by L. P. Dover
“Hannah Martin,” I scolded teasingly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Are you sticking up for my brothers?”
A smile spread across her face. “Possibly. Or at least one of them. Corey asked me out to dinner this Saturday night.”
I knew those two would hit it off. “And you said?”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, of course. You don’t think I’m still rebounding, do you?”
I shook my head. “You and Eric are done. If I was afraid you still had feelings for him, I wouldn’t let you go out with my brother.”
“Good,” she breathed happily. “Now all we need to do is get you set up with someone.”
“All in good time.” I laughed. “Kristen already has someone for me. I told her to give me a few weeks until I get my own place to live.”
Another woman entered the bathroom, ending our privacy. Hannah leaned against the bathroom door and pushed it open. “Why in such a hurry to move? I’ll be happy to come visit you now,” she said with a wink.
“I bet.” Giggling, I turned my back and walked out, only to run right into someone in the hall. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I apologized, jerking around quickly.
I almost lost my balance, but a pair of hands held on to my arms, steadying me. Hannah’s gasp behind me only made my heart beat faster, especially when I looked into a familiar set of baby blues, completely focused on me. His dark hair was expertly gelled in messy spikes and his green polo shirt hugged his muscular arms perfectly. The last time I looked into his eyes like that, he was drugged up in the hospital bed, calling me his angel. A part of me wanted to ask if he remembered any of it. So many things happened that night that I hadn’t spoken to anyone about.
“This makes twice in one day,” he said, his voice low. A slow smile spread across his face and my traitorous body responded. Chills fanned out across my skin and he felt them, his smile growing wider.
“What do you want, Dallas?” I shrugged out of his hold.
His smile faded. “I wanted to say—” He was cut off by Hannah’s gasp.
She sidestepped past me and looked around the corner at where my brothers sat talking to Kellan. “This isn’t going to be good.” Justin jerked around and glared our way, his sights set on Dallas. Slamming his chair back, he stormed his way over to us.
Dallas glanced back at him and sighed. “No, it’s not.”
There was only one thing I could do to save them all. As soon as Dallas faced me, I took a deep breath. “Sorry, but I have no choice.”
Clenching my fist as tight as I could, I swung it right at his cheek.
Chapter 5
Dallas
By the time I arrived at the rink for practice, I was already the butt of everyone’s jokes. Before the morning even came, everyone on the team had heard about my ordeal with Callie. The black eye only proved it. Normally, their laughs echoing through the locker room would’ve pissed me off, but today, all it did was remind me of how much of a jackass I was.
Braeden whistled when he got a good look at my face. “Damn, she got you good, didn’t she? Wonder what the coach is going to say about it.”
“Hopefully, he’ll let it slide, considering the circumstances.” Practice was about to start and Carlisle hadn’t seen my face yet. After the ordeal a couple of weeks ago, he said he’d bench me if I caused any more trouble. Who would’ve thought I’d get my ass handed to me by a girl. I searched around the locker room, but I had yet to find Justin. “Seen Davis anywhere?” I asked Braeden.
“Not yet.” He took off his shirt and tossed it into his locker. “Don’t you think it’d be best to stay away from him?”
I shook my head. “I want to apologize to his sister. She punched me before I got the chance.”
He chuckled. “Then that should tell you something. Might be best to leave her alone.”
I couldn’t. He didn’t see the look on her face when I touched her. There was a fire in her eyes I couldn’t ignore. I owed her a lot more than just a simple apology. Even if she hated me, I had to talk to her.
“Damn, Davis, I heard about last night,” Maddox announced from the other side of the locker room.
I started to walk back there, but Braeden grabbed my arm. “Come on, man. It’s too early in the morning.”
“I’m not going to start shit,” I snapped. Huffing, he let me go and I marched to the back of the locker room. Maddox and Justin both had their backs to me, talking about everything that had happened, until Justin noticed me out of the corner of his eye.
