Where There's Hope_A Well Paired Novel Read online

  “Maybe. I think he has his eye on someone already, though.”

  Hope drained the rest of her wine and simmered. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Hope?” Alexis leaned forward, too eager for the gossip. And to think, less than a year ago she’d been practically the town hermit. Not really, but definitely not one for gossip.

  “Shut it, Mia.”

  “Rumor has it—”

  “This is a book club. We’re not the town gossips.” Hope grabbed the bottle of red and refilled her glass.

  “Rumor has it,” Mia continued. “While we were busy Saturday morning volunteering at our various stations for the Fall Festival, the new hot guy and Hope were making nice at the visitors’ station. Cameron—I haven’t learned his last name yet—has been spotted at Hope’s new house. Not once, but twice this week. He used to come in every Monday for lunch, but not this week. Could be because he learned Miss Hope doesn’t work Mondays?”

  “He’s been to your house? We haven’t even been there yet.”

  “I had electrical issues. He fixed them.” Leave it to Jenna to point that one out.

  “I bet he did,” Mia teased.

  “Seriously. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her cheeks burned, the wine not helping any.

  “Aw, Hope. You work too hard. Why not take a chance with this guy? At least get a free dinner and a drink out of the deal.” Jenna set her glass down and leaned forward to engage in what she most likely hoped to be romance gossip.

  Not on Hope’s watch. Especially since she hadn’t a clue what was happening between her and Cameron. No. Nothing was. The bolt of electricity she felt when he took her hand in his the other day was from the wiring he’d just done.

  It had nothing to do with lust. Nothing to do with the way his shoulders stretched his worn t-shirt, or the way he filled out a pair of jeans. And it sure as hell had nothing to do with his manners or the way he treated women with class and respect.

  “Crap,” Hope muttered and drained another glass of wine. At this rate, Alexis would have to drive her home.

  “Crap as in we busted you?” Mia asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

  “No.” She really didn’t want to have this discussion right now. Heck, ever. But it had been too long since she’d had real girlfriend talk. Maybe it was time to tell them about Justin. Which would inevitably lead to Cameron.

  Tears formed and she squeezed her eyes tight to ward them off. She’d been carrying so much baggage for too many years.

  “Honey, what’s wrong? He didn’t hurt you, did he?” Lily dropped to her knees on the floor by Hope’s feet and took her hand.

  “Shit. I’m sorry, Hope. I had no idea. You seemed happier than usual this week.” Mia came and sat on the arm of the chair next to her and stroked her hair.

  Happier than usual? She didn’t think so. More confused than ever was more like it. How could she start to have feelings for the man who stole Delaney’s father away?

  There was no holding back the tears now as they ran down her cheeks. She used her arm to wipe them away. Too much confusion, too many conflicting thoughts. She didn’t want to think about Cameron as a guy.

  Hating him from afar was much easier than hating him from close by.

  “Book club is officially over. It’s girl time now.” Jenna brushed the food aside and sat on the coffee table opposite Hope while Alexis came around and took the other armrest.

  Her friends hadn’t even heard the miserable story yet, and they still dropped everything for her. She barked out an ugly cry and barely saw the paper towel someone held out to her. She took it and blew her nose.

  When the hugs and pats and hand squeezing lifted, she took a deep breath and looked into the eyes of her friends.

  “I suppose I have to tell you what that was all about, huh?”

  “Of cou—”

  “Mia!” everyone scolded, and Hope couldn’t help but laugh.

  “It’s okay. It will feel good to get this off my chest.”

  “Do you need another glass of wine first?” Jenna held up the bottle, and Hope shook her head.

  “Maybe after. I’m so nervous I’ll end up dropping the glass.”

  “You only have to tell us if you want to.” Lily rubbed Hope’s leg, an understanding in her eye. Yes, Lily had secrets too, and no one could force those out.

  Someday.

  “There’s a long version, but I’ll start with the short.” She took a couple deep breaths. “Cameron Smithfield is Delaney’s uncle.”

