The Right One Read online

  “Three. Maybe four. If Alex and the other guys can finish a few of the enclosures by the end of the week, we’ll have some new arrivals. Finding the tigers isn’t the problem. It’s everything I still need to do.”

  Liz took another bite, talking as she chewed. “When do you want me to take over the admin?”

  Cami sighed heavily. “Not sure. Need to go over the books, make sure every penny is accounted for before I start handing out salaries. But, hopefully, soon. I’m sitting down with an accountant day after tomorrow.”

  “I’m ready when you are. Ready to drop the dead end job for one a little more interesting.” She took a final bite of apple, leaned against the doorframe and dunked the apple core into the kitchen trash can.

  “And equally dead end. You know you’ll never get rich with me, right?”

  Liz snorted. “Who needs money? I’m going to be working with my closest friend and a bunch of wild critters. All the while watching the soap opera between you and Alex and Paul.” She clapped her hands. “Perfect, perfect, and more perfect. Or at the very least, entertaining.”

  Cami picked up a throw pillow and tossed it at her friend, which Liz promptly dodged. Laughter and Liz gathered her purse. “I guess I better get going. Back to the grind in a few hours.”

  She nodded. “Have a good day.”

  “You too. Retrieve that email and keep it for prosperity’s sake, and give Alex some more grief. Maybe he’ll break down and admit how he feels. We all know you won’t.”

  Liz dodged out of the door as another pillow sailed in her direction, giggles heard across the front yard to her car.

  Cami shook her head and returned to the computer to pull the email from the recycle bin. No one had handle on her love life. How could they when she didn’t? Nothing wrong with that. Why should I?

  Chapter Seven

  Cami strode to the fence, admiring the work Alex and the crew completed so far. The first enclosure nearly built, the second half way there, the men hard at work. Cocking her head and leaning back, she spied loads of lumber piled not far from where they worked, and guessed supplies for at least the first tower had arrived.

  Beginning to feel pretty real now.

  A wide smile spread across her face.

  “Hey there, beautiful! Enjoying the view?”

  “Hi, Alex.” She turned and stared as Alex strode to her side, unable to shift her gaze away. Biting the lower lip, she closed her eyes and angled to look across the yard. “It’s looking great. You’re working the men like dogs, huh?”

  Lips tightened over his teeth. “Naw. They’re doing fine. Just making good time is all.” He squared his head to look at her. “What’s this about a threatening email?”

  She groaned. “Liz must have told you. Sometimes I have to question her loyalty.”

  Alex muffled a laugh. “No, you don’t. What email? How many?”

  She rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing. One email from probably some animal right’s activist that needs to school themselves on the finer points of legitimate animal sanctuaries. Nothing to be alarmed about.”

  “Don’t dismiss them so easily.” Alex reached for Cami’s hand, fingers loosely wrapping around her palm. “What you’re doing is controversial, especially to those who don’t understand.”

  She slowly pulled the hand away. “You sound like Liz.”

  “Only because she’s right. Just be careful, okay? And keep me posted.”

  “Are you my security guard now?”

  He shrugged and smiled. “That’s nothing new. I’ve been your security guard since we were children. Why stop now?” He paused, resting his elbows against the fence, staring across the ranch. “Any idea who the email is from? Any thoughts?”

  She shook her head. “None. Don’t think it’s worth concentrating on. Really.”

  “What about that Paul guy? He came here yesterday, rode across the ranch, got a feel for things.”

  She shook her head. “No, I don’t think so.” Cami shrugged. “Maybe. But he’d come with another petition, I think. Not be sneaky like that.”

  Alex raised the Stetson, rubbed a hand over short jet hair, and replaced the hat. “I’m not so sure. Just be careful, okay?”

  “I don’t know why everyone is so worked up over the tigers anyway. It’s humans we all have to be afraid of, isn’t it?” She chuckled. “We’re the unreasonable ones. An email like this just proves it, I think. Well, if I can handle the cats, I certainly can handle the humans.”

