Untamed (11 page)

“So how’s it going with your dad’s place?” Lily asked.

“Have you ever been there?”

“No.”

“Well, it’s— it’s an adventure, I guess. I mean he had hardly any furniture and the place needs painting in the worst way and the yard is… dead, is the best word, I guess. It’s like no one really lived there— or cared about the place. It’s kind of…sad.

“Were you and your dad close?”

“No. I actually didn’t know him well at all. He pretty much left me with my grandmother on my mother’s side when my mom died.”

“And you never saw him after that?”

Ellie shook her head. “Nope. Not one word until I got the letter from his attorney saying he’d left me his house and pretty much everything else he had.”

“Tell me to mind my own business if I’m overstepping, but did he leave you enough to fix up the place?”

“Not really,” Ellie answered. “I mean he had like fifteen hundred dollars in his checking account and a CD worth five thousand in the bank, but didn’t have life insurance.”

“Probably cost more than that to do much to the place.”

“Yeah, I imagine.” Ellie paused in her task. “And honestly I’m kind of hesitant to spend anything that’s not necessary. At least until I find a job or land some freelance work.”

Lily finished wrapping the last potato in foil and turned to Ellie. “Hey, you know, I have a friend from the Carolinas. She does freelance work for some of the online publishers. Maybe she can help you find some work there.”

“Publishers?”

“Yeah, you know fiction books— romance I think.”

“That sounds interesting. Thanks. I’d be happy for any help or leads I can get.”

“I’ll give her a call in the morning. You have a portfolio online?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well write it down on that pad on the side table there and I’ll give it to her.”

“Okay, thanks Lily, I really appreciate it.”

“Hey, it’s what neighbors do. Okay, I’m gonna take this out to Cam. When you finish, just cover the bowl with plastic wrap— it’s in that little cabinet beside the stove— and pop it in the fridge.”

“Will do.”

Lily left and Ellie finished preparing the salad. Just as she started washing the cutting board, she heard the kitchen door close. She turned, expecting to see Lily. Instead, it was a tall, very handsome man.

“Well hey,” he said as he took off his hat and hung it on a hat-rack by the door. “I’m Clint.”

“Hey Clint. I’m Ellie. Whitehorse.”

Clint’s eyes widened. “Little Ellie? Cam’s sidekick?”

“Yep.”

“Well I’ll be damned. Small world— well damn. Ellie Whitehorse. Mike was your dad?”

“Yep.”

Clint shook his head. “Who would’ve guessed? All this time we’ve lived beside him and it never even crossed my mind that he was related to Cam’s first love.”

“Oh I don’t know if I’d go that far. Sidekick is more like it.”

Clint chucked. “That boy pined for a month after we left. I was bout ready to drown him in the creek.”

Ellie laughed. “Well, I’m sure he recovered. Still, it’s a surprise after all this time. Oh, and your wife Lily invited me to dinner. I hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all. Hey, you know you kind of favor Mike.”

“I do?”

“Yeah, a bit.”

“So you knew him?”

“I wouldn’t go that far. I mean I knew who he was and exchanged pleasantries when we ran into each other, but I never spent much time around him. Seemed nice enough. Just kinda kept to himself.”

“So I hear.”

“Well, I need to get cleaned up so if you’ll excuse me.”

“Oh, yes. Sorry.”

She watched him leave then turned back to the sink. She had just finished drying what she had washed and turned to put it away when Cam walked in. As always, the sight of him made her heart rate quicken.

“Grill is started and it’s beer-thirty,” he announced as he made his way to the refrigerator. “Want one?”

“No, but thanks.”

“No beer?”

She shook her head. “I hate the taste of it.”

“You hate beer?”

“Yeah.”

“I can make you a drink. I think we have some tequila and vodka.”

“No, thanks. I’m not much of a drinker.”

“Well,” he opened the refrigerator. “How about a glass of iced tea?”

“Now that I can go for.”

“One iced tea, coming up.”

She watched as he fixed a glass for her and grabbed a beer for himself. “Thanks.” She accepted when he handed it to her.

“To old friends and new neighbors,” he said and raised his bottle.

“Amen.” She clinked her glass against his bottle and made the mistake of making eye contact with him.

Good lord, he was gorgeous. And he turned her on more than any man she’d ever laid eyes on. She felt her skin grow warm and delicious fantasies start to dance in her mind.

The smile he gave her made her wonder if he could tell what she was thinking and it rattled her enough she looked down at the glass in her hand.

“Wanna head out on the patio to help me keep an eye on the grill?” he asked

“Sure.”

They walked outside, passing Lily who was on her way in. “Gonna go check in with Clint and then get the steaks ready. Be back.”

“Take a load off.” Cam gestured toward a deeply cushioned wicker couch on the patio.

“This is beautiful,” Ellie commented as she took a seat. The roof of the house extended out over the patio a good twelve feet, creating an outdoor room. Beyond it was a sizeable pool, completely enclosed by a metal and screen structure.

“I’ve never seen that before,” she indicated the screened enclosure.

“Hard to live without in Florida,” Cam commented and at a look from her, added. “Mosquitoes can get pretty fierce.”

“Tell me about it!” She shuddered as she thought about the previous evening. “There are bugs here that look prehistoric. And then those lizards. Good god, there are billions. They creep me out. Not to mention the frogs. What in the world are those gray zombie frogs? Oh my god, they’re creepy. And armadillos? I had no idea they were so fast and noisy.”

“You’re scared of all that— plus rats and snakes?”

She blushed and shrugged.

“Well, damn sugar, pick one cuz if you’re afraid of all of ‘em you’re not gonna survive here.”

