Page 7 of Brides and Brothers
Camille gave him a coy smile and sat back in her chair. “You might as well give me the detailed version.”
Aiden chuckled, glad to see she was relaxed again in his presence. “Let’s see, I grew up in Island Park, just west of Yellowstone, and was homeschooled until I was fifteen. My father worked a couple of jobs until he was ready to invest in what he really wanted to do—farming. By that time my mother was sick of being cooped up all winter long, so we moved to the warmer climate of Cherish.”
“Warmer?” Camille shook her head. “We live in a wind tunnel here. I turn into a popsicle before I can make it from my apartment to my car.”
“Island Park might be south of here, but it’s a higher elevation and accumulates more snow.”
“I’d whistle to show how impressed I am, but I don’t know how.” Camille grimaced. “My mother would’ve had a stroke after a week of her children being home, so the whole concept of homeschooling is a novelty for me. Were you still homeschooled once you moved to Cherish?”
Shaking his head, Aiden explained. “Just until high school. Then I did the college thing for a minute before chasing a dream and volunteering in Brazil on a service mission. Near the end of my time in Brazil, my parents...” He looked at Camille, regretting where his story had taken him, though she probably knew his family’s background from Amy. He took a deep breath. “They were killed in a car accident. After I came back, I took over managing the household and the farm.”
Her small gasp told him that she hadn’t known after all. “I’m so sorry to hear about your parents.”
Aiden nodded slowly, attempting to mask his emotions. It was still hard to talk about, even after all this time. He hadn’t planned on giving such a detailed life synopsis, but now that he’d started, he didn’t want to stop. “It forced me to work hard at school to keep my scholarship. I got my undergrad in computer science and my master’s degree in software engineering. I don’t have many hobbies these days with my hectic work schedule, so it’s probably better I didn’t start with those.” He cleared his throat. Camille was hard to read, but he was sure he had already scared her away. “What about you? You can’t be as bad as you say you are. You’re beautiful, you can cook—or so you say—and you’re related to a girl who has made my little brother pretty happy.”
Camille’s cheeks turned pink.
Yep. He was out of practice. “And,” Aiden added, burying himself, “you have a very attractive blush.”
“Stop!” She instinctively covered her cheeks. “You’ve almost convinced me to leave you alone. But if I go, I’m taking my banana bread with me. It’s the only leverage I have for you to fix my computer.”
He didn’t blame her if she left. He was rusty at flirting. “All right, since you can’t handle teasing, I’ll let you do the talking. What’s Camille’s life story?”
Camille pinned her gaze to a small dent in his ceiling. “Well, I was born in Virginia. I lived there until I was six, which was when my mother remarried. We moved to North Carolina, and a year later Amy was born.”
“So Amy is a half sister?”
“Yes,” Camille answered. “The one and only sibling—well, that I’m aware of.”
“That you’re aware of?”
Camille grimaced. “Uh, yeah. My real dad was never in the picture. Who knows if I have more family out there somewhere? When I was little, I always dreamed about being part of a big family, but now I’m just thankful I have Amy.”
“Well, you have your mom and stepdad too. That has to make for a tight-knit family.”
Camille drew her gaze back to the dent in the ceiling. “Actually, Amy’s dad is no longer in the picture either. My mom is still around, but she stays on the sidelines as much as possible. I was a teenager when we moved again to Kansas City, and I turned rebellious and declared myself a Christian.”
“Sounds terrifying.”
She looked back at him. “To my mom it was.” She blames everything that has ever gone wrong in her life on God—partly because she was raised to believe that. Needless to say, she didn’t take it very well. We haven’t been close since.”
Aiden shifted uncomfortably in his chair. “I’m sorry if I pushed that out of you. I didn’t mean to pry.”
“Nah, I wouldn’t have told you if I didn’t want to. It’s not a big deal.”
“Sounds like a very big deal.” He was honored she would share something so personal with him after he had told her about his parents. “Does your mother have a strained relationship with Amy as well?”
“No, actually.” Camille fingered her blonde hair. “She sort of blames me for introducing Amy to organized religion. In her mind, Amy is a victim to my manipulative ways.”
“I understand perfectly,” Aiden teased. “I felt manipulated into helping you with your computer.”
Camille’s eyes widened. “What?”
“I’m kidding.” He laughed. “Chatting with you makes for a much better evening than watching football replays and eating cold french fries.”
She smiled. “I appreciate you giving up your evening for me.”
“My pleasure.” Aiden held her gaze. “My mom used to make banana bread at least once a month. You picked the perfect payment.”
