Fair Play (Hat Trick, Book 1) (26 page)

Savannah stood in the flashing lights of countless emergency
and public safety vehicles on the street in front of the Sugar Shack. If only Garrick
were there. They’d been separated as soon as the EMTs had found them sprawled
on the bathroom floor. She’d been pulled away to give a statement to the
various authorities present, while Garrick had been loaded into an ambulance
and taken to the hospital.

Her heart had nearly stopped when he collapsed. She was still
worried sick, but tried to be patient. She’d been asked to explain at least
three times what she’d done with the duct tape, the last time clearly just for
the entertainment of the recently arrived brass. Since she had started a bar
fight, among other legally questionable transgressions, she played along for as
long as she could stand it.

Now she wanted to find Garrick and be sure he was okay.

Turning in place one more time, she finally caught a glimpse
of Jack sitting on the back gate of his truck about fifty feet away. Threading through
the police cars parked at haphazard angles along the street, she made her way
to him and sat by his side.

“Garrick called and asked me to take you home when all this
was over.”

Why hadn’t he called her? She forced herself to smile. “Yeah,
a ride would be great. I’m just going to call Garrick before we go, okay?”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll wait here.”

“Thanks.”

She walked back out into the sea of flashing lights and
official vehicles and dialed Garrick’s number.

“Hey.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. “Hi.”

He chuckled, though it sounded like an effort. “Thank god
that’s over, huh?”

“I hear they found another office on Sylvio, over by the
airport, and that they’re headed to the Kramers’ residence right now.”

“Good,” he said.

An awkward pause seemed to last forever. She wanted to say
so much, but couldn’t figure out if any of it was right.

“You should go get some rest,” Garrick said. “The Ice Cats
will be begging for you to come back right away.”

She swallowed hard, the tears returning. She couldn’t bring
herself to say the words.

Garrick’s voice cut through the buzzing in her head. “Sav?
You there?”

Of all the things she wanted to tell him, this probably
wasn’t the best place to start. “I got the job.”

“What?”

“I got the job. The Bruins. I have to be in Boston in a
week.”

“That’s great,” he said, his voice hoarse, but he still
sounded like he meant it.

Always so damn generous.
She looked out over the
flashing lights, pointedly ignoring Jack as more tears rolled down her cheeks.

 “You’re safe now,” he said gently. “You should go back to
your place and start packing.”

 “Yeah.” She did need to pack. She had to leave. More
silence. It was probably better this way, but when he remained mute, she died a
little.

Garrick sighed. “You’ll be okay tonight?”

No.
“Let me know if there are any issues with your
scan, okay?”

“Sure,” he said.

She didn’t believe him, but she left it alone. She had no
right to demand anything.

“Goodnight,” she choked out, barely disguising her tears.

“Goodnight, Savannah.” Garrick hung up.

She stood amidst the hive of activity surrounding the crime
scene, her tears unchecked, her breath hitching on silent sobs. When yet another
officer looked at her with concern, she stumbled toward Jack.

He held out one arm, and in spite of only having known him
for a matter of hours, she gratefully stepped into his embrace and buried her
face against his chest.

“Your friend is really stupid,” she muttered.

He chuckled. “Yeah, he can be.”

“I’m really stupid, too,” she said.

Jack wisely didn’t comment.

“I got a job in Boston. Now he’s sending me away.”

“Huh.”

“It’s the Bruins.”

“Wow. I guess you have to go.”

That was the problem. Savannah thought about crying harder
for a few seconds, then lifted her head and looked into Jack’s somber face.

She considered what she knew about their mutual friend. “He’s
being noble, isn’t he?”

Jack shrugged, but his midnight blue eyes twinkled.

She dropped her arms from around Jack’s waist and stood back.
“I’m ready to go home now.”

 “And where’s that?”

She gave him the address.

“But that’s Garrick’s house.”

“You bet it is.”

Jack grinned and got into his truck.

Garrick drove toward his beloved farmhouse as the first pale
light of dawn streaked across the sky. Getting home would be a relief, he told
himself. He couldn’t quite make himself believe it, though.

He rubbed his head gently, wincing when his fingers brushed
over the swelling. He’d been cleared by the doctors as having a moderate
concussion and given his instructions—rest, sleep, try not to smash his head against
anything for a while—and sent home. Jack had come to get him, taken him to his
car, and watched him climb in slowly, hovering like a mother hen. He’d offered
to drive Garrick home or to follow him, but Garrick had assured him he was
fine.

He couldn’t have stood another minute of Jack’s pitying
looks.

