Take a Deep Breath (Lake of the Pines) (16 page)

“Are you okay?”

“Oh yeah, better than okay. Way better than okay.” Her eyes
fluttered closed. A satisfied smile played on her lips.

“Me too.” Cam kissed her eyelids and rolled off her, pulling
her into his embrace. She rested her head in the curve of his arm feeling
thoroughly loved.

“I love you, Cam.” She whispered and kissed the hollow of
his throat. The moonlight streamed through the window, illuminating her face.
Tears glistened on her cheeks.

“What’s wrong?” Alarm filled his voice.

“Please forgive me.”

“For what?”

“It’s just, I’m so sorry for leaving you this summer without
even saying goodbye. I was so stupid. I’ve been miserable without you. It’s
just that I thought you deserved someone better…”

“Oh Livvy, no one is better for me than you are. I lost you
once before, because I was too afraid. I can’t lose you again. You’re my best
friend. You make me whole. Please make my life complete and marry me.” Cam
searched her face, trying to anticipate her answer. He hadn’t meant to propose
to her so soon, but now that he’d said the words he couldn’t take them back.
More than anything he wanted her to say yes. He didn’t mean to rush her. He
couldn’t bear for her to turn him down flat. “You don’t have to answer now.
Just think about it, before you…”

“Yes.”

“What?”

“Yes, I’ll marry you, Cameron Preston.”

“Thank you, Livvy. I promise to do everything in my power to
make you happy from now until forever…”

“You already have.”

Liv hugged him tightly and tipped her face up to receive his
kiss. Cam leaned in and kissed away the tears streaming down her cheeks before
kissing her hungry lips. They spent the night entwined in each other’s arms,
making love, dozing off and then making love again. Liv never felt more
relaxed, more peaceful or more loved than she did in Cam’s arms. She wished she
could stop time that the night wouldn’t end, but the early morning dawn
streamed through the windows as it did every morning.

Half asleep with a dreamy smile on her face, Liv rolled over
and reached for Cam. Her eyes flew open when her hands failed to find his warm
body. She sat upright when she realized she was alone in her bed. Fear washed
over her and settled in her stomach.
Please God, don’t let last night be a
dream,
she prayed. She flipped the light switch on above her head and
grabbed her yellow silk robe off the hook on the back of her bedroom door. She
pulled it closed around her naked body and headed down stairs.

Relief filled her as she heard Cam’s voice coming from the
kitchen, talking to Brit.

“Sit, girl, sit. Good girl. Now shake.”

Liv peeked into the room and watched as Cam tried to teach
the puppy a couple of tricks using pieces of crispy bacon as reward.

“That bacon smells wonderful. Tell me you haven’t given it all
to the dog.” Liv smiled.

“Don’t worry, Livvy. There’s plenty of bacon for everyone.”

“Do I smell coffee and eggs too?”

“It wouldn’t be breakfast without them. Sit down and I’ll
bring you some.”

Liv obeyed and sat at the kitchen table. A few seconds later
Cam joined her.

“This looks delicious, Cam. You’re going to spoil me!”

“You deserve to be spoiled. Here, have some pancakes.”

“Mmmm. Pancakes too?” Liv forked a pancake onto her plate
next to the bacon and eggs. She cut a slice of butter and let it melt over the
pancake in the warm maple syrup she poured on top. “This is heavenly. Thank you
Cam.”

“My pleasure, the soon-to-be Mrs. Preston.”

“Then it wasn’t a dream…”

“We’re living the dream and now I want to make it official.”
Cam pulled a square, velvet box out from under the table. He opened it to
reveal a one carat, emerald cut solitaire diamond engagement ring.

Liv gasped as she covered her mouth with her hands. Tears
filled her eyes as she watched Cam drop down on one knee, taking her hand in
his.

“I know I asked you last night, but I always imagined myself
proposing to you in the old-fashioned way. Livvy, honey, I can’t remember when
I didn’t love you and I know I’ll never stop loving you. Please, be my wife, my
partner in life forever.”

“I love you so much Cam. Marrying you will make me the
happiest woman alive. Yes, I’ll marry you!”

Cam slid the ring onto her finger and kissed the back of her
hand. He stood pulling Liv up from her chair. She reached her arms up and
around his neck and kissed his lips. He moaned as she thrust her tongue into
his mouth, pressing her body up against his. She felt his body respond to hers,
pulled back and smiled up at him under heavy lids.

