Melting The Ice (3 page)

“No delays.  Who knew that was even possible?”  Ava asked with a chuckle.  “Jameson just called to tell me one of Chase’s brothers is coming to stay a few weeks in the Barracks.  Apparently he had a bad breakup with his girlfriend and needs to get away from her for a while.”

“That’s great but he can’t stay in the Barracks.  It’s being completely rehabbed right now after that water line burst and doused the interior.”  Macy said with a laugh.

“Well damn.”  Ava muttered.  She had forgotten about that. “I guess I’ll have to put him up in one of my spare rooms since I already told Jameson he could come.  It won’t be that big of a deal.  The Secords have always been like family to him so I would hate to turn one of them away if he needs a place to stay.”

“It’s not one of those crazy twins, is it?”  Macy asked apprehensively.  She had met the twins on the last visit too.  To say those two were trouble was putting it mildly; Clayton Secord had been forced to bail them out of jail in Baton Rouge after an
incident
at a strip club.  None of the men had been forthcoming with details but from the looks of the twins’ battered faces the next morning at breakfast, there had been some kind of fight.  Like Chase, they were extremely handsome young man with their big bodies, dark hair and deep brown eyes but that was where the similarities ended.  Carey and Caden made Chase look like a priest.

“No, it’s one of the older ones, Cian.  I haven’t met him.”  Ava said wondering why the name kept tickling something in the back of her mind.  “Is Maddie staying with your mom and dad tonight?”

“She’s actually leaving for a month at Myrtle Beach with them because I thought I was going to be lounging on the beaches of Cancun with you and Lena…that Bastard.” Macy grumbled.  “So I’m free.  Want to have a few drinks tonight?”  She asked with a laugh.  “I feel like tying one on. This week has been a bitch.”

“Why not?”  Ava asked tiredly.  “Give me a few hours and I’ll be good as new.”

Chapter Three

Cian Secord drove wearily through the curving hills of West Virginia.  Having never been to this part of the country, he hadn’t known what to expect.  He couldn’t believe how dark it was in the country; nothing but the outline of trees and the road directly in front of his SUV headlights were visible.  At least he knew the brakes worked on the rented vehicle since he’d had to slam on them more than once when deer had leaped out in front of him.  It was like the little bastards were suicidal just waiting for an unsuspecting driver to end it all for them.  He had been carefully following the directions from OnStar but he still hadn’t seen anything but winding roads, self-destructive deer and endless trees.  When there hadn’t been even the distant lights of the occasional house for a while he had called his baby brother’s best friend, Jameson, in a panic having seen
Wrong Turn
.  Jay had snickered and assured him
Wrong Turn
had been filmed in the next town over and that there was no danger of Cian missing the stone wall that marked their property boundary. 

The outline of a massive stone wall was suddenly illuminated in the beam of his headlights; he breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of the landmark Jameson had given him.  He wondered if he should have just gotten a room at that little hotel back in town.  Jay’s mom wasn’t expecting him to arrive until tomorrow.  If she wasn’t home he was gonna have to run the gauntlet of the crazed deer again.  His brothers had always went on about her being hot but his younger brothers were all so full of shit, he didn’t know when to take them seriously and when to ignore them; that’s why he generally ignored them.  It didn’t matter to him whether she was hot or not.  The last thing he was looking for was another female in his life and if that changed in the future, he seriously doubted he would be desperate enough to hook up with his friend’s
mother
.  That just wasn’t right, he thought with a snort of disgust.  Just one more asinine thing he could add to his recent repertoire of bad decisions.  The worst part was the complete self-loathing and disgust he felt at the necessity of hiding out in West Virginia.  How had he managed to screw up his life this badly? 

