SWNOVELS Tempt Our Fate: Chapter 16
“Should I be concerned that you’re going to murder me and hide my body where no one will ever find me?”
I laugh, turning into the long driveway that leads up to my family home. “As tempting as that is, how could I torture you if you’re dead?”
“Fair point.” He looks out the window, and I wish I knew what he was thinking. What does he see when he looks at the place where I grew up? I don’t know how you could look at the rolling hills, the mountains around us, and not fall in love with Sutten Mountain. There’s not a better view in this world than the one at the place I called home growing up.
I drive through the gate to the ranch, watching Camden look at the large “Jennings Ranch” sign that hangs over us.
“A ranch?” he questions. “What are we doing here?”
I keep driving, marveling at all the work that’s been done already to prep the land for winter. I try and help my dad and my brother, Cade, out as much as possible, but with my own business, I can’t be out here as much as I’d like to. After my mom passed, I spent a lot of time here trying to do whatever I could to help my dad and my brother. After some time, I couldn’t handle being around them. I couldn’t handle being here, being reminded that I lost my mom, so I threw myself into work. All I did was eat, breathe, and sleep the bakery until I realized it was out of control, and I got Kitty to force me to get some work-life balance.
I had no idea what was going on with my brother, my dad was a shell of the man I knew growing up, and I didn’t know what to do about it except to distract myself by working.
“Is the guy walking up to us going to help with your murder plot?” Camden teases. He seems looser than when we first started our day, more carefree. That might change once he figures out what I have planned for us.
“The guy walking up to us is my brother. And while he can be a dick, I doubt he has any intention to murder you.”
“That’s your brother? Is this your family’s ranch?” He seems a little shocked as he looks around. It reminds me of how little we know each other. I don’t know much about his family dynamic or his life outside of being here at all, actually. It’s strange to spend an entire day with someone and not really know anything about them.
“Welcome home,” I say with enthusiasm, stopping my truck. Cade holds a saddle over his shoulder, looking at me with a confused expression.
I may have forgotten to mention to him that we were stopping by. He’s been a disaster since Mare, my best friend and his girlfriend, left for work. She’s currently in Chicago writing a book and in constant meetings. I don’t hear from her a lot, and while he might hear from her more than I do, I know he won’t get that depressing scowl off his face until she’s back here in Sutten. If she comes back to Sutten. It’s all up in the air right now.
“I should’ve known you grew up somewhere like this.” Neither one of us makes a move to open the door, even though my brother stands in front of the truck with an even deeper frown on his face than he normally has.
“Should I be offended by that?”
For a fraction of a second, his gaze lingers on my lips. If I blinked, I would’ve missed it. But I didn’t miss it, and I can’t help it when my tongue peeks out and traces the spot his focus was just on.
He clears his throat, making both of us jump. “I didn’t mean it as an insult.”
“I’m shocked.”
“I just meant that I should’ve known we grew up so differently. I grew up being scolded if I had a wrinkle in my clothing. You probably ran around the house with mud on your boots, and no one said a word.”
For a moment, I feel sad for the child he must’ve been. It’s only a tiny crumb of information about his life, but it tells me enough. We grew up very differently, and maybe if I got to know him a little more, I’d find out that there’s more to him other than just being a grumpy asshole.
Before I can say anything else, the driver’s-side door is ripped open. I almost fall out in front of both of them.
“Cade!” I yell, adjusting my butt in the seat. “What was that for?”
“What are you doing here, Pip?”
Camden snickers from the other side of me. “Pip?”
I aim a dirty look his way, totally forgetting that ten seconds ago, I was almost feeling sorry for him.
“And who is this?” Cade’s tone is not friendly. He definitely isn’t rolling out the welcome mat for our new guest. He’s acting every bit the overprotective big brother, even though he has no reason to be.
“This,” I begin, sliding out of the truck and planting my boots on the ground, “is Camden Hunter. He took over the Richardson gallery.”
“The guy you called a prick because he bought the space you wanted?”
Camden’s eyebrow arches in curiosity as he rounds around the front of the vehicle. I was too busy gawking at my brother’s unnecessary comment to notice Camden even getting out to begin with.
“I didn’t want to buy the space,” I lie, suddenly embarrassed. For some reason, I don’t want Camden to know I wanted the space he now owns. I don’t want him to have that to hold against me. Because I’m sure things can’t stay neutral between us forever, and even though today he’s been friendlier than normal, I know there will be a time when we’ll go back to arguing, and when that happens, I’d rather him not know that I’d always dreamed of buying the art gallery to allow myself more space for Wake and Bake.
