Blind Ice (Razors Ice Book 5) (22 page)

She went back out to retrieve the gift she’d bought, unboxed it and plugged it in.

“I bought you a new keyboard,” she said softly.

Julia turned away and pulled the covers up over her head.

“I’m putting it over here by the dresser on the vanity by the door. It’s a newer model than your old one, so the control buttons might be in a different place. There are clothes and things in the bags on the bed. Just leave the tags on what you don’t like and I’ll return them. I’ll wash the rest for you. I’m doing a load of laundry later today anyway.”

Julia showed no interest and didn’t acknowledge her, so Kate left the room and closed the door behind her.

* * *

A few hours later, when Kate heard music coming from the spare bedroom, she peeked inside and found Julia sitting at the new keyboard.

Kate stood in the doorway and listened. She’d heard her sister play plenty of times in the past, but today the melody was sad and mournful. Kate had never been moved to tears by the music before, and by the looks of the watery streaks running down Julia’s cheeks, she was crying too.

Sensing her sister’s presence, Julia dropped her hands to her lap and let the last notes fade away. “You didn’t buy headphones.”

Kate sighed and stepped further into the room. “You don’t have to hide your music in my house, Ju.”

“Mom hated it when I played.”

“But I don’t. She’s not coming by the way.” Kate attempted to hold back the bitterness in her tone, but was unsuccessful. That always seemed to be the case when it came to their parents.

Julia shrugged. “Good.”

“I called her.”

“And I bet that turned out swimmingly.”

Kate sighed and Julia wished she’d just give up on their parents like she had a long time ago.

“Where are they now? Sailing the open seas?”

“North Carolina.” Kate sat down on the bed, wishing she could replace everything that had been lost in the fire. “Did everything fit all right?” she asked, looking at the clothes spread out on the bed. The shampoo and deodorant were sitting on the counter in the bathroom. At least Julia hadn’t spent the entire day in bed.

“Yeah, thanks.” Julia got up, followed the sound of her voice and sat down on the bed next to her. “Gabe doesn’t seem to be bothered by my music either.”

“He’s a good man, Julia.” To keep her hands busy, Kate began folding the clothes into piles.

“So is Logan.”

“He’s out looking for Cassidy.” She wasn’t going to mention it, just in case he didn’t find her, but Kate knew she couldn’t protect Julia from every disappointment.

“She couldn’t have gone far. It all happened so fast, Katie. She jumped out of my arms and Shamus was behind me pushing me out the window…”

“It’s okay, honey. We’ll find her.”

Julia turned toward her sister and was engulfed in a hug. “She was so scared,” she said about Cassidy. “And Shamus was so brave.” She let herself cry in Kate’s arms because she had been unable to save the both of them.

* * *

Cody looked over at Logan and didn’t bother hiding his pained expression. “You’ve still got quite a shiner there, man.”

“Yeah.”

“How’s the eye?”

“Every time I go in, the doctor says it looks a little better. I’ll probably be able to start skating again in a couple weeks.”

“Good. We’ve got a new guy comin’ in from Ontario. Colton Greene. He was traded last night.”

Logan nodded. He’d heard good things about the guy and the Ontario Flurry was a decent team.

“So what is it we’re lookin’ for?” Cody asked, turning his truck onto the street Julia’s apartment building was on.

“A cat.”

“You know, cats can be pretty weird sometimes. My kids had one that took off for a few weeks and then came back again out of the blue.” Cody left out the part about how his twin boys had terrorized the poor thing. They weren’t called the Tornado Twins for nothing. “It’ll probably just come back home on its own.”

“Maybe.”

Cody pulled up to the complex and whistled through his teeth. “Holy shit,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” Logan agreed.

“This place is burnt to a crisp. The poor thing doesn’t have much to come home to, does it?”

“That’s why we’ve got to find her today.”

Cody and Logan circled the East Oak Apartments, looking for an orange cat with white feet and a white chest. The aftermath of the fire was chilling and Logan tried to ignore the destruction as he searched the area for Cassidy. He checked in every tree and under every bush within a half mile radius. The cat was probably long gone by now, but he had to at least
try
to find her.

There were a few felines wandering the neighborhood, but none of them matched the detailed description given to him by Kate.

Kate
.

Man, he was crazy about her.

Logan had never been one to overanalyze things. In his life and in hockey. He trusted his instincts completely and did what came naturally. If he were to take the time to overthink a shot or a pass or a decision, the moment of opportunity would be lost, never to present itself again. It was the same way he felt about Kate. He had every intention of grabbing hold of her with both hands and never letting go. Too much in life was uncertain and he was smart enough to recognize a good thing when he saw it.

And he had the basics covered, so to speak. Money—he had plenty of it to live comfortably and then some. Fame—he had a dose of that, too, when he’d joined the ranks of the UNHL. Success—yeah, that had come before the money and the fame. Love—well, he knew of it from his family, but had never known it from or
for
a woman. Until now. Kate had shown him that love was just as important as the other three. Maybe even more so, he thought with a grin. And he was absolutely, positively in love with her.

Logan looked at the charred apartment building. The thought of losing Kate or her sister was unimaginable. He literally could not imagine a life without her in it.

During his recovery after the surgery, Kate had stayed by his side, leaving only to bring him food or something to drink. And when the time came to remove the bandages, she had been right there with him, holding tightly to his hand. He had almost been afraid to open his eyes, but he knew he wasn’t alone.

When he blinked, Kate’s was the first face he saw, her expression hopeful and beautiful.

