Green Mountain Collection 1 Read online

  Everything was different over the next week. Every word they exchanged had deeper meaning, every look was fraught with expectation and every touch set her on fire. Leaving him would be the hardest thing she’d ever done, but it was time to go. She had a business to run in the city and had more than enough information to put together the first cut on the website.

  After consulting with Lucy, she’d concluded her photographs were more than sufficient, so she canceled the professional photographer she’d hired to supplement her efforts.

  “I can see how much you love it there just by the photos, Cam,” Lucy said on Thursday afternoon. Will had gone to meet with the beekeeper who provided honey to the store, and as much as Cameron wanted to go with him, she’d declined his invitation. She needed to start spending some time away from him to begin gathering her wits for Saturday morning’s departure.

  Nolan had promised her car would be ready by Friday afternoon. Her research was completed. Nothing was holding her in Vermont except for the man she’d fallen madly in love with.

  “How’re you doing?” Lucy asked gently.

  Cameron had shut the door to Will’s office to ensure privacy when she called Lucy. “Awful. I feel sick to my stomach the way I did when Jimmy died.” Thinking of the beloved terrier who’d kept her company for most of her lonely childhood could still bring Cameron to tears.

  “It’s grief. You’ll be losing something important when you leave there.”

  “I know I shouldn’t have let this happen, Luce, and as bad as it hurts, I can’t bring myself to regret that it did. He’s … He’s everything.”

  “Why does it have to end? There’s got to be some way you can keep it going.”

  “We live six hours apart, and he doesn’t even have a cell phone.”

  Lucy laughed. “He has a landline, and there are things called airplanes and trains and cars.”

  “For how long? A year, maybe two? And what happens then? I’ll still be in love with him, and I’ll still live six hours from him.”

  “You could always move up there.”

  “How do I do that and continue to run our business in the city?”

  “Maybe you don’t. Maybe you recognize that things change and nothing is forever and you move on to something different.”

  “I couldn’t do that to you.”

  “This isn’t about me, Cam. It’s about what’s best for you.”

  Cameron clung to the hope that Lucy dangled before her like a lifeline. “What about my dad?”

  “What about him?” Lucy asked testily. “When has he ever considered what was best for you when making a decision about his life?”

  “I know he’s a selfish bastard sometimes, but he’s still my dad, and I’m all he’s got.”

  “That doesn’t mean you make life decisions based on what’s best for him. If you love this man, Cameron, and he loves you as much as you think he does, then how do you walk away and go on with your life knowing he’s out there somewhere wanting the same things you do?”

  The words broke the fragile hold Cameron had on her emotions, and her eyes filled.

  “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry you’re feeling this way. You should be so happy.”

  “I am happy,” Cameron said. “I’m so happy, but I love my life in the city, too. I have you and Troy and all our friends. My apartment and our business. That’s my life.”

  “Maybe that was your life.”

  “Stop saying this stuff, Luce. Stop acting like it could really be that simple. We both know it wouldn’t be.”

  “He could move here.”

  She’d considered that possibility and dismissed it almost immediately. “That’d never work for him. He’d absolutely hate it there.”

  “Not if you’re here he wouldn’t.”

  “Yes, he would. He’d hate the city. He’d hate living away from his family and his work and his mountains. Eventually, he’d end up hating me, too.”

  “I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better.”

  “I appreciate that you want to, but this is a mess of my own making. I’ll get through it. Somehow.”

  “I’ll be waiting for you on Saturday.”

  “You’ve got to primp for the ballet.” Cameron had given those very expensive tickets her dad had sent her to Lucy, who actually enjoyed the ballet. Like always, she’d tell her dad how much she enjoyed it, and he’d be pacified, thinking he’d done something thoughtful for her.

  “I’ve got to take care of you before I go. I can’t wait to see you. I’ve really missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you, too. I’ll see you soon.”

  “Call me if you need me before you leave.”

  “I will.” Cameron put down the phone and stood to look out the window at Elm Street where a whole lot of nothing was happening. The photo of the Abbotts on the wall to the left of the window caught her eye. As she studied each of the faces that had become so familiar to her the last few weeks, she knew she would grieve the loss of much more than her relationship with Will.

  The sense of belonging had been profound during the time she’d spent with them. She would miss that almost as much as she’d miss him.

  A sharp knock on the door preceded Lincoln into the room. “Oh, sorry, Cam. I was looking for Will.”

  Embarrassed to have been caught weeping, she hastily brushed the tears from her cheeks and turned to him, forcing a bright smile. “He went to see the beekeeper awhile ago, so he should be back shortly.”

  Lincoln stepped into the office and closed the door behind him. “Are you okay, hon?”

  She should’ve known such an experienced father would see right past her attempt at cheerfulness. “I will be.”

  “You’ve made him so very happy.”

  Cameron closed her eyes to keep from bawling all over his dad. “That’s good to know.”

  “Mind if I share a bit of unsolicited advice?”

  “Not at all.” She wiped a stray tear from her face, determined to stop the flood before it got away from her.

