Zack

Zack takes a sip of his coffee as he sits down in the chair across from me, his face still unreadable. He takes a hand and scrubs it through his hair, scratching for a moment at the back of his head while he glances out the window as if best contemplating how to begin. My heart starts hammering with apprehension.

  Finally, he drops his hand, leans forward to rest his elbows on the table, and pins me with a direct look. "Um...listen...I'm going to put the house up for sale."

  I blink in surprise at him and a tiny "Oh" pops free from my mouth.

  "I need a fresh start," he says quietly as his gaze drops to his cup, where he fiddles with the handle. He seems to be at a loss for words, so I simply say, "Of course you do."

  He raises his gaze up to mine and I see relief in his eyes. "You don't think it's..."

  His voice drifts away, unsure of how to say it.

  But I know what he's trying to say, and since I'm not one to hold back, I supply for him, "Too soon?"

  More relief filters into his gaze, and his shoulders actually raise a little, as if a weight has been lifted. "I feel guilty. Gina loved this house."

  "And she's gone," I point out gently.

  He nods in agreement, now letting out a sigh of easement. "People may not understand."

  "You're not accountable to anyone but yourself and Ben," I assure him. It's the God's honest truth and he needs to hear that.

  "You know why I'm telling you this?" he asks suddenly, his eyes intensely focused on me.

  I shake my head, because honestly, I'm dumbfounded that he's showing me his vulnerability. That's not typical of a man, much less Zack Grantham.

  "I've only known you for a few weeks, but I know this...you'd tell it to me straight. I knew you wouldn't pull any punches, and if I was doing something wrong, you'd tell me."

  "That I would," I say with a smile, warmed thoroughly by this, because it means he respects that about me. My candor and in-your-face honesty sometimes puts people off. I've found, in life, many people just don't want to hear the truth.

  "I also need your help," he tells me. "It's not part of your duties, so if you don't want to, I'd understand, but with me traveling...it's going to be hard to meet with the real estate agent and be available for showings. I'm going to need to get some stuff cleaned out of the attic, maybe paint a few rooms."

  "I can help," I assure him. "Not a problem."

  Full solace now filters over his face, and he gives me a grateful smile. "Thanks. I'll try to get an agent under contract as soon as I can, but it will probably be next week. But maybe we can work Sunday on clearing some stuff out and starting to get the house in shape."

  "Sounds good," I say as I stand from the table. "And do you want some breakfast? I made some scrambled eggs and toast for Ben this morning. I can whip some up for you too."

  "Sure," he says, leaning back again in his chair, now seemingly completely at ease and relaxed. The decision on this house must have been weighing heavy on him.

  "So where will you go? Will you buy something new or rent?" I ask as I pull the eggs out of the fridge.

  Zack stands from the table and walks around the kitchen island, brushes by me, and grabs the bag of bread from the counter. "I'll help," he says as he pulls four pieces out and puts them in the toaster. "And I'm not sure. Farther away from town, I think. I'd like a bit more land. It's too crowded in neighborhoods like this."

  "And Ben can get his dog he talks about almost every day," I point out as I pull a bowl from the cupboard and start cracking eggs into it.

  Zack laughs as he tries to step around me to get to the bottom cupboard that houses the frying pans. His hand comes out and brushes against my back, then presses in. His other hand comes to my waist and he physically, but gently, pushes me to the side. "Move over a bit so I can get the pan," he says nonchalantly.

  I, on the other hand, practically melt into a puddle of goo just from that innocent touch to move me out of the way. His hands fall away quickly and he bends over to pull a pan from the cupboard, then just as efficiently stands and turns toward the stove.

  I stand there frozen, my hand poised to crack an egg on the edge of the bowl. How is it possible that such a brief touch from this man causes my brain to go wonky and my blood to zing through my body? I've never felt anything quite like that before, and now I wonder...what would it feel like if he touched me elsewhere? Like his lips to mine? Or what if he cupped my breast?

  A violent shudder ripples down my spine and goose bumps break out on my arms, which are thankfully covered by my long-sleeved T-shirt.

