Chapter 15
CHAPTER 15
C ameron had done everything he could to stay busy on Monday. He’d even met with some of his cousins. His brothers Caleb and Cody had come by and they’d been teasing him about whether Eugenia had found the love of his life.
He didn’t want to talk about it.
To keep Samantha from creeping into his mind and Eugenia from giving him even more grief about leaving Montana, he did his best to stay occupied and away from his own home.
But he also knew that Eugenia liked to show up in the recreation center. So he was going house to house visiting everyone except Aunt Rose. That woman he did his best to avoid. She was one cantankerous person who at Christmas always seemed sad.
As he walked back toward his house, a cold northern wind blew, sending a shiver through him. If there were pine trees around, it would feel like Montana.
Just then his Aunt Rose stepped out of the old mansion.
“Cameron, come see me,” she called.
Oh boy, this couldn’t be good.
He walked up the front porch and she opened the door and limped inside. The woman pointed to a chair.
“Sit,” she said as she sank down in a rocker.
“How was Montana?”
What could he say? Oh, I loved the property and fell in love with the woman who owns it, but I deceived her and now she probably hates me.
Geez, he’d screwed up. If he had to do it over again, he would run to her and tell her everything he knew about what her brother was doing. He would be spreading gossip like an old woman.
“It was good,” he said with such mixed feelings.
Her brow drew together. “I know you’re trying to leave the Burnett Ranch and I understand. But you’re a valuable member of this family.”
“Thank you, Aunt Rose. The Burnett Ranch is my home and means a lot to me. I appreciate the opportunities I’ve had here. It’s not that I want to leave, but rather I want to expand my horizons.”
She grinned at him. “Yes, well, I know sooner or later one of you roosters are going to fly the nest and I think you’re going to be the first one.”
“Possibly,” he said grinning. “But there are plenty more Burnetts growing up here on the ranch.”
Just then the radio on his belt crackled.
“Cameron, come in,” a young voice said.
Lifting the radio off his belt, he asked. “Cameron, here.”
“You’ve got a visitor,” the young man at the front gate said. “Samantha Anderson.”
His heart leaped in his chest and he jumped to his feet. “Yes, let her through. Make certain she finds my house. I’m on my way there now.”
The sun had long ago set. What was Samantha doing here?
“I gather this is someone important to you?”
He grinned at his aunt. “Very much. I just hope she doesn’t hate me for what I did in Montana.”
His aunt’s brows drew together.
“Gotta run, Aunt Rose.”
“Bring her to meet me,” she said. “It doesn’t have to be tonight, but soon.”
“Will do,” he said all but running for the door, his lungs gasping as he ran to his house.
What brought her to see him? When he left, the wedding had collapsed and she had her hands full. So much so, he’d left without seeing her that morning. If he had, it would’ve been hard to leave.
Standing on his porch, he watched as the car pulled up to the door. Getting out, she walked toward him.
“Samantha,” he said unable to stop himself from walking toward her.
“You lied to me,” she said. “You were not there for the wedding, but rather to scope out the property because you were thinking of buying it.”
Oh no, she was furious with him and he couldn’t blame her.
“Let’s go in the house,” he said, trying to take her arm, but she jerked away from him.
When they got inside, she turned on him.
“Why weren’t you honest with me? I liked you and you lied to me,” she said hurt and anguish filling her voice. “It’s bad enough what Edward has done, but you were an accomplice to his scheme.”
“You’re right. I should have told you, but then you would have learned about Edward and so I didn’t know what to do. Your brother and I have been friends since college. He called me up about two weeks ago and asked me if I’d like to buy your ranch. I asked him if you and your mother knew and he lied to me. He said he’d told you. But when I got there, I realized you knew nothing.”
Her big brown eyes were filled with tears. “I trusted you.”
“I know and I’m sorry. But the entire time, I kept telling Edward, when I could find him, that he needed to let you and your mother know.”
They were standing in the entryway of his small home and he led her toward the living room. “Have a seat.”
“I can’t stay long. But I had to come here and face you and tell you I was really starting to care about you and now I learn you’ve made an offer on the ranch.”
A heavy sigh escaped his chest. “Because I wanted to protect you and your mother. I thought you could stay, even run your wedding venue business. Together we could bring the ranch back to its glory.”
“But you would own it, not me,” she said. “You could kick us to the curb at any time. It would no longer be the Anderson property as it has been since its beginning. It would be like me buying the Burnett ranch and then saying you can still live here.”
It was like he hadn’t considered how she would feel. He’d not given any thought she would balk at the idea since it would now be the Burnett Ranch and not the Mistletoe Inn and Ranch.
“We could make an agreement that your mother and you could stay there until she died,” he said.
Shaking her head, she glared at him.
“This week, I had Casey do an audit on the books. I’ve seen what Edward has done. I’m furious with him and Mother told him to pack his bags and leave, but still I have to try even though I’m probably going to fail. I have to do everything I can to save the family land. I’m just so hurt that you helped Edward. Why?”
Licking his lips, he knew he’d been wrong. “Edward knew that I was looking for ranch property to make into adult playgrounds. You know B&B’s where couples could go. Just like your wedding venue. I didn’t know you. I’d never met you and then when I met you, it was like we instantly clicked. I didn’t expect that to happen. I was just there to look at the property and pretend I was a wedding guest.”
She sighed and shook her head. “When I was graduating college, I met a man I thought was my forever guy. Until one night I surprised him by stopping at his apartment, which I had a key to. I crawled naked into his bed and was waiting for him. Except that instead of him coming home and finding me. He brought a girl home.”
A hysterical giggle filled the room. “Imagine his surprise when he brings her to bed and I’m there waiting for him. Naked and vulnerable and completely broken-hearted.”
A tear ran down her cheek. “Why does it feel like I’m naked and vulnerable and waiting in bed for you, only this time you’re colluding with my brother.”
Wiping the tear from her eye, he reached out to her, needing to pull her in his arms. “I’m sorry. I never expected to meet you and for this, whatever it is, to happen between us.”
“Don’t touch me,” she said and he released her. “I can’t do this. The deal is off. We’re not selling the ranch. We may lose it, but we’ll go down fighting the flames before I let you or anyone else have it. If you want to speak to Edward, he’s no longer at the ranch.”
“Sam,” he cried as she started to the door. “You didn’t come all this way just to tell me no,” he said.
Stopping in her tracks, she whirled around to him. “Yes. Yes, I did. Because I wanted to see your face when I told you how much you hurt me. I wanted to see if you did it on purpose or if you were truly sorry.”
“And what did you learn?”
“You were probably conned by my brother just as much as me and my mother were. But still, you hurt me, and I don’t know if I can ever get over that,” she said turning to the door.
The smell of lavender filled the air.
“Cameron, dear, just tell her you love her,” a voice said. “Stop her from leaving by being honest with your heart.”
“Not now, Grandmother,” he said.
She whirled back around and her eyes widened and her mouth dropped in shock.
How did he explain this?
“Sam, meet my great-great-great-great-grandmother Eugenia, the matchmaking ghost,” he said.
Shaking her head, she stared at the woman, and for a moment, he thought she was going to scream and then her legs seemed to crumble beneath her and she fell to the floor in a dead faint.
“Thanks, Grandmother. Thanks,” he said rushing over to Sam. “What do I do now?”
“You take her to bed, dear, and you show her how much you love her,” she said with a giggle. “I’ll be on my way, so I don’t witness anything I don’t want to know about. Give her your heart, Cameron. That’s the only way she’s going to forgive you.”