Take a Deep Breath (Lake of the Pines) (3 page)

“We’re back!” Sara called. She skipped toward the fire, her
hands cupped in front of her. “Guess what I have?”

“I hope it’s not another puppy,” Liv joked.

“It’s in my hands.” She came around the chairs and tripped
on her flip-flop.

“Careful around the fire, Sara!” Sara stepped back from the
fire, the excitement gone from her face. Liv quickly apologized. “I’m sorry
Sara. I didn’t mean to yell at you. It’s just that you scared me. I don’t want
you to get hurt.”

“It’s okay, Mom. I’ll be more careful.”

“So, what’s in your hands?” Cam asked. “Can I see?”

Sara walked slowly over to Cam’s chair. She opened her hands
for him to see her treasure. In the middle of her palm sat a lightening bug.
Its tail flashed on and off. Realizing it was no longer trapped between Sara’s
hands, it quickly flew away.

“Ohhh,” Sara lamented as she tried to recapture it and
failed.

“Don’t worry. You have all summer to catch more lightening
bugs,” Cam reassured her and handed her a stick with a marshmallow on it.
“Let’s get started on roasting the marshmallows.” He squatted down by the fire
and showed her how to hold the marshmallow over the hot coals under the blaze.
Sara watched wide-eyed as Cam helped her gently turn the marshmallow. It
bubbled up golden brown and gooey. “Almost done. Bring it out slowly so it
doesn’t fall off the stick.” Sara almost had it out when the marshmallow burst
into flames. She quickly blew at the burning marshmallow, putting out the fire.
Now the marshmallow was charred black. Sara scrunched up her nose.

“Bring it over here,” Hannah called. “I like the burnt
ones.” She held out a graham cracker that already had a piece of chocolate on
it. Sara set the marshmallow, still on the stick, onto her grandma’s cracker.
Hannah used the other cracker to pull off the marshmallow and make her sticky
sandwich.

“Let’s try again,” Cam said. He held out a fresh marshmallow
to Sara. They continued to roast marshmallows until everyone had one of the
delicious snacks except Liv.

“Do you want one Mom?”

“Not right now. Go ahead and make another one for yourself.”
She smiled at her daughter and tried to forget about the nausea that made
eating anything sound bad. “It’s getting late. After you have your last s’more
it’s about time for bed.”

“Really, Mom, I’m not even tired.”

I know, thought Liv. But, I am.

Cam glanced at his watch. It was almost 10:00 PM. Liv looked
exhausted. “You’ve had a big day today, getting your new puppy and all. I bet
you’ll fall asleep as soon as your head hits the pillow. I know I will!”

Sara looked at him skeptically. “Can Pup-Pup sleep with me?”

“I don’t know. She’s not house-broken yet.”

“Good point,” Cam added. “It’s probably better if she stays
in her crate at night so she doesn’t have an accident on your bed.”

“I guess so,” Sara relented. Her face was a sticky,
chocolaty mess.

“Come on Sara.” Liv stood and held out her hand to the
pouting Sara. “I’ll help you get your bath and PJ’s on.”

“I’ll tell you what. If your Mom says okay, once I get the
fire put out, I’ll come in and read you a bed time story,” Cam offered.

“You don’t have to do that,” Liv said.

“I want to.”

“I’m sure Sara would like that.”

“Hurray!” Sara jumped up and down as the two headed back to
the cottage.

By the time Sara was bathed and ready for bed, Cam had finished
dousing the fire and putting the chairs back under the porch overhang. Hannah
was in the kitchen putting away the left over s’more supplies. Liv went to help
her grandmother straighten up, while Cam read to Sara.

Liv heard Cam ask Sara which book she wanted to hear. “Can
you read three?” Sara replied. Liv smiled as she continued down the hall toward
the kitchen.

She unloaded the dishwasher as Hannah wiped down the
counters.

“Cameron sure is good with Sara,” Hannah commented. “I
always liked that boy.”

“I know Gram, so did I.”

“Hopefully you two will renew your friendship over the
summer.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

“Why maybe?”

“Well I’m sure he has more important things to do than hang
out with me. I’m not exactly Ms. Fun lately. Besides I’m sure he has a wife or
at least a girlfriend.”

Hannah started to argue when Cam’s lean frame filled the
doorway.

“She’s asleep.”

“Really?” Liv and Hannah asked in unison.

“Out like a light.”

“She must have been tired then or you have some secret magic
touch I don’t know about.”

“Is there anything else I can do before I go?” Cam asked,
not quite ready to leave.

“No, I think we’ve got everything taken care of here,”
Hannah replied. “Thanks so much for staying.”

“Thanks for having me.”

