Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  Two older ladies were out pruning rosebushes. The women turned to look at them, and the blonde lady dropped her shears.

  “Good morning,” Lily called to them.

  “Hyde Metcalf, you get your buns over here and introduce us to your girl,” the shorter woman with classy slate-gray hair called to them.

  Lily stared at Hyde, whose naturally dark skin seemed to darken further. Who were these ladies, and how did they know him?

  “She’s not really my girl,” he muttered, then turned to face Lily. “I’m sorry. This is my mom and aunt—well, sort of an adopted aunt, my mom’s best friend. Do you mind if we stop and say hi?”

  Her eyebrows arched. This beautiful house was his? “I’d love to meet them.”

  “You say that now.”

  The women were crossing the expansive yard toward them. This was a nice neighborhood with large houses set back in the trees, but this one dwarfed all of them. Built on the corner lot, it had more yard space, but it also had the large second story and five-car garage whereas most of the homes were ramblers with two- or three-car garages.

  “Give me a hug,” the dark-haired lady demanded. Hyde complied, and she shrieked. “You’re all sweaty!”

  Hyde chuckled. “That’s what happens when you work out.”

  “Which is why we don’t participate in said activity.” She arched an eyebrow. “So … who’s this pretty young thing?”

  Lily stuck out her hand. “Lily Udy. It’s nice to meet you.”

  “You also. I’m Auntie Allie, and this is Hyde’s mama, Teresa.”

  Allie gave her a hearty shake, but Teresa’s grasp was more of a limp noodle. Lily could’ve sworn his mom was glaring at her, but hopefully she was imagining things.

  “Gorgeous morning to be with a gorgeous girl.” Allie winked at Hyde.

  “Better morning to be alone,” Teresa muttered.

  Lily started, but Hyde and Allie didn’t comment or flinch.

  “Auntie, she’s my trainer,” Hyde said.

  “Does that mean you can’t date her? I never get all your rules.”

  Lily felt her face flush. If Hyde Metcalf had any interest in dating her, after he’d paid her the ten-thousand-dollar bonus and their contract was done, she would be in heaven. It was never going to happen, though. He dated women with perfectly plucked eyebrows, surgically enhanced curves, and designer clothes, not personal trainers who lived in spandex.

  “We’re going to run away now,” Hyde said. “Thanks for the embarrassment.”

  “Anytime. Come see us again,” Allie told Lily. “I live to embarrass this cute boy.”

  The cute boy was all man, but it was fun to see his beautifully-toned skin darken with embarrassment. She’d heard that his mom had revealed some embarrassing secrets to the press, but his mom was too quiet throughout the conversation and his aunt seemed more the type to reveal secrets.

  They waved their goodbyes and jogged back down the street.

  “Does your aunt cause media trouble for you?”

  “Naw, that’s all my mom. Allie teases because she likes to embarrass me, but she would never do me harm like my mom does.” He sucked in a breath and glanced at her. “That sounded awful. My mom doesn’t mean to cause trouble. She’s been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, so she forgets a lot and says things she shouldn’t. But even before her diagnosis, she never liked any of the women I dated,” he sort of muttered.

  Lily didn’t want to touch that one, but she hadn’t felt any warm fuzzies from his mom’s glances or her underhanded comment about being alone, that was for sure. “How do the press get her to comment?”

  “She spends most of her time outside and refuses to shut the blinds in the house. You noticed all the windows. She used to say she was a ‘creature of light.’” He smiled as if remembering. “She used to be really with it and funny. Now Allie has to talk and joke for both of them.”

  “That’s a great friend.”

  “Been best friends for years. Raised their families next door. Allie is amazing. It’s been hard for both of us to watch Mom deteriorate like this, and my dad … he’s gone, so … you know.”

  “I’m so sorry about your dad.” She hadn’t known his dad had died. When had that happened?

  Hyde looked confused. “Yeah, he’s kind of a loser.”

