Chapter 9
CHAPTER
NINE
Camden
What the hell am I doing?
You know exactly what you’re doing, my friend.
I stare at the variety of snow toys and add almost all of them to my cart.
Spinning, I make my way to the front counter of the general store.
It has just about everything you’d need for home, garden, farm, and building materials.
They don’t always have a large selection to choose from, but it saves us time and money from having to travel to one of the cities nearby to hit bigger boxed stores.
“Hey, Camden,” the clerk, Gloria, greets.
“Hi, Miss Alexander. Busy today?” I ask, placing the items on the counter and pulling out my wallet while she scans them.
“You know it. It usually is when there’s a big weekend snow.” She looks down at the snow brick maker and holds it up. “You building a fort?”
I chuckle. “New neighbor has a little boy. Thought he’d get a kick out of all this stuff,” I reply casually, hoping she hasn’t heard all the town gossip about my new neighbor over the last week.
“Oh! Yes, Adam’s daughter is back, right? He mentioned that to me a few days ago when he stopped by to get a new doorknob for her bathroom.”
I nod, not really knowing what to say. I know Adam replaced the bathroom knob temporarily.
It was something he mentioned to me while we were moving in some of the furniture.
A few months prior, at their old apartment, Theo had locked himself in the bathroom.
Maren freaked out because she couldn’t find one of those little keys to unlock the door.
She begged and begged him to release the lock, but he wouldn’t do it.
Instead, he decided he wanted to take a bath, which terrified Maren even more as she heard the water turn on.
She was able to get in finally, tears streaming down her face as she told her son he wasn’t allowed to do any of that ever again.
From that moment on, she replaced the knob to one that doesn’t lock and did the same for her bedroom too.
This way, he wasn’t able to lock himself in any of the rooms. At their new house in Cooper Town, her dad replaced the one indoor knob that had a lock—the bathroom.
He also installed security slide locks to the tops of the outside doors, so little fingers can’t unlock the entrances and slip out.
She’s a great mom like that.
“Seventy-two fifteen,” Gloria announces, pulling me back to the present.
I don’t flinch at the price, just hand over my card to pay for the purchase. I take the new sled and the bag of other items, returning them to my cart.
“Your card and receipt,” she says, handing them both over to me. “I hope Maren’s little one enjoys the snow.”
“Thanks, me too.”
“Are you two…you know?” she asks, leaving her question open. I can read between the lines.
“No,” I state, shoving my wallet back in my pocket. “Just being neighborly.”
Disappointment flashes across her face. “Oh. That’s too bad. You two were so adorable when you were in high school, always together. I thought maybe this was your second chance.”
How do you respond to that? No, this isn’t our second chance at anything, but if we can be friendly at the end of the day, then so be it.
Whether anyone believes me or not, I don’t want to fight with her.
I don’t want anything, except to maybe move about my life and do my thing without thinking about her at the drop of a hat.
But was I really living my life?
Nope. Not going there.
“Have a good one, Gloria,” I finally say, turning my cart and heading for the entrance.
I grab the bag and sled, leave the cart in the vestibule with the others, and make my way to my truck.
I toss my purchase into the back seat, contemplating if I’m making a mistake.
I don’t want to overstep or insert myself into her life again, but I can’t seem to help myself. At least where Theo is concerned.
He’s fucking adorable. Yes, he looks so much like his mother, and while that stings a little bit, there’s no way I could harbor even the slightest bit of animosity toward the boy.
In fact, he seems to have the complete opposite effect on me.
He makes me smile. Real smiles, ones that feel natural and unforced.
Maybe I should be putting a little distance between myself and Maren.
Tonight might be a good night for that. I should head up to The Tipsy Lizard, hang out, maybe find a friend to spend some time with.
Of course, as soon as that thought enters my mind, it’s pushed right back out with images of Maren.
Fuck.
I dealt with that for years, her memory plaguing me.
Even though she broke up with me and left town, I still couldn’t escape her.
When I turned twenty-one, I sort of went wild, vanquishing her memory any way I could.
I dated—a lot—but I would never let anyone get too close.
I’ve carried much of the same pain as my brothers, all of us having our hearts broken at some point by a woman we thought we loved.
But I did love Maren. Probably more than I should have…
Just as I pull out of the lot, still undecided what I’m going to do about the stuff I have in my back seat, my phone rings. I glance over and smile when I see Mom on the screen.
