Chapter 13
DEX
“I need you back here,” my agent, Scott Smith, said.
He was as straightlaced as his name. I didn’t tease him, much, about it because I paid him to represent me.
He was the one who crafted the contract with my team, ensuring I stayed in Colorado near my family.
It was his talent that got me sponsorship deals.
Of course, the more money he made off me, the more he made. He wasn’t complaining.
Although I was right now.
“Not happening this week.”
I was up and ready in ten minutes–to-go coffee mug in hand–to drive Lindy back to her house to meet with the insurance adjuster, but she moved into my bathroom and took forty-five minutes to come out.
I, though, only ran a hand through my tousled hair, threw on clean clothes and brushed my teeth.
Lindy had showered–I’d heard it come on which had me fantasizing about her in there naked–then done other female magic so she looked perfect in a pair of tan shorts and a Hunter Valley Ski Resort t-shirt.
We were on her front lawn, and she was talking with the adjustor who kept staring at her tits. I was giving her room to handle the guy, but I was seconds away from poking his eyes out from a stick I ripped off the tree he was to get removed from her house.
“It’s OutdoorNow.”
I closed my eyes, pumped my fist. “Fuck, yes.”
I’d had my eyes on working with them for two years.
They were in every mall selling outdoor gear from puffy coats to ice picks.
The only ice I tackled was beneath my skates.
They were also hard-core philanthropists.
A large chunk of their profits went back into communities, getting kids outside, which matched my charity’s focus.
Hockey saved me and if I could turn around and help some other kid to be saved in a similar way, I was all for it.
Working with OutdoorNow would make that even more possible.
“But they want to meet with you on Tuesday.”
I watched as the adjustor took a step closer to Lindy. She retreated and then pointed to the house. The guy’s eyes didn’t follow.
I was a second away from killing him. If the insurance guy was an asshole, then what would the contractors be like? I wasn’t going to stand for anyone giving her shit. It was her fucking house that got destroyed. This wasn’t a singles bar.
She needed me here.
“Hang on,” I told Scott, then stalked across the front yard to the adjuster, gripping my cell hard enough that I wouldn’t be surprised if it cracked.
“Look, asshole, it’s pretty hard to assess the damage to the house when you’re ogling her tits.”
The guy clenched his jaw in anger and flushed a tomato red at being called out, then awareness lit his eyes. “You’re–”
Shit, he knew who I was.
“The man who’s going to punch your face in if you don’t treat this woman with some respect. She’s your client and her house is a fucking block of Swiss cheese.”
Now he turned even redder and took a step back.
Lindy crossed her arms over her chest and frowned. I wasn’t sure if it was because I stepped in or because the guy was a creep. Either way, it didn’t matter. He was going to do his job or end up unemployed.
“Right. Sorry,” he stuttered, then glanced at Lindy for the briefest of seconds. Then back at me, as if I was much more interesting than Lindy’s tits.
“Think you can handle that?” I pushed.
“Right. Yes. Um, definitely.” He looked down at the grass at his feet.
I glanced at Lindy who offered me–finally–a small smile.
“I’ve got a tree trimming service and a contractor coming later this week, so you’ll need to move your belongings either to the front side of the house away from the damage or get one of those pods to store everything–”
The man’s voice was all professional and his gaze was on the house, not on Lindy. I had a feeling he wasn’t going to look at her again.
“The insurance should cover movers tackling this effort,” I said. “Not two women who weigh two hundred pounds combined.” No way should Lindy or Bridget have to lift a finger.
Lindy turned to me with that one and whispered, “I don’t want some random movers to tackle my underwear drawer.”
Fair point. “They can tackle the big things then.”
She nodded in agreement.
“Your neighbor’s insurance needs to pay for all this. It’s his tree.”
Oh, I hated this guy. When I was about to let into him again, Lindy held up her hand.
“I agree with you completely, but from the moment the damage was made, you are responsible for immediate assistance. It’s your job to tackle being reimbursed by not only workmen but other insurance companies. Isn’t that correct?”
Lindy looked down her nose at the guy in the same way she did me in Denver. As if she were too good for everyone else. Now I saw it as a protective measure, a way to be seen and heard.
“Yes, ma’am.” The guy refused to meet her gaze.
“Then stop being passive aggressive about what you have to do. Just get it done.”
He gave me a glance to see if I was going to shut the little woman up.
Hell, the fuck, no.
I kissed her temple and stepped away.
She was good. Amazing. And I might just let her boss me around when we climbed in bed tonight.
I forgot about Scott. “Still there?” I asked, putting the phone to my ear.
“Yup. What the hell’s going on up there?” he asked. “I thought Montana was all big sky and cows.”
“Haven’t seen a cow, but you’re right about the sky.
” I glanced up and appreciated how blue it was.
How perfect the weather was, which was good since Lindy’s roof had a few holes in it.
“So Tuesday. Not happening,” I told him, even though this sponsorship opportunity was what I was waiting for. I belonged here. With Lindy.
“This about the woman with the tits?” he asked.
I growled.
“Don’t fire me,” he said, verbally backpedaling. “All women have tits.”
“I’m marrying those tits,” I told him.
He was quiet for a moment. “Whoa. Wow. Okay. You’ve been there… what? About a week? Want to tell me her name?”
“Lindy.”
“Lindy. Congratulations.”
“Don’t send place settings of china just yet.”
He returned to business. “So I’ll tell OutdoorNow no to Tuesday. You have that exhibition game in Finland Sunday. I’ll route your flights through Chicago on Friday, and you can meet them then, but you might miss a warmup practice or two. Combine two trips into one.”
I hadn’t forgotten about the exhibition game, but I’d put it to the back of my mind since I met Lindy. The best players in the league were handpicked to play a game there. The best of the best faced off. In Helsinki.
I’d known about it for six months and it was in my contract that I attended this one and any others I was chosen for, plus charity events anytime of the year.
“Sounds good. Thanks.” I appreciated his adjustment for me, and I was fine with missing a practice if it meant staying here a little longer.
“I’ll email you all the details.”
He ended the call and I sighed. Finland. Next weekend.
I glanced over at Lindy. The adjuster was cutting across the lawn toward the neighbor’s house, my guess to get his insurance company’s name to ensure they were working to cover the claim, which should be the whole thing.
Lindy was standing at her open mailbox, flipping through some letters. It was Sunday, but she must not have collected it the day before. I took in every inch of her. I knew what her curves felt like. What her mouth tasted like. What that toned ass felt like. Bare.
I wanted her more than ever. Not just her body, but her. To stand beside her and help her deal with her problems, which today were many. And leering men. She’d handled herself fine, but why should she have to deal with sketchy dudes like that one when she was somewhat at his mercy.
He could be a dick and deny her claim or lowball her reimbursement or… anything.
Shit. I didn’t want to leave her next week, and this was for one game. Five days away. What was it going to be like when I had to return to Denver for training? For the entire season?
It was going to fucking suck.