“Probably. But he’ll get over it.” Cam shrugged, pulling her closer to him. This time when their lips met, it was hot and hard. He slid his hands to her ass, pulling her against him, smiling when she let out a little moan.
“Not fair.”
“Hey, what comes around goes around.”
She shook her head. “I kind of miss Doctor Love,” she tea
sed.
Cam chuckled. “He’s still here. But his attending hours have changed.”
“Maybe I can book in with him.” She shook her head. “Anyway, what are you going to do if you don’t take the coaching job?”
He shrugged, her head lifting against his chest with the movement. “I guess I’ll concentrate on your rehab. Play games with the boys. Repair Sam’s dishwasher.”
“You’ll be bored to death.”
His eyes were soft. “I don’t think so.” It was strange, because his life had been mapped out for as long as he could remember. School, college, draft, then the NFL. For the first time in forever, his life stretched out before him with endless possibilities. “Maybe I’m not in a hurry to make my next move,” he told her. “And anyway, last I heard I’m gonna be an advertising superstar. Selling some crappy whiskey this girl I know represents.”
“Shut up.” She grinned up at him. “Our whiskey is the best.”
“I know.” He cupped the back of her neck, inclining his head to kiss her again. “Everything about you is the best.” Damn, she tasted good. Lying here with her in his arms felt like coming home. She fit against him perfectly, even if her bed creaked and groaned with their every move.
“When are the boys going back to school?” he asked her.
“I’ll keep them home tomorrow. Then we’ll be back to normal. I need to get back to work.”
“But you have a lunch break, right?”
She gave him a confused smile. “Yeah…”
“Good. In that case, Doctor Love can fit you in at twelve.”
She shook her head. “You’re an idiot, you know that?”
“That’s Doctor Idiot to you,” he said, kissing her again. “And by the way, this idiot is crazy in love with you.”
She slid her hands to his cheeks, a smile curling her lips. “The feeling is so very mutual.”
Epilogue
“You okay?” Cam asked, sliding his arms around Mia’s waist as he pulled her against his chest. The warmth of his breath tickled her ear as he brushed his lips against her.
“I will be when this is over.” She leaned her head on him, surveying the scene in front of them. Gray, Logan, and Tanner were sitting in arm chairs in Gray’s backyard, surrounded by lighting equipment and cameras. The three of them were goofing – as usual – even though the director had told them to save it for the cameras. They just couldn’t help themselves. This was how they always were.
That was something she’d learned from spending so much time around the Hartson siblings. They played off each other. Gave one another life.
And now she was part of it all, along with Michael and Josh – and even Sam when he was available to go over to Gray’s for Sunday dinner. In the five months since Cam had moved back to Hartson’s Creek for good, her boys had accepted him with open arms. She loved how easily he’d fit into their family, not as a father figure, but as a friend, and sometimes a guide.
And a coach, maybe. Which was what he was on Saturday mornings, for the pee wee team, much to Josh’s delight. He’d introduced Cam to everybody as his friend, and loved getting a ride to practice in Cam’s Audi. At least this time he sat in the seat.
Naked Saturdays would have to wait for a while. And she was good with that.
Cam hadn’t gone back to coaching Michael at the high school. The two of them had some kind of unspoken agreement where Cam helped him with football privately. Cam’s voice would be low as the two of them watched a play on Cam’s oversize television, discussing the play. He’d learned – sometimes the hard way – to gently steer Michael rather than tell him exactly what moves to make. And Michael blossomed under his tutelage. It warmed her to watch the two of them sitting on Cam’s oversized sofas, talking on Sunday afternoons.
In these few months, he’d turned out to be more of a father to them than Niall had ever been. Sure, her ex-husband had attended two therapy sessions with Michael and Josh, and they’d agreed on a visitation schedule of two week-long trips to stay with him each year, but he wasn’t who the boys turned to for fatherly needs.
Cam was their real dad in everything but name. And the boys loved him as much as Cam adored them.