Ellie felt heat on her face. “I guess I do sound like a real…”

“City girl?”

She shrugged. “Well you know. My grandmother’s house was in a small little neighborhood all packed in with everyone else’s. Only time I was near any woods was at your farm. After you moved I never really got back out to the country much.”

“So you stayed in Matthews?”

“Yeah. Well no but I just moved to Charlotte— in the Dilworth area.”

“Yeah, I know it. Our older brother Colton moved back to North Carolina after he left the military, and he said that area is now the hot place to live— all fixed up and trendy. So what’d you do there? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“Worked. Lived.”

“Is there a Mr. Ellie in Charlotte?”

She looked at the tea glass in her hand. “There was. He died.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”

“It’s okay.”

“How did he die?”

“It was…” She took a sip of her tea before continuing. “Well, it was kind of a freak thing. We’d been married almost five years. Dan was a decent guy, but I guess we just weren’t well suited. We spent more time arguing than anything. And we— we kind of lost interest in each other pretty fast.

“Anyway, for our fifth anniversary he booked us into a hotel near the fairgrounds. I always loved going to the state fair. And he paid for us to take a hot air balloon ride. I’d always wanted to do that.

“But the room had a leak over the bed and I said something snarky about it the morning of the balloon ride and we got into a fight and he stormed out. He went on the ride alone.

“So… while he was in the balloon, there was an old World War 2 airshow going on. And one of the pilots, an actual pilot from the war, had a heart attack. His plane hit the balloon and the balloon went down. Right on top of the tilt-a-whirl.

“Miraculously, no one else was hurt, but Dan was killed. “

When Cam said nothing she looked up at him. He just shook his head. “I’m sorry. I swear I’m sorry but…but damn. It sounds like something out of a bad movie.”

She nodded. “Yeah, it does. Freak thing.”

“No kidding. So at some point after that, your father died and left you his place. What made you decide to move here?”

“Money.”

“Money?”

“Lack thereof. I didn’t know Dan had taken a second mortgage on our home and gambled up a mountain of debt. I couldn’t make enough so I lost the house. And then I lost my primary job.”

“Downsized?”

“Fired.”

“Ouch. Why? I mean if you don’t mind me asking.”

“I punched my boss in the face.”

“Oh hey, not a smart move.”

“He deserved it.”

“Yeah? How so?”

“He pinched me.”

Cam’s mouth opened then closed and he nodded. “Inappropriately I’m guessing.”

“Yep.”

“So here you are.”

“So here I am.”

“And what now?”

Ellie turned to face him. “I wish I knew. Find work. Try and make sense out of who my father was and why he left his place to me.”

“Can’t you ask your grandmother?”

“She’s gone.”

“Damn, I’m sorry Ellie. Isn’t there anyone left you can ask?”

She shook her head. “Nope. All alone.”

Cam reached out and put his big warm hand on her leg, just above her knee. “You’re not alone, Ellie. Me and Clint and Lily are here.”

“Thanks but I wasn’t trying to get sympathy or—“

“And I wasn’t giving it. Just stating a fact. Come on, Ellie. We grew up together, and now we’re neighbors. We should be able to depend on each other. And more important, we’re friends.”

“Are we?”

“We were. Once. I’d like to be again.”

“Why?” The word was out before she has sense enough to stop her mouth from flapping.

“Because… because… ah hell.” He leaned over and kissed her. It wasn’t a passionate kiss, but it sparked something to life inside her. Something she hadn’t felt in a very long time. It took all her self-control not to latch onto him.

“I’d like to get to know you, again Ellie.” He said as his lips moved away from hers. “If you’re interested, that is.”

She nodded. “I am.”

“Good,” he said with a smile. “Then how about after dinner, we take a ride?”

“To where?”

“On horseback.”

“Horseback?”

“You do ride, don’t you?”

“Uh, no. Not since the last time I sat behind you on Barkley.”

Cam grinned. “Damn, Barkley. He was one ornery thing wasn’t he?”

Ellie laughed as she remembered.“Remember when he bit that boy… what was his name… Oh! Danny Metcalf. He bit Danny on the butt?”

Cam chuckled. “I’d forgotten about that. Okay, so maybe we’ll table that ride until another day. But I’ll teach you to ride if you want.”

“I’d like that.”

“And for tonight, maybe we’ll just take a walk.”

“What about snakes?”

“Don’t worry, they won’t bother us.”

“You’re sure.”

“I’ll protect you, Ellie. Promise.”

She knew he didn’t mean anything by that, but his words were a balm. She’d been afraid and alone for so long that even an empty promise was welcome to her ears.

Cam looked down at her neck.

“What?” she asked.

“Is that the same necklace you had when we were kids?”

“Oh!” Ellie’s hand went to the silver chain that circled her neck. “Yes.”

“I always wondered why you never took it off. Most girls had a hundred, but you always wore that same one.”

“Yeah, I know. It’s something my father left for me. My grandmother gave it to me a few weeks after he left me with her. She told me that my father said I should always wear it and never take it off.”

“And you have?”

She nodded and gave him a self-depreciating smile. “I guess it made me feel close to him at first and later…well, later I was just accustomed to it being there.”

“Ya’ll ready to get these steaks on the grill?” Lily’s voice interrupted the moment.

“Yep.” Clint gave Ellie a wink and stood. “I’m on it.”

Ellie sat back and watched, thinking how nice it must be to have family, to have people to depend on and people who loved you. And that led her to wondering. Why had her father walked away from her and had his leaving the reason she had such trouble with relationships?