Only You (5 page)

The guys took off a like a shot, but Camden was keeping even with them. The first obstacle was a rope ladder that led to a zip line. The zip line landed near a group of tire pairs, which was followed by a section where they had to climb on the ground underneath a rope net. Next came a wall they had to scale by pulling themselves up a rope.

Once Camden saw what was beyond the zip line, she knew she was screwed, but luckily, the second zip line got stuck while Brody was on it, which held him and Shane back. In her opinion, it evened the playing field for her and Eric. By the time they reached the climbing wall, Eric was in the lead, but Shane was closing on them. Brody was still bellowing from the zip-line as it swayed above ground.

Camden had just started climbing the rope, when she felt a hand grab her shoulder. The very next moment, she was on the ground, gritting her teeth in pain, and watching a jackass climb the rope in her place.

"We have a winner!" Jack called. He looked at Eric, who was beaming as sweat dripped down his dirt covered face. Shane, he noticed, was not nearly as happy. Jack looked beyond the boys to see where his children were, but there was no sign of them.

"I can't get this damn zip-line unstuck!" Brody yelled.

The three men looked at each other and chuckled, before turning to walk around the climbing wall. As they cleared the wall, Eric began running.

"Camden, what the hell?" he yelled as he ran. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, and his heart sank. "Are you okay?" He wiped away a tear with his thumb.

"I'm pissed," she grimaced.

Two shadows covered the ground around her. Eric looked behind him to see Jack's concerned face and Shane's uncomfortable one.

"What the fuck, Shane?!" Camden demanded. "On what planet is it okay to pull someone off a rope they are currently in the process of climbing?"

Jack's and Eric's eyes snapped back to Shane.

"You pulled her off the fucking rope?" Eric yelled, getting in Shane's face. Both men were about the same height and build, but Camden knew Shane would win in a fight. Eric didn't have the training that Shane did, but that didn't stop him from pulling back his fist and letting it fly.

Shane's head snapped back from the impact of Eric's fist. Jack grabbed his shoulders to steady him.

"Don't you ever touch her again, you hear me?!" Eric roared. He turned to Camden and leaned over, obviously not concerned at all with retaliation. Leaning down, he scooped Camden gently into his arms, and began to walk back to camp.

Jack shook his head at Shane. "Help my son get down from there." He gestured to where Brody was still swinging from the zip-line muttering curses under his breath. Jack turned, and followed Eric and Camden.

Back at the campground, Molly checked out Camden's twisted ankle. "If it still hurts to put pressure on it tomorrow, you should probably see a doctor." She paused, a frown causing her forehead to crease. "You sure you didn't hear anything crack or snap?"

Camden shook her head. "I don't think I broke it, but I probably sprained it." She chewed her lip. "I'll just stay back in the tent while everyone goes tubing this afternoon."

"Are you sure?" Eric asked, rubbing her back.

"Yes," Camden managed with a weak smile. "I promised a true camping weekend, and you will love tubing down the river."

"I'd love it more if you were with me."

Eric wiped his thumb across Camden's temple. "Do you want me to help you shower? We're both kind of filthy, and I doubt you'll be able to relax much if you feel dirty and sticky."

"Yes," she replied. "Thank you."

"Well," Molly interrupted. "You two go get cleaned up. I'm gonna get lunch started."

Eric put his arm around Camden's waist and helped her hobble to the tent to gather her shower supplies.

***

Chapter 6

"Ready or not, here we come!" Tiffany and Stella emerged from Brody's tent wearing some of the skimpiest bikinis Shane had ever seen. Everyone was getting ready to go tubing down the river. Well, everyone except Camden, and Shane was feeling like a tool about that. He hadn't meant to hurt her. He never meant to hurt her, but somehow he always did.

