"I can draft pledge forms for you to share, create graphics, whatever you need," she says. "And we'll plaster Briggs' face on everything. It'll take some time to get everything done."
Karsen jerks his chin in a nod. "Let Briggs know what we can do, and you've got it."
"Thank you," she says gratefully, her voice trembling a little. "You guys are about to help change a lot of lives."
As soon as we step outside of the locker room, Tia faceplants into my chest, her entire body shaking. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her into me.
"I thought that would be a lot harder than it was," she admits.
"Because they're hockey players?"
"Because it's a lot of money." She tilts her head back, looking up at me. "I don't know if you're aware or not, but people with money are usually the hardest to convince to part with it."
"Maybe, but a lot of these guys came from nothing," I murmur, touching her cheek. "They know what it's like to rely on the kindness of others to pay for equipment, training camps, travel, or education. Athletics is expensive, no matter how you slice it. If they can pay it back to kids who deserve a shot, most are willing."
"I can't believe we're really doing this," she whispers, then immediately bites her lip. "You think we'll be able to fund it?"
"We'll fund it," I say, confident of that fact. Between my team, my brothers, and her brother, our social circle isn't exactly small. And it comes with deep pockets. I never use my status much, but I have no problem using it now. "What do you need from me?"
"Um…a quote for a press release, I guess? We need to announce the funding drive and your participation. I'll also need photos to go with marketing materials."
"Damn," I murmur, my eyes locked on her lips. "And here I was hoping you'd say kisses and orgasms."
Her eyes heat, darkening. And then she groans softly. "I'll take those, too."
I growl, tugging her up against my chest. My lips come down on hers in a hard kiss. Within seconds, she isn't thinking about work. All she's thinking about is how good she feels in my arms.
Practice is interesting. It's hard as fuck to focus on the goal when she's sitting behind the bench, her head buried in her laptop. My gaze keeps drifting to her. She looks damn good right there, like she belongs.
I didn't expect her to be this comfortable around my teammates, but every time one of them skates past and says something to her, she laughs or smiles, her body relaxed. It's like whatever wounds she's been carrying have closed. She's healing, letting herself forget the mistrust that was forged into her bones in that courtyard when she was still just a teenager.
I fucking love seeing it in real time.
I'm barely back in the locker room before my phone rings. I shed my gear onto the bench before fishing in my locker to grab it. Tye's name lights up the screen.
"What's up, brother?" I ask, still panting for breath.
"Our mother showed up on my doorstep this morning," he growls, his voice tight.
"Fuck." I sink onto the bench, scrubbing a hand through my damp hair. "What did she want?"
Karsen glances at me from across the room, one brow arched. I just shake my head at him, not sure what the fuck to say.
"Don't know," Tye says, "but she was yelling at Vanessa, something about being abandoned, when I got there. I called the cops to escort her from the property."
"Jesus Christ. Is Vanessa okay?"
My teammates quiet down, casting glances my way, but no one says anything. They just continue stripping, pretending to mind their own business.
"She's fine. I'm not. That's my wife, man," he says. "That's my baby. If something happens to either of them…"
"Nothing is going to happen to them, Tye," I promise, my hand tight around the phone. "We aren't going to let it happen. We'll file for a restraining order, all four of us."
Tye is silent for a long moment. "Thought you didn't want to do that."
"Yeah, well, what other option do we have?" I ask, tilting my head back against the locker to avoid Karsen's gaze. Maybe we should have done it a long time ago. I don't fucking know. But she can't keep showing up. She can't keep stressing everyone out. If getting the courts involved means she's no longer a problem, then we gotta do what we gotta do.
"Come here," I rumble to Tia, sinking my hands into her hips to boost her up onto the island in the kitchen. We've been home for all of five minutes. I'm amped up and jittery, ready to snap. I need my hands on her to settle my ass down again.