Judy Christenberry - Guarding Camille

Because in Jake she’d found the man she wished she’d married. The man she wished was Jamie’s father. The man who wanted nothing to do with her on a personal level.

She bit back a sob and tried to turn her thoughts to other matters. But since her world had shrunk to this remote cabin and Jake Maitland, controlling her interest in him had become impossible.

A reluctant smile was the high point of her day. A spoken word, not a sentence—Jake seldom used sentences—could stir her senses for hours.

His touch almost blew her away.

Fortunately, or unfortunately some days, he’d kept his distance. Though there were only the two of them in this small cabin on his friend’s ranch, he’d managed to make her feel she was alone.

Until she’d gone into labor.

He’d rushed into the labor room with her, and from that point on had been the center of her universe. He’d smiled, gently teased, given her the words she’d needed…and touched her.

“JAKE? It’s your mother,” Megan Maitland announced when she called the next morning.

With a grin, Jake said, “I know, Mom.”

She ignored his teasing. “We’re going to have a big family dinner tomorrow night. I know it’s only a few weeks before Connor and Janelle’s wedding, but I want to see all my family together again.”

Jake frowned. Connor O’Hara, a Maitland cousin whose parents had been estranged from the family for years, had unexpectedly shown up last fall, much to Megan’s delight. Jake didn’t share his mother’s enthusiasm. Something about his new cousin made him tense, and his professional instincts told him that both Connor and his fiancée, Janelle, were not quite what they seemed to be. They claimed to be the parents of the baby boy who had been abandoned at Maitland Maternity Clinic, but Jake had his doubts about that, too.

“Well, Mom, I’m trying to keep Camille out of the limelight. And I don’t want to leave her alone.”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t ask that of you, but we’ll have tight security at the house. Vincent Eckart would never be able to get inside. And you can bring that darling baby to the nursery. He’ll be safe.”

Jake remained silent. Megan’s voice deepened when she said, “Jake, please. I’ve missed you all these years. I want you here, a part of our family. Don’t disappoint me.”

Jake considered his mother’s words. He’d left Austin when he’d finished school and gone to the FBI, but he’d missed his mother. When he’d had to hide Camille six months ago, he’d told himself he was coming to Austin because it was the safest place. But after arriving and establishing contact with his family, he knew he’d come back because he needed to see his mother again.

He didn’t want to disappoint her. And she was right about Camille being safe. It might even do the lady some good to see other people. Maybe it would even diffuse the sexual tension that was driving him crazy.

“Okay, if you’ll do me a favor.” Time to kill two birds with one stone.

“Of course, darling, anything,” Megan replied promptly.

“Careful, Mom, you don’t know what I’ll ask.”

“I’m not worried, son,” she replied, her words full of love and trust…two things he wasn’t sure he deserved.

“How about inviting Harrison Smith to your family dinner.”

“Why?” she asked after a brief hesitation.

“He’s asking a lot of questions about our family and hanging around the diner. He might be a private eye. I know he claims to be checking out the clinic for his daughter, but that doesn’t take three months. I can’t get away from here to investigate him and I want to find out whose payroll he’s on.”

“It would be rude to interrogate a guest.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “I’m not talking about a spotlight and a straight-backed chair, Mom. I’ll be subtle.”

“All right, dear, but I’m sure he’ll wonder why he’s been invited.”

“You’ll come up with something convincing, Mom.”

“Okay, be here at seven tomorrow. Oh, and wear a suit.”

After his mother hung up, Jake muttered, “Damn. A suit.” He’d hardly had to wear a suit in the past six months with Camille. He’d gotten quite used to jeans.

“A suit?” Camille asked from the doorway, a small tremor in her voice. “Are we moving? Going public?”

“Nope. My mother is the one demanding the suit. She’s even more persuasive than the FBI.”

“Oh.”

He watched her hazel eyes darken with concern. “What is it?”

“I suppose Max will keep an eye on us here?”

Max Jamison was a local private investigator who used to work on the Austin police force with Jake’s childhood friend, Michael Lord. When Jake had asked Michael who he could trust to help him out with Camille, Michael had suggested Max. Both Max and Michael, along with Michael’s brother, Garrett, had been working with Jake ever since.

“Nope. Max’ll be at the house. And so will you.”

Nothing Camille had gone through since Jake first met her had come even close to producing the slack-jawed, stunned expression that was on her face now.

“I’ll be where?” she managed to ask.

“You’ll be at my mother’s. We’re having a family dinner.”

“I can’t do that. I’m not family.” She succeeded in wiping all emotion from her face, giving him a blank stare.

Suddenly, several things fell into place for Jake. Camille had never attempted to contact anyone since she’d been in hiding, and she had told Jake that if anything happened to her, she wanted her baby adopted.

“You don’t have any family, do you?” he said. He’d never asked her personal questions. It was his way of keeping his distance. He’d read her file, of course, so he knew her parents were dead, but he’d figured she must have relatives somewhere. Now he realized how very alone she must be.

She blinked several times but maintained her stoic expression. “I can’t go to the dinner.”

“I’m not leaving you here alone. We don’t know where Vince is, but we know he suspects you’re in the area. Do you want to take that chance?” Dirty pool, he knew, threatening her with her safety, but whatever worked.

“No! But—but surely Max knows someone else who could keep an eye on me.”

“Nope. You’re coming with me. The baby can stay in the nursery at Mom’s. There’ll be extra security. He’ll be perfectly safe.”

“Why don’t you ever call him by his name? Do you dislike it?”

Her change of subject blindsided him. “Uh, I—I haven’t gotten used to it.” The truth was, he’d thought keeping the baby anonymous, nameless, would wipe out the memory of his birth, the warmth that had filled Jake when both he and Camille had held her son for the first time.

Damn it, this was his job. Nothing more.

Camille interrupted his thoughts. “I named him after you and my father, two men I admire.” He opened his mouth to protest, and she held up her hand. “I know, I know, you’re just doing your job.” Then she smiled, a welcome change from the serious expression she usually wore. “Maybe Jamie will learn dedication to his work from you, if nothing else.”

She turned away as if to leave the room.

“Do you believe your parents’ death was accidental?” he asked abruptly.

She stopped but kept her back to him. “Yes. A drunk driver crashed into them, killing them both instantly. The drunk walked away from the crash with bruises. But it happened over a year ago. I hadn’t even met Vince then.”

Which, of course, explained Camille’s vulnerability to Vincent Eckart. She’d met him only a couple of months after her parents’ death. Jake wasn’t sure he believed their death was an unconnected accident. Vince Eckart was amoral and wouldn’t hesitate to eliminate anyone in his way. But saying that to Camille now would serve no purpose.