Emmett bent down and lifted her into his arms.
“I think I could hobble,” she said. “I did just sprint to the finish line.”
“Don’t take all my fun away,” he said.
“Smelling my sweaty, muddy body is fun?” She wrinkled her nose.
“You’re perfect all the time, love.”
Cambree blushed at him calling her “love” again. How could she refute him, though? He was so perfect to her.
“You really can’t park here.”
Cambree looked up and saw a young guy in green scrubs.
“Sorry. The keys are in it if you need to move it.” Emmett strode away from the guy.
“They’ll tow you!” the guy hollered at Emmett’s back.
“It’s a rental,” Emmett said.
Cambree laughed. “Does anything ever tick you off?” she asked.
Emmett paused outside the doors and glanced down at her. “Being without you,” he said softly.
“What made you come?” she had to ask.
“Creed died.” The pain was stark in his eyes, and Cambree wanted to comfort him so badly. “My family’s a mess, but Bridger tried to thrash me. I won, of course. And he told me Creed would be ticked at me for not trying. He meant the NFL, but then we talked about you and …” He shook his head. “I’m gonna play this year, somehow. Practice has been going amazing, but being with you is more important to me than that.”
Cambree’s eyes widened. “You hardly know me, Emmett.”
“I know enough to know I want to be with you.” His eyes were begging her now.
Cambree couldn’t commit to anything. She’d just finished a physically and emotionally exhausting race. His brother had recently died. Their interaction after the race was going to be all over the internet and would probably humiliate him and his family, and she still hadn’t asked him about his relationship with Avalyn Shaman.
“Don’t say anything,” he said. “Let’s figure out your knee and we can talk later.”
Cambree appreciated the out. “Okay.”
They walked through the sliding glass doors and approached the nurse’s station. The nurse’s eyes widened as they drew closer. “You’re Emmett Hawk and Cambree Kinley.”
Cambree frowned. She didn’t know this girl from high school or anything.
“I’ve been watching the video from the Warrior race,” the nurse gushed. “How you kept going after you fell, and then Emmett Hawk lifting you into his arms and kissing you. Ah,” she sighed. Then she grinned. “Your mom called Emmett Hawk a ‘big yahoo’ and a ‘Sasquatch.’” She giggled. “They keep replaying that on clips.”
Cambree pushed out a breath. Emmett held her tighter. “Can we get her in with an orthopedic specialist as soon as possible?” he asked.
“Oh, of course. Take a seat and I’ll find out who’s on call.” She winked and gave them a thumbs-up as she picked up the phone.
Emmett walked over to the chairs lining the walls. Luckily there were only a couple of people in the waiting room, although those people were staring at them. He settled into a chair with her in his arms.
Cambree tried to move out of his arms, but he held her fast. “Please, Cam. Let me hold you.”
She relaxed into him, realizing she just wanted him to hold her also. There was no way to wrap her mind around him staying with her beyond today, so she wanted to enjoy every moment she got.
Emmett held on to Cambree as her family piled into the waiting room, and he tried to keep all of her siblings’ names straight, loving the little guy, Luke, who obviously worshipped him. The nurses finally escorted them back to a room. Emmett wouldn’t let Cambree go. She seemed like she wanted to be in his arms, but he had this awful feeling she wasn’t going to stay here. Her mom had done exactly what she’d been worried about, made him look bad for the media. How did he explain that he didn’t care? He always would’ve chosen Cambree over a good media presence, but losing Creed had just solidified his need to be with her. He hadn’t smiled this much in weeks.
He, Cambree, and her mom had just gotten settled into a small room when a doctor rushed in. He reached out to Emmett and pumped his hand. “Charles Young. I’m a huge fan. Huge.” The guy’s grin was wide, like the Joker on Batman.
“Emmett Hawk.” Emmett smiled, hoping this meant they would get help for Cambree quick.
Dr. Young shook his head. “It’s such an honor. After I help Cambree, would you sign something for me?”
“Sure. Can you please …” He gestured to Cambree.