Cian was getting ready to begin his ninth season in the National Hockey League and was considered to be one of the poster boys of the league.  Up until recently he had lived a pretty damn good life.  In addition to being one of the most talented centers in professional hockey and team captain, he had been lucky enough to be born good looking.  The Boston Blaze had made him the face of the franchise and been more than happy to rake in the increased revenue from the female fans.  At twenty-seven years of age, he had made millions from playing a game he loved and reveled in his success.  Hockey was not a game for pussies and playing it at the professional level required some serious time and work but the fringe benefits were worth it all.  Being hyped as the Blaze’s franchise player had made him a superstar.  When he wasn’t on the ice, he attended parties, lived a lavish lifestyle and had a never-ending parade of beautiful women, some even models and actresses, throwing themselves at him.  Life had been real sweet.  Then he had met Lani Mason;
the Lani Mason
, the blonde, beautiful supermodel of supermodels.  Having a Sports Illustrated swimsuit cover model on his arm had stroked his ego into an uncontrollable monster.  He had been so cocky and full of himself; he had never even looked beneath Lani’s shiny surface to the inner nutty bitch she kept well hidden. 

Of course, the media had loved them and any time they had went anywhere together, they had ended up in the gossip columns.  In reality, they hadn’t spent that much time together with their crazy schedules but the media had firmly labeled them a couple.  Cian had realized several weeks into his time with her that besides the gorgeous face, there was very little he liked about her.  She was shallow, vain and rude.  If that wasn’t enough to make him rethink the whole Sports Illustrated cover model thing, finding out she had a ‘little problem’ with cocaine had certainly finished it off.  During a west coast road trip, the Blaze had had a few days between games in L.A.  He knew Lani was in town shooting a couple commercials and had decided to surprise her.  The visit had ended up being a surprise for both of them.  Lani’s personal assistant had answered the door when Cian arrived and agreeing that the surprise visit was a wonderful idea, had pointed him in the direction of Lani’s bedroom.  He had pushed open the door with a smile on his face just in time to behold his supermodel girlfriend snorting a neat line of cocaine through a $100 bill.  He’d lost it completely.  A repentant Lani had cried prettily and sworn to him it was a onetime slip but he hadn’t believed any of it and stormed out. 

Personally, Cian didn’t like drugs and besides the occasional joint in his teens, had never used drugs of any kind.  Professionally, a liaison with Lani could be suicide.  Whether he was using or not, those kinds of rumors could cost him a chunk of his lucrative contract, the team captaincy and his endorsement deals not to mention what the fans would think.  Supermodel or not, no piece of ass was worth losing everything.  Cian planned to be in the Hall of Fame someday and Lani Mason’s beautiful but crazy self was not going to interfere.  She had called to apologize repeatedly and swore to him she had gotten help because the thought of not having him in her life had made her see the error of her ways.  He hadn’t believed the bullshit but after weeks of entreaty, she had worn him down and he’d agreed to see her. 

He had been in Miami with his best friend and teammate, Maxime Brooks soaking up sun and nightlife when Lani called.  In his own defense, he had been drunk and horny when she had convinced him he needed her in Miami; never a good combination.  She had flown to Miami with her personal assistant and joined him and Max at their rented beachfront house in Coconut Grove.  He had spent one drunken night in bed with her.  Cian and Max had a 9:00 am tee-time the next morning with a couple of friends and had plans to do some deep sea fishing in the afternoon so Cian had left Lani in bed, only waking her to tell her he wouldn’t be back until late that evening.  She had pouted prettily and he had promised to be all hers after the day with his buddies.  Max had started spending time with a local woman shortly after they arrived in Miami so when they returned to the marina from their day of fishing and drinking, Max had went to spend the night with her and Cian had headed back to Lani.  He’d been aggravated when he arrived home and couldn’t park anywhere near their house.  Cars had filled his driveway and lined both sides of the road.   After parking two blocks away and stomping back he discovered all the cars belonged to people in
his
house where bass from the loud music was rattling
his
windows.  Cigarette and marijuana smoke had hung in a gray haze over the jam-packed rooms and the alcohol had been flowing freely.  Several people attempted to greet him as he stalked through the crowded rooms looking for Lani but he had ignored them all.  In the main living area, someone had cleared off the tables and several drunken women were in their underwear, dancing on the tables.  He had been livid until he saw Lani and a few of her friends, a pile of white powder in front of them, cutting out lines on his dining room table.  Then he’d just been scared. 

