Page 59 of Taming Bull

He was maybe forty, but I supposed that was old for a hockey player. “And now you’re prospecting?”

“Yep. The prez said you can show me around and take me out on the tow truck. He said if I like it and I’m interested, there’s openings for drivers. I’ll just need to get certified.” I briefly wondered why Link kept pushing the new guys off onto me. Tavonte had turned out to be pretty fucking cool, so hopefully this crazy hockey player would, too.

“And you’re thinking about it?”

“Sure. Why not?”

This was the most bizarre conversation I’d had in a while. I wanted to point out that he was an NHL player and should be set for life. He’d ben a professional athlete, for crying out loud. Curious about his motivation for wanting to slum with us lowly working-class citizens, I asked, “Did you gamble away all your money or something?”

He glared at me. “What the fuck’s that supposed to mean? You think just because I want to work, I must be broke? You think hockey players are too stupid to keep from blowing their money?” He stood, flexing as his hands formed fists.

Wow. He’d read way into my harmless question, and judging by the steam coming out of his ears, he was pissed. “No, man, I didn’t mean any of that. I just… I’ve never met a professional athlete before and—”

He pressed his lips together. I was afraid for my life, so it took me a minute to realize he was trying not to laugh. The corded muscle along his arms relaxed, and he belted out a deep, loud chuckle. “I’m just fuckin’ with you, brother.” He took a swig from his beer and added, “You gotta learn to relax.”

I was pretty sure my life flashed before my eyes, but okay. Yeah. I could relax. Kaos. Now I understood where he got his nickname. I bet he was anarchy and pandemonium on the ice and the battlefield. Ah well. If the bastard fucked with me again, I’d drop his ass off at Ms. Moore’s house. At about half her age with muscles to spare, she’d love him. That’d teach the motherfucker.

“I’m lookin’ forward to working with you, Kaos,” I told him.

He chuckled again. “Sure you are.”

Across the room, Lily yawned. She saw me watching and gave me a reassuring smile. She was tired, and although I appreciated my brothers, I had no desire to be in the club when the ball dropped. I collected my woman and we said our goodbyes before heading home.

Parking in the garage beside the used Honda Civic Rabbit had fixed up for Lily, I sent Lily inside before retrieving the gift I’d been working on from its hiding spot under my workbench. I’d wrapped it last night, so I stuck a bow to the top and carried it into the house.

We’d done a lot of work over the past few months, painting, installing new floors, redoing the trim, and updating the light fixtures. There was still more to do, but we enjoyed working together and were in no hurry to finish it. The place was a work in progress… kind of like us.

I removed my boots and went to find Lily. Brahma was sprawled out across his bed in the living room. He opened an eye, saw it was me, and went back to sleep. I still hadn’t seen one ounce of the protective guard dog Lily claimed he was, but we did have a copy of a police report that said he’d bit some guy named Matt Warner. Matt was still in jail, doing time for breaking a restraining order and attempted kidnapping. According to Lily, Matt’s ex-wife, Tina, and their badass little son were working with Ladies First and doing great.

I found Lily in the bathroom. She’d stripped down to a sheer red nightgown that barely covered her ass, and was brushing her teeth. I took one look at her and my cock turned to granite.

“You look nice,” I said, closing in to kiss her cheek.

She spit and rinsed her brush, eyeing the large, heavy package in my hands. “Thanks. What do you have there?”

“It’s a surprise.”

She worried her bottom lip. “Were we supposed to get New Year’s gifts for each other?”

“Nope. This isn’t for New Year’s.”

Putting her toothbrush away, she followed me into the bedroom. “What’s it for then?”

“It’s because I love you and I wanted to make you something special.”

She eyed me. “You said you don’t make things.”

“Okay. I wanted to buy you something special and refinish it.”

She grinned.

I put the package on the bed and watched her expectantly. When she didn’t move, I asked, “You gonna open it?”

Lily fell on it and shredded the paper. I laughed, watching her face light up as she realized what it was. “A hope chest?” she asked, lifting the lid.

Made of old cedar, it had been in horrible shape when I’d purchased it, but I’d sanded it down and added protective metal strips to give it that steampunk look she was so fond of.

“Yep. I figured you’d need something to pack all your memories into since we’re about to start traveling.”

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