Chapter 4
Cameron
Present Day
“ T hat’s not my name.”
Cameron smirked, hands shoved in his pockets. At first, he thought he was seeing a ghost. He’d been busy settling in the last couple of days, but he’d thought he’d seen someone who looked exactly like Red last night.
Apparently, his eyes hadn’t been playing tricks on him.
“Will you wipe that stupid grin off your face?” she snapped.
“Not until you tell me your name.” He glanced around the immediate area. “So, are you working here? Friends with the owners?” He’d spent the last five years being furious with this woman. Yes, the anger was still buried deep, but right now, all he could think was that he’d finally found her.
She was so close that he could smell her light perfume scent.
Her cheeks were flushed beautifully. The dimple in her chin was more pronounced with the frustrated set of her jaw. His elation was bound to wear off, but for now he was going to indulge in it. Maybe later he’d get his own form of payback.
“This is my home ,” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “And you need to leave.”
Home?
So, this was where she’d been hiding all these years.
He’d done what he told Hugo and left his job after meeting Red.
He’d made it his mission to find her and that meant becoming the best at what he did.
Contracts with some of the most prestigious ranches across the country had him traveling from state to state, which gave him a lot of opportunities to look for her.
Who knew that agreeing to a year-long contract with Mateo Palmer would grant him his greatest wish. He leaned in closer to her, his smile growing. “You’re Mateo’s sister.”
She stiffened. That was all the answer he needed.
“So, Red. Are you going to tell me your name, or do I have to ask around? I’m sure I could find someone here who knows you.”
Her jaw tightened further before she opened her mouth to speak. Unfortunately, they were interrupted.
“Oh, good. You’ve met Sophia .”
Sophia’s eyes rounded briefly, and then her glower returned when Cameron smirked at her and mouthed her name. Then he turned to face Mateo. “Yes. We were just getting to know each other. Isn’t that right, Sophia?”
He didn’t miss the way her hands flexed and clenched several more times. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, and he itched to reach out and take her hand to prevent her from bolting.
She wouldn’t go far. This was her home. He’d finally found her, and there was nothing she could do about it.
There was so much lost time to make up for. In five years, not one woman had managed to draw his attention like Sophia had. She looked just as good as he remembered, better, even. Her hair was still medium length, but she’d added more streaks of red to her hair. The fire in her eyes was a change.
Cameron rocked back on his heels as he swung his focus to Mateo. He’d been told that he’d be working closely with Mateo’s sister, as she was the one who oversaw the horses. He never dreamed that person would be the woman who got away.
Sophia spun toward her brother and opened her mouth, but Mateo cut her off. There was a woman and a child at his side, and he brought the woman’s left hand forward.
Sophia’s eyes widened, and the fury that had been lingering in her eyes faded away.
She let out an excited squeal and pulled the woman into her arms. “I can’t believe he finally did it!
” She shot a firm look at her brother, to which Mateo just chuckled.
That was all it took for Cameron to be forgotten.
That was fine. Cameron didn’t need to be swept up in a celebration that he wasn’t invited to.
He stepped back slowly, withdrawing into the crowd of people who were mingling.
It didn’t take long for most of the people around them to get wind of the engagement and crowd the happy couple.
Apparently, this union had been a long time coming.
Cameron watched from the outside. He’d always been an outsider with how much he’d traveled. But now that he’d found her, that was going to change. With everyone’s attention shifted to Mateo and his bride-to-be, Cameron permitted himself to watch Red.
Here, she was in her element. He could see bits and pieces of the woman he’d met in Texas, but the woman standing on the other side of the yard didn’t feel the need to have her guard up. She was relaxed and carefree.
And man, if that didn’t make him want her even more.
But he couldn’t get ahead of himself. If Hugo were here, he’d be reminding Cameron that just because he’d found Red, he didn’t need to go in with guns blazing. The progress he’d made with her during that week had disappeared.
How many times had Hugo told him that he needed to let her go? That her behavior on that last night indicated exactly how she felt.
The problem was that Hugo hadn’t been there. He hadn’t seen the flicker of pain and fear in Red’s eyes. He hadn’t felt the heartache.
Red covered it well enough, but Cameron had noticed all the same. The woman standing among her friends and family was hiding something, and Cameron was going to unearth it before he made her fall in love with him.
The sting of betrayal that had followed him these past five years flickered to life when Sophia moved to speak to someone.
Not just any someone.
A man.
Worse, the guy was Cameron’s supervisor of sorts. At least he was in charge of the wranglers. With Cameron’s contract, he didn’t exactly report to anyone but Mateo.
She smiled with those pretty eyes up at that cowboy like he was the moon and stars themselves.
Dang it all.
Cameron’s hand curled into a fist as all the pain came whooshing back with a vengeance. He knew it was possible that she’d found someone else. It was a strong possibility, actually. With the more time that had passed, he’d assumed the worst.
