Melting Ice (8 page)

She had. To a man who didn’t do repeats. At least not with her.

She’d only slept with a handful of men in her life, minus those few months of craziness after she’d found her long-time boyfriend in bed with another guy. He’d admitted to her he was gay, and he’d perpetuated the lie that was his life to make his family happy. After that she’d slept with a handful of guys just to prove she was desirable. But she’d known them and most were long-time friends.

If only Isaac hadn’t been so hot, so hard, so intense. He’d given her sex like no man before him and taken her to heights she’d never imagined possible. The only other times she’d experienced such highs were on the back of a horse, and that had nothing to do with an orgasm, and everything to do with bonding with another creature until they were one. She and Isaac had been one for a brief moment.

“Hey, how’s Tiff doing?” Sam nudged her shoulder.

Avery startled and blinked at Sam several times, trying to process what she was talking about.

Sam frowned at her. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, of course. Why?”

“Nothing. You seem different today. And that ride—” Sam studied her for a moment then turned her attention back to the slight blonde girl standing with her back to them out in the field.

Avery ignored the compliment. “I wish there was something we could do for her,” She said as she followed Sam’s gaze.

“It’s going to take time. I know her parents have her in counselling. I just wish she’d get back in the saddle. Riding a good horse can cure pretty much anything that ails a person, and Dex is one of the best young rider horses in the nation.”

Avery nodded her agreement, but they both knew Tiffani couldn’t be pushed. Her reasons for not riding had nothing to do with a fear of horses and everything to do with an all-consuming fear of her own mortality. She barely spoke and hadn’t ridden since that fateful day a week before Thanksgiving, and her haunted brown eyes were enough to melt the hardest heart.

“I appreciate your keeping an eye on her, making her your special project,” Sam added. Avery had taken Tiffani under her wing and assigned her tasks to do around the barn, such as grooming horses, cooling them out, anything to keep her busy. It wasn’t much, but maybe it was the little things that truly mattered when all was said and done.

Sam glanced over her shoulder as a car pulled into the driveway. She winked at Avery. “See you later; Carson’s here.”

An impeccably dressed, tall blond man exited the Mercedes sedan, a conservative car for a conservative man. Dressed for the office, he wore his usual suit and tie. His hard face relaxed into a smile when Sam ran toward him and threw herself in his arms. Avery turned away, partially amused and a little bit jealous. Would she ever have what Sam and Carson had? Or what Izzy and Cooper had?

At the top of her list of requirements for a relationship-caliber partner was a man who loved horses, but finding such a man who wasn’t an arrogant dick or gay or both proved pretty much impossible. Avery had seen too many relationships destroyed by a jealous husband who didn’t understand how important horses were to someone like her. Her family was a great case in point. They still didn’t get it, and they never would.

Avery headed back to the barn. She had plenty of work to do. Besides her everyday duties, one of the barn cleaners called in sick, and the rest of the staff was pitching in to clean the stalls. She was filling a wheelbarrow with manure and trying not to think about a pair of ice-blue eyes and a sexy smile when her oldest sister peeked in the stall. Izzy wrinkled her nose at the smell. Avery rolled her eyes. Izzy could be such a prima donna.

“What brings you to the country?” Avery asked, forcing her voice to remain neutral. She hated this friction between the two of them, but Izzy had started it, and Avery wouldn’t give in, not this time. She didn’t want to go to med school, and Izzy would have to get over it.

“Just returning some things I borrowed from Emma. That’s all.”

“She’s at work, but you can leave them in the apartment. The door’s unlocked.”

“Have you met your surly neighbor yet?” Izzy asked, glancing at the ranch house on the far edge of the field.

“Uh, why?” she asked innocently. Something in Izzy’s tone kept Avery from admitting she knew Isaac. Her oldest sister could be a pain and way over-protective. Their relationship was on shaky enough ground. The last thing Avery needed was a lecture from Izzy on safe sex.

If Izzy read the guilt on her face, she didn’t show it. “The Sockeyes got him on a trade last week to replace an injured defenseman.”

“Sockeyes?” Avery’s breath caught in her throat. Oh, crap, no, he couldn’t be a teammate of Cooper’s.