  “Shit,” Mia said.

  “He’s spent almost ten years in prison for killing his brother, Justin. Delaney’s father.”

  “What the fudge?” Mia jumped to her feet. “That man has no right being in Crystal Cove. And he’s been to your house? How could Mom let that happen? She told me you two hit it off working together at the visitors’ station.”

  “I didn’t kill him, so that was good,” Hope teased in an attempt to make light of the situation.

  “Seriously, honey. How traumatic. What can we do?”

  Hope squeezed Lily’s hand. “You’re all doing it.”

  “Is it wrong of me to ask for the details in Justin’s death? I mean, is Cameron, or was Cameron—if he’s truly been rehabilitated in prison—a threat to you or anyone in town?”

  Jenna had a right to ask. Hope would have done the same, worried for her daughter’s safety.

  “I don’t believe he’s a threat. Justin died in a car accident. Cameron was driving. He was also a drug dealer.” She prayed to God he wasn’t anymore. “The accident happened because of black ice. Justin wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was thrown. He died on impact.”

  “How terrible.” Alexis wrapped her arm around Hope and hugged her. “Has his family helped support you or Delaney at all?”

  “I don’t think they knew.” For years, she’d suffered through bouts of guilt for not telling them about Delaney. During tourist season when so many unfamiliar faces filled the shops and her restaurant, she often searched the crowds in fear the Smithfields would show up at the door and demand to take their granddaughter. “Justin hadn’t returned any of my calls so I left him a message. It probably wasn’t the best way to let him know he was going to be a dad.”

  “How did he take the news?” Mia asked.

  “I don’t know. He never called me back. I heard about his death while watching the news the next morning.” At first she feared it was the news of being a dad that had somehow caused the accident. Had he gone on a drinking binge? Was he out driving as an escape and a way to process the bombshell she’d dropped on him? “I wasn’t a regular news watcher, but I wanted to catch the weather report. When a prominent judge’s son is killed and his other son is responsible, it makes great news.”

  Learning the accident wasn’t Justin’s fault eased her guilt, but triggered a fierce hatred toward his brother for killing her baby’s father.

  Mia returned to her seat and slumped. Everyone remained quiet as they absorbed the news.

  “I stayed on campus for another two weeks but couldn’t bring myself to go to any classes. I had practicums at the hospital and wasn’t taking a chance on running into Cameron there. He’d been hurt in the accident and would be tried once he was well enough to go to court. I’d never met him, only heard about him from Justin. A bad boy druggie who was the bane of the Smithfields existence. Anyway, I dropped out of college, kissing my nursing degree goodbye, and came home. My parents were upset that I wouldn’t tell them why I quit school. By mid-summer when I started to show, they figured out why.”

  “Do they know about Cameron?” Alexis picked up a water bottle and opened the top.

  “Yes and no. Right before Delaney was born, I told them pretty much what I just told you. And we never talked about it again.”

  “Why is Cameron here?” Lily wanted to know.

  “He served his time, got out for good behavior, and when his parole was up, he found me. I don’t know how
. Justin must have told him about me, maybe about Delaney.” Hope shrugged. “He says he feels responsible that I’ve had to raise her by myself for all these years.”

  “Of course he’s responsible,” Mia said.

  “He’s trying to start over, but I wish it wasn’t here.”

  “Do you trust him?” Leave it to Lily to dig to the heart of the matter.

  What bothered Hope the most was that she thought she did.

  CHAPTER NINE

  BY THE TIME FRIDAY afternoon rolled around, Cameron was ready for the weekend. He hadn’t seen or heard from Hope all week and kept his distance out of respect. Although he didn’t hide out as much as he used to.

  Now that she knew he was in town, he shopped at the local stores, picking up a historical fiction at Books by the Ocean, a bottle of wine at Crystal Vines he hoped to share one day with Hope, and even sat down and ate at the Sunrise Diner. He didn’t, however, eat lunch at The Happy Clam on Monday. It seemed too pushy.

