The Troublemaker (Players on Ice Book 8)

by Cathryn Fox

  “Wait, no. It wasn’t like that. Well, I mean it was, at first, but then not.” I take another fast breath and try to gather my scrambled thoughts but she doesn’t give me time.

  She points. “I want you all to leave. Right now.”

  I take a step toward her, and she moves back. Scowling at me, Emily puts her arms around Kinsley’s shoulders and leads her into the house, away from us all. Asshole Evan comes closer, squares off against me. Oh, he’s going to be playing the hero now, is he? Too fucking late for that.

  “She asked you to leave,” he says and tugs on the lapels of his coat, which fuels my temper even more.

  “Fine, I’ll leave, but this first.” I pull my arm back and swing, punching him square in the face, and he flies backward. “That’s for hurting Kinsley.”

  “Fuck,” he says, from the ground. “I’m going to sue your ass off for this.”

  “I don’t care. It was worth it.” Before I go, I turn to her parents. “You might think Evan is the answer for Kinsley, but believe me, he’s not. He hurt her, deeply. If you took the time to ask about it, you’d know. I know because I helped put her back together again.”

  “Oh, by staying with her for thirty days so you could win a car?” her father mocks.

  “You don’t know me, my life, or the reason behind that, so maybe you should shut up and listen for once.” His eyes go wide and he glares at me, but I continue with, “Kinsley is an amazing woman. I’d like to think you both had a part in making her that way, and yes that’s a compliment. But she’s a grown woman now, who doesn’t need to be judged for who she isn’t, but for who she is.”

  Her father grunts. “And after this fake marriage you’re telling me you know who she is.”

  “The marriage is real and I know who she is. She’s a kind, generous woman who gives back to her community, and not from behind some desk making a token donation to look good on the books. She’s out there with her hands every day, cooking and creating new programs to help the needy. She cares about others, and she cares about you two when neither of you deserve it. You need to make this right, before you lose her for good, and I’m telling you something, losing Kinsley doesn’t feel very good.” Actually, it feels like my heart’s been torn from my chest and someone is still stomping on it.

  Her father takes a step toward me, and I put my hands up. “I’ll leave, but you two need to wake the fuck up and see what I see when I look at your daughter.”

  “Let’s go, buddy.” Cole puts his arm on my shoulder and leads me from the backyard. When we’re away from the crowd, he shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Cason,” he says. “The bet was my idea. I pushed it on you, thought I was actually helping and now everything is fucked because of it, because of me.”

  “I don’t get it, Cole,” I say, my voice cracking as Nina slides her arm through mine and walks with us. “Did you want me with Kinsley or not?”

  “I wanted you with her so much, I was willing to part with my car.” I shake my head, my brain too rattled to put the pieces of the puzzle together. “I knew she was the girl for you. I told you love would happen when you least expected it. I didn’t want you to run away after two weeks like you usually do. I thought the car was incentive for you to stay for thirty days, so you could both explore your feelings and your relationship.”

  “I didn’t stay because of the car,” I say quietly.

  “You stayed because you love her,” Cole says.

  I nod. “That’s right.” I tug on my hair, as my heart thunders. “Now she’s lost her trust fund, probably her food truck, and definitely her restaurant.”

  “And you lost the only girl you ever loved.”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then what are you going to do about that, buddy?”

  I lift my head, and as I stare at Cole, an idea takes shape, forms in the back of my brain. “I need to go to the cottage.”

  18

  Kinsley

  “Why don’t you take a break?” Kat suggests and my gaze jerks to hers.

  “Why would I take a break? Do you see the line out there?” I bark back. She winces and I sigh. “I’m sorry, Kat. Just under a bit of stress lately.”

  “I can tell.” She passes a taco through the window and starts on the next order. “For the last two weeks you’ve been kind of a bear.”

  “You’re right, and none of it’s your fault. I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.”

