by Freya Barker
“Remind me never to piss you off,” LeBlanc remarks softly, taking his life in his hands. My sister, not one to be poked when she gets like this, swirls around and pokes her finger in his chest.
“You just did!” she yells, before turning away from him with her hands in the air. “I can’t even.”
I’ve never really known what that means; I can’t even. What? Can’t even what? Comprehend? Manage? Believe it? Whatever it is, I’m not about to ask for clarification. I value my life.
“She says it may have slipped, when she ran into him last week. Not bloody likely. She probably got her panties in a twist and called him right when she left here.”
Best thing to do is to let my sister blow off steam, in my experience, so I fold my arms over my chest and only nod occasionally while she does. LeBlanc seems highly amused by the drama. Something that I hesitate to admit, bodes well for him. It doesn’t escape me either, that when Mia walks in and hands Ole to his mom, the guy’s features soften.
“You okay?” Mia says, sidling up to me with her eyes on my face.
“Better, now that Jordy got that out of her system,” I respond dryly, making Mia giggle.
Mia
Surreal. This whole situation is so far outside my frame of reference, I’m not quite sure what to do with it.
Instead of agonizing over it, I busy myself in Jared’s kitchen, listening with half an ear, while the other three talk. I can’t help but pay attention when Jordy starts yelling into the phone, and I shoot a quick glance at Jared when she mentions Jared already has a woman. He is looking straight at me. Yikes.
I’m grateful to hear Ole cry, it gives me something to do, because I’ll start wearing down the granite if I wipe the counters any more.
“Hello, little man,” I coo, walking into the nursery and lifting him from his crib. A quick diaper change later, I bring him to his mom. The boy is hungry.
“Okay,” John Leblanc starts, his eyes still on Jordy. “Your properties start at the top of the hill, where the road splits into your respective driveways. I suggest starting with a gate. It’s not going to stop everyone, but at least the cars won’t be able to get down and it may deter the fainthearted. I can’t afford to assign someone to you, but I can include regular patrols in the schedule. I have no idea how bad this can get, you’re the better judge of that.” He nods at Jared. “But I suggest maybe hiring your own security, in the short term. Until things settle down. If you need recommendations, I have a few contacts of security firms that work around here. You’re not the only celebrity with a place here.”
My head is spinning, listening to him talk, and I can feel anxiety rising in my body. Apparently so can Jared, because I suddenly feel his arm slip around my waist, pulling my back tight against his front.
“Set me up with your best suggestion,” Jared says over my shoulder. “As soon as possible. Mia will stay here so we’re easier to cover. I’m sure it’ll blow over soon enough. Not like I’m that newsworthy anymore.”
I freeze when I hear him simply decide for me, but I’ll keep my lip zipped until John is done saying his goodbyes. My heart warms a little when I watch him bend over Jordy and rub Ole’s bald head. Jordy flushes a little when he says a few words to her, still bent close. I almost laugh when I feel the protective brother growl from behind me.
“Give me twenty to get back to the office and I’ll call you with details,” John promises Jared.
“Sounds good,” is his rather brusque response.
The moment the door closes behind him, I step out of Jared’s hold and swing around.
“I will not stay here,” I snap, my temper flaring even more when I encounter the smug grin on his face. “And I don’t find this in the least amusing. I’m not some kind of hapless creature, who’ll let herself be bullied around.” I know the instant I see Jared’s lips press in a thin line and his eyes go dark, that I’ve hit a nerve. Inadvertently I take a step back.
Jordy, who chuckles softly behind me, apparently finds all this very entertaining. I don’t, and apparently, Jared doesn’t anymore either.
“Let’s get some facts straight here, shall we?” he bites off with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “You freak out when some lowlife comes to invade your carefully guarded privacy, because he’s after some juicy intel on me. This after you jumped in, delivered, and cared for my sister’s baby, been roughed up by her asswipe ex, and been questioned by police, and you don’t think I should take some responsibility for you? You’re far from a hapless creature, and you damn well know it. Just like I’m not a bully: I’m protecting my family in a situation I created,” he says, slapping his hand on his chest for emphasis.
