Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection Read online

  Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection

  Camille Checketts

  Copyright

  Cami’s Georgia Patriots Romance Collection

  Copyright © 2020 by Cami Checketts

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Editing by Daniel Coleman and Jenna Roundy

  Cover art by Novak Illustrations

  Contents

  Free Book

  The Loyal Patriot

  Author’s Note

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Epilogue

  The Gentle Patriot

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Author’s Note

  The Stranded Patriot

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Epilogue

  The Pursued Patriot

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Epilogue

  The Committed Warrior

  Her Dream Date Boss

  About the Author

  Also by Camille Checketts

  Free Book

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  The Loyal Patriot

  Author’s Note

  Several summers ago, we spent a few weeks in Denver, Colorado, with my oldest son’s national lacrosse team. One of the player’s fathers used to play for the Denver Broncos years ago. My ten-year-old is obsessed with all things football, especially the Broncos, and the way he acted gave me the idea for the little brother, Josh, in Pass Interference. My ten-year-old would sit next to this former Broncos player at every lacrosse game and simply stare at him in awe. Every so often he’d say, “Mr. Parros, sir. Can I ask you a question?”

  I thought it was adorable, and luckily, “Mr. Parros, sir” was one of the nicest men you’d ever meet and answered every question with patience and kindness.

  I hope you love football like we do and enjoy The Loyal Patriot as much as I enjoyed writing it.

  Chapter One

  Hyde swung his feet off the paper-lined bed, stretched to his full six-three, and shook his family doctor’s hand. Dr. Jolley had been his doc since teenage years. “Glad to see those lungs clear, son,” the doctor said.

  Son. Such an easy word for older men to sling around, but the one man he wanted calling him son had been MIA for almost four months now. It hurt. He was twenty-six years old, and it hurt worse than being tackled by some of the league’s top defensive backs. The one it hurt the most was his mom. That was the part that really ticked Hyde off. Every month or so, his dad left his mom with a lame letter explaining his wanderlust and a few pathetic postcards.

  The ache in Hyde’s chest from missing his father hurt almost as bad as playing the last couple of games of the season with a chest cold that turned into pneumonia. He’d hidden how awful he felt, because there was no way he would let his team down on Super Bowl Sunday. Sadly, Denver triumphed over Hyde’s team, the Georgia Patriots, this year. It wouldn’t happen again.

  “You’re clear for physical activity, but make sure you’re in shape before you hit the field.”

  Hyde nodded, pulling on his jacket. Early March weather in Denver was unpredictable, and sometimes Hyde still felt chilled from his stay at the hospital. “I’ve got two months before practice starts and I have to get back to Atlanta. What do you recommend?”

  “Find yourself the best trainer in the business and work hard.”

  “Hard work I can do.”

  The doctor grinned. “I’ve seen that, son.” His grin faltered. “How’s your mom doing?”

  “She changed after the diagnosis.” Hyde shrugged. It was a terribly nonchalant move; knowing his mom was degenerating was nothing to shrug about. “We’ve got the best doctors in Denver, but it’s frustrating to see her go downhill.”

  Dr. Jolley nodded. “That can happen. Alzheimer’s sometimes takes a long time to manifest itself, but then the degeneration can be quick. I’m sorry.”

  “Thanks.” Hyde acknowledged the condolences, but it didn’t change the situation.

  “Take care.”

  Hyde shook the doctor’s hand, then shoved his hat and sunglasses on as he walked quickly through the reception area and out into the bright springtime sun. He should call one of the trainers for the Patriots, get a recommendation for someone in Denver. Coach had made sure to let him know the trainers were at his disposal if he needed help to get ready for the season, but he needed to be in Colorado with his mom right now, not back in Atlanta. He’d really love to find a trainer in his hometown of Golden, Colorado, close to his mom’s house. He didn’t want to drive into Denver from Golden every day for training. He wanted to stick close to home as much as possible, spend as much time as he could with his mom before the season started. Maybe he’d hire somebody on his own.

