Chapter 6
Camille
“It looks amazing.” I give him a soft smile then go back into the kitchen only to come back out with a plate for myself that I set in my usual spot, the one right next to his.
“The boys seemed to like it and none of them died, so that’s a thing.” I hate that this is a default mechanism of mine, downplaying and underselling everything I do. I know it’s a result of how my marriage to Dalton conditioned me to behave, but it’s a hard habit to break.
“You didn’t eat with them?” It’s obviously a realization that hits suddenly and the words seem to spill out of him before the thought even fully settles in.
“Nope. I told them I’d wait for you so you weren’t eating alone.” I take my first bite, always trying to keep my movements delicate and not make any unnecessary sounds. I watch as he takes his first bite and, yeah, there’s nothing delicate about it and there sure isn’t anything delicate about the way he damn near moans in approval.
“Holy shit, this is delicious, Cam.” That earns him an amused smile and a gentle nod of my head.
“I’m glad you like it. So, now that you’re all bandaged up, how was your day?” He always seems so damn shocked when I ask, but I can tell it’s not something that bothers him. Hell, if anything, he seems to enjoy it.
“Same shit, new day. The last job of the day was supposed to be a simple patch job on a small leak, but turns out that small leak wasn’t so small. Had to replace insultation and four of the boards on the roof before replacing the underlayment and shingles on the damn thing. What was quoted as a two hour job max, turned into a six hour job.” I think he assumed when I first started asking about his day that I was just asking out of some sense of obligation, asking just to be polite, but that’s not me.
The first time I asked, I had him break down the basics of his day and I asked questions, I engaged with him to learn more about what it is that he does. After a few days of it, I learned the basics and the names for a lot of the tools and supplies used in his job.
“Shit, that’s…wait…how the hell could there be that much damage and be called a small leak repair? Are the homeowners idiots?!” He almost looks startled by my frustration over the situation, but he’s also clearly amused too.
“Yeah, but most of the people we deal with are. So, I’ve been curious since the day at the diner, but you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to…I was just wondering what kind of job you were doing before? You had mentioned you worked from home?” It’s not really a surprising question, but the answer, well, that might surprise him a little.
“Well, I was doing accounting and helping handle quarterly tax filings for a few companies. I wasn’t making as much as my ex, but I did well enough.” There I go, downplaying things again, but it’s like I can’t even help myself sometimes. Sure, it’s true that I wasn’t bringing home as much as Dalton, but I brought in enough to build up quite a nice savings account for myself, then add to that the money I got from the divorce, I was able to pay off grams' mortgage without even making a dent in my savings.
“You got degrees and shit for that?” I nod and can’t fight off my smile.
“Yeah, got my accounting degree just after Dalton and I were married. I started the classes when I was sixteen. It’s only an associate’s, but it got my foot in the door and then a friend had me take tax classes with her. The job I had, I found it completely by accident and I couldn’t even believe it when I submitted my resume and they actually called me back.” He has this smile on his face, not one of those ones people give you to cover for the fact that they really don’t give a shit about what you’re saying, but one of those ones that holds something dangerously close to pride.
“That’s great, Cam. You planning on finding a job out here?” I can’t stop my shrug, not entirely sure what the hell my plans are yet.
“I don’t know yet. I’ve put so much focus into the divorce then everything with grams…I haven’t really decided what my next move’s going to be. At first, I had just planned to stay here until grams was doing better, but I’ve been thinking I might stick around…come home for good.” He nods his head, slow but firm as his expression shifts to intense determination.
“What if I could get you some part time work? You could probably do it from home, but I know my boss has been struggling with the finances and shit. I can’t guarantee he’ll agree to it, but I can mention it to him.” I know he can see how much the offer surprises me, but even if he didn’t, I know my tone would give it away.
“Yeah, I’d be interested.” Before I can make a fool out of myself, I quickly jump to the next step of this new little routine by grabbing our now empty plates and taking them to the kitchen. I get them rinsed and placed in the dishwasher then wipe down the counters while Cole finished his beer.
“Alright, the kitchen is clean and your hand should be good until tomorrow morning. I’ll come over a few minutes early to get that hand cleaned and rebandaged before you leave for work.” He stands up and follows me as I head toward the door.
“You really don’t have to do that, Cam. You’ve done a lot already.” I stop at the door, my hand on the door knob as I give him a stern look that seems to only succeed at amusing him.
“I’ll be here at four forty-five and I will rebandage that hand. See you in the morning, Cole.” As soon as I step out the door, he’s there, holding the door as he watches me walk down the steps.