“Actually,” Jordy pipes up. “Tina and Nick created it.”
“Hush,” he tells her, but his eyes stay on me.
“I didn’t freak out,” I offer meekly, my temper duly deflated, and watch Jared grab his neck and tilt his head back, his eyes rolling up to the ceiling.
“Fuck me,” he groans, before turning his attention back on me.
“That’s what you got out of that? Mia—you were blowing chunks in your plants, for Christ’s sake. Tell me that’s a standard reaction you have to visitors?” I struggle to hang on to my snit, but Jordy makes it really hard when the sound of her giggles follows her as she walks out of the room.
“Euonymus. It’s a shrub, not a plant. Burning bush,” I mutter defiantly, when I’m suddenly bent back in a pair of strong arms and kissed stupid. Tilted precariously backward, all I can do is grab onto Jared’s wide shoulders for balance. As his tongue slips in my mouth and slides along mine, his hold keeping me steady, my arms snake their way around his neck, and my fingers tangle in his hair. Any thoughts I had disappear under the onslaught of his lips on mine, and I can’t help the groan that slips out when he slowly straightens me and releases my mouth. By the time I’m set back on my feet, my lips are bruised, my legs can barely hold me, and I’m sure my brain is leaking from my ears.
“Only way to shut you up,” Jared growls, giving me a little shake.
Since I appear to have misplaced the last of my facilities, and no longer have the capacity for independent thought, I guess there’s only one thing to do—give in.
“Okay.”
NINETEEN
Jared
“Thanks again,” I call after the retreating back of the foreman of the crew, who’d been working at the head of the driveway all afternoon.
It had been surprisingly easy to get the local company, who did most of my renovations, to come and install gates on a Saturday. Money still talks, and luckily I have plenty of it.
I know we’re not going to keep everyone out, but at least the gates will be a bit of a deterrent.
As promised, LeBlanc came through with his private security connections and already there was a guy stationed at the gate in his truck. His responsibility is to turn those that make it that far around, reminding them this is private property. Hopefully, it will discourage at least some.
It was sure easier dealing with the press when I didn’t have the added responsibility of my sister, my nephew, and Mia. Perhaps it had been naive to think I could just phase myself out, without anyone the wiser. In a lengthy conversation with Brian this afternoon, he pointed out that trying to stay off the radar completely would only add to the curiosity. Right now, with no active hockey season to distract them, these guys are clambering for a story. Any story. When I suggested a news conference, he indicated it might be a good idea, but that it would be even better if I had some solid plans for the future to impart. He had a meeting to attend, but said he’d call me later.
I close the door after seeing the construction crew off and head to the kitchen, where Mia is already pulling stuff together for dinner. Normally the kitchen is my domain, but I don’t mind sharing it, or anything else for that matter, with the woman currently occupying it.
“Hey,” I warn her, as I walk up behind, slip my arm around her middle, and dip my face into her neck. I like ho
w she doesn’t stiffen up at my touch anymore. At least not when Jordy’s not around, which she instantly confirms, twisting her head to look into the empty living room. Jordy went to lay down with the baby after the last feed. Told me to wake her for dinner.
After coercing her into agreeing to stay here for now, I didn’t waste any time getting her to drive over to her place with me, pack up all she would need for a few nights, and get her and Griffin settled into the spare room. I figured it might be presumptuous to clear space for her in my closet. Especially with my sister keenly scrutinizing every move.
“Chicken pot pie okay?” she asks, relaxing into me.
“Sounds great. What can I do?” I ask, just as my phone starts ringing. “Hold that thought,” I tell Mia, pressing a quick kiss on her shoulder before pulling my phone from my pocket.
“Brian,” I answer, after checking my call display.
