A Reason to Be Alone (The Camdyn Series Book 2) Read online

  A Reason to Be Alone

  a novel

  -§-

  Christina Coryell

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher. To contact the publisher, submit a request at www.christinacoryell.com.

  Text copyright © 2014 by Christina Coryell

  Cover image copyright © 2014 by Daren Coryell

  Back cover image copyright © 2014

  by Kassi Hillhouse Photography

  Cover image dress courtesy Normans Bridal Shoppe,

  Lebanon, MO

  A Reason to Be Alone

  If there’s one thing I’ve learned about life, it’s that you’re going to be thrown a curveball, so you might as well square up to the plate. Trust me - you don’t want to be caught looking. Even if you might not have much of a shot at sending it out of the park, you’ll regret anything less than a power swing.

  And the fear of failure? Yeah, it will be there, but you have to face it head on. Let’s be honest - anytime you find yourself in the batter’s box, one of three things is probably going to happen:

  First possibility - your bat slices through the air, followed by the distinct sound of the baseball hitting the leather of the catcher’s mitt. It’s embarrassing, a little demoralizing, and it begins your walk of shame back to the dugout. You don’t want to whiff the pitch.

  Option two is slightly better, because you manage to come around on the ball in time to connect, but not with the sweet spot on the bat. It’s a pop-up behind you – hopefully far enough that the catcher can’t make the out. When you get that foul ball, at least you have a shot at another pitch. Seriously, though, who knows if the next pitch will be one you want?

  No, the real goal is always the third option. Even if it’s accidental, you somehow manage to get a good read, and you bring the bat around with force. It’s a high fly ball. The center fielder is back against the wall, but he never has a chance. It’s over the wall.

  It doesn’t matter how you manage to make it happen – it only matters that you do. So what if you find yourself standing stupidly at home plate staring at your bat and pondering how a diminutive, clumsy blonde with a horrible batting average managed to knock one out of the park? The fact that the result was unexpected makes it even better, doesn’t it?

  -§-

  That’s what I found myself thinking about the night my life changed. An ordinary April day that had origins like any other and no designs on being spectacular, but it ended up being one of those pivotal days that changed the course of a life. I couldn’t help but wonder if I imagined what just happened. I’d been practicing for the important pitch in my mind all day, but when it actually came time for the play, I was taken totally by surprise.

  Chapter One

  Talk about a curveball.

  Cole Parker asked me to marry him.

  He asked me to be his wife.

  I think he did.

  The thing is, I couldn’t stop trying to convince myself that he didn’t, because he couldn’t have. It was completely crazy. I am talking unbelievably, certifiably crazy.

  Yet, the ring on my left hand said otherwise. In fact, it said, “Camdyn, I adore you and want to give you my unbelievable house… um, I mean I want to share my unbelievable house with you. We shall live together in perfect bliss, and I will offer you a lifetime of…”

  “Do I want to know what you’re thinking about?” Cole’s voice brought me back to reality.

  “I doubt it,” I said guiltily.

  Okay, so the ring doesn’t say anything except I want to marry you, but that’s more than enough in itself, right?

  Glancing over to where he stood facing me on his back deck while he manned the grill, I asked for a second time if I could help him do something, but he only smiled and shook his head, assuring me that he had it under control.

  Just a perfectly handsome man content to wait on me while I sit here and daydream about being his wife. Sigh.

  I was fairly certain the reason he didn’t want my help was because he was concerned that I would set his yard on fire or ruin the steaks, but I was content simply to sit there and watch him anyway. In fact, I didn’t even realize that I was studying the curve of his eyebrow and the length of his eyelashes over those dark brown eyes until he startled me with a laugh.

  “You’re staring at me,” he stated, and I smiled as I met his gaze.

  “Yeah, I know,” I admitted. “You should probably just get used to it. It will be worse than all those baseball moms staring at you, Coach Parker. I’m going to be here twenty-four hours a day, and I’ll likely be spending most of that time gawking at you like a lovesick teenager.”

  “You are going to be here twenty-four hours a day, aren’t you?” he asked, faking concern. “That includes when I’m not here. I’m afraid I didn’t really think this through.”

  “I promise, I will never touch the fireplaces,” I laughed, folding my hands together as though I was begging. “Please don’t think it through.” Laughing, he pretended that he was giving it some thought.

  “It’s no problem – I’ll just baby-proof the house,” he finally said with a wink as he took the steaks off the grill. Somehow, even with his hands full, he still managed to open the back door for me.

  My fiancé is a consummate gentleman.

  I still can’t believe he proposed to me.

  For some reason, that thought brought an image of my brother Charlie to mind, fittingly laughing his head off. “Can’t believe he proposed? That’s not even the first time you’ve been proposed to this month!”

  Okay imagination Charlie – technically you’re correct, but you’re also comparing apples to oranges. This isn’t some random proposal. This is Cole Parker, okay? Practical perfection somehow packaged in a living, breathing person.