“Goodnight, Cam.” I wave over my shoulder and head to my gram’s front door while Cole, he stays there, watching me until I’m safely inside, something he started doing any time he gets home after it’s dark out.
I woke up at three in the damn morning…again…and immediately rushed through my morning routine. I managed to be showered, dressed and get breakfast for everyone as well as Cole’s lunch made before heading over to his place at four forty. I stopped knocking last week when Cole insisted I just walk in when I get there in case he’s not downstairs, but today is the first day the door is already open. I walk in and use my foot to close the door then carry everything to the kitchen, setting it all on the counter.
“Man, you weren’t kidding, but…what’s all that?” Cole’s voice startles me, but I still turn and give him a smile over my shoulder as I finish sliding everything to the back of the counter.
“Well, I made a breakfast casserole and then I made you a grilled chicken wrap for lunch…oh, and the thermos of coffee is for you too.” Once I’m sure everything isn’t going to topple over, I grab the first aid kit that I had left on the counter last night and head to the kitchen table. I’m a little more than shocked when Cole sits down in front of me without any argument. He sits perfectly still while I remove the bandage, clean the wound and place a new bandage on it, almost like he resigned himself to his fate before I even arrived.
“Thanks, Cam…for everything.” God, I can only imagine how hard it must be for him to drag those words out of himself, but it just makes me appreciate them more.
“You’re welcome, Cole.” I get up, throw away the old bandage then set the oven on low and place the casserole inside to keep it warm until the boys wake up. While I’m dealing with that, Cole gets his work boots on and finishes the rest of his pre-work routine. By five thirty, he’s coming in to grab his coffee and lunch.
“I have a job at four, but should be done by five and home before six.” His tone, the one that used to be rough and cold, now has a softer edge, but I honestly don’t think he’s capable of speaking without an edge to his tone.
“Alright, we’ll be here.” He gives me that crooked smile and a nod of his head before turning to head for the door.
“Have a good day at work, Cole.” He pauses at the door, giving me one last look over his shoulder before mumbling a ‘you too’ and leaving. The day flies by in a flurry of games, baking, playing outside and story time, but Cole calls at five to let us know he was called to handle an emergency job that might take a few hours. I, of course, assure him I’ve got things handled at the house, so he gets headed to the job while I wrangle the kids and handle their bedtime routine when he’s still not home by nine. I wait, slowly feeling worry set in, until just before ten when there’s a knock on the door that has me practically sprinting to answer it…but I wasn’t expecting Brett to be the one on the other side.
“Hey, Cam. Cole…he was in an accident after he left the site. His truck was hit…car ran the red light…in the hospital…here to take over so you can go home and get some rest.” I only catch bits and pieces of what he’s saying and it takes more than a minute for my mind to catch up so I can ask my first question.
“How is he?” He takes a deep breath, one that does absolutely nothing to ease my worry.
“He’s pretty banged up. He has a few broken ribs, a lot of bruises, a concussion and his left leg is a solid bruise, but nothing’s broken there.” My breath catches in my throat and I find myself nodding for no particular reason.
“Okay…okay…you need to be there for him. Grams is doing better, getting around alright all by herself. I’ll stay here with the boys…keep them distracted the best I can. As soon as he’s feeling up to having visitors, we can take the boys to see him.” Brett stares at me for a long beat before nodding. I know he’s probably surprised by me insisting on stepping in, but he hasn’t been around to witness the shift in my relationship with Cole since he and his wife have been away on vacation the past eleven days.
“Alright, yeah…I can do that. Are you sure though? I can handle the boys, Cam. I don’t want to force you to stay here…” I don’t let him finish, refusing to hear him make this into an obligation when it’s the furthest thing from it.
“You’re not making me do shit, Brett. I’m staying with the boys and I’ll hold things down here. Just keep me posted on how he’s doing and I’ll do a store delivery for a new car seat for Joey and a new booster for Cody. You just…just focus on keeping an eye on Cole. He’s a stubborn ape and is probably going to make the nurses lives hell.” He gives me a sad smile, but nods his agreement.
“Alright, but if you need anything, you let me know right away. Got it?” I let out a shaky breath and nod.
“Yeah, you too.” I watch as he leaves then close and lock the door before moving myself to the couch. I wrap the throw blanket around me and it isn’t until I let the silence in the house settle over me that everything hits me all at once. I break down into a mess of sobbing hysteria until my exhaustion finally pulls me under.