Moments of Trust

by Kat Bammer

  Moments of Trust

  Moon Lake Series Book 3

  Kat Bammer

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  The Moon Lake Series Books

  Trials of Love

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Dear friend,

  My husband,

  I love you more each day.

  * * *

  And to my kiddos…who’ll probably never read this but think it’s cool that Mommy’s writing a book.

  Copyright © by Kat Bammer

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information, storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  * * *

  Editing by Kathy Bosman, Indie Editing Chick

  Proofreading by Tandy Proofreads

  1

  “Hey.” His teammate Paul Brooks barged into Kevin Reyes’ room at Moon Lake Inn like he’d been invited—which he sure wasn’t. Kevin didn’t want to be here, let alone have his teammate bother him all the fucking time.

  “You ever heard of knocking?” Kevin struggled to get his right leg into his jeans, not easy when your knees weren’t cooperating.

  Paul grimaced. “Sorry, man, thought you’d be ready by now.”

  Kevin scoffed.

  “Oh, you’re in that kind of mood again,” Paul said.

  Kevin could feel a familiar anger rise in his body. Yeah, he was in that mood again. Nowadays he was in this mood all the fucking time. And things were way harder here. At home he would put on some training shorts and zone out in front of his 90-inch flat-screen and binge on Netflix. He hadn’t worn jeans in months and maybe it wasn’t worth the hassle.

  Paul gave him a funny look, pulled his phone out of his pocket, and threw himself onto Kevin’s bed.

  Kevin ground his teeth. Was this envy? Was he really envious of his best friend’s ability to jump on a bed? God, he was pathetic. And an ass.

  Kevin’s phone rang, and he picked it up from the small desk that was part of the scarce furniture in his hotel room.

  “Hey, Coach.”

  “Hey, Reyes, just wanted to check in.”

  “Yeah, we arrived earlier today.”

  “Don’t fuck this up, Reyes. The team needs your head in the game.”

  Kevin didn’t need to hear this; he knew his recovery was taking longer than anyone had expected. And letting the team down nearly killed him.

  “We’re taking a big risk with this. Have you started therapy yet?”

  Pressure built behind his eyelids and Kevin pinched the bridge of his nose. He’d just arrived in Moon Lake two hours earlier. Was it really necessary that they kept him on this tight a leash all the time? He knew he fucked up. But he’d gotten his head on straight again. “I’m going over there now.”

  Kevin omitted he wasn’t going to a therapy session but to the opening party of Julie Brooks’ new physical therapy center. How he ended up being her very first client was still somehow a miracle to him. And how the team approved of this even more so. All he knew was that he needed to leave the city and his apartment, because if he hadn’t, it wouldn’t have ended well. So here he was. In Moon Lake. Paul Brooks’ hometown, on his way to Paul’s sister’s opening party.

  “We’re taking a chance with you and Brooks’ sister. I really hope she’s on top of her game. At least she’ll write a lot of reports. And we will keep close tabs on your progress.”

  “Got it.” They ended the phone call and Kevin sucked air deep into his lungs. It was the team’s right to keep tabs on him, he knew that. But it was harder and harder to deal with it on a daily basis. He’d never been the team’s fuck-up. All his career he had been the poster boy for the team; now he was the one everyone looked at with sorrow in their eyes or anger, or complete lack of understanding.

  “Hey, everything okay?” Paul pulled up and leaned on his elbows.

  Kevin nodded. “Coach, just checking in.”

  Kevin fastened his buttons, put his phone in his pocket, and slipped into his old, worn leather jacket. It was early December and it was freezing out there. Kevin grabbed his crutches and left the room before Paul. On top of the stairs Kevin stopped, let Paul pass him, and watched him tackle the stairs with a spring in his step.

  Kevin struggled. Every single step he took was a struggle.

  It was a nice gesture of the owners of the Inn to give him the room on the top floor. They did it to give him more privacy. And they didn’t know he was still on crutches, and he sure as hell didn’t tell them that walking stairs was still hard. Kevin limped down the stairs and when he finally arrived at the last step, Paul looked at him funny.

  Kevin didn’t need to ask why. He knew full well he should’ve recovered by now.

  The second procedure on his knee had been weeks ago.

  Well, closer to three months.

  The complications following the procedure, and his stint to get rid of his addiction to pain meds hadn’t sped up his rehab.

  He should be well on his way back to the ice by now. But his knees still hurt with every step he took.

  They exited through the front door of Moon Lake Inn and made their way across the parking lot.

  Julie Brooks’ physical therapy studio was just there on the other side of the lot.

  347 steps. Kevin counted every one of them.

  347 steps and he was out of breath.

  God. He was pathetic.

  The only thing Kevin wanted was to get back to his room. Put some ice on his knees and watch TV.

