Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
“Get out of my head, Cam. I was literally just thinking that.”
He chuckled, but his smile quickly fell. “I don’t want to lose it. In New York, it’s different. It’s busy and chaotic. We’d have to travel for hours to find a place like this. When I moved away from Alberton, this kind of life was exactly what I was trying to escape. I needed to get away from the memories clinging to these trees or there was a solid chance I’d still be sitting at this creek, waiting for you to come back.”
My stomach knotted. It was both super sweet and crazy sad, and it made me feel wicked guilty. I slid my hands up his chest and circled my arms around his neck. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t you dare apologize. It took a while, but we got here eventually. The problem is, while I was trying to get away, I ended up creating a whole new life that can’t really be done in Clovert. I worked my ass off for a lot of years, and while I’m sure there are plenty of people who need an attorney for public intoxication after the Fall Festival, they aren’t exactly my target clientele.”
I giggled. “Oh, come on, Ed Lewis could keep you in business year-round all on his own.”
“Probably. But that’s not what I want, babe. And I also don’t want to strip all of this from you, either.”
“You aren’t stripping—”
“I am. You have family here. Friends and students who love you. A summer lunch program that, honestly… It fucking kills me to think you won’t be here to watch it thrive. I need you. I need you in every single facet of my life, but not if it means giving up your own. I want the best of both worlds, Nora. A few days ago, I finally figured out how we can make this work, but I need your help.”
“Anything.”
He chewed on his bottom lip for a second, his blue eyes locked on mine, and then finally announced, “I want to buy the creek.”
“I’m sorry, what?”
He chuckled. “I want to buy it. Come on. This is our creek. It might as well be named the Stewart and Cole Worm Farm. The house is shit. I did a walk-through with Sam a few days ago. I swear it hasn’t been updated since the seventies. But we have time to do a remodel. Make it ours too.”
I blinked. “Um, wait. I’m confused. Didn’t you just say you can’t do your job in Clovert?”
“I did. But my boss has a summer house in Maine. He takes his whole family and goes there June through August. We could do that, Nora. We’ll get something small in the suburbs and then we can come back here for the summer. I’d still have to work and maybe fly back a few times a month, but you could still oversee your lunch program.”
He released me and walked over to two trees, his voice filling with almost as much excitement as his face. “But, at night, we could hang a hammock up out here.” He swung his arm down to the deep end of the water. “And on the weekends, we can have Joe and Misty over for cookouts and go swimming. I know we’ve talked about taking things slow and getting to know each other again, but maybe one day we could raise our kids here—happy kids, kids who will never have to deal with the hell we went through. We can make new memories until this becomes their creek too.” He hurried back over in front of me. “I get it. It’s going to take compromise from both of us, and it’s not always going to be easy. But, for the right price, Sam said he’d be willing to sell us this place. And I don’t give a damn what the right price is. I want this, Nora. I want it with you.”
He finally stopped talking and stared at me expectantly, but I couldn’t breathe much less string together a complete sentence.
Me. Camden. Kids. Our creek. A lifetime of laughter and happiness. I’d never even dreamed that big before.
Sweet Jesus, Freaking Camden Cole was still the genius of all geniuses from all those years ago.
“Say something,” he whispered.
I nodded a dozen times.
His smile grew with each one.
“I’m in, Cam. All in. Just tell me what you need me to do,” I choked out, fighting an onslaught of emotion back.
He rested his hands on my hips and playfully rocked me from side to side. “I need help paying the down payment.”
“Uh, I’m not sure the rainy-day-slash-Louboutin fund is big enough for it, but I could save up or take out a loan.”
He laughed and shook his head. “No, crazy. I need the ten in your back pocket. I think it’s time we put the original Stewart and Cole Worm Farm money to good use.”