CHAPTER Eighteen
“You know, my dad is going to be super mad that I bought a new car without taking him,” Camille said, driving the last leg of her trip home with Ross riding shotgun.
“Really?” Ross said, a little surprised.
“Yeah, he loves buying cars. He thinks of it as a game,” Camille said, smiling.
“I can think of a lot of games I like more than buying a car,” Ross said, smiling back.
“He was after me to get a new one, and I know he was waiting for me to ask for his help. Now that I think about it, I was in such a rush to dump the Explorer that I probably didn’t get as good a deal on this as I should have.
And believe me, I’ll hear about it,” she said, pulling into the Brew4U parking lot.
After Shane left the lake area, Ross and Camille decided it was time for a little break from the grim reality they were living in. When Camille suggested they go home to Cobden for a few days, Ross was all in.
“Wow, this is it, huh? This place is nice! You said your family owned a brewery. I didn’t picture this.”
Camille’s family business was actually several buildings on a couple of acres, with a pond and an orchard in the back, and lots of deck space for patrons. The largest room was the bar, tasting room, and event space all rolled up into one. The other, smaller buildings housed supplies.
“Do your parents live here?” Ross asked, looking for a viable living space. “Yeah, the top of this building is the family home. Those are the stairs,” she said, pointing to a set of hardwood steps in the corner.
“Wow! This would be a big house for two people.” “But it used to be for five of us,” Camille explained.
“You have two siblings?” Ross asked, quite shocked. He had never heard her mention any brothers or sisters.
“Well, kind of. My mom and dad raised my cousins after my mom’s sister and my uncle were murdered,” she said softly as if it were a painful secret she didn’t want to disclose.
“Oh, man. I’m sorry.”
“It was a very long time ago, and thankfully, their killer was caught after a lengthy investigation.”
“Is that the reason you solve cold cases?”
“Yeah, I think so,” she explained. “But it was kind of like a subconscious decision. I didn’t put two and two together for a long time.”
“Are either of your siblings still around here?”
“Just me and Lisa. She lives in the house up the road. Ally took off when she was nineteen. I think the last time we saw her was maybe five or six years ago. That’s why my dad relies on me so much.”
“Doesn’t Lisa work here?”
“Only when I’m gone on a case. She’s a writer. She stays to herself a lot.” “This place is beautiful,” Ross confirmed.
“Wait until you see it about three o’clock this afternoon. Crazy town!”
Camille said, grinning.
She continued to show Ross around when Dan and Marla Hargrove came in, both loaded down with supplies to stock for the day.
“Here, let me help you,” Ross said, running over and rescuing Camille’s mom.
“Thank you. I was worried it was all about to go down.”
Once unbothered by her packages, Marla Hargrove took a good, long look at Ross. She could see why Camille was gushing all over her words when she spoke about him. A sly smile between mother and daughter confirmed her approval.
“You must be Ross,” Dan said, extending a hand after unloading onto the bar.
“Yes, Mr. Hargrove. It’s very nice to meet you both,” Ross replied.
“And nice to meet you. And now that you’ve got one good ‘Mr. Hargrove’ in, let’s skip the formality. I’m Dan, and this is Marla.”
“Hello,” Ross said, feeling relieved to have the introductions over. “Let’s sit down for a minute, and you can catch us up on your case.
Didn’t you say it’s still ongoing?” Camille’s mother asked.
Camille and Ross explained that they were in a transition period regarding Shane Simpson, who had now been classified as ‘wanted’ by the FBI.
Before they left the lake, Camille and Ross spent a couple of weeks tying up the loose ends they could, but unfortunately, Shane Simpson was still at large and had not resurfaced yet.
This terrifying fact had young women and their families all over the Midwest scared out of their minds.
Janelle and Nolan had both given formal statements incriminating Shane, and the entire community seemed to embrace Ross and act as if nothing had ever happened, leaving Ross more than ready to go on this trip home with Camille to escape his sudden popularity.
Everyone thought Ross would be eager to get back to his home—a real
house with neighbors and opportunities to socialize.
And they also thought he would be eager to return to his old life working road construction, but it just wasn’t so.
Ross had been self-sufficient for six months now, and he liked the freedom Lochlan’s Point provided.