Grin fading, he faced me straight on, crossing his arms over his chest. “What the fuck do you want?” I ignored Maddox, who kept looking at my black eye and smiling.
“I need to apologize to your sister. Can you please tell me where I can find her?” I asked nicely, even though it killed me to be civil with the fucker.
He scoffed. “Have you lost your goddamn mind? I’m not letting you anywhere near her. She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
“Doesn’t matter. I need to see her.”
“That’s going to be a problem,” he said, stepping toward me with a sly grin. “You see, she lives with me and my brothers. I’d hate to have to kick your ass for trespassing.”
That didn’t scare me one bit. Not backing down, I closed the distance, mirroring his stance. “I’ll just have to find another way.”
Coach Carlisle walked past us and we stepped away from each other, catching his attention. Narrowing his gaze, he stopped and stared at us, fuming when he saw my face. “Seriously? Again?”
Chuckling, Maddox butted in. “Oh no, Coach, it’s not what you think.” He pointed at my face. “That was done by Davis’s sister. Easton got pissed when she schooled him on the ice last night. She didn’t like it when he tripped her up and almost hit her.”
Carlisle’s face reddened with rage and I held up my hands in defense. “I didn’t know she was a female,” I shouted. “I’ve been trying to apologize ever since.”
Luckily, that seemed to work and Carlisle blew out a heavy sigh. He turned to Justin. “Your sister plays hockey? I never would’ve guessed by looking at her.” I wouldn’t have, either. On the outside, she was extremely beautiful with delicate features and curves in all the right places. Judging by the right hook she landed on my face, she was way stronger than she appeared.
Justin smiled. “We used to have fun tricking people back home. Looks like it still works.”
That it did. Carlisle patted him on the shoulder. “She must be pretty good to get past Dallas. I’m impressed.”
“Thanks, Coach,” Justin replied. “I’ll tell her you said so.”
Carlisle walked off, banging on the sides of the lockers on his way out. “Ten minutes, boys. Hurry up!”
Justin pulled out his gear and started suiting up. “The answer’s still no, Easton. You’re going to stay away from my sister.”
Narrowing my gaze, I stared him down and backed up, knowing it was wiser to keep my mouth shut. The less he knew, the better. Braeden was already dressed for practice and talking to Kellan, who sat on the bench, lacing up his skates.
“Why do you look like you’re up to something?” Kellan asked, peering curiously at me.
A mischievous smile spread across my face. “No reason.”
He sighed. “Why do I not believe that?”
Shrugging, I slowly put on my gear and waited for everyone to leave. Once the locker room was cleared, I pulled out my phone. Kristen’s laugh greeted me. “Why are you calling and not just coming to my office?”
“Because I have two minutes before I have to be on the ice. I need your help.”
“Do you need ice for that eye of yours? I heard about what happened after the debacle I witnessed last night. Callie isn’t a woman to mess around with.”
Rolling my eyes, I huffed. “You know I didn’t realize she was a female.”
“I know. But I also wasn’t expecting for you to blow up the way you did.”
“It was a mistake,” I admitted h
onestly. “That’s why I need your help.”
“Tell me.”
“I know you probably don’t want to get involved, but I need you to tell me everything you know about Callie Davis. I have to get to her when her brothers aren’t around.”
“Why?” she asked curiously.
I closed my eyes. “Because she needs to know what an idiot I am.”
She burst out laughing. “Then in that case, I’ll help. Come by my office during your break.”
Chapter 6
Callie
“It’s about time you woke up, sleepyhead,” I teased.
Ella’s mother, Janie, chuckled lightly and kissed Ella’s head as her eyes fluttered open. The little red-haired princess turned her face to us and smiled. “I’m alive?”
“Of course you are, silly,” Janie cried.
She kissed Ella’s cheeks and wiped away her tears. I couldn’t imagine being a parent and having to watch your eight-year-old child go through a heart transplant. I’d been a surgical nurse for two years along with working in the ER. Having to put a child under always hit me differently than it did with an adult. For the most part, I could separate myself from the job, but with little children like Ella, it was too hard. All I wanted to do was cry when I watched her eyes close when the anesthesiologist put her to sleep.
