River Road (River's End Series, #4) (23 page)

Okay, she might have fallen a little more in lust… or like… oh, hell! Pretty soon, she’d have to start calling it
love.
She watched how sweetly her big, brawny, kind, shy, considerate, clueless, and sometimes lost cowboy tried so hard to do the right thing with the venomous critter that was so rudely inserted into their perfect world.

Then, one night, Kate awoke to a voice screaming. Only it wasn’t a woman’s scream, it was a manly yell and he was swearing. Hearing lots more swearing, Kate jumped out of her bed to investigate. She grabbed a robe, but only out of consideration for AJ’s senses. He handled Joey’s presence in the same house at night pretty well, but she didn’t see any reason to risk making him jealous. AJ was attentive enough to her, and she had no desire for contrived interest. Plus, he trusted her. If he didn’t, she would have probably worn her bra and panties around Joey, just to prove to AJ that she
could,
despite what he said.
No one owned her
, no matter what their relationship with her. Luckily for AJ, he wasn’t unreasonable, so instead of having to proclaim her independence to him, Kate needed only to respect his wishes.

As she came into the living room, she found Joey rushing down the stairs. He wore pajama bottoms and a t-shirt, since he too did not care to antagonize AJ. It cheered her slightly. He’d been such a shit about AJ, she was glad he seemed to now consider AJ a sleeping tiger. As long he didn’t provoke him, he was safe.
But!
And that was the silent threat. Never mind that Kate knew there wasn’t any real threat, since AJ would never do anything to harm anyone. Especially one of the Rydells.

Joey was muttering, shaking his head, and running his hands through his hair when he spotted her. He kept jabbering like a whacked out drug addict or dementia patient. “Fuck. Shit. Damn. Hell. I didn’t do anything, Kate. You’ve got to vouch for me. I didn’t ask her to be upstairs. And I was there first. I didn’t do anything. You have got to tell him that.”

At the top of the stairs, as Kate suspected, stood Cami Reed.

She wore nothing but a bra and panties. Her natty hair hung around her face. For the first time, it was scrubbed free and all the excessive black she ringed around every feature of her face was gone. Kate looked closely at her for what felt like the first time. She had a small, button-like nose, and large, narrowly-set eyes. Her forehead was low and her cheeks were hollow. Pretty? Yes. If someone showed her how to properly wear makeup, she could have been adorable. But that wasn’t the look Cami went for, even if her pixie height, delicate body structure, and facial features insisted it was.

Joey glanced up and quickly threw his hand over his eyes before he faced Kate. Gritting his teeth, he said firmly, “She,” as he waved up towards Cami without looking back, “climbed into my bed, and got on top of me, and started to kiss me. I was in a dead-ass sleep, Kate. I swear to God! I opened my eyes and immediately threw her off me. I would’ve hurled her across the room except I didn’t want to hurt her.” He kept running his hands through his hair and shuddered dramatically from his shoulders down to his feet. “Fuck. That’s so gross. Oh, my God!” He tilted his head back. “She’s fucking thirteen.” He made choking sounds.

Kate might have grinned at his comical, shocked expression if not for the gravity of the situation. “It’s okay, Joey, I know you didn’t do anything here.”

“Yes, but will
he?
He’s going to fucking kill me.” Joey’s hands were behind his neck now, and his elbows pointed out in serious distress.

“He, being AJ? He’ll understand. Really, don’t worry. I’ll talk to him, and
her.
” She shot a glare up the stairs at the stony-faced girl watching them.

“I’m outta here. I’ll be staying at Jack and Erin’s from now on. No way am I up for this shit. I’ll be back in the daylight for my clothes and stuff,” Joey announced. He didn’t glance back, but walked right out the front door. Kate stared after the shut door and slowly turned around. Cami raised her eyebrows and held Kate in a long eye-lock, her nonverbal challenge to Kate. Kate suddenly started up the stairs after the girl, startling her with her sudden assault. Visibly surprised, the widening of Cami’s eyes was a belated reaction before she hastily started down the hallway. Kate grabbed the strap on her bra and pulled it hard enough that it could have snapped. Grasping her by it, Kate managed to reach her bicep and she dragged her unceremoniously as they started down the stairs.

