Page 55 of Healing Love

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Cam woke the next morning, his mind instantly alert and focused on the woman sharing his bed. Her long, dark hair lay across his pillow and her face was relaxed in slumber. He recalled the night’s events that resulted in Miriam in his bed…where he wanted her but had been afraid would never happen.

As soon as Cam got her in his SUV, he called Jobe. “Bro, It’s Cam. Keep your shit, but I’ve got Miriam. She got a threatening phone call and contacted me. I alerted Tony to keep an eye on your cameras and I was there in fifteen minutes.” Cam heard Jobe immediately go into protective brother mode, and he interjected, “Nope, not happening. She called me. She’s coming to my place, not some lockdown at Alvarez.” Pause. “This is a courtesy call, man, ‘cause I know you’re tight with your sister, but she’s already decided she’s not bringing this shit to your doorstep with you havinga pregnant wife.”

It took a couple of more minutes to get Jobe under control, but Cam finally convinced him that it was for the best. They agreed to meet at Jack’s compound the next morning. Disconnecting, Cam looked over at Miriam, seeing the concern on her face.

“He lost his shit, didn’t he?” she asked.

“Yeah,” he nodded. “But if it was one of my sisters, I’d be losing my shit too.”

They drove in silence for a couple of minutes, Miriam staring out of the window into the darkness. She lived on the western side of Richmond in an apartment complex that was close to the hospital where she worked. They passed several neighborhoods before he turned the SUV onto one of the highways that took them farther west outside of the city. About five minutes later they exited, and she saw that they were already in a less populated area. A few more twists and turns took them to a street with fewer houses on it, each with several acres.

“You live out here? There’s so much land around and you’re not that far from the city,” she said with surprise in her voice.

“I consider it to be the best kept secret around. The neighborhood is old and small with only about twenty houses, but we all have some land around so there’s still a sense of privacy. I’m twenty minutes away from the city and about thirty minutes away on the other side from Jack’s place.” Chuckling, he added, “And just about ten minutes away from a grocery store.”

They pulled into a long driveway lined by trees andthen she got a glimpse of a small, two-story house. The garage door opened, and they drove inside.

Cam led her into the laundry room from the garage and then into the kitchen. While not large, it was updated with new appliances. An arched doorway led into the combination dining and living room. Having only seen him in the wilds, she could not help but look around in curiosity at what his home represented.

She saw old, comfortable furniture that appeared to be second hand while clean and neat. The table could seat eight, which seemed strange before she remembered that he also had a large family. The informal living room was filled with an overstuffed sofa and chair angled to face the brick fireplace and large screen TV mounted over the mantle. The space was definitely male—no nicknacks, no frills, but warm and inviting all the same.

Cam placed her suitcase in the hall that led toward the stairs and turned to see her looking around. “It’s not much, but it’s home…and it’s wired for security as well as anything Jobe could offer you.”

She offered him a small smile, saying, “I’m sure it is. I feel…completely safe here with you.”

As he watched, he saw a shadow pass over her face, and he decided that talking was the first thing on his list of what they needed to get out of the way. He walked past her, taking her hand in the process, and led her over to his sofa. Sitting down, he twisted his body so that as he pulled her down next to him, he was facing her.

“You want to talk about the phone call?” she asked.

“Nope,” he declared. “I want to talk about us.”

Her head cocked to the side as her brow creased in question. “Us? Um…I don’t know what you mean,” she said nervously.

“Look at me,cariña”,” he ordered gently, and her eyes immediately sought his. “I’m a simple man, Miriam, so I’m going to lay it out as plain as I know how. I don’t see the reason to drag this out or have either of us unsure of what we are or what we have.”

He watched carefully, seeing her gaze remaining on his although the questioning expression was still on her face.

“Okay,” she said, dragging out the word in hesitation.

“We met under strange, intense circumstances and sometimes people get so caught up in that kind of world that they act in ways that lets them know they’re alive and then the emotions get all tangled up in that as well.”

She sucked in her lips, listening to him sound so dispassionate about what their relationship had been.

“But that was not us, babe,” he declared, seeing the surprise on her face.

“What we had down there was real. What we learned about each other. What we did. And especially when we made love…it was not fucking. It was not just getting off on each other because of an intense situation. I felt it. I knew it. And I fuckin’ want to keep exploring where it’s going to go now.”

“But…but you seemed so distant when we said goodbye,” she said, confusion warring with hurt.

“I screwed up, babe, and I see that now. The last thing I wanted to do was interfere with your family reunion. They needed that and so did you. And I knew you needed time to get back into your life. And I admit that I wondered if there was any place for me in your real world.”

“My real world?”

“Yeah, the world where you live, work, meet with friends…you know? This world that doesn’t involve running through woods and over cliffs and down rivers.”

Silence descended on the room for a moment—not uncomfortable, just each to their own thoughts.

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