  Crossing his arms, Alex narrowed his eyes. “Well, I hope so.” Nodding upwards, he said, “Just don’t get cocky.”

  “Me?” She laughed. “I’ll keep an eye open, I promise.”

  “Guess that’s all I can hope for.”

  Her phone rang and she reached to a back pocket. Alex nodded. “Catch you later Cam.”

  She nodded, finger sliding across the touchscreen to answer the call.

  “Is this Cami?”

  She paused, unable to place the voice. “Yes.”

  “It’s Paul Schotter. Wondering if you’d like to join me for another dinner?”

  Brows furrowed as she watched Alex’s retreating figure, his words dancing across her mind. “Why? There’s nothing else I can tell you about the ranch.”

  The line was silent for a moment. “Yes, no, I guess not. That’s not the reason I’m asking.”

  “Then I’m confused.”

  Another pause. “I enjoy your company. Would maybe like to get to know you a little better. Maybe over pizza.”

  “Well, I don’t know …”

  “Or something a little nicer, if you would like. Steak and potatoes, all you can eat crab legs. Whatever you would like to do.”

  Jaw tightened, her mind raced. Cami ran her tongue over parched lips. “A date?”

  Another round of silence. “Yes, I suppose you could call it that.”

  She thought quickly. A date with the man who wanted to shut her down, a little odd. Liz’s voice carried through her thoughts, along with her parents’ voices, alleging romantic feelings between Alex and her. A date is perfect. “Ok.”

  “Yes? Great. What can I treat you to?”

  “Pizza would be fine.”

  “Great,” he repeated. “Tomorrow night at six then?”

  “Okay.”

  “See you then.”

  A thumb slid to blacken the screen, and Cami tucked the phone in a back pocket, then leaned against the fence. She could handle Paul Schotter. And silencing everyone else’s conjectures was well worth consorting with the enemy for a couple hours.

  Chapter Eight

  Vinci’s Pizza buzzed with popularity, despite being the middle of the week. Cami searched the visible tables. Feeling a hand rest gently on a shoulder, she turned. How does he do that?

  Paul smiled wide. “Thanks for coming.”

  She nodded, “I was surprised by the invitation.”

  “You shouldn’t be. You’re a captivating woman.”

  “Bad line.”

  “True line. Shall we get a table?”

  “Yes, please.”

  Together, they moved through the restaurant, weaving between crowded tables and noisy chatter. Settling into a booth alongside a salad bar, Cami leaned into the padded bench while Paul rested against the green trimmed table top. “What kind of pizza do you like?”

  “Sausage, green pepper, onion. You?”

  “What do you know? The same thing.”

  Cami shook her head. “You don’t expect me to believe that.”

  He shrugged. “No, you’re right, sort of. I like the whole nine yards – everything they have in the kitchen. But that also means I like sausage, green pepper and onion. So I’m not lying to you, and that sounds perfect for tonight.”

  She sighed, shoulders dropping. “I’m sorry, Paul. I’m not trying to be difficult or rude. I’m just not understanding why we’re here, why you wanted a date with me, of all things, and of all people. You’re a good looking guy, so I know you aren’t
desperate for attention from women. You don’t understand what I’m doing, and this is my life’s work. I’ve been planning it for a long time, and will be doing it for even longer, if I have anything to say about it. So why ask me out?”

  “Because of that right there. I love your honesty. Your boldness. Not an easy thing to find in someone who I suspect has quite a heart as well. It’s an enticing combination, and one I’d like to get to know better.” He folded his arms on the table. “I could ask the same thing. You don’t trust me, clearly have reservations about being around me, yet this is the second time you’ve agreed to meet.”

  She raised an eyebrow and turned to look away, scanning the restaurant for distraction. Kids sat at tables with attentive parents, couples feeding each other pizza, some singles nibbling on thick cheese topped crusts with book in hand. Slowly, Cami returned attention to her companion. “Honestly? I don’t know. You’re right. I don’t trust you, don’t trust many people, if I was going to be truthful. But you do have me curious. Most angles I can figure out pretty quickly. Yours, I thought I knew.”

