Game Changer

by Melissa Cutler

  “He’s number sixteen, the guy whose hair is a little bit longer in back. The other hot one,” Allison said with a wink to Marlena.

  “Where’s Emily?” Harper asked Allison. To Kayla, she added, “That’s Allison daughter. She’s two and just about the cutest little thing you ever did see.”

  Allison beamed. “And soon-to-be Theo’s adopted daughter, as soon as the paperwork goes through. She’s with a babysitter. Now that she’s walking, I can’t sit and watch the games in peace when I bring her.”

  “And this is Presley.” Of all Harper’s friends, Presley was her closest. They’d met years ago when Harper hired her as Locks’ accountant and they had been fast friends ever since. Of all the women in Harper’s life, Presley was by far the most style-conscious, with designer everything and a weakness for 1950s pinup-girl chic. Tonight, her black bangs cut a severe line across her forehead and her red lipstick stood out in stark contrast to her pale skin, though the color matched the scarf tying her hair back and the red pencil skirt that she’d topped with a white silk blouse.

  Kayla nodded at Presley’s enormous engagement ring. “Are you married to a player, too? The team sounds like a dating pool of Destiny Falls’ most eligible bachelors.”

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Presley said. “But no. My fiancé is a lawyer.”

  A lawyer who nobody ever saw. In all the years that Presley and Harper had been friends, she could count on her fingers the number of time she’d socialized with Marc outside of fleeting glances when he stayed over at Presley’s condo.

  “Is he here?” Kayla asked.

  Presley’s expression faltered, but only for a split second. “No. He had to work late tonight.”

  Harper rushed to change the subject, for Presley’s sake. “Kayla just announced that she enlisted in the Marine Corps.”

  The ladies were reliably happy and full of congratulations and questions that kept Kayla busy while Harper finished prepping to keep score for the game, her eyes on the referees. Someday that’d be Harper, just as soon as she worked up the nerve to put in a request with the league. She’d never seen a female referee for the men’s league, but that didn’t mean it was against the rules or that she couldn’t try. It beat being stuck at the scorekeeper’s table indefinitely.

  When the buzzer sounded, starting game play, Kayla plopped back into her seat next to Harper. “I’ve never seen a hockey game, like, live. So this is going to be fun.”

  “The Slap Dragons have the worst record in the league this season, so this game should be a gimme for our boys,” Harper explained.

  Brandon barked out some directives to his offensive line, then slid into the face-off circle to take the puck drop. He won it easily, but it was all downhill from there. His first pass to Theo went wide and was intercepted by the Slap Dragons. Not four seconds into the game, the Dragons had their first shot on goal. At least Gabe had defended the net handily on the shot.

  Four shots-on-goal later, a dribbler of a shot ricocheted off Liam’s skate and right into position for a waiting Slap Dragon’s stick. That one made it past Gabe. Harper wasn’t sure he ever saw it coming.

  “Come on, Bomb Squad! Get something going here!” Kayla shouted. She rocketed to her feet, jumping up and down and cheering as Theo took position in the face-off circle for the next drop.

  But the team was a disaster on the ice.

  On a bad call from the ref, Harper was obliged as the scorekeeper to bite her tongue against joining the vocal protests from the crowd. What she wished for, though, as she did every time she disagreed with a ref’s call, was that she was out there calling the penalties instead of on the sidelines recording them in the game book.

  When the first period ended, the Slap Dragons were up three to nothing. So painful.

  “They’re usually better than this,” she told Kayla.

  “I hope so.”

  Harper had wished for better for Brandon on his last game with the team, but whether him leaving or Kayla’s presence was to blame for the poor performance was anyone’s guess. At the end of the period, Harper handed Kayla a twenty-dollar bill and sent her along with Allison and Olivia to the snack bar to buy a round of beer and nachos for them to drown their sorrows in.

  As the teams filed off the ice to their respective locker rooms, Brandon zipped across the ice and executed a showy side stop in front of the scorekeeper’s table.

