HOT MEN: A Contemporary Romance Box Set

by Ashlee Price

  He came toward me, cocky in his step. "You picked Louisville," I said.

  "Yes, sure did. It's goin' to be great, Callie. They offered me second quarterback position and practice begins on Monday. You'll love it, lassie. It's close enough that you can come to all the home games and visit me anytime you want."

  I nodded.

  "Hey, what's the matter? Have you been crying?"

  I shrugged as I led Hector into the barn to put him away. Michael followed. "It happened again, didn't it?"

  I didn't answer, which was the same as giving him details. I knew Michael didn't really understand what was happening with me, but he knew it had something to do with losing Mom. He'd been with me a couple of times when the attacks hit out of the blue. They'd scared the wits out of both of us. He'd taken me to a doctor who was a friend of his family, and that's when the PTSD diagnosis had come. The doctor had been kind enough to give me a gentle talk and explain what was going on. He'd said I could be lucky and they'd go away, that it often was part of the grieving process. If they didn't, he suggested I get regular therapy, but Dad's insurance didn't cover me now that I was eighteen and there wasn't any room in the budget for that. It had taken everything Dad had put back to bury Mom.

  "You start already on Monday? Gosh, Michael, we only graduated a little more than a month ago. How come so soon? It's hot as heck, anyway."

  "That's part of the game, lassie." He called me by the endearing name because he knew it would make me feel better. "You don't know how much I'm going to miss you."

  "Miss me? I thought since you were so close by, we'd still see each other?"

  "No, lassie, it doesn't work like that. I have to move onto campus and live in the dorm with the other players. It's all part of the team comradery thing, you know. We live, eat, sleep, play football and go to classes together."

  I raised my eyebrows. "You going to come out of this with a degree or just a football?"

  "Oh, lassie, don't be like that. We both knew what was coming."

  "Correction. One of us knew, but he forgot to let the other one know how it worked."

  "Are you mad?" His huge brown eyes held concern, but I knew he was determined. He had a family tradition to uphold, and being quarterback at his father's alma mater was certainly a big part of that.

  I looked back at Hector, slipping off the riding saddle and tying him up so I could begin washing him down. It was a hot day, and I knew he was nerved up by my fall. A quick bath and rubdown would help to calm him. "No, not mad. Just disappointed. I mean, didn't graduation night mean something to you, Michael?"

  "Well, of course it did. How can you even ask?"

  "I just did."

  "Look, lassie, what happened between us was right, and I hope you don't regret it. We both wanted each other, and that was the perfect night. I'll never forget it."

  I nodded, but didn't say anything.

  "Callie, look at me."

  I turned my head and looked at him straight up, summoning courage from somewhere inside. I'd hoped Michael and I would spend the summer together. I thought graduation night came with commitments. I didn't want to acknowledge that just possibly it had meant more to me than it had to him. This was Michael - not some loud-mouthed bully in high school.

  "I've come to get you. When you finish up, why not grab a shower and let me take you out. We don't have much time as it is."

  "When do you leave?"

  "In the morning."

  I dropped the curry comb. "In the morning? I thought you started Monday?"

  He nodded. "That's right. Monday, 6:30 a.m. on the field. We start out with two-a-days for now, and the first one is early, before the heat comes in. So tomorrow I take my things over and get settled into the dorm. Sunday there's a luncheon where the parents come to meet each other. Booster stuff, you know. Tonight's my last night, and Mom is going to skin me as it is. I'm supposed to be home packing."

  "Well, don't let me keep you," I said tartly, brushing Hector's flank. Hector knew I was upset; his eyes were looking sidelong at Michael and his nostrils were flaring in the tension of the moment.

  "Callie, don't be like that." Using my first name meant he was losing patience with me.

  "Look, Michael, it's been a long, hot day. I'm worn out from the little, well, incident back there, and Dad is upset. I really don't want to leave him alone for supper. Why don't you go on ahead and get your packing done? Tomorrow's the start of a whole new life for you, you know. You shouldn't start that half asleep. One of these weekends you'll get a day off. Call me then. We can meet up in Louisville and have a night on the town. For now, let's let things go. You need to get on with your life, and me, well, I need to figure out what my life's going to be. I thought I'd sign up for the community college."

