She looked back at him. Did he think she wouldn’t follow through? “I’ll find the time. That little girl…somebody needs to be fighting for her. And cases like hers are what drew me to this profession.”
He reached over and patted her arm reassuringly. “I know, baby. I just wanted to make sure you don’t need help. If you need me, just ask, okay?”
Her heart warmed. Why did she keep thinking they doubted her? She knew her family loved her unconditionally, but she was obviously still struggling with her past decisions. Maybe it was fear of disappointing them further. She wasn’t sure. “Okay, Uncle Brett. Thank you.”
He smiled. “Anything for you. Now, tell me what happened with Ricky? Do I need to end his career?”
Camdyn couldn’t help but giggle. Not only did her family love her, but they were willing to do just about anything for her. “I hadn’t been happy with Ricky for a while. I had actually been looking for a reason to break up with him…and he gave it to me,” she replied.
“And what reason was that?” Brett pried.
She opened her mouth to answer but paused because she wasn’t sure how much she wanted to share. She found it embarrassing.
“Speaking of the snake,” hissed Uncle Brett.
Camdyn looked up to see Ricky heading towards their table.
“Do you want me to get rid of him?” Uncle Brett asked.
“No. No need to make a scene. After all, his dad just got an award. Maybe he’s just coming over to thank me for nominating his father,” she replied.
He scoffed. “I doubt that.”
She did, too. She and Uncle Brett were the only two sitting at their table. Her grandpa was dancing with Mrs. Muir, while Javier continued to dance with her grandmother. She wasn’t sure where their other tablemates had gone. Probably off to dance or socialize, or maybe to pursue the silent auction offerings.
Ricky offered his hand to Brett first. “Mr. Callahan, it’s nice to see you tonight.”
Uncle Brett shook his hand. “Give your father my congratulations.”
“I will,” said Ricky as he looked at Camdyn. “Our Camdyn here wrote a remarkable nomination for him. And doesn’t she look beautiful tonight? Would you dance with me?” He offered his hand to pull her up.
“I’m afraid she can’t,” interrupted Uncle Brett. “She just agreed to dance with me. Didn’t you, darling?”
“Yes, I did. Excuse me, Ricky,” Camdyn replied as Uncle Brett pulled her to her feet.
“Of course. Maybe I can catch you free in a bit,” Ricky said.
“I don’t want to talk business tonight. If we need to talk, we can do that at work tomorrow,” she replied as her uncle led her onto the dance floor.
Uncle Brett muttered, “I’ve never liked him. I wasn’t a fan when you started dating him.”
“Why didn’t you say something?” asked Camdyn.
“Because you seemed happy, and you’re an adult. You get to make your own decisions, even if your uncle doesn’t agree with them.”
“That may be, but you’ve never failed in giving me good advice. I wish I could go back and join up with you and Pa from the start. While Richard has been a wonderful mentor—and I learned a lot from him; everything I wrote in his nomination was completely true—I do wish I hadn’t gone to work for him. It hasn’t been a bad company, but all my life, I dreamed of working with you and Pa, and I let myself be swayed. And that’s no one’s fault other than my own. I’ve made so many errors in the past year, wasted so much time. I don’t like making mistakes.”
Her uncle laughed. “You never have, baby. That’s part of being a perfectionist, but you’ve made no errors that can’t be corrected.”
Camdyn released a humorless laugh. “That may be, but I’m not a girl who makes mistakes. I pride myself on being right. I can’t thank you and Pa enough for letting me come home whereI should have always been.” Tears started to well in her eyes and she blinked rapidly to push them back.
“Oh, baby, don’t cry. It’s all right.” Uncle Brett’s hand rubbed her back. “We love you, and we are so proud of you, and we are so happy that you’re coming to work with us. But just know, even when we were disappointed that you had decided to work somewhere else, we never stopped loving you or being proud of you.”
The song they were dancing to came to an end, and her uncle led them back to their table.
“For what it’s worth, if you decide you do want to date him, I like this one here with you tonight,” he said.
That got a giggle out of her. “Thanks. He seems all right, doesn’t he?”
