High Stakes Page 6

  Wow, Carole thought, realizing that she was staring openly but unable to tear her eyes away. A lot can change in four years!

  Fortunately Cam didn’t seem to notice her gaping. “So,” he said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together and glancing around Cat Room B. “This is where you’re spending all your time these days.”

  “Uh-huh. And I really need to finish up here before we go,” Carole replied apologetically.

  “No problem,” Cam said graciously. “I’ll help.”

  He grabbed a spare brush before Carole could protest. Gulping as she looked at his spotless khaki pants and pale blue sweater, she smiled weakly. “Um, okay. If you’re sure you want to.”

  “Absolutely,” Cam replied gallantly, shooting her a smile that seemed to show every one of his straight, brilliant white teeth. “We can catch up here as well as anywhere, right?”

  “Sure.” Carole was relieved that he was being such a good sport. “Thanks.”

  Cam nodded. “Okay, so tell me everything you’ve been doing for the past few years,” he commanded playfully. “I must know all about what I’ve been missing. Are you still riding at Pine Hollow?”

  Carole immediately felt slightly more comfortable. After all, this was the topic that had brought them together. “Of course,” she replied. “I ride there all the time—well, usually. Now that I’m grounded—”

  “Oh, yeah,” Cam broke in, shooting her a curious look. “What’s that all about, anyway? You must’ve done something really bad to get in that much trouble.” He smiled and winked at the word bad, though Carole wasn’t exactly sure why.

  She bit her lip and averted her eyes, feeling ashamed as she always did when she thought about cheating on that test. “It was pretty bad,” she said softly, deciding there was no point in trying to avoid the topic. It was bound to come up sooner or later, and if Cam was going to be disgusted and decide he didn’t want to hang out with a lousy cheater, better to learn that now. “It was also pretty stupid,” she went on. “See, my grades were slipping a little, and you probably remember how strict Max is about that kind of thing. Anyone who falls below a C can’t ride until they bring up their average again.” She shrugged. “I was pretty close to that line, and then I forgot to study for this history test.”

  “Oh!” Cam nodded knowingly. “So you flunked, and your Dad grounded you.”

  “Not exactly.” Carole hesitated, wishing it was as simple as that. It could have been, if she hadn’t done what she’d done next. “I did flunk the test—big time. My teacher was surprised and kept me after class to talk about it. I wound up telling her this whopper about how Dad was really sick, and I had been too worried to study.… Anyway, she bought it and offered a retest. But this all happened a few weeks before a big horse show, and I was so busy getting ready for that—well, I guess I just sort of forgot to study again.”

  “Yikes.” Cam shook his head sympathetically.

  “That’s when the really bad, stupid part comes in,” Carole hurried on before he could comment further. “When I realized I was going to flunk the retest, too, I was feeling pretty desperate. Like I said, the horse show was coming up. I couldn’t let my grade slip, or I wouldn’t be able to ride in it. That seemed like the most horrible thing in the world at the time, and so when the teacher left the room for a few minutes, I—I looked at my textbook.” She turned toward Cam, lowering her paintbrush and looking him straight in the eye. “I cheated. And I kept it a secret for more than a month. When Dad found out, he just about hit the roof. And that’s why I’m grounded.”

  She half expected Cam to be horrified—maybe even throw down his paintbrush and leave the room in disgust. But he just nodded pensively. “Rough,” he commented. “Still, I guess everyone slips at least once in their life, right?”

  Carole shot him a quick, relieved smile. He didn’t sound judgmental at all. “I guess,” she said. “And believe me, once was definitely enough. That’s the last time I even think about cheating—on anything!”

  “Hey, I believe you, beautiful,” Cam said softly, reaching out his free hand to brush a strand of hair off her cheek. “You’re one of the most honest people I’ve ever known.”

  Carole goggled, barely hearing the second part of his comment. Beautiful? she thought in amazement, her cheek tingling where he’d touched it. Am I hallucinating, or did he just call me beautiful?

