“He’s not mine,” Walker says for the millionth time. “He can’t be mine.”
“I know.”
He’s pacing behind me, his reflection crossing my screen every few seconds, but soothing him is the last thing I can do because I’m busy working out who the little boy Kristina is claiming belongs to Walker is.
“I didn’t even know she had a kid.”
“She doesn’t,” I say.
“The pictures prove otherwise,” he counters.
“They prove nothing other than she’s spent time with a toddler recently.”
“Fuck!” He stops behind me and slams the fingers of both hands through his hair, tugs on the ends.
“Walker.” When that doesn’t get his attention, I leave my chair and my laptop and step in front of him. “Walker!”
“What? Sorry.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me against his chest. “She’s a liar.”
“I know she is. And I’m pretty sure I can get to the bottom of this if you calm down and let me.”
“I can’t have a kid with her. I can’t. She’s…” He squeezes me tightly, the sound of his hard swallow filling my ear. “I can’t.”
“You don’t. I’m not sure what’s going on here, but I know, in my gut, that little boy isn’t yours.”
“Fuck. It sounds horrible, but I hope to hell you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see. But first you need to take a breath and calm down. Let me do what I need to so you can stop worrying.”
“First Cantrell’s bullshit, now this. You shouldn’t have to deal with my shit, Oak.”
“When I said yes, it became our shit.”
The sigh that leaves him has his whole body softening against me. “I love you,” he murmurs into my hair.
Smiling, I pinch his waist, not that there’s much to pinch. The man doesn’t have anything but lean muscle covering every inch of him. “That’s not why I’m helping.”
“Why then?”
“Because I love you and no one, and I mean no one, least of all some hockey wife wanna be, fucks with what’s mine.”
“I kinda get hard when you go all bloodthirsty,” he whispers into my ear. “Don’t move or my sister and best friend are going to see just how much.”
Glancing over my shoulder I see Shelby and Gannon talking in low tones. They haven’t done anything obvious but because I know they’re together I see it. I understand how Walker doesn’t though. And I’m not about to enlighten him.
“You two going to stick around for dinner?” I ask. It will help keep Walker sane to hang out with his best friend and sister.
“Do you want us to?” Shelby moves away from Gannon.
“Yes. We’re heading back to Baton Rouge tomorrow morning so if you can stay it would be great because I don’t know when we’ll get to do it again.”
“Sure. Okay. Want me to order in?” She holds up her phone.
“Yes, help Walker decide what to get and distract him long enough for me to find the information I need to discredit Kristina’s claims.”
“I don’t understand what she’s trying to do. If the kid is Walker’s, she would have gotten pregnant when they first met and there’s plenty of pictures of her and him together during that first year and she isn’t pregnant in any of them.”
“There’s that. But there’s also the fact she’s never been seen in public with the child before now, and that’s only been in the pictures online, and that one article said her neighbors are saying she doesn’t have a child living with her and never has.”
“That’s the other thing. Where has he been for…what, two, three years?”
“He looks about three to me,” Gannon adds.
He hasn’t spoken much since they arrived. I can’t decide if that’s his usual state or if he’s wary of me. “I agree. Which means Shelby is right—she would have been pregnant the first year Walker was an idiot.”
That makes everyone laugh, which was my intent. We need to lighten the mood in here. I can’t believe I’m once again dealing with the ridiculousness of other people.
First Jerry tried to fuck with me by leaking the information about the franchise, and now Kristina.
Although I shouldn’t be surprised. Those two are in bed together.
While Shelby and Gannon distract Walker, I head to the bedroom and place a call to the PI I have on retainer.
The man has contacts the likes of which I do not want to know but they serve me well so I’ll continue to turn a blind eye to any less than legal means of information collection he may use.
“Hey, Oakley, what can I do for you today?”
“Hi, Amos. I need you to do a little digging for me.”
“Sure. Who?”
“You’ve worked on her before, Kristina Bancroft.”
“If I’ve worked her up already, why am I doing it again?”
“Because this afternoon she’s all over the internet with a child she’s claiming is the son of my fiancé.”
“Fiancé? That’s new?”
“Last week. Walker Alcott.”
“Ah, right. Okay, what exactly do you want me to find?”
“Birth certificate? The kid’s name? I don’t know. All I know is he can’t be Walker’s son because she would have been pregnant the first year they were together for that to be true.”
“Are you sure? How old is the kid?”
“He looks about three.”
“Yeah, if I’m remembering right, she couldn’t have hidden a pregnancy while they were first together. Are you sure he’s that old?”
“Yes. I’ll send you a link to one of the articles—”
“Don’t bother, I’ll dig around and see what I can find and get back to you.”