I checked Ella’s vitals and the bandages across her chest. Everything looked good. “What happened to your hand?” Ella asked.
So no one could see my bruised and split-open knuckles, I had a bandage wrapped around my hand. It was to keep my wounds clean and to also hide the fact that I did something totally stupid. I was lucky I didn’t break anything after punching Dallas. I’d made a mental note to never hit him again. My hand still hurt like a beast. Looking down at the bandage, I smiled, remembering the shocked expression on Dallas’s face when I hit him.
“I went to the gym and had a fight with the punching bag,” I replied with a wink. “My knuckles weren’t too happy with me this morning.”
She giggled. “Maybe you shouldn’t hit it so hard.”
“I’ll remember that next time,” I said, covering her with a blanket.
Her eyes twinkled. “Did you get to see my heart?”
Nodding, I reached for her hand. “I did. It’s a strong and healthy one, too.” I squeezed her hand. “All you have to do now is rest. I’ll be back to check on you in the morning.”
She smiled at me and my heart felt lighter. For two days a week, I worked for one of the best cardiothoracic surgeons in the country, but unfortunately, sometimes the body didn’t like change. Not everyone survived when we had to do major surgeries. I’d lost an aunt three weeks after she had open-heart surgery. It was one of the reasons I wanted to work in the medical field. Well, that and my brothers always got hurt when we were growing up. My skills had come in handy over the years.
Once out in the hall, I saw Ella’s dad was almost to the room, carrying two coffees. He had the same red hair as his daughter. “Better get in there,” I announced happily. “She’s awake.”
His eyes widened and he rushed to the door, tears already pooling in his eyes. I loved working with kids. Every time Dr. Sands had to operate on a child, he always chose me to be on his surgical team. I glanced down at my watch and realized my shift was finally over. When I worked in surgery, I hardly ever saw Hannah. I was curious to see what all the other nurses thought about my run-in with Dallas.
I could already hear snickers coming from the locker room when I approached. Opening the door, there were two other nurses with Hannah, their eyes on a huge vase of flowers sitting by my locker. Hannah jerked her arm behind her back, looking sheepish.
“What does the card say?” I asked, knowing full well that was what she had behind her back.
Jennifer, one of the other nurses, walked over to me and gushed, “I can’t believe you punched Dallas Easton in the face and he sent you flowers. That’s so freaking awesome.”
“It is,” Mary, the other nurse, agreed. “He’s one of the hottest players in the NHL.”
Don’t I know it. Closing the distance, I held out my hand to Hannah. “Card, please.”
She handed it to me and smiled. “I couldn’t resist.”
I opened the card and my foolish heart jumped when I read it.
Callie,
I’m really sorry for what I did. I want to make it up to you if you’ll let me.
Dallas
“So, what are you going to do?” Hannah asked.
Staring at the card, I asked myself the exact same question. What was I going to do? His phone number was at the bottom of the card, but I had no intention of calling. Dallas Easton was an arrogant jackass. I wasn’t about to let him wear me down. Opening my locker, I grabbed my bag and shoved the card inside. A gazillion ideas ran rampant through my mind.
“Why don’t we see how far he’ll go,” I said, waggling my eyebrows. “The man has never had to grovel to a woman before.”
Hannah snorted. “Got that right. But do you think he’ll actually keep pursuing this if you constantly brush him off? Dallas takes me as the kind of man to get bored easily.”
I shrugged. “Don’t know, but it’ll be fun to find out. I might have to get Corey in on this. If I tell Justin and Brant, they’ll lose their shit.”
“Good call,” Hannah agreed. “I think it’s time the infamous bad boy learns a lesson in humility.”
“So do I.”
Chapter 7
Dallas
“Looking good, boys,” Coach Carlisle called out.
I held up my hand and smiled. “Thanks, Coach.”