  “Sucky game,” Harper told him. “You think the guys are going to be able to rally next period?”

  Brandon’s foul mood was written all over his face. “Yeah, about that. You’ve got to tell Kayla to stop it with the bouncing.”

  “Bouncing?”

  “Yeah, it’s awful. She’s wearing this skimpy little top and she won’t stop bouncing up and down every time there’s a play or a ref call. None of the guys can concentrate.”

  “You can’t blame a twenty-two-year-old child for Bomb Squad’s issues tonight. I mean, she’s cute, but she’s not that cute. Plus, did I mention she’s just a child?”

  “She’s not a child, and yes, she is that hot—way too hot for her own good. Will hasn’t stopped looking at his skates since she got here, Gabe’s blushing like crazy and muttering what I think is a rosary prayer every time she starts in on the bouncing thing, and Theo is looking like he’d rather gouge his eyes out than look directly at her.”

  Then a horrible thought occurred to Harper. “Brandon, I swear to God. You cannot sleep with Duke’s granddaughter.”

  Brandon turned his scowling face on Harper. “Jesus, first Duke and now you, too? Don’t you think I know better than to disrespect Duke’s family like that?”

  Ah. The reason Duke had pulled Brandon into the hallway. She could see how that warning might be insulting, except that Brandon had made a point of flaunting his promiscuity over and over again throughout the years he’d lived in Destiny Falls. “I don’t know. You slept with Theo’s future sister-in-law last year, and he’s one of your best friends.”

  True, Allison and Theo weren’t engaged at the time that Brandon slept with Allison’s sister, Chelsea. Allison and Theo weren’t even dating yet, but still.

  Brandon rolled his neck, looking more pissed with every passing second. He glanced around, then slid closer to the plastic sheeting barrier around the rink, getting as close to Harper as he could. His eyes were sharp and dark and absolutely sinister. “Yeah, I did sleep with her. But you know what? It got your attention, didn’t it? That’s the only way I’ve ever been able to get your attention.”

  How dare he. “That’s not fair.”

  He straightened again, taking his hockey stick in both hands and rolling his shoulders back. “Who said I had to play fair with you? I don’t remember that being part of the rules of our game.”

  Their game. She’d never heard a more accurate label for their toxic relationship. One big game. With both of them keeping score and making up the rules and penalties as they went. Thank goodness he was leaving.

  “I’m not going to talk to her about the bouncing. You immature, sexist Neanderthals are just going to have to deal. Or not, and blow the game. I don’t care.”

  He pounded the plastic sheeting once with his fist, then skated away. “Thanks for that,” he called.

  Clenching her teeth, Harper let out a growl of frustration. What an asshole.

  “What’s wrong?” Kayla said, setting a boat of nachos and a beer in front of Harper.

  “Not a thing,” Harper said.

  “Uh-oh,” Presley said. “What did Brandon say to you this time? I’ve started tuning out the arguments you two have. New Year’s resolution.”

  She thought about telling her friends that Brandon was leaving. She thought about telling them about the stupid bet she’d made with him, but he already occupied far too much of her mind. She refused to waste her precious time with her friends talking about the thorn in h
er side—the one that was would be removed permanently in only a few days’ time.

  Bomb Squad never did rally. Duke didn’t call effective plays and the good ones he did call, the players executed with sloppy, amateurish skills. Liam did manage to score twice and Gabe kept the Slap Dragons to six goals, despite their record-setting number of shots-on-goal.

  When the buzzer sounded at the end of the game, Kayla wilted forward. “That sound means I have to face Grandpa again soon.”

  Harper rubbed her back. “It’ll be okay. Just remember that he and your grandma love you, and even when they’re offensive or not understanding, it’s only because they’re scared for your future.”

  “Doesn’t make them any easier to deal with,” Kayla said.