  “Oh.” Whoa. That was harsh to say about a dead man. She’d be a mess if her dad died. Hyde didn’t seem to have much of a family. “Do you have any other family?”

  “My sister lives in Washington DC with her husband and two girls.” He paused. “Wait. I thought you knew all about me.”

  “All about your footballs stats. I don’t really keep up on the publicity magazines mega-stud scoop.” Had she just slipped and called him a mega-stud? That was one of those phrases she should’ve kept to herself.

  “What?” He glanced at her. “A mega-stud?”

  “Oh, you know.” She studied the asphalt flowing under their feet. “Someone like you—handsome, famous, talented.”

  “A mega-stud.” He laughed. “So you idolize me for my stats but not my photo shoots with no shirt on?”

  “You’ve done photo shoots with no shirt on?” Her voice squeaked.

  He laughed louder, then started coughing and couldn’t stop. They slowed their pace to a walk while he caught a breath.

  “Are your lungs okay?”

  “It’s not my lungs; it’s you. You crack me up.”

  She smiled, getting the feeling he looked at her as more of a buddy than a potential girlfriend. That should’ve been fine, because she really wanted the paycheck, not the guy. She’d better repeat that a hundred times before she went to bed tonight, and maybe she wouldn’t have dreams about him again.

  “No. I have no shirtless pictures splayed all over the internet. Auntie Allie would kick my rear. She’s a big modesty proponent.”

  Lily was disappointed she couldn’t Google pictures of him shirtless tonight. Stop it, she admonished herself.

  They were quiet for a few minutes, picking the pace back up. Eventually she grew brave enough to ask, “What happened to your dad?”

  “He’s just selfish. He was always taking off on adventures and coming back after a week or two, but …” He shook his head. “None of us have seen him since the Super Bowl.”

  “Wait a minute.” Lily stopped running. They were on a running trail next to the river again and the rushing water was soothing, but she was confused. “Your dad’s not dead?”

  “No.” He stopped too and turned to face her. “Who said he was dead?”

  “You said he was gone.”

  “Oh.” He chuckled. “No, gone as in disappeared, don’t know when he’s coming back, not gone gone.”

  “That’s still sad.”

  He shrugged and turned to face the river. “You ever ridden down this thing in the spring?”

  “I thought you weren’t supposed to.”

  “You want to meet me this afternoon? I have all the equipment.”

  She glanced at the river. It wasn’t raging like it was some years from spring runoff, but it was still flowing pretty quickly. “We can’t risk you getting injured.”

  He gave her a cheeky grin. “Can’t get injured when you’ve got skills.”

  She laughed. “I have clients scheduled this afternoon.”

  “How about this weekend?”

  She looked him over. Did he honestly want to spend time with her outside the training arena? Was that crossing boundaries she shouldn’t cross? His dark eyes twinkled and sucked her in, and she couldn’t imagine this superstar could look at her as a romantic interest. She was a fan who appreciated him and football, someone he could laugh at when she called him a mega-stud.

  “I could Saturday afternoon,” she said. Oh man, did she really just commit to doing something with Hyde outside of work? This could lead to trouble she didn’t need. Yet she couldn’t take it back when he smiled happily at her. His grin was like a prize all by itself.

 
; Chapter Six

  The core and speed workout after their pleasant run had been hard enough Hyde had thought he was going to throw up, but luckily he’d held it in. Over the rest of the week, the workouts only got tougher. Lily had the ability to motivate him, without him wanting to tell her to pound sand. He’d told his team trainers something like that a few times, usually just wishing they’d stop screaming in his face. Lily barked at him, but it was in a cute way. She also made him laugh.

  It had been a tough, but rewarding week, and he could swear his body and his lungs already felt stronger.

  This new trainer was good, and she was pretty, and he was excited to spend some more time with her Saturday afternoon. He arrived at the parking lot by the city park and found a spot close to the river. It was chilly, but the sun was shining bright as he unloaded his long bodyboards, helmets, and life jackets from the back of his sport utility, and hauled them up the trail that ran between the river and the Clear Creek RV Park. Some of the RVs were probably worth as much as Auntie Allie’s house. Someday he’d love to buy one and travel the country.