“Hey, you dikey bitch. Let me go!” Cami screamed as Kate strong-armed her down the stairs. She had about ten inches on the girl and outweighed her considerably. Those were the most words Cami had ever spoken to Kate. Kate smiled in grim, resolute satisfaction. Finally, her hundred and fifty pounds proved an advantage. This little waif could not begin to resist her. Kate would merely sit on her. She’d had
enough.

After being thrown onto the couch by Kate, Cami landed with one knee on the cushion as her back was shoved down. She whipped her head around. “You can’t do that to me!”

“Oh? We’re just beginning all the things I can do to you. Sit your scrawny little ass down. Or I swear to God, I’ll sit on you. And my fat ass will flatten you like a pancake.”

“Real nice, bitch. Who are you to manhandle me like that? I’ll turn you in to the Child Protective Services. They’ll come after you. They’ll punish you for abusing me. I have the bruises to prove it.”

“You’ll have my handprint squarely on your ass in a spanking too if you don’t shut up, right now!”

As she screeched at Cami right in her face, Cami lifted her hand as if preparing to slap Kate. Kate caught her hand and they had another staring contest. Then, the front door burst open and AJ stumbled in, wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

“Kate!” He rushed forward, his eyes huge with shock. “Take your hands off her!” he ordered, addressing Kate.

Kate rolled her eyes and pushed Cami back onto the couch.

“How did you know?”

“Jack called and said something was going on up at the house. Joey woke them up and wouldn’t say why, but he refused to come back here.”

“Well, should we ask her? Mmm? Why don’t you explain why a thirteen-year-old climbs on a sleeping man who is at least a decade older than her, wearing only her bra and panties, and starts to molest him? Please explain that, Cami.”

“You what?” AJ’s shocked glance skittered over to Cami, when he realized she wasn’t wearing any clothes. He whipped around, placing his hand over his eyes as comically as Joey had done. He disappeared into her room and came back with a shirt, which he shoved to Kate before turning away. Kate rolled her eyes and handed the shirt to Cami, who snatched it from Kate and slipped it on.

“I don’t have to explain anything to you.”

“You will. I’m so sick of your shit.” Kate marched up the stairs. Before she came back down, she threw Cami’s bag of stuff all the way down the flight of stairs with several armfuls of miscellaneous items that were strewn all over her room.

AJ watched her, completely lost. His face was perplexed, confused, and heartbroken. He had no idea what to do. Kate usually did, but she was tired of the whole thing too. She eventually emerged from the bedroom and kicked aside some of the clothing as she calmly walked down the stairs. “You no longer have a bedroom. You will sleep on that couch. Until you show some respect to those around you, there will be no more hiding in your room. And no more avoidance of decent conversations. Every morning, you will get your lazy, useless ass out of bed and start interacting with the people around you like a normal person. You’ll eat meals with us. And you’ll do the chores that I tell you to. In short, you’ll act like a fucking human being!”

“I won’t do anything you tell me to,” Cami screamed, jumping to her feet. “Who are you? No one. Just some old, fat bitch who can’t control me.”

Kate smiled a pleasant, sugary-sweet smile and her voice remained as even and calm. “Oh? I can’t, huh? You don’t like it? There’s the door. Go find yourself another family to abuse. Oh, wait, that’s right, you don’t have anyone else, do you? No else wants you. You were dropped on our doorstep. No one else’s.”

“I’ll just run away,” Cami said, puffing up her chest and fisting her hands at her sides.

