Holden Cramer would be getting a piece of my mind. And since my main responsibility was now in the air on his way down south, I figured I might as well pack and get going, as well.
I had the ass of a stubborn man to kick.
Chapter 15
Holden
Miami was beautiful. It was also crazy. Every time I came here, the energy of South Beach blew me away. When a big event like this was being held, it was even more insane. Yet it fed something in my soul. The wild-child that I didn’t let out much anymore. I wouldn’t be partying during this trip, obviously. I was here for one reason, and one reason only: to see my team win and bring the Lombardi home to Baltimore. Or to congratulate one of my best friends on his win and watch as the trophy went back to Seattle.
Regardless, I needed to be here for this.
Tamryn had gotten into town last night, but we hadn’t been able to see each other. Both of us had meetings and things and by the time we were free, it was late. She’d texted me, briefly, her responses short and curt. I knew she was angry with me, but I also hoped that once I pled my case, she’d see my reasoning.
I was actually feeling okay. I’d made sure to stay on schedule with my meds, but I was down to very few now, thankfully. The new air cast was working well and allowed for better mobility, and if I watched what I did with my shoulder or kept it in the sling when I was feeling fatigued, that wasn’t too terrible either.
After a few more team sessions that I wanted to attend to support the guys and help the coaches, I decided to beg off dinner and find Tamryn.
Me: Hey. Do you have anything that’s required at dinnertime or after? I’d really like to talk.
Tamryn: I’ll be free in an hour. We definitely need to talk. I’ll come to you. Where?
Me: I actually got my own room. I wasn’t required to stay in the team block. 505.
Tamryn: TTYL.
Talk to you later? That was all? Ooh, boy. Somebody was not happy with me.
An hour and five minutes later, a knock sounded on the door. I opened it to a stunning yet clearly pissed-off doctor. She ripped off her hoodie as she stormed past me into the room, and I couldn’t ignore the heat of her emotions.
I adored how utterly sexy she looked when she was mad.
She whirled around; her arms crossed over that delectable chest. “The hell, Holden?”
So that’s how this was going to go. I tried to hold back my smile. I failed.
“This isn’t funny, you dickhead.”
Damn, she was cute. “I know you’re mad. I’m sorry.”
She shook her head, clearly exasperated with me. “You’re sorry? You’re sorry that you totally went against medical advice and put your life at risk to fly to sunny Florida.”
“Well, yes, sort of. But I’m actually sorrier that I didn’t talk it over with you first.”
I saw her soften a fraction. “Yeah, that was a dick move, too. I talked to Merrick. Since I’m part of your medical team, he told me about your discussion. He said he strongly suggested you not take the risk. Said he basically begged you to have the surgery and stay the hell home.”
I tipped a corner of my mouth. “I don’t know about begged. He tried to be very convincing. I’ll give him that.”
She shook her head again. “And yet, here you are.” When I started to say something, she held up a hand. “I get it, Holden. You’ve invested a lot. This is basically your last hoorah. And even if you can’t be in the thick of it, you want to be involved. But…” She took a deep breath, the movement doing astonishing things to her chest in the tank she wore before I saw the glisten of moisture in her eyes and she turned away abruptly. I almost missed her next words, and even when she said them, I still wasn’t sure I’d heard.
“You have people who love you,” she mumbled.
I limped across the room as fast as I could in my boot and got in front of her. “What did you say?”
“Nothing, I—”
“No, no. I want to know what you said.”
She let out an exasperated breath. “I said, people love you, you asshole.”
I grinned. “Would those people include you?”
She shook her head, and shoved her hands through her hair, letting out a little growl as she turned from me once more. “You honestly don’t deserve the answer to that. I’m so pissed at you right now. Even while I get it.”
I limped to get in front of her again and cupped her cheeks gently with my hands. She raised hers to grab my wrists and we searched each other’s eyes.
“Okay, then. Maybe I should go first.”
“What do you mean, go first?” she asked.
“Can we sit? Please?” I motioned to the bed. She took a seat on the edge, and I awkwardly tugged the chair from the little table over so I could sit and face her, placing my hands on her knees.
“Tamryn, you came into my life during the most awful of times. Yet these last weeks with you have probably been the best of my life. I seriously thought that I had lost everything. That I had nothing left. But these circumstances brought me you.”
“Warts and all?” she asked.
I laughed. “Honey, you have no warts. Even those questionable personality traits that I assume you’re referencing are endearing. You are the most perfect person I have ever met.”
“Hardly perfect, I—” she argued, but I cut her off.
“But you are perfect. You are perfect for me. I’m a goner, Tamryn Miller. I think I wanted you from the moment I saw you years ago, and I fell for you the second you looked into my eyes on that field. And now? Now, ‘I think I love you,’” I sang, doing my best Partridge Family impersonation and, as intended, made her groan. And then laugh.
“Geezus. Your puns and lines do not get any better. But it’s part of your charm, old man. And why I love you, too.”
“Who are you calling old? I’ll show you just how virile I am.” And then I shoved her gently back on the bed and joined her, both of us laughing and touching, kissing and nibbling, stripping and professing our feelings with both word and deed.
Tamryn Miller was my sunshine. She would always light my way.
Chapter 16
Tamryn
Holden and I stood on the sidelines at the game, him on his crutch and acting as a coach and support, and me doing my normal job. Whenever possible, however, we found ways to subtly touch, or to send each other smiles from across the way. I honestly couldn’t believe that he was mine.