Fuck
. Maybe he deserved it. He’d done the unthinkable
and practically chased Savannah off. But god, it had hurt when she’d said she
was leaving for Boston within a week. What else could he do? They both knew she
had to leave.

It was her dream job. How could he possibly stand in the way
of that?

He scrubbed a hand over his face and stretched his neck, pleased
he hadn’t experienced any dizziness since leaving the hospital. His head was
going to be fine. The rest of him he was a lot less certain about.

Sighing, he considered waiting to call Reese Lamont, but
someone ought to warn him his deal had fallen through, and once Garrick got
home, he was going to bed. For a week. He hit the speed dial on his cell phone
and brought it to his ear.

Reese answered on the first ring. “Lamont.”

Garrick was momentarily taken aback. “Reese?”

“Yes, Garrick. Are you okay?”

Garrick didn’t know how to answer so he avoided the question
all together. “You’re going to get a call from the EHL. The deal isn’t going to
happen.”

“I heard. Where are you?”

“On my way home, actually. Long night.”

“So I hear. I also heard Robert and Bobby have both been
arrested. Multiple charges.”

Garrick grunted, surprised. “You got spies in Moncton,
Lamont?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes,” he answered stiffly.
“Contrary to popular myth, I
do
have friends.”

“Don’t get your panties in a bunch, Lamont. I know that.”
Garrick rubbed his eyes.

“Oh yes? And how is that?”

“Because I
am
one.”

Garrick stared out the window at the empty road and waited
for Lamont to answer.

“Yes, well, thank you. I believe that is true.”

Garrick almost worked up a smile at Reese’s rigid politeness
in the face of Garrick’s blatant violation of the guy-code.

“Listen,” Garrick continued, “I have most of the money
together. I have two partners signed on, we just need to find a fourth. Once we
do, I’ll make the offer.”

“I look forward to it. Though, with Kramer out of the way,
are you sure you really want to own the team?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Garrick asked.

“You could play for a couple more years, at least. I figured
that’s what you’d want.”

Was
that what he wanted? Two months ago, he’d have said
yes, unequivocally. Now he wasn’t so sure.

“Garrick?”

“Yes, sorry,” he said quickly, embarrassed to have drifted
off.

“Why don’t you get yourself home safely and then we’ll talk
about next steps.”

Garrick swallowed hard. “Okay. Thanks.”

He pulled into his driveway with a sigh, ditched his truck out
front and staggered up the front stairs. He steeled himself for the moment that
his house, for the first time ever, wouldn’t feel the same. That his big, warm
home had lost something it needed.

Savannah.

He swung the front door open. Had he bit been hit in the
head harder than he thought? Maybe the MRI hadn’t shown the damage. Maybe he’d
sprung a spontaneous bleed on the drive home.

Because he’d swear to god Savannah was sitting on his
stairs, smiling at him.

His hallucination stood and took a step toward him. “Turns
out, I couldn’t go back to my apartment.”

“You couldn’t?”

She took another step. “Nope.”

“Why not?”

She smiled a little. “Because what I really wanted was to
come home.”

“Home?”

“Yeah.”

His heart beat a little harder, but he shook his head,
ignoring the zing of pain. “I don’t understand.”

Savannah’s smile faded, but she took another step closer. “Also,
there’s something very important that I need to tell you.”

“What’s that?” A surge of hope terrified him. He’d never
felt more vulnerable.

“I love you.”

Garrick closed his eyes for a second, staggering under the
weight of his relief.

He wasn’t sure if he hauled Savannah into his arms or if she
hurled herself there. All he knew was he couldn’t hold her close enough,
couldn’t possibly kiss her long enough. Her groan was almost drowned out by his
whimper of pain as he belatedly recalled his mangled face. It didn’t matter. All
that mattered was touching her. Tasting her. Having Savannah back in his arms.

When she pressed closer, he pushed her back
.

Shit, wait.

His guts churning, he held her away from him. “You have to
go to Boston.”

She shook her head.

“Yes, you do.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “I know. Of course I do. But
this—” she gestured between their bodies “—is important. Just as important as
Boston.”

He pulled her back into his arms, the relief of having her
there far outweighing the pain against his bruised ribs and legs. “It is. We
are. We’ll figure it out.”

She sighed and buried her face against his neck. “I can’t
believe I fall in love for the first time in my life and I’m about to move five
hundred and thirty seven miles away.”

Garrick laughed. “Looked that up, did you?”

She leaned back and smiled. “You hadn’t?”

