Page 15 of One Night Redemption

“Nothing. Just … don’t break my heart, Cam. Don’t be nice and sweet and attentive and all the things that I’ve ever dreamed you would be, and then break my heart. There are some things you just can’t come back from.”

He nods. “It isn’t just you, you know? You have the power to hurt me too, Cass. And I’ve never let anyone else have that. I’ve purposely avoided getting involved with any woman who might make me feel more than I was willing to. But that didn’t seem to matter with you. And now … I’m not walking away from you. Not for anything.”

It’s afternoon by the time I wake up. I managed to wolf down half of my turkey sub before crawling into the bed and going comatose. The other half is currently calling my name. My stomach is rumbling as I pad barefoot out to the kitchen wearing Cam’s discarded T-shirt.

There’s a note on the counter. He went for a run with Troy. I check my phone and see a text thread with Ashley, Emma and Lizzie. Ashley is drowning right now. Just covered up with one problem after another and every damn one of them can be traced back to her shithead of a father.

Taking a pen from the drawer, I add my own note to the bottom of Cam’s before getting dressed. Ratty old sweats and a T-shirt that’s already covered in four different shades of paint are not exactly a glamorous look. As an afterthought, I grab the turkey sub to eat on the way.

By the time I get to Ashley’s new place, the hunger has abated, the fog of sleep has lifted, and I realize just how bad things are. I’m not a snob. I know lots of people who live in trailers. I lived plenty of my life in one too. But this is no ordinary trailer. This is straight out of the seventies and I’m pretty sure it’s not been touched, or cleaned, since then.

I park and climb the terrifyingly rickety steps to a deck that has definitely seen better days. The wood depresses under my feet like a wet sponge. The door is hanging so precariously, I’m afraid to knock on it. “Hello?”

“Come on in! We’re in the back.”

That was Lizzie. Her voice definitely carries. Easing the door open, I step inside and realize it’s way worse than I thought. I’m pretty sure the carpet used to be shag. But it’s compressed under so many years of dirt that it’s impossible to tell. Stepping gingerly on what appears to be the cleanest parts, I make my way to the back bedroom and immediately sigh with relief. This room is clean. Like clean, clean. The carpet has been stripped, the walls have been painted. Even the subfloor, which looks new, has been covered with a coat of primer. And Ashley, Lizzie and Emma are filthy.

“You heifers really know how to party.”

Ashley nudged a bucket full of cleaning supplies at me with the toe of her very dirty sneakers. “You don’t get to talk shit until you’re elbow deep in it with us.”

“How’s the bathroom?”

“It’s done. What’s left is the kitchen and the living room and the other bedroom,” Emma says. “We started with the bathroom and the bedroom so Ashley could at least sleep here tonight.”

“On the floor?” I ask.

“No. Cody, Troy, and JT are bringing the furniture over later … and Cam, too, if his germaphobic ass doesn’t have a cow the minute he walks through the door.”

Oh, he will. And I can’t wait to see it.

Chapter

Twelve

Cam

"Where did you say she lives, again?" I ask Cody as he, Troy, JT, and I meet up at their house.

"Over in Dixie Plaza." He's pulling the strap on the back of the U-Haul.

Troy and I exchange wide-eye glances. That place is exactly like it sounds. "Hmm." I grunt. "Wonder if she's got a concealed carry?"

"I mean, should she?" Cody looks back and forth between us. "All the ladies we care about are over there with her right now. If my wife is in danger, I think I should know."

"First of all," Troy interrupts. "Emma can take care of herself, as can Lizzie. Both of them have taken a concealed carry class, and they've attended self-defense with me on numerous occasions. Em likes to act like she's a damsel in distress sometimes, but she can literally put me on the floor. She's done it many times before, and hard." He reaches behind him, rubbing at his back. "Like to the point I can still feel it if I move a certain way, and I've known Cassie a long time. Lizzie won't stop running her mouth long enough for anyone to get a jump on her, I think we all know that. ER nurses are not to be fucked with. I'm sure Cassie's dealt with more than any of us know. Those ladies are fine."

He's right, and if they even get a notion that we're saying they can't protect themselves, we'll all be in trouble. "It wasn't about the girls, it was more about Ashley. There are a couple of people in that trailer park that we've dealt with. I don't know if Ashley has done the self-defense class. Do you?" I turn my gaze to Troy and then onto Cody.

"Nope ..." They both answer.

"Alright, well that's one thing we'll need to do before we leave. Making sure she's in the safest position she can be in. Obviously, she didn't ask for any of this, and I'll be damned if she has to suffer because her dad's a dick." I look around and see that there's nothing else left in the driveway to load. "We ready?"

"Uncle Cam, can I drive yours?" JT asks, giving me a crooked grin. "I'm going to take my test soon."

I'm only Uncle when this kid thinks he can get one over on me, but it always—and I mean always—works. "As long as you promise not to curb it. I'm not straightening my wheelbase again."

"That was once." He whines. "Once, when I first started. Are you ever going to let me live it down?"

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