  “And now you’re not so sure?”

  She sighed. “And now, I want to know. I’m not one for surprises.” She shook her head. “Look, I have a very close, small group of friends, people I trust.”

  “You prefer the animals?”

  Her lips curled at the corners. “I guess I do. Animals don’t have agendas, they have only instinct. And that, as long as you understand the animal, is fairly predictable. People, on the other hand, change with the wind, not something I have a lot of patience for.”

  He harrumphed. “That’s a jaded view of the world. I’m sorry you’ve been so hurt.”

  “It has nothing to do with hurt. Everyone’s been hurt. That’s the whole point.” She shook her head. This is getting entirely too personal. “What about you? I’m assuming you don’t have someone special in your life. Or are you the cheating kind?”

  He laughed. “No, ma’am. I am not the cheating kind. There hasn’t been someone special in my life for a while. We can agree on one thing, relationships are complicated things.”

  An eyebrow shot up, smile creasing her lips. “Yes, that we can agree on.”

  The waitress came to the table, dressed in jeans and white t-shirt, a teenager not older than fifteen. He raised an eyebrow at her, eyes asking permission. Head tilted, she nodded, watching with curiosity as he ordered her favorite pizza without stumbling.

  As the waitress turned away and Paul’s attention shifted back to her, Cami smiled. “You did that well.”

  “You can’t mean to say I impressed you?”

  She chuckled softly. “Maybe. Just a little.” She pinched a thumb and finger together in the air, and leaned forward. “Okay, you have my attention. So who are you, Mr. Paul Schotter?”

  “You mean besides the man that tried to stop your dream from coming true?”

  “Yes. Besides that.”

  “No one special, really. Grew up in Kentucky. I graduated from college with a degree in Business Management. Settled here in Sevierville, and the rest is pretty much history.” A coke was settled down in front of him, lemonade before Cami, and the waitress disappeared. “What about you?”

  She laughed. “Well, that was short and sweet. Didn’t tell me much either, don’t think I missed that.” She shrugged. “There’s not much to tell. My father is a prosecutor, successful, respected. My mother, a stay at home mom, aptly overbearing. They expected me to go into law, or earn a doctorate in something prominent. Instead, I majored in veterinarian studies, minored in business, gained enough to help with my dream, and I was done with school.”

  “So you always knew you wanted to do this?”

  “Always. I tried, for a very short time, to appease them.” She took a swallow of her drink. “It didn’t go well, and just confirmed what I really wanted.”

  The pizza arrived, mozzarella cheeses melting across the golden brown deep dish crust over finely chopped onions, green peppers and Italian sausage. Savory Italian spices wafted through the air, and Cami’s stomach grumbled. She wrapped an arm across it, hoping he hadn’t heard the eager bid for consumption.

  “Shall we dig in?” He reached across the table, took her plate and placed a slice against the china. “More than one?”

  “Please.”

  One more slice and Paul handed her the plate. Teeth sinking into the baked dinner pie, Cami savored a bite, watching as he ate nearly an entire slice in three bites. She wiped a drop of red sauce from her lips with a paper napkin. “I know you like to horseback ride, you said you’re into the outdoors. Like hiking? Camping? Fishing?” Why was she interrogating him?

  “All the above.” He swallowed the last of the first slice of pizza. “Despite my white collar position.”

  She smirked, took a bite of pizza.

  “You don’t believe me?”

  Cami shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I? You are what you say you are, right?” She chewed through the thick cheese. “So, what, you punch out on Friday and live another life on the weekends?”

  He laughed. “I feel like I’m filling out some kind of test. Am I passing or failing?”