“Yes.” Izzy studied her closely. “You sure you haven’t met him? Good looking guy, talented player, but all attitude.”

That pretty much summed him up. “No, haven’t had the pleasure.”

“Well, stay away from him. He’s bad news. Been involved in all kinds of scandals. Rumor has it this is his last chance in the NHL. Despite how talented he is, no one else wants to take a chance on him. He’s disruptive and selfish. Cooper says Isaac rips the soul right out of a team.”

“Cooper doesn’t like him?” Avery gnawed on a fingernail, an annoying nervous habit she couldn’t curb.

“Not one damn bit, but so far Isaac is keeping his nose clean and staying out of trouble. He’s not exactly personable but like Cooper says, they didn’t hire him to be Miss Congeniality. And you know Coach. He thinks he’s a regular miracle worker.”

“Well, I’ll be sure to stay away from him,” Avery assured her sister, as she concentrated on shoveling shit.

“I doubt you’ll have to worry about him. I can’t imagine him going near a horse barn. He’s a city boy.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

Izzy gave her another look, as if trying to figure out what Avery was hiding. Finally she shrugged and headed toward the apartment. “See you later,” she called over her shoulder.

“Later.”

Avery emptied the wheelbarrow onto the manure pile and started on the next stall, fretting about what kind of mess she’d gotten herself into this time.

* * * *

Isaac laced up his skates, emotionally distanced from the lively banter around him. The guys avoided his space as if crime scene tape was draped around his locker. Many of them glanced his way, while others pointedly ignored him, especially Tom Glanden, his former best friend and current biggest enemy. Isaac kept his head down and pretended they didn’t exist. Opening his mouth always got him in trouble.

He couldn’t help but notice almost every one of these idiots had a tattoo of a blue and green fish standing on its tail with the Space Needle hooked in its mouth. Most of the tats were on their biceps, and when the guys flexed, the fish bloated like a beached whale. Those that didn’t have room for the tattoo on their arms had it elsewhere. One guy even had it on his ass. These guys were nuts. Who tattooed their team mascot on their bodies when they could be traded or sent to the minors any day of the week? The only way you’d ever catch Isaac doing that was if he won the Cup.

Cooper sat down next to him and nudged him with a shoulder. Isaac forced himself not to move away or show any weakness. Instead he held his ground, ignoring the fact that the team captain breeched the crime scene tape and invaded his personal space. He hated being touched, even friendly slaps on the back. The only time he tolerated touching was during sex.

“I hear you’re renting Brad Reynolds’s country house.” Cooper watched him; despite his friendly tone, his eyes were anything but friendly, more like suspicious and distrustful.

“Yeah.”

“My fiancée’s sisters live in the apartment on the horse farm next door. Maybe you’ve met them?”

Isaac shrugged, noncommittally, and grunted something unintelligible. Cooper stared at him, and Isaac stared right back, unblinking.

“They’re twins.”

Again Isaac didn’t respond.

“They’re nice girls. I’m warning you right now to stay away from them, or I’ll hang you by your balls and castrate you with a dull knife.” Cooper’s tone was conversational, but his warning wasn’t.

“Duly noted.” Isaac shrugged and went back to lacing his skates. Cooper sat there for a moment longer then returned to his own locker.

Crap. He’d screwed Cooper Black’s soon-to-be sister-in-law, and now he was
screwed
. As soon as Black found out, Isaac would either be sent out of town or his lifeless body would be dumped in the woods somewhere, never to be found again, and he deserved it. His last chance to play pro hockey shot down because he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants. He was an absolute idiot.

Maybe he could convince Avery it would be in their best interests not to tell anyone. It was probably already too late. Women loved to talk, and didn’t twins share everything?

Isaac put his head down and pretended to be studying his blades.

“Hey, he means well. It’s all about the team to him.” Blake Daniels sat down on the bench next to Isaac’s since their lockers were adjacent to each other. Blake didn’t talk much either, and Isaac appreciated that. He sensed a kindred spirt in the quiet man, who’d been with as many NHL teams this year as Isaac had, but for very different reasons. Blake was at the end of his career while Isaac was still in his athletic prime.

