Page 6 of My One and Only (Blackhawk Security #10)

A s they finished their dinners, Jo felt Cam’s gaze on her. After a few moments, he said, “Do you have any idea how much I regret what happened at that party at the lake?”

Jo frowned. “That’s an odd segue. But I bet you have a l ot of regrets about that night.” She wanted to touch his hand, but curled her fingers in her lap, instead. She didn’t want to make this about what they both might have felt fifteen years ago -- that ship had sailed. “To be beaten unconscious and end up in a hospital for a couple of weeks is a nightmare.”

He shook his head slowly. “Not because of that.” Cam drew a deep breath. “I was going to tell you how I felt about you at that party -- that I had a huge crush on you. Wanted to go out with you.” He held her gaze. “But by the time I got out of the hospital and got my act together, we’d graduated high school and you were gone.”

So it was going to be about their feelings after all . After all this time, the least she could give him was the truth. “Oh, Cam,” she said, her chest aching. “I had a crush on you, too. I would have said yes, that I wanted to date you.”

His face lit up like he’d just received an amazing gift. “It’s not too late, Jo. You’re here for, what, a couple of weeks? We can see where this goes.”

“I’m here for another week,” she said, her throat tight. “And my job takes me all over the country. I get ten days off between jobs, then I’m off again.” She shook her head. “That’s not the basis for a real relationship.”

She leaned closer and allowed herself to touch his face. “Missed connections,” she whispered. “This is one I’ll always regret.” She forced herself to smile. “And I hate those two guys who hurt you for what they stole from both of us.”

Cam slumped back in his chair and stared at her, regret and pain in his expression. “Yeah. Now even more, when you tell me you felt the same. That you would have said yes.”

“How long after you recovered did you start PK Construction?” she asked, hoping to change the subject from what had to be painful memories.

“I started it about twelve years ago, so it was three years after the party at the lake. I got a job as a carpenter after high school, and I enjoyed the work. But I wanted to do more. I wanted to be in charge. That’s when I started Pierce Construction. Five years ago, Don wanted to buy in. He had some money to invest -- a settlement for an on-the-job injury, and I needed an infusion of cash, so Pierce Construction became PK Construction.” A shadow passed over his face. “Don’s supposed to supervise the foremen, and up until now, he’s done a great job.” Cam sighed. “I’ll talk to Don and make sure he looks more closely at the work his foremen do.”

“Has he always done good work for you?” Jo asked carefully. She was hesitant to question Cam. Don was his foster brother, and she knew Cam would defend him.

Cam shrugged. “He has in the past, but he’s been distracted lately. His wife wants a divorce, and he’s trying to convince her to stay. His focus isn’t on the company right now, and I understand.”

“It must be hard to focus on work when there are problems at home,” Jo said diplomatically.

“Yeah, I get it.” He pressed his lips together and he looked away from Jo to hide the bitterness he knew she’d see in his expression. Thank God for his parents. They took care of Fiona after school and were a solid support system for both of them.

“I think this screw-up with the houses under construction was a wake-up call for Don. He was horrified at the meeting this morning. He swore he was going to keep on top of what the foremen were doing. Supervise them more closely. He said it wouldn’t happen again, and I believe him. He’s been dedicated to the company since he bought in five years ago, and I’m sure he’s going to pay more attention to the details. Watch the foremen more closely.”

The Donnie she remembered from high school wasn’t a beacon of responsibility. But people changed, and Cam knew Don far better than she did. Especially fifteen years after she’d last seen either Cam or Don.

For the rest of the meal, she and Cam carefully avoided any mention of crushes or what might have happened that night if Cam hadn’t been attacked. Instead, they reminisced about high school and talked about the people they’d known.

Finally, when the waiter put the check on the table, Cam scooped it up, glanced at it and pulled out a credit card. Then he looked at Jo.

“I hope we can do this again,” he said. “I enjoyed catching up with you.”

