The Outlaw

17

SEVENTEEN

It was a little after seven in the morning when I'd slipped out of my bedroom—which was rare for me since it was a Saturday morning and I highly treasured my lie-ins. In the kitchen where I was fixing myself a cup of coffee, I heard the shower turn on in Cameron's bedroom. It wasn't even five minutes later he strolled in wearing faded blue coveralls over a plain white t-shirt, ready to tackle a day of work.

"Morning, stranger," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the crown of my head as he made his way to the coffee machine. "It's early for you."

"Way," I agreed and turned to sit on a stool so he couldn't witness how guilty I felt over my absence around the apartment. I was rarely ever home in between school, my job and now accompanying Travis to training added to the mix, more often than not I crashed at his. Cam and I hardly ever went too long without checking up on each other. I knew he worried about me while trying not to hover too much.

I was just beginning to ask about his plans for the day when he cleared his throat and said, "Maddie, I've wanted to talk to you about something."

His despondent tone alarmed me. "What's up?"

Lowering his gaze, Cameron stared down at the mug between his hands before looking up at me again. "Talia landed a job as a junior art director for a major fashion magazine."

Relief flooded through me as I grinned, ready to tell him to pass a congratulatory message to Talia on my behalf. But then he dropped the bomb.

"The job is in New York."

My smile faded as I grimaced. "Oh." That obviously meant Talia would be situated over an hour flight-distance away. Sliding off the stool, I rounded the island and stood next to him. "When is she planning to move?"

"In a few months..."

I set my hand on his arm sympathetically. Cameron was known for being a serial dater and has had a steady string amount of women flitting in and out of his life but I've never seen him so gone over anyone other than Talia. Which meant he must have been finding it hard for someone who had never really done the long-distance relationship thing ever before. "I'm sorry."

A moment of silence later, he rubbed at his forehead. "There's something else."

Sucking in a deep breath, Cameron glanced away which surged a flutter of nerves in the pit of my stomach. "JT Mechanics has auto repair shops across a wide variety of states... including New York." He paused. "I've been talking to my boss about relocating."

My stomach dropped. Removing my hand from his, I struggled to process what he was trying to say. "Wait. You want to move to New York?"

"Maybe. I've done some searching for apartments to sublet but I haven't decided anything final yet." But the fact that he was thinking about it—to the extent of looking for property—showed that it was more than just a thought at this point. And he hadn't consulted me beforehand too. That hurt.

My chest tightened unbearably. Cameron Shaw has always been my touchstone, my protector and brother—the reason why my life turned out the way it had. I didn't know what I would have done without him. I could picture a time where we wouldn't always be tied to each other and heading our separate ways, perhaps only ever getting together on rare occasions. I wasn't that naïve to believe he wouldn't ever settle down and when the time came things would be the same. I knew our relationship wouldn't fade, but it will change.

And now with him potentially moving... it already was. And the mere thought of losing Cameron screwed with my head.

My mind bounced back and forth between the bombshell he'd just dropped to grasping the knowledge that their relationship was already sliding into the moving-in-together stage, unsure which to latch onto first.