She’d been there for him after the accident, even when he didn’t want her to be. And he had a distinct feeling that she’d be there for him in the future, no matter the circumstances.

He didn’t want another man to kiss her, to touch her, to love her. He wanted to wake up next to her in the morning and come home to her after a road trip. There was no one else out there better suited for him. No other woman had ever made his insides feel all twisted and mushy at the same time.

God, he wanted to make things whole for her again. He knew he couldn’t do much to console her and her sister after the fire, but he could help to right at least one wrong. Cassidy had to be out here somewhere and he was determined not to return to Kate’s without the little bundle of fur.

He and Cody asked some neighbors about Cassidy and knocked on a few doors, but no one claimed to have seen an orange and white cat.

After a while, Logan had half a mind to pick up a couple of kittens at the pet store—one for Kate and one for Julia—and call it a day. The gesture would probably be appreciated, but he knew it wouldn’t be a suitable replacement.

Just when they were about to give up, Logan asked Cody to circle back around to the apartment building and make one last sweep. Logan got out of the truck and ducked under the police tape to have a closer look.

Some of the bushes were charred black and some had turned an angry orange. Maybe the camouflaged foliage was why he hadn’t seen her the first time, but hidden beneath the singed branches of what probably used to be a green leafy bush, sat Cassidy huddled next to the scorched building looking frightened and mad all at the same time.

Carefully, so as not to scare her away and lose her forever, Logan reached behind the bush and closed his hands around her rigid body. She shivered at the touch. Although she struggled at first, as soon as he murmured her name and scratched beneath her chin, she calmed down and seemed to sag against him, exhausted and relieved.

Smiling, Logan cradled her in his arms and made his way back to Cody’s truck. Not everything had been lost in the fire after all.

* * *

Right after Logan climbed into the passenger seat with Cassidy, he received a phone call from his agent.

The Razors want to trade me
, was his only thought when he saw the name flash across his phone.

He looked out at the scorched apartment complex and sighed. One minute you could have it all and the next it could all be gone.

Logan leaned his head back against the headrest and answered the call.

* * *

Gabe sat down on the mattress beside her, the bed dipping under his weight.

Julia could smell cinnamon and wondered how many sticks of gum he’d gone through today. She’d missed so much while she’d been sleeping, but it seemed like the easiest way to deal with what had happened.

“You’re still here.”

“Well, I sure as hell am not going back to Chicago. And don’t even think about trying to get rid of me again.”

“It won’t work?”

“No, and I wish you’d quit bringing it up.”

“Would you ever consider jumping out of an airplane with me?”

His answer surprised her. “Julia, I’d jump out of a spaceship for you if that’s what you wanted.”

“No,” she said thoughtfully, “that’s not what I want.” After a minute she said, “You know I lost all of my music, too. It’s all gone.” Most everything else she could replace, but her music was irreplaceable. Sure, most of it was memorized, locked in her mind, but…

“You know that program I created for you that converted the musical notes into sheet music?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it also recorded it to the cloud.”

When she told him she didn’t know what that meant, Gabe reassured her that her music was indeed safe and sound.

“You’re a pretty great guy, you know that?”

She was smiling as she said it and he was happy to be the cause of such a beautiful sight.

* * *

When Cody dropped Logan off at Kate’s house, Logan had a new outlook on life. The Razors wanted him to stick around for another five years and later this afternoon he would be signing on the dotted line to prove it. He’d taken the phone call with tragedy and devastation all around him and yet the voice on the other end had given him the chance at a bright, secure future. He would still be on the road for forty games a season, but the rest of the time he’d be in Red Valley with Kate.

It was time to put down some roots in sunny Red Valley, California. And he knew just where he wanted to plant them.

When Logan found Kate in the kitchen putting groceries away, she looked tired and stressed and yet he’d never seen her look so beautiful. There was no reason to wait. He wanted Kate Kapowski to be his wife. To have and to hold from this day forward and all the wonderful stuff that went along with it. He didn’t even have a ring to offer her yet, but the moment felt right and he didn’t want to wait until he was more prepared.

She heard him come in and looked up at him with wonder in her eyes. “You found her! How in the world did you find her, Logan?” Kate went to him and took Cassidy cat from him, stroking her soot-covered fur.

“Kate?”

“Thank you so mu—” When she picked up on the serious tone in his voice and the matching expression on his face, Kate stopped midsentence and searched his eyes. He looked like he had something important to say, but she had no clue what it could be.

“Will you marry me, Kate?”

She blinked, her hand stilling on the top of Cassidy’s head.

Logan Murray was proposing to her.

“I love you. I want to come home to you in your little bungalow when I’ve been out on the road. I want to know that you’re here waiting for me in your sexy shoes. I want to go grocery shopping with you...”

He stood in front of her, not on bended knee, but covered in soot from holding her sister’s cat and Kate could only think of one thing to say.

She smiled and blinked the tears from her eyes.

“Yes.”

* * *

Logan got to play hero a second time that day when he delivered Cassidy to her rightful owner.

The minute Julia took the cat from Logan, Cassidy started purring. It was the most beautiful, long-awaited sound and Julia’s voice tightened with emotion. “Oh, honey. You’ve had a rough time.” She kissed the top of her head and breathed in the familiar kitty smell.

Julia reached for Logan’s hand and squeezed it and he pulled her into a brotherly hug. Kate’s perfume lingered on his shirt as a subliminal reminder of who he belonged to.