“Was Birdie your and Cameron’s mom?” I ask, posing the question to Jalen.
“Yes,” he nods, then after a second adds, “She had this breathing technique she taught Cameron when he was little for when he was upset or frustrated—”
“Because he wasalwaysupset or frustrated about something that this one was up to,” the detective chimes in, gesturing towards Jalen. I wince a bit, not sure if now is the time to poke fun at Cameron.
But it seems to do the trick, and Cameron lets out a thick laugh. “It’s not my fault that Jalen wasalwaysup to something.”
The men chuckle, and Cameron leans his head back against the wall. “How is this happening again so soon?
“I don’t know,” the man says, and groans when he stands back upright from crouching. “I reckon that’s what I’m here to find out.”
Jalen stands next and offers to help Cameron up, but Cameron is too focused on me to notice, and as soon as we are both back on our feet, he pulls me right back into his side.
“I’m Detective Barry Cartwright, by the way,” the man says. “I work for the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, and I’ve known these two since they were boys.”
“I’m Drew.” My teeth start to chatter again from being pressed against Cameron’s wet clothes. “I’m just a guest here for the retreat this weekend.”
He and Jalen exchange a glance at my self-proclaimed title, and Cameron doesn’t help when he starts to rub his hands up and down my arms. “You’re freezing, let me get you a blanket or one of my jackets.”
“You should both probably go get changed into dry clothes right now,” Detective Cartwright says before Cameron can start looking for either. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“Is everyone else okay?” I ask through clattering teeth.
“Ollie seems fine but really shaken up. He’s the one who pointed me up here,” Jalen says.
“There were two other women down there helping direct traffic,” Detective Cartwright adds.
I stiffen at the fact that there should be three women, not two. “What did they look like?”
“Both were about your age. One with dark hair and the other with red curly hair.”
I look up to Cameron in fear, but he’s already one step ahead when he addresses the men. “I moved a guest named Judith out to the guest house. Can you send someone to check on her? There’s a good chance she slept through this entire thing, so tell the men to keep knocking until she answers.”
“You got it,” Detective Cartwright says.
“I’ll go with you downstairs,” Jalen says, following the detective towards the door. “I still have no idea what’s going on.”
They both look to Cameron, and when he nods his approval, they disappear out the door.
When we are alone again, he immediately starts to apologize. “Drew, I’m so incredibly sorry. I should have been there for you. I can’t even imagine how scared you must have been when Iwalked up here in that state, and for me to just shut down on you like that—”
“Stop,” I say, and rest my hands on his chest. “You don’t have to apologize for being human. Especially not with me.”
He searches my eyes with such raw emotion that it momentarily stills my shivering body. Then he reaches up to caress my cheek with the back of his fingers, and it sends a completely different kind of chill down my spine.
“I think I’m still having a hard time believing that you’re real, even though you’re standing right here in front of me.”
With that statement, I finally pinpoint the word to describe the way he’s been looking at me all day, and especially the way he is looking at me now: Reverence.
I lower my hands and take a small step back. “We should both get changed, like Detective Cartwright said. It’s going to be a long night.”
He stiffens. “How about I stand outside the door until you’re finished, and then you can come with me to my room so that you aren’t alone.”
“I’m fine.” I turn to dig through my clothes so that I have a place to look besides his face. “It’ll be quicker if we do it at the same time.”
He hesitates for another moment but moves towards the door once I set a full outfit on the bed beside my suitcase. “Will you wait here for me, at least?” he asks.
I don’t have to see his face to know that he’s confused, because it’s clear as day in his voice. I need to start putting some distance between us, but the last thing I want to do is to add myself to his list of things to worry about. He already has a lot on his plate by being the homeowner, Delaney’s employer, and the one who found her, so to help ease his mind about at least one thing, I leave my pile of clothes to walk up to him and wrap both arms back around his waist.
