The Barker Triplets 1 Offs

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through his mind. Jesus, there were several places he d love to see her lips& and that tongue&
She must have read his mind because he saw her stiffen. He took a step back and nodded toward
the car. Billie, this isn t charity. It s made a lot of people feel good to help you out. The tires just
kind of showed up Monday. If you want to thank someone for that, give Jackie Everett a call. She
rallied the local girl s hockey league and they got involved too. Cash donations came in and they
pretty much covered all the other expenses. Hell, even Duke brought over beers and wings for the
techs. He nodded to the car. We installed an alarm system so the next time someone decides to
mess with your car they ll be in for one hell of a surprise.
I don t know what to say.
Her eyes shimmered and the two of them stared at each other for several long moments. They
stared at each other for so long in fact, that when Shane shouted a hello from across the shop they
both jumped.
You don t have to say anything, he answered finally. Logan held out the keys and nodded toward
the now open bay door. I ll see you Friday night.
Her fingers grazed his as she stepped forward to grab the keys from him.
Thank you, Logan. She paused. About the other day and what happened&
Logan s gut tightened at the thought. Yeah, he said carefully, watching the play of emotion on her
face.
I m sorry. I was upset and I& it won t happen again.
Logan lowered his head. He inhaled her subtle, clean scent and stifled a groan. What was it about
this girl that made him feel like a teenager again? A damn horny teenager.
I think you re wrong, kid, he whispered near her ear.
A soft sound escaped her lips. A sound that made him tight and hard. As much as he wanted to
pursue the moment he knew enough to back off. The timing wasn t exactly right with Shane grinning at
him from the shadows. He d take his time with this one.
He had the feeling she d be worth it.
Chapter Ten
Billie arrived at the arena a half hour before the game. She d been ready for at least an hour, but
had paced her bedroom for most of it. She d seriously thought about ditching hockey. The guys didn t
want her there anyway, and really, who was she to stir the pot and upset so many people?
Just this morning, Ike, at the coffee shop had complained loud and clear about his views on a
woman playing in the men s league. They weren t favorable and they weren t subtle. In his opinion
which he shared with everyone in earshot it was plain wrong. It was men s hockey and a man
should be able to have one night in the sanctity of a locker room without any female presence. How in
hell could you scratch your balls and fart when there was a woman on the bench?
Billie thought of Dearling and clearly, some of the guys had no problem with this.
But maybe he had a point? She could have played in a mixed league in the city, or joined the local
women s league but the skill level just wasn t the same.
For two whole seconds she considered Ike s arguments, and then as her gaze settled on a framed
photo taken just after she d scored an Olympic medal winner something inside her stirred.
Something fierce and full of need.
She grabbed her jacket passed Herschel on his way up to her father s room with a cup of tea
and kissed his cheek.
Give em hell, sweets.
I will, she d murmured quietly and then proceeded down the stairs where she d pointedly
ignored Bobbi who was in the kitchen making Gerald Dooley a goopy, gross dessert.
Gerald smiled, though it dimmed somewhat as Bobbi shoved a bowl in front of him. Heading to
the game?
Yup.
Billie heard her sister s derisive snort as she d headed out into the cool, crisp evening and even
though it shouldn t matter, it did. Some of her oomph left as she d slipped into her car and turned the
key, though the warmth in her belly stirred as she thought of Logan.
She thought of how much she d wanted to kiss him again in his shop. She thought of the way he
smelled and his dark, sexy eyes. She thought of his lean, hard body and a butt made for a woman s
hand.
His full sensual mouth.
The words that had fallen from said, full sensual mouth. [i] I think you re wrong, kid. [i]
What the hell did that mean? Wasn t he still with Sabrina?
Billie pushed all thoughts Logan aside. She cleared her mind of any excess garbage that could ruin
her game and parked her shiny, red Honda near the entrance underneath the biggest, brightest
security light she could find. She d lucked out, someone was just leaving.
She heaved her bag over her shoulder and paused as a rusted out, silver Chevy rolled past. The
driver s window was down, and she earned one hell of a scowl as Ed Cronkwright searched for a
spot to pull his truck into. He mumbled something as he passed and though she couldn t hear his
words, she sure as hell got the drift.
She watched him pull into a spot farther along and thought, screw you.
This was hockey nothing more and she wanted to play. Billie wasn t going to let anyone take
that away from her. Not Seth Longwood, or Ed Cronkwright or her sister. Not the bastards who d
vandalized her car, or even the thought of being so damn close to Logan Forest.
She heard Ed s door slam and flipped him a mental bird. Scowl all you want, asshole. I need this.
All week she d been on pins and needles. Bobbi was pissed. And, sure, Billie was big enough to
admit that maybe some of it was deserved Bobbi obviously believed she was sleeping with Shane
but still, it didn t mean that every single person who orbited Bobbi-Jo Barker s circle deserved to
be as miserable as her sister was.
As far as Billie was concerned, her sister loved to wallow in darkness. Why else would she hook
up with someone like Gerald Dooley and pretend to be something she wasn t?
Frustrated, Billie entered the arena and pushed all thoughts of her family aside. She d think about
them later. Right now, she had a game to concentrate on.
Hey, Billie.
She glanced up. Kendall McKallister waved from across the lobby. The teenager lived two doors
down from the Barkers and was an avid hockey player. At the moment she was surrounded by her
teammates. They all wore their hockey jerseys, the bold maroon and gold was pretty hard to miss.
They must have a game on the second ice pad.
She smiled, waved back and thought that maybe she d catch the rest of their game when she was
done. That sounded more her speed than hanging with Angry Pirates at The Grill. Besides, it s not
likely Logan Forest would stay to watch a bunch of teenage girls play hockey, and Billie was more
than okay with that. The further she stayed away from the man the better. Her brain tended to
malfunction when he was around and she couldn t afford anymore lapses.
One kiss was enough.
Have a good one, Kendall shouted. Give them hell.
Surprised, Billie smiled. You too.
She disappeared below and quickly found her room designation, hoping there wouldn t be a
surprise waiting on the other side. Gingerly, she pushed the door open and heaved a sigh of relief
when she found it empty.
Ten minutes later she was lacing up her skates when a knock sounded.
Billie, you decent?
Yeah, her heart sped up and then slowed down when she realized it was Shane, not Logan.
Gallagher pushed the door open and peeked inside. Hey, Cronkwright is filling in for The
Whalers goalie. Duggen s wife went into labor.
Billie grabbed her bright yellow jersey and pulled it over her head, tossing a long, thick braid [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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