BAMA TIDE

by Nemechek, Shannon

  Mac turned the card over and read it….

  Lindsey Stewart, MD

  Fort Bragg, NC

  Director of Physical and Occupational Therapy

  Phone number ————

  Mac almost passed out as he read the card. That can’t be, this wasn’t his Lindsey… she’s blond and not as endowed as he remembered. “Lindsey, holy shit.” Mac watched as she opened the door and disappeared inside, passing Stone as he exited. He had also turned to watch the blonde as she disappeared inside. Turning to Mac he said “Damn if she ain’t a nice piece of ass. What I wouldn’t give to go a few rounds with her.”

  Mac grinned “Yeah, I have a date with her tonight.”

  “No fuckin’ way man. Really?” Stone tossed his bag in the back of the truck. “How in the hell did you accomplish that?”

  “I didn’t, she asked me.” Mac smiled as he got behind the wheel and started the truck.

  Stone was laughing as he opened the door and sat down in the passenger seat “Your fuckin with me.”

  “No, seriously I have a date with her tonight. We are meeting at the Landing Zone at six. I swear.” Mac replied putting the truck into gear and backing out.

  “Fuck dude How the hell do you do it?”

  Mac looked over at Stone cocking his eyebrow “I guess I’ve just got it.”

  “Whatever dude, fuck off, you got nothing the rest of us don’t have.”

  “That may be right, but mine is a whole lot bigger and I’ve been told my tongue is magic. I guess word gets around with the ladies and they all want a piece of the Big Mac.”

  “Yeah maybe they gonna want their fries with that Big Mac you gonna give’em.” Stone replied.

  Mac snapped back “Yep, I will leave her screaming ‘I’m Loving it’”

  “She’ll be screaming’ alright, more like ‘help me’.”

  What he neglected to tell Stone was that little Miss Lindsey Stewart was his ex-high school sweetheart. He suspected she didn’t recognize him because if she had, he suspected he would’ve gotten decked instead of asked out on a date.

  ***

  When Mac got back to his apartment, he argued with himself all the reasons why he should stand her up tonight. Jumping into the shower and changing into a gray t-shirt, jeans and a baseball cap he started for the door set on meeting her when his phone rang. “Mom sure has timing.” As he sat down talking with his mom about Rockmound happenings and how his therapy was going it finally hit him, he wasn’t ready to face Lindsey yet. He knew it would hurt her, his standing her up, but it would hurt her more to bring up the past right now. It wasn’t the time yet. Not yet! He had to be one hundred percent ad right now he wasn’t even close. He still had a limp and well his performance was not where it needed to be despite his chest pounding to Stone. When he finally hung up it was twenty-one hundred hours. Out of curiosity, Mac jumped in his truck and drove to the Landing Zone- No Lindsey and her car wasn’t there. It was better this way he said to himself, as he pulled out of the parking lot and back towards base.

  ***

  Lindsey couldn’t believe she had let her mouth override her brain and asked Mac MacLoud out to the Landing Zone on a date. As she dressed, her mind kept telling her not to go, stay home and let him suffer like he made her suffer all those years ago, but she jumped in her car and drove to the Landing Zone. She waited outside as several soldiers, some her patients, had greeted her and went inside only to see them again an hour later as they left. Mac had stood her up. Her eyes began to well up as she walked back to her car and drove home.

  ***

  Four Years Later

  Lindsey Stewart strolled into the Rock-Hard Gym holding her briefcase in one hand and balancing a coffee in the other. As she started to pass the training office, he stopped her. He was the owner “Mad” Max Malone “Lindsey can you come here.”

  “Of course, Just let me drop my bag in my office, and I will be right in.”

  Hurrying her stride, Lindsey tossed her briefcase in her chair and grabbed her notepad off her desk. She knew when Mad Max called you into his office it meant there was trouble headed their way; she had a way with words and also was nice on the eyes, so if there was an issue that came up that required more savvy, Lindsey was usually who they called.

