I got before he turned and looked down at his empty plate. I wondered if he'd ever be able to get past what I'd done, and if so, would my pregnancy be the last blow to his already damaged heart?
I found an open seat next to my brother and scooted my chair in before acknowledging anyone else in the room. On the opposite side of Josh was a female I'd never met before. Callie was across from Josh. Cassie, who I hadn't seen since I'd returned home was directly in front of me, her beau in the seat beside her. With my parents at both ends it only left for one more unoccupied spot next to me.
I couldn't look in his direction. There was no way I could keep a straight face with Wes being so close, so I turned my attention to Cassie. "I didn't know you were coming."
"Mom called and invited us. It's good to see you, sis."
"You too. How is the force treating you?"
She smiled and looked at Logan. "There's always crime."
"Have you given anymore thought into the FBI?" Her boyfriend already worked for the bureau.
"I'm working on it. It's tough. If it doesn't work out I'm happy where I am. What about you? Mom told me what was going on. Have you decided what you're going to do?"
I glanced over at my father. I don't know why I did it. I should have expected his angry grimace to be focused on my answer. "I haven't decided. I'm doing some of my assignments online. There's only two classes I'm missing."
"Won't that void your scholarship? Isn't it necessary to maintain your GPA?" Callie asked.
"It's my last semester. Worst-case scenario is that I have to pay to retake two classes. I've doubled up to graduate a semester early, so I'm hoping it will still happen."
"What about Stanford?" A deep voice asked from the head of the table.
Suddenly I felt something touching my knee. I didn't dare turn to address it, but instead understood it was an offer of support. It wasn't going to help me make peace with my father, but it certainly helped me continue. "I'm contacting them first thing on Monday. I'll have to start late on account of having to make up those credits. My MCAT results were great. I'm hoping they take that into consideration. I'd be a good addition to their medical program."
With my father temporarily content, my mother suggested we continue on with dinner. "How about we say grace before the food is cold?"
“This conversation is far from over, Cam. You will fix this,” my father mentioned before clapping his hands together and closing his eyes.
The presence that had been on my leg finally let go as we all bowed our heads for the blessing.
With the prayer being short, everyone dug in to the feast my mother had prepared. I focused on my plate, not trying to draw any attention to the uncomfortable feel I had being this close to everyone who cared about me the most. I felt like an outsider; someone who didn’t belong any longer.
Out of the corner of my eye, from across the table, I caught my sister staring at Wes. When she finally turned away, I leaned in his direction to hint around that he should give it a go. “Callie can’t keep her eyes off you,” I whispered so only he were able to hear.
He replied back with the same low tone. “It’s too bad I’m fixated on her sister.”
Taken back by his answer, I pretended he didn’t exist, only to have more words come out of his sexy mouth. “I promised not to push you. Just know, you’re the most beautiful person in this room, even with that messed up hair and plain clothes. I’m going to think about taking them off you later when I’m alone.”
I flashed a gross out look and got back to my plate, shoving a large stalk of broccoli in my mouth.
“Wes, I don’t know what you just said to Cammie, but she looks downright disturbed over there.” My sister must have seen our little conversation. Of course she’d catch it with her stalker gaze on Wes. It was no wonder he wasn’t interested. She was kind of creepy about it.
“He was telling me how broccoli used to make him sick. He said he threw up on his plate once,” I almost laughed at the fib I’d made up to save face. Wes gently kicked me under the table, to acknowledge