“I think breakfast can wait…” He stammered.

“Me too… My appetite isn’t for food right now anyway.”

“No?” Cam cocked his left eyebrow up at her.

“Follow me and I’ll show you what I’m hungry for.” Liv
taunted as she let her robe drop to the floor and headed back up the stairs.

Liv awoke Sunday morning to the sound of Brit barking in the
back yard and the slam of two car doors. Immediately alert she pulled the
curtains back and looked down on scene in the driveway below. Ron was lifting
Sara’s bags out of the trunk of his black Jeep Rubicon. She had several more
bags than she’d left with. Liv imagined Ron’s parents had indulged the little
girl. Ron’s mother having three sons and five grandsons enjoyed shopping for
her only granddaughter. Liv counted three shopping bags on the ground and Ron
was bringing out a fourth. Sara danced around the driveway and sang into her
pretend microphone. Her hair hung down her back smoothly brushed. Liv didn’t
recognize the black and white polka dotted mini-skirt and matching capris Sara
wore — another new outfit from her grandmother she supposed. At least she
wouldn’t have to buy any more school clothes for a while. Liv smiled to herself
until it hit her. Sara was home with Ron and she was in bed with Cam. A wave of
panic washed over her. She drew in a deep breath and slowly released it.

“Cam! Cam! Wake up! Sara’s home. She can’t find us in bed
together.” She shook his arm until he opened his eyes.

“What time is it?”

Liv glanced at the digital clock on the dresser across the
room.

“9:36. The alarm didn’t go off.” She scrambled out of bed
and pulled on the jeans she’d left piled on the floor from the night before.
Cam pulled a towel around his waist. “Shirts?”

“Top drawer.” Liv pointed to the small chest of drawers
under the window.

Cam found a dark green t-shirt and tossed it to her.

“Thanks!”

He played around with the settings on her clock radio. “It
looks like it was set for PM instead of AM.”

“Figures. I guess I had other things on my mind last night.
. .”

“Me too.” Cam turned back to Liv. His lips hovered above
hers. Slowly he met her lips and gave her a gentle lingering kiss.

“Mom? Where are you?”

Liv gave Cam another quick kiss on the lips and caressed the
side of his face before she turned to leave the room.

“Coming Sweetie!” Liv finger combed her hair as she took the
stairs two at a time.

Cam made his way to the bathroom. He rubbed the scruff on
the side of his jaw. He hadn’t shaved since he’d arrived Friday evening, but in
the essence of time he decided to forgo the shower and shave until later. After
brushing his teeth and wetting his hair down, he used a dab of Liv’s hair goop
and tousled his hair with his fingers until he achieved the look his hair
stylist had shown him. Humming to himself he dug through the contents of his
gray duffel bag until he found a fresh pair of jeans, a clean white t-shirt and
his red and black checked flannel. He buttoned his jeans, shrugged the t-shirt
on over his head, pulled the flannel up over his broad shoulders and rolled the
sleeves up, leaving it hanging open. Before leaving the room, he pushed his wallet
into his back pocket and scooped his phone and keys off Liv’s night stand. He
turned back into the room one last time and returned to stuff the rest of his
clothes back into the duffel bag and make the bed.
Better,
he thought.

Once downstairs he took the back hall to the kitchen. Hoping
to avoid a confrontation with Ron, he’d let Liv welcome Sara home first.
Keeping himself busy, Cam rinsed out the French press carafe from the previous
morning and dumped the old grounds into the trash. While waiting for the water
to boil, he poured the coffee beans, a breakfast blend, into the grinder and
pushed the button to grind them. The smell of fresh, ground coffee beans filled
his nose. He dumped the coarsely ground coffee into the carafe and poured the
boiling water in after it. Next, he pushed the plunger almost to the bottom of
the carafe and left the brew steeping on the counter. He found a couple of
clean coffee mugs in the dishwasher. After opening and closing multiple
cupboards and drawers, he put the last of the remaining clean dishes away. The
plates and silverware from their takeout the night before sat in the kitchen
sink. Rinsing them off first, he placed them in the now empty dishwasher. He
poured the steaming coffee into the mugs and brought them to the kitchen table
to cool. As he gathered the creamer and sugar, Cam listened to the sound of
Sara’s bubbly chatter. He’d missed the little girl almost as much as he’d
missed Liv.