Everything he had ever wanted in life flashed before his eyes in an instant.  Lani’s equally horrified gaze met his as the sound of “Police!  Nobody Move!” penetrated.  With the music so loud, no one had heard the sirens.  The rest of the evening had passed in a sickening blur of events.  Cian considered himself to be a pretty tough guy, but being arrested for the first time in his life had damn near brought him to tears.  Hearing his rights being read to him while he was being handcuffed and led from the house had been like an endless nightmare.  Blinding lights from news cameras and reporters’ voices yelling over each other greeted him as the police offers pushed him through the throng. Lani Mason and her dumbass hockey player boyfriend hosting a party that had been busted for drugs resulting in their arrests was big news.  Cian had never been so humiliated and scared in his entire life. 

To get out of jail, he had been left no choice but to call his parents since they were the only people that had access to his money.  Clayton and Denise Secord were understandably shocked by the turn of events but knowing that Cian was only guilty of having bad taste in his female companions, they had quickly arranged to have the bail money wired to Max.  His best friend had shown up at the station with an attorney and bailed him out.  He hated Max’s name being brought into the debacle but Max had insisted that’s what friends were for and stuck by him while they ran the media gauntlet outside the station.  Cian had always enjoyed a love-love relationship with the media and had enjoyed all the media attention when he attended events, basking in the limelight.  Now the media that had once loved him, yelled questions at him about his alleged drug use and alcoholism, his taste in women and anything else they could say to get a reaction out of him.  He was a hard-nosed hockey player and wasn’t accustomed to turning the other cheek.  If he had been on the ice, the gloves would have been dropped and somebody would have been getting their head knocked in but there was nothing he could do or say that wouldn’t make the already bad situation worse.  Reporters and camera crews camped out in front of the building that housed the penthouse he had recently purchased.  When he had left the apartment, he was stalked by so many reporters he had felt like the leader of a parade. 

His every move had been documented, photographed and splashed across the tabloids with incendiary headlines and he had started to unravel under the intense scrutiny.  Even after his attorneys were finally able to get everything straightened out and he’d been cleared of all charges, the media had continued to hunt him.  No one believed he was innocent.  In fact, him being cleared of the charges had increased the media attention and provided the reporters with additional angles to talk to death.  He’d been portrayed as a celebrity athlete that thought he was above the law and had bought his way out of trouble.  Sports bloggers had shredded his character, pushing for the Blaze front office and the NHL to launch an investigation.  Only the fact that the hockey commissioners and team management had the results to all of his clean random drug tests over the years and personal knowledge of his character kept him from being suspended for his stupidity.  Lani had somehow or another managed to get her own charges dropped and was making the rounds of the talk shows, stoking the fires of innuendo.  He’d tried hiding out at his parents’ home in Hartford, Connecticut but the media had easily found him and continued their harangue.  His parents had been supportive but couldn’t handle the media attention his presence brought to their home.  He was ashamed to face his parents after his widely publicized stupidity so when they suggested he go stay in West Virginia at Jay’s home, he had readily agreed.  No one knew where he was with the exception of his coach, agent, family and Max. 

He pulled the SUV to a stop at an imposing set of wrought iron gates with “The Shambles” scrolled across them and dialed the number Jameson had provided him.  The phone rang several times before a soft-feminine voice informed him she wasn’t available and to leave a message.  He slammed the phone shut and pushed the button on the intercom system.  Nothing happened.  He tried again but still no response.  He dialed Jay’s mom again but only heard the woman’s voice telling him she wasn’t available.  No shit, he thought, wondering what the hell he was supposed to do now.  He pondered the towering gates and high stone walls.  He’d known Jameson’s family had money but he had never expected anything like this.  No wonder Jay and Chase were tooling around Baton Rouge in Jay’s Benz picking up all the honeys.  Jay was filthy, stinking rich.  He dialed Jay’s number; laughing to himself at all the shit he was getting ready to dish out.