ℂ𝕙𝕒𝕡𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝟚𝟜 #3
She gave my hand one last squeeze before letting go. "I should finish my walk."
"You sure?"
"My knees will complain if I stop too long."
I laughed.
"I remember those knees never complained when you chased us off your lawn."
"I was protecting my flowers." She laughed.
"Cameron says otherwise."
" Of course he did!"
I smiled wider. "I'll let him know you've solved the mystery."
"Please do."
She stepped backward off the porch. "And tell that husband of yours I said hello."
"I will."
"Also, Dixie?"
"Yes?"
She smiled softly.
"Keep waiting on the porch once in a while, because sometimes the best part of someone's day is seeing the person waiting for them to come home."
I tilted my head nodding.
With that, she gave me one final wave and continued down the sidewalk, her slow, steady pace carrying her farther into the neighborhood that had once been hers.
I watched until she disappeared around the corner.
Then I looked down the empty street.
I found myself hoping I'd soon see a familiar blue truck turn into the driveway.
I had considered going back inside at least five tens after Mrs. Henderson left, but something about her words stuck with me, and so I waited.
And waited,
And waited.
Until a pair of headlights rounded the corner at the end of our street.
I knew that truck- I would know it anywhere.
The familiar blue pickup rolled steadily toward the driveway before slowing to a stop. The engine idled for a moment before shutting off completely.
I watched Cameron climb out shortly after.
His firefighter duffel swung over one shoulder while he stretched his back with a quiet groan. His shift had clearly been long. Even from here I could see the exhaustion in the way he rolled his shoulders.
Then he looked up, right at me, and his entire face changed. He gave a smile that belonged to me.
He shut the truck door and started walking toward the porch.
"Well," he called, climbing the steps, "this is new."
I folded my arms, smiling coyly. "What is?"
"Mrs. West voluntarily waiting for me."
"Don't get used to it, big guy. I was bored inside." I pushed playfully at his chest.
He stopped a foot in front of me. Neither of us spoke as he wrapped both arms around me tightly. Like slipping into his favorite sweatshirt after a long day.
I hesitated. Habits.
For a split second my hands stayed awkwardly at my sides, then they wrapped around his broad back.
"Hey," he murmured.
"Hi." I said faintly.
"You smell like smoke." I continued.
"Really? I showered at the station."
"You need better water pressure."
"Ouch." He laughed.
He chuckled against my hair. "I missed you today."
The words came out so naturally that I almost missed them.
I looked down at the porch floor. "That's dramatic."
"It is." He pulled back just enough to look at me.
I rolled my eyes. "You firefighters are so theatrical."
"Only for you." He winked. I chuckled at his cheesiness.
He leaned down and pressed another quick kiss to my forehead.
It was becoming a habit. One of which I was pretending not to notice.
"Come inside," he said. "I'm starving."
He disappeared upstairs to shower while I wandered aimlessly through the kitchen.
I opened the refrigerator, then closed it again. I then opened a cabinet and immediately forgot what I'd been looking for.
By the time Cameron came back downstairs wearing gray sweatpants and a black T-shirt with damp golden locks, I was still standing in the exact same spot.
"...You okay?"
"I think I opened this cabinet five minutes ago."
He looked at the cabinet. "Need help?"
"No."
"Are you sure?"
"I forgot what I wanted."
He laughed. "I think your brain stayed at work."
"I'm toast."
He walked over, gently nudging me aside with his shoulder.
"Tonight's menu," He dramatically opened the refrigerator.
"..Is chicken parmesan."
I furrow my brows. "You can make chicken parmesan?"
He looks at me in pure shock and betrayal. "Dixie, how could you forget? Of course I make chicken parmesan. Work must be drilling inside your brain."
Oh, right.
I forgot how much he had made chicken parmesan when I was pregnant. It was one of my late midnight snacks, (technically not a 'snack' I get it.) that I would force Cam to make every time I felt a little hungry.
He handed me a cutting board. "You."
He pointed dramatically, again.
"Are chopping basil."
