Tomboy (The Hartigans #3)(20)

“That seems to be the general opinion.” Zach’s knee stopped bouncing. “Lucy, my agent, and Coach Peppers have bought into that BS from The Biscuit and think she’s my Lady Luck.”

Everyone at the table turned their attention to Fallon, pinning her down with so many curious looks she could almost hear their questions before the words even made it out of their mouths.

“My first game after I got sick was the Kodiaks game,” Zach said.

Everyone at the table nodded their heads. Being rabid Ice Knights fans, they didn’t need more explanation of how that game had gone and how he’d played like a dream.

“Then, I left tickets for Fallon for the Rage game and she couldn’t come.”

Again, all the Hartigans nodded in understanding.

“And now you’ve got the Thunder coming up on Monday.” Her dad gave Zach an understanding smile and then sent her a pleading look. “You have to go. It’s for the team.”

Nope. That was not going to happen. “This is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You don’t believe in the luck of the Irish?” her mom asked.

Okay, she’d seen too many patients who recovered when they shouldn’t have not to believe that there was something out there, but that wasn’t the same thing as a hockey player’s desperate attempt to latch onto some silly idea. “I don’t believe that I’m some kind of Lady Luck.”

“But if it works, you could help change everything for the team. We need you,” Gina pleaded, as if her name was on the lineup.

It wasn’t that Fallon didn’t think of her own fandom that way, too, but the last thing she wanted was to add one more responsibility to her plate. She loved the Ice Knights, but when she could catch a game live it was in her PJs, with her eyes barely open after a long shift in the ER and probably another volunteering at the clinic. Wait a minute. She swore the room got a little brighter in that moment because the mother of all lightbulbs just went off above her head.

Pivoting in her seat, she turned to Zach and smiled. There was no missing his worried gulp of anxiety. Smart guy.

“I have one condition.”

He nodded. “I’m listening.”

“You make an appearance at a charity carnival fundraiser for the Beacon All Access Clinic. Take pictures. Sign autographs. Try not to growl at the small children.”

“Oh, that’s a wonderful idea, Fallon,” her mom said. “Of course he will. That’s a no-brainer.”

Since being volun-told was pretty much part of the Hartigan family code, she was used to it. Going by the about-to-get-run-down-by-a-Mack-truck look on Zach’s face, he wasn’t.

“Will you?” she asked.

He looked like he’d just swallowed battery acid. “I don’t do those.”

“Oh, you should,” Faith said, pouring herself another glass of lemonade. “Giving back to the community that supports you is important.”

He lifted his pierced eyebrow. “I’m the most-hated man in Harbor City, remember?”

“That’ll just make you a bigger draw,” her sister responded.

Gina piped up with, “Maybe we should add a dunk tank.”

“That’s a great idea.” Finn nodded enthusiastically. “I’d pay to send him swimming.”

After watching him play for years, she’d seen him move and spin with the best of them out on the ice. When the man was really playing, he was pretty awe-inspiring. The Hartigan dinner table wasn’t the Ice Knights arena, though, and he had no hope of getting away—not if he wanted her at that game.

“So what do you say,” she asked. “I show up to the Thunder game tomorrow night to test out your theory and you help raise money for the clinic.”

“Fine,” he said, sounding anything but happy about it.

“You won’t regret it.”

Neither would the people who needed the clinic for their regular healthcare. This fundraiser really would make a difference for them with all of the grant funding falling through.

However, looking around at the expectant faces of her family, she got a sinking feeling that it might not be a good plan for her. If anyone else found out about this little Lady Luck arrangement, the entire city would be looking at her like her family was right now, as if she really could possibly make a difference in how Zach played and improve the Ice Knights’ playoff hopes.

That was just too weird to contemplate.





Chapter Eight


Tired but feeling the kind of loose energy that only comes after a good day-before-a-game skate, Zach sat back in the passenger seat of his defensive partner Cal Stuckey’s SUV after putting in the code for the security gate in front of his driveway. That feeling was the reason why he’d asked for a ride in the first place. Usually, he jogged home from practice with his bag strapped to his back like a military pack. Today, though, things just felt different, and when Stuckey noticed he was hotfooting it home, he offered to take Zach instead. He wasn’t sure which one of them was more surprised when he said yes.

“Thanks for the ride.”

“No worries, man,” Stuckey said. “I’m not far from here, and if I’d known you didn’t drive, I would have offered sooner.”

Yeah, Zach didn’t drive as in he couldn’t afford a car, insurance, or gas money. And that was pretty much all it took to make Zach’s chest tight as that all-too-familiar anxiety jacked up his heart rate.