Page 1 of The Triple Play

1

OLIVIA

My shoulders are straining as I carry the last two boxes into my new apartment. “Thanks for the help, asshole.” I glare at my younger brother Kyle, who’s scrolling on his phone, leaning against the back of my couch.

He looks up with an unrepentant smirk. “You’re so welcome, Oliver.”

I set the boxes down and blow at the hair that’s fallen from my ponytail into my eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

The jerk just chuckles as he lifts the flap on one of the boxes. “More nerd books? You want these on the shelf in the other room?”

“Yes, but—” I bite my words back. As much as I want to lecture him on the proper order and placement for each text, it’ll be easier to just change it all after he’s gone. I love my brother, but he doesn’t have a lot of patience for my particular way of doing things. And he did offer up his entire weekend to help me move.

Even if I did most of the heavy lifting.

Walking into the kitchen, I open the door on my dog Trip’s crate to let him out, now that the front door will stay closed and he can’t escape. He stretches, then hops out of the crate on his three legs. “Hey buddy, you want to go and explore your new home?” He licks my hand, then strolls away, probably to find Kyle.

Opening a box on the counter, I pull out a glass and fill it with water, then drink it down, mentally picturing how I’ll set everything up in here. This apartment is perfect. One bedroom and a small den where Kyle is currently unpacking my books, an open floor plan kitchen and living area, and a small patio that I’ll fill with pots and planters once spring comes.

Best of all, it’s a short drive to both the university where my research lab is housed, and one of the entrances to Strathcona Provincial Park, where the majority of my field work will take place. My pulse speeds up just thinking about getting into the forest next week to begin my observations. With the cold, wet winter we’re having here on the West Coast, the lichen I’m here to study will have thrived. Strathcona is home to one of the most pristine old-growth forests in the entire country, and landing the position to head up a research lab at the local university is a dream come true.

A dream my family makes no attempt to understand.

“You’re thinking about moss again, aren’t you?”

I inwardly roll my eyes at Kyle, who’s come into the kitchen with Trip at his heels. “Lichen are not moss.”

“I know, I know.” He walks over and ruffles my already mussed hair. “But it’s funny to see how angry you get whenever I say that.”

I duck out from under his hand and shove him away, almost tripping over my dog, who has a bad habit of being underfoot at all times. “Must you be so annoying?”

“Yup, younger brother privilege.”

“You’re thirty. Not exactly young.”

“Yeah, but you’re thirty-two, so…”

He sticks his tongue out at me and I snap a light punch into his gut.

“Damn, Oli,” he says, laughing. “Listen, if we’re done moving, can we go get some food? I’m starved and you promised to feed me.”

Right on cue, my stomach lets out a grumble. “Fine. I need to let Trip out, then we can go.”

“Great. There’s apparently a really good pub right by the river, wanna go there?”

I tilt my head to the side. “Sure, but where did you hear about it? I thought you’d never been here?”

“I haven’t but guess who lives here.”

A sense of foreboding sinks in. “Who?”

“Remember Griff and Foxxy from university? Turns out, they play for the Cedar Creek Thunder. I knew they were somewhere on Vancouver Island, so I shot them a message earlier to see if they were nearby. Turns out, they live here! Wild, right?”

Wild is not the word I’d use right now.

Griffin Voss and Denver Foxx. My doofus brother’s two closest friends. I met them ten years ago when we were all students at The University of Vancouver. Kyle and I have always been close, even though he drives me nuts sometimes, so I got to know his friends fairly well. Then, of course, there was the semester I TA’d the Intro to Geology course they were taking. I can picture them now, Denver with a goofy smile that never quit, and Griffin attempting to keep his friend in line. I knew they both played for the university baseball team and even let Kyle drag me to a couple of games.

Not that I needed much convincing. They were undeniably attractive men. Immature idiots, as most twenty-year-old men are, but good-looking and nice guys, just the same. Not that I ever admitted that to anyone.