Only You (7 page)

“I lied, Camden. I’ve never in my life seen you as a sister.”

The words stilled her immediately, and tears filled her eyes. “What?” Camden whispered. The words seemed to rush out Shane’s mouth, like he needed to explain everything in one breath.

“Camden, I felt the same way you did. Always, I wanted you so much, and when I came home that week, I planned the most romantic night I could imagine. After your party, I was going to take you to Rice Lake. I had a picnic planned, and I’d even bought a promise ring.”

Camden’s gasp halted Shane’s monologue. “What?!” she whispered again, this time with hints of horror in her tone. Shane’s thumb wiped a stray tear from her cheek, his expression dejected.

“I received my orders about two hours before your party.” Shane’s tone was full of sadness.

“Your orders?” she squeaked.

“I was leaving in two weeks to go back to Afghanistan. I couldn’t do that to you.” His voice was pleading, begging for understanding.

“Do what to me?” Her watery gaze locked onto his.

“I couldn’t ask you to wait for me.” Shane’s eyes became unfocused as he gazed into the distance, lost in an old memory. “The stuff I saw over there? It was awful, and there was no guarantee that I would come back alive. I couldn’t do that to you. You deserved better than that.”

A mighty, rushing rage flooded Camden as she, with renewed strength, shoved an unsuspecting Shane off her and backed into the corner of the tent. “I DESERVED A CHOICE!!!” she bellowed. Shane’s shocked expression transformed quickly into shame, and he raised his hands in surrender.

“You broke me, Shane Hunt! You ruined everything good in my life on that night.”

Shane felt his heart crack at her pronouncement. He knew tears were now streaming down his cheeks. Camden continued her tirade.

“I waited for you,” she declared. “I had saved myself for you. I thought you were my one and only, and you shattered that when you rejected me.” Camden’s words were barely a whisper by the time she finished.

Shane took a step closer to Camden as the tension left her shoulders, replaced by what could only be grief. He reached for her hand, intertwining their fingers. Camden inhaled deeply and turned her tear-stained face to Shane.

“I stopped saving myself for you that night.” Her voice sounded hollow. “I stopped waiting…gave it up to Rob Harris since it was no longer important,” she murmured.

Shane’s chest constricted and he felt a fierce wave of nausea. He couldn’t help the low growl that escaped his throat. What had he done?

“The worst part?” Camden whispered. “I thought of you the whole time. I threw up after, and I spent the night sobbing, alone in my own bed.” She paused. “But at least you had Heather to keep you warm that night.” The betrayal was thick in her voice.

Shane pulled Camden tightly into his embrace. He peppered her face with kisses, as he chanted, “I’m sorry” repeatedly. After several minutes had passed, he cleared his throat and spoke.

“This was only my second time.” He gestured toward the air mattress with his head. His hands were still twined with hers, and she felt his grip tighten as his cheeks flushed in embarrassment. Camden’s eyes widened.

“What about…” He cut her off.

“You weren’t the only one who had waited.”

“You mean Heather? At my graduation party? Nothing…”

He interrupted once again. “NOTHING happened with her, or any of the girls in high school.” Shane’s stomach was in knots. Inexperience was not something guys tended to brag about.

“And last night?” Camden asked. Shane looked utterly confused. “Stella?” she prompted. Shane choked for a moment.

“Uhhh,” he started awkwardly. “That wasn’t me.” Camden raised a skeptical brow. “That was Brody,” Shane confessed.

“What?!” Camden squealed. “But I thought he was with Tiffany???”

Shane rubbed his hand on the back of his neck in discomfort. “Yeah….about that. You see, hespnlsntwthbthgrls,” he mumbled.

“What?” Camden prompted.

“He spent last night with both girls,” Shane choked out.

Camden was thoroughly mortified by the new visual forever implanted in her head. NO sister should ever have those kinds of mental pictures involving her brother. But as nauseated as the thought of Brody having sex with Tiffany and Stella made her, the overriding feeling in her heart was relief.