  Paul opened the glass door for Kevin, and party noises greeted them. The wardrobe was on the right side of the entrance, and Kevin struggled to get out of his leather jacket and balance the crutches at the same time.

  Then he followed Paul into the room.

  Paul’s gaze swept the room before he strode toward two huge guys in jeans and Henleys.

  They looked fierce—huge, muscular, their backs to the wall, and they looked as if they scanned the room for trouble.

  Kevin followed his friend. He pulled on the collar of his dress shirt. Why did he always feel like he was suffocating in one of these?

  The people who were standing in his way looked at him funny before they stepped to the side to let him pass.

  Here comes the invalid.

  Kevin didn’t enjoy mingling with people. Fans were a different story. There he could talk shop, but people, random people, where small talk was required, wasn’t his thing at all. There was a reason the magazines called him Mystery Man Between the Pipes. Not because he was mysterious, but because he didn’t do small talk.

  He arrived at the men, and Paul and all three turned their attention to him.

  “Hey, guys.”

  “Hey, Paul, long time no see.” One of the guys and Paul hugged and patted each other on the back. “This is my friend Kevin.” He turned back to him. “Kevin, this is Peter and Blake.”

  Paul shook hands with the one called Blake, and Kevin took his crutches int
o his left hand and shook hands with them, as well.

  Paul leaned back against the wall. “So, what do you say? Looks like physical therapy to me.”

  Peter and Blake both nodded. “Your sister did good,” the one called Peter said.

  A minute later, after Paul caught up with his friends, two women joined them. Paul embraced them and each was snatched up by one of the two guys.

  They both hugged Paul.

  “Remember me, I’m Lisa.” Kevin nodded and shook the hand of the woman he had met earlier. Lisa was the one who checked him in earlier and was now snuggled against Peter’s side, and the other woman snuggled into the bigger guy, Blake.

  “Kevin, meet Claire. She’s the co-owner of the Inn. If you have any problems or questions, one of us should usually be around.”

  Kevin nodded to Claire. He tried hard not to stare at her pregnant belly. Pregnant women made him nervous.

  “So, Kev, ready to enjoy some PT?” Paul joked and Peter and Blake grinned. Obviously they knew how grueling PT could be.

  “And he’ll be up and running before you know it,” a clear female voice behind him chimed in.

  Kevin turned around and looked down at the petite, young woman who joined their conversation.

  Holy hell, this woman was hot.

  The Pixie thrust her hand in his direction. “Hi, I’m Julie, your new therapist.”

  Even her hand looked delicate. How could this woman be a physical therapist?

  Kevin shook her hand and an electrical charge swept through his body. He pulled his hand back, took a step back, and looked down at his tingling hand. When he looked back up at Julie again, her dilated pupils enhanced the mesmerizing green irises. Her expression was equally shell-shocked so she must have felt the same thing as him.

  What the hell was that? Kevin shook his head to clear the cobwebs. That was some serious electrical discharge between them. Nothing he’d ever experienced before.

  Their little moment was interrupted by Paul who stepped in, picked Julie up, and swung her around.

  “You did good, sis, I’m real proud of you.”

  Her laugh was like a sprinkle of fairy dust and Kevin’s body tingled. Then she whacked her brother on the shoulder and destroyed Kevin’s image of a fairy.

  “Let me down already, you oversized bull.”

  Paul just laughed and swung her around some more before he gently set her back down.

  “Hey, son…Kevin.” Mr. and Mrs. Brooks stepped up to them and Mr. Brooks shook his hand. “So nice to see you again. It’s been a while.”

  “Sir.” Kevin had met Paul’s parents once before, when they came to Montreal to visit Paul and watch a game.

  But Paul’s sister hadn’t been with them.

  Paul’s little sister Julie… His future physical therapist…

  Was it ethical to start something a little more physical with your physical therapist? Or your best friend’s sister?

  Kevin took a step back and shook his head again.

  Nope. Not gonna happen. Just because they have chemistry, didn’t mean he had to act on it.

  Get your head in the game, silly. No time for thinking with your dick.

  Kevin needed to get out of there. He turned toward Paul and Julie and they immediately stopped bickering.

  “Hey, I’m tired. I’m gonna call it a night, ’kay.” He waved at the small group around them and turned back to the exit, acutely aware of the eyes on his back.

  Acutely aware of the woman who followed him in his slow progress toward the exit.

  Julie took his leather jacket out of his hands and helped him slip into it. When she touched him, he could feel the spark and tingle again. Another electrical discharge. Kevin shook his head.

  “Thanks for showing up. And thank you for taking a chance on me,” Julie said after a pause.

  Kevin growled. Under normal circumstances he wouldn’t have given her the time of day. At least not in the professional sense. But he was desperate. Desperate to get out of town and even more desperate to get back on the ice.