  “I know. But explain it to them the way you told me, about the boredom and how you want to see the world. Maybe that will help them get onboard with your decision. And I’ll make you a deal.” Harper wrote down Locks’ address on one of the blank pages at the back of the scorebook, then ripped it off and handed it to Kayla. “Here’s the address of my bar. When you’re done talking to him and your grandma tonight, come tell me how it went and I’ll pour you a beer on the house. And if things don’t go well when you talk to them, or you don’t feel like you can stay with your grandparents tonight, then you can stay with me. I live above the bar. Then I’ll help you figure out how to make things right with them tomorrow.”

  “That would be cool.”

  It was satisfying to Harper to be there for Duke’s family, and it felt great to focus on someone else’s issues rather than Brandon or her doctor’s appointment the next morning. Then a new idea hit Harper, one that might be an answer to a problem she hadn’t even had time to consider yet. “Boot camp starts in six weeks, right?”

  “Yep. July sixth.”

  Perfect. “You know, Kayla, I could use a temporary roommate, so if you end up needing a place to crash until boot camp, maybe you could consider moving in with me.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Sure. I’d want your grandpa’s blessing because he’s a friend of mine, but I’ve got an extra room, and it would give you and him some space. Plus, it would help me out.”

  “I can’t afford much rent.”

  “I didn’t figure you could, so here’s the deal. I’ve got some health issues that I’m dealing with and, pretty soon, I might be down for the count for a while. Surgery and such. If that happens, I could use somebody to grocery shop for me, get the mail, and help keep my apartment clean, that sort of thing. That could be your rent.”

  “What kind of health issues?” Presley said.

  Harper opened and closed her mouth. She’d forgotten about her friends sitting within earshot. “I’m not really ready to share, if you don’t mind.”

  Presley frowned and tapped her finger against her knee. “I mind.”

  Marlena set a hand on Presley’s arm. “Should we be worried?”

  Yes. “Not yet. I’ll have more information tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment.”

  With her friends looking on suspiciously, Harper turned her attention back to Kayla. “You’re all set for tonight?” she asked Kayla.

  “Yep.” Kayla held up the paper with Locks’ address. “Thank you. I wish my mom was as cool as you.”

  Oh, heck no. It was all she could do not to snatch that paper out of Kayla’s hand and rescind her offer to punish Kayla for making her feel old again. Harper still had more than two months before she turned forty, for pity’s sake. She was definitely not old enough to be compared to Kayla’s mom. She pasted a smile on her face. “How about calling me the sister you never had instead? Let’s go with that.”

  “Deal. I’ll see you later tonight.”

  Chapter Five

  Brandon pulled his car past Locks’ two-story, boxy brick exterior and into the nearly full parking lot. Clusters of people lingered near the ornately carved entrance door beneath the lit sign reading Lock, Stock & Barrel Tavern. A handful of tables were full on the lower level patio that overlooked a bend in the Erie Canal.

  Brandon leaned against the side of his car and waited for his teammates to assemble.

  Three blocks away from Locks, in plain view from where Brandon was standing, was the Double Down. By the looks of it, Double Down was jumping, too, with a crowd of people spilling out into the street from the open front of the bar.

  Déjà vu smacked him hard. He’d parked in Locks’ lot in about the same spot on Tuesday night for the express purpose of breaking it to Harper that he was leaving. Then he’d seen the Double Down, much like he was looking at it now, and had decided he’d needed a couple shots of courage first.

  Four hours and three talented college girls later, he’d still ended up confessing to Harper, except then he’d had to watch the betrayal blossom in her eyes when she’d realized what he’d been up to that night. He’d hated that look she’d given him, even though he continued to cling to the petty, juvenile opinion that she had no right to be offended by Brandon moving on—romantically, sexually—since she’d rejected him over and over again throughout the five years they’d known each other.

  The team gathered near Brandon’s car in the back of the lot.

  “I don’t see any trouble,” Gabe said.