Lunch had brought awkwardness to a new level. Only Tiffany, Stella, and Molly were on speaking terms with him. Even Jack just looked at him with disappointment in his eyes. That really sucked, because Shane didn't have a great relationship with his own dad. Jack had always filled that role for him, and the look in Jack's eyes at the moment communicated betrayal. Brody was ignoring him, too, but he knew Brody would be over it by the time the first inner tube hit the water.

Eric stared daggers at him the whole meal, and Camden wouldn't even make eye contact. Shane couldn't care less what Eric thought of him, but it stung that Camden wouldn't even acknowledge his presence. She had to know that he would never hurt her on purpose. Although he had hurt her on purpose once. He had hurt her, and she had disappeared for three years. What if she disappeared again? He couldn't go another three years without seeing her. Not without telling her the truth first. She probably wouldn't forgive him, but at least his conscience would be clear.

The smell of coconut, and a warm body pressed to his side, pulled him from his thoughts. "You ready to get wet?" Stella murmured seductively.

He chose to ignore the double entendre. He liked her more than Tiffany. She actually seemed to have a brain in her head, and she was gorgeous, but right now, Shane had a lot on his mind. Not to mention the simple fact that she just wasn't Camden.

"Sure, hon. Is everybody ready to go?"

"We're just waiting on Eric," she pouted
playfully. "He's yummy. Too bad he's taken."

Shane fought the fiery wave of jealousy that shot through him. The prick didn't deserve Camden.

"I can't believe they have been together for so long. I can't imagine being with someone for years," Stella continued. "I mean, we're all so young, right?"

"What do you mean, for years?" Shane growled.

"Camden told Brody that she and Eric have lived together for two years. And Eric told Brody that he'd been trying to convince Camden to come home for two and a half years. I just thought that sounded like a long time. She's only twenty-one, right?"

"Right," Shane replied through gritted teeth. His chest felt tight. She told him she loved him and within six months was with someone else? He tried to deny the anger rushing through him. Had he felt guilty all this time for causing her to run away, when it hadn't been his fault at all?

"Right on time, man," Brody called. Shane turned to see Eric putting on a pair of sunglasses.

"Sorry, Brody. I was checking on Camden one last time." Eric's eyes cut to Shane. "Let's roll," he continued. As they headed down the trail to the river, Brody and Eric waved to Molly, who was heading into the camper to relax with Jack.

"I heard the water is crazy cold," Tiffany whined. "Will you keep me warm, Brody?"

"Of course I will, baby," he chuckled.

"Is she feeling okay?"

Eric looked at Stella, trying to gauge whether she was sincere. Judging that she was, he replied honestly. "Her ankle hurts a lot, but I think her pride is hurt worse."

"Poor thing," Stella said. "I'm sure Shane feels awful."

Eric glared ahead. "Right," he answered sarcastically. "I'm sure he's filled with guilt over it."

"Have you been tubing before?" Stella wisely changed the subject.

"No. You?" he asked.

"Once. When I was a little girl, my grandparents brought me. It was fun." Stella sighed wistfully and twisted a strand of hair around her finger.

"There it is!" Tiffany cried. "Brody, you got us one of the big tubes, right?"

"Of course, T," he rolled his eyes. The stuff he put up with to get laid on the regular. He was holding the damn tube in his arms, and she was looking right at him when she asked the question.

"Damn it!" Everyone turned to look at Shane.

"What's up, man?" Brody looked at Shane in concern.

"I forgot my tube back at camp." Shane nodded his head toward their site. "You guys start without me. I'll catch up."

"You sure, dude?" Brody asked. "We can wait."

"Nah. That's okay. If I don't catch up, I'll just enjoy the alone time on the river."

Brody's expression shifted to one of concern. "You sure you're okay, dude?"

"Yeah. Just peachy. Be right back." Shane turned and ran back down the trail.

Brody shrugged his shoulders and led the group to the river.