  She gulped, not wanting Cam to notice how his casual remark had totally blown her away. “Erp,” she blurted out. “Um, I mean, how about you? How’s Duffy doing these days?” She smiled as she thought about Cam’s horse, a likable chestnut gelding named Duffy. Carole knew that the Nelsons had gone to quite a bit of trouble and expense to move Duffy across the country, and she wondered if they’d had any problems repeating the process coming back.

  “Duffy? Oh, I don’t have him anymore,” Cam said. “I sold him a couple of years ago.”

  “What?” Carole was startled. Cam had always been just as attached to Duffy as she was to Starlight. “Why?” Realizing that sounded pretty blunt, she quickly added, “Uh, I mean, what made you decide to sell him?”

  Cam shrugged. “It was kind of hard to keep up with my riding out there in L.A.,” he explained. “The closest stable to our new house was, like, fifteen miles away. And with the outrageous traffic out there, it could take up to forty minutes to get there sometimes.”

  Carole wasn’t sure what to say to that. So he gave up riding because of the commute? she thought uncertainly, wondering if she was missing something. He sold the horse he loved because getting to him was inconvenient?

  Suddenly she realized she was being as judgmental as she’d feared Cam would be about her cheating. After all, people usually had lots of reasons behind important decisions—reasons that might not be apparent to someone hearing about those decisions for the first time. She of all people should know that by now.

  Didn’t I come awfully close to selling my own horse not too long ago? she reminded herself, thinking of the difficult days and nights leading up to her decision to find Starlight a new home. The idea had been almost unthinkable at first, but eventually Carole had convinced herself that she had outgrown her beloved horse. If she wanted to continue to develop as a rider, she had to find a mount that could challenge her—and Starlight just didn’t do that anymore. She had come very close to selling him to a girl from another part of the state. That hadn’t worked out, and for now, Carole was putting the whole selling-Starlight plan on hold. But somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew she might have to face it again, at least if she wanted to continue competing in top-level horse shows. If I told Cam that I’d almost sold Starlight just a few weeks ago, he’d probably be totally shocked.

  Cam was carefully touching up the trim around the doorway and hadn’t noticed her consternation. “Anyway,” he said after a moment, facing her again, “now that I’m back, I hope the two of us can go riding together sometime.” He gave her another brilliant smile. “Just like old times.”

  “Just like old times,” Carole repeated, strangely relieved. Cam hadn’t totally lost interest in riding. He’d just put it on hold for a while, maybe decided it wasn’t the only thing he liked to do.

  I can’t expect everyone to be as serious about it as I am, right? Carole thought. Maybe once upon a time he was as horse-crazy as I am, but these days I guess he just has other interests, that’s all. Like Stevie has student government and the school paper and all the other stuff she does. And like Lisa has her schoolwork and her relationship with Alex and her college plans.

  Before she could think much more about that, Cam asked after Starlight and a few of the other horses he’d known at Pine Hollow. That brought her back to the here and now, and soon the two of them were chatting easily, catching up on each other’s lives for the past four years. Carole told Cam about her job at Pine Hollow, her friends’ lives, and her father’s new career as a motivational speaker, which he’d begun after retiring from the Marine Corps. In turn, Cam updated Carole o
n his own family, as well as mentioning that he had been on the soccer, basketball, and track teams at his school in California and hoped to try out for varsity basketball at Arden High the following week.

  Their conversation continued as they finished painting, cleaned up their supplies and themselves, and left the animal shelter, walking a few blocks to the closest eatery, the Magnolia Diner. As they entered the small, warm, grease-scented restaurant, Carole thought briefly of her appearance. She’d only had a minute to tidy herself up and wondered just how much green paint was still decorating her face. Most girls would probably make a break for the ladies’ room to check out the damage, she thought, quickly rubbing her cheeks with a napkin when Cam turned away to read the specials board over the cash register. But I don’t want to waste time fooling around with my hair or putting on lip gloss. I’d rather stay here and talk to Cam. Anyway, he doesn’t seem to mind the way I look.