Releasing one of Camden’s hands, Shane used his now free hand to tip her chin towards him. He wanted her to see the sincerity in his eyes.

“I knew I made a mistake the moment you left your party with Rob. I wanted to fix it, but I thought the damage was done. Once I got to the sandbox, I felt your absence even more." His eyes begged her to understand. "You don’t know how much I looked forward to your care packages during my first tour, Sunshine. To know you were healthy and happy back home…that made it all worthwhile. During my second tour, I was constantly worrying about you. No one knew where you were or how you were doing.” Shane tugged Camden into his chest and hugged her as tightly as possible. Releasing her, his hand returned to her chin.

“When I came home on my first leave, you still weren’t back. I didn’t tell Brody, but I went searching for you. He thought I was visiting my cousin, but I drove all over the state. Any place you ever mentioned with fondness, I was there with your picture trying to track you down.” Shane could see the shock in Camden’s eyes.

“When my two weeks were up, I headed back to Afghanistan empty inside. I knew I’d lost you, but I didn’t give up. Every leave, I searched for you. After two years, your family still had no idea where you were, and I was trying to come to terms with the fact that I had made the biggest mistake of my life. I had just made it back to Afghanistan for the last part of my service when I met a girl on our base that reminded me of you.” Shane swallowed uncomfortably as he saw understanding dawn slowly in Camden’s moist green gaze.

“I figured, if I couldn’t have you, maybe I could have the next best thing. It took me getting completely and totally wasted, and even then I called her your name. She was more understanding than I expected. Guess she’d lost someone special before, too.” Shane stopped and searched Camden’s guarded expression. Even her eyes were now shuttered, so he couldn’t tell how she was taking his story.

Camden, on the other hand was doing her very best to hide her devastation. She thought she’d never had him to begin with, but knowing he waited for her….that he searched for her…made her feel like she had lost him all over again.

“She and I…we dated for a while. Pretty much until I came back stateside. Daphne is still in Afghanistan, and we parted as friends, but we never got around to sleeping together again. I guess she didn’t mind that I was a twenty-two year old virgin, or that I called her the wrong name that first night, but she knew if we slept together again, I’d still be thinking about you. I think she was protecting herself. And I….well…I guess I was waiting again and didn’t even realize it.”

Camden stared at Shane, speechless. He gently led her back to the air mattress. He wrapped his arm around her back, and as he lowered himself to the mattress, he pulled her softly down with him. Camden snuggled into his warmth, the tears still steadily flowing down her cheeks. What a mess they had made of things. She shivered when Shane started tracing patterns on her arm, only now realizing the entire argument/discussion had taken place while they both were extremely and totally nude.

“Camden?” Shane whispered hesitantly.

“Yeah?” Her response was equally hesitant.

“I’m sorry…for everything.” They lay in silence for several long moments before Shane continued. “For breaking your heart,” his voice cracked. “For not finding you. And for not waiting for you.”

Camden inhaled sharply. “Oh Shane,” she cried in grief. Camden lifted her head and brought her lips to Shane's, communicating her forgiveness in her loving caress. She returned her head to his shoulder, and while Shane’s fingers trailed shapes on her arm, her fingers traced his rock-solid abs.

“Sunshine, we still have one more thing to talk about.” Again, Camden froze and panic filled her. “We need to tell Eric,” Shane stated matter-of-factly.

“Tell him what?” Camden was thoroughly confused.

“Tell him about us, Cam. I know you love him and need to let him down easily. But you and me? This is it for me. We’re a once in a lifetime thing, and the sooner you let Eric down, the sooner we can be together for good.” Shane turned his body toward hers and cupped her cheek in his calloused hand. “I love you, Camden Elisabeth Shepherd.”

Shane didn’t notice Camden’s horrified expression, because she wisely covered it by diving for his mouth. Her lips met his in a passionate assault. She couldn’t “let Eric down” as Shane so confidently stated. She knew coming into this weekend that it was for closure. She wasn’t under any misguided thoughts about staying in her family’s lives permanently. She loved them, and she had been desperate to see them, but she knew heading into this weekend that it was the last time she would see anyone in her family. And she knew now that this was also the last time she would see Shane Hunt. She put her entire soul into the kiss, drawing it out as long as possible. Once she was certain she could hide her plans from Shane, she broke the kiss.

