Page 23 of My One and Only

An image of Jo floated in front of him, and he shoved it away. Jo was only going to be here for a handful of days. There was no possibility of a relationship there, even if he was willing to share Fiona with her.

Which he wasn’t.

So in spite of the feelings he still had for Jo, all she would ever be was a distant, pleasant memory. Nothing more.

Chapter 7

Early the next morning, as Jo was having a bowl of yogurt, granola and fruit with her mother, her phone rang. Dropping her spoon in the bowl, she pulled it out, surprised to see Cam’s name on the screen.

“Cam?”she said after pushing the answer button.

“Yeah, it’s me. I was wondering if you’d like to take a look at your mom’s house this morning. I supervised the demolition of all the shoddy work and the installation of new studs, new plumbing and new electrical boxes. I have to go to Ogden later, to talk to the department of home inspections, but I thought you might want to look at your mom’s house with me first.”

Warmth swept over Jo as she realized how quickly he’d gotten her mom’s house fixed. “I’d love to meet you there,” she said. “What time works for you?”

“How about half an hour?”he suggested.

“That’s great. I’ll be there. See you then.”

Jo disconnected the call and set her phone on the table. Her mom watched with a sparkle in her eyes. “You and Cam have a date?”she asked.

Jo squelched the urge to crush her mom’s hopes once and for all. Instead, she said, “No, we’re going to take a look at your house. Cam said he’s made all the fixes that were needed, and he wants me to look at it with him.” She glanced at her phone. “I’m gonna have to get ready and leave pretty soon to get there in time.”

She gulped the last two bites of her breakfast, then carried her bowl to the sink, rinsed it and slid it into the dishwasher. “Sorry to abandon you before you’re finished eating, but Cam has a meeting after this, so I don’t want to be late.”

“You’re in a hurry to meet someone who you say is nothing more than a friend,” her mom said with a wide smile.

“That’s all he is,” Jo said. “But he’s running a business, and I don’t want to make him wait.”

She ran up the stairs without waiting for her mother to respond. After brushing her teeth and combing her hair, she ran downstairs, grabbed her coat and hat and purse, and stopped long enough to kiss her mom goodbye. “I’ll see you later, Mom.”

“Stay as long as you need to, Jo,” her mom called after her. “I’m having lunch with a few of my friends later.”

“Have fun, Mom,” Jo called, then hurried out the door.

It was still frigidly cold, but Jo pulled on her gloves, got into her car and started the engine, sitting until a weak blast of warm air came out of the vents. Then she typed her mom’s house’s address into her phone, plugged it into the accessory jack, and waited for the directions to pop up on the screen. Then she backed out of the driveway and headed for the new development.

She’d reached the intersection of her mom’s street and a bigger highway, and stopped for a light. When a big red truck slowed and stopped at the intersection as the light turned yellow, she recognized Cam behind the wheel. As soon as the light turned green, she swung onto the larger street and followed him.

They were almost at the new subdivision when they approached a stop sign. A newer model dark blue Ram pickup sat on her left, but it didn’t attempt to move forward. Cam’s truck stopped, then he moved into the intersection.

As soon as he did, the blue truck leapt forward. As it neared Cam’s truck, it accelerated. Cam must have noticed it, because his truck shot forward. Moments later, the blue truck hit Cam’s truck hard, then backed quickly and raced down the road in the direction she and Cam were heading. In the blink of an eye, the blue truck disappeared from sight.

Jo pulled up behind Cam and ran to the driver’s side of his truck. The back door was crushed, but fortunately the driver’s door was untouched.

“Cam,” she yelled as she leapt onto the running board. She tugged at the door, but it wouldn’t open. “Cam, are you okay?”

She cupped her hands around her eyes to see through the tinted glass, but Cam appeared motionless. Using both hands, she tugged at the door again. It flew open suddenly, and she almost fell off the running board.

Cam turned slowly to stare at her. “Jo? What are you doing here?”

“I was right behind you,” she said. “I saw the whole thing. Have you called the police?”

He shook his head slowly. “Not yet. Gonna do that right now.”

“I’ll do it,” Jo said. She pulled out her phone, dialed 911, and as soon as the operator answered, said, “There’s been a car accident. At the intersection of Breen and Main street. The other car took off. It was a dark blue pickup truck, a Ram four by four, license plate obscured. Looked like it was covered with mud. It appeared to be a deliberate targeting. It sat at the intersection until the truck ahead of me reached it. As soon as that truck moved forward, the blue Ram took off. Increased its speed until it hit the red truck. Driver didn’t slow down or stop. He or she accelerated away, going south on Main Street.”

“I’ve already sent a cruiser out. He’ll be there shortly. Is anyone injured?”

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