Page 6 of My One and Only

“Cam?”she said. “Cam Pierce?” Her heart raced as she stared at her old high school friend, unable to believe the coincidence of seeing Cam running a construction business in Geneva, Illinois.

Surprise was quickly chased by guilt. She’d visited Cam in the hospital after the damn party at the park, but he’d been sedated and she doubted he remembered her visit. She’d sat next to his bed and held his hand for about a half-hour. His eyes had fluttered open at one point, and he’d stared at her, but hadn’t said a word.

She’d visited a couple more times, but each time, Cam had seemed sedated. Out of it. A week later, she’d left Ogden and enlisted in the Army.

Guilt for not following up on how Cam was doing swept over her.

Pierce stared at her for a long moment. Sucked in a breath. “Jo? Jo Finster?”

She nodded slowly. “Yeah. My God! What are you doing in Geneva, Illinois?”

“Building houses,” he said. He stood away from the door. “Come on in so we can catch up.”

She stepped into his office and saw that it was what she might have expected from Cam. No frills. All business. Except for the desk. It was a work of art. Oversized, made out of what she was pretty sure was cherry wood. Polished until it glowed. And the bookcases along one wall matched the desk. She wondered if he’d built it himself. He’d always been drawing pictures of furniture he wanted to build.

Cam frowned at her. “Maisy said you were Jo Hatch.”

“I am. Married name.”

“You’re married?”he asked.

“I was,” she said and didn’t say anything else. She never did when discussing her husband. It wasn’t anyone’s business. Thinking about Mike was too painful.

Cam studied her for a long moment, and she saw the questions in his eyes. But she simply returned his stare and didn’t say a word.

Finally Cam waved at the chair in front of his desk. “Have a seat and catch me up on what you’ve been doing for the last fifteen years, Jo.”

Chapter 2

Cam studied Jo, sitting up straight on his uncomfortable couch. He’d thought about Jo off and on since she’d left Ogden, but he’d never heard where she’d ended up. Her brothers were older than him and already out on their own, and as far as he could tell, Jo never visited her parents.

Then he’d moved to Geneva to start his business and lost track of pretty much everyone from Ogden, even though it was only twenty-five miles away. His parents had moved to Geneva several years ago, and the only other person he kept in touch with was his foster brother Donny Kincaid. Or Don, as he preferred to be called now.

He and Don had grown up together, after Donny moved in with Cam’s family after being abandoned by his druggie parents. He and Don had been close, and Cam knew Don had spent a lot of time sitting beside his hospital bed. Don had been swallowed by grief and sorrow because he hadn’t been able to stop the attack on Cam. He’d found him after his attackers had run away, and he’d called an ambulance and stayed with him until the EMT’s and the police had arrived.

At least that’s what the police had told his parents. Cam had been unconscious. Back then, he had no memory of the attack, and no idea who’d beaten him nearly to death.

He hadn’t thought about that night for a while. But Jo brought all those memories roaring back. She was supposed to meet him at that park, but he had no idea if she’d ever shown up.

“So,” he finally said. “Where’d you go to college? I always figured that you’d get a bunch of scholarships.”

Jo shook her head slowly. “Nope. Didn’t go to college.”

Shocked, he stared at her. “Really? That’s a damn shame. You were the smartest kid in our class. I always figured you’d end up as a doctor or a lawyer.”

“Plans change,” she said. She sat on his couch, upright, her back barely touching the back cushion.

“I guess they do,” he murmured. His certainly had. He waved his hand around the room. “I started Pierce Construction about ten years ago. Worked as a carpenter before that, then finally decided to open my own business.” He stared out the window. It wasn’t the furniture company he’d planned on starting, but he hadn’t had a choice. His life hadn’t gone the way he’d expected it to, but Fiona was worth everything he’d sacrificed.

“You remember Don Kincaid? My foster brother?”he asked, trying to push the conversation away from dangerous waters.

“Of course I do,” she said.

“He’s my partner now. Brought in an infusion of cash when I needed it. The company’s doing well.”

“I’m happy for you, Cam. I figured you’d end up making high-end furniture. You always made such beautiful drawings of the pieces you wanted to make.”

Her off-hand words squeezed his heart until it ached. He took a deep breath. “I guess neither of us took the road we expected to take,” Cam said.

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