Body Checked (Salt Lake Pumas #2) Read online

  Body Checked

  © 2020 Camellia Tate. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

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  Chapter One

  Will

  The moment I slammed against the board, I knew it was serious. The pain that shot through me was sharp and so much more than anything I’d ever experienced. Of course, I’d been injured before. You didn’t play hockey and never get injured. Just from the pain, I knew I was fucked.

  It turned out to be about as bad as I had thought. The team doctor signed me off for at least the end of the season. It sucked a lot, especially since the Pumas made the playoffs. Not winning the Stanley Cup sucked but, with some guilt over it, I felt almost relieved. Winning the Cup without being on the ice would’ve sucked so much more.

  Except by the time the next season started, I was still out of play. My shoulder was healing after the two surgeries I’d had over summer. The team doctor assured me that I’d play again soon. But that ‘soon’ hadn’t come by the time the team started training camp.

  Or, as it turned out, even by the beginning of the season.

  It sucked so much to watch everyone skate out on the ice for the first time with me sitting in the stands. Rushing was going to hurt me more, though, I knew that. Sometimes, I just needed to remind myself.

  At least the guys were super sympathetic. No one envied my position. Being off with an injury was shit. I was still included in team meetings, and so on. The guys all went out for a meal a couple of days after the first game.

  That was where it all began.

  I wondered whether, if I’d been seated next to anyone but Felix that night, my life would’ve taken the turn it did.

  “But how do you walk four dogs?” I asked with a frown. “I mean, I have a lot of free time at the moment, but that seems like... I don’t know, like you might need more time?” The way Felix’s eyes lit up whenever one of his dogs came up in conversation should’ve given me some clues.

  Talking about all four of his dogs, we’d be here all night.

  “You can walk them at the same time,” he said, taking a swig of his beer. “So it takes the same amount of time as one dog. Well, maybe a bit longer because you have to stop for them to do their business more often.”

  He grinned like it was the funniest thing anyone had said all night. “I’ve got two two-dog leads, and then I put a coupler on each of those so that I can walk four dogs.”

  The terms he was throwing at me made my head spin. “But I don’t walk all four of them the same amount,” he added. “Jace and Damson need more walks because they’re young and energetic. So I take them out in the morning and the evening.”

  He turned to me, frowning slightly. “You’ve really never had a dog? Not even when you were a kid?”

  “No,” I shook my head. “I mean, I always wanted one, but...” I shrugged. My parents had gotten divorced when I was only six. A lot of their time had gone into ferrying me to and from hockey. Whenever the question of a dog had come up, I’d always been told we just didn’t have the time.

  Knowing that Felix had four dogs and played professional hockey told me that there could be time. I just hadn’t ever thought about how, now that I was an adult, I could choose to get a dog.

  Reaching for my beer, I took a sip. “I’ve thought more about it now that I’ve got free time,” I admitted. “It sounds... a dog sounds nice.” Which I was sure Felix would agree with, of course.

  He nodded so enthusiastically that I had to laugh. “Man, there’s nothing like coming home to a rowdy mass of dogs who think you’re the best part of their day,” he enthused.

  I could see the appeal. Coming home to an empty house still felt a little strange, even though I’d been doing it for years. For whatever reason, getting a pet had never occurred to me before. Until now, when I had more time than I knew what to do with.

  “And training a new dog would give you something to do,” Felix added, nudging me in the ribs with his elbow. I wondered if he could read my mind. Maybe my expression just gave it away. “Puppies need a lot of time. But you’ve got a lot of time right now. And by the time you can skate again, it’ll be all trained and ready!”

  “Puppies?!” Olssy gasped from next to us. Before long, at least four other guys had joined in, asking me about what sort of puppy I was getting and could they meet it, what would it be called?

  It was a lot of questions I hadn’t been ready to get. “I don’t know,” I admitted, looking desperately at Felix. “Where do I even get a puppy?” I asked, feeling a bit dazed. Despite everyone's questions, I did think that talking to Felix had solidified my wish to get a dog. Now I just had to figure out how one went about that.

  “I’ll send you to the shelter I got Damson from,” Felix assured me, patting my good arm. “They’ll make sure you’re all set up with everything that you need. They’re good about looking after owners who haven’t had pets before.”

  Excitement fizzed up inside me. I was going to get a dog! A pet of my very own, just like I’d wanted when I was a kid.

  The next thing I knew, Felix was pushing his phone into my hand, the screen filled with pictures of dogs. “I took these when I was in there,” he explained. “Look how excited they all are.”

  As it turned out, the pictures barely scratched the surface.

  When I got to the shelter a few days later, the dogs were so overwhelmingly adorable that I realized exactly why Felix had four. I had no idea how I was going to pick. That was until I saw him.

  He was black and so tiny. The other puppies were rushing around, tumbling over each other, but not him. He sat in the corner, looking around with confusion on his face. It looked like the world was just a bit too big and scary. Instantly, I felt like I had to protect him.

  And that was how I ended up with Teddy.

  His official paperwork from the vet, once I’d gotten him all checked out, read ‘Theodore Green’, like he was now an official part of my family. And, I realized, he was. This must be what people meant when they talked about having fur babies.

