ALWAYS (A Wolfe Brothers Novel) (6 page)

“
It’s good,” she said.
“Want a bite?”

Gramps patted their clasped hands.
“What a sweet girl?” He glanced at Cam. “She’s a fine
woman.”

Cam allowed himself a
laugh. Damn, it felt good.
He had her
pegged as a conceited snob who thought of nobody but herself. Here
she was, bewitching his grandfather with her beauty and charm. Who
was he kidding? Cam was the one she’d bewitched, not
Gramps.

“
We’re just friends,” Cam
said.

“
Nonsense. Look at
her.”

“
I got
it.”
What the fuck!
“Will you just take a bite of the damn
sandwich?”

Gramps patted Maggie’s hand. “Thank you
for the sandwich, dear.”

When Gramps opened his mouth, so did
Cam. When Gramps’ closed his mouth around the sandwich, Cam closed
his mouth. Gramps took another bite and turned his attention back
at the television.

Cam quirked an I-told-you-so brow and
strode back to the kitchen. “Jags. Get your ass in
here.”

“
Coming.”

Cam picked up a small white bottle off
the counter. “These are chewable tablets. He takes them twice a
day, once in the morning and once at night. Make sure he takes it
at least thirty minutes before he eats.” Picking another bottle up,
he continued, “This one is a liquid. He gets it twice a day too but
it doesn’t matter if he’s eaten or not.” A notebook protruded from
a nook between the microwave and wall. Cam slid it out. “It’s all
in here.”

“
We’ll be fine,” Jags
said. “Go.”

“
Make him a peanut butter
and banana sandwich tomorrow for lunch.”

Winking, Jags ushered him toward the
door. “Have a great time.”

“
He’s been having trouble
swallowing so I made an extra pitcher of smoothies. They’re in the
freezer.” Cam lifted a large red backpack from the corner of the
kitchen and knelt beside Gramps. “I’m gonna be gone a couple days,
but Jags'll be here.”

Gramps patted his hand. “You’re such a
good boy.”

“
No, I’m not.”

“
You’re Cam?”

“
Yup.” He took Maggie by
the elbow and dragged her toward the front door. “Let’s
go.”

“
Bye Maggie.” Gramps
waved.

She waved back. “Bye
Gramps.”

As they approached her silver CTS, Cam
blocked Jags’ path. “He remembers Maggie, someone he just met, but
not me?”

Jags laughed. “You have to admit, she’s
someone you don’t forget too easily.”

She popped the trunk. “We’re taking my
car, right?”

“
I probably won’t get much
reception,” Cam said. “But I’ll keep my phone with me anyway.” He
dropped his pack in the trunk. “So call, if anything comes up, just
in case I do get some reception.”

Jags opened the passenger door and
guided Cam to the seat. “Watch your head.”

“
Both medicines twice a
day,” Cam said. “The chewable tablets thirty minutes before a
meal.”

Jags closed the door and waved. “You
kids have a good time.”

Chapter Seven

An hour into the hike and after
listening to her chatter with barely a pause to take a breath, he
contemplated setting his hair on fire. Despite his refusal to talk,
Maggie never shut her trap, seemingly unaware she’d monopolized
both sides of the conversation. His silence forced her to change
the subject from him to herself.

Cam learned she liked to play tennis
and had won a few regional competitions. He laughed out loud when
she said how much her favorite pair a boots cost, more than his
first car. Despite her eternal dieting endeavors, Maggie loved to
eat out and admitted she barely touched the food she’d order. The
last time Cam ate at a restaurant was last year for Jags’
birthday.

The wind shifted and he caught the
scent of her perfume, a blend of berries with a hint of vanilla.
His cock hardened. Groaning, he whipped around.

Stumbling over the rocky terrain,
Maggie continued forward, her eyes on the ground, her steps
careful. Cam put his hands on her hips to keep her from walking
into him.

Maggie looked up.

He ran his eyes over the length of her
body. Tilting his head, he tucked his nose into the crook of her
neck and inhaled. His fingers tightened around her waist and he
felt her shudder. She sighed and he tasted cherry on her breath,
remnants of the Lifesaver she’d been sucking on.

Stepping backward, he ran a hand over
his head. “Wait here.” Determined to keep her from breaking him, he
veered off the trail and plucked a pine cone from a nearby
tree.

He thought about his recipe for
meatloaf. With another quarter cup of diced tomatoes and onions, he
might be able to duplicate Mee Maw’s secret recipe. It was worth a
try but two more eggs would be needed to keep the meatloaf from
falling apart.

The leaves on the ground rustled and a
black snake slithered from beneath. Cam waited for it to pass. As
he approached the trail where he’d left Maggie, he felt confident
his primal urges were in check.

Maggie sat on a rock. He set the pine
cone beside her, retrieved a fist-sized stone from the ground and
smashed it. Sifting through the shattered bark, he found two brown
seeds. Using his thumb and forefinger, he crushed the pods and
peeled off the shells.

“
Here.”

“
You can eat these?”
Maggie asked.

“
Yup.”

“
Are they
fattening?”

“
How the hell should I
know?”

She gave him a tight-lipped smile.
“I’ll pass.”

Shrugging, Cam tossed the nuts in his
mouth and continued along the marked trail.

Maggie followed. “What kind of stuff do
you like to cook?”

“
Food.”

“
You’re not going to talk
for the next two days?”

“
You’re quick.”

“
So I’ve
heard.”

Cam held a branch back, waited for her
to pass and let it go. Pushing past her, he resumed his position as
leader. He approached a steep slope, turned and offered her his
hand. “Walk sideways. It’ll be easier to maneuver the loose
gravel.”

She took his hand and shuffled up the
path. “Do you find me attractive?”

Cam bit back a curse. “Why does it
matter?”