  We walked through the house to the dining room table, where he pulled out my chair and placed his plate next to mine. It was only then that I felt a split second of guilt in regards to Rosalie, who was probably waiting for me to come back to the bed and breakfast, my current home away from home. (Not that I really had a home at all, in reality, but that was a different story.) When I left her place that afternoon, I told her I was going to tell Cole how I really felt about him, but that was hours before. She was probably pacing the hardwood in front of the overstuffed sofa waiting for me to return and give her the scoop.

  “I bet Rosalie’s going crazy right now,” I stated. “She knew why I was coming over here, and she wanted things to go right badly enough that she made me change clothes.”

  “Aunt Rosalie made you change clothes?” He furrowed his brow and shook his head with a short laugh.

  “Yeah, she didn’t think I looked good enough,” I told him, joining his laughter. “She told me to put on a dress.” At that, he leaned forward a bit and smiled at me.

  “Well, I won’t complain because you look beautiful,” he replied, cutting into his steak. “You’re not going to tell her yet, are you? I think we should tell them all together – Mom, Aunt Rosalie, Rachel…”

  “I agree - that would be more fun,” I stated, looking down at the new ring on my hand. Had it only been a week before that I had been babysitting Rachel’s daughter Charlotte, and Cole showed up
unannounced? It had been such a strange night, with him letting Charlotte paint him with glitter simply so he could stay at our fairy tea party. Of course, after we put her to bed, he told me he was crazy about me.

  I might need to pinch myself another time.

  “You know, this time last week, I do believe you had glitter on your face.” He laughed at me again, showcasing that perfect smile.

  “I did, but then so did you. Quite a bit, I might add.” I thought briefly about how Cole’s four-year-old niece had painted all that glitter around my eyes like fairy wings, and I couldn’t help but grin.

  “I’m sure that’s why Charlotte called me the other night,” I told him, remembering that strange phone call I had received from Cole’s number. “She wanted to schedule another fairy tea party.”

  “You were so incredible with Charlotte,” he said nonchalantly. “I can’t wait until we have one of our own.” As soon as the words passed his lips, I nearly choked on my steak.

  “Slow down a little!” I exclaimed. “We haven’t even set a date yet.”

  “Well, I didn’t mean tomorrow!” he countered, widening his eyes. “I know it seems like I’m rushing things, and I’m sorry.”

  “You don’t need to be sorry,” I said, avoiding his gaze by looking down at my potatoes.

  “We can take our time setting a date, too,” he told me. Logic informed me that was a good idea, but when I turned my attention to his profile and my heart started beating harder, every thought going through my mind grew completely irrational.

  “No, I don’t want to do that,” I stated. “I think we should set a date now.”

  “Really?” he asked, smiling over at me. “What were you thinking?”

  Yesterday.

  “Okay, this is just a suggestion, but I was thinking…maybe June?” He nodded as though he was thinking it over, but he didn’t look too excited about it.

  Great. Now you’re freaking him out with your over-exuberance. He’s going to realize you are stark, raving insane and he will rethink everything, beginning with that ring on your finger. You might as well slide it off now.

  “June?” he asked, looking conflicted. “Okay, June. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. We haven’t really known each other that long, so maybe a year-long engagement would be a good thing. I mean…wow. That feels like an eternity, but you’re right.” He went back to cutting his steak, and I watched him with a smile tugging on my lips for a moment.

  I’m pretty sure he just admitted that he didn’t want to wait.

  He did.

  Didn’t he?

  I reached over and put my hand on his, and he stopped moving his knife as he looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

  “This is going to sound completely irrational,” I began, “but I meant this June, as in a month from now? I know that’s not much time, but…” I didn’t even bother finishing my sentence, because when he exhibited one of his impeccable smiles and wrapped his fingers around mine, I was pretty sure I had my answer.

  “Crazy sounds perfect to me,” he confessed, shifting in his seat and leaning towards me.

  “You’re very sure?” I whispered as he came close, studying those brown eyes.

  “Totally and completely,” he muttered, right before sealing our agreement with a kiss that wiped every thought from my mind.

  Chapter Two

  Saturday morning met me with a stream of sunshine splashed across the wall and the realization that I would be Mrs. Cole Parker in five weeks. Five weeks. I knew that to everyone else that would seem like an insanely rushed time frame, but to me, it felt like ages. Sitting up in bed, I glanced at my hand again, biting my lip to keep from smiling at the ring on my finger. It would be impossible to keep the news from Rosalie with that visible confirmation, so I got up and tucked it gently into one of the dresser drawers for safe keeping.

  Rosalie Mills - cook extraordinaire and proprietor of the most awesome bed and breakfast in the state of Tennessee, as far as I was concerned. I might have been a little biased due to the fact that she was letting me stay for free, and the fact that she happened to have the most handsome nephew in the known world. A nephew who wanted to marry me. Me! I giggled a little to myself, just thinking about it. Staying with Rosalie had felt so much like finally having a mother that I would have hated moving out of that bedroom, if not for the fact that I knew my ultimate destination would be Cole’s house.

  It’s official, I am the most blessed girl in the world, hands down.

