Guests mingled on deck, looking at the photographs, sharing stories, visiting with his mother, and eating Erin’s favorite foods that Jamie had prepared from Edye’s old recipe cards. It was exactly the celebration Cam’s mother had wanted, and she laughed far more than she cried from her bench seat along the boat’s stern.
Leaning against the wheelhouse wall, sipping from his bottle of Gravity Belmont Red, Cam tracked his lover’s silver-tinged head, higher than most. Nic circulated among the crowd, checking to make sure all the photos were properly displayed and that everyone had what they needed. He frequently stopped to check in on Edye, and each time he did, she’d grab his hand and proudly introduce him as Cam’s boyfriend to anyone who was near.
He deserved all the attention. He’d helped make this happen on multiple counts—standing by him, working his legal magic, finding Erin, and pulling this celebration together in only a few days. He was amazing, and Cam was head over heels in love with him, now more than ever.
“I think Mom has a new favorite.” Quinn stepped out of the wheelhouse, a beer bottle in hand.
“You complaining?” Cam said with a nod to the beer.
Smiling, Quinn clinked his bottle against Cam’s. “Not in the least. Your man makes a good brew. Nice catch.”
Nic and Jamie were right. He hadn’t given his parents or siblings enough credit. “Never thought I’d be the best fisherman in the family.”
Quinn chuckled. “I wouldn’t go that far. How did you catch him?”
“I argued with him nonstop until the day he dissed Brady.”
“How the fuck did that lead to you two being together?”
“I kissed him to shut him up.”
Laughing, Quinn playfully punched him. “You should have told us sooner. I feel like an idiot for not having put it together.”
“You left for college when I was eleven. I hadn’t put it together yet either about my bisexuality.”
Tension crept back into Quinn’s tall, muscular frame. “Maybe I should have stayed. Helped you out in that, maybe also kept you out of the chop shop. If I had, maybe?—”
“Don’t go there, Q.” Cam threw an arm over his shoulders and hugged him to his side. “You don’t bear any of the blame for what happened to Erin. None of us do.” He’d given them the full story last night—how Harper was determined to take Erin that day, even if he had to kill—but shaking twenty years of guilt wasn’t going to come easy for any of them.
“I always felt . . .”
“Let it go, brother.” Cam leaned his head against Quinn’s, temple to temple. “We all have to. It’s over now, and turns out, none of us were to blame. She’s at peace. She’d want the rest of us to be too.”
Quinn was silent a few minutes, then rasped out a hoarse chuckle. “I don’t know, Cameron, maybe you’re the catch.”
“Don’t tell Nic that.” He pulled back, smiling, and Quinn’s gaze drifted back out to the deck. Cam’s followed to where Nic and Keith stood by his mother. “Keep an eye on Keith, though, yeah?” Cam said. “I think he’ll be better now, less angry, but I’m not sure what will fill that place for him. Hopefully something or someone good, but . . .”
“We’re on it, brother.”
The harbormaster radioed then, letting them know their lane would be clear shortly. Only the immediate family would remain onboard as they rode out to sea to scatter Erin’s ashes. There was already an empty casket buried at the cemetery; no one wanted to go through that again. Returning her to the sea, the lifeblood of their family, was the celebration she deserved. Quinn went about powering the boat back up while Cam signaled Nic and Keith that it was go time.
Fifteen minutes later, all the guests had disembarked and Cam was passing his best friend around for hugs. Jamie had been invited to stay for the journey out, but already green on the docked boat, he’d declined, not wanting to mar what should be a beautiful moment with his seasickness.
Nic moved to follow him off, and Cam jerked him back by their twined fingers. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“This is for family.”
“And you’re mine.”
Bobby clasped Nic’s other shoulder. “Your words, brother.”
The look that bloomed on Nic’s face—wonder, gratitude, and love—made Cam’s chest ache in a good way. He’d gotten so lucky with the man he loved and his family.
“Besides,” Keith added, “do you really think Mom’s going to let you out of her sight?”
“I have to agree with my boys,” Ken chimed in. “Ride out with us, son.”
Nic’s Adam’s apple bobbed as the normally eloquent prosecutor struggled for words. “I’d be honored.”
