Kiss This (22 page)

The corner of his mouth frowned. “Really.
Did he come to that assumption, or did you help him along?”

She didn’t like the accusation in his voice,
even though he was right. “I had just met him, jackass. Kind of had
to play it safe.”

“Fine,” he chuckled. “But what about now?
You told him about Zach, right?”

“No,” she mumbled.

“What?” he narrowed his eyes. “Why?” he
demanded.

She let out an exasperated sigh. “Give me a
break, Brandon. Apparently my mom mentioned it, which she had
absolutely no right to do, but I got mad at him when he told me he
knew about it.”

“So he does know? Why’d you get mad at
him?”

“
Because
,” she groaned.

“Because why?” he smiled. “Camryn, you can’t
bite someone’s head off just because they care. You let that damned
stubborn heart of yours lock you in and it’s not good. I know how
you try to protect yourself, but you really need to give things a
chance. Come on, Cam. You and I went to counseling together. You
know the same psych shit that I do.”

“And you also know that we aren’t the same
person, Brandon. We had different relationships with Zach, and
everyone heals differently.”

“I’m still hurting too. You act like I don’t
even care. I can’t even drive his truck without wanting to fall
apart.”

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, rubbing her
temples. “I don’t mean to make it sound that way. I’m just saying
that it’s really hard for me to share something that I am still…so
completely
pissed
about…” She was willing herself not to
cry, swallowing down the lump that tried fighting its way out.

Brandon reached across the table for her
hand. She willingly took it and his squeeze was reassuring. “I love
you, Cam. And I know how much you loved my brother. What happened
just…sucked. There’s no changing anything, and we can’t make each
other’s hurt go away. We’ve tried. You gotta find what works for
you, okay? Maybe I’m not the answer anymore.”

“What are you saying?”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, I’m not
ending you and I, honey. I’m just saying that you need to fall in
love with someone someday and that’s what’s going to help you heal.
You’ll never forget Zach, but there are other things in life that
are waiting for you. And someone else. Maybe it’s Teague, maybe
it’s not, but you need to be honest with people and not try to fix
everything on your own. You’ve always been so independent, and
you’ve always been so strong… Just let life happen.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing,” she said
quietly. “And I think that’s why I feel so…rattled.”

“Rattled?”

“Yeah, like something great is happening,
but I’m so afraid and insecure that it will end. It makes me feel
at war with myself all the time. I mean jeez, Teague brought Zach
up first, and it would have—
should
have—been the perfect
opportunity to just get it out there. Instead, I was caught off
guard, got pissed and tried to kick him out of my house.”

Brandon attempted to hold back a smile.
“Literally, right? Because I’m picturing it very vividly—”

“No, I didn’t hurt him,” she said, hiding a
smile. “But oh holy crap, guess what he did to Don, my stupid
fucker of a neighbor…”

She stopped short when a figure at the bar
caught her eye. It was Teague, and he was leaning against it
casually, just staring across the room at her. She was still
holding Brandon’s hand, and instead of ripping it away from him
like she wanted to do, she squeezed it tighter. The power of
Teague’s concentrated gaze forced her to hold onto something for
support.

“So what did he do to the neighbor?” Brandon
asked. “Ow, shit, what are you…?” His eyes followed hers until it
stopped at the bar. “Fuck, I’m getting my ass kicked, right?” he
stated.

“No, just…” She casually released his hand
and waved Teague over. She didn’t like the smirk on his face, like
he’d caught her doing something wrong.

***

Teague didn’t know
what
the hell he
was seeing as he walked over, but now he was going to play it cool
like it didn’t affect him. He strolled up to their table and sat
down without an invitation, sliding into the booth next to Camryn.
He put his arm behind her on the seat and offered his best
play-it-cool smile.

“What’s up, Brandon?” he asked with a cocky
lift of his chin.

Camryn scowled at his challenging tone, and
even though Brandon received it loud and clear as well, he ignored
it.

“I’ll let you two talk,” Brandon said,
sliding out of the booth to stand. He pulled his wallet out of his
back pocket, selected a pair of twenties, and dropped them on the
table. He smiled at Teague and said, “Dinner is on me. Order what
you want.”

