“No, but I can fix that if you need me to bring you a treat. You need some company?”
I look out the window again, at the light burning in the stable, as if beckoning to me. Yes, but her company isn’t exactly what I have in mind.
“Nah, I’m kinda tired. But thanks.”
“Well, you have to agree to help me before I’m letting you off this phone. So go ahead, tell me you’re in.”
“Jenna, what am I supposed to say to him? ‘My crazy friend wants you to bring Rusty here so she can molest him. Yes, she has a boyfriend. Yes, he works with Rusty. Yes, this could cause a shit storm for all of us, but what the hell! Do it anyway’.”
There’s silence on the other end of the line for a few seconds. “Do you think that would work?”
“Jenna!”
“I’m kidding. Of course you don’t say that. You just tell him I’d like to meet Rusty. That’s it. I’ll take care of the rest.”
“And if he happens to remember you have a boyfriend, which he probably will?”
“You can tell him the truth. We’re seeing other people, too.”
“What? When did this happen?”
“About an hour ago.”
“And you’re just now telling me? What the…”
“It’s been coming. I told you I thought something was up, that I was losing him. Turns out, I was right. He wants to see other people.”
“So you broke up?”
“No, I just suggested that we both see other people as well as each other and see how things go.”
I pause to mull over what she said. “And you’re okay with this?” This isn’t like Jenna. She’s very possessive.
“Hells yeah!”
“Is this because of Rusty?”
“Hells yeah!” she repeats.
“You really think it’s a good idea to drag him into this?”
“I won’t be doing any dragging. Um, did you not see the way he was looking at me?”
I can’t argue. Because I did see it. I thought for sure pretty much everyone saw it. “That doesn’t mean—”
“It means if he’s interested, we’ll talk about it. That’s all. God, Cam, it’s not like I’m setting out to ruin the guy’s life or anything. I just want to meet him. Without Trevor around. That’s it. And I’ll even have a chaperone that’s a thousand times worse than any parent.”
“Uh, I am not!”
“You can be.”
“Well, maybe I don’t want to be the chaperone anymore. Maybe I want to be the one taking risks and doing crazy things.”
“Then, by all means, go for it! I got your back, girl. You know that.”
And I do. Jenna’s like family. Crazy family, but family nonetheless.
There’s a long pause before she says anything else. “Wait, is there something you’re not telling me?”
Yes! I want to say. But I don’t. For the first time since the second grade, I don’t tell Jenna every little thing that’s going on inside my head. For some reason, it just feels like something she wouldn’t understand. It feels like no one would. I’m not even sure I understand it myself. It just feels different. And private. And…real. In ways that nothing else ever has.
Before I start freaking myself out, I change the subject. “All right. I’ll talk to him in the morning. But we’ll have to be careful. You know how Daddy gets.”
“You’ll figure something out. I have faith.”
“Thank you. For leaving all the heavy lifting up to me,” I add facetiously.
“Anytime, sweetie. You know I love you.”
And she’s right. I do.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - Trick
I sit on a hay bale, drinking a bottle of water, looking at the empty stable, listening to the late-morning quiet. It makes me miss Sooty a little. I’d give anything for some distraction.
I thought for sure rubbing down both horses after Cami left last night would’ve been enough to work off some frustration, but it wasn’t. Not nearly. I’d spent the majority of the evening after that watching the house, hoping Cami would decide she needed some late night lovin’.
That would’ve been a disaster, of course. But sometimes I wonder if this job is worth missing out on her. Because, damn! She’s something else.
The rest of the night, I’d spent tossing and turning on the narrow bed in the loft, the one Sooty had labeled as my “area” when he was away. He has an actual apartment in the back of the stable, but I’m not allowed in there. And that’s fine with me. I don’t really want to be in his space. I think the biggest problem was that my bed was missing something. Something soft and warm and excitable. Something that smells like strawberries.
Even now, I feel the telltale stirring in my jeans just thinking about what I’d do to Cami if she ever came to visit me like that.
A shadow passes through the light streaming in the stable bay doors. As though my thoughts summoned her, Cami is standing in the opening, once more bathed in sunshine.
She’s wearing shorts today—barely-there denim ones that have a ragged hem and show off her long, long legs—and cowboy boots. Couple that with the tank top that perfectly outlines every curve of her upper body and I’m fighting the urge to throw caution and responsibility to the wind.
She saunters up to me and stops not far away, smiling down into my face.
“Mornin’.”
“Mornin’,” I return.
“I’m sorry I left you with all the work cleaning up the horses last night.”
“It’s my job. Don’t worry about it. How are you feeling today?”
I watch her as she rolls her eyes to the right and tests the muscles of her back and shoulders, wiggling her body to check for sore spots.
“I’m fine. Just a couple of tender spots. I’ll live.”
“Good. Sleep okay?”
She shrugs. “Okay, I guess. You?”
“Like shit,” I say honestly.
Her brow wrinkles in concern. “I’m sorry. Was it the bed? Because I could talk to Daddy—”
“The bed was fine, just…empty.” I wink at her as I take a pull of my water. When she blushes, I remind myself that I’m playing with fire. Teasing her is only making my life more miserable. How freakin’ stupid is it, then, to keep doing it?