then, okay?” he asks softly, kissing the side of my head and letting his lips linger. For whatever reason, that makes my stomach drop. It’s like he’s inhaling me in, giving himself something to remember and it feels a lot like a goodbye.
“Okay.” I give, putting on a brave face, before letting go. “Last night was perfect, Deacon.”
He smiles the smile I love most and nods. “It was.” Slowly, he walks backward toward his truck. “Two weeks, Cami. I promise.” He holds up two fingers and gives me another smile, but I see the uncertainty on his face.
Neither of us knows what to expect next. And the unknown is always scary, but I won’t regret my choice to be with Deacon. I’ll cherish it forever, no matter what happens.
I watch him leave and immediately start counting the minutes until I’ll see him again.
Camille
Present
HANGING UP THE PHONE WITH Annie, I exhale and stare straight ahead, watching the back of the ambulance.
Normally, the drive to Baton Rouge seems like a hop, skip, and a jump. Today, it feels like we’re ascending Mount Everest.
“What did she say?” Sam asks. There’s a mixture of worry and sadness and regret in his voice that matches the look on his face.
“She’s taking Carter to Ms. Becky and heading up to the hospital.”
“Did she tell Carter?” Sam asks as even more worry seeps in.
“She told him that there was an accident at Pockets,” I tell him, replaying the sound of his voice from the background. “She told him everything is fine, but she has to go to check on Deke.”
I can’t say anything else because I know I won’t be able to hide the tears. If I open my mouth to say another word, the gates will open and there won’t be any stopping the flood of emotion.
“I’ll call Micah,” he says, reaching for his phone on the dash.
Sam’s tone with Micah was a lot like mine, direct and to the point. I could hear Micah’s voice, but couldn’t make out what he was saying, only the replies from Sam, which again were direct and to the point. I could tell he was trying to keep from saying anything that he thought would upset me, but he doesn’t have to do that. If it’s a possibility, I’ve already thought it.
The worst-case scenario is that Deacon doesn’t make it.
Anything else, I can handle. As long as he comes back to me.
Camille
Past
DEACON DIDN’T COME HOME THE next weekend or the weekend after that. On the fourth weekend, I talked Stacey into going shopping in Baton Rouge under the guise that I needed new paint brushes. Unfortunately, there is nowhere in French Settlement to buy brushes, but the truth of the matter is that thanks to Annie, I was stocked up for a year, at least. But Stacey didn’t need to know that.
We shopped and I bought unneeded paint brushes and a few new tubes of paint. After shopping, I asked Stacey if she’d like to go to a restaurant Annie had suggested. I left out the part about it being where Deacon works. But when she said no, because it’s “too expensive” and “she doesn’t like seafood anyway,” I had to spill the beans.
First of all, who doesn’t like seafood?
Second of all, she had already caught on. I didn’t even have to say much. She said when she saw my face drop when she didn’t want to go to the restaurant, she knew it had something to do with Deacon.
So, I told her. Not all of it, but I told her what I wanted her to know. I told her that I missed Deacon, which she already knew, and I told her that I just wanted to see if he was working, because I needed to talk to him. She was satisfied with that answer. So, we went to the restaurant. Stacey settled for mac and cheese, and I had a seafood salad. The food was not a disappointment and well worth the money I took out of my savings to pay for it. The disappointment came when there was no Deacon working that day. Our waiter said he had the day off and wanted to know if I needed him to pass on a message.
No. No message.
‘ I want to talk
“Okay.” I give, putting on a brave face, before letting go. “Last night was perfect, Deacon.”
He smiles the smile I love most and nods. “It was.” Slowly, he walks backward toward his truck. “Two weeks, Cami. I promise.” He holds up two fingers and gives me another smile, but I see the uncertainty on his face.
Neither of us knows what to expect next. And the unknown is always scary, but I won’t regret my choice to be with Deacon. I’ll cherish it forever, no matter what happens.
I watch him leave and immediately start counting the minutes until I’ll see him again.
Camille
Present
HANGING UP THE PHONE WITH Annie, I exhale and stare straight ahead, watching the back of the ambulance.
Normally, the drive to Baton Rouge seems like a hop, skip, and a jump. Today, it feels like we’re ascending Mount Everest.
“What did she say?” Sam asks. There’s a mixture of worry and sadness and regret in his voice that matches the look on his face.
“She’s taking Carter to Ms. Becky and heading up to the hospital.”
“Did she tell Carter?” Sam asks as even more worry seeps in.
“She told him that there was an accident at Pockets,” I tell him, replaying the sound of his voice from the background. “She told him everything is fine, but she has to go to check on Deke.”
I can’t say anything else because I know I won’t be able to hide the tears. If I open my mouth to say another word, the gates will open and there won’t be any stopping the flood of emotion.
“I’ll call Micah,” he says, reaching for his phone on the dash.
Sam’s tone with Micah was a lot like mine, direct and to the point. I could hear Micah’s voice, but couldn’t make out what he was saying, only the replies from Sam, which again were direct and to the point. I could tell he was trying to keep from saying anything that he thought would upset me, but he doesn’t have to do that. If it’s a possibility, I’ve already thought it.
The worst-case scenario is that Deacon doesn’t make it.
Anything else, I can handle. As long as he comes back to me.
Camille
Past
DEACON DIDN’T COME HOME THE next weekend or the weekend after that. On the fourth weekend, I talked Stacey into going shopping in Baton Rouge under the guise that I needed new paint brushes. Unfortunately, there is nowhere in French Settlement to buy brushes, but the truth of the matter is that thanks to Annie, I was stocked up for a year, at least. But Stacey didn’t need to know that.
We shopped and I bought unneeded paint brushes and a few new tubes of paint. After shopping, I asked Stacey if she’d like to go to a restaurant Annie had suggested. I left out the part about it being where Deacon works. But when she said no, because it’s “too expensive” and “she doesn’t like seafood anyway,” I had to spill the beans.
First of all, who doesn’t like seafood?
Second of all, she had already caught on. I didn’t even have to say much. She said when she saw my face drop when she didn’t want to go to the restaurant, she knew it had something to do with Deacon.
So, I told her. Not all of it, but I told her what I wanted her to know. I told her that I missed Deacon, which she already knew, and I told her that I just wanted to see if he was working, because I needed to talk to him. She was satisfied with that answer. So, we went to the restaurant. Stacey settled for mac and cheese, and I had a seafood salad. The food was not a disappointment and well worth the money I took out of my savings to pay for it. The disappointment came when there was no Deacon working that day. Our waiter said he had the day off and wanted to know if I needed him to pass on a message.
No. No message.
‘ I want to talk
Similar Books
