Page 37 of Forged in Peril

Grinning, he rushed over and gave her a hug before she could react, glad that she was a little less jumpy than her daughter was these days. Laughing, Moira hugged him back before pulling away and giving him an appraising look, her eyes running up and down his jeans-and-sweater-clad frame.

“I haven’t seen you at church in a while, Cameron,” she scolded. “I hope you haven’t forgotten to give some time to the Lord, nevermind that fancy business of yours.”

Bristol opened the door of the house and followed her mother out onto the porch. She was still wearing the same gray dress she’d worn to work, but she’d let her hair fall at her shoulders and had added a cozy-looking, oversized sweater.

“Hey,” she said, giving him a nod.

Cameron smiled over at her, forcing himself to refocus on his conversation with Moira.

“Fear not for my soul, ma’am,” he said, tipping an invisible cap in her direction. “I’m still attending, but there’s been a lot going on lately, and a lot of the time it’s easier just to go in the city.”

“Well, we’ve all missed you,” Moira said, shifting her heavy-looking bag onto her opposite shoulder. “Especially those strong arms of yours when something needs fixing. Right, Bristol?”

She winked at him, and he couldn’t help but to grin as he saw Bristol’s face turning bright red.

“You’re going to be late for work, mom,” she said, reaching into the doorway and grabbing a travel mug. “And you almost forgot your coffee.”

Moira took it, and Cameron noticed that it, too, was pink.

“Yikes,” she said, glancing down at her watch. “That wouldn’t have been pretty. It’s kind of a necessity when you work all night,” she added, turning to Cameron, who nodded.

“I know the feeling.”

“All right, I’m outnumbered by coffee lovers. You’d better get going,” Bristol said, gesturing toward her mother’s station wagon.

Moira made her way down the porch steps and climbed into her car, and drove out toward the highway with a final wave.

Cameron stood where he was, sticking his hands into his pockets, unsure whether to bolt for his Jeep or to try and say something.

Before he could decide, however, Bristol spoke.

“Do you want to come in for a little bit?”

The words hung in the air for a couple of seconds too long as Bristol stood with her arm propping open the screen door of the trailer.

All of a sudden, he was no longer tired.

Was there a chance that she actually wanted him here?

“You sure?” he asked before stepping over the threshold.

Her gaze caught his own, and he looked down at her, wishing that he could know what she was thinking.

Finally, she nodded, giving him a smile that reached the corners of her pretty green eyes.

As he followed her toward the living room, he couldn’t help but to notice that she was pulling her sweater more tightly around herself and fiddling with the ends of her hair.

Now that her mother was gone, she seemed shy.

At least, he hoped that was all it was.

The last thing he wanted to do was to intimidate her, or to destroy the small amount of trust that they’d built.

Which was why he’d wanted his brothers to handle this assignment, but there was nothing that could be done about it now.

He took a chair nearest to the door, and she sank onto the couch, leaving a vacant armchair to separate them.

“Is everything okay?” he asked after a few more uncomfortable seconds had passed.

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