Page 9 of Claiming Her Cougar
“Oh, man, I’m sorry.”Trevor looks slightly abashed.
“No worries,” I assure him.“Bad car accident.I healed up, but I can’t risk the hits.”
“Can you still skate?”
“I guess so?I haven’t tried.”
Logan looks at me.“You haven’t skated at all since the accident?You practically lived on the ice.”
I shrug.“No point if I’m not playing.”
Trevor nods.“Well, if you want to skate and shoot some pucks, come on over.You too, Logan, if you skate.”
Logan holds out his fist for Trevor to bump.“Thanks, man.Rugby was my sport, but I can stay upright well enough to not completely embarrass myself.”
* * *
The house Logan shares with Daphne isn’t that big, so even with the thousands of lights Logan used to festoon the place, it didn’t take that long to decorate.She’s going to be shocked when she sees it lit up tonight.So will the folks on the International Space Station.Good thing Daphne’s grandfather was an electrician who installed a heavy-duty electrical panel.They’re going to use every bit of it with this display.
After stringing up the lights, we head out to Trevor’s rink.It’s full-size, and if I’d had this available to me as a kid, I would’ve been thrilled.We hit the ice hard.
“How are you feeling?Getting your legs back?”Logan asks as we sit to take off our skates and guzzle some water.
“I’m doing well.I’m probably going to feel it tomorrow, but it was good to be skating again and shooting some pucks.At least when I fell, I didn’t get wet like I would have on real ice.”
We’re packing up to take Logan back home to meet Daphne and show off our work when Trevor pulls out his phone.
“Oh, let me text Lory that I’m ordering light bulbs.I see some are burned out.I’ll change them when I’m home for Christmas.She’ll wonder what the boxes are when they arrive.”
I pull out my phone to see if Mallory has texted anything else.I smile, looking at her selfie.She’s adorable.
I catch Logan looking at my phone and tilting his head in a birdlike manner.Great.I don’t need his eagle eyes seeing Mallory’s picture and bugging me.I put my phone away.
“Is your sister single?”Logan asks Trevor.
What the hell?I do not need him playing matchmaker.Anyway, Mallory’s the only woman sparking my interest now.
“Yeah, very.She’s had some bad relationships and sworn off men, especially shifters.I think she wants a nice human accountant when she settles down.Maybe a schoolteacher.Someone quiet.Not alpha.The opposite of us.”He laughs.
That clinches it.I’m definitely not his sister’s type.
4
MALLORY
The day after Thanksgiving…
My flight from Atlantic City to Orlando was uneventful, thank goodness.I had a lot to think about.It turns out the department Daphne and I work in is going to close after the beginning of the year, and we’ll move upstairs with the rest of the legal department.We’d been handling collection matters for condo associations, a holdover from the start of Morgan Development, before they changed their focus to commercial properties.I’m excited by the move.My dream career is to be part of the development team—have input in the location of new projects, work on getting them approved, the building process, and ultimately the mix of tenants and amenities when it opens.I want to help create something, not just manage its existence.
I’m at the airport waiting for my siblings to arrive.The flights my brother and his family were on and my sister’s flight both ended up delayed, so they’re all arriving this morning.We’re going to do the traditional meal today instead.I’m betting Thanksgiving with my family won’t be as calm as my flight was.We love each other, but we don’t understand each other.Or they don’t understand me.Everyone is a high achiever, type A personality, and I’m…not.At least, not to the extent they are.My dad is a patent attorney, and my mom is a chemical engineer.They’re so successful and ambitious, they don’t understand why I’m content being a paralegal when I could’ve gone to law school and been an attorney.At least they recognize my choice not to go to law school and don’t think I was incapable of getting in.In a way, I think that confuses them more—that I could be more, but am choosing not to be.They don’t understand I have career goals, but those goals won’t get my name on the door or the letterhead.
I enjoy being behind the scenes, making plans and watching them come to fruition through the efforts of a team.You’d think my family would understand since my parents are both in professions based on methodology and step-by-step planning, but they don’t see the similarities in my methodical nature and their own.They only see that I’m not in charge.
There’s no point in telling them my goals and dreams.
They won’t get it.
They don’t get me.
