AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He’d drawn that sucker from every angle imaginable. Close-ups, distance draws, on the move, full glances and tight in on details—he’d even done the undercarriage a couple times.
It had been a dream of his to someday do something as magnificent and meaningful as it.
Raymond Havester hadn’t just designed and built it, he’d painted it too.
Which of course Cam found out in sixth grade and, yes, asked for paints.
When he’d come around the corner and through the crowd, he’d been momentarily stunned by the wreckage. He’d had a good mind to let Vivian give Ms. Angie the scolding she was obviously working up to.
Thank God Skye had shown up with her deputy’s hat on and thrown everyone out. He’d felt like he needed a minute, like there was some time of mourning that should be done for this living piece of art that would never be the same.
“You too, Ms. Angie. Let Vivian go get her truck and Camden do some assessing.”
“But I’m sure we can help.”
Cam straightened, about to tell her she’d done more than enough, when a hand landed softly on his back.
“We won’t let her rush us. You’ll have it good as new.”
He glanced down at Vivian’s upturned face, the wide deep-green eyes rimmed by dark-red lashes.
He’d thought she’d be ignoring him as much as possible, locking him out of her and Tyler’s life after this morning. But here she was making sure he was pulling it together.
Cam gave her a quick nod and turned around, his face clear of all the anger he’d been fighting off for the last ten minutes.
“Ms. Angie. We have a lot of work to do, so Skye is right. You should move on so we can get started.”
“And you’ll have it done by the Holidayer’s weekend?” she asked, obviously worried about taking the blame for a Santa-free parade this month.
Cam took a deep breath, trying not to use it to scream the top of his head off, and smiled at her. Taking Ms. Angie’s arm, he walked her toward the entrance where her car was still parked—in one piece—an unrepentant Captain Jack sat waiting for her.
“You just head on home and let us do our thing. It will be done as quickly as we can get it there.”
He watched as she buckled herself in before she and Captain Jack tore out of the yard like it was the start of the Indy 500, hell on wheels at eighty-two.
The brake lights barely flashed as she made the turn onto Main Street and Cam let his eyes drop shut.
“One day I’m just going to have to straight-out arrest that woman.” Skye sighed as she turned back to Cam. “Vivian escaped to get her wrecker. I know this is a lot of pressure. Don’t let them all get to you.”
“Right.” Cam turned, giving the sleigh his entire attention.
There’d be pictures and video galore, but he doubted any of it would show as much detail as he needed.
He pulled his cell from his back pocket and listened as it rang twice before an excited voice answered.
“Camden, you didn’t cut yourself in half or lose a hand, did you?”
One of the top wood artists in the country, and his mother still expected him to spill blood daily.
“I’m fine, Mom. Everything’s still where it should be.” He stared hard at the sleigh as he circled it, making a note of even the few small damages along the side where he’s pretty sure Ms. Angie did not admit to it grazing something on its careening race out of the barn. “Do you still have my sketchbooks from when I was a kid?”
“Of course!” She sounded shocked he even needed to ask. “I’d never throw out your things.”
He didn’t argue that his baseball jersey she’d donated years ago also counted.
“You don’t mind if I come by later today and grab several?”
“Camden, this will always be your home.”