  “Lindsey, we got a big match coming up and one of the fighters requested you specifically. He’s new to the gym but from what I can see from his fight history he’s gonna be a force to reckon with.”

  “Okay Boss, but how in the world had he heard of me, if he is new to town.”

  “Well, from what I can gather he’s been in town awhile and working out here but just decided to get back in the ring.” Max explained as he pulled a file from his desk and handed it to Lindsey.

  “Oh, well, I guess I would be okay with it. My other two fighters have moved up, so I’ve just been doc lately. Sure, why not!”

  “Alright I will have him connect with you when he comes into the gym.”

  Lindsey shook her head “Alright, sounds good!” Lindsey started to get up from her chair and Max stopped her.

  “Hold up for a minute Lindsey. I want you to go over the file here if you could? I have a tendency of misplacing files and this one I wanna keep close to the vest. I don’t wanna give Jo down at Wander Gym a clue of what’s going on. This guy is gonna be my ace in the hole

  “Alright, do we know anything about him? What’s his name?” Lindsey asked as she sat down and started thumbing through the file folder.

  “All I know is he is some big town hero former Special Forces or something. They call him-The Bama Tide.”

  Lindsey thumbed through the file jotting down some notes- his height, weight, his specs and how long he had been fighting. “Max, there seems to be some information missing, such as, his real name and a photo. How am I supposed to know who he is when he comes into the gym?”

  Max began to chuckle a bit and that made Lindsey nervous. “He said he will find you. He knows who you are and that was all I got. He is a bit of a secretive guy. But I suppose that comes with the territory seeing as he is Special Forces and such. I can ask him if ya want though.”

  “Naw, no need, Mr. Bama Tide will get a work out like he’s never experienced. He thinks the Army training is hard wait till he meets me. I will head over to the training room and grab some equipment. Did he say when he was coming?”

  Max looked up from his laptop and grunted “Nope, just said he was comin’ in.”

  “Well, Max best start feelin’ sorry for Mr. Mysterious, I will get this guy in line, and if for some reason he doesn’t see it my way then I will have to turn it up a notch.” Lindsey replied crumpling up the notepaper she held in her hand as she stood up and started for the door.

  “Hey, Lin. Don’t hurt him, and don’t get us sued let's just try and get this guy ready for next month, so we all can make some more money.” Max smiled at Lindsey “Ya know that means be nice Lin.”

  “Don’t worry Max I will turn on my ole’ southern charm.”

  “Yeah that’s what I am afraid of.” He said laughing.

  Lindsey tossed the crumbled paper she held in her hand towards Max “Whatever!”

  “Hey, now, that means no violence either!” he laughed.

  Lindsey left Max’s office, grabbed her bag and headed down the hall to the training room. She really wasn’t all that happy about havin’ to train someone new, but it seemed the last of her excuses had finally caught up with her. She couldn’t use the excuse of work anymore because she had slowly converted her day job as an ER doctor to full time trainer and ring doctor, so this was her work now. Lindsey grabbed her phone and dialed the number for Mr. Mysterious. No Answer Well looks like we will both be in for a surprise.

  As she loaded up her trainers’ bag, she thought about how much her life had changed in the last year. She had left her job at Fort Bragg after running into Mac MacLoud and came back home to Rockmound. When she had called her parents to tell them “Their little girl is finall
y coming home.” Her mom was overcome with emotion and handed the phone to her dad. Her life at Fort Bragg wasn’t terrible she was just home sick, especially after Bryant had broken what was left of her heart. Lindsey had often thought about coming home, but Rockmound held so many bad memories for her that she never got around to making the trip.

  After having her heart ripped out just before the prom by Mac, she never felt the need to return home to Rockmound. Instead, she turned to her school work, always staying on the Dean’s list. She had no time for anyone or anything but her career. During her Senior year at Emory University Medical School, she scored a position at the University of Alabama Medical, one of, if not the best in the country. Then, doing her residency at Nashville Memorial where she met Bryant Foster.