  She was starting to remember exactly why she’d thought Cam was so special all those years ago. It wasn’t just his charm and good looks. In fact, she’d been interested in him before they ever met in person—their first few conversations had taken place on-line. Of course, when she’d read his name on the computer screen, she’d assumed that he was a girl.…

  She couldn’t help smiling at the memory, and Cam turned his attention back to her just in time to notice. “What?” he asked quickly. “Penny for your thoughts.”

  “Oh!” Carole blushed slightly. “Um, I was just thinking about the first time we met. You know, when I thought Cam was a girl’s name?”

  Cam laughed. “Oh, right,” he said. He leaned forward over the table, his dark eyes gleaming. “I hope you don’t still have any doubt about whether I’m a girl or a guy. Do you?”

  Carole blushed deeper, at a total loss as to what she was supposed to say to that. Fortunately the waitress bustled over to the table, saving her from answering. By the time Cam had totally charmed the waitress and they’d placed their order, Carole had regained control of herself. She quickly asked Cam how school was going so far, and with that, they returned to their easy, friendly conversation.

  Carole hardly noticed when the waitress brought the sodas they’d ordered, or when she returned a few minutes later and dumped a steaming plate of french fries on the table between them. A strange feeling had overtaken her—one of being in the world and yet separate from it, trapped in a cozy little bubble that enclosed her and Cam. It was as if the other people in the restaurant, the other people in the world, had ceased to exist—or at least were much less important and interesting than the two of them. The feeling was new and a little scary, but Carole didn’t want it to end. She wanted this conversation, this moment, to continue forever.

  After a while, though, Cam looked at his watch. “Hey,” he said gently. “Check it out. Time for you to go, right?”

  Reluctantly, Carole glanced at her own watch. For a moment she blinked at it stupidly, unsure of what the numbers meant. Then she snapped out of it. She was due home in twenty minutes. “Oh,” she said, a little surprised at the strength of her own disappointment. She still had so much to say to Cam—questions to ask him, things to discuss … “My car’s right back there at CARL—if I walk fast, I could probably stay a few minutes longer.”

  Cam waggled his finger at her playfully. “Now, now. We can’t have you missing curfew the first time we’re together,” he said lightly. “Your dad would track me down and court-martial me.”

  Giggling at the image, Carole shook her head. “I doubt it,” she said. “But he just might throw me in the brig.”

  Cam cocked his head to one side. “The brig?” he repeated. “Isn’t that, like, a Navy thing? I thought your dad was in the Marines.”

  “Uh-huh. But the Marine Corps is part of the Navy—some say the best part.” Carole picked up her soda, draining the last few drops out of the bottom. She knew that Cam was right. It wouldn’t do her any good to be late. But that didn’t make it any easier to drag herself away just when they were having such a nice time together.

  Who knows when he’ll want to hang out again? she thought, shooting Cam a quick, secret glance as he turned to smile at the waitress, who had just deposited the bill on their table. Pretty soon he’ll be settled back in his own school, with his own friends and homework and basketball games and everything else. What if he decides he doesn’t have time for an out-of-town friend anymore? What if he meets someone who—She gulped and cut off the thought before she could finish it. What was she doing? She had no idea what Cam was thinking. Just because he’d called her beautiful didn’t mean he had any interest in picking up where they’d left off.

  “Anyway, I guess you’re right. I’d better get going,” she said, reaching around to her back pocket to fish out a few crumpled bills.

  “Ah-ah-ah!” Cam held up one hand and pulled out his wallet with the other. “This one’s on me.”

  “Oh,” Carole said blankly, not sure what to do. Should she argue? Insist on paying her own way? Desperately, she tried to remember anything Stevie and Lisa had ever mentioned on the subject of who paid for what on a date. But was this a date? What if it was just a friendly get-together? After all, Carole certainly wouldn’t object if an old friend wanted to buy her a snack, would she?

