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“This is not making us look like adults.”
“Sure, the town hero returns to save the day and wants to look like he’s the one who takes the high road.” Jonathan glared at Cam who couldn’t help but wonder if this was ever going to end. “And look! He found a way for his hussy of a girlfriend to come out looking all pure and innocent too.”
Cam was on top of Jonathan before he even planned to swing.
Insult him. Insult his art. Be a jerk in general.
Fine.
But come for Vivian and you might as well decide on pistols at dawn.
Cam was choosing fists at now.
He swung, fast and hard, a brutal hook to the jaw that, frankly, left him feeling surprised Jonathan kept his feet. Before he could anticipate it, Jonathan was coming in low and fast, tackling him to the ground. Instead of trying to sidestep the attack, Cam took it on, ready to finish this in the most direct, primitive way possible.
Nearly twenty years of this crap was too much and he was tired of taking the high road.
Plus, at this point, his parents couldn’t ground him, so he figured he was pretty much in the clear to kick some ass.
Sooner than he’d have liked, Jamie pulled him off Jonathan and Spence backed Jonathan away from them—with very little effort reminiscent of the old “hold me back, hold me back” skit.
“You can do what you want, but this town is outdated. We need to bring it into at least the last century.” Jonathan was practically spitting as he shouted. “You think your cute little committees and tours and happy-happy days are going to keep this town alive and thriving? You’re all idiots.”
He stood there, chest heaving as blood ran from the corner of his mouth.
“Life isn’t a fairy tale and this town is a lie.” He wiped the blood away, surprised to see it on his hand.
Cam just shook his head, shocked at the vitriol. “Then why are you here? You left, just like so many of us, and came back. Trust me, no one was here thinking, ‘Wow, when do you think Jonathan will be back to save us from… happiness?’ I mean, really. Just leave. No one is keeping you here.”
Jonathan braced himself as if he was expecting another attack or was about to start one himself.
“He can’t.” Jamie’s voice came from just behind Cam’s shoulder, not a surprise since he’d always had his back. “Can you, Jon-Jon?”
Cam sidestepped to look at Jamie without turning his back on the tornado that Jonathan had somehow become.
“You came back because you couldn’t cut it outside. What? No job, or maybe you got a job but didn’t like being low man on the ladder? People buzzing by you—people you were as smart as but maybe just were not horrible humans to be around? There’s a lot more competition outside these town limits. Especially for someone with such mundane skills as accounting. You come back here and you shine, right? Not a lot of competition for accountants.”
Cam glanced back at Jonathan whose jaw was locked tighter than a Bessey clamp.
Huh, looked like Jamie was onto something.
“But then you got here and everyone was doing just fine without all that math.”
“I don’t know,” Cam interjected. “I’m not gonna lie, I like math. And woodworkers need math… Sailors need math.”
Jamie gave him a look.
“Okay, it wasn’t the math. It was the power. You thought you could make yourself indispensable to the point of control. But this town is bigger than money in, money out. And then a situation came up where you could throw your rival under the bus.”
Cam could see it. If he thought Captain Jack was bribable, he’d be questioning just how the sleigh accident hadreallyhappened.
“If all that’s true, then what does it say about you two, huh? I’m not the only one who thrives in this town.”
Jamie turned, all innocent to Cam. “Did I say he was thriving? I’m pretty sure I didn’t, right?”
Jonathan made a half-hearted lunge Spence managed to hold back while still making notes in his Moleskine.
“I never planned on not coming back.” Cam shrugged. “I can do my art from anywhere. Why wouldn’t I want to do it close to my friends and family? But… that wasn’t the draw for you, was it?”
