Melting Ice (15 page)

Yet, being alone didn’t quite hold the appeal it once did, and Isaac found himself watching Blake and wondering how the guy was doing. Everyone in the NHL knew Blake had lost his entire family in a float plane crash three years ago, and Isaac thought he
had
problems. It’s one thing to be alone by choice, but to lose everyone in your life in one night to something like that. He couldn’t even begin to fathom how Blake managed to get out of bed every morning.

Isaac understood the scars left by a devastating loss since he’d been dealing with a similar tragedy, even though he still had family left he rarely saw. On those few occasions he visited with his brothers and father, the experience wasn’t pleasant for any of them. Their relationship—or lack of— hadn’t bothered him until recently. His heart didn’t harden like it once did, and his thick skin had shed a few layers of armor. Even as he balked at the changes in himself, part of him didn’t want to go back to the person he’d been. He had Avery and his team to thank—or blame—for this new Isaac. Their faith in him disturbed and pleased him. He wasn’t entirely comfortable in his new skin, yet the old one didn’t fit anymore. He didn’t quite know how to handle that. So he did the only thing he know how to do, he played lights-out hockey.

Of the two games they’d played so far on this road trip, they lost the first and won tonight’s. Isaac skated a good game, not great, but good. The coaches were happy, as was Coop, with his performance. Isaac wasn’t, but then he never was. He was his own worst critic.

Back in the hotel room, Isaac stared at the phone in his hand, willing himself to be strong, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t resist even the most minimal contact.

He texted Avery:
How is Hal?

Brilliant idea he had to get her to take care of Hal; not only did it give him a legitimate reason to ask for her phone number, but it gave him an excuse to contact her on a regular basis. They’d texted every night since the team left on Wednesday, and now it was Saturday night with one more week away from home. He missed her, which was damn weird. He’d only know her a few weeks.

Texting Avery had become a habit too quickly. A reward he dangled in front of himself after a game, or like last night after a dinner with his teammates. As painful as that’d been, he’d managed to play nice, and even laughed at a few of Brick’s outrageous stunts.

Isaac glanced over at Blake, pillows propped behind him, as he surfed the channels. Usually Blake’s surfing pissed him off, but tonight he didn’t find it annoying.

The phone vibrated in his hand, and he couldn’t stop the smile spreading across his face.

Someone pounded so hard on their door the room shook. Blake shot to his feet to open it before the jerk on the other side woke up the entire floor. Brick and Rush, two of the younger guys on the team, burst in, balancing a stack of pizza boxes. The aroma of hot pizza swirled about the room, and Isaac’s stomach growled.

“Pay the man, would you, Ice?” said Brick, dressed in nothing but boxers. The goalie always wore as little as necessary because of his tendency to overheat.

Isaac glanced toward the door to see a scrawny pizza boy with a pimply face clutching a bill in his hand. The kid looked ready to shit his pants as he eyed the big hockey players.

“Fuck you.” Isaac growled. “I’m not paying your bill.”

“Yes, you are,” Cooper said from the doorway. “You’re the new guy, you buy the pizza.”

“Well, hell.” Isaac dug in his wallet for cash and gave it to the kid, along with a big tip.

Cedric sprawled on Isaac’s bed, propping the pillows behind his head and clutching a piece of pizza in each hand. Strings of cheese stretched from Ced’s mouth to one hand. Isaac stared at his pillow now boasting a greasy spot. Cedric didn’t give a shit.

Isaac frowned, as he shut the hotel room door and looked for a place to sit. He grabbed a piece of pizza and dropped to the edge of the bed, observing rather than participating. Socializing in his room hadn’t been part of his road trips in years.

Brick, Rush, and Cedric discussed the puck bunnies who’d been hanging out after the game. Supposedly Cedric scored with one of them, and the younger players hung on his every word as if he were their idol—he probably was. Blake discussed detailed aspects of the game with Cooper, leaving Isaac as the odd man out. Exactly the reason why he avoided this type of thing. He’d never been good in social situations. Somehow he managed to irritate people by saying the wrong thing, even when trying so hard to behave. So why try?

Isaac’s phone vibrated on the end table at the opposite side of the bed, and Brick reached for it, grinning as he read the text out loud:
He’s good.
Great game tonight. I caught the end of it.

