6. Chapter 6
Mason
The fluorescent lights flickered above us, buzzing incessantly.
People’s voices hummed in the background, and the seams in my shirt felt like sandpaper against my skin.
I was one sensation away from exploding , but I couldn’t do that.
Not now, not here. All I’d wanted was to stay home, but Cameron had been so excited about going out.
I’d never actually set foot in a store like this before. All my shopping for Rosie had been done online; it was just easier that way. As we waded through aisles of pastel fabrics and the latest gadgets, I found myself unable to focus. Instead, I kept stealing glances at the father of my child.
Sure, what we needed to talk about earlier wasn’t super important, but it was something that Rosie could inherit from me, and I thought he’d want to know.
But, when I brought up the idea of a secret, he seemed to get defensive…
why? I scratched my head as I thought about everything that’s happened between Cameron and I now.
Maybe he had a kid somewhere in… wherever he was from that he didn’t stick around to raise.
He seemed excited about Rosie. He had started feeling her when she kicked, and every time my pregnancy app compared her size to a new vegetable, he wanted to be the first to know. Now that it was coming down to the wire, he seemed scared.
Part of me wanted to chalk it up to new dad jitters, but if that had been the case, I’d like to think he would have come to the hospital with me. After all, if he wanted to be the first to do everything else, why wouldn’t he want to be the first to hold our daughter? After me, of course.
Plus, Cameron never talked about his past. I had never seen photos of him from when he was growing up, even though I had been begging to see him when he was my age.
I asked Lucian about this, and he said Cameron never really wanted to talk about himself.
All the information I could get on him was when Sophia told me Cameron apparently had a dad he didn’t speak to.
I studied Cameron as he pressed the black plastic lid of his coffee cup to his lips. His throat bobbed as he swallowed.
“You look tired today,” I told him.
A smirk pulled at his lips. “It’s comforting to know you’re too honest to lie to me.”
Lying and addiction were the two awful traits I failed to inherit from my parents, and I was thankful. I just wasn’t sure what the point of lying even was.
“Have you ever lied to me?” My question slipped before I could stop it.
Cameron choked.
My muscles tightened as I reached up to pat him on the back. He leaned over the cart slightly as he covered his mouth.
“I’m so sorry.” I rushed through my apology.
“Ain’t a thing to be sorry about.” He coughed before straightening back up. “It just went down the wrong pipe.”
Maybe it was just me being paranoid, but I was pretty sure he was hiding something with that cough. Was he trying to derail me? Would I be in the wrong if I pushed him a little further?
The cart stopped in front of a sea of very soft-looking clothes, all in various shades of pink. Instantly, Cameron picked one up and laid it across my stomach.
“Is she this big yet?” His brow pulled together .
I lifted the sleeper and smiled at the white deer pattern dotted across the pink fleece before finding the tag.
”I hope not.” I laughed. “This is for a six-month-old.”
Cameron winced before taking it back. “Shoot. Well… at least you ain’t gotta push something that size out.”
I nodded before looking for the rack. Instantly, I found something with a newborn tag before realizing that I might not be able to keep her in that long.
Something about that made me feel like a bad mom, even though I knew I couldn’t help it.
What was worse was that I couldn’t tell anyone else that I felt like that, either.
People in this world had real problems. All I had was a healthy baby and a scare.
So, instead, I reluctantly grabbed something preemie sized. A sick feeling formed in my stomach as I realized just how small this was. I wished Lucian was home; he was always the one I talked to about this stuff.
Still, I forced a smile and passed it to Cameron. “She’ll probably be around this size.”
He held the pajamas up by the shoulders before laying it across one of his forearms. At first, his brow furrowed, but then a smile blossomed on his lips. He had a dreamy look in his eyes as if he could already imagine himself holding our girl.
“Do you want to get it?” I asked.
He looked over at me. “Yeah, I think I do.”
He took his time throwing it in the cart before moving just far enough to stand in front of the blankets. That’s when I realized this might have been Cameron’s first time shopping for baby stuff…. with me, at least. He probably went shopping with the baby mama I knew he had and ran from.
“Hey, where are you from?” I asked.
