Only You (Shepherd Family Saga, Book 1) [SAMPLE ONLY!]

Chapter 1

Three years ago

Camden Shepherd had been in love exactly one time. It was a love that was fierce and pure and true. She had known since she was ten years old that her heart would always belong to one boy - a boy who had grown into a handsome man. For eight years, she had waited for the perfect moment to admit her feelings to him.

There had been complications, as there always are in the path to true love. Shane Hunt was her brother Brody's best friend, and therefore forbidden. There was also the two years he and Brody and spent in Afghanistan, fighting for their country. She had missed Shane terribly during that interlude, but she had kept in contact, sending the boys care packages filled with goodies and carefully constructed letters that did NOT indicate her burning love for Shane. In fact, Camden was quite proud of her ability to hide her feelings from Shane. She was certain he had no idea that she had been carrying a torch for him.

Tonight, though, all that would change. It was finally time to tell him. Shane and Brody had both come home in time to attend her high school graduation. They had cheered boisterously as she crossed the stage to receive her diploma. It had felt wonderful having the people she loved most in the world supporting her on such a momentous occasion; but in Camden's heart, tonight would be even more momentous. Her parents were throwing her a huge graduation party, and finally, after years of waiting, she was going to tell Shane how she felt.

***

Shane Hunt was well on his way to being drunk. Camden's graduation party roared around him, the bass of some terrible top 40 song vibrating beneath his feet. He had tried to get out of coming, but he knew Camden would be disappointed, and he couldn't do anything to hurt her. She'd been under his skin for years. Shane stumbled as he made his way out the front door. He was definitely feeling buzzed, and he was headed towards total drunkenness. He came outside because he didn't think it would go over well if he got sick on the Shepherd's carpet. Once is forgivable, but a second occurrence was shameful...especially since he wasn't a rebellious fifteen year old anymore.

Outside, the wind rustled the leaves, and Shane could hear the muted melody of the music, but it was much more peaceful. He made his way straight to the wooden swing, his favorite place on the wrap around porch. He settled into the swing and took a long pull from his beer as the swing began to sway. He closed his eyes and laid his head back, dreaming of what tonight should have been like...a night where he was stone cold sober and would absolutely NOT be sleeping alone.

"I thought I might find you here," a warm, sexy voice interrupted his musings. Shane jerked his head upright, staring at Camden. His head began pounding from the movement.

"Are you okay?" She sounded concerned, but of course he wouldn't be able to hide anything from her. They'd known each other since they were children.

"Just drank too much," he grumbled.

Camden thought Shane looked a little dark this evening, like something was going on that he wasn't happy about. She wondered whether she should proceed with her plan. She chewed her lower lip, a habit her mother loathed, as she waivered in her decision. No, she thought. There is no backing out of this. It is now or never.

"Shane?" she began timidly. Shane's eyebrows scrunched together, as if he was preparing himself for terrible news.

"Can we go for a walk? I want to talk to you about something." Shane nodded slowly, surprised that Camden would want to leave her party. He began to wonder what she wanted to talk to him about. And why couldn't they talk about it here? Why did they have to be alone? Shane's heart began to race, as he thought through all the reasons Camden would reach out to him away from Brody or her parents. Was she in trouble? He hadn't been home in a year before last week. Had something bad happened while he was gone? Shane's head began pounding as he thought of what he would do to anyone who had hurt Camden. Hell, anyone who had touched her. He ground his teeth together to stop himself from demanding answers, as he stood and followed Camden down the front steps.

Camden felt butterflies in her stomach. She couldn't believe she was about to risk everything by telling Shane the truth, but if he felt a fraction of what she did, she knew they could face her family and a life together. As they reached a street light just a couple of houses away, Camden paused, wanting to see Shane's face as she bore her heart to him. She placed her hand on his forearm, stopping him in his tracks.

Shane's deep blue eyes peered at her from beneath lashes so thick, any girl would be envious. Camden wondered at the hesitant look in his eyes. She squeezed her hands together, and her mind went totally blank. She had rehearsed what she was going to say a million times, and nothing came to mind. Her speech had been eloquently composed, romantic even. Camden's heart fluttered as she began to panic.

Shane's expression became concerned, and he gently grabbed her hand.

"You can tell me anything, Cam," he urged supportively, although he wasn't sure how true that was. Even now, he was using every ounce of self-control to keep from demanding who had caused her this level of distress.

Camden stared at Shane, her mouth hanging open. When the words she had rehearsed still wouldn't come to mind, she blurted, "I'm in love with you. I always have been, at least since I've known that boys were worth liking. I know you are Brody's best friend, so it's kind of off-limits, but I love you too much to not say anything." Camden took a deep breath and barreled on. "I know that if you feel something towards me, we can make it work, no matter what Brody and my parents think. I'm eighteen now, so it's legal. Plus, I'm an adult and can make my own decisions, and I choose you."

She paused, and looked at Shane's stricken face. "I choose you," she whispered, dropping her hand from his. It was obvious that he was not expecting her outburst. In shock, Shane was unable to formulate an immediate reply. He had expected her to confess she was in some sort of trouble. It wouldn't have been the first time she had sought him to help her out of a tight spot. Brody was crazy overprotective, so Shane helped out from time to time to keep Camden from Brody's brotherly rants.

"Camden," Shane croaked out. He stared at her in disbelief, and Camden knew he was about to break her heart. Her eyes filled with tears, and Shane sobered completely. He hated to hurt her. He always had. "Camden, I'm sorry," he whispered, his voice faltering slightly at the end. "You....you're like a little sister to me. I've never thought of you that way."

A single tear trickled down her cheek, and Camden knew she couldn't stand to look at the man she loved while he broke her heart, no matter how gently he did so. Before she could think better of it, she turned and ran back to the house.