The team did great. Mackey played a hell of a game and got us within striking distance. A field goal would have tied it. Unfortunately, Bailey missed wide right, and Seattle took it home.
I worried that Holden would be angry or upset, but he seemed almost as happy for his friend and Seattle as he was for everything his teammates had accomplished. He said that he was so proud of everything that had happened during his tenure that he couldn’t be upset that they’d lost a hard-fought battle. He’d even said something to the effect of, “Somebody had to win. And if it wasn’t my team, I’m just glad that it was my best friend—and nemesis.”
After the game, Will actually called Holden up to the stage at center field—to the dismay of many a Seattle fan, even though Holden had once been their quarterback, too.
“Friends, family…the best fans around. I know this isn’t normal, but I have something to say, and I hope you’ll let me say it.” The crowd cheered.
“Holden Cramer is the reason I am standing here today. Everything I know about the league and the professional game is because of this guy.” He ruffled Holden’s hair, and Holden ducked and then slung his good arm around Will and clapped him on the shoulder.
“Had I not worked under him, I wouldn’t be the player I am today. The man I am today. He taught me a lot, and I can only hope that I gave him some things in return. After all, I did take his job.” A roar of laughter erupted.
“But in so doing, he became what I know a lot of people call him, and what I will always call him. The greatest of all time. And
I’m proud to call him my friend. My brother. So, brother,”—he looked at Holden and hoisted the trophy once more—“this is for you, too!”
Holden looked genuinely shocked and humbled and just raised his good arm to touch the Lombardi that Will raised above his head. The crowd went wild. Despite his success, and the haters insisting that they couldn’t stand him, Holden Cramer was impossible not to love.
I should know.
I was head over heels for the man.
And I figured I would be forever.
Epilogue
Holden
What a day. I was physically and emotionally spent. I didn’t think anything could feel better than leading a team to the championship—and a win—as the quarterback, but today had proven me wrong.
The boys had just won the Bowl Championship and were over the moon. Just five years into my new position as the head coach of the Miami Hurricanes, my alma mater, and we had accomplished something that hadn’t been done in far too long. The Canes hadn’t brought home the title since the mid 2000s, and it was way past time.
Mingling at the celebration dinner, I looked across the space, searching for Tamryn. I knew she was here somewhere. Our road to happiness wasn’t always an easy one. While we fell hard and fast, and that part was anything but difficult, the rest wasn’t so cut and dried.
After the big game and Seattle’s win, I’d gone back home for exploratory surgery—thankfully, it wasn’t a clot—and more healing, but I’d had to make a decision.
While we were still in Miami, some members of the Canes’ staff had reached out. Over drinks, they’d basically told me they’d do whatever it took to get me on staff. Their head coach was finally retiring, and they had their sights set on me. Since I loved south Florida and adored the school that had put me on the map, I knew I wanted to say yes. I also knew that I was torn. Tamryn was deeply engrained in my heart, and her place was with and in Baltimore.
We lived apart for nearly two years, seeing each other as often as we could traveling back and forth and spending as much quality time as we could together during the off-seasons, but it was hard. Finally, after a head coach change in Baltimore, Tamryn made the decision to move with me permanently to Florida and actually took a position with the University of Miami School of Medicine. She loved her new job, and I was so incredibly proud of her.
Searching the crowd once more, I saw my stunning wife across the way and waved at her. She beamed a smile and practically glowed. She rose one hand to wave back and then placed the other on her very swollen belly as she raised a brow.
I cocked my head in question and saw her blow out a breath.
My heart dropped to my feet in fear, while excited fizzles zipped through my veins.
Seemed today was going to be a very good day, indeed.
The Bowl Championship and a new baby.
We’d decided to name him Forty. With him, Tamryn, and our two-year-old daughter, Tulah, I had everything I ever wanted and more.
There was never, ever a reason to be blue again.
THE END
The Quick Snap Novella Collection
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Acknowledgments
To all those who support me in everything I do, thank you from the bottom of my heart! I wear many hats, yet you cheer me on as I don each one.
Thank you to all the wonderful authors who have been my inspiration or cheerleaders along the way—my Badass Bitches, my NACers, my friends. From giving me advice to talking me off the ledge, to making me laugh when I didn’t think I could. I couldn’t have done this without you.
An extra special thanks to Jen Talty and Kristen Proby for being so inspirational and for believing in me when I didn’t always believe in myself. And for making this book a reality. If not for you guys, it’d likely still be a single chapter sitting in my Macbook’s trash folder.
To my wonderful editor, Laura, who deals with my nonsense, and to my steadfast betas, Dianne and Erika, who always find time for me and make me feel special. I love you guys.
And lastly, thank you, dear readers. Thank you for taking a chance on me. By reading the words between these pages, you are literally making my dreams come true. You are the best!
Also by Rayvn Salvador
The Willow Falls series:
Your Move
Praise for Rayvn Salvador
“Rayvn Salvador pens an exhilarating and romantic tale you don’t want to miss!”
~USA Today Bestselling Author Jen Talty
“An exciting new author!”
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“Rayvn is a great storyteller!”
~5-Star Amazon reviewer
About Rayvn Salvador
Rayvn Salvador is a lifelong bibliophile who left her eighteen-year IT career in Software Quality Assurance to live her dream: getting paid to read as a full-time editor (done as her alter ego), and to write when the mood strikes. She lives in Florida with three crazy cats and her incredibly supportive beau, dreaming about the Midwest’s changing leaves as she perfects her yoga poses on the beach.
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Website: http://rayvnsalvador.com
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