“Hi, Cambree,” the doctor said.
“Hi, Charles.”
So they obviously knew each other.
“How did you meet Emmett Hawk?” the doctor asked.
“Just look at my knee, you dork,” Cambree said, folding her arms across her chest.
“Okay.” He pushed out a breath and looked at her swollen and mud-caked knee. “Can you clean this first please?” the doctor asked a nurse who had just walked into the room.
She grabbed some wipes and swiped gingerly at Cambree’s knee. Cambree tensed but didn’t complain.
“Emmett Hawk.” The doctor leaned back in his swivel chair thing, and Emmett wondered if he’d tip over.
Emmett forced a smile. This guy was getting annoying. He wanted to know what was wrong with Cambree’s knee, not deal with an obsessed fan.
“Charles, stop acting like a mental patient and fix Cambree,” her mom demanded.
The doctor put up his hands. “Okay, okay.”
The nurse finished quickly, and the doctor pushed Cambree’s knee one way and another, messing around with her kneecap. He extended and flexed her leg, turning it one direction and another. Cambree grimaced.
“You heard a distinct pop when you hit the ground?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you hear another pop when you stood?”
Cambree thought for a second, then said, “Yeah, I did.”
“Let’s do an MRI, but I’m ninety percent sure the sound was your kneecap popping out of alignment. But it most likely popped back in on its own when you straightened it. A subluxated patella. If I’m right, and I usually am—” He grinned cockily. “—you’ll have some swelling and pain and you’ll need to stay off of it for a few weeks, but you should make a quick and easy recovery with a little bit of physical therapy. Shall we do the MRI?”
“Yes,” Cambree said. “Thanks, Charles.”
He stood and went to wash his hands, then came straight back to Emmett. “Autograph?”
“Sure.” Emmett laughed and signed the pad of paper Charles produced.
The doctor left with a promise to get Cambree into radiology quickly.
Cambree’s shoulders relaxed as he left, and then she was sobbing. Emmett reached her first and hugged her tight to him. “You’re okay,” he said. He was so relieved. The thought of Cambree going through surgery and recovery for a knee had been weighing on him. It had been a painful and discouraging recovery.
“Okay, boy.” Her mom shoved him. “You’d better move over and let the mama hold her girl, or I’ll never give you my stamp of approval.”
Emmett moved to the side but kept his arm around Cambree. “Can we share?” he asked.
Her mom laughed. “You’ve got grit, I’ll give you that.” She moved to Cambree’s other side, and they both kept an arm around her.
Cambree didn’t say much. Emmett was sure she was exhausted. He wished he knew where they’d go from here, what Cambree would want, or if she even wanted him, but he’d take it a step at a time and pray the good Lord and his brother Creed up in heaven would give him some help. Forget media presence and his family’s pristine reputation. He couldn’t lose Cambree again.
Chapter Fourteen
Cambree was settled in the recliner in her mama’s living room. She’d wanted to go home to her own apartment, but her mama was having none of that. At least she’d been able to shower and put on Jasmine’s tank top and shorts. Then Emmett had carefully rewrapped he
r knee.
It was wonderful to know her knee was all right after the MRI came back showing no damaged ligaments or tendons. She was content to be clean and relax into the chair, but she could have done without all of her siblings and her mama crowding into the small living area and staring at her and Emmett. He sat in a kitchen chair, pulled up close to her recliner, clinging to her hand. From his expression, she knew he wanted to talk to her alone.
When her siblings stopped asking questions about her knee and then grilling Emmett about football and the Titans and if he seriously loved their sister, which he answered yes to without any hesitation, her mama finally stood and clapped her hands together. “All right, you munchkins, outside to the park. These two need a minute.” She winked at Emmett, patted him on the head, and said, “I approve.”
Cambree closed her eyes. Of course her mom approved. Who wouldn’t approve of Emmett? Why wasn’t he the one running? Here they sat in her mama’s single-wide trailer, with the whole crew grilling him and her mama being as blunt and crazy as ever. If the media caught sight of this circus, his poor family would get so much unwanted publicity that they would all hate her. Did they already hate her from what they’d probably seen today?
