Excerpt!
“Let me know if you need anything,” Mr. Grayson said, then shut the door behind him.
“Too bad there isn’t a window we can open to get some fresh air in here.” I stepped up to a huge, wooden desk covered in years of dust.
“This is insane. We’re not even going to make a dent in this.” Preach jammed his hands onto his waist, taking in the room.
It was pretty big. And very full. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“It’s not like you can do much.”
“And why is that?” I held up my injured hand and glared at him.
He grimaced, and his jaw tightened, then he looked away. With a quick motion, he peeled off his long-sleeve shirt as he strode to the supplies sitting on a table along the side wall. His biceps tested the fabric limits of the dark, Woodhaven High Hockey T-shirt he was wearing underneath. He shook out his dark curls, then grabbed a bucket that was sitting on the table.
Damn. I gulped. He looked good. Really good. As in, he should be going viral for the simple act of striping down to his T-shirt.
The muscles along his forearm rippled as he wrung out the cloth. I couldn’t help but admire the hard planes of the shoulders and back muscles flexing beneath the tight shirt.
“Maybe we can start out by washing down some of these desks up front here?”
This ought to be interesting with one hand, but what other choice did I have? I grabbed the cloth soaking in the soapy water and tried to squeeze it out.
“Here, take mine.” Preach handed me his rag, then snatched another one and plunged it into the soapy water.
“So…doctor appointment?” I said.
“Is there a question in there somewhere?”
I rolled my eyes. “You’re a real jerk, you know that?”
“I guess there’s a first time for everything.” He gave me a wry grin.
“You know, I have every right to be pissed as hell at you.” I shook my head and started scrubbing the desk. “After all, you’re the one who hit me.”
He rolled his eyes. “Riiiight, and it had nothing to do with the fact that you were standing in the middle of the road?”
“Nice history rewrite there, Cher. I was standing by my car because I’d just rescued a dog from the middle of the road.” I pulled open the top drawer. A mouse leaped out, and I jumped back. “Shit!”
My heel caught the small desk next to this one, and I spun. Preach’s hands grabbed my shoulders, but momentum won out, and I fell right into him.
He managed to keep us both upright, though, so that was good. All I needed was another fall.
“Shit!” I spun out of his grip.
He laughed, then quickly wiped the smirk off his face.
“I don’t even want to know what we’re gonna find in some of these drawers.” I tossed the rag at him. “You’re on cleaning detail.”
“Oh, really? And what exactly are you going to do?” He let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Supervise? Oh, and you’re welcome. You would have been eating dust or mouse poop if it wasn’t for me.”
I huffed at him. So he caught me. So he demonstrated awesome coordination and strength. So his hands and body were warm.
I shook the thoughts from my head. “Let’s see how great you react when a mouse jumps out at you.”
He started wiping down the desk. I grabbed my AirPods, because evidently this was going to be a no-conversation work hour, and I should be okay with that, but…whatever.
“Second opinion,” Preach said out of nowhere.
I paused putting in my earbuds and chanced a look at him. His jaw was tight, and he was going to town on that desk, nearly scrubbing it. “To see if you actually do have a brain?”
He grunted but kept his focus on his chore. “First doc said I’m done with hockey.”
Well, shit. “That’s one doc, though.”
He shrugged and didn’t say anything further.
Okay, then. AirPods it is.
A patch of black ice is all it takes for Ryan “Preach” Armstrong’s perfectly planned future to skid out of control. The car crash shatters his hockey dreams…and injures Woodhaven’s newest student, Grace Milner. As much as this feisty track phenom gets under Preach’s skin in all the best and worst ways, she might just be his path to redemption…
Grace can’t believe that all it took was seriously bad timing and a hot but prickly hockey player to threaten her lifelong dream of joining the Air Force. Now, instead of prepping for the track season and upcoming start of basic training, she has to complete community service with the absolute last person she would ever want to be stuck with—the guy who shattered her future.
When two fierce competitors collide this hard, the only result is heartbreak…or an epic victory as they cross the finish line together.
Check it out on Goodreads!
Buy your copy from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Apple Books or Google Play
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author, Lynn Rush, is a full-time writer, wife, and trail runner living in the Sonoran Desert, despite her fear of rattle snakes. Known as #TheRunningWriter, Lynn can't resist posting epic sunrise pictures while running in the desert with her trail sisters, even if she has to occasionally hop a scorpion.
When she's not running or writing, she's watching movies that fuel her everlasting love of superheroes, vampires, and all things Supernatural. The books she reads usually carry the same theme, but this former college athlete loves reading sweet sports romances as well.
She's madly in love with her Ironman husband of 20+ years who is the inspiration for what true love is. You can find her on social media as @LynnRushWrites and her website is: www.lynnrush.com
When she's not writing, she's probably lost in a book, watching Twilight, or having an adventure with her sweet family, which includes her handsome husband, their darling daughter, and their five furry loving rescues.
After living in a palace in Scotland, across from the Caribbean Sea, and in the snowy land of Wisconsin, Kelly and her family reside in beautiful Asheville, North Carolina. She draws inspiration from the places she's lived while world building in her books.
Kelly loves connecting with readers on social media! Stop by and say, "Hi!" or ask a question. You can find her everywhere @KellyAnneBlount.
No comments:
Post a Comment