Chapter 28
Camilla
“Oh my gosh, are you okay? I’ve been calling and messaging—” Cheyenne launched toward Camilla but was cut short when Camilla held up a hand.
“No, Cheyenne.”
Her friend frowned and fidgeted where she stood. Camilla had asked Cheyenne to meet her at one of her favorite trailheads. It was public enough that she didn’t feel concerned that Cheyenne would do anything to hurt her, but it was private enough for a conversation of this magnitude.
They couldn’t have this discussion at the ranch. If Camilla’s brothers overheard the alleged lengths that Cheyenne had gone to in order to sabotage her brother’s relationship, they wouldn’t likely stay out of it.
No, this conversation needed to be handled delicately. It was Dallas’s word against Cheyenne’s, and Camilla didn’t know who she could trust.
Her gut?
It told her that Dallas didn’t have anything to lose. He was leaving. What was the point in trying to make things right if he planned on moving on?
Cheyenne? Now, she had something to lose from admitting to the truth.
Camilla pushed past the woman who had been her friend for the better part of a decade. She headed toward the trail, not bothering to see if Cheyenne followed. If she didn’t, then Camilla would cut her losses and consider Dallas’s request.
That erratic thumping in her chest made her want to do just that. Dallas held a part of her soul whether she wanted to admit it or not. He could have been her everything if the situation had been different.
Cheyenne’s hurried steps grew louder until she fell into place at Camilla’s side. “I don’t know what Dallas has told you, but—”
“Save it.”
Her best friend stiffened, irritation coming off her in waves.
“I don’t care about what he said when I’m speaking to you right now. I want to know the truth. I want to hear you tell me the story and then I’ll compare.”
Cheyenne scoffed, and that was when Camilla stopped to face her.
“This isn’t a joke. This is my life, Cheyenne.”
“It’s my life too,” she snapped back.
They were glaring at each other now. Tension, thick and sour, curled around them like a poisonous gas. Despite telling Cheyenne that Camilla didn’t want to bring up Dallas’s side, she couldn’t take it anymore. She was weaker than she’d thought.
“Tell me, Cheyenne. Everything. About Dallas. About the letter. About… my other boyfriends.” Tears stung her eyes and threatened to rip free of the cage where she kept them.
She didn’t want to cry in front of Cheyenne.
She didn’t want to show how much this betrayal hurt.
They’d been so close. Best friends. She’d told Cheyenne things she hadn’t told anyone.
And to what end?
Her throat threatened to close up and her breathing grew faster, shallower.
“Just… tell me,” she whispered.
Cheyenne looked away. It was the first sign she’d given Camilla that she felt guilty over what had transpired. When she turned back, her cheeks were damp with tears. “You’re my best friend, Camilla.” Her voice broke. “You’re the one constant in my life.”
The instinct to pull Cheyenne close and comfort her tore through Camilla’s very being, but she held back. Her fingernails dug into her palms as she continued to wait for Cheyenne to spill everything.
“It’s true. All of it.”
“You’re going to have to elaborate,” Camilla said through gritted teeth, her own reality crumbling before her eyes. “I need to know if Dallas lied.”
Her friend shook her head. “He wouldn’t do that. Not Dallas.”
The confession was a punch to the gut. A kick when Camilla had already felt like she was down.
“Dallas is the most honest person I know,” Cheyenne continued.
Camilla had to scoff at that, which earned a sad smile from Cheyenne.
“Well, except when he withholds information. But anything he told you, it’s the truth. He wouldn’t lie to you.”
“The letter?” Camilla whispered.
Cheyenne nodded wordlessly.
“And the phone number?”
Another nod.
Camilla squeezed her eyes shut tight, hot, salty tears spilling down her cheeks. “What about my other boyfriends?”
When Cheyenne didn’t say anything, she opened her eyes to see her friend staring at her warily. “What did he say about them?”
“Cheyenne,” Camilla warned.
“Fine, okay? Yeah. I might have said some stuff to them to get them to break up with you when they were getting too clingy.”
Camilla barked a laugh. “Too clingy? What does that make you?” She shook her head and started pacing. Dallas had been right. Cheyenne was borderline obsessed with their friendship, and she was willing to do whatever it took to get Camilla to herself. This was crazy.