  “We’ll get rid of these in no time.”

  Kevin turned to her and caught her pointing at his crutches. God, she was beautiful. In a nice, natural kind of way.

  Which didn’t diminish her hotness or his attraction to her at all. Not even her friendliness did.

  She leaned forward and for a moment Kevin thought she would give him a kiss on the cheek.

  But then her behavior changed and he could see her shut down right before his eyes. It was more subtle than her distancing herself physically from him by stepping away to the door.

  “Good night.” Even her voice was different.

  She opened the door for him and when he stepped through it, their bodies touched for a second and another electrical charge swept through him.

  Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. If he felt like this just when she got near, how much worse would it be, if she touched him for real?

  A picture of a naked Julie, slowly touching him, appeared before his mind’s eye. Maybe they should ditch the professional relationship and pursue a more personal one.

  Or not.

  2

  Julie Brooks puffed while she shoved the training bike to its original place in the middle of her new studio, and Julie’s mother finished the last sweep of the floor by the door.

  They were at this, cleaning the studio, for the better part of the morning. Now everything smelled like a mixture of orange blossoms with a sting of antiseptic solution. And the new wood-like vinyl floor sparkled again, except for the corner where she had pushed all the equipment before the party. It would have been an obstacle course otherwise, and the crowd of people that had attended her opening party wouldn’t have fit.

  The layout of the studio really was one big room, with a small entrance area where the wardrobe and the restrooms were located.

  “Julie, do you have a clean rag for the windows?”

  Julie looked up from the bike. “Mom, the windows are fine. I just cleaned them yesterday. Just leave them and I’ll do it some other time.”

  Her mother stood by the window that looked into the garden of her parents’ house. “No, I got it. There’s a full handprint on this window. I’ll just clean this one and leave the rest.”

  Julie shrugged and pointed to the entrance of her studio. “I got rags and supplies in the broom closet right next to the restrooms, but you really don’t have to do this.”

  “Oh, nonsense, it’ll just take a second.”

  Julie’s mother marched through the room toward the restrooms, while Julie swiped the floor in the corner.

  When her mother came back with a clean rag, she wiped furiously. “That’s strange.”

  Julie pulled the weight bench from the corner to its original place to the right wall right next to the stall bars. “What’s strange, Mom?”

  “This thing isn’t on the inside.” Her mother opened the window and cleaned the outside. “Who on earth would leave a full handprint on the outside of a window?”

  Julie squeezed her eyes shut and sucked in a single, raspy breath. The hair on her neck lifted and a sudden coldness chilled her to the bones.

  Somebody had been standing outside this window…watching.

  It must’ve happened last night, because she’d cleaned the windows just yesterday before her big opening party.

  Julie could only think of one person who wouldn’t just come in and say hello but stay in the shadows.

  Watching her.

  That was his MO. Watch her, follow her, and call her or write her. Send her flowers and tell her she’s his. At first she didn’t take it seriously. Yes, he hadn’t gotten the message that she wasn’t interested. Then, when Julie could not maintain a professional relationship, she had turned him over to one of the other PT’s. But nothing had helped. She even quit her job, after he regularly waited by her car after work. His behavior had escalated. But she had hoped it would end when she stopped working in White Creek.

  Some
how he must have figured out where she lived. Hell, maybe she even told him about her hometown, back then, when he had still been a regular client. Before everything went to shit.

  “Maybe your father was out in the garden to look where I was. You know how he gets when I’m late preparing lunch.”

  Julie nodded. Then took the rag from her mother. “Thanks for helping, Mom. I really appreciate it. But it’s getting late. You better get going before Dad gets hangry. And I can finish up here.”

  “Hangry? God, you young folk and your crazy words. What happened to proper language?”

  Julie shrugged and forced a smile on her face. It felt like her lips wouldn’t cooperate, but her mother was already busy gathering her things, so she didn’t notice.

  “I’m proud of you, baby girl. Yesterday was a good start. Everybody was in. Even Sheriff Travers and Dr. Alan were here.” Her mother kissed Julie on the cheek and moved toward the exit.

  Hotness gathered behind Julie’s eyes and she inhaled through her nose before she followed her mom. “Thanks, Mom. But without you and Dad, none of this would’ve happened.”

  And it wouldn’t have. Her parents had been supportive from day one, when she first told them she wanted to start her own physical therapy center. Her father was the one who suggested they transform their old garage and who coordinated all the structural changes and modifications that had to be done.

  She really owed a lot to them, so she wouldn’t dump her problems with Hank on them. She would somehow manage this one herself. For God’s sake, she was twenty-nine years old. Just because she still lived with her parents, didn’t mean she couldn’t solve her own problems.