Total pages in book: 101
Estimated words: 97037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 485(@200wpm)___ 388(@250wpm)___ 323(@300wpm)
“She’s fucking hot. Did you see her flash everyone at the funeral? I’m pretty sure she had no panties on,” he says, waggling his brows, and my face twists in confusion but also anger.
I’ve never heard him talk like he’s interested in anyone.
And I sure as fuck don’t like him finding her attractive.
What the hell?
Dean Moore leans in and nods. He is the youngest fire chief in town history. He went to school with us, played hockey for a D2 school, and came home when he was done. While he is a firefighter, he subs a lot for us since he stays back at the firehouse while his buddies all play for their team, the Hat Trick Heroes. Thistlebrook doesn’t have much crime or even many fires. The fire department is usually busy during travel hockey season, though, so he plays a lot more during their off times. He has a daughter, Skyye, who’s fourteen. He never loved her mom—they’re better as friends—but he sure loves Skyye.
With a glint I sure as hell don’t like, he says, “So hot. Is she single?”
I blink, completely caught off guard. Sure, we’ve discussed women we find attractive, but they don’t get to talk about Fable like that.
Hell, I don’t even want them looking at her.
I try to control the confusing fury that is coursing through me. I don’t understand it. I’m pissed that she owns half of the Thistle now, that once more, my dreams are being controlled by the Winthrops. I am thankful she is staying since I don’t want it to go to Richie, but fuck, it’s supposed to be mine. I don’t want to run it with her. I want to run it by myself and prove that I am worthy of doing so. I should hate her; I should want to make her leave, but I know I can’t.
And not because the Ice Thistle will go to Richie.
No. Because I want her here.
But I don’t want anyone talking about her. Or asking if she’s single.
What the hell is wrong with me?
The fury is almost crushing as I grit out, “She’s off-limits.”
I feel their gazes, but I don’t look at them. Dean scoffs. “Is that right?”
“Why?” Liam asks, leaning on the boards as everyone warms up. We should be doing the same since our hips aren’t what they used to be, but none of us moves. “Finally going to shoot your shot?”
I roll my eyes, but I don’t know if I’m believable. “Not at all. She’s working here for a year. She has no interest in getting attached.”
My statement isn’t all lies.
Dean grins. “Hey, no one said that hooking up leads to getting attached.”
I can’t punch my friend and teammate, can I?
“You never know. She may need someone to help her pass the time,” Liam teases, his eyes just as playful as his grin. “I have no problem helping out.”
“She’s your boss now. That’s not happening,” I spit, and his eyes widen.
“Wait, for real?”
“Yeah. She owns half the Thistle for the next year. It was Phillip’s way of getting her to stay here to be with Kitty.”
Dean’s jaw drops open a bit as Liam whistles. “That man and his love for that woman. He never cared who he stepped on to give her what she wanted.”
Liam isn’t wrong. I never understood Phillip’s love for his wife. His obsession. I didn’t get to see Bea with her husband, but apparently it was a lot like Kitty and Phillip’s relationship. Hazel’s relationship with Willie was decent, but he was a druggie and overdosed before I was old enough to remember them together. Then my parents’ relationship was so toxic, it was hard to believe that a man could love a woman the way Phillip loved Kitty, but I witnessed it. At times, I was in awe of it. Now, I’m being affected by it.
“She needs Fable,” I say softly, watching as Kitty shows Fable what she’s working on. I hope it’s not something new for my office. Those women and their cross-stitching are a key decorating factor in my office, and it’s really embarrassing. Especially when they make things that are highly inappropriate but speak to my soul.
My newest framed piece is a bag that obviously has dicks in it, and along the top, it reads, Eat a bag of dicks.
Bea made it, and she just loved how red I got when she gave it to me.
Crazy woman. I shake my head, exhaling. “While I hate it, and I’m pissed, I get it.”
Dean doesn’t seem to agree but nods, nonetheless. “It’ll go quick. The Ice Thistle is yours, dude. No doubt about it.”
“Yeah, I doubt she’ll give you much pushback,” Liam says, and I scoff at that.
No one knows Fable the way I do. She doesn’t back down for anyone. She can focus on something like no other and make it everything she wants. It’s her superpower. No way can I forget the welts and blisters I had from the long nights when she wouldn’t give up until we landed whatever skill we were working on. How many times I saw her eat the ice, but she’d get right back up on her skates. She never let up, never gave up, and I admired that about her. I wanted to be like her.