“Liv, can you see Cameron out? I’m going to get ready for
bed.” Cam stepped aside so Hannah could pass by.

Alone again,
Liv thought, nervously.

“Thanks again for earlier.” Liv walked Cam to the front
door. She stepped out onto the porch and the full moon illuminated her face.

“I’m just glad I could help.” He turned toward her and
studied her eyes for a moment before glancing to her mouth. He looked as if he
wanted to kiss her. Liv’s heart quickened at the thought of his mouth on hers
and knew she still wanted him to. He leaned in and then stepped back.

“Well, I better get going.”

“Yeah, it’s getting late,” Liv agreed disappointment and
relief flooding her senses at the same time. “It was good seeing you again.”

“You too.” Cam squeezed her hand and let it go. He headed to
his truck and she turned to go back inside.

“Wait, Liv! Can I call you later?”

“Yes, definitely, yes! Let me give you my number.” She
jogged over to his pickup and quickly entered her contact information into his
cell phone.

“Thanks!” He jumped up into his pickup truck, rolled the
window down and rested his arm on it. “See you later,” He said and turned over
the ignition. The radio blared and he quickly reached over to turn it down.
“Bye, Liv.”

“Bye, Cam.” She stepped aside and he backed out of the
driveway. He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw her watching him. She
hadn’t gone back inside yet.

“Bye,” Liv mouthed and waved. She was still smiling as his
truck disappeared into the distance.
Damn, I forgot to ask him for his
number.

Cam jogged down the nearly deserted boardwalk just as the
sun began to rise. It was just after six in the morning and most vacationers
were still sleeping. The shops that lined the marina didn’t even open until
nine. A couple of gulls fighting over a stale bun flew away as Cam approached
them. The waves hit the sandy shore steadily—any sign of the previous day’s
sand castles was gone. He raised his hand to acknowledge another runner headed
in the opposite direction with his golden retriever. He concentrated on the
rhythm of his feet hitting the wooden planks and the air filling his lungs. His
calves ached but he pressed on. For the last five years, he had started every
morning with a ten mile run. The ritual helped keep him focused as well as in
shape. He’d worked out the solutions to many problems in his life on his
morning runs.

This morning Cam’s thoughts turned to Liv. He’d thought he
was over her a long time ago, but after seeing her again he knew he wasn’t. And
there laid the big problem. He was far from over her and she was married to someone
else. He wanted to spend time with her, but he didn’t know if he could keep his
feelings for her in check. He certainly didn’t want to deal with a jealous
husband or cause any problems for her. She already seemed vulnerable. He didn’t
want to make her anxiety worse by causing any friction between her and her
husband. Yet the thought of not seeing her, not spending time with her when she
was so close seemed impossible. He knew he couldn’t stay away from her even if
he tried. Now that he’d found her again, he couldn’t, wouldn’t let her go
again. He had to find a way to be friends with her without crossing the line.

Cam glanced at his heart-rate monitor, pedometer,
multi-function, do-it-all watch his older brother, Brad, had given him last
Christmas. He was slightly ahead of his normal pace at the half-way point of
his run. He slowed down and made a loop to head back the other way. He surveyed
the beach in front of him and headed down toward the shoreline to run in the
sand. People had started to stake out their lounge chairs and striped
umbrellas, but for the most part the beach remained quiet. The breeze off the
lake felt refreshing against his hot, sweaty body as he pushed ahead. The
pinkish orange sky gently turned a vivid blue. Only a few puffy white clouds
lazed across the sky low on the horizon. Cam smiled to himself. It was going to
be a beautiful summer day. Not too hot, not too cool, low humidity and
sunshine.
Perfect.

Up ahead he noticed a young child throwing a ball for her
dog. The dog bounded after the ball caught it in its mouth and ran circles
around the thrower. He could hear the child’s laughter carried on the breeze as
she chased and then pulled the ball from the dog’s mouth only to send it
sailing through the air again. His gut twisted at the sight. He wanted a
family. He wanted a little girl and a dog and a wife. So far though, he hadn’t
found the right woman. Not that he’d actually looked that hard. He’d hardly had
time for a social life with college, medical school, residency and finally his
family practice. He spent long hours at the clinic. Sure he’d dated off and on,
but soon the woman would realize his job was his life. Now that he’d left the
busy practice, he could regroup. He could figure out where he wanted to
practice medicine. He knew the big-city pace in Chicago was sucking the energy
out of him. At the rate he was going, he’d have been burned out of medicine
before he turned 35. He knew he wanted to get back to small town life and a
slower pace. He wanted regular hours and a life outside of work. He wanted what
Liv had, a family. . .

