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“As long as you’re the one to interview me,” I replied, grinning softly at her. “I have no issues saying how Power Play has impacted my life. Set me on an entirely different path.”
That soft peach color was back along her cheeks, and I grinned even wider.
“What are you getting? Bauer Supremes would be better.” I placed the Sherwood elbow pads back, finding a pair of youth small Bauer Supreme instead.
I tossed them into her cart, but Jessa snatched them up and put them back.
“I know they’re better, but I need quantity right now, not quality.”
“Let me buy this for you,” I offered, reaching for her cart but instead clasping my palm over her hand.
Jessa sucked in a startled gasp, but she didn’t wiggle out of my grasp as quickly as I thought she would have. “I’ve got this.”
“Please,” I urged. “This program means so much to me. Let me give back in a way that I can right now.”
Huffing a sigh through her nose, Jessa let go of the cart and took a step back. She watched as I swapped out the lower quality equipment for a much higher brand. I grabbed enough youth small equipment to fully outfit a kid in the best gear the store had to offer.
Jessa followed me on my journey around the store and to the cash register, watching as the total climbed, but was brought back down slightly when the owner of the store gave me a pro player discount.
“Let me help you,” I stated as Jessa tried to roll the stuffed hockey bag out of the store herself.
Tucking the receipt into the back pocket of my jeans, I stepped forward and grabbed the handle, holding it and her hand until she slipped from beneath my grip.
Jessa held the door open and pointed to where her car was parked. How I hadn’t noticed her car there when I pulled in, I wasn’t sure, but I loaded the bag into her trunk and turned to her with a grin.
“So…when would you like to interview me? I’m free all week, except Friday.”
“Hmm?” She peered up at me. “Oh, yeah. Uh…” Jessa pulled her phone from her pocket and stared down at it for a moment. “I’ve got to get back to work now.”
Without answering my question, she hopped into her car and started it.
Shot down. I sighed and shook my head, walking defeated toward my car. I threw the KT tape onto my passenger seat and tossed a glance at Jessa’s still-parked car before I pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
I was curious about how Power Play was doing lately, but I was far more curious about Jessa. I wanted to get involved with the program, but I also wanted to get involved with her.
CHAPTER4
JESSA
I letZach have his littleheromoment. I let him pick out expensive gear, and I kept my mouth shut as he paid for one hockey kit foroneparticipant.
One.
I needed at least thirty more kits.
Probably fifty, considering applications were still piling up on the edge of my desk, but I refused to look at them, let alone process them. If I processed them, I’d be inclined to pay for the registration cost myself.
I watched Zach pull his shiny black car out of the parking lot before I shut off my car and went back into the store. I stocked the cart like I had before he had interfered, and I hoped that this wouldn’t max my credit card with such a hefty purchase. The bank would probably call and ask if my card had been stolen, since I only used it to buy coffee for Andrew and me on occasion.
“Were you with Renshaw?” the cashier, Danny, asked.
I stared at him like he was insane. It had been barely fifteen minutes ago when I’d stood next to Zach and silently watched him pay for a kit. Zach had received a better discount than Power Play, so I could really use the connection to a pro hockey player right now.
“Yep,” I replied, and watched as the total rolled down to a cost I was far more comfortable with paying.
For just over a thousand dollars after a generous discount, I had eight complete hockey kits in bags, a few sticks, and some skate sizes we didn’t have.
Skates weren’t the problem. We had a surplus of hockey skates that weren’t in great condition, but they were something we often received as a donation from the community.