“Thanks, Amos.” Hanging up, I lower my phone and stare out the windows, not really seeing the city before me.
“Who was that?”
I turn to see Walker leaning against the wall just inside the bedroom door. “PI.”
“Ah, okay.” He pushes off the wall and stalks toward me. “You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now.”
“Because I’ve got my PI investigating Kristina’s latest grab for fame?”
“You think that’s what she’s doing?” He stops in front of me but doesn’t reach out.
“Yes. Although I thought she was a little smarter than this. It’s going to be so easy to discredit her claim. I’ve already got a timeline of pictures taken the first two years you were with her and there isn’t even a bump to her belly.”
He moves in, lifts his hands, and cradles my face. “You do me in, Oakley.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“Good and bad.” He grins.
“Oh?”
“Good because you own me. I’m yours one hundred percent. And bad because you’re not getting rid of me now.”
Pressing his mouth to mine, he pauses there, our lips barely connected. I want more but he’s obviously got an agenda or he’d have dived deep already.
“I wish I could give you half of what you give me.”
“You do. The feelings go both ways, Walker.”
“Yes, but you’re bailing me out of every—”
I pull back and slap my palm over his mouth. “This is not a one-for-one deal. It’s balance, and sometimes one of us holds more than the other. It’s the only way a true partnership works, and I think that’s what we’ve got, what we’re building, right?”
He pulls my hand away to speak. “I’d like to think so. But I can’t help wondering when you’re going to get sick of me bringing all the crazy to your life.”
I smile. “I’m going to remind you of this conversation when the shoe is on the other foot because it will be once we start pushing the Rogues.”
“I’m here for whatever you need.”
“And if I need you to kiss me?”
“Just say when.”
“When.”
He doesn’t disappoint me. His lips are on mine, his tongue sweeping back and forth in a slow caress that has me wishing we could head back to bed.
But even as I think that, he’s retreating. When he lets my mouth go completely, he rests his forehead on mine and cradles my face the way he likes to do, the way I like him to.
“We ordered Chinese.”
“Okay.” The change of topic seems weird except I think I know what he’s doing. He’s bringing us both back from the edge so we don’t tumble onto the bed. I can help with that. “Are we setting the table or eating in the living room?”
“Table. Shelby is on it. Gannon is checking on our hot shot.”
“He left?”
“No, he’s giving him a call, pretending it’s just to check up on the house, but it’s to see if he’s still there.”
“You haven’t explained how Branton came to be staying at Gannon’s place.”
“It’s been empty since Gannon’s grandma passed four years ago. When Branton wanted a place to lick his wounds, Gannon offered. He’s been there since he walked away from the league.”
“Over a year, right?”
“Yeah. I’m not sure if he’ll want what we’re offering.”
“I’m not worried about that. I want to know if he can do what we’re asking.”
“Yes.” He lifts his head, his gaze locking on mine. “He’s the best in the league—”
“Was.”
“No. Is. I’d lay money on it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He may have turned up drunk to a game but he’d never done it before. Never been one of the partiers of the game either. I don’t think that would have changed. I could be wrong, I know that, but my gut tells me I’m not. Not when it comes to Branton Lattimer.”
“I hope you’re right. Blake thinks he’s what we need. Which reminds me, I’ve got some names and files for you to read.”
“Blake said you had a list already.”
“Only those that aren’t playing right now. We’ve got time, but if we’re pulling in ex-players or those who haven’t played in the league yet we want to get the—to use a hockey term—puck moving early.”
“Is that a hockey term?” He grins at me.
With a shrug I say, “I don’t know but you know what I mean.”
“You’re cute.” He bops the end of my nose with a fingertip. “Get the puck moving early.” Chuckling, he shakes his head and slings his arm around my shoulders to guide me out of the room.
“You’ll have to teach me the right terms.”
“Blake hasn’t done that?”
“Some. But that part of the game isn’t something I’ve spent too much time learning.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you up.”
“I’m counting on it.”
“You can count on me for whatever you need.” Placing a kiss on my forehead, he adds. “Now go help Shel set the table while I talk with Gannon to see what his thoughts are on Branton.”
“Oh, look at you in coach mode.”
He puts his arms out and says, “Good look, right?”
He’s in the pants he yanked on when his sister and best friend knocked on the door. He’s added a shirt, an old workout shirt that’s full of holes and stains of lord knows what.
He shouldn’t look hot. And maybe to someone else he wouldn’t, but me? I’m salivating and the thought of the bare flesh hiding behind his zipper has me thinking about the bedroom we just left.
Dropping his arms, he growls, “Don’t look at me like that.”
I raise one eyebrow.
