Christie was waiting by Kyle's truck, her hands on her hips, when she and Cam emerged from her house. She had grabbed a few, sodden books to bring out with her, but she knew that the rush of blood to her face had probably turned it a bright raspberry color, and there was no chance her sister wouldn't guess that something was up.

If she did, however, she left it for later, in favor of more pressing matters.

"I told that piece of shit landlord of yours that he'd better get you a new place asap while he figures out what he's going to do with this one," she announced. "He said he's got a place on the other side of town but closer to the high school that you can move into day after tomorrow. It's bigger but he won't charge you more rent."

"What? Melvin said that?" she said, confused. "Why would he agree to that?"

"I told him I was your lawyer and that I'd sue his ass for a list of needed repairs and safety violations that had gone unattended to, electrical wiring, stuff like that."

"But you're not a lawyer!" she protested in alarm. What if Melvin called her sister's bluff? Would she have to hire a real lawyer?

Cam snorted at this.

"Melvin's dumb as a rock," he said. "He'll believe anything if you back it up with big words or a shotgun."

She remembered Cam pulling his rifle on Melvin and decided to let the comment pass; Christie didn't need to know about that.

"But I don't have a list of repairs or safety violations or anything. I mean, I did, in my head, but I mostly didn't get around to telling him." The better to keep him out of her bedroom and her underwear drawer, she thought.

Christie shrugged.

"I figured a loser like that, he doesn't do shit for his properties unless he's forced to," she said. "He's going to be swimming in FEMA money and the last thing he wants is to be on the hook for a lawsuit that may or may not connect his negligence to how badly your house withstood the tornado."

Cam whistled in appreciation. Her sister truly was an evil genius. Then she noticed Christie's sharp gaze studying the gash in her jeans and the stain of dark brown blood that had spread around it.

"What the hell happened to your leg Courtney? Is that from just now?"

"Yeah, I knelt on glass by accident, I'm okay," she mumbled, and took a step back. Her sister wasn't a lawyer but she was a nurse, and the last thing she wanted was her fussing over her idiotic wound that she had inflicted on herself, and asking her questions there was no way she was going to answer.

"Hmm," her sister said thoughtfully. "Maybe we should take photos of it just in case your landlord changes his mind. We can say you got it the night of the storm."

She added hopefully: "You didn't sustain any other injuries did you?"

Cam had mostly been quiet throughout their exchange, though his grin had continued to grow. At this last comment from Christie, however, he threw back his head and exploded in laughter.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he said, trying to stop, but failing. "I'm sorry, but I'd have given half the money I made this summer just to see the look on Melvin's face when you said all that to him."

"I also told him he had to talk to me from now on, if he needed to communicate anything to you," Christie continued, ignoring Cam's response. Her sister then pulled a pair of oversized designer sunglasses out of her bag and put them on. "Now let's get you to somewhere I can take a look at the cut. When's the last time you got your tetanus shot?"

Great, she thought. Now she had both of them bossing her around.

"Where's your dad?" she snapped at Cam, ignoring his raised eyebrows. "I think I'm pretty much done here for now. I'd like to leave."

She then climbed into the passenger side of Cam's truck, slammed the door shut, crossed her arms, and slid down the seat. She knew she was being absurd, but suddenly she was too tired, too overwhelmed, to take on the combined onslaught of Christie and Cam. She could see the two of them engaging in a short conversation, and then Cam got into the truck as well.

"Your sister's going to follow my dad to our place," he said, and moved to turn the radio on, but she stopped him with her hand.

"We need to talk," she said.

***

And then immediately lost her nerve and sat in silence for the next half hour. Cam, being Cam, let her stew in her indecision and sudden bout of shyness and did nothing to prompt her or draw her out. She watched the shattered landscape pass by her, wondering at the random path of destruction, this house standing untouched, that one crumpled in upon itself. Once she thought she saw a bare-legged child picking through the wreckage of a trailer and she shuddered and closed her eyes, unable to take on anyone else's troubles. Soon, however, the buildings scattered and disappeared as they left civilization behind, and she knew that she they would be pulling up in front of the Walker house soon and she would lose her chance.

"Half your salary from the summer?" she said, turning to look at him. He only nodded by way of reply. She felt a hitch in her breath at the sight of his profile, his skin a smooth and tanned from the sun, his jaw, somehow, looking even firmer than usual. She had to struggle not to reach out and touch his neck, the swelling muscles of his arm, to lose herself to the warmth of his skin and the headiness of his scent.

"Where were you all summer?" she asked. "Madysen and her friends asked me the other day if I knew where you were, that you had disappeared."

"I ... I was worried," she added.

Cam smiled and slowly shook his head.

"Nosy small town girls," he said.

She felt a flash of annoyance.

"What, you're not going to tell me? That's fine, it's your business." And she turned away again to stare out the window. They had reached the beginning of the Walker ranch, she could tell by the fence that ran alongside the road. She knew that Cam and his father had already repaired the parts of it that had been torn down by the storm.

"I went to visit my sister," he said. "And I stuck around and got a job working for a friend of my dad's near where she lives. He's got a ranch too, so it was easy to pick up. He has a bigger outfit though, and more horses, so I got to work with them more, which I like."

"Oh," she said. "Your dad didn't need you here? Madysen seemed pretty disappointed you were gone as well."

"I wanted to spend time with my sister," he replied. "I'd go see her every day at the nursing home, watch TV with her, whatever. And I needed a break from everything."

Shame and embarrassment burned through her. She had gotten the answer she deserved to her snide, jealous jab at him about Madysen. She also suspected she knew the real reason he had needed "a break" from everything, especially his father. She caught herself unconsciously sliding down the seat again and wishing she could hide underneath it.

"Of course, that makes sense," she said softly, and struggled to sit up again and look him in the face—well at least the side of his face. God she was such a bitch.

"I'm sorry," she added.

He shrugged.

"Nothing to be sorry about Courtney. It was a good summer. I needed to do some thinking, and I missed Cassie."

"Is she—how is she?" she asked, feeling awkward. Was she crossing a line now?

"Everyone says she's mostly a vegetable, but I don't know, sometimes I see the old her. She sure didn't appreciate it when I tried to steal her dessert at dinner time," he said, smiling at the memory. "Old habits die hard I guess."

"Oh Cam," she said, and unable to stop herself any longer she unbuckled her seatbelt and slid over to his side. He wrapped an arm around her and continued to steer with the other. She brought her nose to his neck and breathed him in.

"You called me this summer," she whispered. "I heard the voicemail yesterday."

He grinned at this.

"Dammit Courtney," he said, "I knew you wouldn't check your voicemails."