by Kat Bammer
Julie leaned toward the passenger seat and looked up at him. Her eyebrows nearly touching her hairline. “Oh, come on, you scrooge. Get into Betsy, she’s the only chance you have to get you out of here.”
Kevin’s eyebrows rose. Betsy? For real now? He didn’t peg Julie as the person who would give her silly car a name.
Kevin grumbled when he inspected the interior more closely. The backseats were a joke. No chance a human could even fit in there. And there was no trunk space whatsoever. Perfectly impractical.
“Can I at least drive?” The question was automatic. He didn’t mean it and didn’t think Julie would ever let him behind the wheel of Betsy.
“Of course.” Julie opened the driver’s door, hopped out, went around him, and took a seat on the passenger side.
Shit. Kevin closed her door, moved around the car, and eyed the driver’s seat.
Julie must have caught his hesitation. “Wait, I’ll just push back the seat. I’m sure you’ll fit. Betsy is actually bigger than she looks.”
He shook his head. Even having this conversation seemed ridiculous. And the car’s size wasn’t Kevin’s main concern. Even if he fit in the car, he was unsure about his ability to drive.
He hadn’t driven a car since he blew his knees out during that game. At first, he couldn’t bend his knees enough without serious pain to even think about driving. Later, well, to be honest, the pills had made him somewhat unfit to drive and luckily he had enough self-awareness to acknowledge that.
After Julie pushed the seat as far back as it went, and after he pushed it as far down as it went, it was still a pretty tight fit.
But somehow, they made it work. And somehow the small car was a smooth ride—for the most part—only the roads where not. He longed for a real car, preferably a truck, when he slammed his head against the ceiling through an especially vicious bump in the road. But Julie just smiled at him, which made all the discomfort worthwhile.
It was a ten minutes’ drive, tops, which Kevin wished would have taken a little longer. Being so close to Julie wasn’t even half as bad as he thought it would be. It helped that he was somewhat occupied with driving and he kept his hands tightly on the steering wheel. No temptation to touch her. None whatsoever.
They rode in silence, interspersed with funny stories from Julie about the people whose houses they passed.
“There’s Mrs. Meyer’s house. She’s a retired schoolteacher. Mrs. Meyer and Mom had an unofficial competition involving windowsill flowers in summer. It became ridiculous until Dad sat Mom down one day.”
By the time they stopped in front of the Brooks’ house, Kevin had really enjoyed their easy camaraderie.
Maybe they would make it work as friends.
He accompanied Julie to her parents’ door.
“Have you lived with your parents all your life?”
“No, I went to college, then I lived in White Creek for a while. But I missed Moon Lake, so I searched for a flat around here. When there wasn’t anything available, I went back to living with my parents. Somehow it works. Better than when I was young.”
“Why didn’t you move into Paul’s home? He’s never around.”
Julie shrugged and their hands touched inadvertently. Kevin felt the familiar zing shooting up his arm. Maybe the friends thing wouldn’t work as well as he’d thought.
“It’s his. I didn’t want to impose. There are enough leeches around him. He didn’t need his sister to be one of them.”
Kevin nodded when they stopped at the door. She was right. There had been leeches around him, too. But he wasn’t as nice as Paul Brooks. When someone pissed him off, he was quick to show them the door.
Julie opened the door and turned around. “Thanks for coming with me.”
She leaned forward and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Her sweet floral smell enveloped him and his stomach hardened.
God, the things this woman did to him.
She turned back to the door, but before she could turn around fully, Kevin reached for her hand and turned her back to him.
The kiss happened fast—soft lips meeting.
He hadn’t intended this. What was he doing? Somehow his brain wasn’t as strong as his instincts. Not good.
He ended the kiss and released her hand. He could hear Julie sigh. He prepared to apologize.
But before he could say anything, she grinned, turned, and ducked into the house.
Kevin adjusted his tight jeans. This woman would be the death of him.
8
“Okay, Kev, that’s enough.”
Julie watched him climb off the stationary bike. He had been on there for nearly an hour. They still kept the resistance at a minimum, but it really improved his range of motion. Kevin took a sip of his water bottle and swept away the sweat on his forehead with his towel.
He’d tossed his shirt half an hour ago and Julie had forced herself for at least twenty minutes out of the thirty to not stare at his body. Sadly, for the rest of the time, she had stared. But, God, this man was sexy.
They had worked on improving his core strength every day since they started therapy, and the muscles of his abs began to show again.
Julie swallowed and stepped to the wall bar. She was being ridiculous. Like a horny teenager. And he was her client for God’s sake. So much for her professionalism, or lack thereof.
“Now that you’re getting better, we’ll slowly start with some proprioceptive training before we go into more demanding stuff.”
Julie pointed at the stability board next to her. “Hop on.”
Kevin nodded on his way toward her.
He really was the poster child of a dedicated athlete. He never complained or argued with anything she demanded of him. And his progress was good. His strength and range of motion wasn’t as good as it should be on paper, but they had been already behind schedule when he arrived.
In addition, Julie would normally progress faster through the various balancing exercises. But since Kevin’s knees were both affected, his left knee being visibly weaker with the re-tear and repeated surgery, she needed to play this by ear.
