Reunited...With Child (13 page)

Even so, there was no doubt that he was already a great dad. It didn't matter that he was an executive and he had demands at work; Ty came first. She'd seen Cam keep his BlackBerry in his pocket for most of the evening and only checked it once during dinner.

But why couldn't he take the next step and be a great partner to her, too? She wanted to give them both the family they'd never had. To give Ty the parents she and Cam had lacked.

She couldn't believe it, but she still loved him. Even after he'd said hateful things to her, she really just wanted him back here with her. She wanted to feel his strong arms around her.

She was saddened that she wouldn't get to sleep next to him and wake up in the morning with him to Ty's
soft calls. She wanted that for both of them, but it wasn't meant to be.

She leaned over the crib and kissed Ty on the top of his head and then retreated to her own bedroom, quietly undressing and changing into her nightgown. It was sleek and sexy, and she'd hoped to have a chance to wear it for Cam. It seemed now that would never happen.

She knew she had to stop thinking about him. And she needed to have a plan. She was going to have to be on her toes tomorrow.

She could stay. But that would make her feel like her soul was slowly dying if she had to spend day in and day out around the man she loved. The man who didn't love her back and was never going to.

She was so sad she started crying again and hugged the spare pillow to her chest as she fell onto the bed. She felt so alone and scared.

She had no one to ask advice from, and every decision she'd made…well, they didn't seem too smart at just this moment. And frankly, she was out of good ideas. She'd used her last one up when she'd decided to tell Cam she loved him.

She wanted to believe that tomorrow everything would be better, but she doubted that it would be. Cam wasn't going to suddenly fall in love with her. She was going to have to figure out a way to share custody with a man who was going to treat her like a stranger—worse than a stranger—every time they saw each other.

She rolled over, hugging the pillow to her stomach and stared at the clock. But no answers came to her. The
last time she'd felt this lost and alone she'd called Cam. But she wasn't sure that he'd take her call.

Because it was midnight and because she felt like she had nothing else to lose, she picked up the phone and called him. He didn't answer. It went to his voice mail, and she hung up. She closed her eyes and wished her life were like the romantic tales she loved so much because then happiness and forgiveness would be waiting right around the corner for her and Cam. But she'd been alive long enough to know that dreams really didn't come true.

H
e wanted to talk to both of his brothers, and though it was late, he knew they'd both be up if he called.

But he also knew that they had women in their lives now. And he didn't want to intrude. But this was big. He had a chance to change the course of his life. The way that Becca had changed her own life when Ty had been born.

A son that Becca had hidden from him. A love that she never did.

He called Nate as he pulled into his driveway.

“This better be a damned emergency,” Nate said by way of greeting.

“I don't know what to do,” Cam said.

“What? Where are you?”

“In your driveway,” Cam said.

“Good, I'll be right down and we'll get Justin on the phone…is it Ty? Is he okay?”

“No, he's fine. I just don't know what to do about Becca,” Cam said.

“Damn,” Nate said. The front door opened, and Cam hung up his cell phone as he walked into the house. Nate hugged him close, and right away there was something comforting in having someone on his side.

“Okay, tell me everything from the beginning,” Nate said.

“I will, but I want to call Justin, too. I'm going to need an attorney.”

“This keeps getting better and better,” Nate said, leading the way down the hall to his office.

Cam walked over to the wet bar and poured himself a scotch. He turned and held the bottle up toward Nate. “Yes, please. I'm going to tell Jen that I'll be a while. You can call Justin, okay?”

“Sure. Should I come back another time?” he asked.

“No, definitely not. I'll be less than a minute,” Nate said.

He watched his brother run out of the room and poured himself two fingers of scotch, downing the drink, then quickly pouring himself another one. He poured a glass for Nate, too, and then walked over to the big walnut desk. He'd given the desk to Nate when he'd come back to Miami from playing baseball. Their father had given Cam one just like it when he'd graduated high school.