“Oh yeah, I had.” He grinned down at her. “Now, can you repeat
the other part?”

Her hand cupped his cheek. “I love you. My god, I love you
so much. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I’ve been falling in love with you
since that night in Nova Scotia. Maybe before then. I just didn’t know what it
was. What I was feeling. All it knew was that it scared the crap out of me.”

He grinned. “Me too.”

Her brows furrowed. “What are we going to do?”

“You’re going to go to the Bruins.”

“But—”

“And I’m going to finish the season here, then meet you in
Boston in March.”

Savannah leaned back. “Really?”

He nodded. “Yes. Really.”

“What about next season?”

“There is no next season,” he said, finding only relief in
the words he’d feared for so long. “I’m retiring.”

Savannah gripped his arms hard. “Garrick, you can keep
playing. Moncton loves you.”

He laughed. “Good for Moncton. But they don’t love me nearly
as much as I love you.”

Savannah didn’t have any arguments for that. She leaped into
his arms, wrapping her long legs around his waist. He gasped in pain and she
winced in sympathy, even as he captured her mouth and carried her toward the stairs.
No amount of aches and pains were going to stop him.

The doorbell, on the other hand, worked just fine.

As a rule, it wasn’t a good thing when someone turned up at
his door unexpectedly at seven o’clock in the morning. After the day he’d had, Garrick
seriously considered ignoring it. The odds of it being good news were long. And
he had so many other things he’d like to be doing right then.

The doorbell rang again.
Damn it.

With a sigh, he lowered Savannah back to her feet and adjusted
the steel bar in his pants, so as not to frighten his unsuspecting visitors. Ignoring
Savannah’s giggle, he slid his arm around her shoulders and tucked her close as
he pulled back the curtain and peeked out to the front porch. When he saw who
was standing on the other side of the door, he jerked back.

“Whoa.”

“What?” Savannah asked.

Rather than answer, he opened to the door to Reese Lamont
and Rupert Smythe.

“Whoa,” Savannah agreed quietly.

Rumor had it Reese Lamont didn’t leave his estate. Ever. The
whole recluse bazillionaire thing more or less required it. The fact that
Rupert was hovering at Reese’s side, his face creased with worry, made Garrick
think this was, indeed, an unusual occurrence.

Garrick snapped his mouth shut and recalled his manners. “Please,
come in.”

Reese walked into the foyer and shifted uncomfortably,
clearly not certain where to look or to sit. In his own home, he’d been the
model of social grace, but here he appeared at a loss. At last, his roving gaze
alighted on Savannah. “I heard from Mark about your position in Boston.”

Garrick racked his brain to come up with a reason this had
lured Reese from his sanctuary, let alone landed him in Garrick’s front hall.

“Congratulations,” Rupert said, filling the silence.

“Thank you.”

“Yes, good luck with that.” Reese shifted again, then turned
to Garrick. “I actually came to see you. We heard what happened last night and wanted
to come sort things out in person.”

Garrick nodded. “Okay,” he said slowly, wondering what this
had to do with Reese’s appearance on his doorstep.

“I’d like to propose,” Reese continued, “if you’re still
interested, that we go into a partnership.”

He looked at Garrick with a mildly curious expression, as if
he hadn’t just dropped a bomb.

“What do you mean?”

“You said you had enough to buy three-fourths of the team.
I’m willing to sell that to you and your partners, if you still want it. I’ll
keep a fourth, and the four of us, if you agree, will own the team. We’ll draft
up a corporation, all that. You know.” He waved his hand.

Garrick had no idea. But he could learn. “Really?”

“Yes, really. And I had thought, if you’d be willing to
retire from the ice a little early, you ought to manage the team. Obviously, we
can let you out of your contract.”

Garrick slowly sat on the bench at his back.
Shit.
“I
was already planning to retire at the end of this season.”

“Excellent.”

“And move to Boston.”

Reese looked between him and Savannah. “Well, yes, of
course. I hadn’t realized…but, yes, of course.”

Reese’s cheeks turned pink and Savannah gave him a small,
reassuring smile. Rupert hovered closer.

Garrick’s mind spun, then he shot back to his feet and took
Savannah’s hand, threading their fingers together. “Actually, I can do a lot
from there, ownership-wise. We’ll keep the farmhouse, and I can visit periodically
during the season. I mean, if that’s okay with Savannah.”

“Of course. I’ll be traveling a lot during the season. There
will be plenty of time.” She squeezed his hand and gave him a bright,
encouraging smile.

Garrick looked back to Reese and was alarmed to see his
shoulders slump.