“How’s my favorite lady?”
She snickers, and even though it’s not a video call, I know she’s shaking her head. “You know, maybe that’s your problem.”
“What problem? I have no problem,” I counter, turning off the main drag and heading for home.
“You’re a mama’s boy.”
I bark out a laugh. “You think?”
“Well, out of all the women in the world, if I’m your favorite, that’s pretty telling. Your father did warn me I was ruining you when you dressed the dog up in your sister’s tutu and tried to teach it the Macarena.”
Again, I let out a hearty laugh. “You didn’t ruin me, but I am a much better dancer than the rest of your children.”
She chuckles. “That you are.”
“To what do I owe this phone call?” I ask.
“Can’t a mother just call and say hello to her favorite son?”
“Wait, I’m going to need you to repeat that. I didn’t hit record in time,” I counter, knowing she’s kidding. She’d never play favorites with any of us.
“Nope, you had your one chance. You’re too slow.”
I tsk. “Figures.”
“Anyway, I was just calling to say hello.” After a second she adds, “All I’ve been hearing about is your new neighbor.”
There it is.
“Honestly, I’m surprised it’s taken this long for you to call and inquire.”
“Well, I’m not a gossip like the rest of the biddies in this town,” she argues, even though we both know that’s false. No, Mom isn’t as gossipy as some of the others, but she engages in some of the town chatter on occasion.
“I’m fine,” I answer, turning onto my street, my eyes already looking ahead to see if I spot Maren and Theo.
She’s silent, and I already know she doesn’t believe me.
I exhale and pull into my driveway. Just as I reach the point where I can see into both my backyard and the neighboring one, I smile.
There’s Maren and Theo. He’s sitting on a small disc sled, and she’s pulling him around the yard.
I try not to think about how fucking adorable she looks, in her snow pants, coat, boots, gloves, and stocking cap, but I can’t help it.
She’s fucking beautiful, even all red cheeked from the cold, and maybe a bit of exertion at pulling him around the yard.
“It was a shock to find out she’s living right next door to me, but I’m dealing.
It’s not like we see each other all the time or anything,” I state, the lie rolling off my tongue a little too easily.
The truth is we’ve seen each other a lot, even just in passing.
And because my eyes seem to have a mind of their own lately, I’ve even caught sight of her moving about in the kitchen because our windows face each other.
But there’s no way in hell I’ll tell anyone that.
“Are you sure?” she asks, her voice full of concern.
“Yes, Mom. It happened years ago. I’m over it.” I put my truck in park and stare at the neighbors as they play.
Again, with the lies…
“Honey, don’t you dare lie to me. I was there, remember? And it wasn’t so long ago that you completely forget.”
“Yeah,” I reply, smiling the moment I see Theo flop back in the snow and start moving his arms and legs to make an angel.
“I thought about dropping by and saying hello.”
That catches my attention. “Yeah?”
“But only if you’re okay with that.”
“Why would I not be? You’re a grown woman,” I counter.
“Yes, but she broke your heart.”
I exhale. “She did, but it was a long time ago. I’m sure she’d love a visit.”
“I heard she has a son.”
“Theo,” I reply, another smile in my voice as I say his name. “He’s pretty cool.”
“I bet,” she replies. “I can’t wait to meet him.”
“You’ll love him,” I say.
“All right, well, I’ll let you go. I think we’re going to do dinner next Sunday. Your brother’s not on shift, and we all want to get some more baby snuggles in,” she says, referring to my niece, June.
“Sounds good.”
“Talk to you later, honey. Love you.”
“Bye, Mom. Love you too.”
I hang up and turn off my truck. My plan is to just hand over the snow toys, but when I see Theo getting back on the sled and how tired Maren looks, I know it’s not going to be that simple.
Decision made, I close my door and head for my house. Of course, as soon as I step away from my truck, Theo spots me. “Cam!”
I pause. “Hey, little dude.”
“I pway!”
“I see that,” I reply, hands shoved in my pockets and forcing my vision to remain focused on the boy. “Give me a minute, and I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” he replies.
When I reach my door, I key in my code and step inside.
I quickly dig my snowsuit, boots, and gloves from the closet, tossing it all onto the kitchen table before I move quickly to my bedroom to slip on more comfortable—and cleaner—clothes.
I should shower off today’s grime and grease, but I don’t want to waste a second.
They could only be outside for a few more minutes, and I don’t want to miss them because I’m showering.