Cam hit the speaker button on the desk phone and dialed Justin's number.

The phone was picked up on the second ring. “Hello?”

Damn, it was Selena. “It's Cam. I'm sorry to call you so late. Can I speak to Justin?”

“Yes, just a minute,” she said.

“What's the matter? Is Nate okay?” Justin said as soon as he came on the line.

Cam wondered if he shouldn't have waited until tomorrow to do this. But he'd known he needed to talk tonight, and this was a family matter.

Nate came back in the room wearing a dark navy robe. “Cam's got problems with Becca.”

“What the hell?” Justin asked.

Nate sat down in one of the leather armchairs near the wall, and Cam stayed where he was, reclining against the desk. “Do you want the entire story?”

“No, I think I know what I need to know,” Justin said, the bitterness in his voice coming loud and clear through the speaker. “The bottom line is, Ty is eighteen months old. What are you going to do? Are we suing for custody and taking the kid from her?”

Though part of Cam wanted to say yes, he knew he wouldn't be able to do that to Becca or Ty. And suddenly he had his own answer. He didn't need to be waking his brothers up in the middle of the night to try to figure out what to do next. He only doubted himself because he'd never had a good relationship except with these two and his dad.

“She's a good mom.”

“I agree,” Nate said. “But if you don't get along with her, you're going to have to take action.”

The only action Cam wanted to take was to smash his fist through a wall. All because he couldn't admit to himself that he wanted to build a life with Becca. One that would include a cute little son named Ty. But now those dreams were dashed and he had to start over from scratch. Or did he? Because to be fair, he couldn't see a future with Ty without Becca.

Not without her.

“I don't know what to do. This is the first time in my adult life that I'm unsure what the next step is and I'm scared.”

“Well, you're not alone and neither is Ty. We are going to figure it out and rally together. That's what the Stern brothers do best,” Nate said.

Cam was grateful for his brothers, but he knew it wasn't going to be as easy to pick up the pieces as they made it seem.

“Do you think that Dad had it wrong when he said that Stern men weren't made for monogamy?” Cam asked.

“Yes,” Nate said. “I was definitely made to be Jen's husband. I think Dad picked the wrong woman to tie his life to.”

“Jus?” Cam asked.

“I agree with Nate. Dad was a great father but he didn't try to be the partner to Mom that I am to Selena. And that you are to Becca.”

“How do you know?” Cam asked. “You didn't seem too fond of her.”

“Selena pointed out that Becca was living with you and not angry at you at all. Do you know what kind of love she must have for you to do that?” Justin said.

“I do,” Cam admitted. “I'm afraid to love her.”

Nate started laughing.

“What?”

“You already love her. You just don't want her to know. You're not fooling anyone else.”

“True that,” Justin said. “You don't want to sue her, you want to live with her and Ty and are afraid to marry her. That tells me you don't need an attorney, you need to decide for yourself if you are going to keep hiding from life or grab it by the balls… My money's on you grabbing it.”

“Mine, too,” Nate said. “You have never been someone to stand on the sidelines.”

His brothers had a point, and Cam knew he had already made up his mind. “Good night, boys. Sorry for the late night.”

“It's all right. That's what family is for,” Nate said.

“Just don't make a habit of this,” Justin said, before hanging up.

Cam left Nate's house ten minutes later and drove back to his home.

In the corner of his bedroom propped against the wall was the Chagall print that he'd bought for Becca. Looking at it made his heart ache. He wanted to be that man in the picture holding on to the woman. And he wanted that woman to be Becca.

He took his cell phone out of his pocket and saw he'd missed a call from her but she hadn't left a message.

What would she say to the man who'd broken her heart? He loved that woman. It didn't matter what had happened and that she'd lied to him, he needed to have her in his life.

