Dakota felt as if she’d been personally attacked by a woman who seemed to have come out of nowhere. One minute, Cam was on the verge of…well, never mind that. She’d think about that later. Right now she was trying to come to terms with the fact that they’d been ambushed by paparazzi.
“Does this happen to you all the time?” she asked. “Honestly, I feel like that woman just barged into my bedroom and started looking under the bed and snooping in my closet.”
“Not all the time, but once in a while. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”
The screen door opened suddenly and there was Ellen. “What’s going on?”
Startled, Dakota put a hand to her heart.
Deciding the truth was easier, she said, “It was some reporters wanting to ask Cam some questions.”
“They have some nerve coming right onto private property like that,” Ellen said. “And on a holiday too. Don’t they have families they need to be with? I swear, what is this country coming to? It’s Thanksgiving, for heaven’s sake. Those people would be better off if they sat around a table with people and thought about what they’re grateful for.”
“Er, I’m Cam,” Cam said. “Thank you for inviting me to your home. I brought you some flowers.” He thrust the bouquet in front of him with a hesitant smile.
“Thank you, Cam. I’m happy you could come. I just wish you hadn’t brought along a contingent of the press.”
Inside, the house smelled of Thanksgiving. The aroma of roast turkey infused the air. Ellen liked to decorate for the holiday and there was a beautiful autumn centerpiece on the table and her good china. A wreath that read Happy Thanksgiving hung on the front door. She even had Pilgrim and Indian salt and pepper shakers.
Zinny squealed when she saw Cam and ran to give him a hug. Cam smiled at her.
“Hi, Zin Bin. Happy Thanksgiving.”
“Did you bring me any rocks?”
“Zinnia,” Ellen said, “that’s not a proper greeting. If you don’t learn good manners, you’ll end up doing jobs that are beneath you. The world respects people who conduct themselves appropriately and people who aren’t brought up to behave well never go far in life.”
As Ellen and Zinny went ahead to the family room, Cam hung back and looked at Dakota with a stupefied expression.
“Was that what I think it was?” Cam asked.
“A dig at me? Probably.” Dakota shrugged. “I used to get in her face about it, but all that did was create an atmosphere that was bad for Zinny. She shouldn’t have to be subjected to the two main adults in her life constantly shouting at each other.”
“And you shouldn’t have to be humiliated like that. I mean, talk about bad manners.”
“Again, don’t worry about it. Zinny and I are going to move out soon. I just have to find a place I can afford, but San Francisco is one of the most expensive cities to live in, so it’s taking me some time.”
“Okay,” he said. "I’ll let it go this time, but so help me, if she pulls something like that again, I’m going to speak up.”
The earnestness on his face and his determined tone warmed her on the inside. He was ready to battle Ellen on her behalf, like a knight of old and it made her feel like she finally had someone on her side. Ever since the accident, she’d learned who her real friends were, and it turned out she didn’t really have any. All she had were the fair-weather kind, the type who said things like, “let me know what I can do to help,” but didn’t mean it. She knew instinctively Cam was the real thing. He said he had her back and she believed him.
“Cam!” Zinny yelled from the other room. “Come play Scrabble with me!”
“I’m not very good at Scrabble,” Cam said as he and Dakota entered the family room.
“Me either,” Zinny said. “So Aunt Koko and Nana let me use a dictionary.”
“One of my better ideas,” Ellen said. “This helps her with spelling and dictionary skills, alphabetizing, not to mention vocabulary.”
Zinny went to get the game from the hall cabinet when she stopped and turned back, a worried expression on her face.
“What’s wrong, honey?” Dakota asked. “Did you change your mind? Do you not want to play anymore?”
Zinny looked up at Cam and asked, “Do you think using a dictionary is cheating, Cam?”
Dakota glanced at Cam.
He explained, “Zinny and I had a talk about cheating at four square once. No, Zin. Using a dictionary isn’t cheating. Cheating is something people try to do secretly, so no one knows you’re doing it. If everyone is okay with you using the dictionary, it’s not cheating.”
Zinny exhaled in relief. “Oh good.”
As Zinny set the game up on the coffee table, Ellen announced she had things to do in the kitchen. Dakota offered to help, but Ellen said she had everything under control.
What followed was a lively game of Scrabble which they didn’t finish before Ellen announced dinner was ready. Surprisingly, Cam was in the lead despite his announcement that he wasn’t very good. The man got a thirty-point word, for Pete’s sake.
They gathered at the table. Dakota sat with Cam on her right and Ellen on her left. The turkey looked beautifully golden. A cranberry and Cool Whip gelatin salad, made the day before, was festooned with sprigs of parsley. Ellen had made sautéed green beans, mushrooms and pearl onions, and mashed potatoes and gravy as well.
After they said grace, Ellen turned to Cam. “Cameron, would you like to do the honors and carve?” She gestured toward the turkey.
Cam blanched. “Ah, sure. Thanks. Love to.”
“Zinnia, sit up, please,” Ellen said. “Ladies don’t slouch.”
Looking a little nervous, Cam stood up and took the knife and carving fork in hand. His slices were uneven with raggedy edges and the skin got hopelessly torn. Ellen had a pained look on her face, as if she’d invited him into her home and he’d left muddy footprints all over her clean carpet.
When everyone had a slice, Dakota gave him a reassuring pat on the thigh. “Good job,” she said.
He gave a nervous laugh. “That was my first time.”
“I would never have guessed,” Ellen said, still frowning at the destruction of her Norman Rockwellian poultry masterpiece.
After they dug in, Ellen asked, “How long have you been playing hockey?”