“‘Course you can take off, but do you realize we’re about fifteen miles from the nearest town? You could hitch a ride. Go for it. All kinds of good freaks are somewhere out there. But that’s if you can even find another person. You see the dark, right? It’s endless. And snakes, bears, bats and cougars are all roaming out there. But by all means, go ahead, and do it all alone. By yourself. A little ninety-pound nothing like you? And I swear to God, I’ll take you up to the end of the road and leave you there myself if something doesn’t change right now. ”

Cami’s gaze skittered to the windows. The lack of window treatments only made the outside darkness look like a thick, impenetrable wall. Cami swallowed visibly, her bravado wavering for a moment. “You can’t do that.”

Kate leaned down, putting her nose right in Cami’s face. “Try me,” she whispered softly as a smile stretched her face. It was nasty, mean smile.

“Who the fuck are you? AJ won’t let you.”

“Me?” She smiled even more snidely, leaning closer. “I’m your wicked, fucking, soon-to-be-stepmother. So you wanna bet? I don’t see AJ stopping me.”

Cami’s face fell and she stepped back. AJ would have stopped Kate, she knew, if he weren’t rooted to the spot, frozen in shock. His eyes were huge, and staring at her with a trace of almost fear. Kate had to work quickly while his senses were too overloaded to react. Once he did, he’d freak the hell out, and blame her if she didn’t already have Cami under control by then. But to Kate’s way of thinking, nice people and plenty of personal space weren’t working. She was calling this potential juvenile delinquent’s bluff, now before she caused more damage later.

Of course, she was nowhere near to becoming this girl’s stepmother. AJ didn’t even call her his girlfriend. But Cami didn’t know that. And AJ was too stunned at the moment to clarify it. So off Kate went.

“Now, what you did was completely inappropriate.”

“I do that all the time.”

She eyed the girl. “Bullshit. No more. You’re too young and it’s not allowed here. Neither are drugs, alcohol, gang paraphernalia or swearing. Your father gets offended by it, so we need to stop that right now.” Kate took her hand, grabbing the girl’s arm and swiping at her tattoos. “And wipe off all these too. You just look stupid. You don’t have the personality to pull the look off.”

Cami snatched her hand back, cradling her arm to her chest. AJ’s eyebrows furrowed. Poor guy, he could not understand any of this. Kate smiled at AJ, explaining, “They’re just temporary henna-inspired tattoos. She puts them on with a wet rag and they last a few days. She keeps applying them. That’s probably what she does while holed up in her room.”

“Now, Cami, I’d like you to meet your father, AJ Reed. He is a very nice man who doesn’t require much from you except simple, basic decency. Let’s start with you ceasing to accuse him of being a pervert whenever he feeds you dinner or attempts to clean up after you. From now on, you will clean up after your goddamned self. Oops! You got my tongue spewing filth now, listen to all my profanity. This time, I want you to say hello to your father, Cami.”

Kate stepped forward when Cami didn’t do anything. “Do it, or get the fuck out of this house and see where you end up. Drugs? Prostitution? A broken, little, used runaway. Sounds pretty awful to me. Or you could simply say hello to the man who just discovered you even existed and would like to provide you with a clean, safe home and food, clothing and other essentials. He wants you to be where no one will hurt you, abuse you or bother you.” She smiled again. “Except for me, maybe.”

Cami stared at Kate and they exchanged a long, heated eye lock for many seconds; almost a minute ticked by. Kate had her fingers mentally crossed. Did she go too far? Would that work? She had no intention of kicking the lost little waif out, of course, but she had to appear bold and forceful to regain control with this kid. And if it didn’t work, AJ may never have spoken to her again.

“Hi, AJ,” Cami finally said before dropping her gaze onto her feet.

AJ’s jaw dropped open in silent disbelief. Kate’s bold action took the words right out of his mouth. Kate exhaled a deep breath. “Well then, I’m going back to bed. You can talk. We’ll figure out the chores and other things for you to do tomorrow. Hell, it may sound crazy maybe, but you could go outside before your skin becomes transparent from lack of sunlight. There’s lots to see and do out here. Goodnight. And stay away from strange men. Seems like you should already know that.”

