Race to a Happy Ending

Chapter 10

The next month seemed to go by in a hurry. The racing season had begun for Cameron and Kate was hard at work building her career. Although they didn't see each other as much as they may have liked, they fell back into their routine of Monday night movies, Tuesday night runs, and Wednesday afternoon lunches and it worked for them. On Thursdays, he left for the race track and was gone until Sunday nights. Days were busy for both of them, so they used those three nights to catch up with each other and continue building their relationship.

Kate had already been in conversation with her parents about Cameron since they'd met the first time. And they knew that things had taken a more serious turn in the relationship. They were happy for Kate, but warned her to not move too quickly. This was the first relationship she'd been in since Mason's death and they didn't want her to be blinded by the lifestyle that Cameron's fame brought, only to have him hurt her. Kate reassured them that things would be fine and no matter the outcome, she felt like she was a better person for going through it.

It was a Monday afternoon when Cameron and Kate arrived at her parent's Florida home. It was a good feeling being at home and Kate could hardly wait to surprise them.

"Hey everyone," Kate called out as they entered the kitchen. Cameron reached out and shook hands with Kate's mom. "It is so nice to meet you, Mrs. Owens," he said with his charming smile.

"One look at that smile, and I know mom will melt," Kate silently thought to herself. And she was right.

"Oh, please, call me Tammy!" she said to Cameron, then reached out and gave him a hug. "Come on in, y'all. Kenny should be home any minute and later on everyone is coming over for dinner. Let's get your stuff in your rooms and then we can sit down. Is there anything you need? Can I get you a drink?" Tammy had asked a million questions at once, Kate had expected that and also warned Cameron of it.

"We're fine, mom," Kate reached over and gave her mom a hug. "It's good to see you. I hope we won't be too much trouble."

"No, no trouble at all." She led them down the hallway. "I think we got everything all cleaned up and ready for you. Cameron can sleep in the guest room and Kate, you can sleep in the office. Will that be okay?"

"Sounds fine," they both said together. About that time they heard the back door open and Kate's dad had arrived. He helped them finish unloading their luggage and a few small gifts that Kate and Cameron had brought to everybody. As they sat in the living room and talked, Kate got a nice feeling from how smoothly everything was going. When dinnertime approached, Kate's two brothers arrived with their families. Between eight adults and six children, the evening was hectic, but fun. Everyone enjoyed the company of Cameron. And he felt right at home with them, too. They had plenty of questions for him and also several more embarrassing stories from Kate's childhood to tell him. They laughed and had a good time.

The rest of the week went by smoothly and uneventful. Kate, Cameron, and her parents went for a boat ride. They toured a Naval museum in a nearby town, did some beach sightseeing and lots of eating.

When Thursday early morning came around it was time to head to Bristol for the weekend. Cameron had already made plans for a chartered flight to get them there and once there, they'd stay in his private coach. He warned her that it would be a very busy weekend, and he probably wouldn't get to spend much time with her. Kate knew this would be the case and she was prepared for it. He did say, however, that his publicist, Michelle, would be there to help her with anything she needed. Kate looked forward to seeing her, as they had become good friends over the past month.

"He seems to like you a lot," Kenny said, while Tammy nodded in agreement. "Y'all be careful and we'll see you soon." He reached over and gave Kate a hug.