“I don’t know.” He shrugged, tried to smile. “I have this way of…”
“Making women angry?” she offered kindly.
He chuckled. “Yeah. That.” Out of nowhere he grabbed her hand, laced their fingers together, and squeezed. “I’m glad you’re okay, Chloe. I’ve been worried about you.”
“I’m fine.” Her breath came quickly, her heart racing at his simple touch. “Really. Just a little bruised and scratched. I look a lot worse than I feel.”
“You look great.”
She rolled her eyes, didn’t believe a word he said. “I look awful. It’s probably going to take weeks to heal. And I bet a few of these cuts will scar.” She sounded like a complete whiner, especially considering what had happened to Cam’s sister Jane. She’d been burned over thirty percent of her body after escaping a deadly house fire that killed her first husband. Jane’s scars were visible, a reminder of the pain and trauma she went through during the long, hard recovery process.
And here Chloe complained about a few scratches.
“Consider them battle scars.” He squeezed her hand again, then let it go.
“There’s our hero!” Chloe’s mom strode in, a giant smile on her face as she went to Cameron and embraced him fully.
He appeared surprised, slowly wrapped his arms around her mom’s slight figure, and gave her a squeeze. “Hey, Mrs. Dawson.”
“Goodness, call me Mary. You’re a grown man, not that sullen teenager who rear-ended my car.” Mary laughed when Cam’s cheeks colored. Even Chloe had forgotten about that particular incident. “And I can’t hold that against you. You saved my daughter’s life. I’m forever indebted to you.”
Chloe looked between her mom and Cam, confusion swirling through her yet again. “What do you mean?”
“Why, don’t you know? Didn’t he tell you?” Her mom patted Cam on the shoulder, beaming at him. “He came upon your wrecked car, Chloe. Pulled you out and away from the scene and held onto you until Deputy Vargas and the EMTs came.”
&n
bsp; Cam shrugged, his cheeks flaming red. “Anyone would’ve done the same.”
“Not true,” her mom said. “Not anyone would’ve slid into that upside-down car and pulled my daughter out like you did, Cameron. Don’t downplay your heroics. We’re just lucky you happened to be nearby when the accident happened.”
Chloe was stunned. No one had mentioned Cam was the one who pulled her from the car. That he’d held her while she lay there unconscious as they waited for the emergency crew to come. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked Cam, her voice a raspy whisper.
He turned to her, his gaze meeting hers, dark and full of…was that regret? Sorrow? Worry? She couldn’t figure it out. But he looked frighteningly solemn. “Really, it’s not a big deal.”
“You saved my life, Cameron. You pulled me out of my car.” Which was being evaluated by the insurance company and from what they hinted at on the phone earlier, it looked like it was going to be totaled.
“He’s being so modest.” Her mom patted him on the shoulder again. “But right now, he’s the town hero.”
He was her hero, Chloe thought, feeling more than a little starry-eyed as she studied him. The knowledge of what he’d done for her, practically saving her life, made her fall for him even more.
Like she needed an excuse when she cared about him so much already…
…
Cameron felt like anything but the town hero. His saving Chloe had been an automatic response. He probably would’ve done it for anyone he’d come upon after such a horrific accident.
Wouldn’t he?
Mary Dawson was making way too big a deal out of this. And Chloe was watching him like he could do no wrong. Which made him feel extra guilty considering what had happened between them before the accident. The terrible things he said to her. The horrible realization he had meant every single word. That he was heartless enough to say such things to a woman whose middle name should be kindness.
He was an ass. A damn lucky one, too, when he discovered that she remembered nothing prior to the accident.
Absolutely nothing.
Which meant she didn’t remember the argument or what he’d said to her. But had she told anyone else? Vargas hadn’t mentioned anything beyond her seeming upset so she probably hadn’t confessed to him, thank God.
What about Alison? She might know something. And if she told Chloe what she knew…