"Camden!" Shane yelled after her. "Cam!" But she kept running down the sidewalk. She stumbled up the porch steps, holding back the sobs that wanted to break free. The music blasted as she opened the front door. Her guests were too busy reveling to notice her as she made her way upstairs, unlocked her bedroom and stepped inside. She had just enough control to remember to lock her door behind her. She would be even more humiliated if someone saw her lose it.

As soon as the door was locked, Camden's knees buckled, and she sank to the floor sobbing. Heart-wrenching cries were hidden by the music and party sounds downstairs. No one knew the pain she suffered, save the quiet boy who had followed her into the house and up the stairs.

Shane's stomach turned as he listened to Camden cry. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but stopped, knowing he was the last person that she would want to see. He touched his fingers to the fuzzy pink sign bearing her name and two single tears raced from his eyes. He had never heard her sob like this before. She was crushed, and he had been the person to destroy her. Shane turned slowly, wiped his eyes, and headed to the kitchen to get wasted.

***

Camden wasn't sure how much time had passed, but her tears had finally dried. Her breathing was still unsteady, so she focused on steadying her breaths as she went into her bathroom to clean the mascara streaks off her face. She stared at her red puffy eyes in the mirror. She knew that Shane would see the evidence of her tears, but if she covered it well with her makeup, everyone would just assume her eyes were red from drinking.

After fifteen minutes fixing her face, Camden went into her closet. She had dressed in a cute, pale yellow sundress with strappy tan sandals. Shane had always called her "Sunshine" when she wore yellow, and she knew the pale, creamy color looked great against her golden skin and sparkling green eyes. She couldn't get the dress off fast enough. As she began tossing her wardrobe on the floor of her closet, she noticed a red mini-dress that Jennifer had left a few weeks before. It was a little slutty for Camden's taste, but she had made a decision. She had wasted years...YEARS...waiting for Shane, and he hadn't given her even a thought. He said she was like his little sister. Well, she'd be damned if she was going to wait for him to notice her any longer.

She choked back another sob. Her family loved Shane like he was part of the family, and even though Camden was going to force herself to move on, she knew she couldn't bear to see him whenever she came home for holidays or summer break. She had always been told not to make rash decisions when she was upset, but tonight she was going to make two, and she couldn't care less if either was wrong. First, she was not going to be the only freshman at school with her v-card. She'd been saving it for Shane, but it was going to the first acceptable bidder, as early as tonight, if she could swing it. Second, she was not going to the local college she originally planned to attend. She was salutatorian, so she had been accepted to most of the schools to which she applied, but she didn't care about that. She was going to drive until she found a town she liked, and then she was going to get a job and enroll in community college. It would probably take her a week to arrange everything so that she could leave, but she had decided, and once Camden made a decision, she was a force with which to be reckoned.

Camden finished shimmying into the barely there red dress, pulled on her highest heels (the shiny black ones Jennifer said made her ass look fabulous), and unlocked her door. Here goes nothing, she thought. Slowly she made her way downstairs, and headed to the kitchen for fortification. After downing three tequila shots, she scanned the crowd in the living room. Shane was nowhere to be seen, so Camden headed straight towards Rob Harris, captain of the football team, class president, and the boy who had chased her all four years of high school. Rob was quite the ladies' man, so she knew he was just looking for a new conquest, but she had been saving herself for "he who shall not be named". Screw that, she thought, then giggled. No, I'll screw Rob.

Camden schooled her expression to look as seductive as possible, but Rob had already noticed her, and he was definitely not looking at her face. Rob mumbled something to the group of football players and cheerleaders standing around him, and they suddenly scattered. He continued to stare at Camden, his mouth hanging open.

"Cat got your tongue?" she cooed, as she gently gripped his chin and closed his mouth.

"You look a-amazing!" he stammered. Camden ran her fingers down his muscular arm.

"Want to get out of here and celebrate?" she whispered. By now, Rob the lothario had recovered.

"Absolutely. Let me tell the guys I'm out," he smirked. "Meet you at my truck?" His eyebrows were raised in challenge. Obviously, he didn't think she would follow through, but Camden knew she would. What was the point of saving herself for someone special when she would love Shane Hunt for the rest of her life?

"See you there, hot stuff," she teased. Rob grinned, and hurried to no doubt tell his buddies about his good fortune. Camden turned towards the front hallway, only to lock eyes across the room with Brody. He glared when he noticed her dress, and Camden knew it would be seconds before he started to head toward her, so she hurried towards the front door, losing sight of Brody in the crowd.

She heard the giggle instantly, as she headed out the front door. Great, she thought. Someone was fooling around on the front porch. Gross. Camden tried to slip across the porch and down the stairs unsuspected when she heard Heather Davis' high pitched whine.

"Please, Shane," she giggled. "This party blows, and you know I'll give you a good time."

Camden's eyes jerked up involuntarily, only to see Heather wrapped around Shane as he stood drinking a beer. His hand rested just above the curve of her ass, and she looked totally comfortable nibbling his ear. Camden felt her face heat, and anger surged within her. Not only did that bastard reject her tonight, but he had the audacity to hook up with someone on her front porch during her party. Who the hell did he think he was? Forgetting her attempts at silence, Camden stomped her way down the steps and across the driveway. She felt Shane's eyes burning the back of her, and she let herself look just once. For a moment, it looked as if he was clenching his jaw, fury filling his eyes, but just as quickly, he looked calm, drunk, and possible horny. Good for him, because Heather was easy. She could help him with that. Camden, on the other hand, was going to get lucky tonight, too. She turned and began walking down the sidewalk towards Rob's truck at the end of the road.