  He pulled his agent’s number up. Almost as soon as he sent the call, the phone picked up and his agent exclaimed, “Hyde!” Magazines and tabloids always claimed you couldn’t catch Hyde without a smile on his face, but his agent was the one that was perpetually happy. Hyde appreciated his enthusiasm, especially these past few months when he’d really needed a friend with a good attitude.

  “Hey, Rob. Can you find me the best personal trainer in Golden?”

  “In Golden?” Rob repeated uncertainly. “I think you’ll need to drive into Denver to find the best. It’s only twenty minutes.”

  “Twenty miles, not minutes. Huge difference, my friend.” He cleared his
throat as he hit the unlock button and then slid into his silver Lexus sport utility. “Mom’s struggling lately. I can’t leave her for too long.”

  There was a pause. “I understand. That’s tough, but you’re … this isn’t some rec football league. You’re at the peak of your career. Well, at least you were before the sickness.”

  Hyde nodded. He knew this. He’d been named the Offensive Rookie of the Year his first year in the pros, helping his quarterback, Rigby Breeland, the Rocket, win the Super Bowl. It had been a sweet ride for a rookie and a lot of instant fame that Hyde wasn’t sure he handled well. Last year, he’d led the league in receiving yards. The pneumonia and subsequent hospitalization after the Super Bowl had about put him under, but he would never let it stop him. He would recover and come back stronger than ever. He was Hyde Metcalf, the best wide receiver the Georgia Patriots or anybody had ever seen.

  “You’re going to be in awe when you see me play in the fall,” Hyde promised Rob.

  Rob chuckled. “Can’t wait.”

  “Research that trainer for me?”

  “In Golden?” Rob sighed, but it sounded like a sigh of resignation, not frustration.

  “Yep.” Hyde couldn’t back down on this. Driving into Denver would add an hour to his workouts, at the least. If he hit traffic, it could be worse. He left his mom alone or with her best friend or hired help too often. She needed to come first for someone, since she definitely didn’t come first for his dad or his sister. Not that he could really blame his sister—she was married with children of her own and living across the country. His dad, though, he could definitely blame.

  “Sure thing.”

  “Thanks. It means a lot.”

  Chapter Two

  “Lily,” Ike said, interrupting her as she demonstrated to the six a.m. group training session how to do a proper dropping push-up. Several of them were cheating, but she knew they could do it correctly, and tomorrow they would thank her—or possibly cuss her—when their chest muscles felt like they’d been ripped apart.

  “Malee needs you,” Ike said.

  “I’m in the middle of a session here.”

  “I’ll take over.”

  She hesitated.

  “She said it’s really important.” Ike winked. “Like maybe as important as you going out with me Saturday night.”

  “Not happening, Ike.”

  Several of the class members overheard and snickered at Lily shooting down the bodybuilding trainer. His looks weren’t the problem; it was his attitude toward women. Like they were beneath him in the professional realm, but he would forgive them for that if they fawned all over him and dated him. Ick. He asked Lily out so often that she’d become an expert at rejecting him.

  “You’ll give in someday.”

  She laughed. “I highly doubt that.”

  “You really need to go talk to Malee now.”

  Lily noted that he was actually being serious, and she acquiesced. “Okay. The workout’s all on the board.”

  Ike squeezed her arm as she walked past.

  “Thanks,” she muttered. He was an okay guy, but always too cocky and flirtatious. She was at the gym to work or work out, not to flirt, but that was a hard concept for some of the men.

  A few of her class participants shot her desperate looks. They liked her to be there to motivate them through the boot-camp-style class. Ike did a good job; he just wasn’t as intense as she was, and he tended to talk with the clients rather than pushing and motivating them the entire hour.

  Lily always made sure that her clients got their money and time’s worth and then some. She’d lived through lean times growing up with seven siblings and fighting her way through college with a scholarship, grants, and a full-time waitressing job. She worked in the fanciest gym in Golden, Colorado: the Fitness Academy. It was nice and had all the equipment a trainer or gym goer could hope for. It might not be as ritzy as some of the gyms in downtown Denver, but she liked the slower pace in Golden, and it was closer to her family up the mountain in Georgetown. Some trainers, like Ike, would claim she shouldn’t feel guilty about taking rich people’s money, but she refused to take advantage of a client’s time or money, no matter how much of either they seemed to have.

