Page 104 of Her Rugged Guardian

She had her head resting against my arm, staring intently at the rink. The seats were some of the best in the house, the trip made to Portland a getaway of sorts, which was something we’d needed after the grueling weeks we’d had since her rescue.

I still seethed from the fact Jeremy had drugged her, but most of continued rage stemmed from the fact the investigation into the Robinson Empire was ongoing. However, with the evidence found on the rope used to take Moose from the house as well as the DNA on the cigarette butt that belonged to Jeremy, he’d been notified he was going away for a long time.

The recommendation from the prosecutors had been for him to go state’s evidence against Malcolm, which would add another layer of charges that I’d heard numerous agencies were considering for a list of the people involved.

Including arson, not only of the beautiful housing development that I was helping get rebuilt, but also the school from yearsbefore. How far they’d gone to get what they wanted was still difficult to comprehend.

Unfortunately, the game was tied. And from the looks of things, it would need to go into overtime.

The crowd roared and booed when the opposing team almost scored. Thankfully, the puck was blocked. My blood pressure was off the charts. I was surprised a timeout hadn’t been called. Maybe the coach was saving that for this period.

“Why? Because I didn’t kill the bastards?” I asked, trying to keep my tone light. I could tell Riley was on edge, peering up in the stands every so often.

She punched me on the arm and laughed, the sound one of the most beautiful things I’d heard in a long time. “That too. No, goofy. For coming here today.”

Shrugging, I watched Riley as he moved around the ice, realizing just how proud of him I was. After the near tragedies, we’d sat down and talked, really talked for the first time, the man making a promise that he was going to decide what he wanted in his life, not because of what our father wanted.

Since then he’d all but stopped drinking, working out almost every day as he’d thought about the offer Vancouver had given him. We’d celebrated after he’d accepted and I couldn’t be happier for him, even if I’d miss his sorry ass hanging around town.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“You know what?” she asked. “I don’t think Jessica would either.”

I glanced toward the fence, which was only a few feet in front of us, shaking my head. “Are those two gonna hook up?” They had spent almost two full weeks together, my brother’s only distraction, but in my mind, it had been a welcome one.

“Well, Jess did comment she wanted to stay in town for a little while.”

“He’ll be on the road a lot. How will she handle that?”

Jessica turned around, giving us both a hard look, heading in our direction. “Are you guys talking about me?”

“Muah, talk about you?” Cass said. “Why would I do that?”

“Because you’re still angry with me about Stephen.” Jessica sat down in her seat beside Cass and I could tell she was holding her breath.

“I’m not angry, Jess. The truth is that I made peace with Stephen and with what happened.”

She was kinder than I was, although given the man was doing me a solid, I couldn’t say anything bad about him. We had a few more hurdles to go through, but I had faith in the man, which shocked the hell out of me.

“Wow. And you’re sitting there with a Mr. Hottie Hero of the year saying that,” Jessica teased.

Cassandra shrugged. “With any luck, he might be able to break the contract.”

“Maybe,” I cautioned.

“I know. Don’t get my hopes up,” she said, shaking her head.

“But you’re still going through with the party?” Jess glanced in my eyes after asking the question.

“I haven’t been issued an eviction notice yet. It ain’t over until it’s over. Besides, I have tons of wine to sell. Thanks here to my hunky hero.” Cass squeezed my arm and I rolled my eyes.

“I am invited. Right? I mean, I think I’m Riley’s date.” Jessica flushed then laughed. “Did I just invite myself?”

“Of course you’re invited. Date, huh? Are you two getting serious?” Cassandra leaned against me with more of her body weight and my mind drifted to all the filthy things I wanted to do to her.

Jessica fanned her face. “Well, he did ask if I wanted to come on the road with him.”

“What? You didn’t tell me that.”

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