Liv.
His thoughts went back to her as he picked up
his pace a little. He wondered if he should give her a call later in the day or
wait until tomorrow. He’d already waited three days and itched to see her
again. He’d punched in her number several times only to hang up before pressing
send. He didn’t want to come across as anything other than a friend. Maybe he
should just drop by and see if she wanted to go to the beach or on a hike or
something. No, calling ahead was definitely better. He probably should wait
until tomorrow to call.
Damn.
He hated waiting. Maybe, it would be
okay to give her a call today anyway. Then, he could make plans for tomorrow
and at least talk to her today. A good compromise he thought to himself just as
a yellow tennis ball rolled under his foot. Lost in thought, he stumbled over
the ball, unable to react quickly enough to avoid it. At least he caught his
balance before he did a face-plant into the sand.

“Sorry!” a voice called out to him. The ball-throwing
culprit and her dog were suddenly upon him. “I’m really sorry mister. Are you
okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sara?” Cam asked pulling his sunglasses
off. 

“Oh, it’s you Cam! You look different,” Sara said. “I’m
really sorry we tripped you. I didn’t mean to throw the ball by you. I was
trying to throw it the other way.” The girl rambled on without taking a breath.

“It’s okay Sara. Really, I’m fine. The wind probably caught
it.” Cam handed her back the tennis ball.

“Thanks.” She threw the ball for Pup-Pup and the little dog
bounded after it.

 “Where’s your mom?” Cam scanned the beach looking for Liv.

“Oh, she’s over there setting up her umbrella.” Sara pointed
down the beach. Sure enough, Liv was stretched out on a lounge chair under a white,
yellow and red striped beach umbrella. Cam sucked in his breath as he gazed
over her slim, but curvy figure. She wore a red and white flowered bikini. The
top tied behind her neck and plunged in the front just enough to tease. She had
her hair pulled up on top of her head, revealing the curve of her long neck. A
few stray tendrils hung in her face. She bent over to smooth sunscreen over
endless legs.
Being friends is going to be harder than I thought
, he
realized as he quickly tried to cover his blatant staring from Sara.

“Oh, there she is. I see her now.” Cam acted as if he’d just
spotted her. He lowered his sunglasses back down. “So, is your Dad coming down
to the beach too?”

She looked at him oddly before replying, “No, he’s out of
town on a business trip.”

“That’s too bad. You probably miss him.”
Smooth, Cam,
that wasn’t obvious,
his inner dialog told him.

“Yeah, I guess so. Come on, Cam, I know Mom wants to talk to
you. She’s been hoping you’d call her for the last two days.” Sara pulled him
with her toward her mother.

His stomach flipped. “Really?” he wanted to ask, but decided
against it. As much as he wanted to know more, it felt wrong to take advantage
of the young girl’s openness. Liv probably wouldn’t appreciate him prying her
secrets out of her daughter. “Actually, I was going to give you guys a call
today.”

Sara smiled. “I knew you would! I told Mom, you’d probably
call today.”

Cam smiled. “You were right. Lead on darling. Let’s go see
what she’s up to.” He followed Sara across the sand to where Liv was laying.

Liv set the sunscreen aside and dug through her bag looking
for her eBook reader. She glanced up and saw Sara coming toward her with a
strange man. He must’ve been out running as his green and black running shirt
was soaked with sweat. He wore a black do-rag on his head, keeping the sweat
from running into his face. Liv couldn’t see his eyes under the dark aviator’s
he wore. His thigh muscles rippled as he moved across the sand toward them. Liv
suddenly felt self-conscious in her bathing suit and looked around for her
cover-up.

“Sara. Who’re you talking to?” Liv admonished her daughter.
“You know better than to talk to strange…” she broke off when she realized the
man was Cam.
Twice in one week, I didn’t recognize him,
she thought.

“He’s not a stranger, Mom!”

“I see that now.” Liv pulled the solid red robe around her
shoulders. She should have put on her one-piece suit. If she’d known she’d see
Cam today, she certainly would have. She no longer had the body for a bikini,
if she ever had, but she’d humored her daughter. Sara was rummaging through
Liv’s drawers that morning and had pulled out the bikini. Liv had bought it on
a sale rack at the end of last summer, but didn’t think she’d actually have to
guts to wear it in her backyard let alone in public. Sara had insisted though,
as she had on a red tankini and thought it would be fun for them to be “twins.”
Liv indulged her daughter. She’d thought it was early enough that she wouldn’t
run into anyone she knew. Her ex-husband would have hated the swimsuit, which
was probably why she bought it. She inwardly winced, thinking of the choice
words he’d have said to her had he seen her in it. She couldn’t bear to hear
those words come from Cam’s mouth too and pulled the cover-up closer around her
and tied it closed.

“You don’t have to ruin the gorgeous view on my account,”
Cam joked with a lazy smile.

