Page 69 of Promise Me a Forever Texas Love

Smart kid. “I love her.”

Camden stared at him with confused eyes. “Then why did you leave?”

“Because I was scared. I didn’t think I was good enough for your mama. I wasn’t just a hooligan as a kid. I made some bad choices as a teenager too. Choices the townsfolk will never forgive me for if they find out. I just thought your mama would be better off without me. But if I had known about you, Cam, I never would have left. I promise you that.”

“Mama didn’t tell you?”

“She tried to, but like I said I was stupid and scared and didn’t think I was good enough for your mama.” He paused. “I still don’t.”

Camden’s face scrunched up in thought. “But if my mama thinks you’re good enough, then who cares what the townsfolk think.”

Before Huck could come up with an answer to that, the ladder squeaked again.

“Come on up, Pops!” he yelled. “We know you’re there eavesdropping.”

But it wasn’t Poppy’s head that popped up.

It was Cadee’s.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

When Cadee stepped onto the treeboat deck, both Huck and Camden jumped to their feet. Neither one looked thrilled to see her. Camden looked angry and Huck looked . . . sad.

She felt more than a little sad herself now that she realized she had played a major part in him leaving town. Her hiding their friendship had made him feel like he wasn’t good enough. She needed to fix that.

But first, she needed to deal with their son.

“I know you’re upset, Cam, and I don’t blame you. I shouldn’t have lied to you about who your daddy is. I shouldn’t have lied to the townsfolk either. There’s no excuse for what I did.”

“Huck already told me why you did it. You didn’t want folks gossiping about me being a Hennessy Hooligan.”

She had certainly used that as an excuse. But when she’d overheard Huck talking about not being good enough for her, she realized it wasn’t the main truth.

“Yes, your daddy was a little bit of a terror as a kid. But that wasn’t the reason I kept him being your daddy a secret. I was just so hurt and mad when he left, I guess I didn’t want him to have any part of you. I wanted to keep you all to myself. But that was wrong. You are part of your daddy. And that’s a good thing. Because your daddy is special. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have picked him as my best friend the very first day of kindergarten.”

She sent Camden a stern look. “But that doesn’t excuse you running off from school and scaring the life out of me. Something bad could have happened to you and I didn’t have a clue where you were.”

Camden’s lip popped out. “I was mad . . . I’m still mad.”

“Okay. You can be mad, but you can’t endanger your life.”

“I wasn’t in danger. I looked both ways before I crossed the street.”

“Well, I’m glad you did, but you’re still too young to be running all over town without letting me know where you are. If you do it again, I’ll take your tree house away for a month.”

“I don’t care ‘cause I have a treeboat now.”

“Camden.” Huck’s voice held a tone Cadee had never heard before. When she glanced at him, his face was stern. “If you run off again, you won’t be setting foot in the treeboat either. You got that?”

Camden scowled. “Fine!”

“No, not fine,” Huck said. “Yes, sir, and yes, ma’am.”

Camden looked at Cadee as if waiting for her to get after Huck for correcting him. When she only lifted an eyebrow, his scowl deepened.

“So now I’m gonna have two people telling me what to do?”

Huck’s lips quivered as if he was two seconds away from laughing, but they quickly pressed together when Cadee threw him a warning look.