Page 161 of Trust Me Always

Cameron

The night waslong and restless, sleeping next to Brady without sleeping next to Brady. He stayed downstairs as long as possible, tiptoeing in well into the night and passing out on top of the covers.

When I woke, he was already out of the room. That was a couple of hours ago now, and the hustle and bustle of Thanksgiving morning, turned afternoon, has slowed some. That means I can no longer hide behind a long list of tasks.

Sucking it up, I step out the back door, walking over to where Alister is leaning against the deck, looking down the beach.

He does a double take, a small smile forming on his lips. “Hey, beautiful.”

“Hey.” I tip my head. “Take a walk with me?”

He holds my gaze a long moment, his chest rising in a full breath because he knows what this is. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

We head the way that leads to Parker’s and Lolli’s houses, moving closer to the water as we go.

“I hope you’re not upset I’m here.” He glances over. “I should have asked you first.”

“No.” I grip his arm, squeezing. “No, I’m glad you came. I would have been upset if I found out you were going to be by yourself and only turned down the invite because of me.”

“Me, turn down a chance at being near you?” He smirks my way, but there’s no mirth to it.

“Ha-ha.” I shove him, and he grins for real this time.

We grow quiet again, and I see Mason up ahead, my favorite curly head of dark hair walking beside him in the sand.

My lips curve and I pause, shifting to face the ocean.

“Cameron, it’s okay,” Alister says. “You don’t have to do all this. I know where things with us are, and I understand.”

My eyes grow watery, and I bite at my inner lip. “I know, but I just…be real with me. I was honest with you from the start, right?” I worry. “I don’t mean before shit hit the fan but after. I told you I couldn’t trust you and trust is…”

“Everything in a relationship?” he offers softly. “If you can trust anything I say, let it be that I do understand that—all too well. I just couldn’t let go of that little bit of hope.”

Of course. It was a break in trust from the one he loved that led him to me in the first place.

We all do dumb things when we’re hurt or scared, don’t we?

Brady flashes in my mind, but I force myself to focus. “But you never felt like I was leading you on or anything? I know there were a few times when you came close and I let you, and I can’t help but feel like I gave you all the wrong signs.”

“You didn’t. Like I said, I was holding on to what we had, and I knew reminding you of our chemistry was my only shot. I took it knowing the chance was slim, and you never gave me any indication we could be more than a stolen moment or two.”

I nod, a heavy breath leaving me.

“In hindsight, I should have seen this coming. Your dad did try to let me down gently, but I didn’t exactly understand it at the time.”

That has my head yanking his way again. “My dad? When did you talk to my dad?”

His smile is sheepish. “When I had a shirt full of sprinkled ice cream and even that wasn’t enough for me to stop staring at you all afternoon.”

The barbecue back in September. “Well…what did he say?”

Alister smiles a bit, looking over at the others. “He said, you know, the heart’s a tricky thing. Sometimes the people who stand closest to you are the hardest to see, but my daughter? She’s not blind. Stubborn, but not blind. Be careful, young man. I can tell she’s the one who’s upset right now, but something tells me she won’t be the one hurt in the end.”

He looks over, a bit of bashfulness in his eyes. “I might have repeated the words to myself several times trying to figure out what he was trying to tell me.” He looks to Brady. “Turns out he wasn’t really talking about me at all.”

Man, I love my dad.

I drop my eyes to my lap.

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