook his head. “Have you learned nothing? Women don’t like surprises.”
Actually, he had been planning on telling her the whole thing. Then her tone had changed, going from casual conversation to tense when she’d sensed he was keeping something from her. He’d suspected it hadn’t been the right time to delve into the subject further, so he’d been evasive. Then he’d been possessed with thoughts of pressing his lips to hers, of leaning her back against the wooden steps and slipping his hand beneath her shirt. Then she’d gone and hurled all sorts of accusations at him, like kissing her just to shut her up.
“I don’t know,” he admitted to Brandon in a low voice.
Brandon shot Cameron a look with lifted brows. “You don’t know what?”
Cameron scrubbed a hand down his face, wishing he’d taken the time to shave that morning. “Hell, I don’t know that either.”
“Sounds like you could use a couple episodes of Dr. Phil.”
Cameron rolled his eyes.
“In all honesty, though,” Brandon went on.
“Please, let’s not,” Cameron protested.
“Just talk to her,” Brandon suggested.
“Cameron, are you having woman problems?” came a godforsaken voice from behind him.
He kept his focus forward on the players rather than acknowledge Drew’s comment.
Drew stopped next to Cam. “Aren’t you supposed to be some kind of smooth operator?”
Smooth operator? What decade were they in?
Normally Cameron would throw out some offhand remark to get Drew all riled up. Something like, “Need someone to show you how it’s done?”
But Cameron was over that. He was over deliberately baiting Drew until steam puffed out of the man’s too-small ears and he’d be out for blood. Pushing Drew to his limit no longer gave him the satisfaction it used to. Now Cameron was just tired and wanted to be left the hell alone.
“Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Drew,” was all Cameron said.
“Maybe not,” Drew said. “But I just feel like I need to look out for my married friends.”
Cameron finally turned to Drew and looked down on the shorter man. “Now, why do you have to go and do that? Here I am, trying to be a nice guy, and you say stupid shit that makes me want to kill you.”
“Just keeping it real,” Drew said with a shrug, even though his red ears gave his false confidence away. They both knew Cameron would wipe the field and the bleachers with the guy.
“Why don’t you take a step back, Drew?” Brandon suggested.
“Made any decisions about Denver yet?” Drew asked.
“Yeah, I’ve decided to stay here and see your pretty face every day.”
Aaaand there was the familiar shade of red Cameron was so used to seeing. It flooded Drew’s face and reminded Cameron why he used to always get in trouble in high school and why he was better off keeping his mouth shut.
Blake headed
