Chapter 22
Cameron
B linding rage.
That was the only emotion that built behind Cameron’s eyes as he took swing after swing at his brother. He lost track of how many times he pummeled his own flesh and blood before strong hands dragged him off Samuel.
Only then did he register that Sophia was screaming at him.
Someone was calling the sheriff.
Several people were watching him as his chest rose and fell with sharp breaths. His lungs burned, but the pain in his knuckles was even worse. Samuel looked disoriented as someone helped him to his feet. He glowered at Cameron.
He wiped at the blood that dribbled from his nose and split lip. “Cameron? Are you insane?”
Hands tightened on his arm, and Cameron yanked free, only to realize that it was Sophia’s touch that he pulled away from. She froze. Her eyes darted from Cameron to Samuel and back again.
“You guys know each other?”
Samuel seemed just as confused, but not Cameron. Somehow, he knew something like this would happen. Sam spat blood on the grass before jerking his chin at Cameron. “He’s my brother.”
Sophia gasped and looked to Cameron for confirmation. “What?”
Shaking out his hands, Cameron shook his head. “I don’t have a brother.” He expected to see a reaction from Samuel or even Sophia, but no one moved. They were in a stand-off. He lost track of the seconds that ticked by as he tried to make heads or tails of how this catastrophe had occurred.
Then he whirled around and faced the love of his life. She’d kissed another man—his brother, no less. Every fear Cameron had was manifested in the moments leading up to what he’d witnessed.
He’d come to town to meet with his brother. They were going to get lunch and catch up, and Cameron had been stupid enough to think if he kept Samuel contained in the city, there wouldn’t be any chance of Sophia running into him.
But he hadn’t counted on the fact that Sophia was going to be in town as well.
At first, he’d sat back and watched the interaction.
Cameron knew his brother. He knew that Samuel wouldn’t pass up a chance to flirt with a girl as pretty as Sophia.
She was his type, as history had shown. Cameron hadn’t been surprised in the slightest to see Samuel take a seat to joke around with Sophia.
Maybe it was morbid curiosity, but Cameron had been more interested to see what Sophia would do when a stranger hit on her without him present.
His fingernails had dug into his hands the longer he’d watched them.
He’d been so proud of himself for holding back when he saw Samuel move closer to speak to her.
Every memory of seeing Samuel with his ex had been yanked to the surface while Cameron watched the interaction, and he just prayed that Samuel would get up and walk away.
Alas, his prayers had gone unanswered.
“You kissed him,” he growled at Sophia. “You kissed my brother.”
“What?” Her eyes widened. “No, I didn’t.”
“I saw it with my own eyes.” He let out a mirthless laugh that sounded almost sinister.
“You can’t tell me I was seeing things because I know what I saw.
” His heart was shattering and all the pain from his past came rushing to the surface.
“The worst part is that you know how it would make me feel.”
This was personal.
Sophia reached for him, shaking her head. Cameron ignored the way the crowd hovered as if they wanted to listen to the gossip that would assuredly be spread like dandelion seeds by the end of the day. Her eyes pricked with emotion. “Cameron, whatever you think happened?—”
“I know what happened,” he snapped.
“Cam, just wait—” Samuel started.
Cameron shot him a death glare. “You stay out of this. Haven’t you done enough?”
His brother took a step closer. “It’s not what you think, Cam. She’s telling the truth.”
Another laugh bubbled from Cameron’s throat. It burned like acid coming up, and he shook his head before lacing his fingers behind his neck and taking a few paces. “It’s not what I think. Yeah, where have I heard that before? Oh, right. That first time I caught you with Kristy.”
Samuel had the decency to snap his mouth shut. His skin colored in a strange blotchy kind of way. “What can I say? She wasn’t content with what she had.” He said it with all the smugness of a man who knew he could get any girl to fall at his feet.
Cameron lunged for his brother, ready to take another swing, but Sophia’s strangled voice stopped him. She moved toward Cameron, blocking him from having a direct path to his brother. Her dark eyes pierced him. “You can’t just throw punches anytime you don’t like what someone says.”
He scoffed.
“I mean it, Cameron. It’s not healthy.”
“You want to talk about healthy? How about we talk about your incessant need to use your flirting like a bonafide weapon?”
Sophia gasped.
Samuel muttered under his breath but had the intelligence to keep those thoughts to himself.
Cameron stepped into her, his eyes narrowing on her. “You use your so-called skills to benefit you. Why can’t I use my fists to benefit me?”
“Cameron!” she admonished.
“How am I supposed to believe you’re telling the truth when I know how your mind works, hmm?
