Cammie Healy - Jennifer Foor Page 0,72
without leaving, I think she’d be happy.”
The old man laughed to himself in between bites. “Like I said. She’s just like her mother.”
While they chatted I thought about my own mother. I’d always thought we were similar. My mom was a sweet soul. She always wanted the people around her to be happy. I’d become selfish in the past few months, first with James and now Wes. I wondered how my sister Callie was going to feel when she discovered Wes had only ever wanted me. Would she understand? Could she forgive me?
I hadn’t even heard them speaking to me until Wes had said my name twice. “Cammie. Earth to Cam.”
“Sorry. I guess I was in deep thought.”
“Grandpa wants to know what your MCAT score was.”
This was something I was proud to answer. “Thirty-nine.”
Wes was in the middle of sipping on his tea when I responded. He was so shocked it came out his nose and caused him to cough. He took his napkin and wiped his face before commenting. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“Isn’t the highest possible a forty-five?”
“I think so.”
“Your score is phenomenal. Did you have many schools offer you scholarships?”
“Some. I only applied to Stanford.”
“So, you’ve never been interested in Duke or another local university?”
“No.” Were they judging me for wanting to be as far away from my family’s influence?
“I’m impressed by your independence, miss. If you change your mind about Duke, I’m sure I could make some calls.” I saw him wink at Wes before attending to the rest of the food on his plate. At the time I thought nothing of it. His grandfather was probably trying to see if I’d stick around for Wes.
We spent a few more hours visiting with his grandfather. The man liked to tell stories from when he started out and how poor he’d been.
On the ride home we passed by the exit you would take to go to the ranch. I decided it was important to let them know I was okay so they didn’t contact the authorities. “Can we get off at this exit and stop at the farm store? I’m going to call my parents from the payphone, so they won’t know we’re together.”
“Ashamed of me?” He asked while reaching over and rubbing my thigh.
“Not at all.”
Wes did as I suggested, even digging in his cup holder for enough change to make the call. He followed me over to an old pay phone, probably the only working one in the whole county.
I put the money in and dialed the home number, hoping the machine would pick up so I didn’t have to hear their voices.
“Hello?” It was Callie.
“It’s me. I’m calling to tell everyone I’m okay.”
“Where the hell are you? Mom and Dad are worried sick. They’ve been calling everyone looking for you. Why didn’t you tell me you were pregnant?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.”
“You need to come home, Cam. Dad calmed down. They just want you safe. They thought you had Wes take you somewhere. He hasn’t been answering my messages.”
I didn’t even know she’d been messaging him.
“I’m not with Wes.” I said loud enough for him to hear. He pulled me into his arms and put his hands in my back pockets while I remained on the phone.
“I knew they were wrong. Josh was acting funny when he got off the phone. He said Wes has had a crush on you since we were all kids. Did you know about it?”
“No,” I answered honestly. “That’s weird.”
“I told him you weren’t stupid enough to get involved with another guy so soon, not to mention the kid you’re carrying. Josh only thinks about sex, though. He’s oblivious to everything else.”
“Yeah, I know. Listen, tell them I’m fine and not to call the authorities. I’ll come home soon. I just want to have some time to myself.”
“They went into town for a bit. I’ll call them as soon as we hang up.”
“Thanks, Callie. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too. Bye.” I hung up quickly, looking around to make sure my parents weren’t there at the gas station. It would have been just my luck.
“You ready to head back to my house?”
“Yeah.”
“You sure you’re okay?”
I laced his hand with mine. “I’m okay. Dinner was great. Your grandpa is a nice man. He loves you a lot.”
“Yeah, I feel the same about him. Come on, let’s get you home and out of those jeans. It was difficult sitting across the table from you while thinking about