  She takes the burrito bowl from me and sets it aside. “You shouldn’t be taking it out on the food, either. You keep messing up the orders. No onion, remember?”

  I swallow and wipe my head with the back of my arm. “Shoot. I can’t afford to waste any more food.”

  “I’m sorry, Kinsley,” Kat says as she starts a new burrito bowl, her eyes full of worry as she casts a glance my way. “I know things are tough right now, and I’m really sorry you lost the downtown space you wanted.”

  My throat tightens and tears pound against the back of my eyes. “When it rains, it pours,” I say, working so hard to keep a positive attitude, but right after the ‘wedding’ party at my parents’ house, I found out my dream space had been rented—snatched out from underneath me. Well, not really, since it was never mine. I lift myself up and straighten my shoulders. I’m not a quitter, dammit, and I have a positive attitude, despite the storm known as my life trying to drag me under.

  “I’ll find another place and another way to get it. We’ll just have to keep this truck going for a little while longer, and maybe I can take on a roommate so I can save more.” Just then the fridge makes an ungodly sound, and we both turn to stare at it. “Wonderful.” I drop down, and pull open the door, to make sure it’s still up to temperature. “I’m going to have to get someone in to repair this.”

  “I can ask my uncle. He’s a handy guy and he probably wouldn’t charge you very much.”

  I nod and stand back up. “You’re sweet, thank you.”

  She passes the order through the window and turns back to me. “I can take over here. I already called Jason, and he’s on his way to help.”

  My heart pinches. “Are you sure?” I ask, not wanting to put the lunch load on her, but I’m such a mess, I could use a fast break.

  “Positive, now go clear your head and think about how you’d like to design your kitchen when you finally get one.”

  I reach behind my back and untie my apron. “Okay,” I say, working to inject a bit of enthusiasm into my voice, but from the look on Kat’s face, she knows I’m faking it. I’d drawn plans up once, and forgotten them at Cason’s cottage. Not that they’re of any use now.

  “You look like you need a shoulder right now. I’d be that shoulder, but I have to get these orders out. Can you call a friend?”

  I almost snort at that. I gained and lost so many friends in the last month, my head is spinning. I loved being a part of Cason’s tribe. Loved the women and kids and all the guys, and yet they were all conspiring against me behind my back. Well, not all of them, and the ones who were, I guess in the end they weren’t my friends anyway and I need to stop thinking about them. I check my watch. Maybe Emily can take a few minutes and meet me for coffee.

  The second I think of her, my phone rings, and I smile when I see it’s her. I grab my purse, thank Kat again, and step outside into the sunshine. It does little to soothe my bruised soul. I slide my finger across my phone.

  “Hey Emily, I was just thinking of you. Are you free?”

  “I’m cheap, but I’m not free,” she teases, and I appreciate her trying to put me in a better mood. She’s been checking in with me for the last two weeks. Jules has called a few times, too, asking me to call Cason, give him a second chance. But I can’t call him. He hurt me, far more than Evan ever did.

  And why is that, Kinsley?

  Because I loved him. Correction: I still love him. But I should do myself a favor and get over him. Wallowing in my own self-pity is absolutely ridiculous. I glance at the ring on my finger. Why the hell am I still wearin
g it, and why haven’t I started the annulment process?

  “Want to grab a coffee?” I ask, getting my head back to the present.

  “Sounds great.” I hear a male voice in the background, and for a second I think it’s Cason.

  “Where are you?” I ask. Maybe she has a male client that sounds like the man I’m in love with.

  “Meet me at the market,” she says instead of answering me.

  I frown. Why would she want to go there, so far from her work? I don’t ask, instead I agree and end the call.

  Since the market is close by, I decide to walk, and I struggle to keep my thoughts on something—anything—but the man I haven’t seen in the last two weeks. But that would be like stopping a freight train with my fist.