“Not if you don’t want me dragging you back to the bedroom and locking the door behind us.”
Is it bad that I like the effect I have on him? Probably. I should at least wait until we’re alone to give him the look.
Attempting to clear my face of any desire, I hold up my hands. “I’ll behave.”
“Not all the time I hope,” he mutters with a shake of his head.
“Lady on the streets, freak in the sheets?”
“What?” he chokes out on a laugh. “Fuck, woman. You never fail to surprise me.”
“It’s good to be unpredictable. Keeping people on their toes is a good thing.”
“I’m not on my toes with you, I’m on my knees.”
Before I can comment, Shelby interrupts us.
“If you two are finished making fuck-me eyes at each other, dinner’s here.”
We’re both grinning like idiots as soon as she leaves the hallway.
“C’mon. Let’s have dinner before it gets cold. I can talk to Gannon about Branton later.”
“You’re not going to tell him why you want to know about him?”
“Oh, I kind of did but not specifically. Just asked him to check in with the guy to see if he’s still hanging in there and when I ask him about what his thoughts are on Bran’s abilities, it’ll be as one player to another. Gannon doesn’t know about the job.” He whispers the last part in my ear.
“Oh.” I hadn’t thought about that.
Now that the league has announced the team my brain has switched from secret mode, except some things still need to be kept from the public, and while I’m sure Walker’s best friend is trustworthy, I’m not sure I want to reveal who the Rogues have acquired as head coach.
Especially seeing how we don’t have a signed contract yet.
Something I will rectify the minute we return to Rogues headquarters.
“Everything okay, Oakley?” Shelby asks.
“Oh, yes, sorry, I was mentally running through my to-do list for tomorrow.”
“What time are you leaving?”
“We’re on a seven am flight.”
“I wish we had more time together, but I know you must have a ton of stuff to do.” She grabs my arm. “Did I tell you how excited I am about the Rogues? I love that you ladies are taking on the world of hockey.”
I do a quick memory-bank check to recall what I’ve told Shelby about the team. I know she has no clue her brother will be head coach, and I’m pretty sure the only thing she knows is the women behind Rogue sportswear are behind the franchise.
“It was a long time coming. It feels great to be able to talk about it.”
“I’ve followed KAW since my first year of college. I had to do a report on a successful business that’s embracing sustainable practices and your solar powered manufacturing facilities intrigued me.”
“We’ve still got a way to go on those but we’re at sixty percent self-sufficient at present.”
“I wish I’d known you when I had to do my report. I could have picked your brain for all the details.”
“You could have emailed any one of us. We’d have been glad to help you.”
“Oh, I did. Natalie Redding was really great. She found someone in the organization to answer all my questions.”
“Good. I’m glad you got what you needed, but if you’re ever curious about either business, let me know.”
“I will.”
“Ready to eat? I’m starving.” Walker nudges his sister with his shoulder. “Gannon’s already at the table. If we don’t get in there soon, he’ll eat it all.”
Shelby laughs. “He’s not that bad.”
There are subtle signs when a woman is in love with a man and not wanting anyone to know. I see them in Shelby. I’m not sure why they’re hiding their relationship; it’s been going on for years if the PI’s report is accurate.
How Walker hasn’t gotten suspicious is beyond me. Then again, if you’re not looking for something, you tend not to see it. I’ll just have to be ready for when they do announce their relationship.
I’m sure there will be some fallout. They’ve both lied by omission for years. That’s going to hurt Walker no matter how he feels about his best friend and little sister getting together.
“What do you want to drink with dinner? I’ve got wine.”
“Water. I don’t want to open a bottle for one glass. With us returning to Baton Rouge tomorrow, it’ll go to waste.”
“Good point. Water it is. Be right back.”
I watch him head for the kitchen when the front door buzzer fills the apartment. “I’ll get it!”
I leave Shelby and Gannon quietly arguing over what to eat and head for the door. Opening it, I find Henry on the doorstep.
“Ah, Ms. James.” He glances behind me. “Is Mr. Alcott in?”
“He is, do you need him?”
“Um, yeah.” He glances to the side. “Someone left him a…package.”
I tilt my head quizzically. I’m not sure why he’s being guarded. We’ve met several times now. “Can I take it?”
“Um, no.” He straightens. “I think it best if you get Mr. Alcott.”
I nod but I don’t get a chance to turn before a sound has me leaning forward and peering to the left.
The breath I suck in gets caught in my throat.
Big gray-blue eyes stare up at me. Eyes identical to the ones I’ve spent hours looking into.
Shelby is right.
As much as we know it can’t be true, the little boy in front of me is the spitting image of the man in the apartment behind me.