  Neither did Brandon, which had him wondering for the umpteenth time if Harper had latched onto the bar’s negligible problems to distract her from her own health issues. That thought led to the realization that her appointment with Dr. Nguyen was in the morning. His stomach churned with dread for her.

  He forced his worried thoughts away. “Doesn’t look like the punks are here yet, but they’ve been here every night this week, so it’s only a matter of time.”

  From his trunk, Brandon removed his drill kit and handed it to Liam. “Here. We’ve got a project to finish while we wait for them to show.”

  He handed a stack of three identical signs he’d found at a hardware store to Will, who read the top one. “Smile, you’re on camera.”

  “Yeah. Two signs for out here to help deter auto theft and one for the restroom hallway. Gotta make the ladies feel safe.”

  “Does Harper use a surveillance camera?”

  “She does now.” From out of a bag, Brandon pulled out the other purchase he’d made that day, one that he was particularly proud of, if he did say so himself.

  “A video baby monitor?” Liam spat. “I don’t get it.”

  “That’s a baby cam for a nursery,” Theo added.

  “I looked into actual video surveillance systems, but they were too expensive and complicated. This’ll work well enough to give her views of the parking lot, even after hours. We can mount it near the upper level patio and point it at the lot. It comes with two monitoring screens, so I figure she can keep one in her office and one in her apartment.”

  Theo clapped his hands. “I love it. Let’s get to work.”

  They’d gotten the signs up outside and were nearly done mounting the camera when Harper appeared.

  “What’s going on out here?” She strode along the building to where Liam was standing on a ladder, drill in hand.

  Brandon met her halfway and, yeah, he might have swaggered a little. “We’re solving your crime problems.”

  She surveyed the guys, who’d stopped working and chatting to watch the spectacle of Brandon and Harper. “The deal was that you were going to solve my crime problems, not the team.”

  “You didn’t specify how I should go about it, so my solution was getting the team’s help.”

  Her mouth fell open with a huff.

  “Here.” He handed her the box containing the monitor screens. “Liam mounted the camera up there under the eave.”

  She grimaced at the camera and the sign that Liam had mounted next to it. “That’s an ugly sign. It looks terrible on my beautiful building.”

 
“You also didn’t specify in the bet that I had to concern myself with aesthetics, and you can’t change the rules of the bet now. A deal’s a deal. This is how I’m solving your problems. Back to what I was saying.” He pointed at the box. “The camera has two monitors. One for your office and the other for your apartment. Now you’ve got eyes on the parking lot any time, day or night. If you see something suspicious, don’t go outside and, for the love of God, don’t shoot at anyone. Call Theo. He’ll handle it.”

  Theo blinked at him, not looking too dissimilar from Harper’s own blank look of shock. “I will?”

  Brandon slapped his back. “Thanks, man. Doing your part to keep the neighborhood safe.”

  Harper’s mouth lolled open wider.

  Smiling at her, Brandon cracked his knuckles. “That takes care of that part of the bet. I’ve only got one more crime problem to cross off the list, but we can’t dispose of that garbage until it gets here. Theo?”

  “What now?”

  “What do you think about getting your motorcycle gear on—bandana, leather jacket, the works? Let’s see how mean you can make yourself look. You could park your bike out front of Locks, too.”

  Theo chuckled and rubbed his palms together. “Sounds about right.”

  “Will?” Brandon called.

  Will walked to Brandon’s side. “What’s up?”

  Brandon nodded at Harper. “Harper has a job offer for you.”

  “I do?”

  Fine. Brandon could explain it easier than she could, anyway. “Harper needs a weeknight bouncer to handle the dinner shift. Nothing formal, but just someone to keep an eye on the place.”

  “Thanks, but I already have a job with Duke that pays the bills,” Will said.

  No problem. Brandon had a solution for that, too. He was on a roll tonight. A man on a mission. “She’ll comp you dinner.”

  “I will?”

  “That’d be cool,” Will said. “I hate cooking, and I can only bum dinner off Donna and Duke so many nights a week, ya know?”