Chapter One
Saint
When Will bangs on my door, I pull my pillow over my head and ignore the asshole. Instead of answering, I roll out of bed and groan as the pounding in my skull overshadows the throbbing in my knee and drag myself into the bathroom, where I turn the shower on full blast. Fuck, I drank too much last night.
After standing under the spray for God knows how long, I pull on the first t-shirt and sweatpants my hands grab and throw my door open. “About time you decided to emerge. It’s fucking one-thirty,” Will grumbles as he follows me down the stairs. “You’re turning into a vampire.”
“You’re turning into an asshole.” I flip him off over my shoulder and walk through the garage into my parents’ home. “I live in an upstairs apartment for privacy. Do you need a dictionary for the definition?”
He shakes his head and pushes past me into the brightly lit kitchen. “Look, we’re all worried about your stubborn ass.” He stops and glares at me. Will doesn’t sugarcoat his words. “Quit acting like a pussy. You have to get over this and move on.”
The fucker’s right, but in my heart, I’m not ready to admit that my hockey career really is over. “Fuck off and let me find food.”
He shakes his head sadly and walks away. “You’re going to have to act like a twenty-nine-year-old man soon.” As my mother sighs behind me, I close my eyes and groan. It’s way too early to deal with my family.
I storm over to the refrigerator and grab a plate of leftovers. Turning to my mother, I grumble an excuse and slam back out the door. It’s easier to eat alone than to listen to unsolicited advice or see the pity in their eyes.
My cellphone rings, and I groan. Shit, my neck is killing me. After eating what I guess was last night’s roast beef, I sat down to click through the channels and fell asleep. I’m not sure how long I’ve been sitting with my neck in this awkward angle, but the setting sun tells me it’s been hours.
“Hello,” I bark as I answer.
Will’s sigh comes through the line loud and clear. “Still in a cheery mood, huh?”
“Fuck off and leave me alone,” I growl and I rub my neck with my free hand. I debate hanging up on my older brother, but knowing he’s the only person who still tries to reach me holds me back.
Silence greets me, and I wonder if he’s hung up on me until he asks, “What are you doing tonight?”
“Same shit. Getting drunk.” I hang up on him and throw my phone on the table.
After staring at the bare, white wall for some time, I give up and head to my bedroom to change into jeans and a black thermal pullover. Tonight, I’ll try out the Hitching Post. The bar caters to a rough weekend crowd, and the scantily clad waitresses will supply me with a diversion while I drink myself under the table.
On my way into Earlon, the next town over, I call my asshole brother. He answers on the first ring. “Where can I pick up your drunk ass tonight?”
“I thought I’d try out The Hitching Post,” I tell him the truth since I’ll need him to drag my drunk ass home later.
There’s murmuring on the other end before he sighs. “Trying to get someone else to kill you?” The overdramatic asshole. “That place is crawling with troublemakers and criminals.”
“And cheap booze,” I snap before hanging up on his arguments.
As I turn into the packed parking lot, I check out the place. It’s only nine pm, but there’s hardly anywhere left to park. After pulling in next to a decent looking SUV, I sit in my truck and run my fingers through my hair while I debate listening to my brother. I hop out and slam the door. I’m here to get drunk, not buy the bar.
The blaring music hits me in the face as I walk into the bar, and my headache threatens to pounds through the back of my skull. Fuck. This place is even worse on the inside. After finding a table off in the rear by the restrooms, I wave down a waitress and order a bottle of Jack to keep me occupied.
The bleach blonde, overly made-up waitress drops off the booze and a glass. After glancing at the glass, I frown and push it aside. From the looks of this place, I doubt their cleaning processes. “Honey, can I get you anything else?” She rubs against me, and I lean away.
“You can leave me in peace.” I take a drink and slap a twenty on the table. It’s easy to ignore her as she stomps away.
I look at my watch and see it’s after midnight. I’m only a third of the way through the bottle, and it’s been an entertaining night. I’ve seen two fights, a relationship disintegrated at the table next to me, and my waitress has conducted several drug transactions with other patrons. I’m debating whether to call Will before the police show up when a booming disturbance in front of the bar catches my attention. I turn and my heart stops. My mind disengages from my body as my eyes land on the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Her chocolate brown hair sits on top of her head in a messy bun, and there are dark circles under her eyes, but she’s perfect. Before I realize my feet are moving, I’m storming over, shoving everyone out of my way to get to her. The curvy little waitress yanks her arm back, and there’s fear in her eyes as she stares up at the tattooed asshole growling in her face. “You spilled that on purpose, dumbass.” Her glasses slip down her nose as she tugs against his grip.
I pull the stunning girl behind me and face the hulk. “What the fuck?”
His eyes narrow as he growls, “The stupid clumsy bitch spilled beer all over me.”
Her hand is shaking in mine. I glance over my shoulder to comfort her, and the tears in her cornflower blue eyes send rage coursing through my body. A red haze covers my vision as I forget about the pain in my knee and punch the asshole in his outraged face.
The bartender and a bouncer rush over and push between us. In the ruckus, I lose track of my girl as we’re all shoved out the side door. The argument continues outside until the police show up. When the asshole I punched realizes who I am, he changes his tune. Will arrives in time to negotiate on my behalf, and I glance around for the cute little waitress who turned my world upside down with one look. She’s nowhere in sight, but I promise myself I’ll find her.
A deputy issues me a ticket and orders me to stay away from the bar for thirty days. “Hey, I need to talk to the waitress first,” I argue, but he rolls his eyes and raises his eyebrow at Will.
Will grabs my arm and pulls me over to stand on the far side of the police car. “Look, I asked Jake not to arrest you. Stop being a pain in the ass before he drags you to jail.”
“I fucking found her,” I plead with him. “The waitress. She’s my Payton.” His eyes widen when I mention my oldest brother’s wife. We all joke about him finding and catching his soulmate.
“Holy shit. You’ve got to be kidding me.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Wait here, numbnuts! Let me handle this.” He walks over to the others, mumbling under his breath.
I lean against the car and run a hand down my face. I’m still shocked at how the night ended up. One minute, I was drowning my sorrows. The next, I was staring into the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. The eyes of my soulmate. She captured my heart in that instant.