  So after a quick shopping spree at a pet store, I finally got home with Teddy. The vet had advised me to make a little area for Teddy, with his bed and food, a puppy pad for any accidents. At first, he only sat there, while I scrolled through my phone reading up on what you did with a puppy next.

  That night, I let him choose where he went. He stayed downstairs as I went to bed. But by the morning, Teddy was cuddled up with me in bed. Even after only knowing him for a day, my heart was already his.

  A week later, we had a nice routine. I’d go for a run and then afterward we’d go to the park. Teddy was a bit too young to go running with me, but he liked the park. Despite it only having been a week, Teddy was already double the size he’d been at the shelter. It was nice, seeing him get bigger and braver.

  The bravery seemed to be one of the personality traits already coming through. I found it increasingly exciting to see just what Teddy turned out to be like. Except it definitely came with some troublesome traits, too. The bravery led to stupidity and for the second time that day, Teddy was running away from me through the dog park.

  “Teddy!” I called out, dodging other people and their dogs as I followed my newfound fluff of a pet. Thankfully, Teddy was yet to become faster than me at running. And he had an absolute fasc
ination with other dogs. It wasn’t particularly surprising that, when I did find Teddy, he was sniffing at another dog.

  “I’m so sorry,” I said once I’d caught up with him. Kneeling, I pulled Teddy closer, but he was a lot more interested in the other dog than he was in me. Glancing up at the other dog’s owner, I was about to apologize again when my breath actually caught in my throat.

  She was stunning. The sun beamed from behind her, the auburn hair highlighted as it fell around her face. Her lips were a perfect shade of red and her light brown eyes seemed to sparkle in the light. It took me a moment to gather my words as I stood up, almost tripping over Teddy.

  “I’m Will,” I introduced myself. “And you’ve already met Teddy. He’s... we’re a new family,” I said jokingly.

  When she laughed, she looked even more beautiful. The sound was musical. All I could think was that I’d never heard anything quite like it.

  “I’m Lacey,” she said, bending down to offer Teddy her hand. He just barely sniffed at it, before returning his attention to her dog. “And this is Vega.” Straightening up, Lacey gave Vega’s black-tipped ears a scritch. I hadn’t known much about dogs before I adopted Teddy, but even I could recognize that Vega was a husky. Or part husky, maybe.

  Lacey smiled down at where Vega had lifted a paw. “I think they’re introducing themselves, too,” she said, giving another sweet laugh.

  Teddy seemed absolutely fascinated with Vega. Really, I felt like I could hardly blame him when Vega’s owner was just as fascinating to me. The way her hair curled made me want to reach out and touch it. I bet it was soft. But it would also be really inappropriate and quite creepy.

  “Vega seems really friendly,” I observed. “Teddy is... I think Teddy is also friendly, he certainly wants to run up to all dogs.” But usually, Teddy ran up to them and then ran away. This was the first time he seemed to actually be hanging out with another dog.

  I’d have to reward him later, this was an excellent choice. Teddy should pick more dogs who had hot owners.

  “She is,” Lacey confirmed. “It’s just the two of us at home, so she’ll take any socializing she can get!” A part of my mind filed away the information that Lacey was single — or at least, wasn’t living with a boyfriend or partner. “But she especially likes dogs that are smaller than her,” Lacey added. “She’s shyer of big dogs.”

  She glanced around the park, directing my attention to a man seated at a bench, the head of his dalmatian resting in his lap. “Magpie’s tried to make friends with her a couple of times, but she gives him the cold shoulder.”

  Teddy pawed at the ground between Vega’s paws. “He’s still just a puppy, isn’t he?” Lacey asked.

  “Yeah,” I nodded. “I’ve only had him for a week,” I admitted. “We’re both kind of learning to be in each other’s space.” Admittedly, Teddy was better at it, since he didn’t know what it was like to live in a house all on his own. I loved having the company, but it still surprised me sometimes. I’d never woken up next to someone so regularly.

  Briefly, I wondered if having a dog made me somehow more attractive to women. That probably would also be pretty creepy to ask. Besides, I was pretty sure that having a dog wasn’t making Lacey more attractive. She was stunning anyway.

  “Oh, that’s exciting,” Lacey gushed. “I didn’t meet Vega as a puppy, but I had a dog growing up. He was just the sweetest at that age.” She looked up at me, eyes shining. “But a lot of trouble, too,” she admitted. “He somehow got into my mom’s study and chewed one of her signed baseball caps.”

  She bit her lip like she was reliving what had no doubt been a tense moment. “I guess that’s my way of saying keep anything of value where Teddy definitely can’t get at it,” she warned.

  That made me give a laugh of surprise. It seemed like such obvious advice, but I honestly hadn’t even thought of it. So far, Teddy was good at sticking to his toys, possibly because I had gotten him so many. That didn’t, however, mean that Teddy wouldn’t divert his attention to something else.

  “Top tip,” I told Lacey with a grin. “I’ll make sure to move the important things out of reach.” Mostly, that involved ensuring that Teddy couldn’t get at any of my hockey gear. He gave a soft bark, bouncing all over the place. I wasn’t, truthfully, particularly sure what that meant.