Her siblings were filing out when Isabel, the fifteen-year-old, pointed at the TV screen, which was always on, but thankfully it was at least muted today. “Look, Cam, you’re the top story on Entertainment News.”
Everyone froze, and somebody turned up the sound. The TV showed Cambree’s fall, her run to the finish, and Emmett yelling encouragement to her. Cambree hadn’t realized how close the next racer was behind her. She’d really won. She let that sink in, but then the reporter started talking about this Cinderella story. It felt like they were mocking her as they showed her mama trying to push Emmett around and Emmett looking so cute and manly as he carried Cambree, while Cambree was a muddy, disgusting mess.
Then the words she hated and dreaded came out: “From a humble life in a single-wide trailer to winner of a Warrior race and love interest of billionaire football star, Emmett Hawk. It would seem Cambree Kinley’s luck is changing.”
Her mama grabbed the remote and shut the television off. That was a first. “Shoo. Go play.” The teenagers mumbled about being too old to play, but she was not one to take any guff. She followed them out the door and shut it resolutely behind her.
Emmett turned to Cambree, still holding her hand. “Cam … there’s so much I want to tell you.”
Cambree stared up at him. “Why aren’t you running away?”
“Running away?” He blinked at her. “From what?”
“From me, from this!” She gestured angrily around the trailer. “My mama just humiliated you on national television. I grew up in this trailer, Emmett. You know what that announcer wanted to say: she wanted to call me trailer trash. I’m not worthy of you and your high-class-falutin’ family.”
Emmett came around and knelt in front of her. He took both of her hands in his and carefully avoided touching her knee. “Cam. I don’t care about any of that.”
Cambree wanted him to hold her. She wanted to kiss him. Yet she couldn’t let this continue. “You should be with someone perfect.”
“Like Avalyn?” The knowing look in his eyes hit her hard.
“Yes.” She bit at her lip. “Are you with her?”
“No.” He chuckled. “No, sweetheart. Ava’s a close friend, but I don’t love her. She’s not right for me at all.” He paused, and her heart raced at the smoldering look he bestowed upon her. “You are.”
Cambree’s heart soared. He didn’t love Ava. He loved Cambree. But his love could easily cool and die like Nolan’s had. “You say that now, Emmett. Someday soon you’ll be embarrassed by me, by my family, my situation. Then you’ll dump me like a hot rock.” Tears leaked out, and she couldn’t blame them on everything she’d gone through today.
Emmett shook his head. “Cam.” He said her name so tenderly. “Sweetheart. I know you’ve been hurt. I know it’s hard to trust, but don’t shut me out.”
Cambree couldn’t promise anything, but she squeezed his hands.
“When I lost Creed …” He looked down and blew out a breath. “I didn’t know if I’d ever smile again. You’ve been there, right, with your dad?”
She nodded, and hot tears coursed down her cheeks—for Emmett, for his poor mom, for his family, and for herself and her mama and family. Nothing could heal the hurt, but life continued and eventually you smiled and laughed again, even though you felt guilty for it.
Emmett released one hand and rubbed the tears away from her cheek with his thumb.
“You and your big hands,” she said.
Emmett chuckled. He rose up and kissed her cheek before lowering back onto his haunches. “This is what I’m talking about. I need this—I need you.” He gazed at her with such love and pleading.
Cambree swallowed hard and then whispered, “I’m scared, Emmett.”
“Me too, sweetheart. But if we don’t take this chance, I’ll never forgive myself. There’s no happiness without you, Cam. You’re my girl.”
The possessive note in his voice made her stomach quiver. She wanted him so badly that she trembled. “Can we take it slow?” she asked.
Emmett whooped, stood, and scooped her out of the chair. He turned and settled into the chair with her in his lap, then proceeded to capture her lips with his. Thrills of pleasure raced through her mouth and coursed through her whole body. He pulled back and grinned. “I love you, Cam.”
