He was tall with dark blond hair, piercing blue eyes and a smile on his handsome face, and as he walked to Cameron, her heart softened toward him, as it always did, no matter how outrageous he might be.

She took the garment bag from him and lifted her cheek to receive his kiss. “Always gotta make an entrance, don’t you?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“The bird, Dad. You scared the hell out of everyone. They thought we were being attacked.”

He looked completely baffled. “I told you I’d be here at two.”

“I was watching for a car, not a chopper.”

Recoiling from the very idea, he said, “I didn’t have six hours to sit in traffic on the Taconic. As it is, my ass is numb after ninety minutes in the chopper.”

“We do have airports in Vermont, you know.”

“We checked on that. Closest one that could take the Lear is in Burlington, which is more than two hours from here. Time—”

“Is money,” she said with a sigh. “I know.”

“Besides, you’re taking the Lear to Fiji, and for the record, I’d like to point out it wasn’t my idea to move you out to the bumfuck of nowhere.”

Cameron laughed at his colorful wording. “This is not the bumfuck of nowhere. This,” she said, with a dramatic sweep of her arm, “is the lovely, magnificent town of Butler, Vermont.”

“It’s as charming as I recall from the last time I was here for Linc’s wedding.”

“Are you being sarcastic?”

“Me? Sarcastic?”

“I thought Lena was coming with you.”

“Yeah, about that . . . We’ve kind of cooled it.”

“Is she still working for you?” Cameron had spoken to her recently and hadn’t heard that she was no longer in Patrick’s employ.

“Oh, yeah. It’s all good.”

Cameron was certainly used to the way women came and went in her father’s life. She’d learned not to get attached to any of them. They didn’t stick around long enough to make it worth her while. “Well, it’s great to see you and to have you here. I know it’s not what you’re used to, but I think you’ll enjoy it.”

He stopped walking and turned to her. “You’re here. That’s all I need to enjoy myself, honey.”

Cameron let the garment bag flop over her arm so she could hug him. “Thank you so much for coming, Dad.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “Happy to be anywhere you are.”

***

They stashed Patrick’s bags in Cameron’s black SUV. “Where’d you get this beast?”

“Will insisted I trade the MINI for something built for Vermont winters. I don’t love it, but as I haven’t survived a winter here yet, I’ll take his word for it.”

“So this is the store, huh?”

“Yep.”

“Show me around.”

“You really want to see it?”