“Got a minute?’ He doesn’t waste time with platitudes.
“Sure, shoot.”
“Look, I know Miami isn’t it,” he offers. “But I thought about what you said, about coaching kids, and I may have a lead for you. If I can set something up for this week, would you be able to make a meeting in Barrie?”
“Barrie?”
“Colts are looking for an assistant coach. Pay is shit and Dale is in there pretty solid as head coach, so there won’t be much movement in that regard any time soon, but you’ll be on the ice with the kids.”
“Do it,” I answered. “The money doesn’t matter, the politics that come with being head coach is something I can do without, and on the ice with the kids is what I want. Set it up.” Brian chuckles at my instant reply.
“No need to think on it? Put down some requirements of your own?” he teases.
“Fuck no. It already meets all of them; working with the young guys, minimal headache, and only an hour travel time. It’s perfect.” I watch as Mia regards me with growing interest.
“Do you at least have a preference for days?” Brian wants to know.
“End of the week. See if we can hammer something out on the spot with them. If that works, use the weekend to write up a press release and news conference for Monday.”
“Maybe we can do it at the Colt offices, have management in attendance. Would get some welcome positive exposure for them, too. It could be a good incentive to make this happen fast,” he suggests, proving once again why he’s my agent. Quick thinker, master negotiator. “Any way we can do it sooner?”
“Need a few days to make sure everything here stays quiet. I won’t leave my family unless I know they’re looked after.” I’m talking to Brian, but my eyes never leave Mia’s face. She turns back to the vegetables she started chopping, but not fast enough to hide the smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “Gotta go, my friend. I promised to help with dinner. Call me when you know more.” I end the call, cutting off Brian’s chuckle. The man is not stupid.
I choose not to say anything to Mia when I lightly bump her hip to stand aside and grab a knife to help her slice carrots. She stays quiet as well, our hands and shoulders occasionally brushing as we silently move alongside each other in the kitchen.
I wipe my hands as Mia slides two good-sized pot pies in the oven and hang up the towel when she turns around to face me. Jordy hasn’t surfaced yet, but even if she had, it wouldn’t stop me from reaching out and drawing Mia in my arms. She doesn’t resist, just puts her palms flat on my chest and tilts her head back to look me in the eye.
“Forty-five minutes,” she offers in a soft voice.
“Long enough to get into trouble,” I tease her, watching her eyebrows lift a fraction. “But not nearly long enough for what I have in mind for you.” She blows a puff of air through pursed lips and my gaze locks in on them. Not enough time to get her naked and finally get a chance to explore that mysterious, moonlit body I can’t stop thinking about. But there’s always time for an appetizer.
Her mouth opens in invitation the moment my lips touch hers. Every hair on my body stands to attention when her tongue tentatively tastes, sliding along mine, and becoming bolder with each stroke. I let her lead, content to be on the receiving end of this kiss, but when a small groan escapes her, my patience comes to an end.
My hand slides up between her shoulder blades, pressing her torso harder against my chest, before finding purchase in her wayward curls, tugging her head back for a better angle. I take over, exploring every corner of her mouth before sliding my lips and tongue down her chin and along her jaw. She tastes like lake air: warm, sweet, and a little salty, yet fresh with a hint of lemon or juniper. My mind instantly makes its way down her body, wondering whether her pussy would taste the same. If so, I could easily get addicted.
Most of the time going down on a woman, or even kissing her, is simply doing my part in making sure she’s taken care of. Kissing Mia is something else altogether. It fills a basic need I don’t think I was even aware of before the first taste I had of her.
My lips find hers again, and her fingers tighten on the small hairs at the nape of my neck, adding a little sting that’s not unpleasant.
“I can just take a plate to go,” Jordy’s smart mouth sounds behind us. “Looks like you’re ready for a different kind of dinner entirely.”