Cade fixes the ball cap on his head. “What are you talking about? All you ever rattled on about was saving up the money to buy their place and yours and merge them together.” He pulls me closer to him, running his gloved hand along my forehead. “Did you get concussed and not tell anyone?”
I shove my brother away, wiping at my skin to see if he got any dirt on me. “Cade, you have no idea what you’re talking about.”
My brother gives me an odd look, but thankfully, he drops it. I’m sure the next time he gets me alone, he might ask about it, though. I’ll answer him when I have to. Right now, I’m more concerned about the inquisitive stare I’m getting from Camden.
Cade pulls a leather glove off his hand and sticks it into the back pocket of his jeans. He extends his hand, waiting for Camden to shake it. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Hunter. I’m Cade.”
Camden takes his hand. It’s funny to watch the two of them shake hands, knowing how vastly different they are. My brother is a country boy with his worn-in jeans and faded cap on his head. There’s dirt on his shirt from working today, and his boots are littered with scuffs. Camden barely has a hair out of place, despite riding around with the windows down with me today. He looks a tad more casual than he normally is by not wearing a suit jacket, but the nice button-up shirt and slacks are no match for the ranch.
I fight a smile at the idea of him on a horse with what he’s currently wearing.
“You can just call me Camden.”
Cade nods, crossing his arms across his chest. He’s tan—too tan. I make a mental note to make sure he and Dad are applying sunscreen every morning. They spend all day out in the sun, and if I find out they aren’t taking care of their skin, they’re going to get a long lecture.
“What brings you out here, Camden?”
Camden focuses on me. I hate the way that even when he looks so out of place standing in our driveway, he somehow still looks good. He almost looks like he belongs here, even though he’s dressed for a business meeting and not a trail ride. “I wish I could tell you, but I’m along for the ride. Your sister is in charge today.”
Cade laughs. “Careful giving her that much power.”
“I’m already regretting it.” His tone is teasing, and it doesn’t feel like a jab.
I clap my hands together. I’m ready to put him through it a little so maybe he becomes an asshole again. I can handle Camden being a dick; I’m used to it. What I’m not equipped to deal with are the lingering looks on my lips and the nice things he’s saying every now and then. “Camden is here for a trail ride.”
“A what?” Camden asks, a scowl appearing on his face once again. There it is. This Camden I’m much more familiar with.
“You can’t take him on a trail ride wearing that.” There’s humor in Cade’s voice. He was there the night we first met Camden. If you could even call it a meeting. I accidentally ran into this asshole, spilled beer all over him, and he was pissed. Cade was there, but I’ve since learned he was too busy pining after my best friend to pay attention to what was going on. Probably for the best because he also didn’t notice that I was flirting with Chase, one of his good friends.
“I’m not going on a trail ride at all,” Camden interjects, looking at me as if I’ve had the craziest idea in the world to take him out on the trails.
“We’re getting you to fall in love with Sutten,” I argue, already walking toward the stables. Luckily, it seems like we don’t have any guests here right now out on the trails, so we’ll have the stables and trails all to ourselves. “And I happen to know the best view in Sutten comes from being in the saddle on the side of the mountain.”
“I agree with your brother,” Camden yells from behind me. “I don’t have the proper clothes to go riding! I don’t have any riding boots.” I don’t bother looking over my shoulder to see if he’s following or not. He can follow me or be left alone with my brother. I doubt he picks the latter.
“Riding boots,” I call, happy to see my horse, Tonka. I haven’t been good about coming out here and giving him attention when I know I should. Life is just busy, and I know that he gets to go on trail rides often. Finally, I turn around, finding Camden following me a few steps behind. “Tell me, Camden, did you ride English saddle growing up? You went to equestrian camps, didn’t you?”
“No,” he states matter-of-factly. “I’m not really one for…animals. But I once dated a girl who jumped competitively, so I know a little about horses.”
“Did you break her heart?”
“Depends on who you ask.”
Cade catches up to us, sliding his phone back into his pocket like he’d just gotten off a call.
“Talk to Mare?” I prod. She keeps up with Cade, but she doesn’t keep up with me as much. I try not to let it bring me down. She’s busy finishing a book, and I’m confident she’ll come back once she’s done everything she needs to do in Chicago. But I miss my best friend.
“Yeah, she didn’t have long—she was about to go to sleep for the day. She was up all night writing.”
I hate that I feel Camden staring at me. I’m worried he can read my every thought. That he’ll find out something else to use against me.
“How about I go get some clothes and boots of mine to see if they work for you?” Cade offers, sizing up Camden’s clothing of choice.
“You couldn’t have told me to dress accordingly?” Camden ignores my brother’s comment completely, pinning me with a brooding stare.
All I can do is smile and shrug. “And ruin the surprise? Never.”