I Crave You - C.C. Wood Page 0,82

forward and forced myself to smile. "Hi, Monica."

One of her eyebrows arched above the rim of her sunglasses. "Hello. Cameron, is it?"

I nodded and stopped a couple of feet behind Brody and Jacks. As I watched them, I couldn't decide what to do with my hands.

Brody straightened from his crouch and reached out to grasp the handle of Jacks' suitcase.

“Thanks for bringing Jacks home,” Brody said. “It sounds like she had a great time.”

Monica smiled but it was insincere. “No problem. I would love to be able to do it more often.”

I saw Brody’s shoulders tense infinitesimally.

“I’m sure we can discuss it sometime.”

Monica’s face shifted and once again I felt my skin practically blistering beneath her regard. “We definitely will.”

Shit. Fuck. Damnation. That sounded like a threat. And she was, without a doubt, staring me down.

Monica glanced down at her daughter. “I’ll see you soon, Jacqueline,” she said, leaning over to press a kiss to her forehead.

She said her daughter’s name with an accent, one I couldn’t quite place. Maybe French? It sounded more like Jah-clean rather than Jack-a-lyn as most Americans might say it.

Jacks made a face. “Mom,” she muttered.

Monica heaved an exasperated sigh. “I am not calling you by a boy's name, darling. You were named after your great-grand-mère.”

I held my breath to keep from laughing. It appeared Monica and Marilyn Murphy had something in common—a desire to be French. Monica’s family had been in Texas for generations. By now, the descendants of that family should be calling their grandparents Mawmaw and Pawpaw.

Jacks didn’t say anything else but I could see the defeated cast to her face and the way her shoulders drooped.

“Jacks, Cam has something to show you in the kitchen. Why don’t y’all go in there while I talk to your Mom for a minute?” Brody suggested.

Jacks nodded, gave her mother a quick hug and trudged down the short hall that led to the kitchen. I followed even though I really, REALLY wanted to know what Brody was going to say.

But I couldn’t. I had to make sure Jacks was distracted. Even without a word or look from Brody, I knew why he asked us to come into the kitchen.

He wasn’t happy with Monica and he didn’t want to have the discussion in front of his daughter.

“So what did you have to show me?” Jacks asked.

For crying out loud, Brody. Why couldn’t you have given me a suggestion when you tossed me to the wolves? Or in this case, wolf.

“Uh, dinner,” I said. “We made exactly what you asked for. Hot dogs and cheese fries.” I leaned forward and whispered, “And I may have brought your favorite ice cream for dessert.”

Jacks’ face lit up. “Yeah! I’ve missed your cooking. Both Mom and my grandparents have a chef and everything’s always fancy and tastes weird. And when I ask for regular food, Mom gets mad.”

I could hear the murmur of their voices growing louder. Not good.

"Hey, let's go out in the backyard. Your dad said something about getting a pool and we should figure out the perfect spot for it."

"Really?" Jacks asked, her voice vibrating with excitement.

Ha! Take that, Brody. You shouldn't have thrown me to the wolves.

"Yep," I lied.

Jacks practically skipped out the door that led to the backyard. As I followed, I heard Monica's strident voice, but it echoed so much in the hall that I couldn't make out her words. Brody's deeper voice cut through, but it wasn't as loud.

"Do not start this shit, Monica, because you will not win."

I shut the door behind us. Jacks didn't need to hear her parents fighting. Hell, I didn't need to hear it.

Jacks and I walked around the backyard for about ten minutes before Brody appeared on the deck.

"Hey, what are y'all doing?" he asked.

Jacks jumped up and down and clapped her hands a few times. "We're picking out the place for the pool!" She ran toward him and jumped into his arms.

"What pool?" he asked, looking at me.

It was Jacks that answered. "Cam said you said you were getting a pool."

He looked at me and his expression said I was definitely in trouble. I shrugged and crossed my arms over my chest. I was in trouble?

He had no idea what it was like when I was pissed off.

Well, maybe he had a little idea since he'd grown up around me, but I was an adult now.

And a hell of a lot more devious.

"I think you should put it right by the deck," Jacks continued, oblivious to