Chapter Fifteen - Cameron

Cameron watched Amanda’s Jeep drive away. The snow wasn’t showing any sign of letting up, and the roads were worse than even five minutes ago. He was worried. There wasn’t much he could do about it, though, so Cameron determined he would wait fifteen minutes and then call her, just to make sure she made it home safely. The minutes passed and the sky began to darken as the sun lowered.

Theresa walked into the front room, looking tense. As soon as she saw Cameron, her body visibly relaxed. “Oh, good, you made it home okay. We were getting worried.”

“Yeah, thank goodness Amanda has a Jeep with four-wheel drive. But I still worry about her getting back up that huge hill.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Theresa said. “Dad is resting, so I’m going to make dinner. Any requests?”

Cameron returned to watching the snow. “Anything is fine.”

“All right, then no complaints about not liking it.”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “Since when have I ever complained about food?”

“Every time I cook,” she said with a laugh.

There was some truth to that. Hopefully his sister’s culinary skills had improved while she was away at college.

Fourteen minutes and fifty-nine seconds later, Cameron whipped out his phone and touched Amanda’s name in the contacts list. Her phone number popped up. The one he’d gotten without her permission. It wasn’t like he was a stalker or anything—it had been in the school directory. How else had she expected him to get ahold of her?

Cameron touched the green phone icon and listened to it ring. Nervous anticipation curdled his stomach as he waited for her to answer. He wasn’t sure what he’d say—how he’d explain his call. Did he dare tell her the truth—that he was worried about her? If he did, she might mistake his concern for him liking her. And he certainly didn’t feel anything beyond friendship for her. He couldn’t.

Except, he never got the chance to tell her anything, because she didn’t answer her phone.

“Hey, this is Amanda. I’m probably avoiding your call, so if you could—”

He ended the call, not allowing her voicemail greeting to finish, and slipped his phone into his back pocket. What if she had been in an accident? What if she was stranded in a ditch somewhere, injured and buried in snow?

He felt sick.

But what could he do? Their old car wouldn’t be any help and would probably get stuck before he got anywhere near Amanda.

Cameron called Blair, who thankfully answered his phone on the second ring.

“Is your snowmobile ready for the season?” Cameron asked.

“Well, hello to you too. Glad to know you appreciate me as your friend and not because of my worldly possessions.”

Cameron growled in frustration. “Is it ready or not?”

“Yeah, it is. But seriously, did you just start your period or something? I know the doctors say it isn’t possible for men to go through all that, but who knows. You could be a modern miracle.”

“None of the above,” Cameron said, trying to slow his breathing. Blair was right, Cameron was acting like a crazy person, and he was taking it out on his best friend. “I had to do an extra practice for the dumb play. We met at Amanda’s house, but she drove me home because of the storm. She’s not answering her phone, and I’m worried she didn’t make it back. I need to borrow your snowmobile so I can make sure she wasn’t in an accident or something.”

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

“You still there?” Cameron asked, feeling antsy. He needed to get out there. Every minute wasted was one he should be using to look for Amanda.

“You must have it bad for this girl,” Blair finally said. “You’re never concerned about the girls you date.”

Hadn’t Blair heard what Cameron had just said? Amanda could be in danger. “We’re not dating. And that’s not relevant.”

“It totally is. There’s lots of reasons why someone doesn’t answer their phone. One big one is because they don’t want to talk to the person who is calling. But you have immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario and are assuming that if Amanda had seen your name appear on her phone screen, she’d have picked right up.”

Blair was saying Cameron was blowing this thing out of proportion—that he was imagining danger where it wasn’t—because he liked Amanda. Was that even possible? Cameron looked outside again. The storm wasn’t letting up. He could listen to Blair. If this was any other situation, Cameron would stay home and push it out of his mind. Watching movies in his pajamas on a snowy evening did sound nice. But he knew if anything happened to Amanda, and he had been lounging in the comfort of his home, he would never forgive himself. Or Blair for talking him out of searching for her.

