He was ready to take over.
“It’s just you and me now, kid,” he murmured to Jake after the woman left. Cameron lifted the baby into his arms and spent a few minutes walking Jake around the suite. They stood at the window and stared out at the cliffs and the ocean beyond. Cameron pointed out a few landmarks up and down the coast.
“Can you see that bit of land jutting out into the ocean?” Cameron said, pointing northward. “That’s where we live.”
A seagull flew high over the ocean and Cameron said, “Can you wave at the bird? Sure, you can. I’ll help you.” He grabbed Jake’s wrist and moved it up and down in a waving gesture.
“Smart boy,” he murmured, and breathed in the powdery scent of clean baby.
No, marriage and family hadn’t been on Cameron’s radar, but now that he had Jake to take care of, he was already mentally planning to do everything he could to contribute to the boy’s welfare. Jake would never want for anything as long as Cameron had a breath left in his body.
He was amazed to realize that he’d already developed strong feelings for the little boy. He wouldn’t call it love. He wasn’t sure he would ever be ready to take that step and say those words. Maybe it would be better for Jake if he never did.
“Dadadada,” Jake gibbered.
“Hey, kiddo,” Cameron said, and gave him an affectionate squeeze. “Let’s see about getting you something to munch on.”
They walked into the kitchen where Cameron found some Cheerios for Jake and crackers for himself. He put Jake in his high chair and watched the baby amuse himself with the little O’s.
Despite the violence of his early years, Cameron had lucked out when Sally Duke adopted him. Through her strong and loving influence, Cameron learned to trust again. Even though his father had warned him that nobody would ever find him worth a damn, Cameron knew he was capable of giving and accepting love. He’d been with plenty of women all through high school and, even though he couldn’t say he’d loved any of them, he’d certainly felt affection for them and knew the feelings were reciprocated.
Then, in his senior year, he met Wendy, a beautiful girl who fell for him, hard. One night, she told him she loved him and demanded that Cameron say it, too. In one of the dumbest moves of his life, he told her he loved her. But he didn’t, and soon after that, he tried to break it off as gently as he could. Wendy went wild. She tried everything to force him to take her back, even tried to turn his friends against him. Then she tried blackmail, threatening to tell his teachers that he cheated on his exams. Cameron ignored her, so she finally went to the police and pressed charges, accusing him of abusing her. That was the final straw.
Given his early upbringing, Cameron was the last person who would ever physically abuse anyone. Wendy didn’t know that, but Sally Duke did. She circled the wagons and hired a lawyer. In the courtroom, Wendy broke down and admitted she was lying. She recanted the charges, but the damage had been done.
Cameron could still feel the anger and adrenaline that shot through his system as the judge cleared his name. If things had gone the other way, would he have reacted violently, like his father?
In a desperate attempt to channel the fury he knew was inside him, he joined the marines. And he vowed that he would never again give anyone the power to destroy him in the name of love.
But now there was Jake. And there was Julia. What was he supposed to do about them?
***
Julia finished her food allergies workshop and stayed over to answer all the questions from the audience. Even after she left the meeting room, several of her attendees followed, peppering her with more. This was the part of the conference she loved—glad to pass on the things she’d learned from her own mentors and teachers over the years. She considered it a tribute to her mentors and teachers that she was now able to share the knowledge they’d generously given.
She bid her students goodbye and entered the lobby, then stopped abruptly. Sally Duke stood with two other women by the concierge desk, fifty feet away. They were all dressed casually in Bermuda shorts, colorful T-shirts and walking shoes.
Julia didn’t know whether to avoid Cameron’s mom or confront her. After all, Sally had to have known Cameron was due back last night, yet when they’d run into each other yesterday, the older woman had blithely assured Julia that Cameron would be out of town for the duration. After all her careful planning, Julia couldn’t believe she’d walked right into a trap.
If Julia had known otherwise, she might’ve thought twice about attending the conference at all. And she definitely would’ve left Jake with their nanny back in Dunsmuir Bay.
Feeling like the worst kind of coward, Julia skulked away to avoid another run-in with Cameron’s lovely mother. As she scurried down a long hallway toward the bank of elevators at the far end of the hotel, Julia thought back to that moment the day before when she and Jake had first arrived at the resort.
She’d been pushing Jake in his stroller while a bellman followed with a luggage trolley stacked to the top with Julia’s suitcases and conference supplies and piles of baby paraphernalia. From across the wide-open lobby, someone had cried out her name.
“Julia, what a delightful surprise!”
She’d been shocked to see Sally Duke standing there when she turned to look. Normally, she would’ve been happy to see her Dunsmuir Bay friend. After all, Sally Duke had put Julia’s bakery on the map when she’d insisted that her sons carry Julia’s products in all the Duke resorts.
But before Julia had even been able to say hello, Sally had bent over to take her first look at baby Jake. Julia would never forget her own sense of apprehension as she watched the older woman’s reaction to the baby. Would she recognize the strong resemblance to her own son?
Julia had hesitated, then said, “Sally, this is my son, Jake.”
“Oh, how wonderful.” Sally knelt down in front of the stroller, grabbed hold of Jake’s foot and said, “Hello, you little darling. I’m so happy to meet you.”
Jake giggled and his dimple popped out on his right cheek. Sally gasped and her mouth dropped open. She stared at the baby for another moment, then looked up at Julia with tears in her eyes.
“It’s impossible,” she whispered.
There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Maybe Julia was overdramatizing things, but she could barely breathe.
“Is it true?” Sally asked.
“What are you talking about?” Julia tried for casual, but she stumbled on the words.
“Oh, honey,” she said softly. “He’s Cameron’s, isn’t he?”
Julia felt her own eyes water as she slowly nodded.
“I thought so,” Sally said, gazing back at Jake and touching his nose playfully. “That little dimple is better than a DNA test.”
Julia had smiled, but her worry had increased. She could only hope Cameron took it this well when he finally learned the truth.
When Sally looked up again, she sniffled and said, “I’m in love with him already. Thank you so much.” She wrapped Julia in a tight hug.
