Busted: Promise Harbor, Book 3 (13 page)

She arched a brow. “Do you have ADD?”

He tried to follow, wondering if the trace amount of nicotine she might have taken in between coughing fits had gone right to her head. “No.”

“Then how the hell do you go from being furious I tased you to joking around and talking about skinny dipping and ice cream?”

The hell if he knew. He felt more off-balance with her than the first time he’d tried skating, but the feeling was becoming a little addictive.

A wayward lock of her hair distracted him, and he drew the thick blonde strands back, tucking them behind her ear.

“You shouldn’t have been in the shed.” She didn’t make it sound like an accusation this time.

“Didn’t mean to be such an inconvenience.”

Her lips parted, her gaze falling to the hands she clenched in her lap. “If I had hurt you or if you’d banged that thick skull of yours…” The words were swallowed by another cough.

“I’m fine.” And he was. Better than he’d been in a good long while overall. Maybe fifty thousand volts weren’t exactly the highlight of his day, but sitting this close to Hayley, her skin warming his side, worry reflected in those pretty eyes of hers, he was more than fine.

“There are laws against trespassing, you know.”

“I didn’t think Coach would mind.” He gave the room another once-over. “Though I’m pretty sure he’d mind what you’re doing to his house. Do all the rooms look like you set off a renovation grenade?”

“Stop changing the subject.” She ran her hands through her hair. “When you didn’t drop the ax, I thought you were the same guy who’s committed multiple break-ins around town.”

“Is that your apology?”

Her earlier vulnerability retreated. “I was doing my job.”

“I think you were better at breaking the law, Hayls. Kidding,” he threw in before she reached for another weapon. “And you can’t blame me for not keeping up with the local news coverage when I haven’t been home in a long time.”

“Well, now you know.”

“Good. Any other criminal activity I should be aware of? Anyone streaking at the football games? Toilet papering the mayor’s place? Stealing the high school mascot’s costume for nefarious purposes?”

Surprise flashed across her face, and was then buried beneath a frown so quickly he might have imagined it. A cop frown if ever he saw one, and with his reputation for fighting both on and off the ice, he’d earned the same frown from a police officer a time or two. The look of surprise before that was definitely new.

Hayley pushed herself to her feet. “We have to sell the house. Medical bills are piling up and Gramps’s insurance coverage isn’t so great.”

“Now who’s changing the subject?” Because it was easier not to talk about the fact that Coach was dying, Jackson redirected the conversation back to the intriguing part. “Let me guess, you once stole the high school mascot suit.”

She ignored the comment. “The guy I had lined up to refinish the cupboard doors and woodwork in here backed out on me last week, and the other local carpentry place is already booked for the next month and a half with other jobs.”

“Your rebellious days aren’t exactly a secret,” he continued, remembering when the mascot’s costume had been tie-dyed and glued to the hood of their principal’s new Beamer.

The guy had been a genuine dick, and it had been hilarious to watch him rip the bear suit off with half the afterschool crowd looking on. No one had been caught in the act, but more than a few people had whispered about Hayley being behind it. He also had a vague memory of their mascot being linked to the disappearance of the stall doors in the girls’ bathroom.

Jackson stood and leaned against the fridge. “You weren’t the first person to use that bear suit inappropriately. I made out with Bernice Cabot one night after a pep rally while she was still wearing it.” The result of a stupid dare to kiss Brace-Face Bernice.

Hayley studied her toes. “It’s a wonder that newsflash didn’t make it into the high school newspaper.”

“Tell me about it.” Not even Matt or Josh had believed he’d gone through with it since Bernice hadn’t blabbed to a single person.

Now that he thought about it, it was a wonder Bernice hadn’t mentioned it when she’d run over to say hi to him at Stone’s last night. The former-school-mascot-turned-real-estate-agent hadn’t stopped talking until Allie had coaxed her back to the girls’ corner.

That kiss should have been worth at least a mention given the rest of the high school stories she’d launched into that night. Christ, she’d yammered on about everything from getting her braces off to his old hockey records and the ten-year reunion he’d skipped a couple years back.

Something tugged at his memory, something to do with the stupid braces…

Maybe it was just nerves left over from the failed cigarette attempt that made Hayley almost squirm in place when he looked her way. Or maybe it was something else…something…

No fucking way.

“It was you.”

“Me?” Her neutral expression didn’t slip even a little.

“Yes, you. You in the bear suit that night.”

That’s why he couldn’t remember kissing Hayley. It had been dark inside the janitor’s closet when he’d led Bernice—or so he’d thought—inside after they’d left the gym. He’d tugged that ridiculous bear head off and kissed her before he could think about it, wanting the whole damn thing over with.

“You kissed me back.”

She shrugged. “I didn’t want you giving me away.”

“No, you
kissed
me back.”

“Should I have given you a demonstration of proper mop use instead?”

“You held on to me.” He grinned, knowing he’d just recalled a very important detail. Almost as important as the fact he hadn’t been kissing a girl with braces at all—and how in the hell had he let himself forget that detail?

It probably had something to do with the embarrassment of getting a hard-on kissing Bernice, or so he’d thought at the time.

But it hadn’t been Bernice at all, and the second his tongue had slid into Hayley’s mouth, she’d made the most perfect sound and wound her bulky bear arms around his neck.

One quick kiss had lasted nearly five full minutes, ending when he’d tripped over a broom trying to figure out how to get her out of that bear suit. They’d both been breathing heavy until he realized how turned on he was. Then he’d plunked that bear head back in place and gotten the hell out of there.

