The Strong Family Romance Collection

by Cami Checketts

  “I’m sure romance is fine … for some.” His voice was tight and uncomfortable.

  Hmm. She was right. Tragic past. Hiding his identity from his own son. Some woman had shattered his heart, and he hadn’t let himself love since. He could still be a hero. She knew just the woman to break through that wall and heal him. If only she had any practical experience to go along with all her book knowledge. “Was your heart tragically broken? Is that why you’re the emotionally closed brooding hero type?”

  Gavin’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. He stared studiously out the window as they approached the mountain pass that led out of the valley. His hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles whitened. Aw, crap, what had she done? She was treating him like she was in an interview. How did it work when you were actually in the story? She knew one of her heroines would never say anything so blatant yet dumb.

  “I’m sorry. That was all wrong. I need to lure you in first, make you fall for me, and then you’ll tell me your secrets.” She nodded to herself. Yes, that was how it worked in her books. She focused on Gavin, waiting for his response. If she was writing it, he’d lift up those glasses, give her a smoldering look, and tell her how she’d already lured him in. Ooh, yeah, she liked that a lot.

  All he did was grip the steering wheel tighter, his jaw clenched. He looked handsome, irresistible, and not at all ready to be lured in. Shoot. She tried not to guide her characters to say things the exact way she wanted. They usually revealed their amazing stories to her through her fingertips as she tapped away at her laptop. If she relaxed and trusted in the story and the voices in her head, her characters came up with dialogue she’d never be capable of thinking up. She needed to calm down and let it flow.

  She was obviously being too blunt and transparent. This was what happened when you were a hermit and went weeks without spending time with real people. It was getting easier to do so, with even her groceries being delivered. The only time she left her house was for her early-morning runs, and church and dinner with her parents and brother on Sunday. This trip was supposed to be about not only researching a new location for book settings, but also forcing herself to get out and meet people, learn to ski, maybe kiss a man. She glanced at Gavin again. If she asked him to kiss her for research purposes, what would he say? She hadn’t kissed someone since college. Four years. Her parents would die if they knew that.

  A loud beat echoed from the back seat. “You ready? Let’s go!” Austin started yelling along with the too-loud words: “‘Ten percent luck, twenty percent skill’ …”

  Kari swung back to the boy, feeling like a jerk for getting so caught up in Gavin she hadn’t even been looking at, or listening to, his son.

  “Austin!” Gavin yelled to be heard over the noise, navigating the sharp corners of the canyon with skill and impressive speed.

  “‘Remember the name!’” Austin screeched.

  “Austin!”

  “Yeah, Gav?” Austin called back.

  “Turn it down!” Gavin hollered.

  Austin held the button on the phone, finally bringing the words to a manageable level.

  “Way too loud, bud,” Gavin admonished him.

  “Sorry, bro, but I needed me some pump-up and you two weren’t listening to me anyway.”

  “Oh, shoot. I apologize, Austin. I got … distracted.” Kari risked a glance at Gavin, but his lips were pressed tight. Dang. He really was the closed-off type. Did she stand any chance of breaking through his walls? Doubtful. She wasn’t anything like the appealing, brave heroines she wrote about, and so far all she’d done was upset him. Did he feel any of the incredible warmth and tingles she felt when she touched him? The way he’d pulled his hand from hers back at the lodge said no.

  “It’s okay.” Austin smiled at her, easily forgiving. If only his brother or father or whatever Gavin was to him was more like him. “So you’re going to write about my hockey game when you work tomorrow?”

  “For sure. Plus I’m going to learn to ski tomorrow, so I’ll have lots of stuff to fit in books.” She smiled.

  “You’ve never skied before?” Austin stared at her like she had two heads.

  “No, sir. I’m from Arizona, remember? No snow.”

  “I wish I didn’t have school so I could teach you. Gav, can I please, please skip school tomorrow and teach Kari how to ski? I helped Heath teach Hottie Hazel, and that worked out great.”