Blake had joined the team yesterday after another injury left an immediate need for an experienced defenseman. Isaac glanced over at the man as he took off his shirt and hung it in his locker. On his arm was a tattoo of a broken heart surrounded by several names. Isaac frowned, as he remembered something about a plane crash that wiped out Daniels’s entire family a few years ago. Rumors said the guy had never recovered, and his game had suffered, but how did a guy recover from something like that? Isaac hadn’t recovered, and he hadn’t lost his entire family, not like that, even though essentially they were dead to him.

Blake caught him staring and held out a hand. Isaac shook it. “I guess we’re the new guys.”

“Yeah.” Isaac didn’t encourage conversation. He didn’t need friends. He didn’t need anyone. Besides he was a crappy friend so for their sakes he kept his distance. Blake seemed like a good guy. He didn’t deserve to be associated with a guy like Isaac.

Isaac looked up as Coach moved to the center of the room and gave a pre-game speech quite unlike any Isaac had ever heard before. The guy actually told them to go out there and have fun, play their hearts out, and leave it all on the ice. You’d think they were playing for the Cup. Coach Gorst treated every game like a championship game, and his players ate it up. It was weird and juvenile, but Isaac kept his cynical thoughts to himself.

Being an ass wouldn’t earn him any points with the coach or the team. He’d proven that time and time again.

After Gorst talked, Cooper gave an equally rousing speech, and the guys hustled from the room shouting and yelling. Isaac hung back as did Blake. Blake arched a brow at him and pointed toward the door.

“Let’s go,” he said.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

Isaac heard the cheers of the crowd as he walked through the tunnel, and adrenaline surged through his veins. He stepped onto the ice and did a few easy circles, getting used to the feel of his new arena’s home ice. As the guys paired up to do some stick drills, Blake joined him as if it were expected that the new guys would pair up.

Isaac played a decent game with two assists, a block, and three hits, not to mention a stint in the penalty box for high-sticking. All in all, a good night. The team won, not that Isaac paid much attention to team wins and losses, unless they were in the playoffs. He just played his game and competed against himself and the high standards he’d set.

After the game, he growled at the press, chasing them off with his one-syllable surly answers. He hated interviews, not giving a damn what the league said. It’d been one of many sore spots with his former teams. When Coach approached him, he expected to be lectured on fostering good relations with the media; instead he was pleasantly surprised.

“When I said we want our players to be individuals, I meant it, Wolfe,” Coach said. “You won’t get any pressure from us to talk to the media. If you aren’t comfortable with it, or worry you’ll say the wrong thing and prefer to keep your mouth shut, we’re good with that. We’ve got your back.” He patted Isaac on the shoulder and moved to Blake’s locker with more words of encouragement.

Was this guy for real? He was so positive, it should come across as fake, yet weird as hell, it didn’t.

Isaac shook his head in amazement and finished dressing, fully planning on getting out of the locker room before one of his teammates tried to bond with him. Isaac knew he’d fuck it up somehow, say the wrong thing, piss off the wrong person, and before he knew it he’d be back out on the street. So he kept to himself and kept his tactless trap shut.

“Hey, want to grab a bite to eat?” Blake asked, watching him hopefully.

Isaac stood and shrugged into his leather jacket. “A word of advice. If you’re looking for a buddy on this team, I’m not that guy.”

He saw a flash of hurt and loneliness in Blake’s eyes before Isaac strode from the locker room. He’d done it again. It wouldn’t have killed him to accept Blake’s invitation. The guy was obviously lonely. Isaac didn’t have to be such a dick about it.

Only he wasn’t sure he knew how to be anything but a dick.

* * * *

As soon as Isaac got home, he walked down the driveway toward the barn. Despite how late it was, he needed to convince Avery to keep her mouth shut about them. No good would come from her telling anyone, and Isaac liked his balls right where they were, rather than where they’d be if Coop found out.

Considering that Coop didn’t show more than his normal dislike, he was pretty sure Avery hadn’t revealed their secret yet, but it was crucial Isaac got to her first.

It was almost midnight, yet there was a light on in the barn. He pushed open the big double doors just wide enough to squeeze his body through. Aisle lights illuminated the chilly barn and horses nickered at him as he walked down the aisle, obviously looking for handouts.