Page 69 of SALT

"Forget it. I shouldn't have said that. It was a thought in the moment, one I should have kept to myself."

"Well, you can't take it back now that you said it."

She picks up a twig lying in the grass. "Remember the night we spent at your property, and you told me about your brother Kelce only being your half brother because your parents got married as soon as she found out she was pregnant?"

"Yes," I nod, recalling the day. I'm not sure I used those exact words, but it's the gist.

"Sitting here listening to you talk about your dad with such reverence and love is touching, but hearing the lack of love between you and your mother seems telling. You found out Kelce wasn't your father's blood." She shrugs before snapping her stick in half and adding, "Maybe Amelia Salt isn't your mother. Maybe she got her lie, and he got his."

"Wow," I say before turning to my mother's grave. I can't believe she just inferred that. That's bold coming from someone I barely know. I'm not sure I would divulge those thoughts to someone I've known my whole life, but she did, and now they can't be unheard. My immediate thought is, how could that even work? Lying about a man being the true father of your unborn child is one thing, but how do you hide not being the actual mother? Friends, family, acquaintances, they'd all know if you weren't rocking a baby bump. For Amelia Salt not to have been my mother, literally everyone I know would have to be lying to me, right? They'd have to be in on some big secret, and I don't believe that's true.

"I'm sorry, Cameron. I really am. I didn't mean to hurt you while you sit in front of your parents' graves, nonetheless. I wouldn't blame you if you want to leave me here and take off."

I stand from my spot and dust off my ass. I've sat with my thoughts long enough for today, and it smells like rain is coming. "I'm not upset. Are we really friends if you have to bite your tongue and watch your mouth?"

"No, but the friend card doesn't give me a free pass to be a thoughtless ass."

"Meh… there's never a good time to be a thoughtless ass. What better company to be an ass with than those that won't judge you for it. Besides, I'm not upset. I can't change the past. Even if Amelia wasn't my mother, I wouldn't trade her for the real one. I'm twenty-two. If I had another mother, she clearly doesn't want me either." I grab my purse off the ground and make sure my phone is inside before saying, "Come on. I don't want to get wet. There's a storm coming."

"Is that Everett?"

I tense as I read the message. He's not happy that I turned off my share your location feature. "He wants me to come home."

Home will always be wherever he is, but I need to take a few days for myself. I laid my heart on the line for him, and while I know he cares about me, I don't know if it will make a difference in the long run. He says he's trying, and so am I. I'm trying to give him space to listen to his heart without breaking mine. Loving me shouldn't be hard. It should be as easy as breathing.

"Let me guess, you still haven't told him about this place."

I unwrap the towel on my head and toss my phone on the bed. "Everett knows my father left this property to me, and he knows I come here. I like to camp and throw parties here in the summer. But no, he doesn't know that I have a camper here, or that I'm currently building a house." I pull open two drawers in search of my brush.

"Oh, here," Stormy says as she pulls my brush out of her bag. "I accidentally threw it in my bag the last time we were out here." She tosses the brush at me, and I start combing my hair.

"When the idea to build here came, it was after a shitty misunderstanding between me and him. It sounds lame saying it out loud, but I think I'm scared to talk about this place because the night I chose to start building, I chose me and a future I knew was certain because I was building it. To talk about it with him feels like I'm talking about a future that doesn't include him, and that's one I don't want."

Thunder rumbles in the distance, and Stormy's eyes widen. "How did you know it was going to rain?"

I shrug, tossing my brush onto the bed before grabbing a blanket. "I can smell it, but with the tournament starting tomorrow, I checked the weather for the weekend." The only reason I let Stormy tag along when I cut out early was because I knew she wasn't needed in the store first thing in the morning. Tomorrow I'll have to drop her off for work, but I won't be in. The excavators are coming around ten a.m., and I'm anxious to see the site come to life.

I hear my phone vibrate, and I snatch it off the dresser before walking into the living area to grab a spot on the other end of the couch.

Everett: How do you expect me to sleep without you?

Cameron: The same way you have the past forty-six years without me.

Everett: That's not fair.

It was a low blow. I know it couldn't be helped. I didn't exist for half of them.

Everett: How can I fix things if you won't come home and talk to me?

I don't say anything. I'm not trying to start an argument. This isn't why I left. I left to visit my dad's grave.

Everett: I'm asking you to come home, Cameron.

It's just a text, but I feel like I can hear the ache in his heart—or maybe it's just the one inside of me.

"Trouble in paradise?"

I trill my lips to try and let it go, but I can't. "Am I naïve to think that love should be easy?"

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