  “Who are Heath and Hottie Hazel?” Kari asked, but she was also wondering why his “brother” made all the decisions about eating dessert at nine o’clock or skipping school. Was this more evidence for her theory about Gavin’s story, or simply evidence that he was a great guy who was a better brother than she’d ever met?

  “My brother and his fiancée,” Gavin explained. “Bud, we talked about this. Please just call her Hazel.”

  “But she’s hot,” Austin protested. He winked at Kari. “Not as hot as you, my new girlfriend, but she’s really hot.” He nodded vigorously.

  Kari laughed. How could she help it? The little man was so cute, and she loved his lack of boundaries or a filter. It reminded her of herself.

  “So I can skip school to teach Kari how to ski,” Austin said as if the deal was done. The song finished, and luckily another one didn’t start.

  “No, you cannot,” Gavin said sternly, holding out his hand.

  “That sucks.” Austin slapped the phone into Gavin’s palm and leaned back into his seat, disgusted.

  “Austin.” Gavin’s voice was steely soft. He sounded so much like a father that Kari thought she really was going to find a hidden story with these two.

  “Sorry, Gav.”

  “It’s okay, bud. School’s important, and you’re destined for greatness. You can’t do that if you skip school.”

  Austin’s little face lit up again, his deep brown eyes expressive. The sprinkling of freckles across his nose just made him cuter. He leaned forward. “I am going places! Did I tell you that, Kari?”

  “No.” She hid a smile; this kid was definitely going in a book. “Where are you going?”

  “Well. It’s going to be a hard choice. I might be in the NHL, or I might be in the NFL. Luckily, I’m young enough I don’t have to decide, but I love hockey and football both with all my guts.” He pointed to his abdomen. “The other option is I could be an extreme sports guy like my new brother, Trey. Ski all winter, do tricks on mountain bikes all summer.” He prattled on about sports and his family, including his brother, Stetson, who he thought would sign with the Georgia Patriots next year. He also discussed his hero, Jag Parros, who was the center for the Boston Bruins and came from right here in Lonepeak Valley, Colorado.

  Kari listened and encouraged him, but her gaze kept sliding to Gavin as they pulled into Vail and eventually parked at the ice arena. He responded to Austin, but he seemed tense and uncomfortable. Had her careless comments made him throw up a wall? He probably didn’t appreciate being characterized as emotionally closed off and broody. Dang. Had she driven this perfect hero away before she’d even gotten the chance to get to know him? It was probably safer for everyone involved if she just stuck to writing the stories, not trying to make one happen in real life.

  The disappointment that traced through her was surprising. She loved sharing the stories from the people in her head and had never really craved her own. Yet she’d never met a man as incredible as Gavin Strong. Too bad she’d messed it all up.

  Chapter Two

  Gavin tried mightily to focus on his team through warm-ups, but his gaze wandered far too often to the beautiful blonde standing next to the glass straight across from his team’s bench. She met his gaze a few times, smiled, and then looked away. He’d probably upset her in the car when he hadn’t responded to her whole emotionally closed-off brooding hero line. How was he supposed to respond to that? The woman was not only lethal with her gaze and fire with her touch; she was an overly imaginative romance writer who was liable to use him as fodder for her next book an
d then walk away.

  He shook his head and focused on the boys. Luckily, Coach Trevor was giving the pregame speech and pointers, because Gavin couldn’t have talked rationally if they were playing in the championship tonight.

  Austin shoved his helmet on and put out his fist to bump. “I got this, Gav,” he said, as overconfident and cute as any ten-year-old boy should be.

  “Yeah, you do.” Gavin thumped his fist, then his shoulder pad. He liked the way Austin called him “Gav” so affectionately and told everybody Gavin was his best brother, but he often imagined how great it would be to hear the word “Dad” from Austin’s lips. “Go strong, bud.”

  Austin gave a cackle of laughter, flipped over the barrier, and skated into position.