***

With everyone at the inner tube launch, Shane found the campsite barren, as expected. He could hear the noise of a television through the walls of Molly's and Jack's RV.
Cheaters
, he chuckled to himself. They apparently didn't believe in true "roughing it". Shane immediately spotted his inner tube leaned against the side of his tent. He couldn't believe he had been so distracted by his guilt that he forgot it. He hurried to grab the tube, and turned to make his way back to the group. If he hurried, he could catch them before they got too far down the river. He felt badly that Camden was missing all the fun. It was his fault, after all.

His steps slowed as the ache in his heart grew. He may not be able to win her from Eric, but he could apologize again for causing her to be hurt. The worst she could do was refuse to speak to him. Again. She hadn't even made eye contact with him since "the incident".

Shane set the inner tube by a camping chair, and turned towards Camden and Eric's tent. He grimaced. The thought of her sleeping snuggled into Eric's side caused Shane to feel nauseated. With one last glance at the noisy RV, he marched to Camden's tent. Pausing at the door, he listened to see if she was moving around. Nothing but silence came from the tent, so he proceeded to unzip the door and duck into the opening.

Startled by the noise, Camden mumbled, "You forget something?"

"Yeah," was the deep reply, and the voice definitely didn't belong to Eric. Camden immediately sat upright. Her eyes reflected shock and dismay. Shane's heart sank at her expression.

"What are you doing here, Shane?" She intended her voice to sound pissed, but the soft-spoken words conveyed curiosity, not anger.

"I came to apologize, Cam. I never meant to hurt you." Shane wondered if she caught the double meaning in his words.

"Shane...."Camden started, and then paused. She chewed on her lower lip, debating what to say. "Shane, I just don't understand why you seem so mad at me. Everyone else is treating me as if they at least are willing to forgive me, but you are treating me like I did something wrong to you. You have no reason to be mad at me."

Before Shane could control himself, the words were out of his mouth. "No reason?!?! You didn't just leave your family! You left me!"

Camden's eyes widened. "I left you? I left YOU?!?!? You broke my heart, you asshole!" She moved on the air mattress so that she was now on her knees. The glare she sent Shane knocked the breath from his chest. Camden was confused by his sudden change in expression. He almost looked grief-stricken.

"I had to, Sunshine," he whispered.

"DON'T call me that," Camden growled. She was fighting the sudden tears that were beginning to fill her eyes. There was no way she would let him see her cry.

"Do you love him?" The sudden change in the conversation almost gave Camden whiplash.

"What?" she murmured.

"Eric...do you love him?" Shane thought his heart would stop beating while waiting for her response.

"Of course I love him. He's been my rock the last few years." Her glistening green eyes locked onto Shane's. He swallowed. How could he even think of ruining her relationship with Eric? She looked so happy when she was with him. Jack's words were haunting him, however, and he had to know if there was even a small chance that Camden felt the same way. He closed the distance between them.

Camden had no idea why Shane suddenly looked so serious, but when he stepped closer to her, her breath caught in her throat. She was frozen as Shane's hand reached up to cup her cheek. Slowly he leaned forward, their lips so close they were almost touching.

His voice was gruff and sexy when he spoke. "I missed you, Sunshine." He paused and stared into her eyes. "So much more than you will ever know."

Before she could respond, Shane closed the distance between them and began to kiss her. He kissed her as if she was his last drink of water in a vast desert. One hand rested on the back of her head, holding her lips to his, while his other hand snaked around her back, bringing her as close as humanly possible.

The sparks running through her body were shocking. She had never felt like this before, and she never wanted the feeling to end. Her logical brain tried to interrupt and ruin the moment, but Camden's heart had taken control and she enthusiastically threw herself into the moment.

Shane was shocked that Camden hadn't slapped him or pushed him away. Her hands had immediately attacked his hair, causing a tickling sensation in his scalp. When her fingers began to wander across his shoulders and down his back, Shane deepened the kiss. His lips teased hers, his tongue begging for entrance, and when she opened her mouth, Shane was overwhelmed by the most amazing kiss he had experienced in his life.