 

Becca was up before dawn and had all of her stuff packed. She knew she couldn't just take Ty and disappear so she'd made a call to Jasmine and asked to stay at her house for a few days. Jasmine had been surprised but said yes. She also knew she'd have to talk to an attorney and hammer out some kind of legal agreement with Cam. She was more than willing to do whatever she had to do so that Ty was the winner in this. He shouldn't have to suffer because love had dealt her a losing hand.

Becca had no other choice but to leave. She had figured out at about two this morning that if she was ever going to be able to function again, she was going to have to stay away from Cam. Being around him would mean staying in love with him, and that wasn't healthy.

She wished it had turned out differently.

It didn't matter what she wished. Real life had intruded on her fairy tale, and it was time to just stop pretending that it hadn't.

She opened the room to her room. Sitting in the middle of the hallway was a large framed print. She closed the door behind her and walked closer to it.

It was a Chagall. She didn't know the name of the painting, but she immediately knew who had given it to her. She went into Cam's bedroom to see if he was
there, but he was nowhere to be found. She sat down in front of the painting. It was a print, she realized on closer inspection.

A man held a woman in his arms as they floated near a house. There were three candles in the foreground illuminating the scene. But what really caught her attention was the way the man held the woman.

He was protecting her and, to Becca's eyes, loving her. He seemed like a man who would do anything necessary to protect the woman he loved. And not just against physical dangers but also against loneliness.

She hugged Ty close to her chest and blinked to keep from crying. She loved Cam—and his giving her a gift like this sure wasn't going to make her stop loving him.

In fact, it made her want to do whatever he asked. Anything just so she'd have some small contact with him during the rest of her life.

She put Ty down when he started squirming. She stayed where she was, keeping her eyes on the painting.

“Hi, dadada,” Ty said.

Becca glanced over her shoulder at Cam, who was approaching from down the hall. She had to fight not to cry. He looked ragged and tired. He wore an oxford broadcloth shirt untucked over a pair of faded jeans. And though this was the most casual she'd ever seen him, he looked perfect to her.

“Did you hear what he called me?” Cam asked as he picked up his son and held him.

“Yes, we have been practicing it.” After a brief pause,
she said, “I…I love this painting. Thank you so much. But why did you give it to me?” she asked as he set Ty down.

Ty toddled over to them and tugged on Cam's pant leg. Cam ruffled Ty's hair, but that wasn't enough for the boy, who held his arms up.

Cam picked Ty up again and then kissed him on the top of his head. Becca knew it wasn't going to take these two very long to bond with each other. She was glad. Every child should have a solid relationship with his father. And she wanted that for Ty and for Cam.

“I had purchased the Chagall for you before we had our argument. And in my mind it was already yours.”

“Oh. So it doesn't meant you've changed your mind?”

“No, Becca, I haven't changed my mind.”

She nodded, a tear trickling down her left cheek. “I love you so much, Cam, it hurts. But I can't keep begging you to stay in my life.”

“I don't want to hurt you, Becca. I want to be that hero who makes all your dreams come true. So I'm asking you to give me a second chance. Can you do that?”

“What? Oh, my God. Yes. Yes, I can,” Becca said, a huge smile spreading on her face. “So you
have
changed your mind?”

“I haven't. It's what I wanted all along but was afraid to reach out and take. My only real desire was to be part of the family you and I have been building. I need to make you mine. To have Ty is a sweet bonus. So I'm asking you to give me a another chance. Let's start over
this time with the air cleared between us. I think we have a real shot at happiness.”

Becca ran to his side and threw her arms around his neck. “Me, too. You won't regret this.”

“I know I won't,” he said. “I want you to marry me, Becca.”

“When?” she asked.

He laughed. “Is that a yes?”

“Yes, it is. I love you, Cam.”

“I love you, too, Becca. I know our lives are going to be better than either of us imagined.”

“Me, too,” she said, hugging him and Ty close. Cam lifted her off her feet and spun them all around. Then he kissed her hard and deep, and she knew he was back to stay.