“This is my sixth season in the NHL,” Cam answered, visibly relaxing.
“Tell me,” Ellen said, delicately spreading cranberry sauce on her bite of turkey, “are there a lot of female fans of hockey?”
“Not as many as the league would like. They’re always trying to grow the market in that direction.”
“You’re a handsome man,” Ellen continued. “I imagine you have quite a fan club of ladies.”
Dakota thought this was dangerous territory and she nudged Cam under the table, but he didn’t seem to notice.
He smiled. “I have a few.”
“But no one outside of San Francisco.”
“Oh, no. You go to any city we play in and you’ll find ladies who love hockey. They’re just as enthusiastic about the sport as the men. After practice, there are often fans who come for autographs and there are just as many women as there are men.”
“Tell them about how you sign boobs,” Zinny said, giggling around a mouthful of turkey.
Ellen gasped.
“I—what?” Cam said, flabbergasted.
“I heard you tell someone on the phone that you signed a boob once,” Zinny explained matter-of-factly. Then, apparently not patient enough for Cam to tell the story, she went on. “One time this lady asked Cam to sign her shirt right on her boob and Cam did it! Isn’t that funny?”
Ellen’s eyebrows drew together and Cam said quickly, “It only happened once and I was practically a kid.”
“I hardly think that’s an appropriate topic of conversation for a child,” Ellen said.
“I wasn’t talking to her,” Cam said.
“Little pitchers have big ears,” Ellen retorted.
“It’s not funny?” Zinny asked. “I thought it was funny.”
Dakota said, “Funny isn’t exactly the right word, honey.”
Zinny looked thoughtful. “Is it because boobs are private parts?”
Ellen cleared her throat then said calmly, “Yes, honey, boobs are private parts.” She turned to Cam. “They completed a unit in school on personal safety and Zinny is very aware about good and bad touches and stranger danger. Very. Aware.”
Great. Now Ellen suspected Cam might be a child molester.
After they put Zinny to bed, Cam said he had to get going. Ellen asked if he wouldn’t mind staying a little while longer. “I have something I’d like to discuss with you, both of you.”
Biting her lip, Dakota exchanged a glance with Cam. He didn’t look worried, but he didn’t know Ellen like Dakota did.
“There,” Ellen said after they’d sat in the living room. “Now that Zinny’s in bed, I’d like to know exactly what happened outside.”
Cam nodded. “That, unfortunately, was just a desperate reporter looking for gossip.” He sat with his legs spread with an easy smile on his face. Maybe his experience with reporters made him feel confident in facing down Ellen. Dakota felt like she was about to face a CIA interrogator.
“Really,” Ellen said. “She knew Dakota was your housekeeper.”
“That wouldn’t be hard to find out,” Cam replied.
“Dakota, she knew you have a tattoo on her neck, from a photograph she said. A photo that went viral. Don’t look so surprised, Dakota. I know what going viral is. I’m on Facebook, after all. I want to see the photo. Did you take it, Cameron?”
“Call me Cam.”
Ellen narrowed her eyes.
“I did and unfortunately it was shared by someone who didn’t have permission. It took a while, but I tracked down who it was. Someone in the video department had set up dummy accounts on social media so he could post things he had no right to. Thought he was real clever, but he no longer works for the Dragons.”
“Good,” said Dakota.
“I’d like to see it please,” Ellen said. “The photo.”
“Oh, it’s long gone,” Cam said. “I deleted it.”
Ellen pursed her lips. “Describe it for me then.”
“Well, she was…she had her back to me.” He glanced at Dakota. “And she was wearing her, ah, work uniform.”
“Ah, yes. Let’s discuss that, shall we?” Ellen said, turning her laser gaze on Dakota now. “I’m afraid to even ask what Eye Candy Maids are.”
So Ellen had pretty much heard everything.
Dakota didn’t see any reason to try to lie about it now. Ellen could probably find that damned picture of her on the Internet, if she really wanted to. She could also easily look up the Eye Candy Maid website. Hopefully, Gwen had removed Dakota’s pictures from the site since she was no longer available for hire via the company. Not that it mattered. That reporter had already spilled the beans in spectacular fashion.
Dakota straightened her spine. “Eye Candy Maids are house cleaners who wear scanty clothing when they clean. It’s supposed to be entertaining.”
“To degenerates,” Ellen snapped, glaring at Cam.
Cam opened his mouth, but Dakota beat him to the punch. “Hey, watch it. For the record, Cam didn’t hire me. One of his friends did it as a joke.”
Ellen ignored this. “And you are one of these Eye Candy Maids, correct?”
“I was, yes. They paid extremely well.”
“But you had to debase yourself, Dakota! I can’t tell you how shocked and disappointed I am in you. I expected much more from you. There are so many other things you could do to earn money than titillate men with your body. Does Zinny know?”
“No!” Dakota exclaimed.
“Thank God for that. I hope she never finds out.”
Angry and defensive, Dakota spat, “I can’t promise you that. She’s too young to understand all the nuances, but I’m not ashamed. I had a job to do and I did it. I didn’t wear anything more scandalous than the stuff you see in lingerie catalogs. If the topic comes up sometime in the future when she’s older, I won’t have a problem telling her about this.”
Dakota didn’t plan on bringing it up, but she certainly wasn’t going to keep it a deep dark secret. She’d never lied to Zinny and she never would.
Ellen clearly didn’t like that, but what could she say? What could she do? Zinny was Dakota’s responsibility, not Ellen’s. Still, Dakota knew this wasn’t over. Not by a long shot.