Hometown Love

Colton

I wanted to go after her. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was, how stupid I had been to leave her without an explanation. But the look in her eyes and the way her voice faltered when she told me to leave her alone shattered my heart into a thousand pieces.

Was I too late? Fuck, she spent three years hurting, wondering why I never called. I had known that I was going to leave. I never intended to leave without saying goodbye, though. I thought about telling Callie how I felt. I thought about asking her to come with me. I even thought about giving up football to stay with her. And I got scared.

You fucking coward. Look what you've done now.

How could I fix this? I needed to prove to her that I wouldn't leave again, not without her.

I had three months before training camp began, and I wasn't going to waste a minute of it. I was going to get my Callie Cat back.

******************************************

I woke up the next morning before the sun. I had to get a move on if I wanted to get to the ranch before chores started.

Step one of my plan: show her I still knew how to be a country boy.

Callie's dad, John Miller, was the closest thing I had to a father growing up. My dad had left us when I was eight, he'd decided he wanted to start over with a new family and we never heard from him again. John Miller helped my mom out by finding her a job at his friend's dairy farm, and he always looked out for me.

That's why when I got to the ranch, the first thing I did was knock on the farmhouse door, knowing he'd already be up.

He greeted me with a warm smile and a pat on the back, ushering me into the kitchen.

"Well, I'll be damned. Colton, you sure are a sight for sore eyes, son."

"It's good to be back, sir. How are you holding up out here?"

"I'm doing pretty well, kid. I've got a new trainer for lessons, she's strange but she gets the job done. Callie girl is still helping me out, too. Have you seen her yet?"

"I saw her for a moment yesterday, but I was hoping to spend some more time with her today. What time is she usually down?" I looked toward the stairs, picturing Callie's room, her hair splayed out over her pillow as she slept peacefully.

"Ah, that's why you're here. Could've guessed," he said with a smirk. I always thought he had an inkling about my feelings for Callie.

"Well, Callie doesn't live with me anymore. Moved downtown into some fancy apartment. I told her to take today off, too. So I don't know if you'll have any luck—"

As he spoke, we both saw headlights turn into the kitchen window.

John chuckled, "Well, I take that back. Looks like she's here to keep at that stubborn Ranger," he stood, slapping my shoulder and holding me firmly.

"I suggest you start with an apology, son. You've been gone a long time."

I nodded solemnly as I watched his daughter climb down from her truck. I stood, shook John's hand, and was out the door, chasing behind her like a little puppy.

"Callie Cat! Wait up!"

She stopped dead in her tracks, but didn't turn around. I caught up to her, circling so I could look at her. Damn, even this early in the morning she looked like a goddess, her brown hair falling around her face and her blue eyes sparkling in the darkness.

"Look, before you say anything, I need to say something."

She crossed her arms, tilting her brow in a way that said she was skeptical but urged me to continue.