That dimple
, Liv thought.

“See, Mom! I told ya, you looked hot,” Sara piped in.

Liv blushed. “Stop, you’re embarrassing me.” Liv gave Sara a
warning look.

“Sorry, Mom!” Sara rolled her eyes and waved as she ran off
down the beach with Pup-Pup.

“Stay where I can see you!” Liv called after her.

Sara shook her head and waved again.

“You don’t have to be embarrassed, you know. You do look
really “hot” in that bathing suit,” Cam said now that Sara was out of earshot.
Stop
flirting with her
; he immediately thought as soon as the words left his
mouth. It so hard not too though… His inner voice answered.

Liv blushed again. “Thanks. I was a little chilly, that’s all.”

I can warm you up.”
Damn, there I go again,
he
thought as the words left his mouth.

Liv laughed. “I’m sure you could Cam, but I think I’ll have
to settle for the robe for now. It is a public beach you know,” she flirted
back.

“Right, too bad…”

“Are you in a hurry?” Liv fidgeted with the edge of her
robe. She felt like an eager school girl again.

“Not really. I was out on my morning run when I ran into
Sara and Pup-Pup or should I say they ran into me.”

They both glanced over to watch Sara and Pup-Pup playing
along the edge of the water. Pup-Pup charged into the waves after the ball. The
yellow ball in her mouth she circled Sara and then dropped the ball in the sand
a few feet away from her. The imp shook herself off and sprayed water
everywhere. Sara laughed and brushed the hair back from her face. Just as Sara
reached for the ball, Pup-Pup grabbed it in her mouth again and took off. Sara
ran after the dog. Her legs were long and tan like her mother’s. She looked so
graceful as she ran across the beach. Finally realizing she couldn’t catch
Pup-Pup, Sara stopped and ran in the opposite direction. As soon as Pup-Pup saw
that Sara wasn’t chasing her anymore, the puppy ran after Sara. Pup-Pup caught
up with Sara and passed her quickly. Sara sat down in the sand and Pup-Pup
jumped in her lap. Sara took the opportunity to grab the ball and throw it for
the little dog as they started the game over.

“I think I’m going to have my hands full with those two. Do
you want to sit down for a minute? I have some bottled water in the cooler.”
Liv gestured to the small red cooler sitting in the shade under Sara’s beach
chair.

“That would be great.” Cam sat on the chair next to hers and
took the bottle of water Liv offered him. The water felt cool going down his
throat. In his rush to leave that morning, he’d forgotten his own water bottle.
“That tastes really good. Thanks.” Liv didn’t reply. He turned toward her and
studied her face. She had her sunglasses down and her mouth was twisted. “Liv,
are you home?”

“What? Oh. Sorry Cam. I was just thinking.”

“Care to share your thoughts?” He finished off the water and
leaned back in the chair, stretching his long legs in front of him.

“I was just thinking back to when we were kids. Sara is
about the same age I was when we first met.”

“Hard to believe isn’t it?”

“I know. It seems like yesterday the only worries I had
during the summer were which bathing suit to wear and if you and I would go
swimming, boating or hiking.”

“Yeah, those were great days. To think we spent so much time
wanting to be adults and have more responsibilities. We didn’t know how lucky
we were back then.”

“So true, we had our whole lives ahead of us. A clean slate
to be anything and do anything we wanted.” Liv sighed. “We both had so many
dreams, hopes…Life has a funny way of getting in the way though, doesn’t it?
Look at me now. Who would have thought I’d end up…”

“Mom,” Sara called, “I’m thirsty!”

“What? Come closer. I can’t hear you.”

“I’m thirsty!”

“Come over here and talk to me.”

Sara rolled her eyes again and ran up to her mother with
Pup-Pup in tow, dripping water and sand on Liv’s sun-warmed legs.

“Sara! Watch what you’re doing! You’re getting me all wet!
That’s cold!”

“Oops. Sorry Mom.” Sara shrugged and gave her mom an
innocent smile.

“Now what did you need?”

“I’m thirsty. Can I have a drink?”

“Can I have a drink, what?”

“Can I have a drink, please?”

“That’s better.” Liv popped open the little cooler again and
dug out an apple juice box.

“Thanks, Mom!” Sara pulled off the little straw and stabbed
it into the box. She sucked it all down in a matter of seconds and handed the
empty box back to Liv.

“See you later. Pup-Pup and I are going to finish making our
sandcastle!”

“Okay. Just stay where I can see you,” Liv reminded Sara
again.

“I know, Mom! You’ve reminded me ten times already!” Sara
yelled back as she ran toward the shore.

Liv glanced over at Cam. He was smiling at her.

“What?”