  “When I met Molly, we were both spending a summer in the sweltering South helping to build affordable houses for the poor in Mississippi. I’d won a full ride to grad school at Oxford and was leaving for England in September. That scholarship was a dream come true. And then this little gal from Vermont became more important to me than air or food or Oxford. I lived just fine without Oxford, but I wouldn’t have survived without her. I didn’t go. I stayed with her, and I’ve never once regretted it. Not once.”

  Despite her best efforts, Cameron broke down and found herself pressed against Lincoln Abbott’s wool sweater as he patted her back and whispered soothing words of comfort. She had no doubt he’d been a wonderful dad, as available to his kids as her own father had been unavailable.

  “I’m so sorry. I’ve never bawled all over a client before.”

  “I’d hope by now I’m much more than a client to you. I’d like to think we’re friends.”

  “We are, of course we are. And that’s part of the problem.”

  “You should go back to your life in the city and see if it still fits as well as it did before you came here. A little time, a little perspective, that’s what you need.”

  Nodding, Cameron drew back from him, wiping her face as the tears continued to fall. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure, honey.”

  “Dad?” Will’s deep voice from the doorway startled both of them. “I’ll take it from here if you don’t mind.”

  “Not at all,” Lincoln said, leaving Cameron with a quick kiss to the forehead. He squeezed his son’s arm on the way out.

  Will closed the door and came over to her. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

  The sight of his handsome face, pinched with concern and love and some of the same despair she was feeling, reopened the floodgates. “What isn’t wrong? It might be easier to start with that.”

  His arms encircled her, surrounding her with his tenderness and the familiar scent she’d
mourn along with every other thing she’d come to love about him. How in the world would she be able to drive away from him Saturday morning and act like the past weeks hadn’t rocked her entire world?

  “I’m sorry this is so hard,” he said.

  “I am, too, but I’m not sorry it happened. I’ll never be sorry it happened.”

  “Neither will I.” He drew back from her and tended to her tears with a bandana he pulled from his pocket, which also smelled like him. “What do you say we get out of here and go take a hike on the trails behind the house with the boys?”

  “Since there’s no chance of further productivity today, that sounds like a lovely idea.”

  Friday passed in a whirl of last-minute meetings that included time with Lincoln and the five department heads. Cameron used the opportunity to update them on the next steps and to share some basic design concepts Lucy had come up with from the information and pictures Cameron had sent to her.

  Lucy had done an amazing job of capturing the essence of the store and the town in a preliminary design. That was her forte. Cameron excelled at bringing in the business, and Lucy was the best at giving them what they wanted. Together, they made for an amazing team. This time, however, Cameron would be taking the lead on the next steps in the design, and she couldn’t wait to dig in when she got back to the city.

  “I have to admit,” Wade said after the presentation, “I’m surprised by how much I like what you all have done.”

  She’d spent the least amount of time with him and would need to get to know him better when she delved into the health and wellness portion of the site. His adamant opposition to the website had gotten their relationship off to a less-than-stellar beginning, and he’d made himself scarce around the office while she’d been there.

  According to Will, he was the family’s true loner. Even Colton, living alone on his mountain, was more outgoing and engaged in the family than Wade was.

  “I’m glad to hear you’re happy with the first cut, Wade,” Cameron said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do still, but this gives you a rough idea of what you can expect in the final product. You’ll be hearing from me with questions and a few decisions over the next month. Before I go, I just want to say …” She had promised herself to get through this last day in the office professionally, rather than emotionally. But some promises were difficult to keep. “I’ve so enjoyed getting to know all of you.”

  She didn’t allow her gaze to connect with Will’s for fear of losing her composure. “I’ve enjoyed learning about your store and your family and your town. I think this is a unique and special place, and I’m looking forward to seeing it come alive online. Thank you again for trusting me with the project.”

  Their applause surprised and touched her, and once again she had to quell the emotional firestorm brewing inside her as they filed out of the room. Ella and Charlotte both stopped to give her hugs as they went.

  “Come back soon,” Ella whispered. “It was fun having you around.”

  “Thank you so much.”

  Hunter surprised her when he hugged her, too. “I’ve been thinking about what you said at the dance.”

  “Have you now?”

  “Maybe.”

  “Can’t hurt to try.”

  “Sure it can, but I may try anyway. Thanks for all of this,” he said, gesturing toward the screen. “You’ve made a believer out of Elmer, so that’s quite an accomplishment on its own. Although it could’ve been the blonde hair and pretty face—no offense intended.”

  “None taken,” Cameron said, laughing. “I’ll be in touch.”

  “We’ll be here.”

  And knowing that brought comfort. She could come back anytime she wanted or needed a fix of the Abbotts.

  “Drive safely tomorrow,” Lincoln said when he hugged her. “No more encounters with Fred.”

  “I’m hoping ours was a one-night stand.”

  “Since I’m counting on you being a regular visitor, we’ll tell Fred to leave you alone.”

  “I’d appreciate that. Thanks for everything, Lincoln. It’s been such a pleasure to get to know you and your family.”

  “The pleasure has been all ours, my dear. All ours.”