  Speaking of fist…

  I can’t believe Cason punched Evan. Honestly, I can’t believe all the things Cason said to my parents, standing up for me, right after he admitted he had a bet—a stupid bet—with Cole. Why would he do that, why would he stand up for me and say all those things if he was with me simply to win a bet?

  Maybe that’s not the real reason he was with you.

  Oh, how I truly want to believe that, how I truly wanted to believe we were beyond sex and tacos, too. But if he wanted more, wouldn’t he have wanted to introduce me to his parents? Wouldn’t he have said something? Then again, I never said anything, either. I was too much of a chicken, too damn afraid of messing things up. Is it possible that he was, too? He told me numerous times he messes things up. Was he too afraid of saying anything and ruining what we were building? Should I have stayed in that yard and listened to him? Oh God, I just don’t know what to think anymore.

  What I do know, however, is Cason helped me when I needed it, was there for me at every turn, and stood up to my parents. He brought me into his circle of friends, and touched me with loving, tender hands. Would he have done all that if he wasn’t one of the good guys, didn’t care more about me?

  “Earth to Kinsley.” I blink as Emily waves her hand in front of my face, pulling me back to the present. I was so lost in thought I hadn’t even realized I’d reached the market, standing on the corner as still as a statue, as people maneuvered around me. “Hey, are you okay?” She narrows her eyes and scans my face.

  “No,” I say, my voice low and shaky as panic wells up inside me. “I think I might have made a big mistake.”

  She eyes me for a minute. “You mean about Cason?”

  I cross my arms and hug myself as the world spins around me. “I think I should have stayed on the lawn and listened to him.”

  She gives me a big smile, and it surprises the hell out of me. “Why are you smiling? You hate him. You told me many times how much you hated him for hurting me.”

  “Yeah, I know. Come on. Let’s get a coffee and you can tell me all about why you thought you made a mistake.” She puts her arm through mine and starts walking away from the market.

  “Are we…” I jerk my thumb over my shoulder.

  She doesn’t look at me, instead she keeps her arm in mine as we cross the street. “Actually I heard about a new place that just opened. I want to try it out.”

  I shrug, not caring where we go, but there is an anxiousness inside my stomach. “Do you think I should call him?” I ask. “Do you think he’d even want to talk to me? I did say he was just like Evan. That was hurtful.”

  “That’s because you were hurting.” She gives my arm a little squeeze, and picks up the pace, her steps very purposeful. Maybe she’s short on time, and has to get back to work. “You thought the worst, probably because of Evan.”

  We round the corner and my steps slow as we head down the street where I wanted to open my restaurant. I don’t even want to walk by it, but Emily is dragging me along, giving me no choice.

  “Maybe there was more going on with the bet than we realized?” she says, casting me a fast glance before focusing on the street.

  “Do you think so?”

  “I do.”

  I eye her as I get the sense that something isn’t right here. She’s obviously had a change of heart where Cason is concerned. She was ready to neuter Cason and now it seems like she’s siding with him. What does she know that I don’t?

  “What’s going on Emily? What made you say there was more going on with the bet?”

  “I think Cason can answer that better than me,” she says as she pulls open the door to the downtown space I wanted to rent.

  I go as still as a stealth soldier. “What are we doing here?”

  She waves her hand. “It’s the new place I mentioned.”

  “I don’t think it’s open.” I glance up, but there is no sign over the door, and it doesn’t look like any patrons are inside.

  “It’s open. Come on, let’s check it out.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t really want to.”

  “Maybe not, but you have to.”

  I have no idea why she’s being so cryptic, and I don’t get the chance to ask, because the next thing I know, she’s hauling me inside with her. I’m about to turn and march back out when I find the place empty, but stop when my heart jumps into my throat.

  “What…what…” I ask as I spin around. “This is my design. This is exactly how I drew it out when I was at Cason’s cottage.”