  She walked down the hallway and the stairs to the personal training office across from the main weight room. Poking her head in, she saw a tall, well-formed man standing with his back to her. Some men were just built well, and this guy definitely had some good genes. She looked over his broad shoulders and the sculpted lines of his neck, back, and arms, right down to his glutes and legs. The soft cotton of his T-shirt and the fleece of his sweats couldn’t hide any of his musculature from her trained eye.

  Was he applying to be a new trainer? Lily’s competitive streak flared up. She was fighting to get enough clients as it was, giving deals for training and proving she was every bit as good as any male trainer. With her specialty in sports-specific training, she was building up a great clientele of high school athletes, and even some from the local colleges. Her dream was to someday work for a professional football team. A girl had to have dreams, even if they were monstrously big.

  Her boss, Malee, stared at the man as if he were a superstar. That didn’t bode well if she was hiring him to train here. Lily really liked Malee and she was great to shuttle clients Lily’s way, but this guy could steal her clientele just by being a walking billboard. Maybe he was a future client, though he didn’t look like he needed any body sculpting help—that was for sure. Their low conversation didn’t carry, so sadly Lily wasn’t getting any clues ahead of time.

  Lily stepped into the office all the way. Malee’s head popped up, and the man turned to face her. Lily’s jaw dropped. Anybody with any kind of electronic device would recognize that good-looking face. “You’re …” She caught a breath. “Holy Toledo, you’re Hyde Metcalf!”

  He smiled, and she honestly wanted to swoon right then and there. “‘Holy Toledo’?” he repeated.

  She blushed.

  On camera, Hyde Metcalf always had half a smile on his face, like he knew a joke everybody wanted to be privy to. But when he really smiled, wow, it was a good one. She didn’t have as much insight as she wanted to about his personal life because she tried diligently not to become obsessive about him, but she knew he had an African American father who’d also played pro football back in his day and a beautiful blonde mother. He was the perfect blend of his parents. His eyes were dark and framed with long lashes, and his face was just nice—the right amount of manly lines with enough softness to make him real.

  Just because she didn’t allow herself to Google his personal life any more than once a week, or read every article put out by the gossip magazines about him, didn’t mean she didn’t know his every stat, watch his games faithfully, or follow him on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook … really, wherever he had an account. Okay, truth be told, she was a geeky football fan and she was pathetically star-struck by Hyde Metcalf.

  Her hands were trembling with nervous excitement, and she wasn’t sure what her face was doing. She wanted to touch him and make sure he was real.

  “And I hear you’re Lily Udy,” Hyde said, extending his hand to shake hers.

  “The one and only.” Lily gave him a firm handshake, liking the size of his hands. Of course they had to be big to snatch the ball out of the air like he did. Oh my goodness, he was real and he was standing right in front of her. She wanted to jump up and down, take a selfie with him, and call her brothers to tell them how amazing this was—she was meeting Hyde Metcalf and he knew her name. Her youngest brother, Josh, would go completely berserk.

  “Malee is telling me you’re the best sports-specific trainer in Golden,” he said.

  Lily cocked her head and tried to appear confident, though he could probably see the pulse in her neck jumping. “Maybe in the state of Colorado.”

  He chuckled. “Oh, I like confidence. This is the girl I need.”

  Need for what? Because she was totally
up for whatever he needed. Lily! Her mother’s voice in her head told her not to be infatuated with him just because the guy was a big-time football star. But come on, she loved him. Well, not loved him, loved him, but he was the best wide receiver to play the game. He had 1871 receiving yards last year. Plus, he was always just doing cool things. He’d coordinated an event to raise money for juvenile diabetes research and—from the video footage she’d seen—spent time with many of the children one on one. He’d helped a single mom with the medical bills for her daughter’s cancer. He’d brought a young boy with spina bifida down on the field and had him throw in the game ball. The media captured all of it, and she knew famous people had a hard time hiding nowadays.