  Spotting a sandwich board outside a Victorian looking home that advertised men’s haircuts and walk-ins, Cameron pulled over to the curb and parked. It wasn’t until he got out of his truck and read the sign above the door that he realized it was a spa. The Sea Salt Spa didn’t sound like his type of place.

  Figuring he’d check it out, Cameron opened the door and was greeted by soft music and incense.

  “Welcome. How can I help you?”

  He recognized the type of woman. Tall, blonde, sophisticated. The kind the Smithfield family would readily welcome into their home. The polished sort that Justin was attracted to. And while the woman was beautiful, and so far anything but pretentious, she didn’t stir an inkling of desire in him.

  Cameron ran his hand through his hair. “Just a trim, if you can.” His hair had grown past his ears and started to flip out at the nape of his neck. He didn’t like it buzzed, it reminded him too much of prison, but long hair wasn’t his thing either.

  That was his rebellious teen style. Made to piss off his parents. Part of his new life was discovering himself and living the life he wanted. Whatever that may be.

  “Sure. You can have a seat over here.” She led him to a swivel chair and opened a black cape, snapping it around his neck. “Mia will be right with you.” He heard the click of her heels as she walked away.

  Mia, as in Ty’s sister? Celeste’s daughter? He’d never met her, but in a town this small he picked up on names pretty fast. He prayed she hadn’t heard about his past.

  There were no heel noises preceding her presence. A short woman with shoulder-length auburn hair sauntered toward him. She eyed him speculatively and then stood behind him, lowering the chair with a jerky thumping of her foot on the petal.

  “A little off the top?” She pulled at his hair, yanking his head back with more force than necessary. Even the prison barbers treated him with more finesse than this one.

  “Yes, please. And if you could clean up around the edges as well, please.”

  She eyed him in the mirror, cocked her head to the side, chewing loudly on her gum. Cameron remained still as she assessed him. Mia let go of his hair and stepped over to her station that held bottles of hair junk and her other supplies.

  Picking up a razor in one hand and a pair of scissors in the other, she snapped her gum and flicked her head to her hands.

  “Which do you prefer?”

  “Usually a razor for the back and scissors on top, please.”

  She licked her lips, not in a seductive manner but like a predator scoping out its prey. “Huh.” Clicking her tongue, she set the scissors on the counter. Pushing back the sleeves of the loose black smock she wore, she tugged the cord to the razor and stepped behind him.

  Cameron heard the click and the vibration before he felt the buzz to his neck. With a gentleness he didn’t expect, Mia eased his head down and scraped the electric razor from the base of his neck up a few inches and stopped.

  Keeping his head tilted toward his lap, he lifted his gaze to the mirror. The woman chewed on her lip as she buzzed, and then he felt the pressure of the razor as it inched its way up toward the top of his head and kept moving up and up until it cut a clean path to his forehead.

  Cameron lifted his head and stared at his reverse Mohawk.

  “Oops,” Mia said, her face blank as she eyed him in the mirror again.

  He knew it wasn’t a slip of the hand. It was hair. It would grow back. Mia did this intentionally and wanted a reaction.

  “You must be friends with Hope,” he responded calmly.

  “Very close friends.”

  “I take it you know who I am.”

  “Yup.” Mia stared at his head again and lifted the razor. This time she started at his right ear making a path to the left.

  Resisting the urge to laugh, he bit back a smile. “She tell you I spent nearly ten years in prison?”

  “Something like that.”

  “That I killed Delaney’s father.”

  “Yup.” She dropped the razor on the counter and picked up the scissors.

  “You’re not planning on stabbing me in the neck with those, are you?” he asked, trying to lighten the mood.

  “Looks like someone already beat me to it.”

  Cameron slipped his hand from the cape, tempted to rub his scar that started between his shoulder blades and crept up his neck, but put it back in his lap.

  Noisy heels clicked on the wood floor followed by a loud gasp. “Mia!” The blonde woman spun Cameron’s chair around and put her hand over her mouth.