  His lips turned down. It wouldn’t be much fun by himself, and by the time he was ready to retire, who knew how out of it his mom would be? It made him sad for both of them. He’d love to think that he would be married when he retired, but finding the right woman felt almost impossible. To find a woman he could fall in love with, and who wanted not only him, but the burden of a mother-in-law with a degenerative illness … it sounded like a tough order. He didn’t want his mom to come between him and his future wife, but Hyde was the one who had to be there for his mom. As each day went by, he had less and less hope that his dad would return.

  Hyde balanced all the gear as he walked up the trail. Lily was waiting for him halfway up, wearing a one-piece pink-and-blue-swirled suit, blue board shorts, and Tevas. Her long hair teased across her firm shoulders. She raised a hand in greeting.

  “Do you ever do fitness competitions?” he asked when he reached her.

  Her eyebrows arched up. “Do you ever just say hello?”

  “Naw, that’s for the average human being.”

  “And that’s definitely not our mega-stud.” She’d taken to calling him that, and it always made him laugh because she could say it and make him feel complimented and yet not at the same time. He’d learned she liked to tease—it probably came from having a big family—and it made him happy that she could tease with him.

  “No, competitions are impressive, but I don’t have the time or money right now,” she said.

  Hyde nodded, embarrassed for her that she’d had to admit that to him.

  Some teenage boys stopped their skateboards on the paved jogging trail and gawked at him. Their voices carried easily. “Man, that’s Hyde Metcalf.”

  “Whoa. He’s even bigger in real life.”

  Hyde waved to them, and they waved back, obviously awestruck. He was used to it, and it made him laugh that Lily had been pretty awestruck herself when she first met him, but she’d quickly gotten comfortable around him. He liked that Lily admitted she followed his stats and games, but hoped she didn’t read whatever the magazines or smut rags decided to print about him. Whenever a shady reporter felt like stirring up a story, they’d just stake out his house until his mom came outside and told them something she shouldn’t, most of which wasn’t correct, and then the reporter would stretch and distort it to make it worse.

  Lily grabbed the board, helmet, and life jacket he had for her.

  “You nervous?” he asked.

  “Sort of. I did white water rafting on Clear Creek farther up in the mountains on a date once, and one time my dad worked out a deal with his friend to take our family down the river, but both of those were in a raft with a guide.” Her eyes sparkled when she talked. Hyde had suspected her family was pretty destitute and she didn’t have many experiences that cost money.

  “Okay, then. Clear Creek should feel like home to you.”

  “Ha! This is a stinking river, not a creek. We have a creek that runs through Georgetown. We wade in it, catch tadpoles and splash each other in the summer. If you have to put a helmet on to get in a body of water, it’s a river, not a creek. You Golden people are nuts.”

  Hyde smiled, loving when she got animated about something. “I’ll keep you safe.”

  She looked at him, and time seemed to slow down. He couldn’t remember ever promising a woman who he was interested in that he’d keep her safe, but it felt right to tell Lily that, and he wanted to watch out for her for some reason. Which was crazy. He’d only known her for a week. Yet the time they spent together each day, him working out and her pushing and encouraging him, were the best hours of his day. True, she didn’t reveal her life story or hit on him. She was a professional, and he appreciated it, but he wouldn’t mind getting to know her a little bit and having that professional side slide just for him.

  He instantly felt chagrin. He didn’t like fellow players who thought rules didn’t fit them because they were celebrities. Rules were in place for a reason, and his dad had taught him that if you followed the rules, you’d actually be farther ahead because no one would be trying to rein you in and cramp your style. Have your own style while still doing what you should, he’d always said. He felt a pang for his dad. Where was he? He usually at least called Hyde when he wandered, but there’d been nothing but the postcards for months. Hyde thought his publicized stay in the hospital would bring his dad out of hiding, but maybe his dad didn’t care about him as much as he’d always assumed.