Brick and Rush laughed. “Damn, that’s boring, Ice. I’d have expected more dirty talk from your woman.”

This type of thing was exactly why Isaac avoided hanging with his teammates. He leapt on the bed and snatched the phone from Brick’s grasp. “That’s not my girlfriend, that’s my dog sitter.”

The idiots kept laughing, and now they had the attention of the rest of the room. Like a pack of wild dogs sensing weakness in their prey, they pounced.

“You have a dog?” Rush sounded genuinely amazed. “What kind? A pit bull?”

“A boxer,” Isaac answered through gritted teeth.

“Riley wants a dog,” Cooper noted, coming to Isaac’s rescue whether his actions were intentional or not. “I guess I’m going to have to get him one. I’ve always like boxers. What’d ya think, Ice?”

“I guess they’d be good kids’ dogs.” Isaac shrugged, like he was a dog expert. Hell, Hal hated his guts, and the feeling was mutual.

“I’d love to have a dog,” Blake noted, “but it’s hard enough to find a place that’ll take a kitten.”

“You have a kitten?” Brick raised both eyebrows, elbowed his buddy, and they broke into peals of renewed laughter. Isaac got it. It was one thing to have a manly dog like a boxer—thank God Hal wasn’t a poodle—but another to have a kitten. He couldn’t imagine big, bad Blake with a kitten. It was damn weird.

“I have a cat.” Cooper stared down the young guys until they stopped laughing and started squirming under his intense gaze.

“Oh, uh, yeah, cats are cool,” Rush jumped to make amends for his laughter.

“Nothing wrong with cats,” Brick added with a sheepish grin.

“There is if you keep getting kicked out of every hotel room because of a cat.”

“You’re still living in a hotel room?” Cooper asked.

“Yeah.” Blake shrugged.

“Hey, Ice, aren’t you living in Brad Reynolds’s old farmhouse by the barn where Avery works?” Leave it to Cedric to keep track of where all the hot women lived.

Isaac nodded warily, not sure where this was going, but pretty certain he wouldn’t like the direction, nor did he care for the dissecting gaze Coop directed at him.

“There’s plenty of room for another person there,” Cedric continued, not the least bit deterred by the look on Isaac’s face.

“Yeah, there is,” Cooper added. “You can stay with Isaac. After all, you two are roommates on the road.”

Blake looked eagerly at Isaac for confirmation. A month ago Isaac would’ve told them all to go to hell and not thought a thing about it. This time he didn’t dare. Besides, it was a big house.

“I don’t know if my dog would get along with a cat,” he hedged.

“He’ll learn after a few well-placed swats,” Cooper the cat lover grinned. Enjoying Isaac’s discomfort, he pushed for the goal, which was more likely than not to place a spy in Isaac’s house. “We’ll help you move in when we get back, Blake.” Cooper swung his gaze around to include both men. “Just keep your mitts off the twins next door, and you’ll both do fine.”

“I have a girlfriend,” Blake responded.

Isaac grunted and said nothing to incriminate himself. The phone vibrated again in his hand, and he glanced down at it.

“Hey, isn’t Avery one of the twin’s names?” Brick winked wickedly at Isaac. Isaac held his breath, knowing exactly what was coming next.

“Yeah,” Cooper said slowly, his suspicious gaze sliding over Brick and resting on Isaac. “Why?”

“Is that the same Avery who keeps texting you, Ice?”

Isaac’s tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he couldn’t find the words to dig himself out of this mess.

Cooper’s jaw tightened. His blue eyes turned dark and stormy. “Is it the same Avery?”

Isaac put a lid on his urge to slam Brick to the floor and beat the crap out of him. That would not qualify as being a good teammate. “Uh, yeah. We’re just friends. She’s dog-sitting for me.” Isaac hoped his words sounded more casual to Cooper than they did to his own ears.

“Make sure you keep it that way. Avery and Emma are good girls. They wouldn’t know how to deal with a guy like you.”

Now what the hell was that supposed to mean? Isaac bristled, pissed off and defensive, his famous temper begging to be let out of the cage he’d locked it in since coming to Seattle. A month ago Cooper’s words would’ve been a compliment, now he saw them as an insult.

Yawning, Cooper leaned back in the chair, regarding Isaac lazily. He linked his fingers behind his head, refusing to acknowledge Isaac’s irritation. He’d just thrown cold water on the defenseman’s temper, and his method had been effective and non-confrontational. None of the guys appeared to know what’d just happened, but Isaac knew.

