Page 7 of I Loved You First

Fiona grinned because that was hardly the case. Between the Boston traffic that had taken nearly ninety minutes to navigate and the typical two-hour drive in and of itself, they’d been in the car for a long damn time. “I’m glad the pain pills are keeping you oblivious.”

Mom chuckled as she glanced at the dashboard clock. “I guess it’s been a minute after all.”

“Let’s get you settled inside. I’ll make us something to eat so you can take your next pill.”

“I’m afraid there’s not much in the cupboards or the fridge. I didn’t go grocery shopping since I would be away all weekend.” Mom gingerly opened her door. “Tomorrow’s my last day on those pills, by the way. I don’t like how they make me feel. And I don’t want you making any sort of fuss.”

“So you’ve said.” Getting out, Fiona hurried around to Mom’s side, helping her out of her seat. “But that’s why I’m here—to pamper you and make a fuss.”

Mom rolled her eyes as they slowly walked the path to the porch. “That’ll drive us both crazy before the week’s out.”

Fiona imagined that was true. Stella Willis was the epitome of fierce independence. But she would have to get used to some extra help for the next little while. Using the key on the chain, she opened the door. “I’ll try to make my occasional assistance as painless as possible.”

Mom stopped as they stepped through the doorway, touching her hand to Fiona’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re here, sweet girl. I’m glad you’re home with me.”

Fiona kissed her mother’s forehead. “Me too.” Then she gently brushed back the light-brown hair caught in her mom’s large bandage.

Mom smiled. “Thank you.”

Fiona smiled back. “You’re welcome.”

Mom stepped farther inside. “I think I’d like a bath with some Epsom salt before we have dinner. My ribs ache, and the idea of a nice warm soak sounds just about right.”

“Let’s get you set up. I’ll run out and grab our stuff after.”

“I appreciate it, honey. Just be careful on your way up the stairs. The banister’s loose. I haven’t gotten around to fixing it yet.”

Several minutes later, Fiona locked the front door for the night, then lugged her suitcase up the steps, finding that the banister was indeed wobbly, as she waited for her mom to finish her soak in the downstairs tub.

There were cans of soup and a couple of sleeves of crackers in the cupboard—a meal that would have to do until she could get to the store tomorrow. But for now, it was time to settle in.

Turning on the light in her old room, she glanced around the space she’d left in a hurry all those years ago. It was exactly the same with the charming secondhand furniture she and Mom had painted a creamy white. Her ancient stuffed teddy bear sat on her full-size bed, and the pretty pale-purple area rug covered a section of the hardwood floor. She ignored the picture collage filling a large portion of her sage-colored wall as she grinned at her favorite photograph on her bedside table.

“Hi, Daddy,” she said as she picked up the frame, loving how her dad had grinned as he pressed his cheek against his soon-to-be wife’s massively pregnant belly.

The picture had been taken two days before her father had been killed in a car accident on his way home from his last day of student teaching—a mere week before her parents had been set to graduate and eight days before her birth. Her mom and dad had been college sweethearts, and she’d been their senior-year surprise.

She traced her father’s handsome face, forever fascinated that she looked so much like both of her parents. She had her dad’s classic Italian features—the Ricci olive skin tone, dark-brown hair, and his big brown eyes. She loved that she’d inherited his deep dimples—her reminder that she was his every time she smiled. Yet her oval face, brow line, smaller nose, cupid’s bow lips, and slightly pointed chin were identical to her mother’s.

Kissing her finger, she touched it to the shot of the man she had never met but adored. Because her mother had given her the gift of knowing her father through a million stories about a young couple who had loved each other beyond measure—and loved their daughter just as much.

Fiona still found herself in awe that her mom had been courageous enough to move herself and her newborn baby girl from California to Vermont to capitalize on a fresh start and a new job as the drama teacher at the local high school.

“Love you,” she whispered to her dad, setting the frame back on the bedside table as her gaze wandered to the pictures on the wall—snapshots of herself with her high school and college friends and dozens of photos of her and Cam sprinkled among the mix.

She focused on the image of the two of them snuggled up on Cam’s family’s boat, grinning in the sunshine. He wore his favorite ball cap backward while he wrapped his strong arms around her bikini-clad waist.

He'd always been gorgeous. Six foot two, with light-brown hair that turned streaky blond after a summer in the sun, his bold green eyes with dark rings accentuating their pretty color. His chiseled jawline and broad chin complementing his tough body after years of sports and helping his family build custom homes.

He'd been such a huge part of her life. He’d been her everything. She’d loved and adored him, and he’d done the same—or he had for a long time, anyway.

She and Cam had always had little in common, yet they’d clicked. Cam had been the popular student-athlete who’d won the wrestling state championships four years in a row. Most of his friends had been jocks and cheerleaders—a world she’d cared little about.

She’d been popular in her own right, being well known for helping her friends run and win their student election campaigns and for heading up the school’s events planning committee, all while maintaining the top GPA in their class to wear the valedictorian’s cap.

But despite their numerous differences, they’d worked as a couple because they’d been crazy about each other. Cam’s amazing sense of humor had melted her heart, and he’d often told her that everything about her was sexy.

She huffed out a quiet laugh as her gaze tracked over their picture again, studying how he held her. For just a moment, she closed her eyes, remembering how good it had felt to be loved by Cameron Bennet.