“Hell, yeah. Those were my favorite boots, and you threw them away. I found them in the trash.”
“They were a hundred years old and smelled like rotten eggs.”
“My favorite,” he repeated. “My dad gave them to me.”
“He did?” The temper drained from Annie’s face. “Oh, Nick. I didn’t know.”
Nick lifted a shoulder. “It’s okay.”
“No,” she said softly, “it’s not. I was wrong.”
“Wait.” Nick lifted a hand and cupped it around his ear. “What?”
“I was wrong, dammit.”
Nick smiled. “Yeah, I heard you. I just wanted to hear it again.”
T.J. stepped in front of Nick so Annie couldn’t kill him, though he hadn’t taken his eyes off Cam. Neither had Stone. Nope, they both stood there looking at him freezing his balls off. With a shiver, he worked to turn his shirt right side out. “What the hell are you all doing out here?”
“Besides watching you take your walk of shame?” Stone asked. “Coming to tell you T.J.’s back. Didn’t realize you were busy getting dumped.”
“Yeah.” Cam pulled on his T-shirt. “Thanks.”
“So how did you f**k things up in one night?” T.J. asked.
Cam yanked on the outer shell next, wishing for his boots. Or socks. Or a hammer to hit himself over the head. He wanted to say something scathing, but his teeth were knocking together.
“Men are so stupid,” Annie muttered, just as Katie opened her front door. Everyone turned and looked at her.
She tossed out Cam’s boots, then shut the door with a rather loud finality.
Annie shot Cam a see look.
Yes, men were stupid. And he was their king.
Then the door opened again, and one more time everyone looked at Katie.
She had her gaze locked on T.J. and Riley.
“Hi,” Riley said. “I’m your counterpart Riley. Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Katie said slowly, clearly surprised. “Did I mark your return date wrong on my calendar? I thought I wasn’t leaving until Sunday.”
Sunday, Cam thought. Four days from now.
How had that happened?
“Just visiting,” Riley assured her. “Unless you want out of here early.”
She hesitated, and Cam’s knees actually went weak. All he’d wanted was a moment to think, to breathe, to…process his feelings for her. The thought of her going early killed him.
Her gaze touched his for a long, torturous beat, during which time he held his breath. “No,” she finally said, “I don’t need out of here early.” She turned to T.J.
“Hi. I’m the smart brother.”
Him she offered a genuine smile. “Nice to finally meet you in person.”
Cam shoved his freezing feet into his boots and then turned to look at her, but she waved at everyone except him and then went back inside her cabin.
The click of the bolt sliding home echoed in the morning air. Yeah. That sounds final. He followed Annie and the others up to the lodge and into the kitchen for breakfast, which he happened to desperately need.
Fucking up his life made him hungry.
Annie had already made the fixings for breakfast burritos. Cam threw one together for himself, took a big bite, then paused when Katie walked into the room, headed directly for the pot of coffee to pour herself a mug.
“Morning,” Annie said to her.
“Morning,” she said back, nodding to Stone and T.J. while completely ignoring Cam. Which seemed about right. He’d ignore his sorry ass if he were her too.
Annie looked at him like say something, but Cam didn’t know what he could possibly say in front of everyone: Sorry I don’t know how to think and look at you at the same time. Are you sorry you kicked me out of your place in the subfreezing morning without all my clothes?
She didn’t look sorry as he drank in the sight of her, and when she met his gaze defiantly, the room fell quiet.
Not to mention the temperature dropped by ten degrees.
Nick sipped his coffee with a slurp.
Stone rocked his head to whatever beat he had going on his iPod.
T.J. cleared his throat.
And Annie sighed, then shoved Riley, T.J., and Stone toward the door. “Go.” Then she turned back to Cam with a look that said “fix this now” before vanishing herself.
Katie grabbed a tortilla, slapped some eggs and sausage into it, her irritation level high enough that even Cam, reigning King of the Stupid Males, could read loud and clear. “Katie-”
“I’ve got work.”
He managed to catch her at the door, barely, and she frowned down at his hand on her arm. “Sorry,” she said, “I don’t need my itch scratched right now.”
“Katie-”
“In fact, I don’t need anything from you; but if that changes, I’ll be sure to let you know.”
With that, she tugged free, and with her nose so far in the air that she was in danger of getting a nose bleed, she took off.
Cam looked at the empty kitchen, feeling just as empty. It wasn’t a new feeling. In fact, the emptiness had become an old friend, even before his accident. In the past, he’d combat it by getting on the mountain, or finding someone to keep his feet warm for a few hours.
But his old habits didn’t appeal. Oddly enough, for a guy who’d spent his entire life avoiding conflicts, the only thing he wanted to do was go after Katie and have it out with her.