  The ref blew the whistle, and the battle for the puck began. Gavin focused on the game, but somehow, though the bleachers slowly filled and she found a seat, he knew exactly where Kari was and how she was reacting. When Austin stole the puck, dodged a defender, and scored, she jumped up, hooted, and did the cutest dance Gavin had ever seen. Luckily, she had his too-big coat on, so he couldn’t see the exact details of how her fit body moved during that dance.

  When a player from the other team slammed Austin into the glass, Kari gasped and started screaming at the ref, “Penalty! Foul! Bad kid! He can’t do that!”

  Gavin smiled as Austin skated on, unscathed, and Kari finally settled down. The refs didn’t allow these little guys to get away with much, trying to keep them safe and focused on the skill and not the brutality of the game, but they still weren’t going to make a call every time somebody got knocked into the glass or onto the ice. It was hockey, after all.

  “Gavin?” Trevor was eyeing him strangely. “You okay?”

  Gavin nodded quickly, hoping his fellow coach hadn’t noticed where Gavin’s gaze kept going. “Yeah. Why?”

  “Austin just got slammed into the wall and you were … smiling about it.”

  Gavin forced his face into a serious expression. He tried not to be overly protective of Austin, but it was in his nature, and everyone noticed it at one time or another. He’d also been told that he rarely gave a full smile. “No, I was smiling about a woman.” His lips tightened. That was nothing he should be admitting to.

  Now Trevor’s jaw dropped. “A woman? The woman who came in with you two? She’s beautiful, but I never …”

  “Let’s go, boys!” Gavin yelled, focusing on the game. “Nix, Mace, you two get out there. Show us what you’ve got. Austin, Grey, you’re off.”

  Gavin ignored his fellow coach, who was still staring at him. He had to get this stupid infatuation with Kari under control. She would probably be at the lodge for only a few days. After tonight, he’d avoid her, and soon his life would be back to normal.

  Why did normal life sound like torture instead of freedom?

  Kari cheered like a crazy woman during the hockey game. It was fun doing real people stuff, and Austin was amazing on his skates and with his stick thingy. He’d scored the only two goals for his team so far. She caught Gavin looking her way a few times during the game, and she always tried to give him a big smile to reassure him that she was enjoying herself. He looked so concerned about her—or was he concerned about her being here? Maybe he didn’t want an unknown woman around him and his son. That stank.

  She burrowed deeper into the too-big, warm, and delicious-smelling coat. Definitely Tom Ford, but something about Gavin’s body chemistry made it smell even more appealing than any heroine had shared with her when she was writing that specific cologne into a hero’s rap sheet. Her stomach felt warm as she stared at Gavin while he instructed the boys, and it warmed further as she breathed in his heady scent. He looked her way, and the warmth went to scorching heat. Oh my. She’d never been jealous of any of her characters’ connections or stories, simply happy to be part of their happily ever after, but if this was what it felt like to have an incredible man simply look at you? Wow. She really needed to get out more.

  The game finished with Austin and Gavin’s team losing 2–4. Kari cheered along with the crowd anyway, figuring it was a game well played. Would Austin and Gavin be grumpy about the loss? That might be awkward. She’d run track in high school and hadn’t really liked to lose, but she’d never been very competitive. Her older brother had been on the water polo team, and she remembered that after a loss her parents would give him some space for an hour or two; he’d be back to himself after that.

  The other fans filtered out, except for waiting parents. Kari smiled and waved at a few people who stared for too long. She’d noticed quite a few intrigued looks before and during the game, and they were increasing now. The small-town crowd wondering who the outsider was?

  When Austin and Gavin walked her way, she forgot about any looks and concentrated on them. What a pair. Austin was adorable with his golden-brown hair, dark brown eyes, a smattering of freckles across his nose, and a wide grin. Gavin was miles past adorable, carrying Austin’s huge gear bag and looking tough and handsome—irresistible, really—in a long-sleeved T-shirt that showcased his strong build. When he met her gaze, her stomach dropped out. She couldn’t stop herself from rushing to them. She wanted to throw her arms around Gavin’s neck and have him pick her off the ground, smiling up at her as he twirled her around and then …

  She shook her head and leaned down to hug Austin instead. Even the lovely scent of Gavin’s coat couldn’t negate the stink of Austin’s hockey jersey, which he was still wearing. “You played so good, you scored all your team’s goals! But you really, really stink!” These were the details she needed for her book, but she hoped her hockey heroes wouldn’t reek like moldy socks.

