CHAPTER Twenty Seven
After her momentary trip down memory lane, Camille was back to reality, realizing there was no way she wanted to get back with Ike, but she just couldn’t turn off her feelings either.
Now she understood a little better the conflict Ross must have been going through with Janelle.
She had to make sure Ross knew she didn’t want anyone but him, and Ross had to understand that she would be there for Ike during his healing process.
“Hey,” she said softly, walking up behind him. Ross didn’t turn around at first, so she tugged on his belt loop until he slowly turned to face her. He looked sad and dejected. Camille knew she had to explain her feelings in a way Ross could understand.
“Ross, Ike is my Janelle. I don’t want to be with him, but I care about him.” Her eyes were sincere, and her voice was reassuring. Almost instantly, the rigidity in his stance and the fear in his eyes seemed to fade, and Camille could feel the mood lift.
“I’m so deeply in love with you, Ross Paine. I could never see myself with anyone else.”
Ross was so relieved. The thought of going through life without Camille was heart-wrenching. Even though they had only been together for a short time, he knew she was meant for him. Hearing her words just then not only eased his mind but also confirmed that no matter what, they would be together.
Ross leaned down and kissed her boldly, and she knew everything was alright. Then the officer came to ask if he could ride out and look at the crime scene.
“Yeah, sure, I’ll ride with you, if that’s okay,” Ross replied. “Why don’t you stay here and be with Ike?” he said, looking at Camille. “You should probably call his family or something. I’ll be back to get you as soon as I can.”
Camille was so grateful for his trust and understanding. She looked at Ross’s sparkling, blue eyes and mouthed, “I love you,” and he returned her sentiment with a wink and one of his big, white smiles that she loved so much.
When Ross was gone, Camille stood at Ike’s door and watched him sleep.
They had once been so close, but times change, and people change, and Camille knew that all of her trials with Ike had led her to her soulmate.
And as much as she once loved Ike, that part of her life was over, and she knew it was over for Ike, too.
The difference was that she had someone, and he didn’t.
This fact made him hang on longer, but Camille knew that deep down, Ike understood it was over between them.
When Ike healed a bit, she would have this conversation, but for now, Ross was right. She needed to call his parents.
After the police officer gathered everything he needed from the cabin, Ross sat and looked around.
This place became his home when society shunned him.
That was no longer the situation, and frankly, the place meant very little to him, especially now.
Except for the wonderful times in recent months with Camille, he really didn’t have much attachment at all.
He once thought he wanted to buy the place, but then again, that was under different circumstances.
As Ross looked around, he was grateful to have this place as his refuge. Because he’d lived so simply for so long, he had only a few valuable possessions, and Camille traveled light. Packing up and leaving for good would take very little effort.
“Maybe Janelle had the right idea. It wouldn’t take much for us to just up and leave altogether.
Not just a brief getaway, but just leave,” Ross said out loud.
And the more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed.
He knew Camille would have no trouble going.
She could continue her investigation from anywhere.
With that thought, he got up, packed all of her things and the few items he wanted to keep, and he walked out without looking back.
Ross was getting back a little later than he had planned, since he was packing. Camille was asleep in the armchair in Ike’s room but stirred and woke when Ross came to the door, and he motioned for her to come out to talk.
“Hey,” she said. “I almost gave up on you.”
“I had an idea,” he began, pulling her to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. I packed up everything of yours from the cabin, along with the stuff I wanted, which wasn’t much. I don’t ever want to go back there. Under the circumstances, it’s time we move on, don’t you think?”
Camille was flabbergasted. She wanted to tell him that the only reason she was living so primitively was to be with him. She had no problem leaving, especially now.
“Really?” she said, trying not to sound too excited.
“Yes, not just a trip. I mean, going somewhere, escaping this whole mess, and starting our lives together.”
“You mean like right now, don’t you?” “Yes, I do!”
Camille was quiet for a few seconds, and the wind went out of Ross’s sails a bit.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, pulling away from their embrace and looking into her eyes. He could tell something was bothering her.
“I haven’t been able to get a hold of Ike’s parents. I can’t just leave him like this until he has someone else here.”
Trying to be understanding, Ross agreed that Camille should hang out at the hospital for a while until she could reach Ike’s folks.
This gave him time to run by his old house and check on things.
With Janelle gone, it was time to put it on the market.
On his way back to the hospital, he decided he would call a realtor with Camille’s phone as soon as possible, and he supposed he would have to get a cellphone like everyone else in the world.
All of this planning had Ross invigorated, thinking about the future.
When he returned to the hospital, and Camille announced that Ike’s parents were on the way, he was ready to head out—somewhere, anywhere but there.
As the excited lovers stood out in the hall and finalized their plans, they didn’t know it, but Ike watched them with a heavy heart.
“Let me tell Ike goodbye,” Camille said, squeezing Ross’s hands and perching up on her tippy toes to give him a kiss.
“Sure, I’ll be in the waiting room,” Ross said, hanging onto her hands a little longer than planned, inspiring her to hug him tightly around the neck.
“Thank you for being so understanding.”
“I love you. I’d do anything for you,” Ross said, smiling and then kissing her sweetly before reluctantly letting her hands go.
As he walked away, Camille watched him with a sweet smile.
Ike knew that look, and he knew it would not be his ever again.
This glimpse of reality put his life in perspective.
Ike would always love Camille, but their relationship was over, and he had to accept it.
When Camille walked into his room, she could tell Ike was much better after a long rest, and the medications were reducing some of his swelling. “Hey, you look much better,” Camille said, smiling. But her smile soon faded, knowing that what she was about to do would be extremely difficult.
“I feel better,” Ike answered. “You gave me a scare.”
“Well, coming down here wasn’t one of my smartest moves. I came because I thought we might still have something. But I was mistaken,” Ike said, his voice cracking slightly.
“Ike, we’ll always have ‘something,’ but times have changed, and we still have all the issues that tore us apart. You’re in love with the memory of our good times. You’re not in love with me.”
“I know that now,” Ike said, looking away as he could feel his eyes filling with tears. “This is goodbye, isn’t it?”
“Yes.”
“I see the way he looks at you. That’s what you deserve, Milly. I’m a little sad it couldn’t be me, but I’m happy for you. I really am.”
The uncomfortable feelings Camille had for leaving Ike under such conditions seemed to dissipate with his words. With this mutual dissolution of their relationship, Camille knew she could finally move on without hard feelings or guilt.
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
Camille smiled and squeezed Ike’s hand goodbye, and couldn’t wait to begin her new adventure with Ross.