The Rancher's Best Gift

“Renee who?”

She snorted. “You can’t fool me, Matthew. That was what—at least ten years ago and you’ve never remarried. You’re either still crazy in love with the woman or too scared to try marriage again.”

He stabbed his fork into the fries. “Your first assumption is dead wrong. Your second one is not exactly right, either.”

Her vivid blue eyes continued to peruse his face, and Matthew wondered what she was looking for. A sign of weakness? A crack in his armor? Well, if anyone could find it, she could.

He said, “I’ll admit that when Renee and I divorced it knocked me off my feet.”

“It shouldn’t have,” she said bluntly. “I could’ve told you before you ever married her that she was all fluff.”

He scowled at her. “How would you know that? You were only a teenager back then.”

“A girl doesn’t have to reach the age of twenty before she learns how to spot a female piranha.”

He grunted. “Men are slow learners.”

A faint smile touched her face. “The last I heard you were dating a redhead from Yarnell. Are you getting serious about her?”

“No. I haven’t seen her in more than a year. And I’m not planning on getting serious about anyone. I’m going to leave marriage up to you and Vivian, and your brothers.”

Her face went void. “Leave me off that list, Matthew. The chance of me ever marrying is as about as good as snow falling here on Red Bluff. And that’ll be a cold day in hell.”

The bitterness in Camille’s voice matched the feelings he’d carried around inside him for all these years. He understood the humiliation she’d gone through when Danby had chosen another woman over her. He’d felt that same sting when Renee had left him high and dry.

“So what do you do with yourself now?” he asked. “I imagine it’s awfully quiet around here when the ranch hands aren’t around.”

Faint surprise arched one of her delicate brows. “You mean none of the family has mentioned my job to you? That’s a shocker.”

He shook his head. “No. You found an office job over in Benson or Tucson?”

Rolling her eyes, she got up from the table and walked over to the cabinets located directly behind him.

“Lord no! I’d have to be starving to death before I ever work in an office again.”

He glanced over his shoulder to see she was filling a coffeemaker with grounds and water.

“Why? That is the reason you went to college,” he stated the obvious. “What are you going to do? Let all that education go to waste?”

He didn’t know why he’d let himself be sucked into such a personal conversation with this woman. Maybe because in the quieter moments of his life, he’d often thought of her and hoped she was happy.

With the coffee dripping, she walked back over to the table and took her seat. “No. That isn’t why I went to college. I worked to get my degree in business management because that’s what Daddy wanted for me and I promised him I would.”

“He died shortly after you graduated high school. He would’ve never known if you’d chosen to take a different path.”

“Maybe not. But I would have known it. I made a promise to him and I wasn’t about to break it.”

Her loyalty to her father didn’t surprise Matthew. Even though Camille had never been the cowgirl that her mother and sister were, she’d been very close to Joel, and he to her. Perhaps because she was the baby of the family, or perhaps it was the fact that she was so different from Vivian that Joel had been extra protective of his youngest.

“So if you don’t have an office job, what are you doing?” he asked.

“I’m a cook in a diner over by Dragoon.”

Hearing she’d been hired on as a cook was almost too much for his tired brain to register. “The population can’t be three hundred there. I wasn’t aware it had an eating place. I only remember it having a few houses and old buildings.”

“It’s there. Not far from the interstate. Lots of folks from Wilcox traveling through to Benson and Tucson stop to eat. The building isn’t much to look at and we mostly just have short orders, but the customers seem to enjoy it and I love working there.”

The moment she’d started to talk about her job, the taut expression on her face had relaxed.

“To tell you the truth, Camille, I didn’t even know you could cook until tonight.” He gestured to his empty plate. “By the way, it was delicious.”

“Thanks. That’s what I like to hear.” She leaned back in the chair and crossed her arms across her breasts. “I think Mom regrets that Reeva allowed me to help her in the kitchen. I probably don’t have to tell you that she expects more out of me than being a cook.”

“Why? Because you’re a Hollister?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Isn’t that enough?”

“Yeah,” he said after a moment of thought. “It’s a lot to live up to.”

She smiled and the expression on her face was suddenly sunny and sweet and exactly the way he remembered her when he’d first come to Three Rivers. The sight sent a poignant pang rifling through him and he hated himself for being so sentimental. Especially with Camille. Of all the Hollister siblings, she’d often been more of a rebel than Holt.

She said, “I actually think you understand.”

“Why wouldn’t I? I’m not a Hollister, but Joel always expected a lot from me. More than I thought I was capable of. It was never easy trying to live up to the expectations he had of me. I tried. But I honestly don’t know if it was ever enough.”

“It was more than enough. You were like a son to him.”

Hearing those words from Camille twisted something deep inside him, and he wondered why seeing her again was bringing up thoughts he’d tried so hard to keep in the past.

She picked up his empty plate and carried it over to the sink. While she was gone, Matthew rubbed both hands over his face. These next two weeks were going to be even longer than he’d first imagined, he thought. And he was wondering just how early he’d need to get up in the morning to avoid running into her before he left the house. Or how late he would need to stay out at night until she went to bed.

Her fragrance drifted to him and he dropped his hands to see she’d returned to the table with a small plate of chocolate pie and a cup of coffee.

“I realize you’re tired, but I thought you might like dessert.”

“Did you make this?” he asked.

She gave him a half smile. “Yes. I bake pies for the diner, too. They’re a big hit with the customers, so the owner pays me extra for doing it.”

She’s simply staying on Red Bluff until she gets her head on straight.

Blake couldn’t be more wrong, Matthew thought as the man’s remark came back to him. Camille didn’t look or sound like she was suffering a broken heart. In fact, she appeared to be content. If the Hollisters were expecting her to return to Three Rivers to cry on their shoulders, they were all in for a rude surprise.

“This is very good,” he said after he’d taken the first bite. “It tastes like Reeva’s.”

“Thanks. That’s the best compliment you could’ve given me.”

“Are you not having any?”