Progression from double leg to single leg would probably be slower too. The fact that Kevin was still using crutches, when he arrived here, told her the stability of his knee wasn’t the best.
He had confirmed his lingering pain already and, even though his extension and flexion were already much better, there was still some residual effusion in his knee.
Julie put her mind back on the task at hand. The most important thing right now was to reestablish his trust in his knees.
Kevin held onto the wall bar until he had positioned both feet on the board—only then he loosened his grip. His quads and the back muscles in his thighs worked hard.
“Just stay on. Balance. Don’t overdo it. I don’t want you to bend your knees. So, no squats or anything like that. Just stay on and balance. Maybe try moving around a little and keep your balance as long as you can.”
When the door to the studio opened, she turned around for a second, only far enough so she could still watch Kevin from the corner of her eye. She didn’t want him to get insecure and make an abrupt move.
Julie’s mother entered and Julie’s gaze flicked upward before her foot started tapping.
“Hey, baby.” Julie’s mother shed her boots but left her jacket on before she entered the training room fully.
“Hey, Kevin, looking good.”
Was her mother ogling Kevin’s body? Julie covered her mouth and bit her lip to hide a smile. Not something she ever thought her mother would do.
“Mom, this is a business. You can’t just barge in whenever you feel like it.”
The leery smile on her mother’s face fell, and she stopped in her tracks. “I know, baby. It’s just that I didn’t get to see you this morning.” Her mother’s stance changed and her spine stiffened. “Didn’t you tell me I could come in and work out on the bike whenever I felt like it?”
Julie eyed her mother fro
m top to bottom. Her mother was dressed in jeans and a blouse with her heavy coat thrown hastily over it.
She wasn’t dressed to work out and as far as Julie could see, she didn’t have a bag with her either.
“You sure this is what you came in for? To work out?”
Julie’s mother cringed a little and the tips of her ears turned red, just like Julie’s did whenever she was caught lying.
“Maybe.”
She could hear Kevin chuckle on his balancing board and soon couldn’t hide her own grin anymore. “It’s okay, Mom. What did you want?” She studied her mother’s face.
“I just wanted to invite you and Kevin to lunch as soon as you’re done. I’ve got a pot roast with potatoes and carrots in the oven. Maybe we can talk Christmas a little.”
She leaned a little to the side and looked at Kevin. “I grow the carrots in my raised beds and the potatoes are homegrown, as well. This year’s harvest was really good.”
Julie took a deep breath and held it. What was it with her mother and TMI? She would never understand her.
Kevin nodded. “Thanks for the invitation, Mrs. Brooks. I’d love to come. Nothing better than a home-cooked meal.”
When her mother’s face lit up, Julie’s heart expanded and when she watched the rosy glow on her mother’s cheek, Julie’s annoyed smile turned into a genuine one. Her mother was lovely. Yes, she could be annoying as hell but on the other hand, she couldn’t wish for better parents. “I’ll come as soon as we’re finished here, Mom. Kevin might want to take a shower first though.”
Her mother turned on her heels, slipped on her heavy boots, and left the studio again.
When the door closed with a soft click, Julie turned back to Kevin. “I’m sorry for that. It’s just, that’s how she is.” She shrugged her shoulders. “You can step off now. Rest a little and then we will repeat this exercise.”
Kevin stepped down from the balancing board but not without grasping the wall bar for support. He really needed to gain back confidence in his knees. She had to make this the focus in the future progression.
Kevin used his towel again. “You don’t have to apologize for your mother. She is sweet and nurturing. Everything a mother should be.”
Julie smiled. He was right. Her mother was all that. And she was somehow overly pleased that he recognized that.
“Okay, walk around a little. Shake off your legs. Loosen up those muscles. Then hop back on.”
She watched Kevin walk back and forth through the studio before he came back and mounted the balancing board again.
“What about your parents? Are you close?”
Julie saw Kevin’s jaw and fist clench at the same time. Was he in pain? Did that cause the reaction? But he said nothing, and he didn’t show any signs in his body, so it must have been the question about his parents that made him all tense.
Kevin was silent for so long, Julie didn’t think he would answer at all. Maybe even pretend he hadn’t heard her.
When he finally did start talking, his voice was bleak. “We aren’t very close.” He chuckled, but it was a self-deprecating sound. “Actually, that’s greatly understated… I haven’t talked to my parents in forever. I guess the last time was last Christmas—over the phone. They take a different cruise every year around Christmas.”
Julie’s eyebrows shot up. Last Christmas? A whole year ago? She couldn’t imagine not talking to her parents for a day, much less for a whole year.
“I’m not exactly the son my parents wanted me to be.”
What the hell did that mean? He was a professional hockey player. Famous, rich, successful. How could any parent not be proud of him and what he had achieved? “Really?”
“My parents are, well, they’re the brainy type. They’re both professors and they always wanted their son to be just like them. They never got my affinity for sports.”
His affinity for sports? What a strange phrase to describe his life and his passion.
“But they must have supported you at least during your youth?”