Oh, yeah, he knew.

* * * *

Avery paced the barn aisle, phone in hand. Sure, it was late, but she expected an immediate response from Isaac and had gotten none. Hal waddled past her to go outside and do his business. He really was a sweet dog, once you got to know him. He’d taken a shine to both Avery and Emma, but it was Tiff he’d fallen in love with. And fallen was the operative word. Every time he saw her, he’d flip onto his back, legs in the air, and wriggle around, making the most undog-like noises and begging her to scratch his belly.

Tiff would smile and comply with his shameless request.

Avery’s phone dinged, and she grinned.

It was him.

She read the text, greedy for any contact with him.
Sorry, invaded by teammates with pizza. Gone now, except roommate. So you watched the game?

Yes. I’m becoming a fan.

So am I.

Avery paused, her finger hovering above the tiny keyboard. Did he mean? Could he possibly mean—?

A fan? Of hockey?
She tapped out and held her breath.

Of you.

She was a fan, too, of his. She missed him more than she had a right to miss a man she’d only known a few weeks, a man who could be a friend and only a friend. She didn’t know how to respond to his comment, though, because she wanted to read more into it than she dared. Despite Cooper and Izzy’s warnings, Avery couldn’t help herself. She was attracted to Isaac, and he was definitely attracted to her.

Friends. Just friends. And why did she get the idea that’d be a cold day in hell?

Thanks again for taking care of Hal.

Not a problem. He’s good for Tiff.

Okay. Good night then.

Good night.

“Isaac again?”

Avery gave a guilty start and hit a button on the phone to prevent Emma from seeing the texts.

“You’re asking for trouble. I’m warning you.”

Avery sat back on the ratty couch and scratched her jaw. “Don’t you get tired of that?”

“Of what?”

“Izzy and Cooper controlling every part of your life.”

“They mean well,” Emma staunchly defended their oldest sibling, and Avery expected nothing less from her loyal, if naive, sister.

Avery rolled her eyes.

“Besides, we were talking about you and Isaac.”

“Actually, we weren’t. What happens or doesn’t happen with Isaac isn’t subject to discussion. If our relationship didn’t endanger Isaac’s position on the team, I wouldn’t give a shit what Cooper and Izzy wanted. I’m done living my life to make big sister happy. I love her, but my life is mine now, and I’m keeping it that way.”

Emma blinked a few times, but didn’t argue. Instead she got this faraway look in her eyes. “He is hot in a dark, brooding way.”

Avery’s head snapped up, and she grinned at her sister. “You think?”

“I’m not blind. I know a hot guy when I see him. He’s not as hot as Tanner, but he’s hot.”

“I think he’s hotter. Tanner is too fake for me.”

Emma shrugged and ducked her head but not before Avery saw the flush on her cheeks. Well, what do you know? Sweet, innocent Emma had a thing for big, bad Tanner Wolfe. It was nothing but a harmless crush. Emma was so not Tanner’s type, and he was definitely more than Emma could handle.

“Emma—” She stopped herself. She hated being lectured by her sisters, so she’d be damned if she’d do it to Emma.

“What?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You and I could both stand to take a page out of Bella’s book.”

“You think?” Emma asked.

“I know,” Avery answered, almost feeling sad. Bella would’ve told Coop and Izzy off and done her own thing, not caring about the disaster left in her wake.

Avery cared, too much, especially when it came to wounded animals, and Isaac was the most wounded animal she’d ever met, even if he hid it well.

Chapter 11—Slammed

Isaac sat on the bench and inspected his skates before the fourth game of the Sockeyes’ road trip. Usually he spent the time before a game in his own world, apart from everyone else, while he prepared himself mentally. Only tonight, he paid attention to his teammates, watched them joke around with each other and the unique ways each of them prepared. Drew Delacorte always put every piece of clothing on the exact same way. Brick preferred to stay naked as long as he possibly could. Cedric joked with everyone, loosening them up, and deftly sensing which guys needed a distraction and which guys didn’t. Cooper watched his team with a critical, yet encouraging, eye, like a strict father with high expectations. Isaac knew all about that, only Cooper didn’t have the abusive, cruel streak present in Isaac’s own father.