“Water has spilled over the wall of the Addicks Reservoir, and the Barker Reservoir is very close to its limits. The Army Corps of Engineers are going to open the gates to the reservoirs. A mandatory evacuation order has been issued. You need to get out of here.”
Vivi just stood there, her forehead wrinkling. “But those reservoirs are supposed to help with the flooding.”
“I think they are in a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situation,” Cam replied. “But we don’t have time to argue about the pros and cons of the engineers’ decisions, Viv. Your house could be flooded. I need to get you and Clem out of here. Let’s go.”
Vivi nodded and all but ran out of the room, Cam hot on her heels. “Can you grab Clem while I pack a bag?”
Cam grabbed her arm and spun her around. “We don’t have time for you to grab anything, Viv, except Clem. We have to go now!”
“Some toiletries, a change of clothing,” Vivi protested.
Because he understood how hard it was to walk away from everything you’d struggled to earn, he wanted to give her that time, but her life and Clem’s were far more important than clothes and things. He forced himself to ignore her pleading eyes, her sad expression. “Clem. That’s it.”
He didn’t give her a chance to answer, spinning on his heels to return to Clem’s bedroom. Gathering her in his arms, he released a frustrated grunt when Vivi darted past him to pick up a stuffed monkey toy, well-loved and battered. He tasted panic in the back of his throat, not knowing how much time they had. Holding Clem against his shoulder, he grabbed Vivi’s hand and tugged her through her house. He ushered Vivi into the front seat and took a moment to place Clem in her car seat, quickly figuring out the clasp that held her in place. She was still asleep, thank God. A screaming, crying child would make this situation that much worse.
Running around the hood of his car, he noticed that the neighborhood was suddenly alive with activity. A car farther up the street was pulling out, another on its tail.
This wasn’t a drill, this was real life and it was as scary as hell. Would he be this worried if he was only worried about his own hide? Probably not. Being responsible for Vivi, and Clem, increased his anxiety by a thousand degrees.
He would not let anything happen to them...
Starting the SUV, Cam pulled out of the driveway. He stomped his foot on the accelerator as his eyes flicked between his rearview mirror, the road in front of him and his speedometer. He grimaced as he geared down, taking the corner on something that was close to two wheels.
Thank God that catching drivers speeding through a residential area was the last thing on the minds of cops this afternoon.
Six
She’d trashed her car, nearly drowned, been admitted into the ER unconscious and forced out of her house thanks to a dam overflowing. And Cam McNeal was back in her life. It was fair to say she’d had a hell of a day. So when Cam pulled into the super exclusive neighborhood of River Oaks and then into the circular driveway of a French-château-inspired home, Vivi didn’t have any energy left to feel surprised.
She glanced into the back seat, saw that Clem was still asleep and looked past the house to the golf course that formed the back border to his house. She couldn’t imagine Cam playing golf, schmoozing it up with his business buddies on the links. Despite his designer clothes and luxury car, Cam looked too wild for the preppy sport. With his height and build she could see him playing rugby or water polo, hard, intense sports that required strength and stamina, determination and aggression.
Following a small ball across acres of grass didn’t seem his style.
But what did she know? She’d spent a night with the man three years ago; she’d barely scratched the surface of what made Cam tick. Vivi gestured to the golf course. “Do you play?” she asked, her curiosity demanding an answer.
Cam dropped his big hands from the wheel—long fingers, wide hands, hands that had caressed her with a skill she’d never known before or since—and released a short, sharp chuckle.
“Ryder Currin has pulled me onto the links more times than I’d like, and I hated every moment. He calls me a ham-handed philistine.” Vivi caught the note of affection in his voice for Ryder. Ryder, as she’d read, had been Cam’s first investor, and from their visits to The Rollin’ Smoke, she knew they were good friends. But the admiration and respect she heard in Cam’s voice, conveyed in only a few words, suggested he was more than Cam’s good friend and that there was a bond between them that went deeper than she’d suspected. Vivi wanted to pry and probe but forced herself to pull the words. The world had shifted under her feet a few times today. She didn’t need to complicate her life further by digging into Cam’s fascinating inner world.