“
Why do you
think?”

Cam glanced over his
shoulder, shook his head and looked forward, his booted feet
trudging along the well-worn path.
“
It’s not gonna happen. You’re
wasting your time.”

“
Jags told me that you
have a little problem I could help with.”

“
I’m sure he did.” Jags
had always butted his nose where it hadn’t belonged, but this was a
whole new level of what-the-fuck.

“
We can’t even be
friends?”

“
Are you one of those
pathetic women who are drawn to men that constantly shit on
them?”

“
Hardly.”

“
Well enlighten me on what
you consider shit on because I’m clueless.”

“
Friends.”

“
That would be too
complicated and I don’t have or need any friends.” He looked back.
“Are your boots waterproof?”

Maggie shrugged. “Why does it have to
be complicated? How ‘bout friends with benefits?”

Cam crouched, one knee on the ground
for balance. When she squatted beside him, he said, “I don’t work
like that.” He pointed. “That’s poison ivy. You can tell by the
leaves. They’re almond-shaped and shiny.”

“
Afraid you might actually
start to like me?”

He gripped her elbow, stood and yanked
her up with him. “You may find this hard to believe but I don’t
fuck, I make love. And since I don’t love you, friends with
benefits is not an option. Is that clear enough?”

Her mouth dropped open. “You can’t
possibly be serious.”

“
I’m not a nice guy.” When
she let out a condescending laugh, he shook his head and stomped
along the trail, with Maggie following closely behind. Too
closely.

“
Oh please. Really? I
think I read that once or twice in a cheesy romance novel. Okay,
I’ll bite. Why are you not a nice guy? You rob banks. You’re an
alcoholic or a drug addict. You like to fart in elevators and
closed cars. You’re a restless sleeper and hog all the covers. I
mean, how bad could you be? After all, you did rescue a damsel in
distress.” She snapped her fingers. “I know. You like to get rough
with your women when they get out of line.”

He glanced over his shoulder and
smiled.

She gasped. “No.”

Cam faced her, his body inches from
hers, hoping his size and the snarl on his lips conveyed the
sincere warning in his heart. “Yup.”

“
I don’t believe
it.”

He picked up a pebble. “This is you.”
Cam closed his fist around the stone until his knuckles turned
white. “You’re in the middle of nowhere with a man who just told
you he likes to beat his women, a man who could squash you like a
bug.” He lowered his voice to a whisper. “But you don’t believe
it.”

“
Men who beat women don’t
usually fess up about it.”

His eyes narrowed. “And how would you
know that?”

“
I just know.”

Cam pitched the rock and seized her
upper arm. Through clenched teeth, he growled, “Who hurt
you?”

Maggie jerked from his hold and
scowled. ‘Not me, a friend of mine.”

His blood boiled, his face burned hot.
As that familiar surge of fury surfaced, he willed a lightning bolt
to incinerate him. With a nod, he turned and continued
walking.

“
What I can’t figure out,”
she said. “Is why you would lie about something like that. I
suppose you could be trying to scare me off but that still doesn’t
explain why you want to scare me off.”

“
Is it so hard to believe
that I’m just not attracted to you?”

“
Yes.”

# # #

An hour had passed and her efforts of
seduction had failed. Hell, she couldn’t even lure him into a
conversation.

“
Slow
down.” Tired and hot, Maggie longed to hear three simple
words.
We’ll camp here.

“
Speed up.”

“
Can we
take a break?”
This man’s a
machine. I think I’m going to faint.

The muscles in her legs burned and
quivered. She plunked to the ground. With her legs stretched
forward and her palms braced on the ground behind her she heaved a
sigh. “Much better.”

“
Three minutes.” Cam
leaned against a tall rock, pulled an apple from his backpack and
took a bite.

She climbed to her feet and took a step
toward him.

Cam leaned back, as if she had small
pox and he’d never been vaccinated.

Keeping her focus on the ring dangling
from his neck, Maggie slid two fingers beneath the gold. When her
finger grazed his olive skin, he hissed as if her touch was
painful.

“
It’s beautiful,” she
said.

“
It’s a poor man’s
ring.”

“
Did it belong to someone
in your family?”

A horsefly dived at his head and he
ducked. “Yup.”

He swatted but missed. The pest circled
his head. Cam’s arm’s flailed as if a hive of insects attacked him,
not a solitary horsefly.

From her backpack, she removed a can of
hairspray and misted the sticky dew above his head.

He plucked the can from her. Leaning
over, his hands on his knees, he coughed and gasped.

Maggie snatched it back. “No more
horsefly.”

He crawled toward her. “Are you trying
to kill me?”

“
I use it every day and it
hasn’t killed me yet. Suck it up.”

Cam lifted his hand in front of his
face. Dirt clung to his fingers. His fingers clung to each other.
Two more horseflies buzzed him.

His heated gaze snapped to her. “It’s
not even dead.”

“
Look.” She pointed behind
him where a mammoth of a horsefly struggled, its wings and legs
writhing. “Your horsefly is dead. These are his
friends.”

He snatched the hairspray and sprayed
at the new pests. When the horseflies dropped, he sat on a nearby
rock with the can tucked by his side.

Another horsefly circled. “Why are they
only after me?”

“
You must taste sweeter
than me. Give me a bite and I’ll let you know.”

Cam snatched the can and
sprayed.

“
Are you confiscating my
hairspray for the remainder of our trip?” Maggie asked.

“
Yup.”

She cupped her ear. “Hear that?” When
he only glowered at her, she said, “Sssssss. I can hear the
testosterone leaking from your pores right at this very moment. All
you need now is some hand lotion, a tube of lipstick and a tampon
and the transformation will be complete.” She sifted through her
backpack. “Wait. Wait. I think I’ve some lotion in here
somewhere.”