“I enjoyed hearing about what you’ve been up to, as well.” She realized with a pang that she’d miss Cam when she left. “But I’m only here for eight more days. Not sure how much ‘catching up’ time I’ll have.”

“I hear you,” he said. “I’m swamped right now, with the mess with the houses. But I don’t want to lose track of you again, Jo.” He smiled. “You’re the one who got away, and I want to keep in touch with you.”

When it looked as if he was going to take her hand, she slid them onto her lap. “I do, too, Cam,” she murmured. “You were my best friend back then. I’m glad we ran into each other.”

“Me, too, Jo,” Cam said.

She smiled. “Even though it was because my mother’s house was screwed up?”

“Absolutely. I’m glad you noticed it, and glad you came to me about it. I’d hate to have anyone buy a house from me and then have problems with it.” He smiled. “Especially your mom. I spent almost as much time at your house back then as I did at my own place. She always treated me like I was one of her kids.”

“I’ll let her know. She’ll be glad you remember her so fondly.”

The waiter returned to the table with the receipt for Cam to sign and returned his credit card. Cam signed the receipt, added a tip and shoved the card into his wallet. “Ready to face that wind again?”

Jo nodded. “Yeah, I’m ready. I’d forgotten how cold it is in Ogden in the winter.”

“Has to be at least this cold in Montana.”

Jo shrugged. “When I’m at headquarters, I’m too busy to notice the cold.”

Cam drove her back to her mom’s house and walked her to the front door. To prevent any awkward goodbyes or attempted kisses, she put her hand on his jacket to keep some distance between them. “Thanks for dinner, Cam. It was good to see you. Good to catch up. Keep me posted on your investigation into the bribe, and I’ll let you know if I get any positive responses to my emails.”

“Sounds good, Jo.” He looked disappointed, and she wondered, after his revelation, if he’d expected she’d treat this like a date. Good thing he’d realized that she wouldn’t.

Opening the door, she stepped inside. “I’ll talk to you soon, Cam,” she said, then closed the door.

* * *

Cam watched the door close firmly behind Jo. He stood there for a moment, disappointed. He’d carried a torch for Jo since they’d graduated from high school, and he’d never expected to see her again. When she’d walked into his office to complain about the quality of the work on her mother’s new house, he’d been shocked to see her.

He sighed. Her complaints had pissed him off. But she’d been right. And the exchange of money between Billy Simms and the Ogden city inspector? That had made him really angry.

He turned and trudged down the steps and back to his truck, sliding into the still-warm interior. He needed to go back to the office to grab the paperwork he’d abandoned to pick up Jo. He’d work on it at home, after Fiona was in bed.

When he reached the office, he was surprised to see Don’s truck in the lot. When Don had to work at night, he usually did it from home. He didn’t like to leave his wife alone at night.

Cam snorted. Hadn’t made any difference in their marriage, since Sylvia was divorcing him. Don had never said what the issues were, and Cam hadn’t pried. Not his business. As far as he could tell, Don was devoted to her, but you never knew what was going on in someone else’s marriage. All he could do was support Don and be there if his partner wanted to talk about it.

Which Don had most definitely not wanted to do.

He walked up the two flights of stairs and rapped on Don’s door. After a moment, Don said, “Come on in.”

When Cam walked into the room, Don was sliding a notebook into a desk drawer. “What’re you doing here, Cam?” he asked, frowning. “You never work at night.”

“Went out for dinner with Jo Hatch. Thought I’d come in and finish what I was working on when I left to pick her up.” Cam studied Don carefully. “What are you doing here? You always work at home after hours.”

A muscle in Don’s jaw twitched. “Sylvia has a meeting with her attorney,” he said, clenching his jaw. As if just the thought of the attorney infuriated him. “I didn’t want to be there when she got home, all worked up by whatever the guy had to say. So I figured I’d hang out here for a while and get some work done until she had a chance to wind down.”

Cam threw himself into the chair beside Don’s desk. “Hell of a thing, Don. I’m really sorry you have to deal with this. You’ll let me know if you need anything, won’t you?”

