Playing To Win (The York Bombers Book 2)

by Lisa B. Kamps

  She wasn’t going to play charades.

  “Yeah, he’s been stalking the place. It’s actually kind of funny.”

  “I don’t—last week was the only time I’ve been there.”

  “Yeah, I figured that much out.”

  Megan didn’t know how to reply to that, wasn’t even sure if Tyler expected a reply. An awkward silence settled over them, heavy and stifling. Megan shifted on the chair, finally folded her hands in her lap, twisting her fingers together. She heard Tyler clear his throat, heard the chair legs scratch against the tile floor as he stood.

  “What happened to your bracelet?”

  “What?” She looked up at him, the question catching her off-guard. He nodded, pointing at her wrist with one long, blunt-tipped finger.

  “Your bracelet. What happened to it?”

  “Oh.” Megan glanced at her wrist and felt another stab of loss shoot through her. “I lost it.”

  “Well, I’m sure you can get another one, right?”

  “No, not really. A friend of mine had it made for me.”

  “Oh. Well. That sucks.”

  “Yeah, it does.” She chewed on her lower lip for a second, then took a deep breath and looked up at him. “You won’t tell him, will you?”

  “Tell him what?”

  “My real name. Who I am. Where I work.”

  “You don’t think he’ll eventually figure it out? As often as he comes in here?”

  Megan’s brows shot up in surprise—and maybe even a little bit of inappropriate amusement. “Really? He’s never looked at me once in all the times he’s been here. I don’t think that’s going to change.”

  “So who are you selling short? Jason? Or yourself?”

  There was something in Tyler’s voice, something about the way he said the words, that made her look up in surprise. But his face was carefully blank, the expression in his long-lashed eyes unreadable.

  Maybe she had just imagined the tone because he suddenly smiled, a brief one filled with boyish charm. “Your secret is safe with me. And even though Jason can be pretty oblivious, he’s not a complete moron. He’ll eventually figure it out. What are you going to do then?”

  Megan shrugged, unable to give him an answer. She wasn’t worried about it, though. Unlike Tyler, she didn’t think Jason would ever figure it out. She was safe enough in that regard.

  “You don’t think he will, do you?”

  “Not really, no.”

  Tyler studied her for another minute then shrugged. “Well, don’t be surprised. In the meantime, your secret is safe.”

  He nodded once then turned and walked away, his gait long and even. Confident. Megan watched as he pushed through the swinging doors then sat there for a long minute, thinking.

  Would Jason eventually recognize her? No, she didn’t think so. But if he did? What would she do then?

  Probably curl up into a ball and die from embarrassment. Not a very mature reaction, but it was infinitely better than the other option, which would be throwing herself at him.

  It didn’t matter, though, because she knew it would never happen. And there was no sense worrying about something that wouldn’t come to pass.

  Chapter Eleven

  Jason propped one foot on the scarred bench, draped his arm across his knee, and looked around. The place was starting to get crowded, conversation and laughter ringing above the music playing in the background. He sighed and shook his head.

  “I fucking hate these things.”

  “No shit. Tell me about it.” Zach glanced around then bent down to finish lacing up his skates.

  “I mean, family skate? Really? It’s not like most of the guys here even have family. The coaching staff maybe, but the rest of us? Fuck, we’re all single. What family? I mean, if it was next week, I would have brought my sister.”

  “Jennifer’s coming into town? You didn’t tell me that. How long is she staying?”

  “Until after the holidays. Said she needed to get away. Whatever the hell that means. And don’t even get any fucking ideas. You’re not even going to see her.”

  “What the hell? Why not? You think I’d actually make a play for your sister? No fucking way. She’s like, what? Eighteen or something?”

  “Eighteen? Where the hell have you been? She turned twenty-two last month.”

  “Really? Shit. Now I feel old.”

  “Give me a break. Twenty-five is not old.”

  Zach looked up, a wide grin on his face. “I know it’s not. It’s just right. But back to your bitching. You could have brought a date today, you know that. Those girls the other night were pretty into you.”

