The Book of Daniel (25 page)

“For what?”

I hadn’t told Cam I’d come clean, and for some reason, I didn’t want to. “For trying to be fair.”

Cam rested that big heavy head of his against mine. “I see.”

“She wants to bury the hatchet because we’re partners at Livingston Properties.”

“I’d be afraid of where she wants to bury it. You’d better tell her I’ve got your back and an ax of my own.”

“No.” I let him enfold me in his arms. Cam was way better than gum. “It’s going to be all right. She’s nothing if not image conscious. She won’t do anything to make herself look bad in front of our friends”

“That’s good.”

We stood together like that for a while and looked up at the sky. Clouds seemed to be moving fast, racing across a nearly full moon. “I miss the stars, Cam. I think we need to get away to the high desert or the mountains. Someplace dark where we can count the stars together.”

“Maybe go camping?”

“In your dreams, baby. I wasn’t much of a camper when I was a kid, but now? Not a chance. I was thinking of renting a cabin or something.”

“I like camping. We could go out on horseback. I can show you how much fun it could be.”

“Oh, jeez. Hell no.”

“You wouldn’t? Not even if it meant making love under the open sky?”

Okay that sounded enticing as hell. Until I thought about bugs and bears. “I’d probably go with you a couple of times because I am a total fool for you, but please don’t count on me ever being much of a camper.”

“You just don’t know what you’re missing yet.”

“I know there are snakes and wild things out there.”

“All right. Okay. Maybe I’ll rent one of those luxury RV things and drag your ass off into the desert with some high-thread-count sheets and gourmet coffee. Then what would you say.”

“I’d say, what are we waiting for?”

“I’ll look into that.” He chuckled, happy with himself. “But you know eventually I’ll get your naked ass on a bedroll out under the stars, and you’ll wonder why you waited so long.”

I felt like I got off easy. I didn’t have to tell him I’d walk barefoot on broken glass and bed down over a red anthill just to be with him. No man I’d ever known had been as kind or as cocky. No one had his beauty or his ability to charm. And I knew no one who loved unselfishly—from a deep down, bottomless well of compassion—like Cam did. If I were twice the man I perceived myself to be, or more even, I’d never measure up.

But for him I wanted to try.

After a long while spent like that, simply holding one another and standing in the shadows counting what few stars we could see and talking about the future, we went back in to the party.

If there was a change in the mood, I didn’t feel it right away. The place was still noisy, glasses clinked, soft music played while people talked over it. At some point, though, I became aware of an undercurrent in the room, like a drop in the temperature. I discovered Jake and JT packed tightly into the kitchen with the St. Nacho’s irregular militia, Izzie and Andy the cop, Ken and Jordan, Candace and Bianca from Miss Independence Pies. Muse and Minerva, Mary Catherine and Carl, and—absurdly—Bree, Al, and Jim.

They seemed to be having some sort of heated discussion, and I registered the odd fact that Bree was urging calm seconds before I realized they were all holding copies of Al’s St. Nacho’s prospectus, the one about the gaming resort Al wanted to build.

“I’m just saying”—Al spoke slowly and patiently—“that as residents of St. Nacho’s, it seemed like you’d want to be part of the investment group. In that way you would all have a say in the decision-making process. As Dan’s friends and family, it seemed only right to share whatever good fortune may come out of this venture—”

“What is going on here?” I asked, but I knew. Everyone turned toward me.

“How long have you known about this?” Mary Catherine’s voice was calm, unlike some of the others.

“I—”

“Let’s all take a minute,” Carl admonished.

Muse glared at me. “I thought you understood.”

“Muse, it’s not like that.” I grabbed the prospectus out of her hands. “This is only a proposal, yeah? There’s a lot that has to happen before something like this becomes a reality.”

Bree frowned at all of us. “I should think you’d want to develop this place. It hasn’t even got a decent hotel.”

JT bristled. “What we have is
fine
.”

“That’s just it,” Al argued. “There could be so much more. More jobs, more revenue, more tourists, more income.”

Izzie stepped up next to Muse. “Sometimes more isn’t better. It’s simply…more.”

Al glanced at me. “What the hell does that even mean. You should want this. You should all be on board with this.”