“How much time until everyone is back from the river?” she asked innocently.

Shane glanced at his wristwatch. “Based on the normal time to tube from the launch to the exit, they might have another thirty minutes.” At that exact moment, Shane’s stomach grumbled, filling the tent with its rumbles. Camden’s laugh echoed in the tent, and Shane chuckled in reply.

“What do you want me to say?” he asked flirtatiously. “You made me work up quite an appetite.” Camden blushed.

“I don’t think your mom has anything planned until dinner. There’s a burger place about fifteen minutes from here. Want me to go get us some lunch?” Shane smirked and waggled his eyebrows. “Gotta get some energy for tonight.”

Camden hoped her laugh didn’t sound too fake, but she realized that Shane was offering her the perfect opportunity to escape.

“Sure,” she agreed. “I seem to have worked up an appetite, too.” She winked at Shane. “Would you mind getting me a barbecue bacon cheeseburger, with onion rings on the side. Oh….and Dr. Pepper to drink.”

Shane grinned at her. “I see you can still put away the food, Sunshine.” Camden smacked his arm.

“Get dressed, Hunt,” she demanded. “You’ve gone and made me hungry!”

Shane chuckled. “And after we eat lunch, I’ll make you hungry all over again.”

Camden didn’t know why she kept blushing. It’s not like Shane would get to keep his promise. The thought sobered her, though she tried to hide it.

“On your way then, Hunt.” Camden reached over, grabbed Shane’s swim trunks, and tossed them at his head. Shane put the trunks on, while Camden slipped into her shorts and tank top.

Shane leaned forward and pulled Camden’s face to his. “I love you, Sunshine.”

Camden’s eyes watered, but she told Shane the absolute truth. “I love you, too, Shane Hunt.” The grin that suddenly graced his face was priceless, and the sweet kiss that followed would stay with Camden forever.

“Bye, babe,” Shane whispered. “See you in a little bit.”

Camden waved her fingers as Shane exited the tent. When she heard the sound of the jeep starting, she began to race around the inside of the tent, packing clothes, and loading the cooler. Within twenty minutes, she had the car packed with luggage, and she was finished breaking down the tent. She couldn’t believe how quickly she had moved. Or her absolute luck. The television still echoed from her parents’ RV, and neither one of them had come out of it during the entire time she was packing.

With one last look at the campsite, Camden jumped into Eric’s SUV and drove away from the campground.

***

Chapter 9

As Eric climbed onto the deck at the exit from the river, he set his inner tube against a bench and stretched out his hand to Stella. Surprisingly, she had been intelligent, kind, and quite funny. Thankfully, Tiffany had been so busy harassing Brody, their inner tube had always been several feet behind Stella's and Eric's. While the sound of Tiffany's nasal voice wasn't completely hidden, the distance did muffle her outbursts somewhat.

Eric was a pretty observant guy, so he hadn't missed the longing looks Stella kept sending Brody's way. How Brody could choose an annoying, obviously surgically enhanced bimbo over someone as beautiful (inside and out) as Stella, Eric had no clue. He had no doubt Stella would have gotten along fabulously with Camden, if only the two girls had any chance to have a conversation. The awkward meals around Shane weren't exactly conducive to growing new friendships.

Eric hoped Camden's ankle was feeling better. Truthfully, he had a feeling it was feeling better this afternoon. He personally thought Camden was just trying to avoid being near Shane on the tubing trip. Speaking of Shane, Eric wondered how the jerk was enjoying his lonely trek down the river. He was actually quite relieved that Shane hadn't caught up with the group. He would have turned the trip into yet another awkward period of their weekend, and Eric had truly enjoyed spending time with Stella. If only they could find a way to get Shane and Tiffany together, they could kick them both out of the family weekend, and the whole trip would improve by leaps and bounds.