“Do you like my new outfit?” Sara twirled in a circle to
give her mom the full effect. The ruffled mini-skirt flared out as she
pirouetted around. Cam smiled as he watched mother and daughter unobserved from
the hall.

“You look beautiful Sara!”

“Thanks Mom. Grandma took me shopping and got me a couple of
more outfits too. She also got me a pair of gold hoop earrings and a necklace
with my initial on it.”

“Wow, it sounds like you made out.”

“I hope you don’t mind. My mother went a little overboard,”
Ron said, appearing in the doorway with Sara’s overnight bag, book bag and as
the sorted shopping bags.

“Not at all. I know it makes her happy to shop with Sara,”
Liv replied.

“Look at this one Mom!” Sara pulled out a glittery purple
shirt with white and black peace signs across the front of it from one the
bags.

“I like it.” Liv nodded approval. “Did you remember to thank
your grandparents?”

“I sure did and I’m going to write them a thank you card
too.”

“Good thinking.”

“First though I was hoping I could give you a fashion show!”
Sara smiled. A tooth was missing on the bottom and Sara stuck her tongue
through the opening.

“That sounds like fun. Let’s save that for after lunch
though. Did you lose a tooth?”

“Yep. I pulled it out all by myself! It was really wiggly. I
kept wiggling it with my tongue and my finger. Dad wanted to take the pliers to
it, but I said no way!” Sara glanced back at her dad. He smiled at her and
shrugged. Sara continued on with her story. “I just kept on wiggling it and it
wiggled right out! And guess what? The tooth fairy came last night and left me
twenty dollars!”

“Wow. Was your tooth made of gold? When I was a girl the
tooth fairy only brought me a dollar, tops, for my tooth!”

“It’s inflation.”

“Inflation? Where did you hear that word?”

“Dad.” She waved her thumb over her shoulder at Ron who
smiled at her.

Cam chuckled to himself. Two sharp barks and a persistent
scratching at the back door, reminded Cam that someone else had missed Sara
too. He barely cracked open the back door when the little dog squeezed through
and took off down the hall. Sliding on the hardwood floor, the puppy crashed
into Sara’s legs. Sara laughed and bent to pick the puppy up in her arms.

“Did you miss me, little girl?” Sara cooed to the puppy as
the little dog licked her face. Sara squealed and giggled as the dog jumped out
of her arms and ran to her toy basket. Seconds later, Brit dropped her yellow
tennis ball at the girl’s feet. She tossed the ball into the hall and the pup
scampered after it.

“Not in the house Sara…”

“Hey, whose car is that in the driveway anyway?” Nothing got
past Sara. Sara took the drool-soaked ball from Brit and rolled it down the
hall again. Before Liv could answer, Cam appeared from the hallway.

“Mine.” He stuck his foot out to stop the ball from rolling
past. Brit grabbed it out from under his shoe and trotted back toward Sara.

As soon as Sara spotted Cam, she flew into his arms. Liv
glanced at Ron, bracing herself for a confrontation, but he didn’t say
anything.

“Hey there, Miss Sara. How’re you doing?” Cam asked, picking
her up. Brit circled them the ball still in her mouth.

“Great now that you’re here! I see Mom finally called you! I
told her she should.”

Cam looked at Liv. “Actually, I did try to call you Friday
afternoon, but got your voicemail.”

“You did?” Cam put Sara down and pulled his phone out of his
jeans pocket. Nine missed calls. One was from Liv, five from his father and
three from his brother. He fiddled with the phone a few more seconds. “Huh, I
must’ve turned the ringer off by mistake. No wonder no one called this
weekend.” He stuck it back in his pocket and remembered Ron standing in the
foyer. He suppressed the urge to tell the man off for the way he’d treated Liv
at the hospital. Instead he walked over to greet the man who’d be in his life
for many years to come. It seemed best for everyone if they could all get along
somehow. After all they had one very important thing in common – they both
loved Sara. Ron seemed somehow humble and uncomfortable waiting to say goodbye
to his daughter. He wore a pair of neatly pressed black Dockers and a gray polo
shirt that he’d left unbuttoned at the neck.

“Good morning Ron. It’s nice to see you again.” Cam offered
him his hand. Ron hesitated and finally shook it.

“Cameron. Right?”

“Right.” Cam couldn’t think of anything else to say. He
stepped aside and let Sara pass by. Ron bent down to her level.

“Do you have a kiss and hug for your Dad before I go?”