  “It’s not like that.” Cami sighed heavily. I knew this dinner was a mistake. “I just –“

  “You’re guard is up and you don’t know how to let it down. At least not with me.” He took a sip from the cola, swallowed, rolled his lips in and out. “I know I started off on the wrong foot, attacking the very thing you are the most passionate about. But, maybe if you can see past it …”

  She sat still, staring, considering. “Look, I know you’ve apologized, and I accept that. It’s not easy for me to trust people. And this,” she waved at the space between them, “This small talk, getting to know each other thing, it’s not my strong suit. I’m not sure, this doesn’t feel,” she stopped, struggling. “Let’s just finish the pizza, okay? Then, maybe we can get out of here.”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Go someplace more comfortable?”

  She nodded. “Maybe. Go for a ride, back at the ranch?”

  “I’d like that.”

  The ranch was lit in the glow of earliest twilight, faint pinks and purples growing in the fading day blue sky. The wheels of the truck bumped across uneven ground, and Cami rumbled against the seat, oblivious to the familiar joggling. The last date, no more with Paul Schotter. No connection. No magic. Where was the fire that was supposed to go with being in love? She’d never felt it. Didn’t stop her from looking, though. And she wasn’t going to accept anything less.

  *

  Alex watched the two trucks pull into the drive, the thread of straw he chewed on dropping to his feet as Paul Schotter stepped out of the truck which followed Cami’s familiar pickup. She was seeing him again? His jaw tightened. The man was out to destroy the sanctuary, she couldn’t possibly be interested in him. A hand tightened into a fist around the wood of the fence. He understood everything about the woman, but didn’t understand what she was looking for. He smirked. “I’ve certainly been trying to figure it out long enough.”

  A leg pushed against the fence and Alex evened himself to face them, steeling the nerves sparked by seeing her with another man. She’s dated, he’s dated, never crossed the line together. He rubbed his chin. Why should this bother him now?

  “Cami. How’s it going?”

  “Hey, Alex. It’s going okay. How are things here on the ranch?”

  He eyed Paul up and down as he moved to stand next to Cami. “Making progress.” Taking the Stetson off, he tapped it against a leg as dust swirled outward and placed the Stetson back on his head, arms crossed. “What was your name again?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Alex, I’ve introduced you to Paul before.”

  He stiffened. “Yeah, I guess you have. You were at that council meeting to shut us down, weren’t you? Heading it, if I remember right. What are you doing here?” And why are you after her? Alex frowned. He could guess why – anyone’d be crazy not to be after Cami.<
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  His brows furrowed, stance tightening. “I’m doubting that’s any of your business, seeing as how you’re the hired help.”

  She spun on him, stepping between the two men. “Paul, this is a friend of mine. Who’s the hired help and not the hired help is none of your business. You are on my property, don’t talk to my men like that.”

  “I’m, I’m sorry. I wasn’t trying to step out of line.”

  She sighed. Too much testosterone in the air, time for space. “Look, I’m tired, maybe tonight isn’t the best night for that ride. Let’s take a raincheck.”

  Paul looked from Cami to Alex and back. “Okay, understood. Again, I’m sorry.”

  She nodded as he glanced at Alex again and turned to the truck.

  Cami turned to Alex, hands on hips. “What’s the problem?”

  “I told you, I don’t like him.”

  “Whether you like him or don’t like him has nothing to do with anything. You’re my best friend Alex, but I can take care of myself. Don’t do that again, okay?”

  He nodded and she started for the house. Glancing downward, Alex kicked the fence and, resting both elbows against the wood, shook his head. “Straight shootin’ there, Rex.”

  Chapter Nine

  Cami paced up and down the living room, arms crossed, ready to pull out her hair. If not one thing, it was another. She wanted to scream.

  “Cami, honey, you don’t have to get this worked up. We’re just concerned.”

  “Yeah, Mom, and I’ve been hearing the same song and dance for the last year.” She stopped and turned to face her parents seated side by side on the couch. “The fact is, I’m not going to change my mind and I’m not going to give in this time. The sooner you both accept that …”

  Mr. Lockhart edged in front of his wife, dressed in the typical expensive, specially tailored suit. One of them, the stuffed shirts, in every way. “Don’t take that tone with your mother, Camille. We didn’t raise you to be disrespectful, and you’re not going to start now, even if you are an adult.”