  That morning, Rosalie was busy with her overnight bed and breakfast guests, so I quickly brushed my teeth, slid on my tennis shoes, and snuck out the back door to go for a quick run. I paused on the back porch for a moment, gazing out at the path down to the river. The thought of walking that way to sit by the water for a few moments was tempting, but my memory quickly whipped to the last time I had walked down to the river, whereupon I became distracted and wound up a dripping mess. Mind settled for me, I decided it was best to get my exercise before I had any unfortunate mishaps.

  I made my way around the house to head up the driveway, and it only took me a few seconds to notice Cole’s blue pickup parked in front of the bed and breakfast. He wasn’t in the cab, so I turned to glance at the house, wondering if he had gone inside. When I came closer, though, I saw his legs dangling off the tailgate as he reclined in the bed of the truck. I snuck up to the side of the bed to spy on him, gazing down at him in his white St. Louis Cardinals t-shirt and black gym shorts, his dark hair slightly disheveled and his eyes closed, with that hint of a five o’clock shadow that seemed to be permanently along his jaw line. He looked pretty flawless to me.

  “What are you doing?” I asked as I put my hand against the bed rail. He sat up and smiled, shielding his eyes from the sun with one hand.

  “Counting the minutes until I saw you again,” he stated teasingly, reaching out for my hand. “I guess I can go back to zero now.”

  “You know just how to wrap me around your finger, don’t you?” I noticed that he was looking curiously at my left hand where the ring should have been. “I was just going for a run and thought I should take the ring off, at least until you tell Rosalie.”

  “Just as long as you didn’t change your mind,” he said, lowering himself to the ground. I shook my head with a smile.

  “Not a chance of that happening.” He pulled me close to him and held me in a hug for a minute, after which he kissed me on the forehead.

  “I thought I would run with you, if that’s okay,” he said with a smile, and I nodded as we set off down the road. “You do realize, five weeks from today…”

  “I’ll be claiming the rock and roll workout library as my own,” I finished, referring to his den, to which he laughed heartily. Yes, I was pretty excited about the prospect of possessing that room for my own purposes. I glanced at him to my left as we jogged along in the gentle breeze of the morning.

  “Five weeks is going to pass pretty quickly. Are you sure you can plan a wedding that fast?”

  “Well, we could push it out farther,” I began, “but I must admit that I’m looking forward to the day when I’ll just wake up to your face instead of waiting for you to come over. Even five weeks seems like a long time.”

  “I definitely don’t want to wait,” he stated, looking over at me with an irresistible grin. “Besides, I’m sure when you tell Aunt Rosalie and my mom you’ll have so much help it will make your head spin.”

  “That is my hope,” I told him. “When do you think we should tell them?” He reached out and grabbed my hand as we turned to jog onto the gravel road, and I slowed to a walk.

  “They’ll all be together later today for my dad’s party. We can tell them then.”

  “Party?” He offered an apologetic smile.

  “That’s right - you’ve been gone all week. Today is Dad’s fiftieth birthday, and they’re having a surprise party for him later. Aunt Rosalie’s going to have dinner ready around five, which Dad knows about, and then the surprise par
ty will be at B’s at seven.”

  “What about your baseball practice?” I asked as I stopped and faced him.

  “No worries,” he said, reaching out to brush a stray hair away from my face. “We had a game Thursday, so no practice tonight.”

  “And I was so looking forward to having those baseball moms glare at me…” I teased him, smiling up at his dark eyes.

  “There will be plenty of time for that later,” he laughed, glancing down the dirt road. “Race you to the bridge?”

  “You’re on,” I said as I took off. I struggled to stay ahead of him for a while, but when it was clear that he could have easily passed me at any moment, I slowed down quite a bit. He reached out and poked me in the shoulder, and I looked over where he was smirking next to me.

  “Giving up?” he asked.

  “I’m not sure what’s worse,” I said, pouting a little for effect, “losing or you letting me win. I think those are my only two options.”

  “Not true,” he said with mock sincerity. “You could fall in the ditch like last time.”

  “Of course you wouldn’t let me forget about that!” I slowed to a walk and started laughing as I looked up towards the sky and shook my head. He reached out and took my hand as we left the road and walked through the grass down to the river, slowly making our way back to Rosalie’s bed and breakfast. The way he kept glancing over at me as we walked was making my stomach feel like a nest of butterflies, and I had to consciously try not to smile so I wouldn’t seem like a lunatic.

  At one point the path became narrow and he stepped out in front of me, so naturally I found myself gazing absently at the way his hair fell across the nape of his neck and his shirt gently hugged his shoulders, forgetting to watch where I was going. Before I realized what was happening, I gracefully tripped over a tree root and managed to slam my entire upper body against his back. He turned around with a smile on his face, not even bothering to say anything. I was about to tell him I was sorry when he wrapped his fingers around my arm and brought his mouth down to meet mine. I reminded myself to breathe as my pulse started racing and I rested my hand lightly against his bicep. When he pulled away, he placed his forehead against mine as we stood there together by the riverbank.