Page 18 of My One and Only

“Absolutely. I’m glad you noticed it, and glad you came to me about it. I’d hate to have anyone buy a house from me and then have problems with it.” He smiled. “Especially your mom. I spent almost as much time at your house back then as I did at my own place. She always treated me like I was one of her kids.”

“I’ll let her know. She’ll be glad you remember her so fondly.”

The waiter returned to the table with the receipt for Cam to sign and returned his credit card. Cam signed the receipt, added a tip and shoved the card into his wallet. “Ready to face that wind again?”

Jo nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready. I’d forgotten how cold it is in Ogden in the winter.”

“Has to be at least this cold in Montana.”

Jo shrugged. “When I’m at headquarters, I’m too busy to notice the cold.”

Cam drove her back to her mom’s house and walked her to the front door. To prevent any awkward goodbyes or attempted kisses, she put her hand on his jacket to keep some distance between them. “Thanks for dinner, Cam. It was good to see you. Good to catch up. Keep me posted on your investigation into the bribe, and I’ll let you know if I get any positive responses to my emails.”

“Sounds good, Jo.” He looked disappointed, and she wondered, after his revelation, if he’d expected she’d treat this like a date. Good thing he’d realized that she wouldn’t.

Opening the door, she stepped inside. “I’ll talk to you soon, Cam,” she said, then closed the door.

* * *

Cam watched the door close firmly behind Jo. He stood there for a moment, disappointed. He’d carried a torch for Jo since they’d graduated from high school, and he’d never expected to see her again. When she’d walked into his office to complain about the quality of the work on her mother’s new house, he’d been shocked to see her.

He sighed. Her complaints had pissed him off. But she’d been right. And the exchange of money between Billy Simms and the Ogden city inspector? That had made him really angry.

He turned and trudged down the steps and back to his truck, sliding into the still-warm interior. He needed to go back to the office to grab the paperwork he’d abandoned to pick up Jo. He’d work on it at home, after Fiona was in bed.

When he reached the office, he was surprised to see Don’s truck in the lot. When Don had to work at night, he usually did it from home. He didn’t like to leave his wife alone at night.

Cam snorted. Hadn’t made any difference in their marriage, since Sylvia was divorcing him. Don had never said what the issues were, and Cam hadn’t pried. Not his business. As far as he could tell, Don was devoted to her, but you never knew what was going on in someone else’s marriage. All he could do was support Don and be there if his partner wanted to talk about it.

Which Don had most definitely not wanted to do.

He walked up the two flights of stairs and rapped on Don’s door. After a moment, Don said, “Come on in.”

When Cam walked into the room, Don was sliding a notebook into a desk drawer. “What’re you doing here, Cam?”he asked, frowning. “You never work at night.”

“Went out for dinner with Jo Hatch. Thought I’d come in and finish what I was working on when I left to pick her up.” Cam studied Don carefully. “What areyoudoing here? You always work at home after hours.”

A muscle in Don’s jaw twitched. “Sylvia has a meeting with her attorney,” he said, clenching his jaw. As if just the thought of the attorney infuriated him. “I didn’t want to be there when she got home, all worked up by whatever the guy had to say. So I figured I’d hang out here for a while and get some work done until she had a chance to wind down.”

Cam threw himself into the chair beside Don’s desk. “Hell of a thing, Don. I’m really sorry you have to deal with this. You’ll let me know if you need anything, won’t you?”

“’Course I will, Cam,” Don said with a forced smile. “Who else would I go to besides my partner?”

“Good,” Cam said. “I’d do anything I could for you.”

“I know you would,” Don said. “And I appreciate that more than I can say. You’ve always treated me like family, and that means a lot to me.”

“Youarefamily,” he said. “Have been since you moved in when your parents took off.”

“Thanks, Cam.” Don’s expression softened, and he shifted in his chair. “That means a lot. So how did the date with Jo Finster… I mean Hatch… go?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Cam said wearily. “It was a business meeting. I told you about the problems she found in the house we’re building for her mom. The same crap is going on in other houses we’ve just started. I need to get to the bottom of it. Find out who’s responsible. Someone’s bribing the Ogden building inspectors to okay buildings that aren’t up to code. I told you Jo saw Billy Simms pass money to one of them.”

“Yeah, you told me,” Don said, his lips tight and his teeth clenched. “Can’t believe Simms would do that. What does he have to gain?”

“No idea,” said Cam. “But I intend to find out. I’ll keep digging until I get some answers.” He sighed. “And I’m sure it’s not just Billy Simms. I found problems in other houses in the same early stages of building. And God knows what’s gone on in houses that are further along. Houses that already have the drywall up, so we can’t see the quality of the work.”

Don frowned. “Yeah. What are we gonna do about those houses?”

---