  “I told you, I wasn’t interested.” And he wasn’t. The only girl he was interested in was Michelle, and he had no idea where she was. They’d gone to Calypso’s damn near every night for the past two weeks with no luck. At least, no luck finding Michelle. They couldn’t even find anyone who knew her. It was like she completely disappeared from existence.

  Which made no sense. Jason knew she existed. Yeah, he definitely knew she was flesh and blood.

  Not finding Michelle hadn’t stopped Zach from flirting. Why would it? And it certainly hadn’t stopped him from trying to get Jason interested in any one of the dozens of girls who seemed to flock around them. In fact, it was like Zach had made it his personal mission to fix Jason up. To forget.

  And it only seemed to irritate Zach whenever Jason said no—which was every single time. The more Jason said no, the harder Zach tried to fix him up. It was almost turning into some kind of twisted, exhausting game.

  Zack finished lacing his skate then stomped his foot against the floor. He grunted then looked up at Jason, frowning. “I just don’t get why you’re so fucking hung up on this one girl. She’s not interested or she would have hung around. The best thing you can do is just move on, go get laid or something.”

  “We’re not discussing this again.”

  “It’s unnatural. I mean, really unnatural. I just don’t understand what the fuck has gotten into you lately. You should have brought someone with you today, to help you get over this stupid fucking obsession.”

  “It’s not an obsession. And I don’t see anyone here with you so why are you bitching?”

  “Fuck no, I wouldn’t bring anyone here. Shit. That’s like bringing a girl home to meet the family. Not going to happen, not with any of those girls.”

  “Then why the fuck are you giving me a hard time?”

  Zach stood up then shrugged out of his jacket, tossing it on the bench near Jason’s foot. “Because I’m not the one obsessing and moping around like some lovesick lost little puppy.”

  “I’m not lovesick. Not even close.”

  “Yeah, right.” Zach snorted his disbelief then elbowed Jason in the leg and pointed across the rink. “Hey, look. There’s Harland. And shit, he’s got his kid and baby mama. Come on, we need to go check this out.”

  “Would you stop with the ‘baby mama’ shit? That sounds so stupid.”

  “Well, what the hell else am I supposed to say? That’s what she is.”

  Jason followed Zach over, their steps slow and unhurried. “I don’t know. His girlfriend. His kid’s mother. Something.”

  “One, I don’t think they’re actually together. And two, ‘the kid’s mother’ is the same fucking thing as ‘baby mama’.”

  “Christ. It is not. Not even close. And I’m going to laugh my ass off if you slip and say that in front of Harland because he’ll beat the living shit out of you for it.”

  “Yeah, right. Not hardly.”

  They closed the distance, finally approaching Harland. Jason shoved his hands into the back pockets of jeans and waited for Harland to notice them.

  “Well?”

  He looked over, frowned. “Well what?”

  “You really didn’t think you could avoid us all night, did you?” Jason bent down and smiled at the kid, taking in the thick hair a shade lighter than Harland’s. The wide eyes staring back at him,
their dark honey color exactly like Harlan’s. Yeah, this was definitely his kid, no doubt about it. “Hey, kiddo. What’s your name?”

  The kid’s hand tightened around Harland’s as he looked up, not saying anything. Harland grinned and bent down to pick him up. Then he reached for the girl’s hand and tugged her close to his side.

  “Guys, this is my son, Noah. And this is Courtney.”

  Well damn, Zach had been right. They weren’t together, not with the way Harland had hesitated just the tiniest bit before introducing her, like he wasn’t sure what to call her. He reached and shook her hand then smiled at the kid again.

  “Hi, Noah.” He held his hand out. Instead of taking it, the kid snuggled closer to Harland and just stared at it. Well hell. Maybe kids didn’t know how to shake hands. What the hell did he know about it?