“There is nothing about your reaction and that phrase that are taking it slow.” Yet she couldn’t help but grin at him. She loved him too, but didn’t know if she could verbalize it yet. Trust had to be earned, and it wouldn’t be a speed race for her.
Emmett chuckled. “Sorry.” He didn’t sound repentant at all. “The thing that sucks—”
“You just said ‘sucks,’” she interrupted him. “That sounds like me, not Mr. High-Class Billionaire.”
“Sorry, the thing that bites—” He paused briefly when she giggled, then went on. “—is I have to get back for practice tomorrow, so can we start the taking it slow thing tomorrow? Unless you’re ready to move to Dallas.”
She placed her hands on his chest, reveling in the muscle underneath his shirt. “I’m not moving to Dallas anytime soon, but yes, we can wait for the taking it slow to start tomorrow.”
“Yes!” He pulled her in tight and lowered his head close to hers. “You don’t have to tell me you love me yet. I can see it in your eyes, though.” He was so close that his breath tickled her mouth.
“Stop being so cocky, bossy man, and just kiss me already.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he drawled out in his cute Texas accent. He kissed her and kissed her and kissed her. His lips were the perfect match to hers, and being his arms made her feel complete and yet more excited than a redneck at a demolition derby.
Cambree didn’t worry about the pain in her knee, or the media disaster she knew was playing on phones and televisions everywhere, or the fact that she hadn’t met his family and they might hate her. How could she worry while she was in Emmett Hawk’s arms?
Chapter Fifteen
Cambree heard a rap on her condo door and her stomach filled with butterflies. Emmett was here. She ran to her bathroom and checked her reflection one more time. Her pale blue sundress set off her dark curls and made her eyes pop. She put on another layer of mint lip gloss and then hurried for the door. It had been almost two weeks and her knee was doing great. The swelling was gone, and though she wasn’t cleared for Warrior races yet, she could move on it without any pain. But the best part of the last two weeks had been talking to Emmett daily and texting and Snapchatting even more often. She loved him, and though she was still terrified to meet his family, she would do it and try her best to not embarrass them, for Emmett.
Throwing the door wide, she grinned. “Em— Nolan?”
Nolan was dressed in his usual starched suit with his blond hair slicked
back from his handsome face. His teal-colored eyes swept over her possessively. “Waiting for someone?”
Cambree folded her arms across her chest, partially because her heart was threatening to pound out of her chest and partially because it would show him she couldn’t be intimidated. “Yes, and you’re not it. Get your keister off my property.”
Nolan smirked. “Ah, Cambree. Always with the funny quips. I’ve missed you.”
She rolled her eyes. “What do you want?”
“Another chance with you.”
“Always with the funny quips. Please leave before my date shows up.”
Nolan stepped closer. She could smell his spicy cologne. It was unpleasantly familiar, and the memories of Nolan and how low he’d made her feel made her stomach turn. He reached for her hand, but she pulled both her hands behind her and clenched them behind her back, so he settled for rubbing his palm down her bare arm. “You’re absolutely beautiful.”
“I’m not going to ask you again. Leave, or I’ll have no choice but to use force.” Her hands were trembling. She couldn’t best Nolan in a fistfight, but she wasn’t afraid of him like she had been of Troy. Nolan wouldn’t hurt her physically, but he had devastated her emotionally. She couldn’t let him get in her head.
Nolan chuckled, then spoke in a low murmur. “I know I broke your heart, but it was all a mistake. I understand you don’t think you’re worthy of me, but I love you and I’m willing to forgive your mis—”
She slugged him as hard as she could in the stomach. The breath whooshed out of him and he stumbled back from her door, hitting the exterior railing. “Wh—” he gasped out, holding his gut in surprise and pain.
“You did break my heart, but that was only because I was stupid and let you tear me down. I’ll never let you make me think less of myself again. You’re the one who isn’t worthy of me.” She pulled her fist back, ready to slug him again. “And if you don’t leave, I’ll hit you harder next time.”
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