Page 8 of Pucked Together

I tilt my head. "Are you serious? You brought her here?"

"What's your beef with her, man?" Hicks asks.

"There's no beef," I shrug.

"If having her here is going to be a problem, you can tell me right now, B. Izzy needs me. She doesn't have anyone else. And she's been through enough, trust me. She needs to know there are good guys out there that aren't going to take advantage of her good nature."

He stares me down.

Good nature?

So far, I've seen a bratty college kid with a nice ass and siren eyes. But sure, we'll go with good nature.

"Nah, Kee. No problem at all, man." I stand and pick up what's left of my food. "I'm gonna shower and hit the hay."

"Ok, good," his shoulders lower as he calms down. "See you at practice," Keelan tilts his beer towards me, letting me know we're cool.

"You guys should probably…"

"Hydrate!" They all say in unison.

"Yes, we know, den mother," Fergie says, giving me a smug look.

"Oh, right. I'm the den mother. You're going to have us all singing hymns by the end of the season, Preacher Boy. But sure, I'm the den mother."

"Easy money," Fergie says, lifting his root beer to me with a wink.

I shake my head and make my way up the stairs, leaving the boys to their games and debates.

I hear Keelan say, "And would you cut it out with the punny lines, Hicks?"

"What? I'll get her to laugh one of these days." Hicks argues.

As I enter my bathroom, I strip off my clothes and turn on the shower. The hot water rains down on me, soothing my aching muscles from yesterday's practice. But even as I let out a content sigh, my mind wanders back to Izzy. There's something about Keelan's little sister that puts me on edge. Maybe it's her youth and naivety, or maybe it's the fact that she's living in a house full of horny hockey players.

She's feisty. I'll give her that. The way she confronted me outside the house earlier, like she isn't some puny little thing. Gotta hand it to her. She's got balls.

But by trying to protect his sister, Keelan put her in the midst of a lion's den. Whatever. That'll be his problem to deal with. As long as she doesn't get in the way, we'll be fine.

Just as the thought leaves my mind, I hear a cabinet shut, and I poke my head around the shower glass to see a round peach in yoga pants giving me a full view.

What the...

"Can I...help you?" I ask, shutting off the water and grabbing the towel near me.

My intruder bumps her head under the sink and rubs it as she turns to face me.

"Oh, hey! Sorry, I just really needed my makeup kit and..." The moment she sees me, the words stop.

"Uh huh?" I urge her to go on, securing the towel in place around my hips.

"Um, I...I didn't realize I'd be sharing a bathroom, and the door was unlocked."

I step onto the plush shower mat. "Your brother and his ingenious foresight. The rooms on the other side of the house are being renovated."

She bites her lower lip and then lets it go. It's subtle, but I see it.

"Ok, well, we're going to have to come up with a plan then because I can't have you walking around, you know...naked." She sweeps her hand up in my direction.