“’Course I will, Cam,” Don said with a forced smile. “Who else would I go to besides my partner?”

“Good,” Cam said. “I’d do anything I could for you.”

“I know you would,” Don said. “And I appreciate that more than I can say. You’ve always treated me like family, and that means a lot to me.”

“You are family,” he said. “Have been since you moved in when your parents took off.”

“Thanks, Cam.” Don’s expression softened, and he shifted in his chair. “That means a lot. So how did the date with Jo Finster… I mean Hatch… go?”

“It wasn’t a date,” Cam said wearily. “It was a business meeting. I told you about the problems she found in the house we’re building for her mom. The same crap is going on in other houses we’ve just started. I need to get to the bottom of it. Find out who’s responsible. Someone’s bribing the Ogden building inspectors to okay buildings that aren’t up to code. I told you Jo saw Billy Simms pass money to one of them.”

“Yeah, you told me,” Don said, his lips tight and his teeth clenched. “Can’t believe Simms would do that. What does he have to gain?”

“No idea,” said Cam. “But I intend to find out. I’ll keep digging until I get some answers.” He sighed. “And I’m sure it’s not just Billy Simms. I found problems in other houses in the same early stages of building. And God knows what’s gone on in houses that are further along. Houses that already have the drywall up, so we can’t see the quality of the work.”

Don frowned. “Yeah. What are we gonna do about those houses?”

“At first, I figured I’d buy the owners a home warranty. But before I do that, I’m gonna rip out some of the drywall and take a look at the studs, the electrical work and the plumbing. I’m hoping I don’t find anything wrong, but my gut tells me that if it’s going on in one house, it’s happened in other ones.”

Don leaned back in his chair. “Probably cheaper to just get the warranties than redo all that work.”

“Yeah, that was my initial thought. But it’s killing me to think that I’m selling houses with huge defects in them. I’m not going to rip up every house under construction. But I might randomly pick a few and take them apart. I’ll feel better if I don’t find anything.”

“Of course you would,” Don said. “And it’s going to bug you forever if you don’t look. You want some help ripping things out?”

Cam shook his head. “Thanks for offering, but I’m gonna do this by myself. I’ll try to do as little damage as possible, so the repairs won’t be so expensive. But I gotta check.”

Don sighed. Shook his head. “Yeah, soon as I heard there was a problem, I knew you’d be digging into those walls. Hope you don’t find anything.”

“Me, too.” He sat up and stared at Don. “You keep track of which workmen are assigned to each house, right?”

“Yeah, I have files on all the skilled laborers. Which houses they worked on. Any problems with the houses. Yada, yada.”

“Great. Can you pull those files tonight? I want to take them home and go through them. It’ll be helpful to know who worked on which house if I find any more issues. See if there’s a pattern, you know? If the same people worked on houses that have problems.”

“Yeah, I can do that. Which tradesmen do you want to start with?”

Cam thought for a moment. “Let’s start with the carpenters. Since I started out as a carpenter, I’ll know what to look for.”

“You got it, Cam. I’ll pull them before I leave tonight.”

“I hope it’s not too much work,” Cam said.

“Not at all,” Don said with a smile. “You know me. I’m organized. I can put my hands on anything in a matter of a few minutes.”

“Great.” Cam slapped his hand on Don’s desk. “I need to get home, but I’ll take those files with me. I’ll look them over after Fiona’s in bed.”

“How’s my favorite niece doing?” Don asked with a smile.

“She’s good.” He pushed away from the desk. “But I have to get going. I don’t like getting home late. Makes it harder for my parents. And I miss Fiona.”

“Yeah, get out of here,” Don said. “I’ll pull those files while you’re getting your stuff together.”

“Thanks, Don. I appreciate it.”

“No problem. Won’t take me long.”

Feeling lighter, Cam punched Don’s shoulder lightly. “I’m sure as hell glad that you approached me about buying into the company. Saying yes was the best business decision I ever made,” he said as he turned and exited Don’s office.