Cowboy Come Home (18 page)

“What could it be?” Megan asked.

Janie turned from the window. “I don’t know, but the sheriff has a stranger in the back seat. I wonder if he’s handcuffed.”

Megan and Camille came to the window together.

“I don’t know him, either,” Megan said.

“I do.”

The other women turned to stare at Camille. Mildred asked the question they all wanted the answer to. “Who is he?”

“My ex-fiancé.” She turned and walked to the door. Whatever the reason Clay had arrived on the ranch, it had to do with her, not the Randalls.

She stepped down off the porch as the sheriff opened the back door of the squad car and assisted Clay Nettles out. He lifted his head and caught sight of her.

“Camille!” he called, and lunged for her, but the sheriff held him by the arm and yanked him back.

“Here now, boy, you hold on,” he yelled.

“What’s happening, Sheriff?” Jake asked, stepping forward.

“I’m not quite sure, Jake. I stopped this fella for running a red light in town. He didn’t have a license, and he acted mighty strange. I decided to take him in, just to be on the safe side, but he asked me to bring him here. Said a Miss Camille Henderson could clear everything up.”

Jake stared at the man, as everyone did, and called over his shoulder without looking back, “Camille? Can you identify this man?”

“Yes, I can. He’s Clay Nettles, my ex-fiancé and a thief.”

“Camille, wait! I can explain!” The man lunged forward again.

“Stop that!” the sheriff roared.

“I need to talk to her. Alone. Then everything will be cleared up.”

Camille studied her ex-fiancé and wondered what she’d ever seen in him. They hadn’t dated that long before her father’s sudden death. She supposed she’d been so off balance, she hadn’t had good judgment. “I don’t want to talk to you.”

“Camille, please. It will be in your best interest.” In spite of the forty-degree temperature, Clay was sweating.

“No, thank you.” She wasn’t even tempted.

“Maybe you should hear what he has to say,” a male voice said.

Camille spun around and stared at Griffin Randall.

“Why?”

“Curiosity, I guess,” he said with a slight smile.

“Very well,” Camille agreed, turning back to face Clay. “He can have his say, but not alone.”

“Camille, please, I can’t speak in front of all these people,” Clay insisted.

Griffin stepped up behind Camille. She could sense his warmth, and it sent shivers over her body. His gruff voice wasn’t talking to her, however. “You heard the lady. Either speak your piece or get out of here.”

Apparently Clay realized he wasn’t going to sway Griff or her. He leaned toward Camille in a futile attempt to get closer. “Look, Camille, I made a mistake. But I thought you were going to break our engagement. I just wanted to get your attention. I didn’t have any intention of
keeping
your money. You’ve got to believe me.”

Camille was amazed. Suddenly, the tragedy had turned into a farce. “Clay, even a five-year-old wouldn’t believe that story.”

He flushed. “Okay, but if you have me arrested, it will take years before you get your money. That’s why I’m here. We can work this out. You drop the charges, and I’ll return most of your money.”

“Most?” she returned.

“If you don’t agree, you’ll regret it.” His voice turned hard, bitter. “I’ll tie it up in every appeals court I can find. I’ll prove you gave me permission to take it because you loved me. I’ll—”

Griffin’s hand came down on her shoulder, but she didn’t wait for him to help her out. “Clay, I don’t care what you do. Eventually, you’ll end up in prison, and that will be very satisfying to me. Sheriff, there’s a warrant out for this man’s arrest. The FBI is looking for him.”

Then she turned and walked back to the house.

“Camille, you bitch, you’ll live to regret—”

His words wouldn’t have made her turn around. But the sudden cessation of his words, accompanied by a thud, had her spinning around in time to see Clay fall to the ground, with Griffin standing over him, his hands clenched in fists.

“Well, now, boy, that weren’t necessary, but I guess I understand,” the sheriff said as he hauled Clay to his feet and shoved him into the back of the squad car again. “I’ll get this piece of dirt into town and call the FBI. Sorry if I disturbed you, Jake.”

“No problem, Sheriff.”

After the car tore back down the driveway, Red spoke. “Let’s eat lunch before it gets cold.”

LUNCH WAS ALMOST OVER before anyone spoke.

