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Paige felt as if the wind had been knocked out of her. Cameron had cut off all communication with her following her departure. After a while she’d stopped trying to reach out to him, knowing her messages were falling on deaf ears. It hurt terribly to discover that he had been as devastated as she had been by their breakup. They had both suffered. And for what? False allegations that had destroyed what could have been a loving family—herself, Cameron and Emma. It was devastating to consider the ripples of the rumors and innuendos lodged against her. And Cameron’s betrayal still sat wedged in her chest. He hadn’t once apologized for pushing her out of town. Matter of fact, she had the feeling that he still believed in her guilt.
What had made her fall under the town’s suspicions in the first place? Her close relationship with her father? The fact that she hadn’t been born and bred in Love? Small towns could be funny about those they viewed as newcomers as opposed to the locals who had taken their first breaths in Love. It was so frustrating to know that her entire destiny had been shaped by a big huge misconception.
She set her spoon down with a clang. “I’m sorry he suffered, Hazel, but he wasn’t the only one. To this day, I have no idea why he turned against me other than that he was influenced by the townsfolk.”
Hazel paused in eating her soup. “I didn’t mean to ruffle your feathers. I just couldn’t let you sit here and say that Cameron didn’t care when I know for a fact he did. And the only one who has answers to that question is Cameron himself.”
They continued to eat in silence until Hazel pushed back from her chair and stood up.
“Well, I’m going to head on out. I’m supposed to be meeting up with Jasper at the mayor’s office. You leaving, too?”
“I’ll be going home in a few minutes. First there’s a few things I’d like to discuss with Cameron.” Her expression must have said it all, since Hazel nodded, picked up her bowl and went toward the kitchen as though her feet were on fire.
She must have exited the back way, since she didn’t make another appearance in the dining area. Paige grunted. Perhaps she was in the kitchen warning Cameron that she was stewing for a talk. Hazel and Cameron were as thick as thieves. More like mother and son than anything.
For the life of her she couldn’t stop thinking about all the unanswered questions she had for Cameron. It just wasn’t right to sandbag someone’s life and never be held accountable.
According to what Hazel had revealed, they had both been suffering broken hearts at the same time. And for what? Cameron’s erroneous belief that she’d somehow been tied up in her father’s schemes? She felt a swell of anger rise over her. It was an emotion she had tried so hard to bury. Anger didn’t allow a person to move forward. She had never wanted to be one of those mothers who was so caught up in bitterness that she allowed it to affect her child. Emma deserved a happy life full of grace and harmony.
Forgiving Cameron for his blindness had been an important step in building a new life. It didn’t mean she had forgotten that he had turned his back on her in her time of need. His actions had let her know in no uncertain terms that any future between them was unthinkable. How could she ever put her faith in a man who had blindsided her in such cruel fashion? Being back in Love and facing Cameron was causing all sorts of emotions to rise to the surface.
And now, with all this fury building up inside her like a slow-burning fire, she needed to snuff it out. And there was only one way to do that. By putting Cameron on the spot and asking him the specifics about two years ago. In order to fully get closure on the whole situation, she needed answers.
The heavy tread of Cameron’s footsteps interrupted her thoughts. He was standing next to the table, looking at her with a quizzical expression. “What happened to Hazel? She blew out of here like a Category 3 hurricane,” he said with a tilt of his head.
“I think she knew I wanted to talk to you and she didn’t want to get caught in the cross fire.”
Cameron narrowed his gaze. “Cross fire? Sounds serious.”
“It is serious. To me.”
She stood up from the table and walked in his direction, quickly swallowing up the space between them. They needed to be on equal footing for this discussion.
He was standing there with his arms folded across his chest. She had to look up at him, and that immediately made her feel vulnerable. He was tall and imposing. She suddenly wished that she were a whole lot taller than her five feet seven inches. She folded her arms around her middle and jutted her chin at him. Her body bristled with fury.
“So tell me, Cameron. What exactly did I do to make you doubt me? To make you believe I could actually steal from this town and sandbag the cannery deal? To cause you to run me out of town? After all this time, I think I deserve some answers.”
* * *
Cameron knew a moment of reckoning when it was staring him straight in the face. The fiery glint in Paige’s hazel eyes served as a warning that she wouldn’t be satisfied with mere platitudes.
What could he say to justify his actions? That she had appeared guilty? That he had been easily swayed by town sentiment? No. That made it sound as if he hadn’t harbored suspicions on his own. He wasn’t going to throw the town under the bus. The truth was his only option.
“When I found out about Robert’s embezzlement of the funds, I was blindsided. And completely and utterly devastated. It broke me.” Tears pricked his eyes. “Your father was my mentor and one of my closest friends. In many ways he was a father figure to me, especially since my own father has been in and out of my life so much. I thought he pretty much hung the moon.” He couldn’t stop his voice from trembling with emotion. This was the stuff he kept hidden away from the world. The raw emotions that were tied in to loss, betrayal and abandonment. Robert Reynolds’s betrayal hadn’t been just a matter of dollars and cents. It had been deeply personal.
“Because I worked so closely with him on the project, all eyes turned to me when he disappeared. What did I know? When did I know it? Was I involved in the scheme? Was my girlfriend in on it? And then your name started to get tossed around. Everyone in town knew what a close relationship the two of you shared. It was almost inconceivable to think that you weren’t aware of what was going on. You shared a home. He was your best friend.”
“No, Cameron,” Paige interrupted. “He wasn’t my best friend. You were.”
Her words sliced through him like a knife. He actually felt a physical pain in his side. Yes. Paige was right. Part of the beauty of their relationship had been the tight friendship they had shared even before the romance had ever started. He took a deep, steadying breath. Even though hashing things out was painful, he had to get it all out. He had to tell her everything. After two years he needed to be straight with her.
He cleared his throat. “The truth is, I kept thinking about all the purchases you had made around that time. You were only working part-time as a consultant, but it seemed as if you were flush with money. The new car. A host of new outfits. Jewelry. The Hawaii trip.”
Paige winced. She shook her head. “I can’t believe you thought I used stolen funds. I received money from my mother’s estate, Cameron. It was turned over to me on my twenty-fifth birthday. And I plan to turn it over to Emma on her twenty-first birthday so she’ll have a nest egg. I was a little foolish with some of the money at the time, but it was mine to use.”
Bile rose in his throat. Paige had never divulged to him that she had money from a trust fund.
“It also seemed incredible to me that you had no idea where he’d gone when he disappeared from Love. Or that he hadn’t reached out to you,” Cameron added. He let out a huge shudder. “As much as Robert adored you, it just seemed impossible to believe that you didn’t have those answers. It felt like you were hiding things from us so we couldn’t pursue legal action against him. Or that you had planned to meet up with him the whole time.”