"I don't know how."
He puts the knife in my hand, guiding me towards the basil.
"Just like that." he says, softly, his hot breath against my ear.
"You're a star." he whispers against my ear sensually once more.
It became obvious what he was trying to get me into.
"You're trying to get me into bed right now?" I say, laughing quietly.
He started to laugh, embarrassed by his actions. "Whaaaaat? I would never."
"Just say you want to have sex with me." I blurt out suddenly.
Big mistake. Just what was I getting myself into?
Cameron smirked.
"Okay, Dixie West, I would like to have sex with you."
I had forgotten how much I had enjoyed teasing the crap out of him.
"And that will be a hard no."
I could hear him mutter a soft jokingly, 'aw come on.'
"Marriage really lowers your standards for comedy." I continue.
"It raises your appreciation."
"No, not really."
He bumped my shoulder lightly before showing me how to hold the knife properly. "No fingertips."
"I enjoy having fingertips."
"I love your fingertips too, which is why I'm trying to make sure you don't chop 'em off by accident." He reached around me, guiding my hand just slightly.
"There."
I continue chopping the basil in his direction. "You know...I watched a cooking show once."
"Did it help?"
"Nope."
"I can tell." he smiles
"Gosh, I hate you."
Cameron stirred the sauce while I grated parmesan. He watched me out of the corner of his eye.
I quickly glanced at "What?"
"What's going on in that pretty little head of yours?"
"Nothing important."
"Everything about you is important to me. "He shook his head.
"This is different."
I was thinking a whole lot about Mrs. Henderson's words after she left. It wouldn't hurt to spend some time with Cam for a little.
Cherish the moments, I think that's what she said.
I sighed.
He waited. Very patiently.
He had become very patient with me. Sometimes that annoyed me.
Mostly because it worked.
"I was..."
The words immediately tangled themselves together.
Wonderful.
One of the best trial attorneys in Minnesota, unable to construct a sentence.
"I was thinking..."
"Mhm?" he replied.
Gee, Cam, did you always have to make this so hard?
"...Well..."
He turned the burner down before giving me his full attention. "What is it?"
"Uh, Jordyn's birthday." I stared at the cheese in my hands.
It's coming up."
He nodded. "I know."
"I thought maybe..." I stopped, then started again.
"...Not today."
"Or..."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "...This sounds stupid."
"It won't."
"I..."
Good grief, why was this difficult? I had argued before judges, won impossible cases. But yet talking to my own husband terrified me more than any courtroom.
And that shouldn't be a problem.
So why was I making it one?
"I was wondering if..."
I looked everywhere except at him. "...Maybe..."
My words completely abandoned me, but he waited anyway
"I thought..." I sighed.
"I thought maybe we could..."
"...Clean her room." The sentence barely made it out.
"I know we've left it exactly the way it was." I quickly say after.
I swallowed. "And I'm not saying... change it-I don't want to change it."
"I just..."
I laughed nervously. "There's probably dust. A lot of it."
He didn't say anything for a moment, and I was too afraid to look at his face, which somehow made me ramble even more.
"I mean not that dust matters because obviously it doesn't matter compared to..."
Wonderful.
Now I couldn't stop talking.
Stupid chatterbox.
"...I'm not trying to erase anything. I just thought maybe before her birthday... maybe she'd like her room to be clean."
I finally let my eyes glance up.
Cameron looked at me with this sweet, endearing look on his face.
Before I could apologize for the absolute disaster that had just left my mouth, he leaned in forward, placed one hand gently against my cheek, and kissed me.
A kiss that I'm sure would have lasted forever if one of us didn't pull away.
When he did pull away, his forehead rested lightly against mine. I smiled, staring at his lips before making my way back to those blue orbs.
"Yeah," he whispered. His thumb brushed softly across my cheek.
"That sounds good."
"...Really?" I managed out.
"Really."
"I..I didn't know how to ask."
"I know."
He smooched on the cheek for more time before locking his hands with mine.
"Let's go clean our little girls room."