Race to a Happy Ending

Chapter 8

Cameron showed up, as promised, around 5:00 on Tuesday evening. Kate knew one thing for sure, he was always busy but he also always managed to be on time. That trait was something that Kate could appreciate. They had a good run together and the conversation was easy, but slightly strained with no deep subjects. She still felt a little cloud hanging over them from the almost two month-long speed bump. And Kate was okay with that. She wasn't ready to forgive him so easily and act like nothing was wrong. When they finished their cool down walk and a few stretches, Kate asked Cameron, "Do you want to come up and I'll get you a bottle of water before you go?"

"That'd be great," Cameron replied. They headed upstairs to her apartment. He went to the kitchen and made himself at home by opening the refrigerator and grabbing both of them a fresh bottle of water. Kate excused herself to the bathroom. When she returned to the living room, she found Cameron sitting on the couch, scrolling through pictures on her phone.

"Your family looks like it was the picture of perfection," he said. "I know that must have been one of the hardest things you've ever had to go through."

"Well, it was. Mason and I spent several years trying to have a baby. I had to have a procedure called IVF, just to get pregnant with the twins. They were a blessing. After having them, I found out I wouldn't be able to have any more children. So losing them, made it all the much more harder, knowing how hard we worked to have them." Kate sat down beside him and showed him a few pictures of them that she had taken. "But, I just keep plugging along, hoping one day it will get easier." She started to tear up.

"I wish I could have met them, Kate. Really, I do. And I'm sorry I missed meeting your mom. You've told me how important she is to you and it's unforgiveable that I missed her," he told her.

"Race season starts real soon," she replied, changing the subject. If she started crying now, she wouldn't stop for a long time. "What's on the schedule?"

"Well, back to the routine. But, I do have a few off weekends. Maybe we can plan a trip to Florida on one of those."

Kate smiled at him and then changed the subject, "You want some dinner?"

"I'd like to, but I still have to go back to the shop for some work. I'll take a raincheck, though," he said.

"No problem," she replied. "Thanks for running with me tonight. It is much easier when you have a partner."

He agreed and then began to excuse himself. "If it's okay, I'll call you later. I'd like to try and do something together this weekend if we could. It's my last free weekend before Daytona."

"Sure. We can work something out. I'll talk to you later." Kate said goodbye and then locked the door behind him. It felt nice to have him back, but Kate had still held back. Things seemed a little off since Kate wasn't fully committed to opening herself up all over again just to be hurt. She hoped he felt the strain in their relationship and she was going to leave it to him to fix it.

The next few days at work flowed by quickly. On Thursday, Kate had a small victory. She was given a sales goal for the month of January and she met that goal with just over a week left in the month. Most loan officers worked up until the last day to meet that goal. Kate was so proud of her accomplishment and everyone around her was, too. She had quickly made friends at work and everyone thought a lot of her, they knew they could count on her for a friendly smile and encouraging words.

On her way home that day, she stopped at the grocery store to pick up a few items she was out of. While walking though the store, her cell phone rang. When she checked the caller id, it said, 'Cam' along with the phone number. Was she reading this right?