Free Love in the Falls by Rachel Hanna

herself.
     
    “Cam? Are you there?” Natalie asked, worried that she had hung up.
     
    “Yes, I am here.”
     
    “Let me ask you something… and you have to be honest, okay?”
     
    “Okay…”
     
    “When you think of Preston, what is the first word that comes into your head? Quick!”
     
    “Narcissist,” Camden said, shocking herself in the process. Preston had always been more focused on himself than on her or anyone else.
     
    “And when you think of Sam, what is the word that pops up?”
     
    “Warm.”
     
    “I think I’ve made my point. Don’t be afraid, girl. This could be the true love of your life. Otherwise, why are you still there?”
     
    Natalie’s words tore through Camden. It would have been so much easier to have gone home that day instead of coming to the hospital with Sam. It would have been so much simpler for everyone if she had gone on to plan her wedding like a normal woman. Why was she still there? There couldn’t be any other reason except that she was falling in love.
     
     

Chapter 14    
     
          As Camden walked down the hall, she noticed Rebecca standing in a side room talking on her cell phone. She didn't want to interrupt the conversation so she stood beside the doorway until Rebecca finished her phone call.

     "I can't believe this. I can't even imagine leaving Sam right now. He's going to need me when he gets back home. Drake cannot run the whole farm by himself plus the retail store. On top of that, Sam's got all of his rehab to do," Rebecca said. Camden could hear the stress in her voice.

     A few minutes later, Rebecca ended her phone call and walked into the hallway to find Camden standing there.

     "Hi, Rebecca. I didn't want to interrupt your phone call. Is everything okay?" Camden asked.

     "No, everything is not okay. My husband just found out that his job is transferring him to Colorado. I need to go home and take care of our kids because we don't have anyone else locally who can do that. I wasn't planning on leaving Sam for a few more weeks until he could get back on his feet, so now I don't know what I'm going to do.” Rebecca’s face was flushed and her eyes were filled with tears.

     "How can I help, Rebecca?" Camden asked.

     "I don't know. It seems like this is a hopeless situation. Maybe I need to bring Sam back to New Orleans with me. Although, I don't know how well he's going to get rehab in my house with my kids running around. I wish we had more family, but we don't."

     "Rebecca, I have an idea. How about I move in at the farm and help out? I realize I don't have any farm experience, but I'm sure that they could teach me how to help out in the store or handle the books or something. Plus, I can help to oversee Sam's rehab," Camden said.

    "You would really do that for Sam?" Rebecca asked.

    "Sure I would. He's become a great friend to me."
     
        “Are you sure he's only a friend?" Rebecca asked with sly smile.

    Camden really had to think about her question as her feelings for Sam were growing more and more each day. She didn't know what to do about Preston, but she was quite sure that the thought of marrying him was in the back recesses of her mind. She actually hadn't thought any about the wedding planning or living her life with Preston since the whole event with Sam had happened. All she could think about was getting Sam well and figuring out what their relationship would be after that. Natalie’s comments had her thinking even more, but she wasn’t ready to admit anything to herself or anyone else.

    "Right now he's just my friend, Rebecca. That's about all I can say," Camden said smiling as she looked down at her shoes.

    "Well, I'm not going to push you any further on that question. I’m just appreciative that you're willing to help my brother like this."
     
        “No appreciation necessary. It will give me some much needed time