Kate turned and fell against her closed bedroom door. The tremors started the minute she was alone. She could not believe what she did. Her hands were trembling and her stomach fluttering. Her head suddenly ached with the stab of deep pressure. Holy crap! That could have gone so wrong. She hoped AJ understood what she was trying to do, and would still talk to her.

Did he hear her referring to herself as his fiancée?

“SHE’S CRAZY. I HOPE you realize that,” Cami muttered after Kate slammed her bedroom door, trapping AJ with his daughter. At least, his daughter was finally speaking, although her profanity towards them left much to be desired.

“She’s not. She’s just excitable. You set her off.”

Cami looked different, and AJ finally noticed. Her face was bare. No makeup. He finally got to see the face of the girl he called his daughter, and she was quite pretty.

“You look like her.” The comment slipped out of his mouth before he thought it over.

“Who?”

“Your mother. You look like her, I mean, when she was at your age.”

“You knew her then?”

He nodded. He didn’t explain to Cami about the mixed up, drug addict who was her mother. “Yes, I knew her. We were both foster brats. I met her while I was riding in the rodeo, and we hung out together.”

“She’s dead now. But, whatever,” Cami retorted. AJ didn’t believe her indifference. Judging by the stiff way she held her body and the anger in her voice that nearly trembled, AJ recognized the little girl’s cry of pain. All at once, he felt something. Maybe he saw Parker’s face in hers. Or maybe it was because he realized Kate flipped the dynamics in the house. He was the adult. He had the power now, not Cami, and it was time he used it. It no longer mattered if she didn’t like it. Maybe in the end, it would save her life. Maybe she’d learn it wasn’t wise to climb on top of an older man. Thank God it was Joey Rydell. AJ knew Joey wasn’t a predator despite how much he irritated him in general. But lots of men would have responded to a girl like Cami and not stopped or vacated the premises.

“I’m sorry about that, Cami.”

Cami shrugged. Kneeling down, she started grabbing her items, stuffing them into her bag. It was just a backpack, but it held all she had in the world. Same as AJ’s duffel bag. The pathetic thought struck AJ straight through the heart.

How was it possible his daughter, separated from him for thirteen years, was managing to lead the same life that he had? He fisted his hands. It was so wrong. Both of them were so lost and alone as little kids with only a damn duffel bag and backpack to their names. She might have tried to look threatening, but she was just a little girl. He sighed heavily. The immense responsibility of her well-being was just beginning to settle over his shoulders and the weight of it seemed to push down onto his shoulder blades.

“Why did you do that tonight?”

Cami wouldn’t look up, but seemed to concentrate solely on pushing her clothing and odd trinkets into her backpack. “Didn’t think you all would freak out like you did.”

AJ sighed audibly and sat down on one of the recliners. “When I was your age, my dad, who was in and out of my life for years, would periodically show up and take me with him. He was bad news. The only reason he got me out of foster care was to use me in his stupid scams. I hated it, but it was better than being left behind, you know? So, one of the times he left me again, I went to this family who had several other foster kids. I stole money from them often. Just small amounts that were mostly unnoticed. Looking back, I can’t understand what I was doing or why. Did I want to act out to that family? I didn’t care about them, not even enough to bother them. And I didn’t know why I did that, no matter how many times they asked me. Turns out, looking back, I think it was to punish my dad for leaving me again. Technically speaking, my actions and emotions didn’t correlate, but in a twisted way, they did. Have you ever gotten that feeling?” AJ asked Cami in an unthreatening tone. It was just a mildly curious question. He thought he might have captured Cami’s attention. Her shoulders went still, and her arms quit searching for more stuff to put away, although she stayed kneeling on the floor, facing down and seemed to still avoid him. Her silence spoke to AJ and he felt he understood her finally.

Maybe, in a strange way, all his terrible experiences and mistakes could help Cami avoid making them. Kate was saying earlier that God always had a reason for things that happened, so perhaps his whole life’s purpose was to bring him here. Maybe he could actually help his lost little girl, he more than anyone else.

Cami shrugged. She did lots of shrugging. When she finished stuffing her possessions away, she stood up. She didn’t even glance at him as she walked towards the couch, but mumbled, “Maybe.”