“I’ll call one more time,” Cameron said. “But if she doesn’t pick up, I’m coming over and taking your snowmobile.”

“Borrowing,” Blair corrected him. “That’s assuming I let you.”

“Of course you will.” Cameron hung up. He tried Amanda’s phone one more time, but as he had feared, she didn’t answer. And he didn’t think it was because she was avoiding him.

He pulled his coat back on, then ran upstairs to his bedroom to grab gloves, a hat, and his snow boots. He also grabbed a crowbar and a few other tools from the garage that he thought might come in handy, just in case.

“I’m heading out for a bit,” he called into the kitchen, where Theresa was mixing something over the stove.

“In this weather?” she asked, glancing back at him. Her eyes widened with surprise when her gaze landed on all the equipment he held.

“A friend is stuck in the snow.” At least he thought she was. “I’m taking Blair’s snowmobile.”

Theresa nodded slowly, though worry lines creased her forehead. “Is there enough snow on the roads? You know if the plows come through, you won’t be able to get back. You’re technically not supposed to be snowmobiling in town.”

“With the way the snow is still coming down, I’m not worried. I’ll stick to the roads the plows haven’t hit yet.”

“Okay,” Theresa said with a resigned sigh. “Be careful.”

Blair lived a couple of streets over, and Cameron was grateful he was in such good shape, because lugging those tools a couple of blocks was one thing, but doing it in a snowstorm was more challenging. By the time he’d reached his best friend’s house, his muscles had begun to ache.

As he trudged up the driveway to Blair’s house, the garage door was already opening.

“Wow, you’re really serious about going out there,” Blair said. But he must have known Cameron was, because Blair already had the keys to the snowmobile. He held them out to Cameron. “Just don’t do anything stupid trying to act the hero. That’s what the police are for.”

“In weather like this, they’re busy enough. They’d just add her to a long list of things they needed to do.” Cameron took the keys. “Thanks, though. I owe you.”

Blair smiled and shook his head. “No, you don’t.” He paused. “But you will if you break anything.”

“I’ll do my best to bring it back nice and pretty. Just like its owner.” Cameron narrowly avoided a punch in the arm, then grabbed the helmet that rested over the handlebars. He slammed it on over his head before Blair helped move the snowmobile out of the garage and onto the snow that covered the driveway.

Cameron hoped he was overreacting. He really did.

* * * * *

The going was much quicker now that Cameron was on a vehicle meant for snow. He passed accident after accident as he worked his way through the main part of town. His gaze darted from vehicle to vehicle, but none belonged to Amanda.

Main Street turned into a smaller road that led out of town, and this was where he turned to take the steep road that led to Amanda’s house. He didn’t see her Jeep. Maybe he had been mistaken. Blair could have been right.

But another minute up the road, a vehicle came into view. It took up half the road because it had slid sideways, and the back wheels were firmly entrenched in the snow. As Cameron drove closer, his breath caught, and his heart felt like it had slid into his stomach. It was Amanda’s Jeep.

Panic overtook him and, after making sure the snowmobile wasn’t going anywhere, he jumped from the seat and ran to the Jeep. The engine wasn’t running, and the windows were encased in snow. Using the sleeve of his coat, Cameron wiped the snow from the driver side window and pressed his face against the glass. She wasn’t there.

Cameron searched around the vehicle, including the side of the road where the ground dipped and turned into what had been an empty pasture. There was no sign of her. No footsteps either, but they would have been covered up in less than a minute. He hopped back on the snowmobile and started the engine. It was possible Amanda was already back at home. Maybe her mom had picked her up.

But it was only another hundred yards before he saw a pink dot moving slowly forward. As soon as Cameron saw it, he knew it was her. Warmth filled his chest, replacing the anxiety that had plagued him. He pulled up next to Amanda, and she glanced at him. Her nose and cheeks were red, her eyelashes white with the snow that had stuck to them.

Cameron motioned for her to get on, and she nodded but moved as if her limbs were working against her. She managed to swing a leg over the seat and wrapped her arms around Cameron’s waist. Despite the two coats, gloves, and many layers separating them, a thrill shot through his nerves. He’d dated plenty of girls, and kissed all of them, but none of them had affected Cameron like Amanda’s presence did.

