“Reached out to you and told you about Emma?” Paige asked in a low voice.
He frowned at her. “Why’d you do it? Was it some sort of payback for the town wanting to prosecute your father? Was it your turn to turn the tables on me because I wasn’t in your corner?”
Paige shook her head. Her eyes narrowed. “None of those reasons. It wasn’t based on spite or meanness or a desire to lash out at anyone. If you remember correctly, I didn’t leave Love of my own accord. I was thrown out of this town like yesterday’s garbage. Not a single person here wanted to hear what I had to say about the stolen money, nor did anyone consider how it must have felt to be standing in my shoes. I was the town pariah. So when I found out I was pregnant with Emma after leaving here, the very last thing I ever wanted to do was come back to this town.”
“Or to me?” The reality of it wounded him. Things had been so bad between them she’d chosen to raise Emma alone rather than share the experience with him. That knowledge shattered him.
Paige’s mouth hardened. “That wasn’t an option. You made that quite clear when you turned your back on me. If I remember correctly, you told me to leave town, said there wasn’t anything for me in Love.”
“I turned my back on you?” Cameron asked, feeling incredulous at Paige’s spin on things. “You knew where your father went when he left town with all our money and you refused to tell me or anybody else,” he protested. “You protected him!”
Paige angrily brushed away tears. “I didn’t know his whereabouts until much later. He was my father. No matter what you thought of him, he was my only living parent. And I didn’t know for certain where he’d gone or what he’d done. He fled town without saying a word to me. I had my suspicions, but no facts. And this town wanted blood. When they couldn’t produce my father, they went after me.”
Cameron winced inwardly as memories from those terrible days washed over him. He’d been so outraged and jaded and shocked by Robert’s duplicity that he’d been numb to Paige’s pain. It had been an impossible situation. And he still didn’t know how much or how little Paige had known about her father’s scam. For some reason it had been easier to believe that she too had betrayed him, even though he had always known Paige to be an honorable woman.
“Tensions ran high. I’ll admit that,” Cameron said. “People were hurt and devastated and furious. But no matter what went down between the two of us, you owed me the truth about Emma. I had a right to know she was part of this world.”
“That’s one of the main reasons why I’m here, Cameron. Losing my father made me realize that I have no right to keep you from knowing your daughter. Because warts and all, I adored my father. I’m thankful he was in my life. And I want you to have the chance of having the same relationship with Emma.”
He was trying not to lose his temper, but hearing her talk about the man who’d nearly bankrupted Love grated on his nerves. He didn’t want to hear about her great love for her father when he’d missed fourteen months of his daughter’s life. Not when Robert had hurt the people Cameron cared about most in this world and taught him a brutal lesson about betrayal.
“I can appreciate that, but don’t expect anyone else in town to echo those sentiments. Your father was a thief and a liar. He deceived this entire town. And now, because of him, I lost out on moments with Emma that I’ll never get back. The moment she started crawling. Her first steps. Her first word.”
She jutted her chin out. “You lost out on those moments because of my choices and your own actions. My father may have been dishonorable, but he didn’t wreck our relationship. We did that all on our own.”
Paige’s words slithered inside him like a poisonous viper. Was Paige trying to make him responsible for her poor decision? Was she once again deflecting blame from her father? And onto him?
Suddenly all he felt was fatigue. The news about Emma being his daughter had left him reeling. He’d got way more than he’d ever imagined when he set off to track Paige down at the homestead. What he needed right now was some time alone with his thoughts. He needed God as a sounding board as he worked through this situation.
He pinched the bridge of his nose. “I think it’s time I left, Paige. I came here tonight to get answers about the funds you mentioned wanting to return to the town. Let’s leave this discussion for another time.”
Paige nodded. “I agree. It’s late, and we could probably go round and round this issue for hours. Nothing has really changed in two years between us.” A sigh slipped past her lips. “Although I know I’ve changed. I like to think I’m a better person now, one who’s grounded in her faith and her values. Two years ago God wasn’t a factor in my life, but now He’s my anchor.”
Her faith? God? Two years ago Paige’s beliefs had been nonexistent. Much like his own. During their relationship neither of them had been leading a faith-based life. Matter of fact, he couldn’t remember a single time they had attended church or prayed together. Faith had not been a part of their lives.
He nodded. “I can appreciate that. I’ve turned my life over to God, as well.”
Paige opened the front door for him. Her expression was shuttered. He stood on the threshold, his body half-turned toward her. He bowed his head down for a moment, then swung his gaze up to meet her scrutiny. “You’re wrong about nothing changing, Paige. Emma changes everything. From this moment forward, my life is never going to be the same. I wish you had seen fit to tell me about her fourteen months ago.”
He charged off into the night, not even waiting for Paige to respond. His heart and mind were filled with a hundred different emotions. Fear gripped him. What if he wasn’t cut out for fatherhood? What if it was too late to bond with Emma? Despite those questions, the major emotion he felt was pride in the chubby-cheeked beauty who bore a stunning resemblance to him. However, her mama made him want to scream with frustration and yell at the top of his lungs. She made him feel other things, too. Tender sentiments that tempted him to reach out and caress her cheek or plant a sweet kiss on her lips. It had been entirely too long since romantic feelings had swept over him. It was safe to say he missed those moments.
Even after all this time, Paige made him feel things he had thought were dead and buried in his stone-cold heart. Things he had no intention of resurrecting.
* * *
Paige stood in the doorway and watched as Cameron roared off into the darkness. She wrapped her arms around her middle as the wind whipped straight through her. When she could no longer see his taillights, she headed back inside the house. Seeing Cameron so turned upside down left her feeling guilt-ridden and sad. What had she expected? She had dropped a bombshell on him with no warning. He had been blindsided.
It wasn’t as if they were close. The love they had once shared had died out years ago. All they shared in the present was a precious child.
Although she knew she had done the right thing in returning to Love, it didn’t feel like it at the moment. So much time had passed, yet Cameron was still consumed by anger and bitterness. Would he be able to put those emotions aside in order to co-parent with her? To be the father Emma deserved?
Stay the course. It was her mother’s expression, one she’d used often during Paige’s upbringing. Emma Reynolds had been a firm believer in sticking to a plan and seeing it to its fruition. Don’t give up so easily. Her mother’s voice washed over her like a welcoming summer breeze. She smiled to herself, knowing that once again her mother was sharing her wisdom, even though she was no longer with her. It made her feel not so alone in the world. It gave her courage.
With the large sum of money she now had and a plan to resurrect the cannery deal, Paige knew she could help revitalize this town. If Cameron agreed to join forces with her, they would be unstoppable. But after being bamboozled by her father, she had no idea whether he would ever agree to take this journey with