  This piqued his interest. "College? You never talked about that before. What do you want to study?"

  "Well, you're not the only one who's capable of going to college, you know." I was feeling stung and a little jealous by his overwhelming and sudden plans. I wanted something of my own. "It's close by, and there's some classes like animal husbandry I'd like to take."

  "Oh, Callie, that's great. I never heard you talk like this before." He sighed and looked around, trying to strengthen the lure of my going out with him for the night. "Are you sure, lassie?" The longing in his voice was evident. I didn't want to hear it - it sounded too much like he was horny and now that he'd had me, he wanted to reap his investment. Where did that come from? I asked myself. I hated thinking that, and what was worse, I think Michael could read it on my face or maybe hear it in my tone. He didn't ask again, and he seemed more formal the next time he spoke.

  "Okay, if that's how you want it. Callie, I hope you have a great summer, and I think it's a good idea for you to go to the community college. I know you want to ride, and I also know these, well, spells, will go away if you keep at it. The doctor said so, remember?"

  I nodded, but said nothing.

  "Well, okay... will you at least give me a kiss good-bye?"

  I hesitated, but put the comb down and walked toward him. "I stink," I warned him, and he laughed.

  "Oh, you won't compare to a whiff of me off the practice field in July. Now that is stink!" He caught me up and kissed me hard.

  I couldn't tell him I needed him to stay - couldn't say that I would be lost without him, that my life had become him. I couldn't climb inside him and stay there for the rest of my life as I wanted to. I could kiss him back, though, and I did it. Hard. Before I anticipated it, Michael had lifted me so that my legs were around his waist and his zipper was down. He had thrown off my jeans and panties and he was buried inside me.

  I had no concept of time or where I was. All I knew was that the only man who had ever known this part of me was here, and he was leaving. He turned so I was sitting on a stall half-wall and pushed my legs wide, entering me with a force that threatened to knock me off backwards. I wouldn't have cared; I just wanted this man, now, inside.

  It lasted only a few minutes, but his ramming penetrations carried with them the pent-up need he'd had for me, and I welcomed the feel of his rock-hard penis inside. I ached with the loving abuse and wanted more. This was not romantic - this was the act of two human creatures who would, perhaps, never see one another again. The world held surprises.

  When, at last, he'd exploded inside and I'd covered him with the moist glitter of my own passionate stars, he pushed his groin against me hard and remained inside. "You're mine, you hear me?" he whispered furiously. "Don't forget that!"

  I pushed away and slid to my feet in the straw before he could see the tears of hurt in my eyes. Pulling on my clothes, I was feeling as though the entire world had just picked up and left me behind. I knew Michael would have a thousand girls after him at college and I might not even ever see him again. It happened that way in his world of wealthy carelessness. He'd meet some well-connected girl and they'd get married right out of college. He'd become a lawyer, like he said he wanted, and work f
or one of his dad's friends. Someday I might see him by accident in a restaurant in Louisville, or when he came back to his folks' on a holiday. It would all be quite accidental. I wasn't the sort of girl he was supposed to marry.

  "Run along now, Michael, before I make a fool of myself, okay? Give me some dignity?" My throat felt raw from trying to hold back more tears.

  He nodded, but looked regretful. "If that's the way you want it, Callie. We're not done, you know. I have something for you. Was going to give it to you later tonight, but, well..." He held out his hand, and on his pinkie was a slender ring with a clear green emerald cut in the shape of a heart. "This is a love ring - a promise that I'll always love you, no matter what happens. Think of the emerald as the green grass where we lay that first time." He took my right hand and slid it on my ring finger. "I'll be back, and you'd better be waiting."

