You Only (Cameron Farms Book 1) (23 page)

“Halleluiah.” Missy looked to the heavens. “I thought there were signs and I kept hoping.” She threw her arms around Hale. “You deserve happiness, you remember that.”

“Thank you.” Her voice shook a little.

She glanced at Jasmine and she saw so many emotions cross her friend’s face, happiness, pain, and confusion. Hale started to say something, but Jasmine cut her off.

“Missy, I’m having Thanksgiving dinner at five on Thursday, so if you all don’t get enough to eat at your in-laws’, you’re welcome to stop by. There will be plenty.” Jazz avoided Hale’s gaze.

Missy and Jasmine continued conversing about Thanksgiving plans.

Finn had been looking for Hale for what seemed like an hour. He checked his phone as he stood in the corner of the kitchen, trying to stay out of the staff’s way. His next stop was to see if her SUV was still parked at his house. No message from Hale.
Where the fuck is she
?

Izzy walked through the door to the deck. Finn jerked his head, beckoning him to come over.

“Have you seen Hale?” Finn asked quietly.

“Out on the deck.” Izzy answered, tilting his head toward the door.

He waited for Izzy to expand on his answer.

“Said she needed some air. I think the deal with Major upset her more than she let on.”

Finn started to walk to the door.

Izzy snagged his elbow. “Be gentle.”

Finn smoothly pulled his arm from Izzy’s hold. “What do you mean?” This wasn’t the time to tell him how to handle Hale.

“She’s seems a little down. Don’t push her.” Izzy met Finn’s angry stare.

“You know what she needs, better than I do?” he challenged.

“No,” Izzy responded calmly. “I’m suggesting that if you go out there all flexed and aggressive, you’ll spook her. She’s embarrassed about being made a spectacle.”

Finn rolled his shoulders as he considered his friend’s advice. “That wasn’t her fault. It was that chump, Major, who should be embarrassed.”

“Just go easy, don’t push her.”

I’ll keep that in mind,” he told Izzy and headed to the door.

The night was in the high forties, warm for an Indiana November. Hale was sitting with her back to the door on the stairs that led from the deck to the yard. He paused, watching her for a moment, evaluating her body language. He moved slowly toward her. Her spine straightened as she heard his steps, but she didn’t turn to see who was there.

“Hey, what are you doing out here?” He stood over her.

“Did Izzy tell you that I was out here?” She still didn’t turn to look at him.

“I ran into him as he was coming in. I’ve been looking for you.” He noticed that she was wearing some kind of cape. She had it wrapped around her. “Mind if I join you?”

She scooted to the side making room for him on the top step. “I needed some air after the Major thing, and now I don’t want to go back in. I’m feeling like a coward.” She turned to look at him.

Damn it, she looked forlorn, defeated. “You don’t have to go back. We can go anywhere you want.” He hated that she was hurting; he wanted the woman he had teased upstairs earlier.

She brought a glass to her lips. “Are you sure that you want to go with me?”

He started to answer, but she shook her head violently, back and forth.

“It’s a big deal Finn. I just embarrassed you in front of Mr. Payne and a house full of people. I know what that means. I’m a liability, always have been.”

He put his hand on her knee, gripping it hard. “You are not a liability. You never will be to me. Hale, listen to me. Reynolds made a scene and you handled yourself. You were brave and stood your ground. I was so proud of you, my Hale Storm.”

“I want the best for you, that’s the one thing that I’ve always tried to do.” She dropped her head and looked at his hand on her knee. “I can’t seem to stop fucking up.”

“You haven’t. Babe, we both have to put the past away and concentrate on what’s happening now. We have a second chance to get this right. Don’t take on the blame for something that you didn’t do. I mean that, you’ve got to move on from your guilt.”

She slowly raised her head and looked into his eyes, as if she needed to see if he meant those words. She shifted away from him to rest her body against the post. “Thank you, I believe you.”

Christ, it was like fifty pounds lifted from his shoulders. He let out a relieved sigh. “Good. Now I have more to say. Some of this is for your ears only, some of this Jasmine might know about, but you’ve got to be discrete.” He turned his head to scan the area.