Brandon left, but a retort was still burning
a hole through Teague’s tongue.

“Knock it off,” Camryn told him calmly. She
took a sip of her water. “You need to quit with the cock blocking.
It’s pointless.”

Teague was amused. “I’m sure I don’t need to
cock block
that
guy.”

“You’re being an arrogant ass. You don’t
know Brandon at all, and before you get all territorial and
judgmental about my relationship with him, you should realize that
he’s Zach’s brother.”

Teague’s pride faltered a bit as he studied
her expression. She turned on the bench to face him better but
wouldn’t look at him. She was basically staring at his thigh. He
didn’t think she was upset with him, but there was still a hint of
frustration on her face. Last night with Camryn had been amazing,
and the morning too, and when he got a call about a family issue he
needed to take care of, he missed her like crazy. She’d told him
where she was for an early dinner, but he hadn’t been sure he could
make it in time after his physical therapy appointment. He was
happy he could, but their reunion was starting out poorly.

Camryn took in a deep breath and slowly let
it out. She slid her hand over Teague’s and laced her fingers
between his. “Look, I don’t know what my mom has told you, but she
doesn’t really know me, Teague. We’ve never been close. She
was…never there for us and I don’t know why she thinks she has the
right to share things about me that she knows nothing about.”

“I asked,” he said quietly. “And to be fair,
she admitted everything to me that you just said. That she was
never there for you and Melanie and she even said that she’s a
terribly selfish person and an even worse mother.”

Camryn looked surprised that her mom would
actually admit that, but all she did was shrug to agree.

“By the second day after you left, I was
really worried about you,” Teague continued. “I went over to your
mom’s to get your phone number so I could at least call to check on
you. We just…started talking. She told me how much like your dad
you are—closed off and reserved sometimes—but she mentioned that
you’d been through something pretty devastating. I begged her to
tell me so I could just…know you, I guess. I didn’t realize it
was…something like that.”

“You didn’t realize that my fiancé was
killed overseas?”

He took in a slow breath of air and released
it. “Every time you put up a wall, I only thought someone had
broken your heart. No, I didn’t know he died.”

Grabbing her water, she took a slow drink.
Then she started scooting across the booth, even with Teague
sitting in her way. Trying to push him out she said, “Can we get
out of here?”

He got up quickly and took her hand. When
they stepped outside, Camryn took in a deep breath of air and let
it out with an uneasy chuckle. “I’m sorry. I probably shouldn’t
have done that in public like that.”

“Don’t apologize, hon. You’re fine.” He put
his arm around her as they walked to his truck. “I know that was
hard for you. Thanks for telling me.”

She hadn’t told him much but she nodded, and
when Teague unlocked the truck, she turned to him and said, “This
is kind of an adjustment for me, Teague. You and me. And I want you
to know that I’m really happy about it. Honestly. I just…I’m in a
transition phase, maybe? I know that sounds really lame but please
be patient with me.”

Teague felt grateful that she was willing to
forgive him so easily over how he reacted in the restaurant.
He
didn’t regret his caution, but he didn’t like making
Camryn feel insecure. “There’s no rush,” he told her, kissing her
forehead. “Let’s just go at whatever pace you’re comfortable with,
okay?”

She gave him a soft smile and nodded, and
once they were on the road, they traveled in silence for a minute.
Teague thought maybe she was still feeling emotional about sharing
her life with him. Hell, maybe she even resented the fact that she
told him all that. He’d been an ass about Brandon, and she probably
felt forced to shut him up by putting him in his place.

Teague reached over and took her hand. “What
do you feel like doing, Cam?”

She looked at him and finally smiled.
“Honestly?”

With a shrug he answered, “Yeah, of course.
I asked, right?”

“Well, I want you to teach me how to
surf.”

His excitement wavered but he remained
neutral. “It’s evening. And we’re a few hours from good waves.”

She chewed on her lower lip. “What if we
head for the beach tonight, stay somewhere, and you can teach me in
the morning?”

