Page 13 of Promise Me a Forever Texas Love

He realized his mistake when her eyes widened and Camden jumped up from the beanbag like he had a spring in his butt. “What? You saw Jurassic Park at seven and I can’t see it until I’m nine? That’s so unfair!”

Cadee shot Huck a glare before returning her attention to Camden. “And I had nightmares for weeks afterward.”

Huck stared at her. “You did? Then why did you watch the second one with me?”

“You got to watch two of them!” Camden bellowed.

Between Camden’s reaction and Cadee’s death glare, Huck realized he’d screwed up badly. The last thing he’d wanted to do today was piss off Camden and Cadee. But she looked like she wanted to kill him and Camden looked like he was about to drop to the floor and throw a major fit.

Huck quickly tried to fix things.

“Now hold up there, buddy. Getting to watch some stupid movie about dinosaurs is not a big deal. To be honest, the first one is the only one worth seeing. The rest suck. And if you’d quit acting like a spoiled brat when you don’t get your way, maybe you’d get your way more often.”

He thought it was a pretty damn good speech.

Camden didn’t agree.

“I’m not a spoiled brat, you dipshit! And I’m sure as hell not your buddy!” He threw the book down and raced off.

Huck turned to Cadee for help, but she still looked pissed.

“He’s not a spoiled brat. He’s just a child who found out his mom got to do something as a kid she won’t let him do. Thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry, but how was I to know that was going to upset him?”

She stared at him in disbelief. “Because it would upset any kid and most adults know that.”

He thought he’d been hurt when Camden had called him a dipshit, but it was nothing compared to how hurt he felt now. Cadee had always been his cheerleader. The one who built his ego up when his mama had done something to tear it down.

But not anymore.

What hurt even more was that she was right. He hadn’t acted like an adult. He’d acted like an immature idiot by jumping into something he had no business jumping into—all because he’d wanted to gain favor with Camden. It had certainly backfired.

“I’m sorry,” he said. “You’re right and so is Camden. I’m an immature dipshit who knows nothing about kids.” He swallowed hard and said the words that needed to be said. “I’ll stay away from him.”

He turned and walked away, but he didn’t even make it to the stairs before she grabbed his arm and dragged him around a bookcase to one of Time To Read’s many secluded reading nooks.

As soon as she released his arm, she placed her hands on his chest and shoved him back against a shelf of books. Her blue eyes snapped with fire.

“So that’s it? You’re just going to give up and walk away?”

Talk about being confused.

“Wait a second, you didn’t want me to meet Camden and now you’re mad because I’m backing off?”

“Yes! You didn’t know him before, but now that you’ve seen what a great kid he is, it pisses me off that you can just walk away.”

“But that’s why I’m walking away. I don’t want to screw up such a great kid. And there’s little doubt after what happened today, that I’ll screw things up.”

The anger faded from her eyes, and she lowered her hands from his chest. “You didn’t screw anything up. Camden will get over it. That’s what kids do. They throw fits and then two seconds later they’re over it and want to go get ice cream.”

“I don’t think Camden will ever want me to take him for ice cream.”

“Because he doesn’t know you, Huck. It took you and me awhile before we gelled. I thought you were just another stupid boy when I first met you.”

“No, you didn’t. From the first day we met in kindergarten, you followed me around the playground like a mama cat with her kitten.”

“I did not!”