“Do you suppose your ex-fiancé really thought he could convince you not to press charges?” Janie asked.

“I guess so,” Camille said with a laugh. “Though how could he have known the FBI had found him when they only froze the accounts this morning? We’re a long way from Chicago.”

“Probably his friend Reilly let him know there was a problem last night,” Griffin said as he took a bite of pie.

Chad asked a question, but Camille didn’t hear his words. Instead, she turned to Griffin. “How did you know the name of Clay’s friend in Chicago?”

Everyone at the table fell silent, their attention turning to Griffin. He froze, saying nothing.

“Griff?”

Jake spoke up. “I think I may have mentioned the man’s name to Griff, Camille. I thought he might know him.”

Griff let out a sigh, but Camille continued to stare at him. “I might believe that, Jake, if Griff didn’t look so guilty. And if you’d gone to your office to fax all that information you got. But you went upstairs, straight to Griff’s sickbed, didn’t you?”

“I asked him to,” Griff admitted. “I thought maybe I could help.”

“So the FBI didn’t find my money. You did?” He nodded. “You’ve taken care of me while I was sick. I wanted to—”

“Pay me back?” she asked, her heart aching. He couldn’t even accept a little nursing from her.

“I owed you,” he muttered.

Camille got up and left the room without saying anything. She didn’t want repayment. She wanted his love.
Silly girl
, she chastised herself. He’d warned her again and again.

What was she going to do now?

Megan tapped on the door and opened it simultaneously. “Cammy, are you all right?”

She pasted on a smile on her stiff lips. “Of course. Was I rude? Sorry, I was a little upset, but I’m fine now.”

“You’re sure? You haven’t seemed too happy to get some of your money back. Was it Clay who upset you?”

Camille gave a half laugh. “No. That man means nothing to me now. I don’t know what I saw in him.”

“Good. I’m glad Griff beaned him.”

“Yeah. Me, too, even if it means I owe him even more.”

“Oh, honey, you can’t worry about owing Griff. He helped you because—”

“Because he owed me for nursing him.”

Megan grinned. “I know that’s what he says, but I think he helped you because he cares about you.”

Camille’s heart lurched in hope before it settled back to its steady beat. “I don’t think so.”

“Well, things are looking up with the return of some of your money. So maybe other good things will happen, too,” Megan suggested. “Want to go into town with me this afternoon? I could use some help in the store, and you’re very good with the antiques.”

“I love them. Once I thought about opening an antique store when I go home. But now I’ve decided to study business, learn to handle my finances without having to rely of some scumbag like Clay.”

“Oh, Cammy, don’t talk about leaving yet. Maybe you could be my partner? That would be

Camille only smiled. She knew that wouldn’t work. Because Griffin would be here.

She couldn’t stay.

SOMETHING WAS WRONG.

Griffin knew he’d more than paid Camille back for her nursing care. At least in dollars and cents. A lot of nursing could be hired for a half-million dollars.

But he wasn’t satisfied with what had happened. Maybe it was Camille’s reaction.

He’d shifted back to the bedroom by the kitchen, so Brett and Anna’s room could be completely cleaned by Mavis and Ethel, and Jake had left his laptop beside the bed for him. Though he was tired, he didn’t feel sleepy.

Perhaps he should check the market. The past couple of days he’d focused on Camille’s problem. He hadn’t even checked the stock he’d placed all their money in just before he came down with the chicken pox.

At least if he lost any of Camille’s money on the stock, it wouldn’t matter much. Which took off some of the pressure he’d felt.

When he called up the numbers, he stared at them, finding them difficult to believe. He’d expected a sudden upswing, but the stock had soared beyond his hopes.

“Jake!” he yelled, hoping his cousin was still in the kitchen.

Jake popped his head through the open door. “Yeah? You need something?”

“Nope. Just want to let you know I made everyone some money.”

“Everyone?”

“You asked me to invest a hundred thousand of the corporation money. I bought this stock,” he said, pointing to a New York Stock Exchange symbol going by.

“The one selling at fifty-seven?” Jake asked. “How much did you pay for it?”

“Five dollars,” Griff said, grinning. “I’d recommend selling now. I don’t think it will go up much more.”

“Five?” Jake said. “Five? Hell, you made us a lot of money!”