  Watching Cameron say good-bye to his family, Will felt like his skin was being peeled from his body one painful strip at a time. He ached from head to toe knowing she’d be gone by this time tomorrow.

  The pain was most intense in his chest, leading him to wonder more than once in the last couple of days if he might be having a heart attack—or an acute anxiety attack.

  He needed to get out of there. He needed some air, some sanity, a reality check. He needed something, because he was going slowly insane as her departure loomed larger by the second.

  “I’ve got to run a quick errand,” Will said when they were alone in the conference room. Watching her pull the plug on her LCD projector felt like a metaphor to him.

  “I’ve got some things to finish anyway.”

  He left her with a quick kiss. “I’ll be back shortly.” In his office, he grabbed his coat and keys and made for the door, feeling more panic-stricken with every passing second. This was turning out to be every bit the nightmare he’d feared it would be. It was much worse than feared, in fact.

  At the bottom of the stairs he nearly collided with his mother as she came in the door.

  “What’s your rush, buddy?” she asked cheerfully.

  “I … I have to go.”

  Her eyes narrowed as she took a closer look at him. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I need to go.”

  “Yes, you said that. Come with me.” She took his hand and led him out the door and down the street to the Coffee Art Bar, which was nearly deserted in the middle of the afternoon.

  Because he’d had no real destination in mind when he ran out of the office, he let her have her way and took the seat she pointed to in the back of the small space while she went to get beverages for both of them. Luckily, they had the place mostly to themselves with the exception of two customers at a table in the front.

  She returned with coffee for him and tea for herself and sat across from him. “Speak.”

  “Nothing to say.”

  “I know that’s not true. You have to be feeling a million different things as Cameron gets ready to go back to the city tomorrow.”

  “At least two million and none of them good.”

  “Honey …”

  Her empathy was almost harder to take than her bossiness. Will blew out a deep breath as the pain in his chest intensified. He rubbed it as he stared over her shoulder at a spot on the wall. “It’s a mess of my own making. I’ll figure it out.”

  “Do you love her, William?”

  “Yes.” That was one question he could answer without hesitation.

  “Then you have to fight for her. You have to show her what she’d be getting if she takes a huge chance on you.”

  He refocused his gaze on her. “I’ve been doing that for weeks now, and she’s still leaving.”

  “So go with her.”

  “Go with her,” he said, laughing even though nothing about this was funny. “Right. Like that’s an option.”

  “Of course it’s an option! Tell her now that she’s gotten a good look at your life, you’d like to take a good look at hers.”

  “Can you picture me in New York City? I’d be like a country bumpkin.”

  “That’s not true. You can fit in anywhere.”

  “I don’t have anything to wear there—”

  “Hunter does. Go to him, tell him what you need and he’ll fix you right up. What other stupid excuses have you got to let the woman you love slip through your fingers?”

  “Damn it, Mom, I’m not doing that!” He couldn’t remember ever talking to her in that particular tone, but she’d driven him to it.

  “That’s exactly what you’re doing, and you will regret it. I don’t want to see you regret it, honey. If you do everything you can and it still doe
sn’t work, at least you’ll know you tried.”

  With his elbows propped on the table, Will dropped his face into his hands. “I feel like I’m having a heart attack.”

  “That’s because your heart agrees with me.”

  He raised his head and gave her a begrudging smile.

  “Fight for her, honey. Tell her how you feel.”

  “I have no idea how to even go about that.”

  She leaned her chin on her upturned hand and flashed an absolutely diabolical smile. “Well, that’s what mothers are for. Want to know what I think you should do?”

  “Yes, please. By all means.”

  Will helped Cameron load her items from the office into his truck and then watched her cross the street to Nolan’s Garage to pick up her car. The second she was inside the garage, he bolted back upstairs to Hunter’s office.

  “I need your help,” Will said, winded from the sprint up the stairs. “We need to go right now.”

  “Go where? What the heck has gotten into you?”

  “I need a favor. Will you please just come and not ask any questions for once in your life?”

  “Um, sure. Okay. Where are we going?”

  “Your house.”

  “And I don’t get to ask any questions? Please tell me you get how screwed up that is.”

  “I get it, now grab your coat and let’s go.”

  “I wasn’t working or anything.”

  “Hunter! For Christ’s sake, when was the last time I asked you for anything?”

  “I’m coming. Relax, will you? What’s got you so wound up?”

  “What do you think?”

  They headed for the stairs with Will resisting the urge to drag Hunter along at his pace. “You knew she’d go back to the city eventually, Will.”

  “If that’s supposed to make me feel better, it isn’t.” In the parking lot, he directed Hunter to his truck. “I’ll drive.”

  “Um, I don’t think so. I’m not going to get abandoned at my own house when you tear off to continue your crazy agenda.”

  “Fine, meet me there, but hurry the hell up. I’ve got plans.”

  Will reached Hunter’s house a few minutes ahead of his brother. As he sat outside the colonial that Hunter had restored from a heap of junk to a thing of beauty, Will could barely contain the nerves that were jumping around inside him. He felt like he was on fire from the inside with so much riding on this plan his mother had convinced him would work.