“Then, I’ll give you a big bouquet of flowers that my mom whipped together from her garden.”

“I’m partial to daisies,” she informed him. “You should probably write that down.”

He laughed. “Noted.” He pulled his hand up and brushed her hair from her face. “After I present you with the biggest display of fresh daisies you’ve ever seen, I’ll walk you over to my truck and open the door for you, because I’m a gentleman.” His lips found her forehead and she felt herself start to melt the way she always did when his lips were on her body.

“This is true,” she breathed.

“Well,” he chuckled. “Not a complete gentleman, because I’m going to totally check out your ass as you climb up into the truck. I might even cop a feel.” He let the hand resting on her thigh creep around to her backside and give her a little squeeze.

“Believe it or not, I’m pretty okay with the feel-copping,” she smirked.

“That’s good, because after we have a little moonlit picnic down by the water, we’re gonna go test out the new tires on my truck down at the bottoms, and I fully plan on getting stuck in the mud with you and copping quite a few of them.”

The excitement she felt coursing through her veins at what he was insinuating had her ready to climb up in his truck and direct him to the nearest mud hole. It didn’t even matter to her that she had no interest in tires or trucks or, especially, mud.

He lowered his lips to hers as he rolled her on top of him. Cami wiggled herself up to increase the friction between their lips. Kyle’s mouth welcomed hers as if they’d been waiting a lifetime to see each other again. She nipped his bottom lip between her teeth, and it was taking every ounce of control Cami had not to come undone at the seams. When her lungs finally forced her to take a break and inhale, she saw the cocky look of victory in Kyle’s eyes.

“So, I’ll pick you up next Saturday night at seven,” he stated confidently.

“What’s a girl supposed to wear on a country date?” she asked, still not agreeing to his terms, despite how fun it sounded.

“I’m a sucker for a girl in a sundress.” He winked at her. “Just throw on some boots and you’ll be set.”

“We might have a problem then.” She pushed off of the sides of the chair and sat up, straddling him. “I don’t have any boots.”

“You’re kidding me.” Judging by the serious look on his face, Cami could tell he didn’t believe her. “No way does a girl from Oklahoma not own a pair of cowboy boots.”

She shook her head. “Sorry to disappoint you.” She rocked back on her heels, causing Kyle to squirm in his seat. “I’ve never had a place or reason to wear them. I do have about twenty-two pairs of heels and a nice collection of flip-flops.”

“Well that’s just a damn shame.” Wrapping his hands around her tiny waist, Kyle pulled himself up so they were nose to nose. “Any girl with legs like yours needs to have a sexy pair of boots.”

“I guess we can’t go then,” Cami shrugged, hoping that would be the end of their discussion. Even though she knew that the chances of her running into someone she knew were slim, especially out in the middle of nowhere, she didn’t want to risk it. She couldn’t stand the thought of being embarrassed in front of Kyle.

Her friends were ruthless. She knew this because up until this summer she’d been the first one to call someone out on their bullshit. In fact, she used to get off on declaring her superiority. She expected the same bitchiness from the circle she ran with that she had delved out on a regular basis pre-Kyle. Now all of that seemed trivial. Now all she wanted was to be happy and worry about herself… and Kyle.

She’d hoped that they could keep their relationship on the down low until summer was over—or at least until she could surprise him with the early admissions letter she was expecting from Oklahoma State.

After that, she was going to tell the world that she was dating him. Including her parents. How could they not be impressed with a superstar rookie wide receiver? She knew she was.

25

Ella Jane

ELLA Jane rolled over in bed and checked her phone once more. It was almost midnight and she hadn’t heard a word from Hayden since she’d dropped him off at the hospital hours ago. His grandma had been in the intensive care unit and it was family only so there’d been no point in her staying. Though she’d offered. Several times.

After typing out a text that said: Please let me know something. Praying everything is okay, she pressed send and stared at the screen until the glow made her eyes hurt.

At some point she must’ve dosed off because the chiming sound that alerted her to a new text message startled her.

Blinking until her eyes adjusted, Ella Jane dug her phone out from under the covers and read Hayden’s message.