  After five years of hard work, she became Head Resident Doc of the night shift. Her only sacrifice family life. When she met Bryant, she thought everything was great Bryant, however, didn’t agree and they argued constantly. When they argued it always ended with her telling him that he was no Mac MacLoud and he would storm off, nothing has been the same for her relationship wise, since Mac dumped her.

  Fifteen years she had been away from Rockmound, the place had changed a lot, her momma had often told her, but it had been a completely different animal seeing it for herself. She had been staying under the radar most of the time she had been back, only running into a few people that actually recognized her. After high school, she hated everything about herself. She just needed to reinvent everything that reminded her of Mac. She had gone through such physical changes over the years. Her hair once a mousey brown was now a platinum blonde, and she wore emerald green colored contacts to cover the ice blue eyes. She had some additional work done on the breasts and had them reduced from a D cup to a B cup, but everything else was pure Tennessee girl through and through. Now when she looked in the mirror, all she saw was the bad ass biatch she needed to be. She was no longer the little girl who thought everything that Mac MacLoud did or said was rainbows shootin’ out his ass, he wasn’t some godlike creature that was created just for her to admire, she realized that the day he left her. When she finished in the trainers’ room, she grabbed the bag of equipment, then changed clothes, she wanted to get a workout in before her new victim arrived. As she walked into the ring area, a sudden nervousness came over her, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and jumped into the ring, where her sparring partner Nate waited.

  ***

  The Rockmound traffic was as bad as usual; the stop and go or stop and park traffic that Rockmound usually had was in full swing. Thank God for Thursday, everyone was already at work for at least the last hour so it could be worse. The Jeep was great on gas and the best investment he had made since returning home. Rockmound, wasn’t a small town, but it wasn’t huge either. It sat right near the interstate, and was the only town for miles, that had his favorite place to eat the Outfront Steakhouse which sat not far from the Rock Hard Gym. He would be hungry after his workout with Lindsey, he just hoped that when she saw him for the first time after fifteen year (well actually four years, since he saw her at Ft Bragg) that she didn’t shoot him in the ass or something. Scanning through the radio stations, he finally found his favorite, then blasted it, it always got his blood pumping before a workout and he bounced in the seat to the heavy metal music.

  Finally, the traffic started to let up. Before he knew what was happening, he saw the sign Rock Hard Gym! Here goes nothing, with any luck, she won’t shoot me.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Jamie Duncan “Mac” MacLoud came back to Rockmound the Home Town Hero after the Battle of Fallujah, well most of him came home, he had lost something in that battle he still had yet to find, maybe he never would. He had been injured severely in that battle, but thankfully his buddy Jacob Kinney was there that day and saved his life. The men he served with would never forget that day or the brothers they lost. He was one of the lucky ones he was able to come home.

  When Mac returned home, after several months in rehab, he had requested recruiting duties, luckily, recruiting command had seen fit to assign him back home to Rockmound.

  ***

  Two Months Later

  There were two things in life that Mac hated Auburn and Army Recruiting. He was an Army Ranger not some desk poog.

  Mac tossed his bag in the corner, grabbed a beer from the fridge and plopped into his recliner. Another long fucking day and not one fucking prospect. He scoffed popping the cap from the bottle of Bud Light.

  Grabbing his remote he flipped on the television, closing his eyes only for a moment when the commercial caught is attention.

  Rock Hard Gym where you’re not hard until you’re ROCK HARD. Train with the Best MMA has to offer and challenge yourself. Get ROCK HARD Today.

  “Too late.” Mac laughed. “I’ve been rock hard all day after seeing lady doctor at the clinic.”

  Mac thought about the prospect of getting back in the ring for a while now and maybe this was a sign from the good lord above.

  Nine weeks he had spent in South Carolina did nothing to teach him how to talk to civilians, but it did give him time to get shit faced every night at the club.

  Why I volunteered for Recruiting I will never know. Echoed in his head every single night of the nine weeks and is a constant reminder every time he walked into a high school. The whole recruiting school was a joke and he along with one hundred and twenty would start the nine weeks but only twenty percent would graduate. Mac never understood how he made it through. Not one night was spent studying or preparing. He didn’t want to be there, but someone was pulling the strings to keep him there and graduate him. Mac wanted to know who, but he could never get the details. If he ever found out he vowed to beat the shit outta them for cursing him with a three-year stint.

