Page 105 of Slash & Burn

“Say what?”

“Don’t be a dick, AJ. Just spit it out. Give me grief for still caring about her or whatever and get it over with.”

He sat on the bench, his giant goalie leg pads right in my face. “Holloway, you played like an ace out there. If this is what was on your mind, I don’t want to do anything but encourage you to keep at it.”

“You were the one who told me to drop her.”

He snickered, like he knew exactly what I was talking about but wasn’t going to own it. “That was before I saw how she fucking broke you.” My chest burned, because she had and I still felt it. “But right now you don’t look broken, man. You look hopeful. So whatever you’re thinking, keep thinking it.” He pushed off the bench and went back to his locker.

I turned back to my phone, swiping through the rest of the photos, but none were of her. I stared at the family shot for the rest of the break, my playlist blaring in my ears. When it came time to go back out, I was even more amped than at the start of the game. And by the end of the third period it showed; I scored two goals and we won, four-nothing.

AJ had said I looked hopeful, but that wasn’t just it. I had an idea. But I was going to need help pulling it off.

“Hey, Coop,” I asked as we boarded the jet. “Your wife like to read?”

Cooper smiled. “You bet. She’s voracious.”

“Perfect. That’s absolutely perfect.”

CHAPTER 43

JILL

Ilooked at our inventory list for the fifth time, the numbers still not making sense. “How is this possible?” I muttered to myself, not sure what I could be doing wrong.

“Ashlee,” I said, coming out of the office and heading to the register where she was just finishing up with a customer. “Hey, how many copies of Love on the Run have you sold today?”

She laughed. “All of them.” She grabbed a stack of books to be reshelved and went to work on them, talking loud enough for me to hear her as she went. “I think we had four go out in online orders, and then another three were snatched up by a trio of very well-dressed ladies right after lunch.”

“But that was the second shipment of books, right? Or am I dreaming here?”

Ashlee appeared at the end of the row with a giant grin on her face. “Not dreaming, boss. Just living the dream.”

At this rate we were getting in two to three times the sales I’d projected when I went to the bank. It was almost comical how quickly books came into the shop and then went right back out again.

“We’re getting some serious heat on IG too,” she said, straightening the pocket journals we kept in a display by the entrance to the coffee house next door.

“Heat as in good or bad.”

“Good,” she laughed, shaking her head. “I should show you some of the likes and reposts, it’s insane.”

I would take her word for it. I had to get back online to order more books if we were going to keep these shelves from looking bare only a few weeks into being open. It was a good problem to have, so I wasn’t complaining, but it was getting hard to keep up.

Scouring my email for the last shipment we’d gotten in I spotted a subject line from a few days ago that I’d missed.

ACTION REQUIRED; NHL Community Special Model Release J. Jordan

I clicked on it and had to read it twice before I believed it was real.

Dear Ms. Jordan,

It has come to our attention that we do not currently have a signed model release for you on file. In order for the attached video clips to be used in our network special highlighting the NHL community programs this past summer, we are required to get your consent via the attached form. Please note; failure to return this form will prohibit any inclusion of the Brawlers organization in the network feature.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call me at the number below.

Kindly,

Mallory Elms

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