From the looks of it, the two of you were laughing and having a good time.
Let me ask you something, Red. Did you tell him you were involved with anyone?
” His eyes darted from her to Samuel. The latter couldn’t control the surprise on his face.
His brother was usually very good at schooling his features, but he was utterly floored.
A sneer stretched Cameron’s face. “She didn’t, did she?
” He directed that question at his brother.
“We are dating. Which begs the question. Why not? Why didn’t you tell Sam that you were involved? You certainly had plenty of time.”
Guilt permeated her expression, and for some unexplainable reason, seeing it hit him harder than witnessing the bumbling kiss from a few minutes ago. She placed her hands on his chest, her eyes pleading. “I swear I didn’t know Sam was your brother.”
Hollow.
Her words did nothing to fill the void he was feeling as he stood there staring at her while she attempted to make him feel better.
She knew how this would affect him—what it would do to him for her to be involved with his brother.
Not only that, but his trust continued to crumble knowing she hadn’t said a single word about her relationship status.
“We met four years ago,” she stammered. Still, that confession did nothing to ease the ache in his chest.
Vague memories of Samuel flooded his mind. His mother had said that Samuel had met a girl he was interested in, but then nothing had come of it. Was that woman Sophia?
His focus bounced from Samuel to Sophia. Of course it was her. Who wouldn’t fall for her charm and her wit? He’d fallen for her in less than twenty-four hours. Why wouldn’t his brother do the same?
A sick, twisted feeling was brought to life again, and he pried Sophia’s hands from his chest. His grip on her wrists was firm but not enough to be painful.
The hurt in her eyes gave him a momentary pause.
He was torn between wanting to push her away for her deception—planned or not—and wanting to pull her close so they could heal together.
Cameron dropped her hands and stepped back. His voice was gravelly and full of anguish. “You know what? Have him. You two deserve each other.” He spun on his heel but was stopped by the sheriff arriving.
Twenty minutes later and with an insistence that Samuel wasn’t going to press charges, Cameron was permitted to escape to his truck. He didn’t get far, however. He heard her footsteps before she appeared at his side.
Her breaths came out heavy, and her cheeks were stained with dried tears. “Cameron, we need to talk.”
He huffed. “There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Yes, there is.”
Cameron shook his head. “You’ve made it perfectly clear that you don’t want to lay claim on me. My brother. Your ex. Some random guy at that country club. Doesn’t matter. It was inevitable.”
She made a strangled sound that had his steps faltering.
He glanced in her direction to see a fresh wave of tears.
But this time they weren’t full of sadness.
Those were angry tears. Her hands were balled into fists, and if she was anyone else, she might have taken a swing at him. “Will you just stop for a minute?”
He did as she asked and faced her, though he couldn’t look directly into her eyes.
His focus remained on a blank space to the right of her head.
“What?” he snapped. She didn’t speak right away, and for a moment he considered making his escape.
This whole thing was a total mess. He’d ruined everything with his outburst. Even now, there were bits of clarity coming through as guilt and shame accosted him.
His eyes flickered to her face, and the look of desperation he read there was like a kick to the groin.
Cameron hefted out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “What?”
She blinked furious tears, her fingers now twitching at her sides. Then she folded her arms across her chest. “You need help.”
He nearly stumbled back a step. “What?”
“You heard me. Something is going on, and it’s nothing I can help you with. You should get professional help before you really do some damage. Do you know how lucky you are that Samuel is your brother?”
“Lucky?” he scoffed with a derisive laugh. “You and I have very different views on what that word means.”
She flushed a deep, angry, scarlet color. “I mean it, Cameron. If that had been a stranger, you might have been put in lockup. I’m not even entirely sure the sheriff won’t do it just to make an example out of you.”
Cameron’s eyes darted to the group of people who were too far away to hear their conversation. The sheriff was still speaking to a few of the witnesses. Stomach lurching, Cameron brought his focus once more to Sophia.
“Will you say something?” she asked, meeker this time.
“What do you want me to say?” he asked, emotionless. “You want me to thank my brother for kissing the only girl I could think about for the last five years?”
She blinked rapidly.
“You want me to beg forgiveness from you when I did nothing wrong? I’m certainly not the one keeping my relationship a secret. That’s all on you, Red.”
He could see in real time her fury returning.
“You know what?” she snapped. “Fine. Do what you want. But until something changes, don’t bother speaking to me.” With that, she spun around and charged back to the crowd of people.
He groaned, yanking at his hair. “Sophia, wait?—”
But she didn’t. She just kept walking.
Back to her bench, to the sheriff, to the place where his world had turned upside down.
And back to Sam.