“Understood.” Her response was quiet but intense. She took another drink.

He glanced down and saw the brandy bottle at her feet, partially hidden by her full skirt. “Feel like sharing?” He pointed to the bottle.

She grinned as she reached down to grab the bottle. Handing it to Finn she said, “You’ve got to drink from the bottle. Izzy said he brought it out to help me stay warm.”

Finn took the brandy bottle from her hand, brushing her cold fingers. He needed to get her out of the cold soon. He took a drink and savored the burn down his throat. “Clay Payne is here because he is going to start a lobbying group. He wants me to join him.” He spoke softly and watched Hales eyes grow wide. “Now that isn’t public knowledge. He’s also been talking to Izzy about Benton & Lee branching out, including lobbying services.”

Hale leaned in. “So you really aren’t interested in pursuing your political career?”

“I told you that I don’t like the changes that I’m seeing. Now don’t get me wrong, I love being the mayor here, but on the bigger stage, there are too many risks. I don’t want it anymore.”

“Do you mean me?” Hale asked. “Is being with me a liability and that would sabotage your career?”

“No, Hale. I made this decision about a year ago. When my term is up, I’m done. I plan on making that announcement in February.” He took another drink and watched her expression. Her face gave away her thoughts. He saw relief.

“I’m still surprised.” She let out a nervous laugh.

“I have some time to make decisions, so I’m quietly doing some research and exploring my options. Clay’s here to meet some of the players in the firm, socially.”

“Hmm, sneaky.” She kept watching him. “He is very charming and good looking.”

He raised his eyebrow at her comment.

She laughed and shook her head at him. “But not my type.”

“Let’s get out of here.” He stood, and took the glass from her hand. He walked to the table by the door and put the bottle and glass down. “Where to, Hale? It’s your choice, but wherever you pick, I’m coming with you.” He walked down two steps and turned to her with his hand out.

“I have to do the chores in the morning.” She still had not put her hand in his.

“Then we’ll go to the farm.” He grasped her hand and pulled. She stood gracefully on the top step, so they were eye to eye. “Do I need to go upstairs and get your suitcase?”

“No,” she whispered.

He pulled her into his body and kissed her. Against her lips he said, “Let’s go.”

Finn held her hand as they walked through the backyard to the corner gate. He unlocked the gate and let Hale pass through. As they started to cross the alley, he pulled her closer. “Watch your step back here, the pavement is uneven.” He slowed their gait, not wanting Hale to turn her ankle in her high heels.

The security light reflected off her SUV parked by his garage, and there was something shiny sticking out of her back tire. Finn let go of her, saying, “Stay here.” He circled her SUV. All four tires were flat. There was a large hunting knife sticking out of the rear one.

“What the hell?” Hale exclaimed, obviously not following his instructions. She shot him a puzzled look.

“I’ll call this in.” He pulled his cell from his pocket. Hale continued circling her vehicle with a stricken look on her face.

He held out his hand. “Honey, come over here by me.” He wanted her close to him. She moved to him without pausing.

“Tell them it’s all four tires. They slashed all four.” She told him angrily.

He nodded as he waited for dispatch to answer.

Finn asked dispatch to send a car but with no lights. His next call was to Izzy, asking him to come across the alley.

Hale was talking to the officer, answering questions about her timing today.

Finn motioned for Izzy to join him. He didn’t like this at all. A few bitchy women giving Hale a hard time was one thing, but Reynolds thinking that he could humiliate Hale, in her best friends’ home, was another.

“Think this was random?” Izzy asked, his friend’s thoughts clearly mirroring his own.

“I hope so, but I’ve got my doubts.” Finn kept his eyes on Hale as she nodded her head and called out her thanks.

She walked over to join the men. “He called for a tow truck. So I guess that’s all that can be done.” She shrugged her shoulders.

“What are you thinking?” Finn watched her reaction. She was standing under the security light hanging from the roof of his garage.

“I’m thinking that I hope Major wasn’t dumb enough to do this.” She frowned.

