The Man Tamer

“Wild Man Kelly?” The woman—Rachel—had regained her poise and now studied him with a new skepticism in her green eyes. Garret’s frown deepened. He detested the nickname Denton had saddled him with, but it had already caught on with the press, so he was trying to learn to live with it.

“You’re looking at the star player on the new Dallas Devils lacrosse team,” Denton announced, slapping Garret on the back again.

Garret glared at Denton. Try that one more time, mate….

“Lacrosse?” Rachel looked puzzled.

“Indoor lacrosse,” Denton said. “Fastest growing sport in the country. The speed and high scoring of basketball, the rough stuff and athleticism of hockey.”

“And your newest acquisition,” Rachel said.

“Lacrosse is going to be big in Dallas,” Denton said. “And Wild Man is going to help make it that way. He was number one in scoring last year, number one in assists and number one in time in the penalty box. He’s a wild man! The fans love him, and so does the press.”

Garret wished he’d lay off. Denton made him sound like some kind of degenerate. “How do you know Denton?” he asked Rachel.

“She works for me,” Denton said before Rachel could answer. “I tell you, the two of you meeting is just perfect.”

Perfect for what? Garret wondered

“Speaking of the press,” Rachel put her hand on Denton’s arm. “I wonder if I might have a few words with you—alone.” She shot a look at Garret.

No one ever said he couldn’t take a hint. He nodded to Rachel. “Pleasure meeting you, Miss Westover.”

“I’m sure you two will be seeing each other again soon,” Denton said.

“Oh, no doubt of that.” Garret could still taste the chocolate on his tongue, still feel the satin of her skin against his mouth. He had every intention of looking her up again when they could be alone and really get to know one another.

TEACH BY EXAMPLE, praise good behavior, distract…substitute…reprimand…withhold…punish…restrict…reward…accept. Rachel’s advice played over and over in Moira’s head like a bad radio jingle. By the time she reached David she was sure the smile she gave him was strained. “Hi, sweetie,” she said, standing on tiptoe to kiss his cheek. “I’m glad you made it.”

“Yeah, well, I figured I’d better put in an appearance.”

“You look great,” she said, brushing a bit of lint from the shoulder of his sport coat. The fabric stretched across his muscular body. Though not too tall, he still had the stocky build of the football lineman he’d been in high school. A little heavier around the middle, but still very attractive, she thought.

He accepted a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and started across the floor toward the buffet table, Moira in his wake. “Let’s grab some food and mingle a little, then we can bug out. The Stars drop puck at eight. I’d like to at least get home in time for the second period.”

Hockey. Moira rolled her eyes. Lately, David’s idea of a hot date was an evening on the sofa watching sports. They could cuddle during commercials, but otherwise interruptions were not welcome.

At the buffet, David filled a plate with food while Moira tried to figure out which of Rachel’s principles to use. She’d already praised him for showing up. Distraction?

“I thought maybe tonight we could do something different,” she said. “There’s a new club over in Deep Elum. The band is supposed to be great. I know you like discovering new music.”

“Yeah, but not on a hockey night.” He scowled at her. “You know me better than that.”

Did she? When they’d first started dating, David had been a fun, attentive companion. He could always make her laugh with his dumb jokes, and he’d proved to be a sensitive lover. But lately he’d taken her for granted. As if he’d grown so comfortable in her presence he no longer had to make any effort to improve their relationship.

“Hey, is that Garret Kelly?”

“Who?” She looked up to find David pointing across the room. “Where?”

“The big guy over there by the keg. That is him. Let’s go meet him.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her across the room.

“Who is Garret Kelly?” she protested, dragged along like a dinghy towed by a yacht.

“Only the best indoor lacrosse player in the country. Led the league in goals last year when he was with the Denver Mammoth.”

Sports again. Moira groaned.

They reached the group by the keg. “Hey, I’m Dave Brewer.” Dave stuck out his hand. “I’m a big fan of yours.”

“Pleased t’ meet you, Dave.” Garret turned his smile on Moira. “And who is this lovely lady?”

Moira stood straighter and resisted smoothing her hair. Talk about a gentleman….

“That’s Moira,” Dave said. He scarcely glanced at her before turning his attention once more to Kelly. “I heard the Dallas Devils signed you. That’s terrific. I can’t wait to see you play.”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Garret said. He smiled at Moira again. He had a nice smile. Sexy even, if you liked the big, brawny type. “Moira, do you know everyone here?” he asked.

She shook her head. None of the people in the circle looked familiar to her.

“These are some of the other players on the team. This chap on my left is Bud Mayhew. Next to him is our goalie Tate Maguire and his wife Leslie. Then Guy Clifford, Slate Williams and Peter Rutherford. And of course you know Dave.”

Right. Dave who was all but ignoring her. The others smiled and murmured hello.

“Love those shoes,” Leslie Maguire said. “You’ll have to tell me some good places to shop around here.”

“Don’t do it, I beg you,” her husband said. “I’m already reduced to one little section of the closet.”

“There’s always the spare bedroom,” Leslie said meaningfully.

“Fine, shop all you want,” Tate conceded. “Just don’t make me go with you.”

“I know what you mean.” David inserted himself in the conversation once more. “Moira’s always after me to take her to the mall. Why women think men would be interested in that kind of thing is beyond me.”

Moira frowned at him. She almost never asked David to go shopping with her. In fact, she could think of nothing worse than having a whining man tagging along while she was trying on shoes. She turned to Leslie once more. “I’d love to go shopping with you one day,” she said. “And you should meet my friend Rachel. She’s about your size and has great taste in clothes.”

“Rachel Westover?” Garret Kelly froze in the act of raising a beer to his lips. “You know her?”

“Sure. She’s my best friend.” Moira braced herself for yet another comment about Rachel’s man taming column.

“Just met her tonight. Over by the buffet table.” He took a sip of beer. “Interesting woman.”

“Yes, Rachel is very…interesting.” And she must have made quite an impression on Garret Kelly. Moira subtly checked him out. Nice suit, but no tie. Definitely the rugged, athletic type. Definitely not Rachel’s preferred sort of date, but there was something to be said for a man’s man.

Was he man enough to stand up to the Man Tamer? Moira chuckled to herself. Could be Rachel would finally meet her match. No doubt the battle would be fun to watch—from a safe distance.

2

Men and Sports