Page 6 of Slash & Burn

Her brow quirked up and I dropped my eyes to the floor. Joey would murder me in a second and no one would find my body if I evenattemptedto flirt with his little sister.

“Well, then this is pretty predictable, huh?” She turned and headed down the hall she’d come, tilting her head for me to follow. “How did you get stuck with this lame gig? Aren’t you the all-star, hot shot, hero of your sports team?”

I cringed at being called a hero and was about to change the subject when I realized something. “Do you know the name of my team?”

Jill slipped into a conference room, the table lined with packets of paper and stacks of books. She scoffed. “Of course.”

“What’s the name?”

“It was in the program overview.”

“So, then this should be easy.”

Her brown eyes sifted with defiance, and then hesitation. “The Boston…” she trailed off, lips pressing into a line as she avoided my eyes.

“Almost there.”

A huff burst out of her, and she crossed her arms over her chest, leveling me with a smirk that brought me right back to high school. “The Boston Fight-on-the-Ice-for-Money-Men.”

I laughed harder. “Close.” Dropping my bag by the wall, I turned back to pull out a chair. “The Boston Brawlers, Jill. You can say it.”

“I did. I just used more words.”

“Words. Books. You must be in heaven working here.”

Her expression dimmed, and instantly the room felt colder. All the humor disappeared and she let out another sigh before taking a seat across from me.

“I’m not sure that’s how I’d describe it. But one way or another we need this program to be a success. So . . .” She turned her eyes back to the cluttered tabletop. “Everything you need to know is in these packets.” She picked one up, thumbing through it. “The locations, times, agenda—everything. I’ve gotten you copies of every book you’ll be reading, so you can familiarize yourself with them beforehand. And on the last page are any important details that might be useful for when you give your speeches and stuff.”

I was staring at her when she finally stopped and looked back up at me. “I thought this was a partnership thing. If I’m doing the reading and the speaking, what will you be doing?”

The color faded a little from her cheeks and she swallowed. “I’ll be there. I’ll help with the kids and deal with any logistical things that come up.”

I had no problem with cameras or speeches, but this was supposed to be about the league putting in the timealongsidethe community. If this became about me alone, it would look like nothing more than a cheap attention grab. And making the Boston Brawlers look bad was not part of my plan.

If I was going to get named captain, I had to pull this off right. No other titles or accolades meant as much to me. Top scorer, winning team records, none of it. Not even the Stanley Cup.

Being trusted with the captain spot was the pinnacle for me. It would mean I’d worked hard enough. That I’d given my coaches a reason to trust me and that my teammates believed in me. And I’d have earned every bit of it.

I sat up straighter in my chair. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to need some photos of the two of us. Maybe a few books you read to the kids. This can’t just be about me.”

“Why not? Your team wants the press, the library wants to use the team as a draw for attendance numbers. I don’t see why this can’t be the Grady Holloway Reading Road Show.”

“Don’t you want credit for all this?” I flicked at the packet in front of me. “You’re the one doing all the work.”

Her shrug was half-hearted. “Thisis part of my job. Giving speeches isn’t.”

There was an edge to her tone, a brittleness in the words, and her eyes had narrowed where she was glaring at the table. It looked like we’d found our issue.

“You always hated attention.”

It hit me hard when she looked back at me with wide eyes, genuine surprise on her face that I’d remembered. “Yeah.”

I nodded, looking down at the stacks of books. “Alright. I can take the bulk of the speaking and stuff, but you have to be in some pictures or something. I can’t have this look like it’s entirely self-serving for the team. Coach will kill me if I make us look bad.”

I knew better than to be agreeing to this, but the look on Jill’s face was tugging on some sort of protective instinct. Plus, it was a long summer. I had time to change her mind and help her warm up to the idea. I’d get her in front of some of these crowds, one way or another.

“Seriously, you’ll take on that part?”

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