Page 14 of My One and Only

“Tell me about some of your jobs,” Cam asked.

She was shaking her head before he’d finished speaking. “Sorry, no can do. Client privacy is rule number one.”

“Have you ever been injured on a job?”

Jo’s mouth curled into a grin. “One client tried to punch me out when I told him he couldn’t go somewhere he wanted to go. He didn’t like hearing no.”

“What did you do?”Cam asked, leaning toward her.

“I put him on his ass and got someone else to guard him. One of the guys at Blackhawk Security took over. Since the agent was twice the clients’ size, it wasn’t an issue again.

“And before you ask, no, my job’s nothing like that movie. My clients don’t break into song at the drop of a hat.”

One side of Cam’s mouth curled up. “And you’re here to see your mom between jobs?”he asked.

“Yeah. We get ten days off between jobs, so I thought I’d come home, see my mom and my brothers and their families, since I couldn’t get home for Christmas.”

Time to shut down the questions about her jobs. “Tell me about what you’ve been up to since high school. Are you married?”

He stilled, then shook his head. “Nope. Not married.” He shrugged. “The business takes most of my time and attention.” He smiled, but it looked strained. “I try to get home early every evening, so I can pretend I have a normal life.”

Jo studied Cam for a long moment. He looked uncomfortable, and she wondered why. Maybe he didn’t like to talk about himself, but he hadn’t hesitated to tell her all his ideas and dreams in high school. She wanted to push, but it had been too long since they’d been friends. So instead, she asked, “I noticed the desk in your office. It was beautiful, and I figured you’d made it.”

“I did,” he said. Smiling, he added, “Once I had an office big enough for it.”

“I still remember the pictures you showed me in high school, drawings of furniture you wanted to build. Do you still make furniture?”

Cam shook his head slowly. “I’d like to, but I don’t have the time. The business takes all my energy and focus.” He shrugged. “Maybe someday, when the company is doing well and I don’t have to spend so much time on it, I can build furniture again.”

“I hope so,” Jo said softly. “Based on the desk in your office, you have a real talent for it.

“Tell me about your company. How long has Donnie… Don, I guess I should say, been your partner?”

Cam’s shoulders eased, as if he was on safe ground now. He nodded slowly, staring into the distance for a moment. Was he trying to decide what to tell her? Or was he organizing his thoughts?

“I think I told you I started Pierce Construction ten years ago. I was doing okay, but I knew the business needed to grow if I wanted to make real money. And to grow, I needed an infusion of cash. Don had come into some money -- a settlement for an on-the-job injury -- and he wanted to buy in. I was hesitant at first, because he didn’t know much about construction work. But we talked it out and he agreed to leave the building part of the business to me. He supervises the foremen and the skilled workers, which is more personnel management than construction work. We’re each playing to our strengths.”

“And how is it working out for you?”

“It’s working great,” Cam said without hesitating. “He’s a good manager, and I prefer focusing more on the actual building process.”

Jo moved her silverware around on the table. “You know, I don’t have positive memories of Don,” she said. “You may not have seen it, but he was a real jerk in high school -- at least to me. A bully, a troublemaker and an all-around unpleasant person.”

She swallowed and forced herself to say, “I’m glad to hear that he’s grown up. Changed his ways.”

“He has.” Cam studied the tablecloth, pressing his fingers into the red and white checked material. Finally looked up and held her gaze. “He spent a lot of time sitting next to my bed when I was in the hospital, recovering from that beating.”

“I know,” she said, swallowing at the memory of her visits to see Cam. Even then, at Cam’s bedside, Don had creeped her out. She hadn’t liked the way he’d looked at her, and she’d been careful to avoid touching him. “He was at the hospital every time I came to visit you. He left me alone with you, and I stayed for quite a while. But you were only semi-conscious, and I don’t think you even realized I’d been there.”

“No, I don’t remember, although Don told me you’d come by several times.” He sighed. “I was in the hospital for a couple of weeks. Stayed until the docs were sure I didn’t have any permanent damage.”

“Yeah, I came by a few other times, but you were mostly sleeping.” She touched his arm, then drew her fingers away. “You still don’t have any idea who beat you up?”

He sighed. “Yeah, I finally remembered. It was two guys who were friends of Randy Michaels.” He stared down at the table and finally looked up at her.

“I went to a lawyer and explained the situation. Gave her the guys’ names. I wanted them charged and thrown in jail.”

His fingers curled into fists, and Jo wondered if he’d realized he’d done that. Finally he looked up at her again. “My attorney got back to me several days later. She said we could charge them with assault and attempted murder, but she told me we shouldn’t bother. Both of them were already in prison, serving twenty-five year sentences. They might get a few years tacked on, but she advised me not to bother. The state would likely refuse, because it would cost them a lot of money for very little results.”

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