  But luckily unlike some, Mac’s orders took him close enough to home that he could jump in his truck on a weekend if he chose and go see his family and friends and make it out to his father’s hunting ground.

  ***

  Rockmound would be good for him, it was luck that he had found Rock Hard Gym and it was fate the day he walked in to find Lindsey Stewart in the ring training a fighter. He hadn’t thought about getting back into the ring professionally himself, until that day.

  He hadn’t been in a ring since before his unit had deployed, but he had been on the Army’s MMA team and had been All Army Champion. He had always been good with his hands but now he had to convince Lindsey he needed her help to get back to training shape. That might prove harder than he thought but he was up for the challenge. He had nothing to lose, except the only woman he ever loved. He was pretty sure she still hated him since he purposely broke her heart and even though it had been fifteen years, he knew Lindsey Stewart well enough to know that girl forgets nothing. Between the Army and the gym, he stayed busy and in great shape, he had changed a lot, for the better he hoped.

  He knew he didn’t have anything to offer Lindsey in high school. She was the smartest girl in the school. He knew she would make something of herself. No way could he let her give it all up for him. He just wished he could have her back, the one he let go. Sure, he’d had his share of one-night stands, but none of them could capture his heart like Lindsey. He had found out that Lindsey had made her mark in medical school and had made it eventually to Nashville. He thought he had lost her for sure when Mama told me she was engaged. Thank God that guy was a douchebag and screwed it up royal. Now all he needed to do was sweep in and piece together the heart he broke. Lindsey might’ve hated him then, and maybe even now, especially since he stood her up at Fort Bragg, but he hoped she had forgiven him. Even though it had broken his heart as much as hers, he smiled every time his mom had news of Lindsey.

  ***

  Mac pulled into the parking lot of Rock Hard Gym and took in a deep breath, his stomach, doing flip flops as he turned off the engine and reached into the back, grabbing his bag and heading towards the door. Approaching the gym door, he paused to get his th
oughts together, an overwhelming feeling he would pass out started to take over quickly. He took a breath and shook himself out of it. “Anxiety is a bitch.” He mumbled to himself as he opened the gym door. The gym was dark compared to outside and it took a moment for his eyes to adjust, the smell of sweat and body odor stung his nose.

  The door closed behind him, and the entirety of the gym was now clear. The gym was full as usual but as he scanned, the ring came into view and the blonde inside the ring, who was oblivious to his stares, sparred with her partner, it was Lindsey, and as he stood watching her, his breath almost seemed to leave his lungs. He had seen her multiple times since returning home, but today he was revealing himself to her and he was scared shitless.

  He stood for a moment, gathering his thoughts as he walked towards the ring in the center of the room, his heart pounding in his chest so hard he thought it would pound its way through his chest.

  As he stood still watching the ring, attempting to talk himself out of crawling into the ring. Arguing with himself, until finally in one swift move he lunged for the mat, picking himself up by the ropes and jumped over. It was like watching a wrestler on television except he wasn’t going to body slam anyone unless it was Lindsey into his bed.

  Lindsey and her sparring partner stopped their workout, Lindsey appeared angry, Mac remembered that look from fifteen years ago. It had been burned into his brain. It was a look that never bode well for the receiver. She paused for a moment before she lit into him though, she recognized him from Bragg the man that had stood her up. But before the words left her lips, Mac leaned in towards her, “it’s good to see ya Lin. It’s been a long time.”

  Lindsey laughed and replied “No its only been a couple of years and ya know it coulda been more if you hadn’t stood me up for dinner. Ya, know you had my number you could’ve called.”

  Mac knew he should’ve, but he was to say the least afraid she might recognize him, after he had realized it was her, he wasn’t ready to face that part of his past yet. “You’re right! I should’ve but I was a chickenshit.”