He’d even had nightmares where he’d finally found her, and she had a husband and kids.
But she didn’t have a ring.
So that guy who was smiling down at her wasn’t a husband or a fiancé. A boyfriend maybe? He wasn’t touching her. They weren’t holding hands. Who was he to her? Cameron took a step forward, but a deep voice stopped him in his tracks.
“He’s taken.”
Cameron stiffened before turning his focus to the man at his side. He looked familiar. Same dark hair, same tanned skin, and same dark eyes as Mateo. There was no denying that the two of them were related.
Where Mateo sported some facial hair, this version was clean-shaven. He was probably a couple inches shorter than his brother, too. The smirk that filled his face was more carefree than Mateo’s as well.
With narrowed eyes, Cameron folded his arms. “Who?”
“The guy who’s talking to my sister. He’s actually married to my cousin.”
Cameron blinked and swung his attention to the man again, only now, he had a girl curled into his side.
“His name is Daniel.”
“I seem to recall that’s what he said his name was,” Cameron mused.
The man beside him gave him a cheeky grin—one that made Cameron instantly like him. He jutted his chin toward the group. “So, you want to tell me what is going on between you and my sister?”
Cameron smirked. “What would the fun in that be?”
The cowboy shrugged. “Maybe I could help.”
“I doubt that.” Cameron chuckled. “And even if you could, I work alone.”
He laughed with a shake of his head. “Your funeral.” He shoved out his hand. “I’m Roman. And you are?”
“Cameron.” They clasped hands with a firm shake. Cameron drew his attention to the woman who still held his heart no matter how many times Hugo had tried to convince him to walk away.
“Is she dating anyone?”
Roman arched a brow. “I could tell you, but what would the fun in that be?”
Cameron chuckled. “Touché”
They stood side by side, watching the crowd of people slowly disperse. Roman wasn’t going to offer any more information, and that was just fine by him. Cameron didn’t need anyone helping him win Red over. He’d done it once, and he’d do it again.
Mateo got up on a picnic table and held his hands to either side of his mouth. “Let’s get this party started.”
Somewhere, someone started music on a speaker.
Hollers and whoops filled the air. This man knew how to bring people together.
He was charismatic, and the way he talked about his dreams was infectious.
That attitude was the biggest reason for Cameron agreeing to such a long contractual period.
Normally, he’d sign on for a breeding season, but he’d never stay long enough to see the fruits of his labor.
Mateo demanded more, and Cameron had been swept up with Mateo’s flowery words and expectations for the future.
The universe had finally answered his prayers, and he’d die before he didn’t take this new opportunity by the horns.
At some point, Roman slipped off to chat with others at this event. Sophia glanced in his direction a few times, her eyes narrowed each time.
And whenever he caught her stare, he winked at her.
The motion seemed to set her off like a firecracker because she immediately tore her attention away from him. But the last time he winked, she deliberately moved over to a different cowboy.
Cameron had seen the guy around. He didn’t look like Roman or Mateo, so he probably wasn’t family.
Sophia reached for his upper arm and squeezed as she leaned in to say something to him. The cowboy laughed.
Definitely not family.
Something like a growl reverberated in his chest, and he strode forward with no thought to the consequences of his actions. It took no time at all to reach Sophia’s side and less time to decide what he was going to do with her.
He grasped her elbow gently but firmly at the same time as he tugged her away from the guy she was shamelessly flirting with.
Her gasp was quickly followed by sounds of indignation as she attempted to pull away from him—only, he wasn’t going to let that happen.
Cameron escorted her across the yard to a quieter space beneath a tree where they could be shaded by the boughs overhead.
Only then did he allow her to yank her arm free of him.
“What do you think you’re doing?” she snarled.
What was he doing?
Right now, he had no claim on her. They weren’t together.
She’d made that clear five years ago. Fury licked at his insides, growing with more force.
He deserved an explanation. She owed him that much.
“What are you doing, Red?” His question burst from his throat in a heated breath. “You were all over that guy.”
Her brows shot up, and she laughed.
She actually laughed.
It wasn’t the sweet sound he’d grown accustomed to when she’d flirted with him in Texas. This one was poisoned with bitterness that almost made him feel as though she’d slapped him.
“I can’t believe you right now. Seriously?”
He ground his jaw tight, waiting for an explanation, however unreasonable it was for him to want it.
Her eyes flicked between his, studying him before she shook her head with what could only be called disdain.
She moved far too quickly for him to be able to catch her from darting away from him.
He’d lost his chance to ask her what had happened.
This had been his chance to demand answers, and he’d squandered it because of his own jealousy.
Cameron watched her go, his stomach sinking. He dragged a hand down his face. This was going to be harder than he thought. She clearly despised him.