  Those were the last words I heard Michael speak that summer. I didn't believe them when he left that day, and I never would. I heard through the grapevine that he'd left for college and his mother had remarked in church that he was bound for great things. Pastor Rutfield included Michael in his closing prayers on Sunday, and I remember wondering whether God did special favors for Michael's people. After all, He'd given Michael's family two Derby winners and the largest farm in the county with the richest, lime-nourished bluegrass. I wished God could spare a little attention for the rest of us once in a while.

  As it turned out, God had only just turned His attention to my life - and it was nothing like I'd expected.

  Chapter 2 - Michael

  I felt like I'd finally found myself. I was getting more game time than I'd expected as backup quarterback. The guy ahead of me was prone to injuries, and the coach kept me warmed up on the sidelines. I'd thrown a half dozen touchdown passes in just the first three games. There was real comradery among the players - and it wasn't all based on beer and chasing women.

  One thing was missing, though, and that was Callie. She'd been my constant companion for three years, and there wasn't any way I could not miss her gentle voice, the proud way she held her petite body as she walked, and the generosity of heart she shared with anyone who needed her. I needed her.

  I had to be realistic, though. As much as I wanted her with me, I still had at least seven years of school between that law degree and me. Then there would be the bar exam, and if I was lucky, or Dad was good at calling in favors, I'd do a clerkship or go to work at someone's firm and begin climbing that long ladder to a partnership. I really had nothing to offer Callie in the way of companionship until all that was complete.

  Then there was the fact that we'd only known each other as high school sweethearts. She hadn't lived in my world, and I hadn't lived in hers. I knew my parents would pitch a bitch if they thought I was considering a lifetime with Callie. They wanted me to marry for connections. A horse trainer was welcome in their barns, but not at their dinner table. Class distinction sucked, but in the tradition-based Bluegrass where I lived, it was accepted as normal.

  I hadn't misled her when I told Callie I'd be back for her. I just didn't know when that could be. In all fairness, I didn't have the right to tie up her life while I created mine. She'd said she was going to try college. I knew she'd get there - she always did what she set out to do. It made me wonder, though, whether she'd brought up animal husbandry because that was the world she'd been raised in or because it would fit in well with my family's heritage as breeders.

  It wasn't that I cared what my parents thought for my own sake - it was for Callie's. I didn't want to ask her to endure the tiny jabs and looks that would likely come her way, not just from my parents, but from their friends. Could I subject her to that?

  I knew that Callie and I were meant to be together through school, but there was so much still ahead for both of us that we'd have to experience on our own. Maybe it had been a mistake to give her that ring. What was I thinking? I knew exactly what I was thinking. I'd tied her up for selfish reasons, but not even with a proposal, just a trinket I'd called a love ring. I'd been her first and wanted to put a claim on her.

  Damn! I was already beginning to see how young and stupid I'd been. I knew Callie didn't belong in my immediate future. Even though she was only eighty miles away, there was no way she'd find a way to come to football games. She wouldn't fit in at the clubs I'd go to with my new friends, and there was no way we could spend nights together. Hell, I couldn't be celibate, or expect her to be, as much as I hated the thought of it.

  I resolved that for the time being, I would let her become her own woman. But, that said, I would keep an eye on her, even if from a distance.

  Chapter 3 - Callie

  I stared at the drug store test strip with the plus sign clearly visible and felt dizzy, afraid I would faint. I was pregnant.

  With all the stress surrounding Mom's death, my monthly cycle had been irregular, but this was different. Call it a woman's silent knowing, but I knew.

  I didn't say anything at first. Instead, I made an appointment with a doctor in Louisville who wouldn't know my family or friends. He confirmed the test and put me at about four weeks along. That meant it had probably happened the last time I saw Michael in the barn.

  I tried to take Hector out for a ride. I wanted to go to the pasture where Mom and I had been that last time. Maybe there was some remnant of her spirit there that could tell me what to do. As soon as I mounted Hector, though, the symptoms appeared, so I dismounted and walked with him, holding the lead. It was mid-summer and hot. I wished I'd worn lighter clothing. The grasses were tall; bees and cicadas whirred through the deep growth. I unbuttoned the bottom of my blouse and re-tied it below my breasts to let some air reach my midriff, but that let the bugs reach it too, including horseflies that bit the small of my back. I tried mounting Hector again to ride back and made it about ten yards before my world went black.