He wasn’t sure if someone actually owned that cabin, but no one had kicked him out yet.
When he had time, Ross thought he would look it up on public record.
If the opportunity arose, he thought he’d buy the place.
He was sure there would come a time when squatting there would be a problem.
Besides, Janelle needed a place to live, and letting her stay at the house seemed like the logical option.
Before leaving on this little trip, he and Janelle worked out some details, including her taking the house.
Ross asked to control the money in their joint savings and checking accounts, saying he would make sure Janelle was taken care of, and she knew he was good for his word.
Other than those two items, they each just took their own vehicles, and that was the end of the splitting assets.
They were lucky that it was pretty simple.
Taking the trip home served two purposes for Camille.
She wanted her parents to meet Ross, and she had to break it to her dad that she would not be back home for a while until Shane Simpson was in custody.
She had decided to follow the case closely and report regularly to the public.
This meant she could be all over the country, and it also meant she would be in danger.
Simpson would love the chance to get back at her, and his method would be deadly.
Camille thought, however, that she would keep this detail to herself.
When her parents needed to start preparing for the mid-morning shopping crowd that also became the lunch crowd, Marla Hargrove pulled her daughter aside.
“I thought I’d tell you, Ike came around here a couple of times ranting and telling us stuff about Ross that we knew couldn’t possibly be true. Ike is just bitter right now, and he’s not behaving very well. In fact, he’s just downright out of control.”
“What kind of stuff was he saying about Ross?” Camille asked.
“Just that he’s a bum and doesn’t work and that he’s somehow connected to those murders.”
“Well, public opinion at one time had Ross pegged for the Kelcee Meyer murder, but he was framed,” Camille answered.
“I knew Ike was just spouting off,” Mrs. Hargrove added. “Your dad and I were concerned, but then again, we considered the source. We like Ike, but he’s not taking your breakup very well. And since you’re home for a few days, you might run into him. I just wanted you to be prepared.”
“Well, I wouldn’t believe anything Ike said. He’s just salty because I kicked his ass when he grabbed my arm,” Camille explained.
Camille’s voice was starting to get a defensive tone, and she decided it was the perfect time to show Ross the rest of the grounds.
She had no patience for talking with her mom all day about Ike, even though she did appreciate her mother giving her a heads-up.
She and Ross also had to get the hell out of there because the last thing she wanted was to get stuck working there all day.
She excused herself from her mom and rescued Ross from her dad, who was going into way too much detail about a new beer recipe.
Once out of the main building, they headed for the far end of the property, taking narrow paths lined with dead flowers and grasses.
Had it been summer instead of November, the sights would have been much better, but Ross was in awe of the sheer scale and attention to detail.
The beautiful yard art and meticulous landscaping were gorgeous even at the onset of winter.
When they arrived at the boathouse, they were both cold. The wind had been brutal. After a few minutes of admiring the pond, Camille opened the boathouse door to a cozy, completely furnished cabin space. There was even a fireplace, a small bar, and a bedroom in the back.
“This is cool!” Ross said, looking around.
His eyes were wide, and that irresistible smile caught Camille’s attention.
She was overwhelmed by his reactions to the places and sights she had always just taken for granted.
And suddenly, she was aware that this place she called home was truly amazing and meant a lot to so many people.
They had parties there all the time: weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, and retirements.
Camille had never stopped to think about how other people saw this place.
To her, it had always been home and where she worked.
Unoccupied for several months, the boathouse was chilly but served as an escape from the frosty wind. Once settled inside, Camille turned on the fireplace.
“I say we stay out here for a bit. Otherwise, we’ll get recruited to work,” she said, rolling her eyes.
Ross agreed and started checking out the stocked bar.
It was only eleven o’clock, but he was dying to taste some of the Hargrove signature beers.
“Get what you want,” Camille offered. “I see Dad stocked it for us.” Ross was quick to choose a beer that looked right up his alley—a blonde ale.
“Is this one good?” he asked, holding it up for appraisal.
“Very!” Camille confirmed. “Get me one too. The cold glasses are in the freezer below the bar.”
Camille sat on the oversized couch, and Ross carried their drinks over and sat down, giving her a quick kiss on the lips.