Page 75 of Where You Left Me

Jones audibly chokes.

He stabs a finger at Nico. “You better shut the hell up about that shit right now, country boy. We have one rule. We don’t discuss Maverick and Cammie’s sex life.”

Nico holds his hands up, but his crooked smile is amusing. “Sorry, must’ve forgotten.”

I laugh and leave Buttercup for Nico to tend to while I shuffle toward the dock. Rosie and Cammie follow me. Rosie sits downon the edge of the dock and starts yanking off her cowboy boots and socks.

“I don’t know about you ladies, but these dogs need to breathe,” she says.

I shake my head at her and Cammie giggles.

I sit next to Cammie and do the same, taking off my hiking boots and socks. “Still never thought I’d ever see Rosalie as a cowgirl.”

“Right? Same,” she agrees. “But what can I say? That Texas cowboy stole my heart and mellowed me out.”

It’s sweet and my heart expands as I look at the pure joy radiating from Rosie.

“Plus, have I told you how good he is at fucking?”

Cammie and I burst into a fit of laughter.

“I don’t think he mellowed you out much, Rosie.” I snort another laugh.

“But that’s good he hasn’t, because we wouldn’t want you any other way,” Cammie says.

“It’s true. You wouldn’t be the Rosie we’ve come to know and love.”

She gives a mock bow.

I glance over my shoulder; Nico is pulling beer from a cooler and passing them out to the other guys. I love watching their comradery. The way they give each other shit but it’s obvious they have one another’s backs too.

“See what you’re missing out on,” Cammie says, breaking through my thoughts. “Can you honestly tell us that you have a group of friends like this back in Connecticut?”

I chew on my lip and dip my toes into the water. The icy chill races up through my body. “Definitely not like this. Because this is irreplaceable.”

“Aww,” Rosie feigns being touched by my statement. “Cut the crap and just come back home.”

It’s blunt. It’s so Rosie. But it still somehow hits me like a bullet to the chest.

“I have a home, guys. I have a life back there.”

Even as I say the words out loud, they feel wrong. Associating home with anywhere other than Maple Ridge feels wrong. But at the same time, the reality is Maple Ridge hasn’t been my home for a long time.

“Why can’t your life be here again? If you don’t want to work at Base Camp, can’t you do your job online?” Cammie unbuttons her blouse and takes it off so she’s dressed in only a light pink tank top underneath.

I twist my fingers together in my lap while my focus remains on my toes dipping in and out of the water. “I could,” I stretch out the word. “It’s not the job.”

“Then what is it?” Cammie urges.

“Is it Jones?” Rosie asks, glancing around Cammie to make eye contact with me.

A rock in my stomach forms. This day had been going so well. I wasn’t expecting to have this conversation today.

“It can’t be Jones, you guys seem to be getting along great. Aren’t you?”

“I mean, yeah. We’re good. Surprisingly,” I add, and this causes intrigue from them both. “I guess I expected him to still hate me when I came back.”

Cammie smiles softly. “He could never hate you.”

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