  "I'm definitely getting a dog for Ben once we move," Zack says. "Maybe a golden retriever. That's what I had growing up."

  Blinking my eyes, I turn to look at him. "Huh?"

  "A dog...like you said," he says with a mischievous smile. Or was that a knowing smile? Does he know how much that brief touch affected me? My cheeks turn red with embarrassment that he might.

  "That would be great," I say with a forced smile and turn around to crack a few more eggs into the bowl. Zack has a huge appetite and he also has a game tonight, so I know he'll want to load up on as much protein as possible.

  "I'm going to take Ben out to Red Robin for a burger for lunch. He's been pestering me for weeks to go there. Want to come?" Zack asks, and my hands start shaking slightly.

  Is he asking me to come as the nanny? Or just to come as a...um...a friend? A potential lover?

  Stop it, Kate!

  Clearing my throat, I throw the last of the eggshells into the garbage and start beating the eggs. "Actually, I think I'll pass. I've got a few errands to run myself today."

  I need to maintain my distance from Zack, and so I resolve that unless it specifically revolves around caring for Ben, I'm going to step back and put some space between us.

  "No prob," Zack says, and I hear him walking back over to the kitchen table, sliding the chair out, and sitting down again. "Oh, and Ben wants to go to the game tonight, so if you're up for it, do you mind?"

  The tension in my shoulders relaxes marginally, and I actually get a gurgle of excitement in my stomach. This time I'd get to see Zack play live. "Of course I don't mind. Anytime you want me to go to a hockey game, you just have to snap your fingers and I'll come a-jumping."

  "Cool," he says with a chuckle. "I'm actually going to have you two ride with me, so you'll need to be ready to leave by about four thirty P.M. I don't want you and Ben braving the crowds alone."

  That surprises me, so I turn my head to face him. "Why's that?"

  Zack gives me a look that's firm with resolve. "Call it an overprotective-dad thing--you two can relax in the family lounge until the game is ready to start."

  "Do you not trust me with Ben outside of this house?" I ask curiously...okay, maybe a bit defensively.

  Giving me a chastising look, Zack says, "You know I do."

  "Then why can't I just come later with Ben--" I start to argue even as Zack's eyes are narrowing at me, when we both hear Michelle calling from the front of the house, "Yoo-hoo. Anyone home?"

  "Fuck," Zack mutters, and rubs the bridge of his nose. "I really need to get those locks changed."

  I forget all about our argument and can't help the giggle that comes out. He muttered that same curse the last time she barged into his house, explaining to me later that she and Gina had exchanged house keys at one point and he wasn't sure how to ask her for it back. He had resolved to just get the locks changed and let that message speak for itself when she tried to come into the house uninvited again.

  "I'll call a locksmith later today," I whisper toward Zack just as Michelle comes tottering into the kitchen in black leggings, an off-the-shoulder black sweater, and red five-inch-high heels. Zack shoots me a grateful smile and then squares his shoulders as Michelle ignores me and heads straight toward the kitchen table. She sits down facing Zack, her back to me.

  "Just thought I'd check in on you and Ben, see how you're doing," she chitters as she pats his forearm, then strokes it.

 
I roll my eyes, and on the downward swing I see Zack cut me a quick but panicked look. He then turns his gaze to her while slowly moving his arm from her grasp. "We're great," he says with a smile. "And actually...getting ready to head out for the day."

  Leaning over to look at me past Michelle's shoulder, he says, "You mind going to get Ben ready for me, Kate?"

  Michelle turns in her chair and glares at me.

  I know Zack isn't anywhere near ready to leave the house to take Ben out, seeing as how I haven't even cooked his eggs for breakfast yet and he's still in his pajamas. But he's desperately trying to get rid of Michelle.

  "Um...yeah," I say quickly. "I can...um...cook these eggs I just whipped up for myself later."

  I quickly rinse my hands, give them a pat with a kitchen towel, and head around the island for the back staircase. As I pass by the kitchen table, I try to avert my gaze from Zack, as I'm afraid I might bust out laughing over how uncomfortable Michelle makes him.

