felt a little more awake. “So… how much is the Arrive Alive Fee in this Uber?”
The right corner of his mouth kicked up as we watched the car cut off another two lanes of airport traffic. “Shut up, JJ.”
“I did ask you not to call me that, mostly because I’m not dy-no-mite.”
He chuckled. “Well, I’ll stop when everyone else does. And we both know that’s never going to happen.”
As he exited the airport terminal. All the friendly lights faded away and darkness and shadows took their place. Cameron navigated the busy traffic smoothly. I didn’t try to back-seat drive. Drowsiness tugged at my subconscious again and I fought it back once more.
Cameron spoke into the quiet. “I wanted to let you know that I’m sorry about Jack. If I can help in any way, let me know.”
His heartfelt words reminded me that I hadn’t come home for an impromptu visit. My father wasn’t going to meet me on the porch, fussing about me spending money on an Uber. One thing the Suttons never suffered from was a shortage of cars—that kind of came with the territory in a family of mechanics. The house wasn’t going to smell of his special spaghetti, which was my favorite. He never admitted to making it just for me, but he did, and I pretended to believe that it just happened to be on the stove every time I came home.
He’s not gone yet.
“Thank you,” I said, a little subdued. “Do you know what happened?”
“Somewhat. Jack was in the grocery store when he fell to his knees and nearly passed out. He managed to call John, and thank God, John realized something was wrong. Your father was slurring his words and not making any sense. John called the paramedics, who took Jack to St. Mary’s. Then he called me.”
I tried not to feel disgruntled. It only made sense for my brother to call Cameron. My entire family still considered him part of ours, which was understandable. We’d made one hell of a team. After my mother’s death, he’d been the first person in my life to help me shoulder the burden of taking care of my family.
Apparently, he still was. He was always right fucking here, doing the right fucking thing. As for me, I’d been lying on my belly in a national reserve, taking pictures of stupid springbok, while my father fought for his life.
“He’s okay, JJ.” Cameron’s voice was soothing and sure,it immediately had a calming effect that I’d never cop to. “You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”
I blew out a breath. “I know.”
Despite my desire to rush to the hospital, I knew it was far too late at night, at least, that’s what my watch told me. My body was still in a different time zone. I usually had tricks to help me with the jet lag, but my rush to get home had made that impossible.
I glanced over at Cameron to ask if he could stop for food, and kind of lost my train of thought somewhere around those broad shoulders and strong corded forearms. I knew he’d probably come straight from work to pick me up because he was still in his dark blue scrubs. He owned a vet clinic in town named Happy Paws. Even though he’d probably put in a full day, he was still neat and tidy. Being neat and tidy from head to toe was kind of Cameron’s thing.
Messing him up was mine.
He was still wearing his hair the same way as the last time I’d seen him, which was a little longer than usual but neatly tapered. God help the glossy chestnut strands if they tried for any type of rebellion. I couldn’t really see his eyes in the dark, but they had always been the lightest of greens. Every time I came across sea glass I paused and thought about Cameron’s eyes.
Fanciful nonsense.
I looked away. I guess I’d just put Cameron’s hotness in the category of “Things That Hadn’t Changed.” What had changed was that I was no longer a glutton for punishment. We didn’t fit together anymore, and we wanted different things. I knew that. I also knew that while he looked like a nice, sweet boy on the outside, he certainly didn’t fuck like one.
But I digress.
I was glad to still have him in my life. No matter how difficult it was. We’d been best friends long before we’d ever become lovers, and I wasn’t going to give that up. Besides,