Page 24 of Dirty Puck

“It’s in the canister that sayscoffee.” And yes, I might’ve answered with a hint of teasing.

He raised an eyebrow. “How many people actually use the coffee canister?”

“I do,” I replied.

Miss Claudia piped up. “I do too. I’m the one who gave her the canisters last Christmas.”

Without thinking, I playfully slapped at his bottom, but he caught my hand, bringing it up to press a kiss to the inside of my wrist, never breaking eye contact as I felt the wetness from his lips and my lips parted.

“Oh my,” Miss Claudia said, sparking me sober from the Reece-induced stupor I’d found myself in. He turned his Baker Reece smile on her and I knew no matter what he said or did from this point out, she’d be putty in his very capable hands.

I removed myself from the huddle to get the now-crispy bacon, the smell of which filled the apartment, making mymouth water. After crumbling the bacon and adding it to the mixture, Reece dumped in what I had left in the bag of shredded cheddar and it all went into the oven to bake.

Miss Claudia helped me prepare a large skillet of hash browns. This skillet’s hot, cast-iron surface made for optimal potato-to-pan contact, and delivered an unbelievably crispy exterior. Also known as the perfect bite. I legitimately felt sorry for the other neighbors in our apartment building because they weren’t getting invited to this feast yet had to smell all the tasty aromas.

Reece made good on the coffee.

And the next thing I knew, we were moving into the living room with mugs and plates in hand to eat. I set Benny up with his table tray on the floor. He sat in his little beanbag chair eating and watching his tablet. There wasn’t enough room for all of us at the kitchen table. With it being just Benny and me living here, we only needed a small one.

But none of that mattered because the hallmark of a good meal had to be silence. None of us spoke while shoveling all the delicious food into our very happy mouths. Only once we’d filled our bellies did the conversation resume.

“What are your plans for today?” Reece asked me.

“If Miss Claudia needs to go to the store, we take her. Then maybe this afternoon, we’ll take Benny to story hour at the library.”

“Which library?”

“Charleston County Public. The Wando branch.”

“I should call up Bishop. He’s got a little guy. I bet he’d enjoy bringing LJ to a story hour.”

He wanted to ask Grant Bishop to join us? The Copperheads’ starting forward always treated me with kindness, but I doubted he’d want to spend his Saturday with us. Before I had the chance to voice my concerns, Reece had his phone out pressing Grant Bishop’s contact.

“Hey, man,” he said into the receiver. “Bree and I aretaking her boy to story hour at the library on Wando.” He paused, then went on. “Yeah, we’re seeing each other now. It’s sort of new.” He paused again, covering his hand over the speaker. “When is it?”

“Four,” I answered, trying and failing to figure out how I’d lost control over my life.

“Four,” he said back to Grant Bishop. “Great. See you then.” After hanging up, he shoved his phone in his pocket and turned back to me. “Dishes first. Then the store and we’ll catch the story at the library. Bishop wants us all to go out to dinner after. That cool?”

Cool? Surreal—yes.Nerve-wracking? Possibly. Butcoolwas yet to be determined. How did that old saying go? In for a penny, in for a pound?

“Miss Claudia?” I asked and she traitorously nodded. Without any other buffers to keep this from going down, I heard myself answer, “Yeah. Cool.”

After Benny finished his plate, I picked it up along with the others, stacking them one on top of another to take them into the kitchen. As I stood at the sink rinsing, Reece walked in with the cups. He started cleaning up the pans while I got the plates and cups into the dishwasher. We worked well together, which surprised me. I guess I’d never thought oftheBaker Reece as a domestic type of guy. The man always seemed too… too…aboveit all.

So much of my time spent with this man consisted of me thinking of him as a hockey star or a sex god. And those were both absolutely true. But the Baker Reece he showed me now seemed way more complex than that. Now, I’d never tell him this, but part of me was excited to find out more.

I finished wiping my hands with a piece of paper towel, and a thought struck me as I casually tossed the balled-up paper towel in the trash.

“Hey,” I said, “I need you to take me to pick up my car soBenny and I can get Miss Claudia her groceries. We’ll meet you at the library at four.”

He turned around, folding his truly bulging arms over his intimidatingly massive chest to glare at me, yet I found myself sonotintimidated.

“What?” I asked.

Reece raised his eyebrows at me.

“What?” I asked again, exasperated.

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