When they finally reached Amanda’s house, she slid off, then motioned for him to come inside. Once they were in the entryway, Amanda took off her beanie and shook her head, sending a mixture of snow and water flying in every direction. “I’ll go grab a towel.”

She disappeared down the hall, and Cameron slid the helmet off. A pile of snow fell to the floor as he did. “You might need two,” he called as he took his gloves off. His nose and fingers tingled as they began to warm.

When Amanda returned, her lips parted in surprise. “It’s you.”

Cameron was initially confused by her reaction, but then realized she had not recognized him because of the helmet. “Looks like it,” he said with a small chuckle, though the last hour’s anxiety had left him exhausted. All he wanted to do was pull her in tight and make her promise never to worry him like that again. Maybe Blair had been right. Maybe she had more of a hold on Cameron than he had thought.

Except, he didn’t understand it. She was beautiful, sure. But all Cameron knew of Amanda was that she was rich and she was apparently into acting—which wasn’t exactly a plus in his book. And she was a crazy driver. But she also wasn’t afraid to stand up to Cameron when she felt she’d been wronged. He liked a girl that didn’t feel like she had to agree with him all the time. Cameron thought of how Amanda had set up that ridiculous acting game to try to help him become more comfortable with his part in the play, and how she hadn’t hesitated to offer to brave the snowstorm so his sister wouldn’t have to. Amanda was complex, but she was a good person.

“Cameron?” Amanda was looking at him expectantly, like she was waiting for an answer.

“Um…yes?” He felt heat rush to his cheeks.

“I asked how you found me,” she said. “I wasn’t prepared for a hike through the snow—no boots, and my gloves are the type that have holes for the fingers to poke through.” She held up a hand, and Cameron saw her fingers were red from the cold.

“Oh my gosh,” he said, stepping forward. “We need to get you warmed up.” Out of instinct, he cocooned her hands in his. Her fingers felt as cold as they looked.

Amanda’s gaze snapped to his, her eyes wide with surprise, but she didn’t pull away. “I thought you sold your snowmobile.”

“I borrowed Blair’s,” he said, realizing he hadn’t answered her original question. “I tried calling to make sure you got home okay, but it went to voicemail.”

“Yeah,” Amanda said, averting her gaze. “In my rush to get you home, I forgot to take my purse. My phone was inside.” She looked back at him. “You seriously came to my rescue today. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”

“I’d like to think anyone would have done it,” he said, echoing the words she had said when offering to drive him home earlier.

She must have recognized it, because a smile tugged at her lips. “I don’t think so.”

Cameron looked down at his hands. They still held Amanda’s, and he could tell her fingers weren’t as cold as they had been. “Is that better?” he asked, his voice soft. He felt a magnetism toward Amanda that was becoming more difficult to ignore. Being this close—he didn’t trust himself not to act on his feelings. His rational side didn’t seem like it had much control at the moment.

“Yes,” Amanda said. “Thank you.”

Cameron removed his hands, and as soon as their touch broke, he immediately missed it. This wasn’t good. He wasn’t the kind of guy Amanda needed in her life. She needed someone dependable who had a future—someone who didn’t get kicked off the swim team for his immaturity. And Amanda needed someone who wasn’t destined to work in the steel shop, he thought as his gaze traveled over the large entryway where they stood.

“I should get going,” he mumbled, turning to leave.

“Wait,” Amanda said. Her tone had an almost desperate sound to it. Cameron turned back. “You must be freezing. At least stay and warm up with some hot chocolate before you leave.”

It was a tempting offer—more than tempting—but when he glanced behind him at the large windows that overlooked the porch, he saw it was nearly dark. “I need to get back before my folks start freaking out. Thank you, though.” He stepped forward and looked her in the eyes. “If you need help getting your Jeep out tomorrow, please call me.” He hoped she felt the sincerity behind the words.

“Of course,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.