“You bet Daddy.” The little girl wrapped her arms around his
neck and kissed his cheek. “I love you Dad.”

“I love you too.” Ron reluctantly released Sara and turned
to Liv. “I’ll give you a call in a few days to set up our next visit.”

Liv nodded okay and Ron turned to leave. As if remembering
something he’d forgotten he turned back to Cam and then looked over to Liv.

“Before I leave I want to apologize to you both. I’m sorry
for the way I acted in the hospital after Sara’s accident. I was out of line.
While it’s no excuse for the way I handled myself, I was out of my mind with
worry about Sara. I know I let my fear and anger take over and said some things
I shouldn’t have said that I didn’t mean. Anyway, it’s something I’m working
on.” Ron reached for the doorknob and was outside in the sunshine before either
of them could reply.

Cam looked at Liv. She shrugged and ran after Ron.

“What did Daddy do?” The ever-curious Sara asked Cam.

“Nothing for you to worry about little girl. All you need to
know is that your dad realized he made a mistake and apologized for it. It
takes a big person to do that.”

“Ron, wait up!” Liv called after him.

Ron was already back in the driver’s seat with the engine
idling. He lowered the window.

“Thanks Ron. It really means a lot to me that you
apologized. I just wanted you to know I do forgive you. I know you were worried
about Sara. I’m sorry I didn’t call you right away when I realized she was missing.”

Ron nodded at Liv’s apology. “I know you didn’t cut me out
on purpose. You’re a good mother Liv. Sorry if I ever made you doubt that.”

Tears filled her eyes as she accepted Ron’s second apology
of the day, the second apology she’d ever heard from his lips.

“Be happy Liv. Cam seems like a good man.” Ron glanced at
the engagement ring glittering in the sun on Liv’s left hand.

“Thanks.” Liv stood stunned, not sure what to think. Ron
backed out of the driveway, tooted the horn and waved at Sara as he drove past
the house.

“Are you staying?” Liv heard Sara ask Cam as she came back
inside the house.

“Well, as a matter of fact, your mom and I have some news
for you.” He smiled as he reached for Liv’s hand, drawing her closer to him.

“Cam and I are getting married.”

Sara squealed with delight.

“How does that sound to you, Sara?” Cam asked.

“All right! Now I’ll have two Dads! But Mom said you live in
Chicago. Are we going to have to move?” Sara asked, becoming slightly alarmed.

“No, Sweetie. I’d already resigned from my medical practice
earlier this summer. I put my condo up for sale last week and it already sold.
Last Thursday I accepted a partnership in a family practice about thirty miles
from here. The other doctor wants to cut his hours back and retire in the next
few years. I start in two weeks.”

“Really?”

“Really. And, I just put a security deposit down on an
apartment not far from here.”

“I want you to live here.”

“After the wedding, I will or we can all move to a bigger
house nearby. Whatever you girls want is fine with me.”

“You have it all planned out,” Liv said, amazed.

“I didn’t want to leave anything to chance. You two are too
important to me.”

“Thank you, Cam. Thank you for not leaving anything to
chance.” She pulled his head down to her and kissed him.

“Do you have to kiss?”

“Come here, Honey.” She and Cam both wrapped their arms
around the little girl and held each other. A cold nose pressed against Liv’s
side as Brit squeezed her way into the middle of their circle and dropped the
drool-soaked ball in the middle. The little dog maneuvered her head under
Sara’s hand as if to say, “Pet me! I want in on the love too!” Sara scratched
her behind her ears and stroked the fur on the top of her head. Brit licked
Sara’s face and wagged her tail, wiggling her whole body at the same time.

“Okay Brit. Settle down! It looks like Brit is excited about
us being a family too!”

“Brit?” Cam questioned.

“Yeah, Cam, that’s what I named her. It’s just like you
said, she named herself!”

Cam thought for a moment, trying to determine the
significance of the name. “I get it! Because she likes chipmunks so much,
right? Pretty clever!”

Sara beamed from ear to ear. “Right!”

“I like it. Did you see the new Chipmunk movie yet?” Cam
patted Brit on the head.

“Not yet! But, I have the first two on DVD!”

“Cool. The first one is my favorite.”

Liv looked at Cam trying to decide if he was just humoring
Sara or if he actually liked the movies.

“Mine too! Do you want to watch it now?”

“Maybe later. Right now, I’m starving. How about we get some
food first?”

“Can we go out to eat?”