He understood. Maybe she knew the reasons for tonight, and it wasn’t because of any of them or Joey or sex. It was because her mother left her alone in the world with a strange man. AJ being the stranger. And if Parker had just told him about Cami, everything would be different—

No, that anger would eat away at AJ gradually, and Cami didn’t need any more fuel for her obvious rage at her situation.
Their
situation. But AJ realized as he stared at her when she flopped dejectedly onto the couch, her hair hanging in her face, that she was so young, and his child. He was the damn adult. The situation was on him.
He
had to make it better, not her.

Maybe she needed him. “I think I’ll move in here.”

Her gaze flickered to him. “Why don’t you live with that woman?”

“Kate? Because we’re not married. But I think I should be here. You know, where you are.”

“Whatevs. You’re not going to really make me stay on the couch.”

He bit his lip. “Um, maybe for tonight. It’s late. We’ll figure things out tomorrow. But that has to start with you interacting and talking to us. So maybe Kate’s right about that.”

“She’s crazy.”

“She’s got a pretty explosive temper.”

Cami finally, and for the first time it seemed, raised her eyes to AJ and actually looked at him. “You don’t?”

He shifted forward, trying to sag his shoulders down, and fold up some of his bulk so as not to appear so huge. “Actually, no. I don’t.”

“And you like her doing that? You don’t mind her short temper?”

“I like her passion about things. About right and wrong. She knows it’s wrong for a young lady like you to do what you did tonight.”

“I don’t like short tempers. You can’t predict them.”

AJ nodded. “I agree. I didn’t like her short temper the first time I witnessed it, but later, I started to see hers was only agitated when she was trying to help people, not hurt them. Makes all the difference, knowing that. You understand?”

“I understand,” Cami whispered.

AJ cleared his throat. “Well, you should get some sleep.” He got up and went into the spare bedroom to find some bedding, which he brought out to his daughter. The realization of his fatherhood still made him feel dizzy. “Good night.”

“Whatevs.”

He turned on his heel. He was done with trying to figure her out. He opened Kate’s door and found her in bed. She jerked upright. He put his finger to his lips, slipping his hat and shirt off as he kicked off his boots and slid down his jeans. He slipped into bed beside her and wrapped his arms around her. She lay on her back, nestled in his arms, her arms and hands resting over his. “I was afraid I went too far.”

He kissed her head on her hair. “You did.”

“Do you hate me? She was insufferable. She didn’t even care what she’d done. I just—”

“Needed to do something. And I stood back and didn’t do anything. So it’s going to be you, I see, between
us
that does things
.
Maybe someday, you’ll learn
not
to go quite so far with whatever you’re doing. I think that’s something you could learn from me. ”

“I thought perhaps you might not come near me again.”

“I did though.”

“Is she okay?”

“No, not even close. She thinks you’re crazy, but she actually strung more than two words together with me just now and none of them were
creep
or
pervert
. So it worked, Kate.”

Releasing her breath, she nearly flabbergasted AJ when she started to cry in his arms. She turned towards him, her chest tucking into his, wrapping her arms around his neck and shoulders. Tears streamed down her face and a series of shudders wracked her body. “I was so mad. I was so scared. But once I started, there was no turning back. I just—” A sob filled her mouth and her body shook. “I could have ruined it for you. What if she had walked right out of here? What if I made her do that? What if I’d driven away a thirteen-year-old little girl? Oh, God, she’s so young.”

“I would have followed her and carried her back in here. She’s thirteen and we are all she has now.” AJ pressed his lips into her hair, shushing her.

Kate’s body stilled and her face jerked up towards his. He had to lean back to see her. “We?”

He shrugged, his hand still on her shoulders. “For now. Yes, we. She needs all of us. Safety. A place to live. A father. A woman in her life who can tell me that she’s playing me and that having a period doesn’t actually incapacitate her.”