  Lily thinking his dad was dead had hit him hard. He missed him. He wondered if he should hire a private investigator. Maybe it was time to start looking for his dad rather than assuming he’d come back from his jaunts like he always did. Maybe he was just done with his family. Hyde couldn’t stand the thought.

  Hyde and Lily strapped on life jackets and helmets and carried their boards down to an inlet in the river. There were quite a few natural and man-made inlets along this trail. This river and trail were some of Hyde’s favorite parts of Golden. There was even a small park with a children’s slide downriver by Main Street into a calm and shallow part of the river. Well, calm and shallow in the late summer. This time of year the slide was covered with caution tape.

  Stepping into the water, Lily gasped, and Hyde didn’t blame her. The cold shocked his feet and legs, pinpricks of pain that he hoped would go numb soon.

  “You’re telling me we’re climbing into this water and not going to die of hypothermia?” she asked.

  “Maybe we should go buy some wet suits,” Hyde suggested. He’d found these supplies in the garage from his days of riding down this river as a teenager, but had it ever been this cold?

  Lily looked disgusted with him. “You don’t need to go throwing your money around and spending it on wet suits.”

  “Throwing my money around?” His eyebrows jumped up. “I don’t do that.”

  “See that you don’t, mega-stud.”

  Hyde smiled because she was teasing him, but it felt weird to have a woman not want him to spend money on her.

  “I’m not wimpy enough to need a wet suit.” She tossed her long dark hair, and Hyde laughed at her bravado.

  “I don’t think you’re wimpy at all.” But he hoped they wouldn’t both get hypothermia. This water came straight from the mountains and was never really warm.

  She bowed to him. “Well, thank you. So I just jump in with the board under me and ride it down like a wave?”

  “You’ve boogie boarded on the ocean?”

  “No.” She glanced down. “That’d be a dream.”

  “Have you been to the ocean?” He felt like a jerk the instant he asked. She worked a lot of hours, to the point it seemed that she lived at the gym, and every day she wore tennis shoes with a hole in the toe. Money to go to the ocean was probably not floating around.

  “No.” She glanced up at him with a challenge clear in her eyes. “Shall we jump in now?”

  Hyde clear
ed his throat. As a child, he’d gone to the ocean at least once a year for as long as he could remember. Now he had monstrous houses on two different beaches and spent as much time there as he could. “Sure. Yeah.” He’d like to take her to the ocean. He could imagine the two of them running on the beach, then jumping in for a swim. He’d put his hands around her taut abdomen and lift her over a wave.

  Hyde shook his head. Lily was watching him with one eyebrow raised. “Sorry,” he said, “got distracted. You just keep the board underneath you. If you lose the board, turn over on your back, cross your arms over your chest, and keep your feet out in front of you.”

  “Got it.” With that, she gripped her board and dove into the water like Superman.

  “Lily!” Hyde yelled. They usually waded out into the current.

  “Cold!” she screamed back.

  Hyde jumped after her. She was right: it was freezing. The water hit his face, arms, and legs like shards of ice crystals. His hands became numb almost instantly, but he clung to the board and tried to steer himself downriver. He was a little bit behind Lily and desperately wanting to catch up and make sure she was okay.

  The small rapids took them on a wild ride down. When he saw the spot coming up where the river plunged, the two-foot drop suddenly looked like a raging waterfall. He’d been a dumb teenager the last time he’d ridden this river when it was choked with spring runoff, and he was afraid one of them would get hurt like Lily had worried about. He suddenly remembered the girl in high school who had drowned in the river this time of year. Trying to impress a woman was one thing, but this was stupidity. He couldn’t risk injuring Lily.

  He was almost side by side with her. She glanced over at him and whooped. “This is awesome!” Her dark hair clung to her neck and the helmet framed her face. She had no makeup on, as far as he could tell. He’d never thought a woman was more beautiful.

  “Hold on tight!” he yelled at her.