  By the time she’d sorted it out that much, Cam had already counted out enough money to cover the food and tip, and the waitress had whisked it away with a hurried thanks. Carole shrugged and stuffed her own money back in her pocket, deciding it was too late to do anything now except graciously accept his generosity.

  “Thanks,” she told Cam shyly. “Um, it was really great seeing you.”

  Instead of responding, Cam leaned farther across the table. “What are you doing tomorrow?” he asked. “Do you have to volunteer again?”

  Carole shook her head. “Tomorrow’s my day off,” she replied. “The whole group’s, actually. The vets are doing their weekly spay/neuter clinic at CARL tomorrow afternoon, so we really wouldn’t be able get much done anyhow.”

  “Fantastic!” Cam looked inordinately pleased at that. “Sit tight for a sec, okay? Then I’ll walk you back to your car.”

  “Okay,” Carole agreed, a little confused. First Cam had been anxious to shoo her on her way, and now he was telling her to stay longer? She watched as he hurried across the restaurant, disappearing into a narrow hallway beside the kitchen. The public rest rooms were back there, and Carole relaxed in her seat, assuming he would return in a minute or two.

  While she waited, she drummed her fingers on the tabletop and thought about the afternoon. I can’t believe how nice Cam still is, after all these years, she thought. Feeling her cheeks redden slightly, she added, And how cute he is, too. A total hottie, as Stevie might say … She giggled slightly, imagining her friend’s hazel eyes widening and her lips puckering into a wolf whistle. Then she sobered again. If she were more like Stevie, maybe she wouldn’t be sitting here wondering what Cam was thinking about her, about them. Stevie would just come right out and ask if he had a girlfriend back in California, if he had thought about her at all in the years they’d been apart …

  Just then Cam returned, a little breathless, his eyes sparkling. “Hey!” he said, reaching out a hand to help her out of the booth. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  Carole accepted his help, blushing slightly as she took his hand. His skin felt cool and smooth, and his grip was firm but gentle as he led her around the tables. She expected him to drop her hand as they reached the door, but instead he squeezed it tighter as he reached to push the door open, stepping aside to let her go first, finally releasing her hand as she stepped through.

  Blushing wildly at the unexpected display of chivalry, Carole waited until he’d joined her on the sidewalk and then glanced up at him shyly. “Thanks again,” she began. “I really—”

  “Wait.” Cam cut her off with a smile. “Don’t you even want to know what I was doing just now?”

  Carole was startled, her face turning
redder than ever as she pictured him heading toward the bathroom. “Uh, what?”

  Cam looked a little confused. “I just went back there to use the pay phone,” he prompted gently as they began walking slowly back toward CARL. “Guess who I called?”

  “Oh! The phone!” Carole blurted out. Hiding her face, which was redder than a huntsman’s scarlet coat, she fumbled in her jacket pocket, pretending to search for something. All she came up with was a frayed purple stable bandage and a tissue, so she dabbed busily at her nose with the latter and stared at the sidewalk while she waited for her cheeks to cool. “Um, who did you call?” she mumbled around the tissue.

  “Your father.” Cam glanced at her, apparently waiting for her reaction. “I wanted to ask his permission to see you again tomorrow. If you want to, that is.”

  Carole gasped. “You want to—I mean, you did? Uh, what did he say?”

  “He said yes.” Cam smiled. “After I did a little convincing, that is. He even said he’d waive your usual two-hour time limit at the stable if we wanted to go on a nice, long, leisurely trail ride together. So what do you say?”

  Carole had no idea what to say. “Um, really?” she asked cautiously, hardly daring to believe what she was hearing. She wasn’t sure which surprised her more: that Cam was so eager to see her again that he’d gone to so much trouble to arrange it, or that her father had actually agreed to the plan.

  “Really,” Cam replied. “Now, what’s your answer?”

  “Yes!” Carole blurted out. “Of course. That sounds like fun.”