  “I know,” a very familiar male voice says from the kitchen area. I spin, and nearly sink to my knees as a very tired looking, very disheveled Cason comes from the back and makes his way toward me. The love I feel for the man overwhelms me as he closes the distance. He reaches me, and his warm scent fills the air, wraps around me like a comfortable blanket. It’s all I can do not to throw myself into his arms. But I don’t know if he wants that, and I don’t know what the hell is going on.

  “Cason,” I say, as my brain races for answers. “What is this?”

  “It’s your restaurant.” He shoves his hands into his pockets and glances around. “Just the way you wanted it.”

  I sink into a chair and put my hands over my eyes, as the world closes in on me. I shake my head and try to make sense of it all. “This isn’t right.”

  “Did I not do it right?”

  I open my eyes at the confusion I hear in his voice. “You did this? You rented this space?”

  “I did.”

  I stare at him, dumbfounded as the tumblers slowly kick into place. “Cason, why would you do this?”

  “Because you’re my wife, and I believe action is stronger than words.” He swallows. “You know I’m not always good with my words.”

  “You were with me,” I tell him as tears pound behind my eyes.

  Cason did this for me?

  “There’s a reason for that.”

  “What reason?” I ask, as my heart crashes against my chest.

  “It’s because you were right for me and I’m hoping I’m right for you.” I open my mouth, but he puts his finger to my lips. “I fucked up. I have a habit of doing it. In the past, I think I was doing it on purpose, sabotaging those relationships when the girl I was with wanted more. I invented the two-week rule so we never got to that point again, because I never wanted to hurt anyone. I thought I was always saying the wrong things when it came to important matters, like my future. But really I was saying the right things, things that would end the relationship—because in my heart I knew I couldn’t have a future with any of those women. I wanted what all my friends have: the marriage, kids, minivans, but none of those women were right for me.” My chest tightens, an invisible fist squeezing my heart as he continues with, “All this time the right woman was right under my nose.” I blink through the tears, as he continues with, “Cole once told me love was going to happen when I least expected it.”

  “Love?” Oh God, is he saying what I think he’s saying? My knees wobble, and my breath comes faster as he sinks to his knees in front of me.

  “Yes, love. I love you, Kinsley. I love you so goddamn much and I’m fucking terrified that I ruined things between us. You were never a bet. Not t
o me. You were never just tacos and sex, either. You were and are everything to me. I’d move mountains for you.”

  “You love me,” I say almost to myself.

  A tortured groan catches in his throat. “Yes, Kinsley. I love you with everything in me.”

  I lift my head, and look at the gorgeous space. “You did this to—”

  “To show you how much I love you. I mean, I didn’t move a mountain—”

  This time I press my finger to his lips. “But you did this in two weeks and that was probably harder than moving a mountain.”

  He kisses my finger and takes my hand in his. “I’ve been miserable without you. I can’t eat or sleep, or even think, and the bet, Kins, it was wrong. Cole was pushing it on me, and I never knew why, but that’s not on him. I took the bet, but helping you was never about winning his car. I promise you that.”

  “I don’t understand. Why was he pushing it?”

  “It was some fucked up way to keep us together. Nina was in on it, too. They both knew how good we were together, and Cole was willing to lose his car to stop me from running after two weeks. He thought it was good incentive to keep us together, until I woke the fuck up, and realized you were the only girl for me.”

  I nod, my heart racing from shock and excitement.

  I’m the only girl for him.

  “I didn’t need the incentive, Kins,” he says and puts one palm on my cheek. “Marrying you was never a mistake. Nothing we did was a mistake.”

  “You…you thought you were sleeping with Emily.”

  He shakes his head. “No, I didn’t. I admit, I did go to her room, but the second you spoke to me in bed, I instantly knew it was you.”

  My pulse does a cartwheel in my neck. “You did?”

  “Damn right, I did. I was going to bail at first, because I was in the right bed with the wrong girl, and I didn’t want sex to come between us. But the second you pulled me to you, I instantly realized I was in the wrong bed, but with the right girl.”