help Matt run the bar that evening. Plus she’d done the preliminary legwork for the benefit by lining up sponsors for the silent auction and other raffle prizes, more than happy to leave the more complicated details to Bernice and Kyle’s mom.
Bernice frowned again, not looking impressed with Jackson’s compromise, and she had no qualms about giving Hayley an accusing look, as if his stubbornness were entirely her fault. “It’s for Kyle.”
“Fine. I’ll bid.” She could bid and then sit back and serve drinks to the rest of the women content to break their bank accounts for a date with the infamous Jackson Knight.
“Great. My next stop was printing up the programs for the benefit, so it’s good that I have time to add your name to the bachelor list.” Bernice nodded to the renovations. “You are really good with your hands, Jackson. Try to remember to have Matt stop by and see me, Hayley.” She walked out of the house.
Yeah, she’d get right on that. Hayley rolled her eyes.
Once they were alone Jackson gave her a smug look.
She turned away, tossing back over her shoulder, “I agreed to bid. Not to win you.” She didn’t glance back to see what he thought of that.
Hayley didn’t want to win him.
That one thought continued to pester Jackson into the next day and late evening as he worked out front at Stone’s. His back was killing him and his hands were tired and sore from a couple blisters, but staring at the completed wheelchair ramp more than made up for it.
It was a small addition, but necessary in Jackson’s mind. Kyle should be able to get himself inside the pub without anyone carrying him up the stairs. He’d done a little research to make sure he knew what he was doing and had a local contractor he’d played hockey with look it over earlier that afternoon.
The guy had been impressed with the amount of work Jackson had gotten done in the timeframe he had to work with. Jackson had been a little bit impressed with himself too.
He couldn’t wait to show Hayley. Hayley who wasn’t going to try and win him.
No matter how much he enjoyed working with his hands, or the unexpected satisfaction that came from building something, his thoughts continued to circle back to Hayley.
He’d even heard from his agent, and now that the Sentinels general manager was back from holidays, his meeting was on the books for early next week. Things were finally coming together, but instead of researching the Sentinels franchise and reviewing team footage to get his head back in the game, he’d spent all day working on a ramp and thinking about a woman who was counting down until he left town.
She wasn’t avoiding him at least, but she’d been careful not to be alone with him whenever their paths had crossed since she’d insisted on bidding only.
Mildly annoyed with himself, he tossed the tools lying on the stairs into the bin at his feet. Some of the tools he’d borrowed, but the rest he’d bought, though he wasn’t sure what he’d do with them when he was finished with the renovations at Coach’s place. Living downtown, close to the arena, would be a must if he got the coaching job, and his schedule wouldn’t leave much time to work on a fixer-upper of his own, giving him with no reason to hold on to the tools.
Tires crunched over the parking lot gravel, and he turned as the familiar black truck pulled in to the empty spot closest to the ramp.
The door opened and from the second her feet hit the ground, he couldn’t look away. Sandals that showed off painted toenails, form-fitting jeans that he knew without a doubt would make her ass look amazing, white button-down shirt that revealed a snug black tank top, and a smile that brought his own instantly to the surface.
“Hey.” She surveyed the ramp that had been little more than a frame the last time she’d been by. “You’ve been busy. Nice work.”
He grinned. “Heard you had your hands full with a drug bust this afternoon.”
She shrugged, reminding him how much he loved the way she never took credit or bragged about the hard work she did.
“A few thousand in heroin, right?”
She nodded.
“That how you got that bruise?” He gestured to the black-and-blue mark the size of a baseball on her forearm.
“Unfortunate collision with a car door.”
He nodded, having already heard how one of the three suspects had thought