Kate closed her eyes and her lashes fluttered over the wet pools of her eyelids. “I didn’t want you to hate me, AJ.”

“I think I might have realized that when you told my daughter you were her wicked, effing soon-to-be-stepmother. I started to get an idea of where your thoughts were headed.” He kissed her again. “Why did you say that?”

“For the fuller, more dramatic effect; it was better than muttering, ‘I am the woman who seduced your father, then weaseled my way into living with my long-lost brother and I’m still seeing your dad.’ That doesn’t have quite the intended impact.”

A weary smile curled his lips. “You, Kate Morgan, always manage to make an impact.”

“I’m sorry.” She buried her face against his chest.

He sighed and rubbed the back of her head in repeated strokes. “I don’t think I am, Kate. I don’t think I’m sorry.”

****

Kate got up and dressed quickly, keeping quiet while Cami slept. She made coffee, eggs, and toast. Finally, Cami lifted her head off the couch and eyed Kate. Kate responded to her with a great big welcoming smile as she held up her plate. “Can I get you some food?”

Cami just stared silently. Then she nodded. Wandering over, her feet were swimming in socks that were too big as were her sweats. Her dreadlocks were all twisted up and her eyes showed only fatigue. Did the girl sleep? Do drugs? Who knew?

Kate dished her up a plate and set it before her. Cami briefly leaned over it before she started wolfing it down.

“So I hear you think I’m crazy?” Kate remarked.

Cami whipped her head up, and stopped chewing. “Uh,” she gulped. “Well, yeah.”

Kate smiled as she leaned over and touched the girl’s hand. “Just don’t forget that, and we should get along just fine. Now, how about I show you around this place? It’s really pretty wonderful. And today, it’s supposed to be close to a hundred degrees; so it’s high time you came out of the air conditioning and experienced some of it.”

Cami rolled her eyes. “Whatevs.”

Kate leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. At least Cami didn’t call her a
pervert
or a
bitch
. Kate won the first battle last night, and the second one just now? Also Kate. She was on a roll.

AJ came out then all dressed. After another round of polite good-mornings, AJ glanced at Kate with his eyebrows raised. Then he smiled at Cami. She replied with a smile. Huh. Big improvement now that they weren’t being called
perverts
.

“AJ, why don’t you take today off and show Cami around?”

His head whipped up, and a shocked expression froze his face. “Well… uh… I…”

“People take personal days, sick days, vacation days. It’s fine. Ask Jack. Jeez! He’s not a slave driver like I first thought. You’re the one who can’t stop working. All the overtime and extra jobs you do for him? Believe me, Jack doesn’t care.”

AJ shook his shoulders out, trying to loosen them. All these new rules. New things. New People. New women. He wasn’t used to any of it, but he politely nodded. “Uh, yes, if it’s okay with Jack, Cami, I could show you around the place.”

“Whatevs.” Cami’s gaze alternated between AJ and Kate as they discussed their plans for the day. Kate didn’t think Cami missed much between them, or anything around her. That was probably how she survived.

AJ glanced at Kate and a small smile brightened his face. Her heart expanded. That was something.

AJ ate so quickly that Kate truly wondered how he had managed to survive until then on nothing but white bread and baloney. He thanked her, like he always did whenever she cooked, which was often, and kissed her cheek as he glanced at Cami. “I’ll go check with Jack, I should be back in a half hour. Be ready.” Sticking his hat on his head, he stepped outside. Kate nodded her satisfaction. He’d finally taken her not-so-subtle hints to man up with Cami. Too much private space and ongoing sympathy had her not only walking all over them, but also manipulating them. Cami was too screwed up and naïve to be allowed to make her own decisions.

Kate stayed in her office until AJ returned. When Cami and AJ disappeared out the front door, Kate peeked out the window, watching them. They made an incongruent couple as father and daughter. AJ was a mammoth beside the little bird-like figure of Cami. AJ wore his work clothes and looked like a rural country-hero come to life, while Cami was back in her full goth makeup and dreadlocks, like she just stepped out of a horror movie.