Mia tries to break free of my arms, but I’m not about to let her. I turn her in my arms, holding her back tight to my front as I eye my sister, who is looking too pleased with herself, bouncing a very awake Ole on her arm. I never heard him wake up.
“Can I just remind you that any torture you subject us to, I will make sure you receive tenfold when your time comes?” I point out with a grin that only grows bigger when I see realization wash over her face.
That’s right, Pipsqueak.
Mia
“So what’s the difference between the NHL and the OHL?”
Both brother and sister turn to me at once, the same incredulous look on their faces.
After that...awkward moment earlier in the kitchen, Jared tugged me along to follow Jordy to the living room. I was ready to sit on the couch beside her while she fed, but Jared had other ideas. He sat down in the comfy club chair, pulling me down on his lap. Before I could protest, he started talking, letting us know that the gates were installed, security was in place, and that he was working with Brian to draw attention away from here. I was silent, all through his argument with Jordy, who felt he was being a little paranoid with all the precautions. To which Jared fired back that she should check with her OPP officer to see if he felt Jared was being overprotective. Although both got heated, the bickering never got ugly. It was easy to see the love. And every time Jared would say something about ‘his family’ or ‘his responsibility,’ Jordy sent a telling smile my way.
It’s clear from his words and his actions, he considers me part of that equation and as much as it apparently pleases Jordy, it both thrills and terrifies me equally. It feels amazing to realize he cares, but I know my baggage. Therefore, I realize all too well, the impact my limitations can have on another person. Blair couldn’t hack it, and we’d been together for years. It had decimated me.
Opening myself up to Jared, to this almost idyllic family he apparently sees, has the potential of annihilating me. Yet, I can feel myself slipping further under his spell, and I do nothing to stop it. Mild as this may seem to anyone else, I feel like I’m standing on the edge of a cliff, enjoying the breathtaking views around me, and yet painfully aware of the deadly precipice, only a hair’s breadth away.
I’m half-listening to their conversation during dinner, when I hear Jared mention the Colts again, and I start paying better attention. I’m not, nor have I ever been a hockey fanatic. Proof being that I had never heard of Jared Kesla before. Now I know he is a pretty big deal in the sports world. I still don’t know much, though, evident from their reaction to my question.
“NHL stands for National Hockey League, and OHL stands for Ontario Hockey League. The OHL is one of the stepping-stones for kids with tale
nt and proper coaching, to make it to the NHL,” Jared patiently explains.
“Jared played for the Soo Greyhounds. Sault Ste Marie?” she adds, when I look a little lost. “Wayne Gretzky played there, too,” she says proudly. Now that’s a name I know well. No self-respecting Canadian doesn’t know it.
“So you want to coach for these Colts? In the OHL?” I direct at Jared, who smiles back.
“It’s the best of both worlds,” he says with a shrug. “Showing kids the ropes, sharing what I have in experience, and at the same time staying close to home. To my family.”
That word again.
He’s clearly happy at the prospect, and I’m happy for him too. It’s also a stark reminder how different our lives are. It doesn’t feel like an obstacle as much as it does a challenge. Jared obviously knows how to ride the change in tide, he seems to adapt easily and quickly to each new twist in the road. It’s something I gave up a long time ago, sticking instead to the safety of my limited world, but it’s definitely something I’d like to win back.
I get up to clear our plates, making a mental note to set up an appointment with Rueben for next week, and one with the nail place next to the clinic for after. It’s been over a decade since I’ve had a proper pedicure. Maybe Jordy will want to come with me?
The thought is both exhilarating and frightening.
-
“Where did you disappear to tonight?” Jared asks from close behind me.
Jordy went off to bed a while ago, and I’m just letting Griffin back inside, while Jared turns off lights. The only light on is from the hallway to his bedroom, and I guess mine. His body is partially blocking its reflection in the sliding door in front of me. Not that I need to see him to know he’s there; my body seems to know instinctively, the energy zapping my senses.