. “Yeah. And Camille, too. I invested fifty thousand for her.”

Jake stared at him. “Camille let you invest in the stock market for her?”

Griff understood his amazement. “Well, not really. I tried to talk her into it, but she refused. Said something about becoming a stockbroker herself so she wouldn’t have to trust anyone.”

“Ah. That sounds about right. So how did you—?”

“I set up an account for her and put my money in it.”

“So she just pays you back the fifty thousand and gets to keep the profit? That’s nice of you, Griff.”

He shrugged his shoulders. He wasn’t sure being nice was his motivation.

Jake returned to the subject at hand. “Yeah, sell. I’m not going to go against your advice.”

“Would you ask Camille about selling, too?” Griff asked, keeping his gaze on the computer screen.

“I’ll do even better than that,” Jake promised. “I’ll tell her she has to give the order to you personally.”

“Jake!” Griff yelled, but Jake was already out the door.

Damn, he didn’t want to see Camille alone.
Like hell you don’t want to see her alone!
Okay, okay, so he did. But he shouldn’t.

A knock sounded on the door.

“Come in.”

Camille opened the door but didn’t move into the room. “Jake said you invested money for me. I told you no and I didn’t give you any money, so whatever you did, it’s yours.” She turned to leave.

“Wait!” he called. He held his breath until she came back into view. “Look, you’re not going to be able to touch the money the FBI recovered for a few months. You’ll need some money.”

“I’ll find a job.”

“You’re leaving the ranch?”

“Of course I’m leaving. I can’t live off Megan and Chad forever.” She kept her gaze averted.

“Take the money, Cammy. I want you to have it. You’ll have over two hundred thousand after you return my fifty thousand to me.”

“No.”

“But you waited on me. I—”

“Don’t say it!” she yelled at him, taking him by surprise.

“Say what?”

“That you owe me! You don’t owe me. I took care of you because—I mean, you’re family. I took care of you, as I would any other family member. I don’t need you to pay me.”

“I’m not used to taking favors,” he returned stiffly.

“Too bad.”

“Okay. I helped you out because you’re family,” he said, narrowing his gaze, waiting to see if his turnabout-fair-play worked.

She opened her mouth to protest, then stopped.

“You were going to say I’m not family, weren’t you?” he asked, grinning. “But that’s the excuse you used.”

“Yes, but I believe it. To you it’s just an excuse.”

“You can’t use two standards.” Then his voice softened. “Please, Cammy, take the money. It’s not costing me anything.”

“You’ll take out the initial investment?”

“And charge you a brokerage fee, okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed with a sigh. “And thank you.”

“My pleasure.” Then she disappeared from the door. He’d made a lot of money in his lifetime, both for himself and others. He’d never had anyone react the way Camille had.

THE IRONY OF IT ALL. She’d come to Megan’s home because she’d lost almost all her money. Now she felt she had to leave because she’d gotten so much of it back.

Even if Clay managed to tie up the money he took, she still had a large sum of money, thanks to Griffin, to last her several years if she wasn’t terribly extravagant. She couldn’t continue to drift, with no goals.

She’d been half-joking when she told Griff she would become a stockbroker, but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted to go back to school. She didn’t want to turn her money over to someone else again. And she might find it interesting to help other women learn about finances, providing advice and investing for them.

Besides, there wasn’t a need for her to stay. She’d been helpful with the babies, she knew. But everything was returning to normal. All the family would be home with Brett and Anna’s arrival tonight. Mavis and Ethel were working out well.

No one needed her.

And they all wanted Griffin to stay.

She had to leave. After all, Griffin had made it clear he wasn’t interested in her. In spite of what Megan had said. Camille closed her eyes. She wanted to believe Megan was right. She and Griffin had grown close, caring for the children. Then, when he’d teased her for kisses while he was sick, she’d thought he’d changed his mind.

She wanted what Megan had. And she’d found her own Randall. But now she’d be alone the rest of her life. Because she’d discovered she had something in common with Megan’s husband and his brothers. She was a one-man woman, as they were one-woman men.

Her shoulders slumped, and one tear trailed down her face. She would go away and—

As if she actually heard his voice, she remembered her father yelling at her when she was younger and had become discouraged. “Hendersons are not quitters!”