Hometown Holiday Reunion by Mia Ross

Author:Mia Ross
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2016-12-14T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Six

That evening, it was almost nine when Cam finished the year-end inventory at the restaurant and headed for home. It had been a long, productive day, but he was bushed and long past ready for some peace and quiet. He’d expected to find the house dark and silent, but instead the Christmas lights were on and strains of “Auld Lang Syne” drifted through the open front door. As he came up the front walk, he stopped abruptly, hardly able to believe his eyes.

There, on the front porch, sat his parents. His father was singing quietly in a passable baritone while his mother looked on from her wheelchair with a contented smile. The sight of them together again after all these years did something funky to Cam’s heart, and he took a deep breath to regain his composure.

When he’d been younger, he’d often imagined them reuniting and making their family whole. But that dream had died long ago, and he’d learned to function without the solid foundation buddies like Drew had taken for granted. Somewhere deep inside him, Cam felt that hopeful child coming to life, eager to embrace what he’d given up wishing for.

Putting the foolish notion aside, he climbed the front steps and greeted Mom with a kiss on the cheek before taking a seat on the old swing. “How’re you feeling tonight?”

“Just fine,” she replied, adding a lopsided smile. “Did you have a good turnout at the diner today?”

“Yeah. Everyone who came in said to give you their best wishes for a Happy New Year.”

She sighed. “I miss seeing them.”

“I know, but the doctor said you needed to keep things calm a while longer,” he reminded her as gently as he could. Having run a busy restaurant for so many years, he understood that it was tough for her to be isolated from the Oaks Crossing social scene she enjoyed so much.

“Maybe it’s time for less of that,” Dad suggested, “and more visitors.”

Coming from anyone else, the comment wouldn’t have bothered him in the least. He might even have agreed. But because the source was his long-absent father, it sounded like criticism of how Cam and Natalie had handled Mom’s recovery.

Tamping down a flare of temper, he did his best to appear reasonable. “Since I haven’t got a degree in medicine, I figure it’s best to follow the orders of someone who does.”

“Of course,” his father backpedaled. “I didn’t mean to step on any toes.”

“It’s easy for you to second-guess. You weren’t there in the hospital when she couldn’t recognize her own children or sit up long enough to sip water from a cup.”

“Cameron.” Although her voice was still far from its usual strength, her disapproving frown had nothing to do with the stroke she’d suffered. “What’s done is done.”

“So you forgive him, just like that?” She nodded, and despite his vow to be patient, he lost it. Standing to his full height, he glared down at the man who’d left a twelve-year-old boy to be in charge of the family he’d decided had no place in his life anymore.

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