“Al—”

“We don’t want this in our backyard. You should just go away now.” Muse folded her arms.

I said, “I have to go with the crowd on this, Al. I’ve never felt comfortable with gaming of any sort, and I’m sure there’s something better we can do. You know me. I don’t work on emotion alone, but this has me tied up in knots. I have to go with my instinct here that this is simply not the type of project Livingston Properties should undertake.”

Al clutched his copy of the prospectus tightly in his hand. “Are you saying you won’t even consider this further?”

“I’m saying that I’ve been uncomfortable with it from the very beginning. And my brother’s engagement party is unequivocally not the place to discuss it. I’ll see you in the office first thing Monday morning and we’ll talk about it there, but I have to tell you, I don’t want any part of a project like this.”

“Well, well, well.” We all heard BreeAnna’s voice—loud and clear. “I think you’ve forgotten you signed away half your right to make that decision. I believe the project is sound, and I don’t have emotional attachments and sentiment to cloud my thinking. It’s going to be Al
and
me against you, and I think you’ll find it’s a little harder to throw your weight around now.”

Stunned, I stepped back to gather my wits.
She was right
. I don’t know how long it took me to think things through; people argued around me. The action hit my senses in waves—too bright then dim, too loud and then quiet. I thought that was how it must be to drown. My chest felt tight, as if my heart physically stopped.

I didn’t have to turn to know what I would see on Cam’s face, but I did it anyway. It was a compulsion, like picking at a fresh scab. It was surely a cure for the optimism I’d been feeling, because what I saw in Cam’s eyes made things very clear.

I’d inadvertently brought Pandora’s box with me to St. Nacho’s, and Al had prized it open. It didn’t take that glimpse of Cam’s face to know that I’d find no hope there.

“Come with me,” I told Cam. I expected an argument and I didn’t let him start one. I put my hand up before he had a chance to get a word out and hissed so only he could hear me, “If you don’t come with me right this second I will leave you and St. Nacho’s to deal with all the forces of rapacious greed by yourselves and you will surely lose.”

“All right.” He followed me out into the darkness in silence. I made my way toward the boardwalk where we could be assured of privacy, and eventually we got to the pier.

* * *

“How could you do this to us?” Cam wouldn’t look at me.

“I didn’t. I told you. This was Al’s idea. Apparently my ex-wife has taken it to her scant bosom in a unprecedented way.”

“What did she mean,
you signed away half your right to decide
?”

I sighed. “Just that I agreed to be fair with our assets.”

He turned to me, surprise etched on his features. “You came clean about your infidelities.”

I shook my head. “Not exactly.”

“Yes,
exactly
. And now she owns half your company and half your power to put a stop to this thing.”

“Half my interest. Yes. But the power? No.”

Cam leaned over to put his elbows on the railing and dropped his head in his hands. He looked like he was going to be sick. “I can’t lose St. Nacho’s. I don’t know if I’d survive losing everything again.”

“You won’t. I promise you won’t.”

“You think you can promise that? You’re kidding yourself. Al is a nice guy but he only sees a balance sheet. Bree wants to punish you. I know you mean well, but—”

“You are so wrong, Cameron Rooney. I don’t mean well. Not really. I have never
meant well
. I’ve done what I pleased.”

Cam gave up a broken sob. “Oh, thanks for clearing that up.”

I laid the flat of my hand on his back to sooth him. “You don’t understand.”

“You’re right, I don’t.” He tried to flinch away from my touch, but I didn’t let him.

“I love two people in this entire world, and I’d lay down my life for both of you. If you think I’ll let someone threaten your home—if you think I’ll stand idly by and watch you hurt—”

“It’s not your company anymore. They think it’s a great investment and maybe they’re right—”

“Maybe they are. But that’s not what’s important to
me
.” I used both hands to turn Cam around to face me. “You’re important to me. And St. Nacho’s is important to a whole lot of people. And worse, I suddenly find myself in the awkward position of possessing scruples.”

Cam laughed weakly at that.