He looked at me for a moment, and his lips parted. It looked like the words caught on the tip of his tongue, causing him to close his mouth just as fast as he opened it .
What was so hard about telling me where he was born? I could tell him everywhere I lived if he asked. That’s why I wanted to push the issue, but I never got the chance. When I went to speak, I was greeted by a grating voice.
“You should be ashamed of yourself.” an old woman harped, drawing my attention.
She had short silver hair and dark, beady eyes.
Cameron and I looked at each other with an expression of who is she talking to ?
“Yes, you.” She continued.
But, this time, she reached over and grabbed me by the wrist. Panic shot through me as I remembered the way the bracelet my dad crafted for me felt. I tried to yank my arm free, but her grip was too tight.
Cameron protectively put his hands on my shoulder, but I wasn’t sure he knew what to do about this situation either.
“You’re throwing your whole life away. Kids these days have no idea how much work a baby actually is.”
Her words sunk in, and I rapidly realized she probably thought I was a teenager. This happened a lot when people didn’t recognize me. I assumed it just came with being short.
Cameron ran his hand down my arm before pushing her away and holding me close.
“She ain’t ruining anything—”
“You should be ashamed of yourself, too.” She continued, jabbing a finger into Cameron’s chest. “If my daughter came home pregnant at her—”
“She ain’t my daughter.”
Cameron remained calm as the lady paled. Seeing her uncomfortable made me feel a little better.
“I-” she gulped as she stared at us. “Your niece?”
Cameron shook his head. Seeing as Cameron and I looked nothing alike, this was almost funny.
“She’s my girlfriend.” Cameron continued .
The old bat’s face turned red, and she huffed before walking away without as much as an apology.
When we were alone again, Cameron turned me to face him before looking me over. He held my hands and looked at my wrists before dropping them and rubbing my stomach.
“You’re okay.” He coached.
And I nodded even though my heart was still racing. I wanted nothing more than to go home and pretend this never happened, but we still had shopping to do.
It took us a little more than an hour to get everything we needed, and somehow, we managed to fit everything in the bed of Cameron’s truck. But, instead of just going home, Cameron wanted to stop for lunch. He said we didn’t get the chance to go out much, plus he was hungry.
He asked me what I wanted, and I told him I wasn’t hungry. This time, it wasn’t a lie. My nerves were still frayed, and I was so emotionally exhausted that my eyes felt heavy.
Cameron ended up picking a little diner that felt like it was ripped from the fifties. The air was heavy with the smell of frying bacon. Despite my years of being a vegetarian, the scent made my mouth water.
When we sat down, Cameron ordered drinks and an appetizer sampler for both of us. I liked the idea of him ordering for me. It felt strangely romantic.
Soon, the waitress came by with a sweet tea for Cameron and a lemonade for me before giving us some time to actually read the menu.
“You look real cute today.” Cameron complimented. “You can really see Rosie’s startin’ to get big.”
Maybe he had a pregnancy kink and no desire to actually follow through with raising a baby .
I looked up and realized this was the part of the conversation where I should say thank you . But, even though we hadn’t actually talked about whether Cameron would be there for Rosie, I just assumed he would.
Cameron shifted, and it was like he could tell that I needed a distraction.
“Hey, have ya’ found anything new on that thing Seb had you read a while back?”
He didn’t need to elaborate for me to know what he was talking about.
I had been more than a little obsessed with Calvin Waters, especially since my dad died.
It was strangely comforting to look into the life of someone who had it worse than me.
If Calvin could lose all his family to a house fire in one night, I’d be okay just losing my dad.
“I found a couple of things, no pictures, though.”
Which sucked considering that was all I wanted, especially since Seb thought Calvin was hiding somewhere in Hartwood. If I could just memorize what his face looked like, I could find him, and hug him.
“Well, what’d ya find?”
I used the plastic straw to stir my drink before taking a sip. “He played hockey, and one year he won a prize for tractor restoration… but that sounds fake.”
Cameron smiled a little. “It ain’t. You just take a real old tractor and make it look as good as new. I did something like that a few years back.”
“…Did you win?”