  Looking at Lacey, I hoped she spoke dog better than me. “Do you know what that means?” I asked.

  “Oh.” She frowned, a crease appearing between her brows. “Maybe it means he wants to keep walking?” she suggested. “I mean, they’re out here for exercise, right? We probably wouldn’t like it if some big giant stopped our treadmill because it wanted to have a conversation.”

  The way she phrased it made me laugh, but I could see her point. To Teddy, I probably did seem like a giant. “Which way were you going?” she asked, a lock of hair falling forward over her face. “Maybe we could walk together, and the dogs can keep getting to know each other.”

  “Yeah, that’d be great,” I said, trying not to sound too keen. “I was walking that way,” I added, nodding towards the path behind her. “I try to do a few loops until Teddy seems tired. It’s a bit hard to judge. The other day, I had to carry him home,” I admitted. Teddy was still growing, of course, so I wasn’t sure how much energy that took.

  As we began to walk, both Teddy and Vega bounced into each other happily. It was impossible not to smile at the display. “I’ve never had a dog before,” I told Lacey. She had already told me she’d had one as a kid, so it seemed fair to share.

  “Or a cat,” I added. “Or any pets. I should’ve gone with that. I’ve never had a pet.” God, had I somehow become more awkward in the past ten minutes?

  But Lacey didn’t seem to mind. She kept stealing glances at me as we walked alongside each other on the path. Of course, I only noticed because I kept glancing in her direction, too. I wasn’t about to complain.

  “How are you finding it?” she asked me. The question sounded so sincere, like Lacey really cared how my pet-adopting was going. “Do you have kids?” she added. “I know a few people who first got a pet because they had a son or daughter who wanted one.”

  I shook my head in response. “No, no kids.” I was just about managing a puppy, I had no idea how much harder a baby might be. You could never leave them alone! It sucked leaving Teddy when I went to the rink, but at least I could leave him at home.

  Coming home to him was exciting. He was always so happy to see me. I didn’t know if a baby would act like that, too. One would probably jump up around you a lot less.

  “My parents always said they were too busy for a dog and I guess, I just never really thought about how I’m now old enough to decide for myself.” I shrugged. “Someone I work with has four dogs, so I figured... if he can do four, I can manage one.”

  I was intentionally leaving out what I did, both because if Lacey didn’t recognize me then she probably didn’t follow hockey and... well, I couldn’t play at the moment so I’d have to explain that too. It was easier not to.

  “I don’t think I could manage four,” Lacey said, her eyes wide as she shook her head. “Especially not in the city. I have got a yard for Vega to run around in, but it’s definitely not big enough for her to share.”

  Felix did live a little bit further away than most of the rest of the team. His house and yard were easily twice the size of mine since I preferred to live closer to the rink and the city.

  “My moms love cats,” Lacey carried on. If she noticed my slight surprise that she had moms, plural, she didn’t comment on it. I guessed that a lot of people probably reacted that way. “They weren’t too thrilled when I wanted a puppy instead, but they couldn’t exactly say we didn’t have time or space for an animal.”

  I gave a soft chuckle. “I haven’t even told my parents they’re grandparents now,” I commented. Truthfully, it hadn’t even occurred to me. My mom would probably be interested in the pictures. Dad, on the other hand, would almost definit
ely just ask me if having a pet was going to interrupt my game.

  Even now, when I wasn’t playing.

  So yeah, fuck that. But maybe I would send my mom a cute picture of me and Teddy.

  Looking down at the black fluff currently energetically chasing Vega, I couldn’t help but smile. Being a pet owner was definitely a new sort of challenge, but so far it felt very rewarding. I struggled to imagine it not feeling like that.

  “How old is Vega?” I asked, reaching down to pet the top of her head.

  Vega’s big, fluffy tail wagged energetically, knocking against my legs as Lacey and I caught up with the dogs. “She’s five,” Lacey answered. “But I’ve only known her for three years.”

  She seemed to hesitate, then gave a small shrug. “She used to belong to my ex-boyfriend,” she explained. “But he had to move for work, and he couldn’t easily take her with him. So she moved in with me.”

  “Seems like you got the better end of that deal,” I teased. Vega was such a gorgeous dog that I was confident in my comment. The way Lacey beamed at me, she seemed to definitely agree. Teddy, too, agreed, with a small little yelp-y bark. It then turned into another, louder bark.

  “Oh,” I said, shaking my head. “I do know what that bark is, that’s an ‘I’m hungry’ bark.” I was far from being a dog whisperer but I liked to think that maybe I was one step closer to being a Teddy-whisperer.

  I offered Lacey an apologetic look. “He gets hungry quickly,” I commented. For all the credit I had given Teddy about bringing me to attractive women, he was being a bit of a cockblock right now.

  As if reading my mind, Teddy gave an offended little bark.

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to keep Teddy from his dinner,” Lacey said, laughing. “Do you -” She stopped, a light pink flush creeping up her cheeks. I waited, curious what the end of that sentence was going to be.

  But Lacey shook her head. “I’m here a lot,” she said, gesturing at the park. “At least a couple of times a week. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”