  "I was thinking," Michelle says in a syrupy-sweet voice, "I know you're in town this weekend. Want to take Ben and Beau to a movie with me on Sunday? A matinee or something. It would do you good to get out of the house some more."

  Just before I raise my foot to place it on the first stair step, I'm struck with brilliance. Rounding on the two of them, I dramatically slap my palm to my forehead. "Oh, crap, Zack...I forgot to tell you. I seemed to have lost my house key."

  Both of their gazes swivel toward me, Michelle looking extremely irritated I've disrupted her invitation to Zack to go out.

  He just stares at me blankly. When Michelle turns her face back to him, I mime behind her back with my hands the action of putting a key in a door lock, and I can see when understanding dawns on him.

  "Oh, well, that's not good," he says calmly, "since you're going to be out running errands today while we're gone. Can't leave the house unlocked."

  "Hmmm," I say as if a bright idea just came to mind. "Michelle...how about letting me borrow your key today so I can get back in the house when I return? I'm sure I'll be back well before Zack and Ben today."

  Michelle huffs in annoyance but starts to pull Zack's house key off her ring. "Honestly, Zack...if she loses a house key, how do you know she won't lose Ben at some point?"

  I wince, because damn, that was harsh, but then I smooth my face out when she turns to hand me the key. "I'll expect to get that back once you have another key made. In fact, you should have a copy made when you're out today."

  Fat chance of that, lady.

  Zack covers his mouth with his hand to hide his smile. I just give Michelle a grateful look and say, "Thanks, Michelle. I'll do that."

  Figuring Zack can handle the rest of the work of getting her out of the house, I bound up the stairs to get Ben ready to go out for the day with his daddy.

  And then I'm struck with another semi-brilliant idea. I've been mulling over Zack's words to me that I didn't have anyone I should be hiding myself from. I really didn't have any errands to run today, but now I think I do.

  To the mall.

  I got my first paycheck yesterday, and let me just say...Zack pays me well.

  For the first time ever, I'm going to buy myself something nice.

  Chapter 11

  Zack

  "And tonight's most valuable player," the Cold Fury announcer says with a long drawl, "is number fifty-seven, Zack Grantham."

  The arena erupts and I step back out onto the ice to make a small lap with my stick raised high. The fact that my son is here to watch this makes it that much better. The game MVP title is sweet. As a second-line left winger, those opportunities don't come as frequently as they do for guys like Alex and Garrett who play on the first line, and for a damned good reason. They are phenomenal players who are graced with amazing natural talent. I have to work twice as hard to play as good as they do, so that makes this even sweeter.

  Tonight I scored my third career hat trick--three goals in a game. The first came just about fifty seconds into the game when I was on my first shift. I stepped out onto the ice during the shift change and luckily intercepted a bad pass from one of the Toronto Blazers players.

  Then it was a full-on breakaway as I shot down the ice, one on one against the goalie.

  Tap, tap, tap--back and forth--puck to blade of stick.

  I closed in on the goalie and juked left.

  He went left and I juked right.

  He kept going left, so I kept going right and flipped the puck up and over his shoulder into the back of the net. The red light burned bright behind the net and the fans went wild.

  I scored my last two goals in the third period. One off a dump pass from one of my mates and the other into an empty net when the Blazers pulled their goalie to put an extra man on the ice with the hope of tying the score. There were only fifteen seconds left in the game when I scored that third goal, and since the game was being televised, they had to go to a TV timeout because of all the hats that were being thrown onto the ice.

  I had gotten tickets for Kate and Ben right beside the Cold Fury bench, first row. I skated by and tapped the glass with my stick right in front of Ben's little face as he was screaming his head off. He then took his Cold Fury hat off his head, Kate lifted him up, and he tossed it over the glass at me. I swear I almost broke down and started crying over his gesture, because he loves that fucking hat.

  I went and scooped it up and threw it toward one of our trainers on the bench to hold for safekeeping so Ben could get it back.

  And watching Kate with Ben?