“The police have the knife, so hopefully they can pull some prints.” Izzy looked at the vehicle and back at Hale.

Finn made his decision. “Izz, you got this? I want to get her out of the cold.”

Izzy nodded. “Yeah, the party is in full swing so nobody will miss me. Plus, I can use the fresh air.”

“No, we can wait for the tow truck. I don’t want you to miss your party.” Hale looked from Izzy to Finn.

Izzy overruled her. “You two go on, and be careful.” He gave Finn a pointed look. “You staying at the farm tonight?”

“Yeah,” Finn answered as he took Hale’s hand and started walking toward his car. “My bag’s in the trunk.”

“Then drive safely.” Izzy walked to the bumper of Hale’s SUV and leaned his hip against it.

Finn adjusted the temperature in the sedan. He was chilled, and he bet Hale was freezing. “I don’t know if Major did that. It seems too physical for him.” He glanced at Hale; she shifted her body in his direction.

“That’s what I was thinking.” She started ticking off her thoughts on her fingers. “He would’ve needed to drive around to find my SUV, then stop and slit all of the tires. Your light back there is pretty bright, so it seems out of character for him. He was always worried about appearances, what if someone saw him? Plus, I don’t see him having a knife like that with him.” She sounded a little panicked. “That was a big knife.”

“Did the cop ask you if you suspected anyone?” Hale had made it clear that she would handle the report with the officer.

“Yeah, I told him about Major’s behavior tonight. I’m supposed to call him if I can think of anyone else.” Hale didn’t mention any more names.

“Can you think of anyone else who might want to screw with you?” He was grinding his teeth. He shifted his jaw a few times to ease its tension.

She combed her hair with her fingers for a few moments. “I don’t know. Can we, I don’t know, can we just stop talking about this tonight?”

He glanced at her, her head was bowed and her left leg was jiggling. “Yeah, babe, we can.”

She stayed quiet as he turned onto Main Street and drove through town. “Are you warm, too warm, too cold?” He started fiddling with the buttons, adjusting the temperature. He wanted her to talk. It made him uneasy that she had gone quiet.

“I really think that you should reconsider getting involved with me. I mean, there has to be plenty of women who don’t come with all of this drama.”

He let out a chuckle, her concern for him, he could handle. “What kind of woman would you suggest?”

She let out a sigh. “Maybe someone young, that you could mold, and with no history.”

“Hmm, your assistant, Ashley, is young and pretty.” He turned his head to smile at her. He wanted it to be clear that he was teasing, hoping that he might take her thoughts off everything that had happened tonight.

She giggled at that. “I think if Ash had to choose between the two of us, I would be her choice. She isn’t into men right now.”

That caught him off guard. “And she’s into you?”

“Could be,” she added mysteriously. “When Jasmine drinks tequila, she spills secrets.”

She lost him with that. “Wait, are you saying, Jasmine…?” He was shocked and a little intrigued.

“No!” Hale raised her voice. “Are you insane?” She chuckled. “Jasmine shared a few stories about me after dinner one night.”

“So you?” He was trying to process this information and hell, he was getting turned on. What man didn’t fantasize about two women? But this was unexpected and titillating.

“Well, how do you know what you really like if you don’t experiment?” She flipped her hair and giggled, apparently warming up to the subject. “Finn, don’t even try to pretend that you haven’t fucked every willing woman in the county. I know you’re no saint.” She was still smiling, he could hear it in her voice.

It was so titillating and fucking hot. “I want to know more, every dirty detail,” he demanded.

“I’m thinking that you really don’t.” She was shaking her head at him, but her smile was mysterious and sexy as hell.

“Tell me,” he said, now really wanting her to share.

“Remember that you asked for this.” She pointed her finger at him. “I worked long hours at the firm, so when I could go out, I played hard. I think it helped burn off the stress. I was single and looking for some fun.”

“You left out beautiful and sexy. There’s nothing wrong with that. I bet you had plenty of men interested, and apparently women, too.”

She let out a ladylike snort. “Not
that
many.” She paused as if she was waiting for his signal that she should continue.