She’s ok. Pops and I are going home now. She’ll get to come home tomorrow.

She breathed a sigh of relief and texted back.

Thank goodness. I’m so glad. Will I see you at work this week?

She felt awful for even asking. But the thought of not seeing him made her feel sick. His response came a little slower this time.

Not sure. I’ll call you tomorrow. Get some sleep, angel face.

She smiled in the darkness. Even in a crisis, he still called her by the nickname she’d grown to love.

Panic threatened to sweep over her as she texted him goodnight.

She’d never lost sleep over a guy. Not even Coop.

Hugging her phone to her chest, she lay there wondering what was happening to her.

Maybe she was growing to love more than just the nickname Hayden Prescott had given her.


THE first week of August sucked. Bad.

The only time Ella Jane saw Hayden was when her mom sent her over to his grandparents’ house to deliver soup and casseroles. And most of the time her mom came right along with her. But she and Hayden still managed to steal a few minutes alone together when they could.

“Gran seems to be doing better,” Ella Jane said as she and Hayden stepped outside while her mom finished her visit.

“She is. Pops said she just overdid it a bit and needed to rest. She forgets that she’s in her seventies sometimes.”

“It’s no wonder. They’re the most active senior citizens I know. Mama says Pops stays so busy he could run through Hell barefoot and not even get a sunburn.”

Hayden chuckled. “They’re something else all right. It’s been interesting being home with them all week. Though mostly I’ve been running Pops’s errands while he stays with her. You guys doing okay without me? Business hasn’t shut down, has it?” Hayden teased as they sat on her tailgate in his grandparents’ driveway.

“It’s rough. We’re managing though.” She nudged him with her shoulder, letting her arm rest against his. “Coop’s been coming by in the evenings to help out.”

Hayden stiffened beside her. “Oh yeah? I bet he’s loving that.”

Ella Jane snorted. “Oh yeah. Nothing like mowing a huge lawn and pulling weeds after a long day of working on the farm.”

“No, I’m sure that part sucks. But the getting to see you every night is probably making his life complete.”

Grinning and shaking her head, Ella Jane raised her eyebrows at him. “You are seriously jealous of Coop? He sees me as a little sister, Hayden. Always has. Always will.”

Hayden’s normally bright green eyes were dark when they met hers. “No. He doesn’t. But more importantly, I’d like to know what you see him as.”

Whoa. Where is this coming from? Ella Jane tried to keep calm as Hayden basically accused her of still wanting her brother’s best friend. She chewed her lip as she watched her feet dangle off the truck bed. How to phrase this? “Honestly, once upon a time I had a crush on Coop.” She shrugged. “But then you came along and…I don’t know. It seems kind of silly now, I guess. We’re just friends. That’s all we’ll ever be.”

“Mmhm. Friends,” Hayden mumbled under his breath.

Leaning back and eyeing him speculatively, she grinned. “Jealousy is kind of hot on you. Even though you have no reason to be, I kind of like seeing you worried about someone stealing me away.” She winked and nudged him again.

“Hell yeah I’m worried about that. I’m going home in like two weeks. Then what’s going to happen?”

The stark realization hit her hard enough to rob the air from her lungs. Two weeks. Fourteen days. Hayden would go back to his world of fancy cars and malls and girls who wore designer clothes… She squeezed her eyes shut. The lump forming in her throat made it necessary unless she wanted to let him see the tears welling in them.

“What do you want to happen?” she whispered without looking at him.

“Hey,” Hayden said softly, nudging her back. “I want to see you every weekend. I want to meet at The Ridge and watch trains every night we can. I want to pick you up in my car when it’s fixed and take you on a real date. And you have to meet the most important person in my life. My English bulldog, Atticus.”

Her face broke into a huge grin as she looked up at him. “Really?”

“Yes, really. I tried to talk my parents into letting me stay and letting me bring Atticus out here with me, but for some reason they’re dead set on me coming home. I think they suspect I’m just in the way and that I’m somehow responsible for Gran’s recent episode.”

Ella Jane gasped. “What? Why would they think that? If anything, you’ve been a huge help. Not just to your grandparents but with my family’s business too.”