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"It wasn't like that. I..." He let out a breath, put the cup on the counter. "I'm sorry I disappointed him."
Faith shrugged her shoulders. "It isn't important."
"Of course it is." His voice took on an edge. "People shouldn't tell kids they're going to do things unless they mean it. And I did mean it, when I said I'd spend the evening with him."
Amazing, she thought. He sounded as if he really were upset. Well, maybe even Cole Cameron saw the difference between walking out on a woman and walking out on a child. After all, a lot of time had gone by, enough so he'd matured physically. Things had happened to him: his nose had been broken or something; there was a small bump halfway down its length. His body was lean and hard. He'd gone from being a beautiful boy to a handsome man. A gorgeous, dangerous man...
Stop it! she thought, and gave him a cool smile. "I'll tell Peter you stopped by before you left." "Did I say I was leaving, Faith?"
"Excuse me?"
"This is my home. Why should I leave it?"
"Because you don't live here." She took a deep breath.
"I'm going to fight you for Cameron House."
"You'll lose," he said flatly. "That's if you can even find a lawyer to represent you."
Faith took her hands from her pockets and folded her arms over her chest. "I'll find one."
"Just be sure and tell him you can't pay him a retainer. Or do you have some money hidden away that you can tap into?" "Once the house is mine, I'll sell it. There'll be enough
money to pay legal fees and give Peter and me a fresh start." "Ah. So, you're doing this for the boy's sake."
"Yes," she snapped, stung by the disdain in his smile.
"That's exactly why I'm doing it, not that it's any of your business."
"Move, just like that? Uproot Pete-
"Peter."
"Uproot Pete from his home, his school, his friends, after he's just lost his father? Hell, Faith, I know the bright lights are probably beckoning, but maybe you should try considering the kid's needs, too."
"For your information," she said, her voice trembling, "Peter hates living here. He has no friends."
"Why not?"
"Because-because this is Liberty. I don't know where you've been the last years, Cole, but the town's the same as it always was. People gossip. They make judgments. When Ted was alive, they deferred to him but now that he's gone..."
She fell silent, but she'd said enough. He understood. Faith had dated him. He'd gone away and she'd gotten involved with his brother. That would have set tongues wagging but then she'd taken things a step further, gotten herself knocked up. Maybe that wouldn't be worth more than a raised eyebrow if the cast of characters had been different, but a hurry-up wedding between a Cameron and a Davenport would have been juicy news. In Liberty, it would probably stay news for the next hundred years.
"Hell," he said softly.
She nodded. "Exactly."
"And things have gotten worse since Ted's death, haven't they?"
"I guess you could say the gloves have come off. Peter doesn't get invited to anybody's house to play, or to go to parties. He's-he's pretty much an outcast."
"What you mean," Cole said coldly, "is that the boy is paying for your sins."
She looked up, eyes flashing. "You're a fine one to talk about sin. You left this town and never once looked back to see if I-to see if your brother needed you."
"Why would he, when he had you?"
"Damn you, Cole Cameron! You have no idea what my life was like after you left. If it hadn't been for Ted-" She stared at him, eyes blurred with sudden tears, knowing she'd been dancing on the edge of saying things she must never say. She swallowed the angry words, whirled away from him grabbed a paper napkin from the holder on the counter and wiped her eyes. "This is senseless. The past is dead. The only thing that matters is the future. My son's future. And that future isn't in this godforsaken town."
``I agree."
Faith turned slowly and looked into Cole's face. "Do you mean that?"
"Absolutely." A muscle knotted in his jaw. "You're right. I'd forgotten what this town can be like. Give it some gossip and it'll worry it like a dog with a bone."
"Yes," she said quickly, "that's right. That's why I need to-"
"You need to bring the town to its knees."
She gave a quick, bitter laugh. "And pigs can fly. I can't do that, Cole. Ted could. Well, not really. Even he could only get people to pretend to accept Peter but-"
"I can."
She blinked. "You?"
"That's right." Cole leaned back against the sink, one foot crossed over the other, arms folded. It was a casual stance but there was a purposefulness to his posture, a flatness in his eyes that sent a warning tingle down Faith's spine. "What's the matter, baby?" His words were soft and taunting. "Don't you think I can make this whole damn town wish it had never heard the name `Cameron'?"
