“I hope you’re right, but I have my doubts.” Cam’s furrowed brow proved exactly how concerned he was. That’s where his new wrinkles were.
“I’ll do everything I can to make this work for them. And if Malcolm changes his ways, will I get to see you again next year?”
Cam shruggedhis shoulders. “I won’t know until after they leave you. I’ll come back and let you know what the outcome was either way.”
She was more determined than ever to make sure Malcolm kept his job because she refused to be separated from Cam until she died. That would be too hard to live with.
With determination, she rose and walked to stand in front of him, but her gaze was caught by Cam absentlystroking their cat. “Now why does he get to be petted and I don’t?”
He looked down at Mac, a puzzled frown on his face. “I don’t know. This is the only instance I’m aware of that a phased spirit can touch something living.”
She quirked her mouth up. “Well, we always knew Mac was, um…special.”
Cam’s laugh made her smile. She loved his laugh. It made everyone who heard it happy.
“He’s not givingyou any trouble, is he?”
She thought back to last Christmas Eve when Mac swiped all the manger animals onto the floor and then tonight with him climbing in the Christmas tree. She could tattle, but she didn’t want to add one more thing to Cam’s shoulders.
Instead, she reached down and scratched the cat behind one folded ear. “No, he’s been great company. He gets feisty during Christmas, butI think he’s trying to keep me occupied since you’re not here to share it.”
Cam rose, the space between them no more than a hand’s breadth. “I so wish I was with you. I’d do anything to take back that Christmas day trip to the mountain. I thought I was invincible. How wrong I was.”
She stared deeply into his eyes, the hazel mix of colors meshing into a dull gray. “I know you would, but there’snothing you can do about it now. We’ll have to muddle along as best we can together. Are you okay where you are?”
He gave her a quick nod, but changed the topic. “Did you find out any more about my half-sister?”
“You knew about her and never told me?” She crossed her arms, not at all happy to find he’d hidden that fact from her their whole time together.
He shook his head. “No, I didn’t know.I could never keep that from you. I learned it from Ian and Coco last year. They said you planned to try to find her.”
“I did, but I only found out that the car she drove was rented in Glasgow. The car rental agency wouldn’t give me any information.”
“Did you ask anyone here to help you with that?”
Holy crap, she hadn’t thought of that. “No. But I will. I’ve help now at the shop, so I havea little more time.”
Cam’s eyes widened before an approving smile lifted his lips. “That’s very good news. I’m glad you aren’t spending your life on my silly idea.”
Silly idea? “Cameron Douglas, the One of a Kind Christmas Shop was not a silly idea. It was an inspired idea. People here in Deervale love it.”
“I’m glad. It must be doing well, if you’ve hired someone on. I just don’t want youto feel that you have to keep it going if it ever becomes a burden.”
She walked toward their tree filled with one of kind Christmas ornaments. She wouldn’t tell him that they were looking at a loss this year. Hiring Brooke had been to allow her to rejoin the community, what Cam had told her she needed to do to see him again. It had hurt the profits, but it was worth it. She turned to face him.“It could never be a burden. That shop is the closest to a child I have from you.”
The brown specs in Cam’s eyes seem to glow before he floated toward her. “Holly, I’m sorry I put off having a child with you. It’s one of my biggest regrets. You would make an amazing mother. But don’t mother the shop. It’s not the legacy I want to leave you with.”
Another surge of anger tried to make its wayfrom her diaphragm to her heart, but she quickly redirected her focus. “Well, it’s all I have of you now besides these visits.”
He looked away as if what she said bothered him.
“Cam, is something wrong?”
“No.” He didn’t meet her eyes. “All I think about is you.” Then as if catching himself, he looked at her. “And all my duties and the spirits under my wing. Much like you, I must move on.”
She crossed her arms. “I hope that doesn’t mean you forget about me in the process.”
His gaze softened. “Never. You own my heart, love.”
