Loving Madison

Four

Confusion throbbed in Cameron's head, and he rubbed his skull. He'd think more about this tomorrow. But for now, he needed to have a talk with his sister and get her home. She'd be delighted when he told her that he was giving Miss Haywood a try.

He still didn't know if getting Miss Haywood involved was a good thing. He feared the worst from his wayward sister. Rosie had wanted her freedom for far too long, especially once she began noticing men—and since they began noticing her. If she had brought shame to the family, he needed to stop the rumors before they started.

Sighing, he exited the building and walked toward the buggy. There'd be no winning arguments with Alice, either. If she thought he'd succumbed to the very charming Miss Haywood, he had no choice but to let her believe it. He only hoped he'd be able to convince the woman that they didn't need her kind of help at all.

As he approached the vehicle, he noticed a man leaning his shoulder against the side, holding onto his hat as he conversed with Alice. Cameron fisted his hands. He prayed he didn't have to worry about his sister saying any more about their missing sister. But the closer Cameron came to the buggy, the man's appearance struck a familiar chord inside of him.

He hurried his step until he stood beside one of his favorite cousins. Cameron slapped his hand on Tristan Worthington's shoulder. "What in the devil are you doing here?"

The tall, broad-shouldered man with dark hair swung his blue-eyed gaze at Cameron and displayed his white toothy grin. "Westland, old man. I am glad you decided to join us."

Cameron scrunched his forehead. "Join you? You make it sound as though I have been inside the station for a while. I assure you, I haven't."

"But cousin Alice told me you were talking with a lovely lady." Tristan wagged his eyebrows. "I thought you would have had the smarts to linger longer and get to know her better."

What exactly had his sister told Tristan? Cameron threw a quick scowl at his sister before returning his gaze to Tristan. "Believe me, dear cousin, it's not like that with this woman."

Tristan cocked his head. "And why not?"

Cameron flipped a dismissive wave. "That's not worth discussing." He took a deep breath and smiled at his cousin. "How long are you going to be in town? Would you like to drop by the house for dinner?"

"Absolutely." A twinkle lit Tristan's eyes. "My lovely wife is here visiting an old friend. Diana promised she would only be at her friends for a few hours. I left her there while I ran some errands myself."

Alice leaned forward and placed her hand on Tristan's arm. "Then you must come for dinner. We haven't yet met your wife."

"I would be very happy to introduce you." Tristan glanced around them before looking at Cameron. "Where is cousin Rosie?"

Alice sucked in a quick breath before covering her fingers over her mouth. Her wide eyes were laced with panic as she stared at Cameron. Inwardly, he groaned. Although he wanted Rosie's disappearance kept in the family, he didn't think he should tell Tristan what was going on. Knowing his cousin, he'd want to help. All the Worthington brothers were like that. In fact, sometimes, they helped too much.

Cameron cleared his throat. "Tristan, I'll let you finish your errands now. We can talk about Rosie tonight at dinner."

Tristan nodded and placed his hat on his head. "I'll look forward to the conversation, then."

As Cameron watched his cousin leave, his gut twisted. He wasn't looking forward to the conversation at all, especially the part when he would beg his cousin not to help.