He tapped his watch. “Ten more minutes and then wrap it up.”
Everyone else skated off the ice except for him and Kellan, who moved to the side of the rink to talk. I’d spent the whole day working with Josh, trying my best to keep him on his toes. It felt good to slap shoot pucks at his head. Luckily he stopped most of them, which meant he was getting better. Eventually, when I retired, he’d take my place. I had to make sure the Strikers would be taken care of after I was gone.
“All right, Harrison, another round,” I shouted.
I could hear his groan, but one glare from me and he was right back into position. I’d missed the way it felt to glide around the ice and push the puck around. Growing up, I’d played center offense until I found my calling as a goaltender when I was in high school. Ever since then, I’d never done anything else. I was known for my five-star reflexes and superb ratings in speed and agility; one of the best in the league.
One by one, I lined up the pucks on the ice and hit them as hard as I could. Josh never backed down and worked his glove with tremendous speed. I was impressed. Breathing hard, he fell to his knees on the ice.
Chuckling, I skated over to him. “Tired?”
He took off his mask, sweat pouring down his face. “You worked my ass off today.”
“Good. You needed it. Your technique’s gotten a lot better.” Brows furrowed, he stared at me as if I’d lost my mind. “What?” I snapped.
“Nothing,” he said with a shake of his head. “I’m just wondering why you’re helping me now when before you never gave a shit.”
Sighing, I leaned against the goal. “As an alternate captain, it’s my job to help the team. Do I still think you’re a whiney pain in the ass? Yes. But if I’m not around and the game is up to you, I have to make sure you’re the best. I don’t want to be blamed again if we lose.”
One thing Josh needed to learn was to have tougher skin. My words stung and I could see it on his face. Grabbing his mask, he skated off the ice and disappeared to the back. I was just about to head out as well when Kristen came up to the rink wall and waved me over.
“What’s up, sexy mama?” I teased, leaning over the side to look at her. Her red hair was wavy down her back and she had on a strapless blue maternity dress with sandals. “Dressed for summer?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “I’m pregnant and hot all the time. It
’s March and already in the eighties outside.” Couldn’t argue with her there. Back home in Maine, it’d still be freezing. Rubbing her swollen belly, she nodded toward the goal. “Just watched you and Josh out there. I’m glad to see you actually helping him.”
I shrugged. “He needs it. There’ll be a day when I can’t play anymore and he has to be ready.”
“I agree. I’m kind of shocked I didn’t hear you yelling at him. That seems to be what you do.”
Huffing, I ran a hand through my hair. “Believe me, I wanted to. It drives me up the fucking wall to see a good player make bad decisions. Harrison has the goods, he just has to use them right.”
She nodded in agreement. “He’ll get there. He just needs your support. A simple encouragement here and there goes a long way.” That was why for the first time in my life I’d bit my tongue and tried to say something nice. “Surely you didn’t wave me over to tell me that?”
“No,” she said, laughing. “I came by to see if you’d heard from Callie. I want to know what she thought about the flowers.”
Blowing out a heavy sigh, I threw my arms up in the air. “She hasn’t called.”
“Really? Even after you sent all the ones today, too?”
“Yep.”
“I know she’ll be at the game tonight. Maybe you’ll see her there.” I wouldn’t be able to get anywhere near Callie if she was with her brothers.
Yesterday I’d sent her a vase of flowers and a simple note. I had a feeling she’d be hard to get, but after today, I figured she’d call me out of annoyance, since I sent her twenty bouquets of flowers. Anything was better than nothing. A sly smile spread across Kristen’s face and she tried to hide it. Something was up. “What are you not telling me?”
She snickered. “Okay, I’ll tell you. She called me this morning and told me about the flowers. I have to say, she wasn’t impressed. Your plan didn’t work. She has no intention of calling you.”
“Fuck,” I grumbled. “I need to figure out a way to get to her.” I’d never had to work to get a girl. For the first time in my life, I was clueless.