  Harland shifted Noah in his arms, turning a little to the side and raising his free hand. “Noah, these are my friends—” He stopped and looked down at Courtney, a helpless expression on his face. “That’s two hands, isn’t it? Does he know ‘friend’?”

  Jason raised his brows, turned to look at Zach and saw the same confused expression on his face. What the hell?

  Courtney stepped closer, an odd look on her face. “Yes, he knows that one.” She did something with her fingers, so fast Jason didn’t understand it. Then she pointed to him and moved her fingers again, did the same when she pointed to Zach.

  Jason looked at Zach, then at Harland, then at the kid. Back to Zach then back to the kid again. Harland shifted, a frown creasing his forehead.

  “Noah’s deaf, guys. He doesn’t have two heads. You can stop staring.”

  Jason looked away, his face heating in embarrassment. He hadn’t meant to stare, and certainly not for the reason Harland obviously thought. It had just surprised him, that was all. Hell, he hadn’t even had time to adjust to the news that Harland had a son.

  Zach stepped forward, all big and tough and tatted, his brows pulled low over his dark eyes. Jason almost elbowed him, wanted to tell him to stop looking so fierce before he scared Courtney and the kid. He didn’t get a chance, not before Zach spoke.

  “What did you do for me?”

  Courtney stared at him, confusion written all over her face. “I’m sorry?”

  “That thing you made for me. That sign. What was it?”

  Her gaze slipped to Harland for just a second then moved back to Zach. “Oh. Uh, it was just the letter ‘Z’.”

  “Can you show me?”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  She looked so completely caught off-guard that Jason almost felt sorry for her, especially when some of the other guys came over and she ended up giving them all quick lessons. He didn’t miss the look Harland gave her as she stood there, talking to everyone. Didn’t miss the way his eyes warmed or the way his expression softened. Jason almost laughed. Yeah, maybe Harland didn’t know how to introduce her, but Jason would take bets that was all going to change. Soon.

  Jason watched the three of them step onto the ice, watched Harland settle his son onto the small sled then slowly pull him around the rink. He reached behind him, his hand catching Courtney’s, and tugged her closer.

  “Yeah, they’ll definitely end up together.”

  Zach pushed closer, Tyler right behind him. “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Harland and Courtney.”

  “What about them?”

  “Together. As in, a couple. Trust me.”

  “I don’t know, man.” Zach watched them move around the ice, then shook his head. “Didn’t you hear how Harland hesitated before he introduced her? And she didn’t look real thrilled to be here. I think you’re reading too much into shit.”

  “I’m siding with Jason on this one. Those two are going to end up together.”

  “Oh Christ. Not you, too.” Zach tilted his head back and let out a long groan before looking back at them. “What the hell is it with you two? I swear to fuck, everyone around here is turning into a romantic sap. I don’t know how much more of this shit I can take.”

  Jason laughed, wondering if Zach realized how desperate he sounded. No, not desperate: he sounded like he was trying to convince himself. One of these days, Zach would be blindsided by the right—or maybe wrong—woman, and Jason would gladly sit back and watch him eat his own words.

  He turned back to the ice, his eyes following Harland’s progress. “Well, if you’re going to do it, do it right. Love fierce. I think that’s what Harland is going to be doing.”

  Tyler reached over and grabbed his arm, stopping him before he could step onto the ice. An odd expression crossed the goalie’s face, his intense eyes carefully blank. “What did you just say?”

  “About what? About Harland doing it right?”

  “No, that other thing. ‘Love something’. What was that?”

  “Oh.” Jason pulled his arm from Tyler’s grasp and looked away, wondering if his face was turning red. What a stupid fucking thing to say. Why had even opened his mouth? He cleared his throat and tried to make a joke of it. “It was, uh, ‘love fierce’. That was all.”

  “Where did that come from?”

  “What?”

  “Don’t play stupid. You heard me. Where did it come from?”

  “It was just something I saw, that’s all.”

  “Saw where?”