“It was wrong! I know that.”
She whirled around to face Cheyenne, only moderately pleased to see the woman flinch. “Then why did you do it? Why did you make me believe I was the problem? That there was something wrong with me?”
Cheyenne looked down at her hands, her tears falling with more fervor now. “Because you were the only one I had. I didn’t want to lose you. I knew if you fell in love with someone, our friendship would inevitably end. You’d grow more distant, stop spending time with me…”
Camilla laughed bitterly. “You don’t know that would happen. And if you really believed that, then you didn’t know me at all.”
Another flinch.
Despite all the pain and sorrow Camilla was experiencing at this moment, she couldn’t help that niggling feeling that she still needed to be there for Cheyenne. They were like sisters in a way.
If she ended up with Dallas, they would be. That could get awkward.
“I don’t want to lose my best friend,” Cheyenne mumbled.
“I don’t think you get to have a say in that,” Camilla shot back.
“A best friend… they wouldn’t do the things you did to me.
They wouldn’t try to destroy the happiness I found when I was with Dallas.
” She covered her face with her hands and released a shuddering breath.
All the pieces were coming together, and the picture wasn’t exactly pretty.
“Please, don’t cut me out of your life,” Cheyenne whispered. “Give me a chance to make this up to you.”
Camilla dropped her hands to her sides and scowled at her friend.
“You know what? I feel bad for you. The fact that you went to such lengths…” Then she let out another broken laugh.
“Think about it. If Dallas and I had never broken up all those years ago, we could be happily married right here in Copper Creek. You’d be a part of both of our lives.
It’s not us versus you, Cheyenne. It never would have been.
You were my best friend, too.” She turned on her heel and strode back the way she came, no longer interested in a walk.
“Camilla!” Cheyenne called after her. “Please—”
“Time,” Camilla called over her shoulder. “Give me some time.” She needed to think about everything that had happened since she found out Dallas was going to leave.
Did she want to try to reconcile their relationship? Or was it truly over? The biggest question was whether she could still find it in herself to trust him. It was looking more and more like she could. He was basically manipulated into not talking with her anymore.
Then there was the issue of Cheyenne. If Camilla and Dallas made it work and they settled down in Copper Creek, they’d both have to deal with his conniving twin. Did Cheyenne even deserve any grace after all the garbage she put the two of them through?
Camilla got into her truck and drove, not knowing where she was going until she parked in front of the country club. Evening was approaching and it was the weekend, so people were starting to arrive in larger groups. This place continued to draw a crowd despite being here for years.
And why wouldn’t it?
She climbed out of her truck, moved to the back, and settled on the tailgate as she stared at the building. This was the place where she’d fallen for the guy who held her heart. This was the place where she’d allowed herself to believe in a happy future.
Time passed by unnoticed until she sensed him.
There was something about Dallas that communicated with her heart, with her very soul. Come to think of it, that was how it had always been.
The truck shifted beneath his weight as he climbed onto the tailgate beside her. He didn’t speak. He didn’t ask her if she was okay or even tell her how he’d found her. It didn’t matter. For all she knew, one of her siblings had her phone on a tracking app and they’d told him.
Dallas scooted closer to her, and that was all it took to shatter the last remnants of her control. Sobs wracked her body. She turned into his chest, clinging to him. Seven years. They’d lost seven years of happiness together.
If Cheyenne hadn’t driven him away by using his self-doubt against him, where would they be today? Would they have a home of their own? Kids? The tears continued to fall as she thought about everything that had come after Dallas left.
Her own ruined view of herself. The self-confidence that had been chipped away with each and every failed relationship. She hadn’t realized it until Dallas had come back, but she’d become a shell of the girl she’d been when they’d first met.
How could she reconcile all that loss? What was she supposed to do with this knowledge? Moving on seemed like an impossibility, even though she’d promised Dallas and Cheyenne she’d consider it.
The man at her side still didn’t utter a word. He didn’t promise that the pain would go away. He didn’t offer assurances that everything would work out. And he didn’t dismiss these raging emotions she was feeling.
He just was.
His arms remained wrapped around her, and he kept his cheek resting atop her head. People came and went from the country club, tossing confused or concerned glances their way, but it didn’t affect him.
Long into the night, Dallas stayed.