“I’m afraid we would be starting with an uphill battle,”
Reese said. “Mark gave his notice today. Seems the prospect of working for the
Kramers was highly unattractive and he went looking. He’s been courted away by
his alma mater.”

“Damn,” Garrick muttered. A mid-season replacement would be
a nightmare.

“I was hoping you might step in,” Reese explained. “But if
you’ll be leaving between the season and the draft, it might be too
disruptive.”

Garrick nodded. That kind of upheaval could destroy a team.
New players were critical to overall success and decisions had to be made by
someone intimately familiar with the sport, the league, and the team.

Rupert cleared his throat. “I’ll do it.”

For a long time no one said anything.

“The draft?” Reese said, his face pinched with confusion.

“No. Well, yes. And manage the Ice Cats.”

Reese’s mouth opened but no sound came out. Savannah put a
hand on Rupert’s arm. “Are you sure? You always seem so…well, nervous around
the team.”

“Yes, well, it’s a silly thing for a grown man to be frightened
of other grown men, isn’t it?” Rupert’s nerves made his British accent
particularly prim. “I mean really, they’re just athletes, like any other men.”

Garrick blinked. Had Rupert just admitted to being afraid of
hockey players?

Reese went to his friend. “You don’t have to do this. There
is nothing to prove.”

Rupert’s cheeks colored. “Well, as it turns out, I have
something to prove to myself. And I happen to love hockey. You know I tried to
talk you out of selling the team to begin with, and now I see I can make an
even greater difference.” He paused, his beseeching look at Reese morphing into
one of concern. “That is, if you’ll be all right without me.”

Rather than brush Rupert off, Reese appeared to be giving
the matter serious consideration. Rupert’s determination seemed to melt before
their eyes, but before he could rescind his offer, Reese nodded.

“It seems we both could prove some things to ourselves,”
Reese said quietly. “If you take on the Ice Cats, with Garrick and me and
presumably the other owners backing you up, then I’ll take over my own business
affairs, if you’ll promise to advise when needed.”

“Of course,” Rupert said. “Are you sure?”

Reese nodded. “It’s been long enough. If the three of you
promise not to identify me to the media or the public, I don’t see why I can’t move
about anonymously. Perhaps I’ll get a place here in Moncton. Go to some Ice
Cats games.”

Garrick exchanged a quick, baffled glance with Savannah.

“Yes, well, we’d better get started then.” Rupert clapped
and rubbed his hands together. He turned to Savannah. “When are you due in
Boston?”

Hours later, the four of them stood from the kitchen table.
They’d covered a lot of ground already, including calling Savannah’s brothers
and securing their agreement, notifying the league, setting the attorneys to
work on creating the legal partnership, arranging Savannah’s travel and Rupert’s
move, and debating extensively about what sort of changes they’d like to make
first. They’d cobbled together a brunch from what little Garrick had in the
house, but now at sunset, they were all tired and hungry.

“Yes, well, I think that settles that. We’ll leave you to
get some supper and some sleep. You had a long night, and now we’ve put you to
work for the better part of the day,” Reese said, moving with Rupert toward the
door.

Garrick ushered them out, thanking them, his mind still
reeling.
Holy shit.
He was going to own the Ice Cats.

Closing the door behind their guests, Garrick stared at
Savannah with wide eyes. She grinned back.

In a blink, his worries about the team and his role faded to
the background. Owning the team was going to be fantastic. But it was nothing
compared to knowing he’d get to be with this woman.

He was about to prove to her just how much he loved her,
when she frowned. “I guess we should go out and get something for dinner.”

That wasn’t at all what Garrick had in mind, but he
was
hungry. For a lot of things.

“Oh yeah?” A slow smile spread across his face. “Because I
was thinking about what we were about to do before we were so rudely
interrupted.”

Savannah’s brows arched. “Oh, were you?” Her eyes widened
when he lunged for her. With a squeal of joy, she bolted for the stairs. Her
long legs pumped up the steps and to the hallway outside his bedroom. He
couldn’t catch her before she launched herself onto his bed. With a bounce, she
landed on her knees and stripped her shirt off over her head.

That’s my girl.

She lunged for him, but he stepped back and stopped her with
one hand held out.

“What?” She chucked the rest of her clothes across the room,
clearly not interested in any delay. Neither was he, but his priorities weren’t
completely consumed by his body’s clamoring needs. Yet.

“If you stay right there, I’ll give you what you really
want.”

