Page 81 of Just Like This
Chapter Thirty-Three
Cami
Palmer and Oliver were lockedin an intense discussion when I stepped into the tasting room. They didn’t seem to notice me at first, but Tabitha cleared her throat, and the two men finally looked up. The moment they realized I was in the room, they stopped talking, and everything became still.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, trying to keep the panic in my voice from rising.
“Cami,” Palmer said, approaching me slowly.
“Palmer, just tell me.”
“Sit down,” he commanded gently.
I reached out for the closest chair and gripped the edge of it while I lowered myself to sit. “What happened to Garrett?”
“Cami,” Oliver said cautiously. “Garrett is missing.”
“What?” I stood abruptly before crumpling back down on the seat of the chair. “For how long?”
“About two weeks,” Oliver said slowly. “I’m sorry, I thought you knew. I lost your phone number, but I had your email written down. I sent you an email as soon as Jackson called to tell us.”
“Jackson wasn’t with him?” My relief knowing that Jackson was still alive was temporary.
“He was, but he couldn’t tell me a whole lot about what happened. He wasn’t even supposed to call me.”
Oliver’s news replayed over and over in my head. “You said you emailed me? I check my email every day, but I never got an email.”
“Maybe it went into your spam folder?”
I shook my head. “No. I check that too because Garrett’s last email ended up there.”
Oliver’s brow creased with confusion. “Maybe I got your email address wrong.” He stood and told us that he was going to get his laptop so that he could double check.
“Palmer?” I turned to see the impressive figure of Jacob Hammond standing just inside the tasting room. He walked toward us with his arm extended, ready to greet Palmer. “It’s so good to see you.”
Palmer and Jacob shook hands firmly, greeting one another with a familiarity that I envied. “It’s good to see you too, sir.”
“You heard about Garrett?” Jacob asked. His voice was gruff, and he seemed like a no-nonsense kind of guy. There were no pleasantries to exchange; it was all about getting down to business.
“Yes, sir. I’m very sorry.”
“It wouldn’t have happened if you were still enlisted,” Jacob told him with a wink before he finally noticed me. “Is this your girlfriend?”
But Palmer didn’t have the chance to respond because Oliver returned to the tasting room with his laptop open and set it down on the table. “Okay, Cami. This is the email address I used.”
“Oliver? What’s going on?” This was clearly the awkward moment when someone had to explain to Jacob Hammond exactly who I was.
“Dad, this is Cami,” Oliver said.
“Cami, it’s very nice to meet you,” Jacob said pleasantly, but it was obvious that he was still clueless.
I wanted to stand and introduce myself properly to him, but my eyes were drawn to the email on the screen.
“Oliver, that’s my email. It’s correct,” I informed him.
He made a noise of disbelief, but I tuned him out as I read the email.
* * *