  Austin laughed. “It’s bad luck to wash gear mid-season.”

  Kari laughed with him. “I hate to break this to you, bud, but even though you played amazing, your team lost. Wash that gear and maybe it’ll give your team some good luck.”

  Austin’s nose wrinkled with disgust at her, but Gavin laughed. Gavin … laughed. It was a melodic and appealing sound that she wanted to record on her phone and play on repeat when she went back home and never saw him again. That laughter could inspire and lift her through any bout of writer’s block.

  She straightened and smiled at him. “I love your laugh.”

  That wiped the mirth off his face. He looked down at Austin. “Ice cream?”

  “Yes!” Austin seemed to forget about the loss and the suggested washing of gear as he grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the doors. “Can we go to Joe’s? Then I can get a sandwich too. I’m starving. Are you hungry, Kari?”

  Kari shrugged. “I had a salad at lunch.”

  Austin looked at her like she’d grown another head. “At lunch? A salad? It’s like … seven o’clock or something. You need food, pretty lady.”

  Kari giggled. She loved this kid.

  Gavin trailed behind them. When Kari glanced over her shoulder at him, he met her gaze and said, “You definitely need food. Look how my coat drowns you.”

  “That’s because you’re this burly, tough dude.” She smiled at him, and she hoped it was inviting. Why hadn’t she thought to practice smiles and alluring looks in the mirror before she’d left for this trip? Who knew if her face looked like a distorted grimace or a sultry model? She hadn’t planned on meeting the likes of Gavin Strong, that’s why.

  Hesitantly, he gave her maybe one-quarter of a smile back. It wasn’t much, but at least he wasn’t avoiding looking at her like he had earlier. Had she offended him with her stupid comments? Possibly. She’d have to figure out how to bite her tongue, or she’d never get to play at being a heroine with this incredible hero. Yet as Austin swung the door wide and Gavin held it for her to go through, she wasn’t sure that she wanted to play. With a man as incredible as this, she wanted so much more than that.

  Austin was talkative, rehashing different plays of the game, and got them to the deli and ice cream shop without either Gavin or Kari having to say much. They placed their orders fo
r sandwiches and shakes and found a booth, but Austin dashed off.

  “Where are you going?” Gavin’s voice held a note of panic as if he didn’t want to be left alone with her. Dang. She really must’ve offended him.

  “I’ve got to pee!” he hollered back at them.

  Gavin blew out a breath. “I’m trying to train him, but … you know ten-year-old boys.”

  Kari smiled at that. She wanted to ask what had happened to Austin’s mother, but she figured she’d already been too open today. “So what do you do for work, Gavin?”

  He focused on her, and her stomach did a roll. Dang, those eyes were lethal. “You didn’t know?”

  “Know what?” She took a sip of water.

  He tilted his head and said, “I own the resort.”

  She spit her water out, drenching his arm. Her mouth dropped open in horror. She grabbed a few napkins and blotted at the wet spot. “I’m so sorry.”

  He gave her half of a smile. “It’s okay. That was pretty funny.”

  “Well, you’re not laughing,” she shot back at him.

  His eyebrows arched. “I don’t laugh very often, only … with Austin.” He looked to the bathroom as if wishing his son, or brother—she still needed to get to the bottom of that one—would come back out.

  She wanted to address his non-laughter, but there was something she had to say first. “You own … that entire gorgeous resort, the ski lifts, the mountain, the restaurant, the spa?” She’d been to a spa once, treating her mom for her birthday. She wanted to spend some time in the one at his resort. His resort? Incredible.

  He nodded, his lips still tilted up. “My parents started the resort with a small loan and a tow lift. They’ve grown and developed it over the past thirty years. I’ve been buying them out for the past four years. By next year, I’ll own it outright.”