“You liked kissing me,” he insisted, half annoyed he hadn’t figured it out back then.

“You’re full of yourself.”

He took a step toward her, smiling when she scrambled back a step. “Really? Then how come I’m making you nervous?”

“Cautious, not nervous. And you would be, too, if you had tased six-feet-plus of glory seeker with fists tougher than titanium.”

He scoffed. “Glory seeker?”

“All those fights on the ice were about something.”

“I liked to think of it as doing my job. Sound familiar?”

Hayley frowned, and it only made him want to get closer to her. The kind of closer that would have her flush against him, his hands on her hips, fingers skimming beneath that Superman T-shirt.

He took the first steps to make it happen, crowding her against the counter.

“How’s Josh holding up?”

“I’m sure he and Devon are fine.”

Her eyes, which had been half-shuttered, flew open. “Him and Devon?”

“They went to Greenbush Island to look for Gavin and Allie.” He set his hands on her hips, gaze locked on the sexy curve above her collarbone.

“Together? You don’t find that odd?”

He nodded. “Almost as odd as the bride running off with her ex.”

“Point taken. Gavin wouldn’t have taken Allie to Greenbush Island. He’d want to make her forget Josh, not take her to the one place they were headed after they were married.”

Jackson didn’t let the sensitive subject sway him from touching her. Not this time. He ran his hand down her arm, his thumb brushing the inside of her wrist. Her breath hitched, and some of the tension left her shoulders.

Better, but not quite good enough. He followed the lines of her palm, tracing the soft skin until she closed her hand around his, lacing their fingers together.

“I’m not some—”

“Flavor of the week?” he guessed. “I know.”

The slow smile that curved her lips was nothing short of gorgeous. “Stop reading my mind.”

“I’ll make a mental note.” He hooked a finger through the belt loop on her jeans and tugged until she bumped against him.

“Not sure I can trust that with the number of concussions you’ve had.”

“Probably not as damaging as fifty thousand volts.”

She cocked her head, her eyes full of trouble. “Are you still whining about that?”

He nipped her bottom lip, her answering moan sending a rush of heat straight to his groin. “I don’t whine.” His lips found a sweet spot below her ear.

“That wasn’t what it sounded like in the shed. I didn’t know you could hit those kinds of high notes, actually.”

He sighed, but continued to explore the curve of her neck, right down to where it met her shoulder. “Are you trying to kill the mood here?”

Her eyes drifted shut. “Just trying not to make any more mistakes tonight.”

“So you admit that tasing me was a mistake?”

“Maybe I’m talking about our kiss.”

“Which one?” When she remained silent, he smiled into her skin, the scent of her filling his head.

“Jackson,” she murmured, turning her face toward his. Her mouth skimmed the edge of his jaw, moving way too slow.

He sank his hand into the hair at her nape, guiding her so much closer. Close enough to feel her breath whisper across his lips. Close enough to—

Bang!

Jackson spun around, one arm blocking Hayley in as he scanned the area.

Amused, she glanced at the arm he was using to shield her, then motioned toward the hallway. “Just a door. It slams all the time.”

Some of the tension left his body. “Is there a window open or something?”

“Upstairs, but it does that anyway.” At his raised eyebrow, she shrugged. “Didn’t know the place was haunted, huh?”

“Maybe I should check it out anyway.”

“You?” She crossed her arms, waiting.

Right. She was the cop.

Hayley rolled her eyes. “How about
we
check it out?”

It wasn’t the first time she had given him the impression she was just humoring him, but not until they were down the hall and at the front door did he realize she was trying to get rid of him.

“It’s late.” She gripped the door handle.

“You know, I think I could use a ride.”

“I’ll call you a taxi.”

“Aren’t you a little bit worried I might pass out in a ditch on the way?”

She nudged him across the threshold. “You can call me when you get home so I know not to send out search and rescue.”

“I don’t have your number,” he pointed out.

“Then I’ll call you. Good night.” She closed the door on him.

He stared at the wood, trying to puzzle out how he’d gone from being half an inch from her mouth to nearly eating the peeling paint off the front door.

“Jackson?”

“Yeah?”

“Go home unless you want me to tase you again.”

Chapter Six

Hayley hadn’t slept much. Between tossing and turning, wondering how Gavin was doing and staring at the ceiling with a stupid grin on her face, she’d opened her eyes feeling like she hadn’t slept in weeks.

Trudging into the shower had been a chore she’d passed on in favor of soaking in the claw-foot tub. Adding the bubbles was an indulgence strictly to satisfy the part of her content to stay curled up in bed all day, and that wasn’t happening.

She sighed as the hot water soothed aches from the fall that were more noticeable this morning. The next time Copernicus decided to run up a tree, she was calling the fire department. If she was smart she’d call the fire department the next time she crossed paths with Jackson. Maybe then she could avoid another disaster in the making.

She’d waited until he disappeared down the lane and onto the main road before getting into her truck and following to make sure he got back to his parents’ place in one piece. She had enough weighing on her without something serious happening to the harbor’s golden boy.

The same golden boy who kissed even better than he played hockey.

Hayley could just imagine what he’d think if she told him that. The man’s ego was big enough without him knowing she’d lain awake half the night thinking of that sinful mouth of his.

She let out a breath, determined to put him and that kiss out of her head. Jackson was leaving. Maybe he’d stick around another day or two for Josh, if that long. He had left town the second he knew he had a shot of getting in to the NHL and had hardly looked back as far as she knew, returning only a few times since high school graduation.

Nothing good could come from giving in to a silly crush on a guy itching to leave Promise Harbor behind all over again.