memory made his thoughts return to her.
Camille Ryan.
The name still stirred something within him. They’d been mere teenagers when they were together but he knew from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, with her glowing bronze skin, long thick hair and petite frame, that he’d be hooked for life. And he was. Despite time and distance, he still felt something for her and thought of her often over the years.
What would she do when she got to town? Would she seek him out? He doubted it. The girl he knew was not the type to renege on a decision so she’d probably stick by whatever reason had kept her away all these years. But she had reneged on a decision, hadn’t she? He couldn’t deny that, but his Camille was smart and he was sure if he heard her reason, he’d understand. The only conclusion Remington had been able to come to over the years was that Camille had changed her mind about him and their future and had been too afraid to tell him. He hoped that was the reason because he wasn’t sure how he’d handle it being anything else.
Are you still in love with her?
He ignored the question.
When Remington had confronted Camille’s father all those years ago, he hadn’t been any help either. The older man had told him nothing other than to respect her decision to change her mind. When he’d asked Mr. Ryan when she had changed her mind, he had told Remi that going to New York had always been her choice, but Remi would bet his life that wasn’t true. He wasn’t one to question his elders so he’d let it go. But Remington was sure Camille wouldn’t just make plans with him and then suddenly change them without telling him something first.
Reese Ryan and Camille Ryan were the best of friends as well as father and daughter. The man would never have betrayed her trust if she’d asked him to keep the truth a secret.
Remi had forced himself to talk to Camille’s best friend, Charleston Cobb, and while the man had not been very forthcoming, there were a couple details he had disclosed. Instead of returning to Fairdell to teach as she’d always planned, she’d chosen to stay in New York and teach at a private school of all things. As far as Remi knew, she still taught there. He’d also found out she was doing some sort of independent work. Teaching night classes or something, he guessed. That work was probably what had allowed her to pay off the mortgage on her father’s house. Charleston had never told him what that additional job was and he had a feeling that the man had been secretive on purpose to keep him guessing or prove he knew more about Camille than Remi. Charleston had been so proud of his friend that he’d slipped and told Remi the name of the lavish apartment building in which Camille resided. It was a piece of information that would help him out in the future.
Remington could admit that there was a possibility he didn’t know Camille at all—that he’d never really known her. However, that wasn’t something he could accept.
He had to redirect his thoughts.
Focusing on work was what he would do now. He needed to get the company lawyer into his office to talk details on the land acquisition, which was an exercise in patience since the attorney in question happened to be Sonya. She insisted on flirting with him every time they were in each other’s presence as if it were her right to do so. He’d told her he didn’t mix business with pleasure but Sonya apparently didn’t accept that explanation, believing she had a “special” place in Remi’s life—his future. One-sided thinking on her part. He’d fire her, but she was a damn good lawyer even though she’d only been practicing for a few short years.
When Sonya sauntered into his office, Remington rolled his eyes. He wondered why he’d ever given her any attention, but admitted it was at a time when he had been really vulnerable. But that was all Sonya had needed. She’d used their one time together nearly ten years ago as a stepping-stone to what they could have in the future. Though he’d told her he wasn’t interested in her, she insisted their union was best for them and their families, especially if he wanted to delve into the political arena as he’d always dreamed.
He agreed that her family had the influence to put him in office, but at what cost to his happiness? He didn’t love Sonya; in fact, he could barely tolerate her on most occasions. However, though Krane Gourmet Snack Foods was the epitome of a company that got ahead by sticking to the values it began with and by helping the community, he’d still need an extra push to get him elected. The Brandts could be that push, but being with Sonya would be in direct conflict with what Krane Foods stood for. There’d be nothing moral in trying to fool the good people of Fairdell by pretending to be in love with Sonya. He cared for the town and the people too much to lie to them and trick them into voting for him.
Remington liked to think he didn’t need such schemes to get him where he wanted, though he was sure his grandfather would disagree vehemently. He’d say Remington needed to think about the bigger picture and focus on happiness later. But there was a chance happiness had flown into town already and was walking around somewhere close. He doubted Frederick Krane would agree with that assessment of Camille’s arrival, but Remi was an adult and no longer a child trying to get the approval of his family. He had a feeling his grandfather would one day realize that what he wanted for Remi wasn’t necessarily what Remi needed.
Why he thought it would somehow all work out in the end was beyond him, but Remington was an optimist.
Camille had finally negotiated the busy airport, found her luggage and gotten a rental car. She’d driven the hour to her hometown, going straight to the hospital and not bothering to stop by home. She’d been told her father had collapsed, flatlined and had to be revived. He’d been through a lengthy surgery to clear a blockage in his arteries overnight and couldn’t do much on his own right now.
The scene before her was so much worse and Camille now realized why her father had tried to keep her away on his previous trips to the hospital. Seeing him so helpless and defeated was something her mind couldn’t process fully. She only knew him as the man who rarely sat still because he loved being out and around his community and his landscaping business allowed him to do that.
Would he be able to continue at the pace he’d been going?
The easy answer to that was no.
And Camille would be around to make sure he took care of himself.
She only hoped he would allow her to take care of him.
Her cousin Augusta had told her over the phone that her father had been working long hours. The weather was too hot for even the healthiest, youngest person, let alone an almost fifty-year-old who’d suffered various ailments off and on over the years. Camille didn’t know why her father chose to push himself so hard. She’d offered to make his life easier by taking care of some of the bills, but he wouldn’t hear of such a thing. He’d told her that he was the one who was supposed to look after her, no matter her age, and she’d allowed him to do that for the most part. He didn’t know about her career and the comfortable life she’d been able to have since she’d started writing so he probably thought she was overextending herself on what he thought was a teacher’s salary. She’d had to go behind his back and pay off the mortgage on her childhood home, explaining away the money by saying she’d been doing some extra work outside the school. It had hurt her heart to lie to him, being that she was so proud of her writing career, but that’s the way it had to be for his sake.
Camille had left town for Reese Ryan just as much as she had for Remi. She had not wanted them to deal with the fallout once people in town found out about the erotic books she wrote. She had not wanted to ruin her father’s reputation or derail Remi’s future. Her father’s landscaping business was his life, just as Krane Foods and political aspirations were Remington’s. Her career as a writer of erotica hadn’t fit into normal, honorable, politically correct lifestyles ten years ago and it certainly did not now with all the success she’d acquired thus far.
But who knew... Maybe Remington was no longer the person she’d known—smart and loyal, with giant goals and a staunch moral compass. Maybe