  “He asked for it.” Mia twirled the scissors around her fingers, a little too close to Cameron’s face for his comfort.

  “I’m sorry, sir. Are you happy with your cut?”

  “His name is Cameron.” Mia blew a bubble with her gum and popped it.

  The blonde’s shapely eyebrow lifted, and she slowly crossed her arms. “Oh. Is it?” She tapped the toe of her shoe against the floor and held out her hand. “I’ll take over from here.”

  She spun the chair around roughly so Cameron could see the women in the mirror behind him. For the first time since he’d fought off those thugs in prison, he feared for his life.

  “Prison’s not a place for women,” he warned, not daring to move his body.

  “Are you afraid, Cameron?” The blonde who appeared so dapper now had a wicked edge to her.

  “A little.” Keeping his hands under the cape, he slid his finger between the tight collar trying to get himself more air.

  “Good.” The blonde snipped at the hair around his ear coming dangerously close to snipping it as well. She didn’t nick him, but it was only a matter of time.

  Mia opened a drawer and pulled out a leather bag. Slowly, she slid out a long straight edge gliding it deliberately across the leather. “Would you like a shave today as well?”

  “I’m good.” He gulped. Sweat gathered on his forehead, under his arms, the black cape holding in the heat of his body like a woodstove.

  The blonde stopped cutting and swung his chair around again so his back was to Mia with the straight edge. She could easily slice his neck open, and he’d bleed to death in this luxury spa. Not exactly the way he envisioned the end of his life.

  “Why are you here?”

  “For a haircut?” At this point, Cameron wasn’t sure anymore.

  She pocketed the scissors and crossed her arms again. “In Crystal Cove.”

  He nodded his understanding. “To start over. To get away from the past, which is in Connecticut, and to help Hope with Delaney.”

  “Help her?” Mia swung the chair around again. “You’re not going anywhere near her or her daughter.”

  “She’s my niece. I won’t do anything to hurt her. Hope has been raising her alone for too long, and I’ve offered financial support, is all. I’m not going to come in and turn Delaney’s life upside down.”

  “Like you’ve done to Hope’s,” Blondie said, swirling him to face her.

  “It’s my fault Delaney
doesn’t have a father.”

  “And you want to be her dad?”

  When he learned he had a niece, he worked like hell to get to Maine as fast as he could. His intent had never been to be her father, to marry Hope. Those fantasies of being with Hope were sliced out of him many years ago.

  Only now, being with her, working side-by-side, seeing the occasional smile; it brought back what they once had—what she didn’t know they had—and he hoped she’d remember.

  “Lily and I won’t let that happen,” Mia said from behind him.

  “No way.” Cameron watched as the blonde—Lily—relaxed her shoulders and narrowed her eyes. She blinked rapidly and looked over his head at Mia. “This isn’t good.”

  “What?” Mia stepped closer, and Cameron could feel her behind him.

  “That’s the same way Hope looked last night when I asked her...”

  “Shit.” Mia ripped off his cape and shoved at his shoulders. “Get the hell out of here.”

  Cameron reached for his wallet in his back pocket, and Lily shooed him with her hand. “Go.”

  Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, he moved as fast as his legs would take him out the door and into his truck. The women were scary as hell, but he was thankful Hope had them in her life.

  Once he was safe, he glanced in the rearview mirror and had to laugh. He looked like a freak. Grabbing a baseball cap from his passenger seat, he tugged it on his head and started the engine.

  He had two choices. Either go somewhere else and have them fix his hair, or shave it all off. Opting for the least embarrassing route, Cameron drove back to his apartment and finished the job himself.

  “YOU DID NOT.” HOPE dropped the stack of plates she’d cleared from table nine and glared at Mia.

  “Totally did. At first, Lily was as mortified as you are right now, but then she got into the game as well. The guy was sweating bullets. Thought she’d cut his ear off. Tormenting the bastard was fun.” Mia laughed.

  “You’re laughing about this?”