Page 87 of Caught in the Middle

He shook his head no. “Kiddo, I’ve watched you, Lulu, and Lauren pretend to be princesses, monsters, aliens, and even those trees back in that old play you had to do for school.” Emma laughed at the memory. They were shit trees. The absolute worst. They kept talking in the background and moving when they weren’t supposed to. Henry had snapped photos of them that still hung in the den. He’d been so proud of them.

“Your tree was more believable,” he said. Then they both laughed.

“Are you serious? So you knew the whole time? Why’d you go along with it?” She was filled with questions.

He smiled big and wide. “Because it was entertaining for starters,” he commented. She rolled her eyes but laughed. “Also, I got all the intel I needed that same night about Cam before I booked him a flight.”

She frowned. “What kind of connections do you have?”

He let out a roar of laughter. “Not the kind you’re thinking of,” he said. “I meant I made some calls to people he’s worked with and his boss in St. Louis. I wanted to get the gist of him.”

That made much more sense, she realized comically. Gosh, this was the best she’d felt all week since leaving St. Croix, except for the comforting hug her aunt had given her.

“I trust you, Emma,” he said, bringing her attention back to their conversation and putting her on the verge of tears again. “I may not always understand your decisions, but I will support them and trust you.” He cleared his throat and she got the impression this next part was harder for him. “However, I owe you an apology.”

She frowned again. “For what?”

He let out a deep breath. “I hope you know that I’m always here for you,” he started. “I believe it’s my job to make sure all three of you know that this home,” he waved around them, “as well as myself are safe spaces to be yourselves, whatever you have going on in life.” She swallowed, not bothering to stop the tears sliding down her face. “I never want you to feel like you have to lie, like you may be judged, or anything else whenever I’m around, and I want to apologize for not doing a better job of that.”

She tried shaking her head no, but he continued.

“It was a shock to learn a man who was dating one of my girls was then dating another one, and it’s not an easy place to be in, but I should’ve made it clear that my concern was always for both you and Lauren.”

“I know,” Emma said. “You’ve always created that space and I know you care. I was just dealing with my own stuff.” She swallowed past the lump. “I was scared you’d all pity me. That I would be the outsider again.”

He looked at her, nothing but love and care in those eyes. “You have never been an outsider with us, Emma. You never will be.” Then he straightened in his chair. “And as far as pity goes, that’s not something you’ll get from me. I’ll always care and worry, but I know your heart and spirit is strong. You don’t need pity, kiddo.”

She rose and crossed the room to wrap him in a hug. “Thank you,” she whispered. “Thank you.”

He only nodded as he hugged her tight. Once she let him go and settled back into her chair, he leaned forward onto his desk and clasped his fingers together. “Now, let’s get down to business.”

“What business?” she asked in surprise.

“This Cam business,” he said. “You can’t hide it from me. I can see you’re hurting. What can I do?”

She laughed, warmth filling her heart knowing that he meant every word. He’d do anything he could to help her when she needed it. So she decided to divulge him in her plans, realizing she didn’t need to hide her hopes and dreams from any of them, even if it might mean a broken heart and needing time to recover. They cared about her, and so she told him where she was flying to in the morning.

Chapter 32

It was the end of the work week and Cam dropped his head back onto his desk chair and closed his eyes. He’d been able to get caught up, but it’d still been a grueling week. He just sent his last email and was ready to get out of there for the day.

He let out a sigh and began packing his belongings to head home. Thankfully, he didn’t need to take his work laptop home, which meant he should have plenty of time to relax and catch up on sleep. Both had escaped him the past five days as he tossed and turned in bed at night or his mind drifted to Emma when he was watching a show.

His phone started ringing the moment he pulled out of the parking lot.

“What’s happening?” Cam greeted with more enthusiasm than he had.

“Come eat at Leo’s tonight,” Nate said.

Cam was ready to get home, not that he had any plans or much going on this weekend. In fact, all he had on his agenda was to melt into the couch, but at the same time, going to dinner with his friends didn’t sound all that great at the moment, even if the restaurant Nate owned was one of his favorites. “Who all is going?”

“Everyone.”

Cam groaned.

“What’s that for? You love my food.”

“No, I love your chef’s food. Your cooking is mediocre.” Nate’s dad was the cook in their family, but Nate had lost him at an early age. The restaurants were in his honor and memory.

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