Mister Hockey (Hellions Angels #1)(39)

“No?” He froze, unsure.

“Because if I see you right now, I’m going to cry, and I swore. I swore I wasn’t going to cry.”

“What’s happened?”

“Nothing except for the fact you are looking at the former head of the children’s department.”

“You lost your job?”

“Lost? No. I wouldn’t say that.” Breezy’s nose was red and her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It was taken away.”

The wobble in her lower lip threatened to undo him.

“She said the decision wasn’t personal. My boss. Tater Tots.” She reached up and dabbed her nose. “But got to say, it felt pretty darn personal to me. In fact, the witch couldn’t stop smiling the whole time she talked about how we were being merged with the Oak Ridge children’s library. In fact she said that I should be happy, because this change meant that the rest of Rosedale could remain operational and I didn’t want that, didn’t I?” She dug the heels of her hands into her eyes. “And I don’t. But I want a job!”

“Tell you what. I’m gonna drive you home.” He took her hand and led her toward the parking lot. “We can come back and get your car later.” Once she was buckled inside his Land Rover, he took off for Breezy’s cottage. She didn’t respond, just gazed out the passenger window. Outside the sun was shining, people were jogging, walking their dogs, talking on their phones. He reached over and took her hand. “It’s a hell of a thing to have your world turned upside down when no one else has the first fucking clue.”

How good would it feel to continue on, tell her how much he understood the feelings that must be roiling inside her, but that wouldn’t be fair. This was her moment to grieve. And he didn’t want to pull the rug out to make it about him too.

“If you don’t keep your eyes on the road, Cap, we are going to end up in someone’s flower patch.” Breezy squeezed his hand in a gesture of quiet thank-you.

“Maybe losing your job will turn out to be an opportunity. Everything doesn’t have to be lost, you know?” He parked in front of her house, smiling when he got out and she waited for him. After he opened the door, he continued, “What if this is the push that you needed to open Itsy Bitsy?”

“Maybe.” She furrowed her brow and shrugged.

“I think you’re right.” He reached down and scooped her up cradling her against him as she shrieked with surprised laughter. “But right now I’m going to fly you into that house, Vixen, and turn this bad day around.”

When it came to his family, or even his own body, he was failing. But with her—right now—he could pretend to be the superhero the rest of the world believed him to be.





Chapter Fifteen




She sank down into the tub, the vanilla-scented suds piling up to her chin, the hot water relaxing her tense muscles. As soon as they got into the house, Jed ordered her to strip. Before she could even get excited, he declared that he was drawing her a bath, that a day like today qualified for a good long soak.

And while she wanted nothing more than his hands on her, have his clever mouth and devastating tongue driving away the memories of the terrible day, she couldn’t ignore the fact that she was so wound up that she might split into two before he took her over the edge.

Three candles flickered on the edge of the tub, mirroring a similar flicker inside her.

Hope.

She’d never had anyone pamper her like this; at his best, Rory had once bought her a gas station rose.

She wanted to hug the old version of herself who had no idea it could be better, or that she deserved more. That she deserved a real man who would tend to her needs not because he wanted to get something in return, but because he simply wanted to put a smile on her face.

As she began to unwind, the memory of her firing crept in. No point in even trying to hold it back, might as well feel all the things, let the poison out and move on.

Tater Tots had called Breezy and Daisy into her office. As soon as she’d walked inside, Breezy had known what was coming. Her boss was seated, hands resolutely crossed and placed in the center of the desk, her lips angled down a slight jowly frown, resembling Donald Trump from his days hosting The Apprentice. She started out highlighting the budget woes, the funding cuts, gaining speed as it became clear the children’s department was going to close, other branches would increase their programming.

“During these tough times, we must make tough decisions. Not to worry, you’ll land on your feet,” Tater Tots had said, wrapping up a short “you’re fired” speech, before turning to Daisy. “One staff member was allowed to transfer to the adult desk. A difficult decision to be sure.”

Yeah. Sure. Breezy had silently absorbed the impact while all the while the scream, “But I have seniority,” danced on the tip of her tongue. Not to mention the fact that she’d built up the department.

“Thank you, Janet.” Daisy hadn’t looked over at her old boss.

“When is this termination effective?” Breezy had asked. So many thoughts had rolled through her mind, how to say goodbye to the volunteers, to the neighborhood families, to the place that she had known since she graduated university—this had been her first “real” job. Her only job.

“Effective immediately. Easier that way.”