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

Chapter 8

"I figured, if I couldn't have you, maybe I could have the next best thing. It took me getting completely and totally wasted, and even then I called her your name. She was more understanding than I expected. Guess she'd lost someone special before, too." Shane stopped and searched Camden's guarded expression. Even her eyes were now shuttered, so he couldn't tell how she was taking his story.

Camden, on the other hand was doing her very best to hide her devastation. She thought she'd never had him to begin with, but knowing he waited for her....that he searched for her...made her feel like she had lost him all over again.

"She and I...we dated for a while. Pretty much until I came back stateside. Daphne is still in Afghanistan, and we parted as friends, but we never got around to sleeping together again. I guess she didn't mind that I was a twenty-two year old virgin, or that I called her the wrong name that first night, but she knew if we slept together again, I'd still be thinking about you. I think she was protecting herself. And I....well...I guess I was waiting again and didn't even realize it."

Camden stared at Shane, speechless. He gently led her back to the air mattress. He wrapped his arm around her back, and as he lowered himself to the mattress, he pulled her softly down with him. Camden snuggled into his warmth, the tears still steadily flowing down her cheeks. What a mess they had made of things. She shivered when Shane started tracing patterns on her arm, only now realizing the entire argument/discussion had taken place while they both were extremely and totally nude.

"Camden?" Shane whispered hesitantly.

"Yeah?" Her response was equally hesitant.

"I'm sorry...for everything." They lay in silence for several long moments before Shane continued. "For breaking your heart," his voice cracked. "For not finding you. And for not waiting for you."

Camden inhaled sharply. "Oh Shane," she cried in grief. Camden lifted her head and brought her lips to Shane's, communicating her forgiveness in her loving caress. She returned her head to his shoulder, and while Shane's fingers trailed shapes on her arm, her fingers traced his rock-solid abs.

"Sunshine, we still have one more thing to talk about." Again, Camden froze and panic filled her. "We need to tell Eric," Shane stated matter-of-factly.

"Tell him what?" Camden was thoroughly confused.

"Tell him about us, Cam. I know you love him and need to let him down easily. But you and me? This is it for me. We're a once in a lifetime thing, and the sooner you let Eric down, the sooner we can be together for good." Shane turned his body toward hers and cupped her cheek in his calloused hand. "I love you, Camden Elisabeth Shepherd."

Shane didn't notice Camden's horrified expression, because she wisely covered it by diving for his mouth. Her lips met his in a passionate assault. She couldn't "let Eric down" as Shane so confidently stated. She knew coming into this weekend that it was for closure. She wasn't under any misguided thoughts about staying in her family's lives permanently. She loved them, and she had been desperate to see them, but she knew heading into this weekend that it was the last time she would see anyone in her family. And she knew now that this was also the last time she would see Shane Hunt. She put her entire soul into the kiss, drawing it out as long as possible. Once she was certain she could hide her plans from Shane, she broke the kiss.

"How much time until everyone is back from the river?" she asked innocently.

Shane glanced at his wristwatch. "Based on the normal time to tube from the launch to the exit, they might have another thirty minutes." At that exact moment, Shane's stomach grumbled, filling the tent with its rumbles. Camden's laugh echoed in the tent, and Shane chuckled in reply.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked flirtatiously. "You made me work up quite an appetite." Camden blushed.

"I don't think your mom has anything planned until dinner. There's a burger place about fifteen minutes from here. Want me to go get us some lunch?" Shane smirked and waggled his eyebrows. "Gotta get some energy for tonight."

Camden hoped her laugh didn't sound too fake, but she realized that Shane was offering her the perfect opportunity to escape.

"Sure," she agreed. "I seem to have worked up an appetite, too." She winked at Shane. "Would you mind getting me a barbecue bacon cheeseburger, with onion rings on the side. Oh....and Dr. Pepper to drink."

Shane grinned at her. "I see you can still put away the food, Sunshine." Camden smacked his arm.

"Get dressed, Hunt," she demanded. "You've gone and made me hungry!"

Shane chuckled. "And after we eat lunch, I'll make you hungry all over again."

Camden didn't know why she kept blushing. It's not like Shane would get to keep his promise. The thought sobered her, though she tried to hide it.

"On your way then, Hunt." Camden reached over, grabbed Shane's swim trunks, and tossed them at his head. Shane put the trunks on, while Camden slipped into her shorts and tank top.

Shane leaned forward and pulled Camden's face to his. "I love you, Sunshine."

Camden's eyes watered, but she told Shane the absolute truth. "I love you, too, Shane Hunt." The grin that suddenly graced his face was priceless, and the sweet kiss that followed would stay with Camden forever.

"Bye, babe," Shane whispered. "See you in a little bit."

Camden waved her fingers as Shane exited the tent. When she heard the sound of the jeep starting, she began to race around the inside of the tent, packing clothes, and loading the cooler. Within twenty minutes, she had the car packed with luggage, and she was finished breaking down the tent. She couldn't believe how quickly she had moved. Or her absolute luck. The television still echoed from her parents' RV, and neither one of them had come out of it during the entire time she was packing.

With one last look at the campsite, Camden jumped into Eric's SUV and drove away from the campground.