First Lie Wins(62)

Ran into him.

A week ago.

Mitch Cameron was let go this morning. He shouldn’t have known that was coming a week ago.

Very interesting.





Chapter 19


    Present Day


It’s late afternoon when we pull into Oxford, Mississippi.

Oxford is a picturesque little college town that makes anything seem possible. I direct Ryan to a hotel right off the square that is a favorite with the college students. They study in the lobby during the day then take a short elevator ride to the roof for cocktails once the sun sets.

“Of all the places I thought you’d take me, this wasn’t one of them,” Ryan says as we pull into the parking lot.

This college town is home to Ole Miss, one of his alma mater’s rivals.

“Ever been here?” I ask, mainly just to keep him distracted. It was a long, quiet ride, and I don’t really want to get into why we’re here.

“Yeah, we came once when LSU played here.” He throws the car in park and turns to me. “Are we staying here for the night?”

I shake my head. “No. I need you to go up to the rooftop bar. Eat something. Get a beer. Pay in cash. I’ll meet you back at the car in one hour.”

I open the car and hop out. He’s right behind me.

“We should stick together,” he says. There are a group of girls weighed down by backpacks and purses, with Greek letters stretched across their shirts, giving us curious glances.

I wait for them to pass then close the distance between us, putting both my hands on his chest. “We talked about this. The fact that you’re here, in this town with me, while I’m dealing with what I am, is huge. I know you think I’m shutting you out, but you are the only person I’ve let in for years. But I need this hour. Don’t make me get it another way.”

We stare at each other for a minute longer, then he pulls me closer, kissing me on my forehead. “One hour,” he says. “You need the keys?”

If Mr. Smith is tracking my car, which is possible, I want him to know we’re in Oxford but I don’t want him to have the exact location of where I am right now. Not yet at least.

“No, I’m not going far and would love to stretch my legs.”

Ryan moves toward the hotel, and I start walking in the opposite direction. I turn down a quiet little street, not far from the square, and stop in front of a beautiful white house with a wraparound porch. Pink blooms explode from the hydrangea bushes in front of the house, and the hummingbirds flutter around feeders hanging from the limb of the huge oak tree.

Overflowing pots of spring flowers perch on each brick step. There is a small seating area on the left side of the porch and an old-fashioned swing hanging on the right side. I stand in front of the door, looking right then left, then wander to the seating area, where there’s a small couch and a rocking chair, both pieces covered in the signature red and blue colors of the university and the words “Hotty Toddy!” printed across the throw pillows. I fluff a few of the pillows, dusting off a thin layer of pollen that settles on every single surface this time of the year, spending a little extra time getting the cushions on the rocker just where I want them.

This is the home of my dreams, the safe haven I always wanted.

Too bad it’s not mine.

I shove down the wave of longing and move back to the door. A few minutes after ringing the doorbell, a blond teenager opens it.

“Hey,” I say. “Is your dad home?”

“Sure, let me get him,” she says, then closes the screen door in my face. I hear her yell for him and then his heavy steps coming from somewhere deep in the house.

The screen door opens slowly and Mitch Cameron asks, “Can I help you?”

I knew it was risky coming to his home, but this time of year and this time of day, there’s nowhere else he would be. And nowhere else I wanted to meet with him.

“Can I have a minute of your time? My name is Wendy Wallace and I was the one who helped you get out of your coaching job in Florida,” I say.

He steps back as if I’ve physically assaulted him. A glance over his shoulder tells him we are alone, but he doesn’t want his family to see me so he steps out onto the front porch, the door closing behind him.

I never expected to be invited inside.

“I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you’re referring to . . .”

I move to the seating area, sit in the middle of a small couch while he watches me, trying to figure out my game. We stare at each other for a tense few seconds, then he eases into the rocking chair next to me. “I’m really at a loss as to why you’re here, Miss . . .”

“Call me Wendy. And I’m sure you are.”

I let the awkwardness settle over us. I invite it in to be the third member of this conversation. I let it unravel Mitch like nothing else could.

He throws his hands up and his voice goes to a higher pitch than is normal. “Look, I’m not sure why you’re here or what you want but I was fired. And I was blindsided by it, so maybe you’ve got the wrong idea about something.”

I lean forward and drop my voice to a whisper. “I’m going to cut through the bullshit and get right to it. You hired my boss to get you out of your contract. You hated the athletic director, and those boosters were a pain in your ass. And after meeting some of them, I can see why. Leaving on your own meant walking away from a shit ton of money, so you hired someone to get you out of it. But you’re an honorable enough guy that you didn’t want to wreck the program in the process. Which means you’ve got some sense of decency in there somewhere.”