Cameron nodded, and I wondered if he and Calvin would be friends. After all, they both apparently liked to restore tractors. That seemed like a weirdly niche hobby.
But, I bet Calvin Waters wouldn’t have a secret love child he hid from his girlfriend.
I thought it was weird that I could find information but not a photo, and I wondered if someone was making sure they got deleted.
After all, if whoever Seb worked for was interested in Calvin, he had to be important.
I usually didn’t believe in government conspiracies.
Still, if Seb’s organization didn’t want the public to know what Calvin looked like, they probably had the power to make sure that happened .
Rosie kicked, and I leaned back to give her a little more room to move. “Do you think It’s dumb that I’m looking into someone who obviously doesn’t want to be found?”
Cameron picked up his cup of tea and took a drink, and I thought he might have just been buying himself time to answer. “How do you know he doesn’t want to be found?”
My brow furrowed. “Because he’s been gone for like twenty years?”
The newest information I had on Calvin was the article Seb had me translate.
“That don’t mean he don’t want to be found… it might mean someone doesn’t want him to be found.” Cameron had a point.
I tapped my chin as I thought. Maybe I should bring that up to Seb. It might help him actually finish the case. But it was kind of weird that Cameron thought of that when Seb didn’t.
I studied him for a moment and thought about everything I knew about Calvin. He grew up on a farm, and he obviously liked tractors, but he was sixteen. No… he was sixteen when he went missing.
I tried to remember the exact date the article about the house fire was published, but I drew blanks. As I thought, my eyes remained trained on Cameron’s, and he shifted under the weight of my gaze.
“So…” He looked away, putting a hand on the back of his neck. “You don’t think I actually look old enough to be your dad, right?”
I pressed my lips together as I examined Cameron. He had fine lines around his eyes, but there were no hints of gray in his copper hair. He certainly acted old enough to be my dad, but that wasn’t the question.
Before I could answer, our server rounded the corner with a parchment-lined basket.
Her chestnut-brown ponytail bounced as she placed the variety of fried foods in front of us.
“Here are those apps–Do you need a minute, or are you ready to order?” She purred .
Cameron looked at me as I picked up a mozzarella stick and submerged it in the plastic cup of marinara sauce. I held up a finger to tell him I did, in fact, need more time. By this point, I had yet to read the menu.
“Can ya come back later?” Cameron asked.
“Of course!” she chirped. “Also, I just wanted to say that I love that you’re making time for your daughter. My dad did this once a week when I was her age, and our little dates are some of my favorite memories.”
”She ain’t–” He let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temple. “Thank ya.”
She smiled and nodded before going to check on another table. And I wasted no time digging into my saturated cheese stick. The sauce was tangy, the breading was crispy, and the cheese was creamy. If someone had told me this was what the Gods ate in Mount Olympus, I’d believe them.
“I guess that answered my question,” Cameron grumbled. “We don’t even look alike.”
A smile tugged at my lips as I realized I had the perfect opportunity to rile him up. “If it makes you feel better, I think you’re the best daddy ever.”
He smirked, rolled his eyes, and pointed to a mozzarella stick in the basket. “ Are you going to be upset if I take this?”
I nodded, and he grabbed a potato skin instead.
“You’re spoiled, you know that, right?” He chided.
“It’s not my fault you spoil me, Daddy.”
“If you keep calling me Daddy, I’m gonna take you over my knee and spank you when we get home,” he threatened.
“Don’t threaten me with a good time,” I warned, and Cameron stiffened like he was expecting me to call him Daddy again. But, since he was prepared, I couldn’t. “You are turning forty tomorrow, so you’re kind of old enough to be my dad.”
That reminded me I needed to get him a gift. Maybe Lucian and I could go out later.
“Shit, I forgot that was tomorrow,” he grumbled .
What kind of person forgets their birthday…
unless that wasn’t his actual birthday. I tried to shake the thought from my head.
Someone close to you having a fake identity was something that happened in movies, not real life.
This was just the result of me being crazy.
Still… it seemed plausible, and that made it worse.
“You never told me where you were from.” I reminded Cameron.
I hoped he was going to tell me something that would clear his name.
Cameron swallowed his food before focusing on me. “Kingsbury.”