  “Why do you even care, Bowie? Trying to come up with one-liners to improve your love life?” Zach chuckled and nudged Jason. Tyler shot him an impatient look then fixed his dark eyes back on Jason.

  “Come on, spill it. Where did you see it?”

  Jason clenched his jaw, wondering if he could make it out to the ice fast enough to escape Tyler’s questioning. As close as the man was standing, probably not. He had lightning fast reflexes and would grab Jason again before he could move an inch.

  He finally sighed and reached into his shirt, pulling out the black leather cord with the round disc. “I saw it on this. There. You happy?”

  Zach leaned forward, studying the engraving for a split second before Tyler pushed him out of the way for a closer look. Zach rolled his eyes and was ready to make some smartass comment, Jason could see it in his eyes, in the way his lips curled. But Tyler cut him off, pushing him to the side.

  “So where did you get that?”

  There was a glint of amusement in Tyler’s eyes that Jason didn’t quite understand. He glanced behind him, looking longingly at the ice, then turned back to Tyler. “I kind of found it.”

  “Is that so?” The corner of Tyler’s mouth twitched. Once, twice.

  “Yeah.” Jason frowned, wondering why the hell Tyler looked like he was biting the inside of his cheek. “Why?”

  “No reason. It’s just pretty unique, that’s all. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it.” Tyler’s mouth twitched again as he moved past Jason, heading for the ice. He paused, looked back at him with a gleam in his eyes. “Actually, that’s not true. I have seen something like that once before. A friend of mine had that exact same thing. Same design and all. Except hers was a bracelet. She lost it.”

  “Wait. What?” But Tyler was already gone, speeding across the ice. Jason looked over at Zach, frowning. “Did he just say what I thought he said?”

  “Yeah, I think he did.” Zach’s gaze moved to the ice, following Tyler’s quick disappearance. “Well, I think you know how to find your mystery girl now. All you have to do is catch him. And convince him to tell you.”

  “That son-of-a-bitch.” Jason exchanged another look with Zach. Then the two of them stepped onto the ice, nearly bumping into each other as they sped across the surface.

  Jason just wasn’t sure what he’d do first when he finally got Tyler: break his back in a huge bear hug, or beat the living shit out of him.

  Probably both.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jason pulled the car into the lot and cut the engine. Instead of getting out right away, he sat in the driver’s seat and drummed
his fingers against the steering wheel.

  Tap-tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap-tap. Pause. Tap-tap—

  “What are you doing?”

  He stilled his hand and looked over at the girl in the passenger seat, not bothering to hide his frown. What the hell had he been thinking, bringing her with him to Mystics? He needed his fucking head examined.

  “Well? What are you doing?” She met his frown with one of her own, impatience flaring in her slate blue eyes.

  “I’m thinking.”

  “Then God help us all.”

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

  She reached up and pushed a few strands of her streaked brown hair behind her ear and leveled another look his way. Impatient, irritated, frustrated. Maybe even angry. “It means you don’t have the mental capacity to think.”

  “That’s it. I changed my mind.” He reached for the keys, turned them in the ignition to start the car. “I’m taking you back to my place and helping you pack. And when we’re finished with that, I’m taking you to the airport and sending you home.”

  “I’m not going home.” Jennifer reached over and turned the car off. She pulled the keys from the ignition and shoved them in her jacket pocket before Jason could even blink. “And I’m hungry. We should just go inside—”

  “Dammit, Jennifer! This is a bad idea.”

  “What? Eating? Because you have exactly zero food at your place.”

  “No. You coming here. I mean, what the hell? You show up for a visit and drop this fucking bombshell on me?”

  “You have a total gutter mouth. Do you know that?”

  “I’m a fucking hockey player! And I’m pissed.”

  Jennifer shrugged, the motion careless, then gave him a brittle smile. “You’ll just have to get over it, now won’t you?”

  “Did you even discuss this with Mom and Dad? Or did you just take off on a whim and do this spur of the moment, like you do everything else?”

  “I mentioned it to Mom. She thought it was a good idea.”