CHAPTER Four
On their shopping trip to Lebanon, Ross picked up a case of beer and then asked Camille what she wanted.
“Pardon?” Camille asked, not sure if she’d heard him correctly. “What do you like to drink?” Ross repeated, and then he thought maybe he needed to explain. “I mean, we’re gonna get working on this case, right?
If you’re hangin’ with me, I’m drinking this,” he said, holding up a case of Natty. And then he smiled and added, “I never learned to share very well. I’m an only kid. So, you pick up what you want, and I’ll get it.”
Camille was pretty sure that was the most redneck invitation to hang out ever, but she gave zero fucks. Her time with this gorgeous man had just been extended beyond their shopping trip, and it involved alcohol. Camille couldn’t help but smile.
What could go wrong?
She grabbed a case of Miller Lite and put it in Ross’s cart. He seemed a little surprised that she chose an entire case, but deep down, he liked her enthusiasm.
“What did you say your family business was?”
“My parents own a small brewery in Southern Illinois.” She shot him a look that was more of a challenge, and Ross thought she was cute as hell. “That’s what I thought,” he said.
Once back at Lochlan’s Point, Camille was stumped. She was trying to help Ross put away the groceries.
“Where’s your refrigerator?”
“Back at my house on Leafland Street in Eldon,” Ross answered sarcastically.
“You’re kidding me?” Camille questioned. “You drink warm beer?”
“No, silly. That’s what the coolers and ice are for.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, still a little confused. “But no fridge? Wow.”
Although it was quite primitive from the outside, the cabin looked worse than it actually was. Ross had done a decent job of making the place his home. But Camille was still amazed that he could live so simply.
After everything was hauled in and put away, Camille decided it was time to get to work, so she headed out to her SUV to grab her bag with her laptop and notes. Coming back in, Ross gave her some disturbing news.
“I don’t have cell service or internet, darlin’. That computer isn’t going to work.”
“Damn!” was her first reaction, and she figured there was no way she would get Ross to town, so she sighed and made a grumpy face.
Even though Ross thought her distress was unnecessary since he had made do now for several months, he did think that the little, disgusted face she made was cute.
“Everything I wanted to share with you is on here,” she added, holding up her laptop.
“Go in town and print the stuff you need and come back.” For Ross, the answer was so simple.
“Hum! I guess I’m not a good problem solver,” Camille replied.
“No, you’ve just had what you needed where you needed it and never had to improvise. Believe me, living out here the past few months has taught me to improvise.”
“Okay, then. I’ll bring us a pizza back too. I’m going to need pizza with my beer,” Camille said with a grin.
“Perfect. I’m going to do some fishing. I guess the great thing about being out here by myself is no one bitches when I want to go fishing.” His sarcasm was a dead giveaway. That comment was a dig at his estranged wife, and she was dying to hear more about their relationship when she returned.
“I’ll be back in a while,” Camille said, hopping into her Explorer.
Ross watched her leave and wondered if her new information would actually redeem his character and help convict the real killer.
And then, almost as an involuntary afterthought, he wondered if she was single.
All day, he had assumed she was unattached, but then again, how could someone so vibrant and sexy still be single?
“Shit!”
Ross was a little surprised at how much the spunky investigator consumed his thoughts.
He had just met her, after all, and it had been a very long time since a woman other than Janelle had occupied his mind.
There was just something about her. She was so intense and focused, but then again, he also loved that cute way she got flustered or embarrassed.
And those big, brown eyes. Ross was sure they would do him in.
Ross decided to forgo fishing and do a little cleaning.
He had gotten used to being the only one he had to please, and he had to admit the cabin needed some attention.
Granted, he had done the best he could with the place, and he kept things picked up and tidy.
Still, it had been quite a while since he had actually cleaned.
Now Ross knew his agenda for the day. Fishing would have to wait.
And then Ross had a sobering thought.
What the hell am I doing? This woman is coming here to work. It’s not a date, dumbass!
Once in her car and finally a little way up the lake road, Camille breathed a huge sigh of relief. She could not believe how dumb she had acted—like a smitten schoolgirl.
“Dumbass!” she said, pulling onto the highway. “Why did I have to fall apart every damn time the man looked at me?” Camille asked and then answered herself. “I know why! That fucking sexy smile has no mercy.” She took a deep breath. “Get yourself together, Milly!”
Finally getting cellphone service, Camille’s phone was blowing up with notifications, and she noticed most of them were texts, and even calls, from Ike.
“Great! That’s just what I need. When he asks me where the hell I’ve been and why I didn’t answer his messages, I think I’ll tell him the truth.” She laughed out loud, thinking about it.
“Well, Ike, you see, I’ve been drooling over this gorgeous man who I’m about to spend a lot of time with … What? You don’t like the sound of that? Too fucking bad! Oh, and I forgot to mention that we’re gonna drink ourselves silly and see what happens.”
Camille laughed again, but her humor didn’t change the fact that she had to deal with Ike at some point, so she called him to get it over with.
“What the fuck, Milly!”
His answer on the other end of the phone was typical. No “Hello, gorgeous.” No “Thank goodness you’re alive.” No “Hey, I was worried.” Just “What the fuck!” Even though she was purely disgusted at Ike’s priorities, she laid out the truth.
“I’m working on a case. I didn’t have cell service.”
“That would have been nice to know,” Ike replied angrily. “Why, Ike? It’s not like we’re a real couple.”
“Here we go again! And I keep asking you what a real couple is, and I never get an answer.”
“I most certainly do answer you, Ike! You just don’t listen!”
Ike started to respond, but Camille cut him off.
“Real couples go on dates, not just hook up after bars close. Real couples plan their futures, not just what movie they want on while they fuck on the couch. Real couples are nice to one another and don’t answer the phone with ‘what the fuck.’ That’s not us, Ike.
We are a comfortable hookup. Let’s be honest. I bet you never would have known I was gone if you didn’t want me to come over and fuck. ”
“Jesus, Milly. That’s a little harsh.”
“Harsh but honest.”
“Well, we can end this thing—whatever it is—any time, if you want,” he said smugly.
“You know, yeah, let’s do that. Let’s end it once and for all,” Camille said quite confidently.
Ike was silent for a few seconds and then laughed.
“Right, whenever you get home from God knows where, you’ll come crawling, and we’ll do what we do best.”
“Okay, whatever.” Camille was not sure he was wrong, but this time, she really hoped so.
“I mean it,” Ike argued. Camille had never taken this conversation this far. They fought a lot, and Camille was quick to threaten, but in the end, they were always a few Miller Lites from hopping back in the sack.
“Okay, bye,” Camille said, hanging up and tossing her phone onto the passenger seat.
But Ike was right; she had never gone so far as to end it for good. The truth was, she never really wanted to until now. A little ashamed, Camille liked knowing she had someone to fuck just a phone call away.
“This is insane!” Camille said. “Maybe Ike is right. Maybe I will go crawling back, but at least I’m opening myself up to new possibilities.
” As she said those words, Camille knew damn good and well that her new possibility was the very delicious Ross Paine.
Camille certainly hoped Ross’s sexy smile was more than a friendly courtesy.
She thought she sensed something between them, but she didn’t want to get all carried away and look like an idiot.
“So, Milly, here’s the plan. You’re gonna be all business. This is a case. You have to be professional.” But as the words came out of her mouth, Camille was thinking something totally different.
Tonight is beer and pizza with Mr. Gorgeous. Wouldn’t that be a shame if beer and pizza turned into beer, pizza, and a sexy make-out session? Make out? Who am I kidding? If I get the chance to make out with that man, there’s no stopping. It’s just beer, pizza, and fucking.