Page 42 of Hot for the Hockey Player
“What I’d give to be part of a student-teacher sex scandal with her,” another kid, with a dirty-blond mullet said, rubbing his hands together.
I glanced over their heads to see a young woman, probably my age, with long, dark waves, light-brown skin, and a trim figure bent over, getting something out of the trunk of her Toyota sedan.
“Anyway,” I said, wanting to take Damon away from these walking disappointments, “I’ve gotta get going.It was nice to meet Damon’s friends.However, I am trying to keep my time on the island a bit under wraps.Don’t need the press here or anything.So …”
The gangly kid glared at me, so I’m sure he’d be posting it all over his social media within the hour, but the rest of the kids all nodded and agreed.
I shook their hands, and gave Damon’s shoulder a squeeze, before leaning in to his ear.“We need to have a chat.”
His worried gaze flicked up to mine and his cheeks turned an even darker red.He swallowed and nodded.“Okay.”
“Have a great rest of your Friday, guys.”I used the tailgate to help myself climb down and immediately felt a twinge in my back.I needed to get home and ice it for a bit.I hoped that having my recumbent bike would help ease some of this tension in my back once it arrived next week.
Damon and his gangster-wannabe friends crossed the parking lot as I climbed into my truck, but just as they were about to head inside, Damon glanced over his shoulder at me, a serious look of regret in his eyes.
Something bigger was going on with that kid, and I was determined to figure out what it was and help him any way I could.
Maybe I needed to go to the house and chat with Gabrielle before the kids got home.Perhaps she could give me some insight into things.
I was about to head straight to the vineyard, but the throbbing in my back sent me to my cabin instead.I was doing too much and needed to slow down.
First, ice.
Then, I’d tackle the Damon issue.
And hopefully, also get to the bottom of why Gabrielle locked herself in her room last night and ignored me in the grocery store parking lot.
The Campbell family seemed to be nothing but one big mystery.
Luckily, I had a lot of free time on my hands to figure them out.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Gabrielle
Iwasacoward.
I spotted Maverick at Booch and Bagels and deliberately stayed in the grocery store longer, chatting with Jordana at the checkout, until I saw him walk away.
But fate—that bitch—had other plans, and he saw me loading my bags into the car.
I chose to let the wind carry his voice away before it reached me, and I pretended I didn’t hear him.
Maverick Roy flustered me, and I did not get flustered.
Flustering was not in my DNA.I had an appointment with Justine later in the week to see if I was indeed entering perimenopause, because there had to be a scientific reason for my hot flashes.It wasn’t just the flustering, or Maverick being very attractive.No man had ever made me feel like this, and I’d found men attractive before.So there was obviously more to it than just attraction.
I unloaded the groceries in the kitchen, shaking my head at myself.
Gabrielle Campbell didn’t back down from anything.Not anymore.I cowered to Cyrus when I was married to him.Made myself small and meek and a shell of a human being in order to avoid his wrath.But once I turned that motherfucker in, and rid him from my life for good, I vowed to never back down or hide away in fear ever again.I wanted to instill strength in my children, and the best way to do that was model it.
Good thing the kids were in school and didn’t bear witness to my cowardice.Maverick sure as hell did though.
Ugh!
I planned to make kung pao chicken over rice for dinner.So after rinsing my rice, I set the timer on the rice cooker to come on in a few hours.
Pushing all thoughts of Maverick out of my head, I went into my office and started working on the revisions for our upcoming land proposal.
