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Extending one soapy hand, she nudged his arm where it rested on the side of the tub. ‘It is, although it’s not the only thing we can do in here.’
‘Oh, really? Well, in that case…’ He rose and stripped his clothes with fast, methodical movements. ‘Scoot forward a bit more,’ he told her as he moved towards the back of the tub.
Hope did as he said and felt the water rise against her back as he stepped in. ‘Hang on, I might need to let a bit of the water out.’ She reached for the chain and lifted a corner of the plug as Cam carefully lowered himself behind her. The water level rose alarmingly, a small amount seeping over the edge of the roll-top. ‘Woah, steady!’ Giggling, Hope tugged the plug all the way out while Cam braced his weight on his arms.
‘Let me know when it’s safe,’ he said with a laugh.
‘Try now.’ Hope left the water to drain lower until she was sure Cam was settled then replaced the plug and added a quick blast of hot water.
‘Come here.’ Cam’s arms circled her from behind and she let him ease her back against his chest with a sigh. ‘Better?’
Closing her eyes, Hope let the last of the tension drain from her body. ‘Much.’
26
After a quiet evening with Hope and a surprisingly good sleep for both of them, Cam walked her and the dogs back to her car early the next morning. ‘You really should think about leaving a few things at the lodge,’ he said as she came up on tiptoe to claim a kiss.
‘I know.’ She rested her head against his chest. ‘I was trying to make things easier for Mum, but with everything that’s been going on, perhaps a bit of space might be just what we both need.’
If she wanted to move in, Cam had no objections, but he also knew Hope and her mother had a very difficult tightrope to walk over the coming weeks and months. ‘Whatever is easiest for you is fine by me,’ he promised her, dropping another kiss on her mouth. ‘What’s on your agenda for today?’
She scrunched her nose. ‘Home to change and then back up to the Hall. I want to follow up with everyone who was affected yesterday and make sure they have everything they need to continue to enjoy what’s left of the weekend. What about you?’
The sulk in the bath had done its trick and Cam was determined to be more positive about everything. He was still concerned about who it was causing trouble for Hope and her family, but there was nothing practical he could do other than make sure his team was safe and taking sensible precautions. The best thing he could do was to try to make some progress at the dig. ‘I’m going to extend my trench deeper and see if we can hit on anything that might be left of the original stonework in situ.’
‘Sounds like a plan. Right, I’d better make a move.’ Hope’s cheek remained pressed firmly against his chest and Cam found himself just as reluctant to let her go.
‘We could sneak back to bed,’ he murmured into her hair. ‘It’s still early.’
With a laugh, Hope raised her head and gazed up at him. ‘You are a terrible influence, and as much as I like that idea a lot more than what I have planned, I’ll have to decline.’
Cam pouted, more because he wanted to hear that glorious sunshiny laugh of hers than out of any real sense of disappointment. They both had too much to deal with to indulge themselves. Soon, he promised himself, silently. ‘Will you let me know how you get on?’
‘Yes. And you’ll let me know if you have any news as well?’ When he nodded, Hope went up on tiptoe and kissed him. Cam chased her mouth down as she lowered her heels, stealing little pecks and kisses until she was giggling and squirming with delight. ‘Get off!’ She gave his chest a playful shove then darted back up for a final kiss. ‘Go!’ She pointed towards where his car was parked then tugged open the door of her own.
Backing up, Cam kept his eyes locked on her as she tugged on her seat belt and started the engine. ‘Call me later, yeah?’ he called.
‘Will do!’ Hope backed out of her space and turned her car towards the exit. ‘Love you, bye!’
Love you. The words struck him hard in the chest as true as an arrow from Cupid’s bow. Could she really mean it? She’d said it so casually, perhaps the words had slipped out by accident. Her family were openly affectionate, and he’d heard them exchange a dozen such off-hand farewells. Did he love her? Oh, hell, maybe he did. Should he say it back? Did he want to say it back? He did. He did! Cam opened his mouth, then closed it again. Hope was already halfway down the road and far out of earshot. He reached for his phone, started to message her, then deleted it. A text was no way to say it for the first time, or would it technically be the second time, seeing as how she’d already said it? With his head still in an absolute whirl, Cam climbed into his car and headed up the hill towards the dig.
He tried his best to keep his mind on the job in hand. Having briefed the team about the change in plans, he sent most of the group to continue the endless job of cataloguing their previous finds while he headed out with Declan to review the state of the trench so the groundworkers could get started. Once that was sorted, he was at a loose end until they could start hand digging again, so he went to find Cassie, who was sitting at a table at one end of the welfare cabin reviewing the catalogued records from the previous day to ensure all the finds had been photographed and bagged correctly. Those members of the team who weren’t busy bagging the rest of the finds had taken the chance of sneaking an extra cup of coffee and were gathered around the table nearest the door.
‘Want a brew?’ Adam asked, raising his cup.
Shaking his head, Cam continued to the back of the cabin and sank down in the chair beside Cassie.
‘You look like a wet weekend,’ Cassie said, sparing him half a glance before returning to her task. Not sure how to put anything into words, Cam began leafing through a stack of record cards. ‘Leave those,’ she ordered, giving the back of his hand a playful tap. ‘I’ve already checked them, and you’ll mess up my system.’
‘Sorry.’ Cam set the cards back where he’d found them and slumped back in his chair. His determination to put a positive spin on things hadn’t lasted long. ‘I think I’ve messed up, Cass.’
‘How so?’ She sounded half-distracted, her attention still on the card she was reviewing.
‘Hope told me she loved me, and I didn’t say it back.’
‘Excuse me?’ It shouldn’t have been possible for her voice to climb that many octaves in so few syllables. Her exclamation drew the attention of Adam and the rest of the team, their heads popping up like meerkats as they swivelled around to stare at them. ‘Out,’ Cassie ordered them, one finger raised to point at the door. ‘Right now!’
Cam didn’t miss the bemused looks the others exchanged as they trooped out of the cabin and closed the door behind them. ‘Way to make a scene, Cass,’ Cam grumbled, wishing he’d kept his mouth shut. He should’ve waited and spoken to Ed about things. Or Barnie, perhaps. No, not Barnie. He wouldn’t have been able to deal with that much hysterical laughter in his fragile state.