“Hmmm…” she practically purred. “Will you?” Her downright
sultry gaze trailed over him and he had to lock his knees to keep himself
upright.

“Yes, I will,” he promised, watching the goosebumps rise
across her ivory skin. Then he pulled out his cell phone and ordered enough
Chinese food to feed the population of Belize.

Garrick ordered up a veritable feast. She laughed as his
grin, her heart light, and fell back onto the bed. Happiness like she’d never
known blazed in her chest, contentedness like she’d never imagined possible
warmed her body, and good old-fashioned lust heated her blood.

At last Garrick hung up and tossed his phone on the dresser.

“You
do
know what this girl needs,” she teased, her
stomach growling with the promise of food. “But I thought we’d already decided
there wasn’t delivery Chinese in Moncton that wasn’t destined to poison us.”

“That was House of Lau.”

“Hey! They don’t deliver!” She was completely over her idea
of going out to get food. And hell, now she had plans for Garrick. She didn’t
want him to go either. Pinned on the bed beneath his hot gaze, there were
countless things she wanted from him, and none of them allowed for him to go
get supper.

“They do if you went to high school with Brian Lau and
you’re willing to pay a premium. And boy, am I willing. It will be here in
thirty minutes.”

She sighed with relief. “You spoil me.”

“Every chance I get,” he murmured. Fisting a hand in the
back of his layered shirts, he stripped them off in one go.

“Shouldn’t we wait for the food?”

He grimaced as he toed off his shoes, making quick work of
removing the rest of his clothes. “I can’t. God help me, I have to touch you. Even
if it means I have to pay for the Moo Goo Gai Pan in the altogether.”

Savannah’s laugh died on her lips as her eyes skimmed over
his chest. The bruises were ripe, but they couldn’t hide the magnificence. Broad
shoulders, the deep curve under his pecs, the bunched muscles of his abs.
Perfect.

“Come here.” She reached for him.

He crawled over her, settling his weight along hers, his
hips cradled between her thighs, his cock nestling in the folds of her pussy. He
was hard. She was wet.

Moo Goo Gai Pan be damned. She wasn’t in any hurry.

“I love you,” she said quietly, carding her fingers through
his hair, watching his eyes change to liquid chocolate.

One side of his mouth kicked up. “I love you too.”

Their lips met, their tongues exploring one another as
though they’d never done it before. As though they had all the time in the
world. She cupped his face in her hands, holding him close, treasuring how he
pressed her into the mattress. She locked her legs around him. His body fit
hers perfectly. She loved his texture. His taste. His scent. His ridiculous fat
lip.

He shifted away and she brought her knees higher, opening
herself to him, groaning long and loud as he eased into her body. Slowly.
Carefully. He fit here too, stretching her, his length just enough to nudge her
cervix as he settled deep. Within a few strokes, it would be different, but as
they sank into another kiss, it was as though they’d been made for just this. Exactly.

She didn’t urge him on, happy to be wrapped around him,
joined to him, content to hold him like this forever. She skimmed her palms
down his back, into the dip at his waist, and drew her fingers over the swell
of his buttocks. She wallowed in the touch of smooth skin, firm muscle, and the
rising heat from his body. He eased from her and her breath stuttered, gusting
over his chest. His long, slow glide back into her core was so delicious,
goosebumps broke out across her body.

“Garrick,” she sighed, looking up into his beautiful face.
She couldn’t form words to tell him what she wanted.

He didn’t say a word, his eyes locked on her, his gaze
narrow as he shuddered above her.

“Do you feel that?” she asked, unsure how to articulate the
depth. The intimacy.

He nodded, stroking, never looking away. She arched beneath
him, unable to hold still, her need to be close to him driving her up off the
bed and against him.

His strokes picked up speed, the friction unbearably sweet,
the power of each thrust lifting her higher. Closer. She brought his face to
hers for another kiss and squeezed her eyes shut, moaning into his mouth as he
shifted his weight, his knees wider on the bed, his thrusts gathering power. The
rock of their bodies, the taste of his tongue on hers, took her to the
teetering edge.

The need became too great, their ability to coordinate lips
and tongues lost to the maelstrom of passion. They pressed their faces close
and gasped, his breath hot against her skin, her moans muffled against his. He
was murmuring. Soft words she could barely decipher. Except one.

Love.

Her orgasm rolled up and over her, bowing her spine, drawing
a cry from her lips, her chest, her heart, as she arched beneath him. She clung
to him as his hips lost their rhythm and kicked in sharp circles.

He sighed her name against her neck as each jerk of his body
filled her with his warmth.