Licking his lips, he made a turn for her
street. He didn’t mind taking her to the beach, but he had no
interest in taking on any waves. “Okay, if that’s what you want,”
he found himself saying. Just seeing the smile on her face
completely numbed his brain to anything rational and he also added,
“Why don’t we just stay a few days? You don’t have that dance
thingy until Saturday, right?”

“Sunday.”

“Even better. So?”

“Melanie’s staying in San Diego for the
week.”

“And…?”

“The dog? Oh God, and the damn bird,” she
rolled her eyes. “Yeah, guess I can’t leave since
Melanie
is
petsitting. And normally my friend Mimi would take the bird but
she’s out of town until next week.”

Teague was annoyed with Melanie for just
that reason. She took advantage of Camryn all the time. “We’ll just
bring ‘em. The dog can take the backseat, and Fucktard can have the
very back.”

Camryn laughed. “Why is it so much funnier
hearing you call him that? But do you think the cage will be safe
in the back?”

“I think so,” he nodded. “We’ll cover it and
tie it down.” He pulled into her driveway and set the truck in
park. “Well? What do you think? Take the kids on a road trip?”

“Oh my lord, our first road trip together
and we’ve got a dog I don’t like and a parrot I dislike even more.
Oh crap! We can’t take a bird and a dog into a hotel, can we?”

“Nah, we don’t have to worry about that.
We’ll stay with my cousin.”

“Which is where?”

“Camarillo.”

“And you don’t feel bad about bringing a dog
and a bird into the home?”

“Uh, nope. It’ll be okay.”

“I’m not sure, Teague. This dog… Maybe I
should just put him in doggy care or something. I’m sure a kennel
would take care of him better than I could.”

“I’ll tend to the dog, so don’t worry about
it. Come on, let’s grab your stuff. We’ll get there in time to
watch the sunset.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Camryn took a deep breath of ocean air and
slowly released it. It felt so good to be at the coast, and even
though it was still January, she’d take California sun in a
heartbeat.

Something nudged her leg and it brought her
back to reality. The dog had dropped the stick for her again, so
she snatched it out of the sand and threw it as far as she could.
She watched Tucker sprint towards the water and snag it before it
could be pulled out to sea. Glancing towards the parking lot, she
saw that Teague was still on the phone as he stood in front of his
truck speaking to Jay. They’d already stopped in Camarillo to drop
of her things—and the stupid bird—and Teague was more than happy to
bring her straight to the beach to watch the sunset.

Her leg was nudged again. Looking down at
the dog she smiled and said, “Okay, okay,” and picked up the stick
again. While he retrieved it for the tenth time, she wandered
closer to the Pacific, kicked off her shoes, and rolled up her
pants to wade in the water. She’d tried standing in the water when
she was up in Oregon and almost froze after two seconds. The water
was still cold here, but it didn’t bite her skin as harshly.

Suddenly a splashing of saltwater sprayed
over the front side of her as the dog came prancing by, dropping
the stick again.

“Thanks, Tucker. I wanted to get soaked, you
know.”

And she was wearing a white shirt, of
course. At least it was just a speckling of drops across her chest
and not a complete drenching. Rolling her eyes she threw the stick
again, and then walked the same direction through the water to
follow him. The dog came splashing through the ocean again, but she
didn’t care any more since her clothes were already damp. They
continued this routine a few more times, but then she was curious
to see how far Tucker would go in the ocean.

She tossed the stick into the first wave and
the mutt jumped into it head first. He came swimming out of it,
proud as hell to be holding the stick in his mouth as his paws hit
sand and came towards her. He was absolutely dripping from head to
toe.

“Teague is going to kill me,” she smiled at
the dog as he shook off briefly before dropping the stick once
more. She couldn’t imagine Teague wanting this wet thing in his
truck, so she hoped Tucker was okay with riding in the very
back.

Camryn tossed the stick another time and
glanced at the parking lot again. Teague was still on the phone,
slowly pacing back and forth in front of his truck. When she turned
toward the ocean, the water had crept up on her. She couldn’t see
the dog either as she took a couple of quick steps backwards to
avoid the wave crashing into her thighs.