“This is what I do best, Cam. Better than Al, and Bree doesn’t count. She and Al may have the right to vote but that’s all they’ve got. I still have the contacts; the business is mine. Who’s going to trust Bree? She’s never done anything more with money than buy shoes. Who’s going to capitalize a Livingston Properties project if I am emphatically not on board.”

“It’s good business. If they get that land…”

“They
won’t
. I can see to it that they never will, and I will do exactly that, for you.”

“What about Al.”

“He’ll be disappointed.”

“He’ll fight you. You’re friends.”

“And I will always be his friend. His friendship is his to give or take away. But yours? I couldn’t bear to hurt you. I’m asking you to trust me.”

Cam shook his head. “It’s my home…”

“Can you trust me with this? Can you say you believe in me this one time, even though you have no reason to?”

“A leap of faith.” Cam gazed into my eyes for a long time, and I swear,
I swear
he could see every lie I’d ever told. “You haven’t earned it.”

I swallowed hard. “That’s why they call it faith.”

He stared at me for a long time—too long—and then nodded. I kissed him like it was the last time I’d ever get to do it, because if I failed…

Cam’s soft lips melted under mine until his mouth opened for me and our tongues tangled together. Our harsh breaths misted the moist salty air, and he pulled me toward him with such fierce desperation it caught me like a flash grenade in my gut.

Cam’s dizzying, powerful kiss sent all my blood rushing to my cock. He gripped my hips and pulled me toward him until I could feel his nudge to life. I pushed back before I could be swept away by the sensual tide.

We gazed at each other, breathless, hard, and hurting. He didn’t let go and I felt the connection between us throb through his fingertips.

I could stop Al and Bree. I
would
stop them.

“You’re my heart, Cameron Rooney.”

Cam gave me a tiny shake. “You have a heart of your own.”

“You make it beat.” I caught his hand and pressed it where my heart was thudding beneath my skin. “You warm it. Because of you it’s overflowing with some kind of peculiar audacity. I need to see myself reflected in your eyes. I
need
to see you smile.”

“Daniel.”

“Ah,
jeez
. When you say my name it’s like a jolt of electricity up my spine. What the hell is that?”

“I don’t know.” Cam grinned. “But that’s why I say it.”

“I’ll fix this,” I promised. I had to go before I got sidetracked. I had to get out of town because I couldn’t save the day by standing on the St. Nacho’s pier—even though it meant leaving Cam’s embrace. “Tell Jakey I said hold on. Okay?”

“All right.”

“I love you, Cam. You big damn—”

“I love you too, Daniel.”

Chapter Twenty-five

Four months later, I was dreaming of angels. They weren’t the fluffy, Valentine’s Day kind of angels, but the full-on, fire-and-sword-wielding Old Testament variety, which seemed odd to me. I’d never made the time to study my faith, and I could honestly say religion—what I’d seen of it—didn’t impress me much.

There wasn’t anything to the dream itself. I was in the company of some hypermasculine, stern-visaged angel in an empty place—the thickest, blackest void. He pointed out the different constellations of stars as he knew them, but I couldn’t see anything because ugly black clouds roiled overhead.

There was a loud banging sound, insistent and irritating, and the angel frowned.

“What?” I asked.

He said, “Even when you cannot see the heavens, the stars burn bright.”

The dream faded, all except the drumming noise, and I realized someone was pounding on my door. The bell rang twice.

I got out of bed and went to answer it, not caring particularly that I was only wearing boxers.

When I opened the door Bree stood there, holding two coffee cups in her gloved hands. She was once again dressed in understated elegance, this time in a St. John knit suit and pumps. Jim stood behind her.

“Morning.” I blocked the doorway, wondering if I was still dreaming. Or if I’d begun to hallucinate. Bree never brought me coffee when we were married. I couldn’t fathom why she’d be standing there offering me coffee now.

“It’s afternoon,” she told me and stood her ground. “May I come in?”

I wasn’t ready to let her by me so I stayed where I was. She’d have had to brush against my nearly naked, hairy form to squeeze inside, and I knew she wouldn’t do that.

“I need to talk to you, Dan. Please let me in.”

I couldn’t even remember the last time Bree had said please, so I stepped back, waiting. Before she moved forward, she turned to Jim. “You can wait in the car, Jim. I need to speak to Dan alone.”