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“Good,” I confirmed, answering his half-teasing tone with one of my own and nodding my head once to drive the point home. Cam was smiling, and it made my chest warm to sit here across from him, bantering a little bit in the dark with the warm fire at our feet. It made me feel a little bit less lost, less lonely.
Silence swept in again, and I sat feeling like I’d better get up soon and head back inside, because a big part of me wanted to just sit here as long as Cam would let me, soaking up his company. I was about to stand to go back inside when an eerie howl rose through the silence, sending a shiver through me and pressing me back toward the comforting fire as my eyes scanned the darkness around us. It was the same sound I’d heard that morning. “What the hell was that?”
Cam looked alert, his back straighter, his eyes narrowed. “I’m not sure. I heard something like that earlier, too.”
The sound came again, and ended in a mournful lower note that almost made it sound like whatever animal was making the noise was in pain.
“Wolves?” I asked, my breath a sharp whisper over the crackling fire. I pictured a pack coming to circle us, their glowing yellow eyes signaling our impending doom.
“No wolves up here,” he said.
“Coyotes? Was that the mountain lion?” I was trying to think of what other mountain animals might want to eat us.
“That wasn’t a cat.”
We waited for the sound to come again, but the night had returned to relative silence, the sound of owls and crickets resuming their quiet melodies in the trees around us. “I’ll walk you home,” he said after a few more minutes, and I couldn’t help be touched by his awareness that the odds of me standing and going alone to that big open deck facing the forest on my own were very slim. “Make sure you get inside safely.”
“Thanks,” I said, rising, grateful for his comforting presence through the few dark feet to my door.
We walked together through the flickering light to the steps at the front of the deck, and Cam took my elbow in the darkness—a gentlemanly gesture certainly intended to make sure I didn’t trip on the way up. He was probably thinking about liability—California is a very litigious state after all. But all I could think about was how comforting it was to have him close, to have his warm strong hand on my arm, to feel his stoic solidity at my side. When we arrived at the door, I was sad to feel that strong touch drop away, and had to push away fleeting thoughts about what it would be like to have Cam touch me in other places, to have that strong warmth even nearer.
I met his eyes after I fumbled to get the front door unlatched, light from the windows casting a glow on his face. He was an enigma, I decided. He was alternately cold and even a little bit frightening, and then suddenly caring and warm. But even when he was warm, Cam was still quiet and distant, and I figured losing someone so close to him might have a lot to do with that. I realized, as we stood in the open door, light from the living room pouring out the door around us, that maybe I wasn’t the only one on this property who spent long nights feeling lonely and a little bit abandoned.
But I couldn’t let myself get involved. Entanglement was not what I needed. I needed to work for six months and get myself down to Austin to start over.
“Good night, Harper,” Cam said, his voice soft, like a distant storm rolling in.
“Thanks for walking me home. And for letting me sit at your fire, Cam,” I said, holding the doorframe to keep my hands from reaching for him, which they seemed to want very much to do.
“You’re welcome. Good night.” He turned and was gone. I stood for a second in the open doorway, but when the eerie howling sound rose again from the woods beyond, I stepped inside quickly and bolted the door.
* * *
As distractingas things here had become, I needed to keep my eye on the ball, and that was my future in Austin.
I settled into the couch and called Theo, Chelle’s cousin.
“Hey Harper,” his warm voice rolled over the distance. “How’s it going?” Theo was a nice enough, business-minded guy I’d met when he’d come to New York to visit his cousin a couple times. We had a lot in common, both working in event management. He focused on concerts and weddings, and we’d had plenty to talk about since my company had been doing very similar things. When my job had exploded, I’d called him hoping maybe his company might have a job, but that was when he confided that he was thinking of starting his own thing and invited me to take part. The stopping point, of course, was my financial situation. I didn’t have the funds to contribute. Yet. But Theo said he’d wait, and that was what I needed to focus on.
“Things are going well,” I said. “I’m looking forward to getting on to the next phase, though, heading down your way.”
“I’m looking forward to that, too. I’ve turned down a couple gigs already that would have been perfect for us,” he said. “Any way you can make this all happen sooner?”
I sighed. “I want to. I promised my dad six months though—and I’ll need the time to pull the money together for us anyway.”
“I might need your experience more than I need your money.”
A little bubble of excitement gurgled to life in my stomach. “Really?”
“I’ve got to check a few things, but I know there’s another job coming my way, and I have a feeling they’d be happier working with you and me. Might be a good chance to cut loose early.”
My mind was spinning. “I don’t know if I can make it happen any earlier.” I felt committed to Maddie’s wedding, and wouldn’t want to let Mike down. And then there was my dad.
“Nothing’s for sure. Let me work on a few things and I’ll be in touch. But think about it.”
“I will. Thanks, Theo.”
“Talk soon, Harp.”