  When I came to, Dad was standing next to me in a small, white-walled room and I could feel something stiff in my arm. I looked down to see an IV needle seated in my vein. Dad was holding my other hand, and he sighed deeply when I smiled at him. I knew he was worried; the creases on his forehead had deepened, but were now relaxing.

  "Hi, Dad," I muttered, still trying to get my bearings.

  "Well, my girl came back to me," he said, patting my arm.

  "Told you, Dad, won't ever leave you."

  "I know, Callie, but can't always keep our promises if the good Lord don't see fit. But you're gonna be fine. The doc said he thought the heat was too much for you... and the little one." His voice was even, as though he'd rehearsed his words. "They're givin' you some fluids." He looked to the IV in my arm.

  My eyes flashed to his face. How could he know? My heart began racing.

  "Now, Callie, you knew you'd have to tell me sooner or later, right? Did ya think I wouldn't notice?"

  I couldn't tell by his voice whether he was angry or accepting. Maybe he hadn't thought about it long enough yet to know himself. How could he?

  "I was going to tell you, Dad. I've only known a few days myself, and I haven't figured out what I'm going to do."

  "You don't mean you might not keep it?" His tone raised in pitch. That wasn't an option in Dad's mind, or mine.

  I shook my head. "No, of course not, Dad. But I'm just out of high school and I want to study at the community college. I hadn't figured on this... just haven't had time to sort it all out."

  "I'm assuming Michael's the daddy." He said it as a statement, not a question.

  I nodded and he looked a little relieved.

  "Well, then I guess we're gonna have to have a little talk," he said decidedly and walked to the window, his back to me. How I hated it when he turned his back to me. It was his way, but it always made me feel unimportant and left out. There were flashing lights; I'm guessing an ambulance. He seemed mesmerized, but I knew him well enough to know that he was buying time to think.

  "Dad? No, we can't tell Michael. I don't want him to know."

&
nbsp; "Why the hell not?" His voice was raised, angry, and I immediately went on the defensive.

  "He's got college, Dad. This is my fault. I never meant for it to happen, but then Michael was leaving and I, well, I was feeling left behind and lonely..." My voice trailed off as I heard the hollow excuse behind my own words.

  "He's the daddy, Callie. He's got a right to know - and a say in things."

  I knew what Dad was getting at. He'd chosen a life of his heart, rather than his wallet, and raising a child wouldn't be cheap. Michael's family had money, lots of it, and Michael had a responsibility, along with me, to take care of the child.

  "Dad, you know as well as I do that his family will take over the baby. It would be their first grandchild, Michael's heir. God, there's no way they'd let it go. And they'd make Michael marry me."

  Dad turned around to look at me. "Well, and maybe they should." Dad was old-school, and there was a certain way these things were handled.

  "We're not like them, Dad. You know that. Sure, they'd offer to pay for an abortion, probably, but I'm not going to let that happen. Everyone in the county would know the daddy, and what would that do for me? Or for the baby? You know what that would be like. They'd force a marriage to save face, whether they wanted me in the family or not. Like as not, in a couple years they'd talk Michael into divorcing me and keeping the child. I won't have it, Dad, I just won't have it."

  "You could go stay with your Aunt Margaret," he answered, referring to his sister who lived in Tennessee. "She'd look after you until the baby was born, and that would give you time to decide whether you want to keep it."

  "But, Dad, that would mean leaving you. I told you, I'll never leave you."

  "It ain't the same, Callie. You ain't leavin' forever, just buyin' yourself a little time to figure out what's right for you, and for the baby."

  I was so confused. I hadn't thought this far ahead; I'd been on my way to that pasture hoping for some answers from the angel who was my mom, and maybe this had been the answer God intended. Maybe He'd turned me around to look to my dad for support; someone flesh and blood who could help me.