Julie knew from growing up with her brother how demanding playing sports at the highest level possible was. Her parents had always driven Paul somewhere, either for training or tournaments. And she spent more time in hockey rinks than she cared for. Getting to the level necessary, and on the path to make this into a profession, took dedication and was time-consuming for the whole family.
“At first they were okay with it, but when it turned out that hockey was more important to me than school and reading and stuff they liked, it turned into a constant battle. I was lucky that I was enrolled into a high school that had a strong hockey program. I had a very supportive coach who took me under his wings. And I made a deal with my parents when I was fourteen. I was allowed to continue to play as long as my grades were straight A’s. So that’s what I did. It was tough at times. But…”
Julie winced and her chest ached. How could parents be so cruel as to not support their child in his dream? Had Kevin been drafted right out of high school then? She’d never researched him to that level.
“So, you were drafted out of high school?” She watched Kevin’s thighs closely for a second. “You can step down again, shake out your legs, and then get on up again.”
Kevin stepped down with much more certainty than the first time, but shook his head at the same time. “Nope, wasn’t good enough for that. Mother and my father were delighted by that. But I went to university on a hockey scholarship. Which made me my own man. Then got drafted from there. I even finished my master’s degree, and the rest is history.”
Julie couldn’t imagine Kevin as a young boy struggling to excel in each one of his classes just to be able to become one of the best hockey goalies in Canada.
How hard it must have been to grow up with the constant reminder of being a failure to your own parents. And even though he excelled at both. He obviously never had the unconditional love of his parents. Not even their acceptance.
They finished the training session soon after and parted their way at the door.
Julie went to her parents, and Kevin promised to join them as soon as he’d finished showering at his small cottage at the shore.
When Julie entered her parents’ house, the strong aroma of the pot roast wafted through the room, and her mouth started watering.
“Hey, Mom”—Julie kissed her mother on her cheek—“can I help somehow?”
Julie’s mother looked up over her shoulder and smiled at her. “Yes, sweetie, you can set the table.”
Julie took the plates and carried them to the dining room. Her father sat in his leather recliner in front of the TV. Their house was small, but the open floor plan made it bearable.
“Hey, Dad.”
“Hey, kiddo. Everything okay?” Her father switched off the TV and helped her set the table.
“Yep, Kevin’s coming to eat with us.”
Julie’s dad grinned. “I think your mom has a crush on this young man.” He waggled his eyebrows until Julie snorted with laughter.
“I do not,” her mother called from the kitchen. “He’s a lovely young man and he must be lonely here in Moon Lake, so I invited him over for lunch.”
“Oh, now I get it. She has her eyes set on a potential new son-in-law,” he whispered.
Julie shook her head even though her heart did a double beat. “Come on, Dad. She wouldn’t do something like that. And he’s my client. And I’m a professional.” At least, if she told it to herself often enough, she maybe could forget their kiss, a few days ago, after the evening at the bar. It had thrown her off guard at first but then, when his lips touched hers…her knees had gone weak and her whole body started to tingle. She could still recall the feeling. If he’d deepened the kiss, she wouldn’t have stopped him, that’s for sure.
When Julie got back into the kitchen, her mother turned toward her. “What a hunk Kevin is. I’ve never met such a gorgeous man who has perfect manners and is nice on top of looking like that.”
Juli
e’s ear tips grew hot. She didn’t want to have this conversation with her mother, any more than with her father. Even though her mother was spot-on.
She had read in a hockey blog about Paul and Kevin being the arrogant ones of the Hamilton Mohawks. But in the last few weeks she hadn’t seen a single sign of Kevin being arrogant or a spoiled superstar-brat or something like that. Her brother on the other hand. There was a good chance his cocky behavior could be interpreted as arrogance. But Kevin wasn’t like that.
Even though he was so successful and good at his game, he was still very down to earth. Maybe even lacked confidence. Maybe his parent’s lack of appreciation was still somewhere in his head, a mental block of some sort that held him back. But he needed his head in the game one hundred percent to make it back on the ice.
9
Kevin leaned back in his chair. He’d eaten too much but just couldn’t make himself stop. “Mrs. Brooks, the meal was delicious. Easily the best I’ve ever had.”
Mrs. Brooks giggled like a young girl and Julie rolled her eyes. “Mom.”
Kevin shook his head at Julie, but Julie just raised her eyebrows in return. Luckily her mother was oblivious to their silent communication.
“Thank you, what a nice thing to say. And call me Janet.”
Mrs. Brooks—Janet stood up and took the dishes into the kitchen.
Julie rose, as well, but Kevin was faster and pushed her back down. “Sit. I got this.”
When Julie’s eyes met his, Kevin could feel the familiar sizzle buzz down his spine. He held onto her shoulder longer than he should have and lost himself in her deep green eyes.
His hand wandered from her shoulder to the back of her neck without conscious effort and he caressed the tender skin right beneath her earlobe. When her pupils dilated, Kevin could feel a corresponding pang in his groin.
This woman was his undoing. He leaned down, his eyes fixated on her soft lips. How much he wanted to devour her lips was a little unnerving. She completely undermined his usual iron-clad self-control.