  Not a shred of jealousy from the way she picked him up and helped him to cheer on his dad. That would have definitely been Gina there if circumstances were different, and yet...it was okay with me that she did that. It was okay with me that she seemed to know what to do, and she helped Ben to have a sweet-ass bonding moment with me during an important part of my hockey career.

  And fuck...the way Kate looks tonight.

  When I was ready to leave for the game, I had to yell up the stairs twice at her to hurry up and get her ass down there. We were close to running late and I couldn't imagine what was taking her so long. I figured she was probably trying to pin up all that glorious hair and finding super-frumpy clothing to wear. But when she came down the stairs and her feet hit the hardwood floors of the kitchen, I know my jaw dropped open when I took in her appearance.

  Kate had apparently taken me at my word that she didn't have reason to hide that beautiful body anymore.

  It's not that she was wearing anything revealing. It's just that her clothes actually fit her...very nicely...in all the right places.

  She was wearing a ribbed cream-colored turtleneck that molded to her body and accentuated the curve of her breasts. Her dark jeans weren't skintight, but they were sculpted to her hips and ass superbly. She completed the ensemble with a black scarf shot through with silver threading around her neck and a pair of knee-high black boots with shiny silver buckles at the ankles. Her hair was loose and floating around her shoulders and down her back. Her glasses were firmly in place, but again, they only make her sexier, in my opinion.

  "Jesus," I muttered under my breath when my eyes went down to her toes and back up to her head.

  Her face was red, but she held her chin up. "I went shopping today."

  I swallowed hard, sweeping my gaze over her again. "You did good," I murmured.

  She lowered her eyes for a moment and pretended to fiddle with her purse. "Well, it's a good thing you pay me well."

  And that was that. Kate strode across the kitchen and took Ben by the shoulders, leading him toward the garage door. "Are you excited about the game tonight?" she asked him.

  While Ben babbled back at Kate, I walked behind them and got an unfettered look at her ass in those jeans, and I knew in that moment I was going to have a very serious problem on my hands. I knew in that moment that it was going to be hard to fight my increasing attraction to Kate.

  As the fans continue to cheer, I head back toward th
e gate that leads under the arena and step off the ice. I walk down the short hall, slapping hands of fans leaning over the railing edge, and then turn left toward the locker room.

  Several members of the Cold Fury family are milling about, heading toward the family lounge to wait for their loved ones to finish showering. I immediately spot Kate holding Ben as she stands up against the wall, taking in all of the activity. I had one of the ushers specifically tasked with bringing them to this area after the game was over, and it's just perfect seeing Ben's face as I walk toward them.

  His eyes are bright and shining and his hat's back on his head. As I near him, he squirms out of Kate's embrace and holds his arms out to me. I drop my stick and gloves right there and grab my boy, hefting him in my arms.

  "You got a hat trick, Daddy," he yells, and yeah...it's starting to sound even more adorable when he calls me "Daddy."

  My eyes flick to Kate, who is leaning against the wall and watching us with gentle, happy eyes. I give her a small smile and turn back to Ben. "Sure did, buddy. I think we should celebrate tomorrow. What do you think?"

  "Can we go to the zoo?" he asks excitedly.

  Fuck...that's a huge day out, since the zoo is more than an hour and a half away, but I have tomorrow off, so it's doable. "Sure thing."

  "Can Kate come too?" he asks, his head turning back to look at her over his shoulder.

  "Of course she can," I say, thankful that Ben extended the invitation and not me. I'm still unsure about how much to include Kate in my time with Ben, and I'm ashamed to admit I really kind of want her to go. But as long as Ben is the one doing the inviting, I don't feel like I'm crossing any lines.

  "Mr. Grantham," I hear from behind me, and turn to see Eliza Hardwick, a sports reporter from the local news station standing there with a cameraman. "Can I get a short interview with you?"

  Anxiety cramps my gut because I never did like the limelight all that much and this would be my first time dealing with it since returning to the ice. But unfortunately...it's not like I can just say no. It's sort of expected after the game, especially when you've been named MVP.

  I give her a half-smile and say, "Sure."

  Turning back to Kate, I bend over, since I really tower above her in my skates, and hand Ben back into her arms. "This will just take a moment."