“Because we don’t want twins,” Tanner told him, his face serious. “One is enough.”
“I don’t think you get the choice,” Cam pointed out, his eyes meeting Logan’s. “And what’s wrong with twins? I like being a twin.”
“Changing the subject, Logan told us you’re thinking of retiring,” Gray said, his tone turning serious. “Is that right?”
Cam shrugged. “I’m thinking about a lot of things. Not getting many answers though.”
Gray’s smile was full of sympathy. He’d had to make a few career changing decisions himself. Moving from L.A. back to Hartson’s Creek to be with Maddie Clark hadn’t exactly been a boost to his career. And yet Cam knew his brother was the happiest he’d ever been, surrounded by his family and running a recording studio on the grounds of his home. “You’ll get there,” Gray said, his eyes soft. “Just remember that your health always comes first.”
“Yeah, I know.” Cam returned his smile. “It’s factoring into my thoughts.”
“It should be your only thought,” Logan muttered.
“I think we’re ready for another round,” Cam said, pushing his chair back with his iron calves and standing. He didn’t want to talk about his injuries. Not tonight. This evening was about his brothers. About spending time with the people who really knew him. “Four more beers?”
“Works for me.” Gray drained his bottle. “Cheers.”
Cam strode toward the bar, weaving around the tables. A couple of customers greeted him, and he gave his usual smile and wave. People around here were typically cool with him. He’d grown up with half of them, after all. And it was Gray who got most of the stares, particularly from his teenage fans. Cam bit down a smile as he remembered Gray’s fiancée Maddie, telling them about the time Gray was cornered in the church, unable to escape from a hoard of girls banging on the door.
“Hey,” Sam, the bar owner, gave him a half smile. “You boys okay? Nobody bothering you?”
“We’re good.” Cam smiled back, because Sam always had their backs. Apart from when they tried to sneak in for some underage drinking many years ago. Then he marched them right out of the bar and told them to come back when they were twenty-one. “Can we have four more beers please?”
“Sure.” Sam pulled out the bottles he knew they liked the best, popping the caps. As he watched, Cam remembered that Sam was Mia Devlin’s great uncle.
Interesting.
“I hear you have some new housemates,?
?? Cam said, leaning on the bar.
“Oh yeah, and I heard you had a little problem with my grand nephews.” Sam lifted an eyebrow. “I’ve got my niece and her kids staying with me for a while. Says it’s to look after me, but I’m looking after them. Her asshole husband upped and left them high and dry.”
“He walked out on his kids?” Cam asked. What an asshole.
“Yep. Disappeared and wiped out their bank account. She lost their house and business because of it, so her and the boys moved down here.” Sam grabbed a cloth and rubbed it along the bar. “Good thing he’s hiding out somewhere, because if I ever see him, he’ll get a knuckle sandwich from me.”
Cam bit down a laugh, because Sam didn’t look like he’d win a fight against a fly. But the humor dissolved when he thought about Mia being abandoned.
Not your problem, he told himself. He wasn’t anybody’s white knight. He didn’t have a horse and his armor was rusty.
Yeah, so why did you stop to help her change her tire?
The memory of her leaning over the car rushed into his head again. Soft skin, blonde hair, slender neck. Taking a mouthful of beer, he tried to push the image away.
If he thought he had problems, it sounded like Mia Devlin had more. He wasn’t going to help with them. If he got involved he’d only pile more on. He was here to think about his next move, to make some life decisions. And they didn’t involve an abandoned wife with two kids who liked throwing footballs at cars.
Sliding a couple of bills over to Sam, he told him to keep the change, then walked back to the table with the beers.
And he didn’t wonder how her job interview went, or whether she was grateful for the fact he’d gotten her tire replaced. Nope, not at all.
“Next round is whiskey,” he told his brothers as he passed them the bottles. “Somebody has to get this party started.”
Chapter Seven
“I don’t see why we have to go to church,” Michael said on Sunday morning, wrinkling his nose as they walked up the steps. “We didn’t go every week in Kansas City.”
“We went at least twice a month,” Mia pointed out, as they walked through the open double doors and onto the parquet floor. The church was almost full, and the sound of conversations and laughter momentarily stopped her from walking. She hated being the new people in town as much as Michael did, but unlike him, she was trying to hide it. “Anyway, it’s the best way to get to know people. Sam said most people around here go to church.”