Melting The Ice (6 page)

She glared at him.  “Let me know if you need anything.”  She said shortly before stalking off.  He watched her go with a look of bemusement on his face.  What the hell had he gotten himself involved in this time?

Chapter Eight

Ava rejoined Macy by the pool a few minutes later, her nerves frazzled.  If she weren’t so hung-over, she would fix herself a drink.  Macy gave her a wide grin before bursting into laughter. “Shut the hell up.”  Ava hissed at her laughing friend.  That did nothing but make her laugh harder. “What is so damn funny?”
             

“You, that’s what,” Macy giggled helplessly.  “You had to know this day would come, Ava.”

Ava’s eyes widened in surprise.  “What is that supposed to mean?”

“Your penchant for young, easily discarded men was bound to bite you on the ass someday.” Macy chortled with glee.

“My God, Mace!”  Ava breathed out, displeasure heavy in her voice. “I don’t think him being young and discardable is the problem.  He’s Jameson’s friend!”

“How old is he?”  Macy questioned curiously, her smile knowing.

“Twenty-seven.” Ava muttered, pacing back and forth in extreme agitation. 

“It’s not like you’ve molested a child, for God’s sake.  Twenty-seven is way past the legal age of consent…” Macy said sarcastically. 

“I’m not worried about his age, Macy.  Damn it, would you listen to me?”  She hissed her breath out between her teeth. “He’s friends with my son.” She spoke with exaggerated slowness as if Macy couldn’t understand.

“How is Jameson even gonna find out?”  Macy shook her head in bewilderment.  “Cian is pretty far past the bragging age and I seriously doubt he’s gonna call Jameson up.  You need to chill.”

“He’s staying in my house!”  Her voice rose hysterically.  A satisfied look came over Macy’s face.

“Ah…and therein lays the problem.”  Macy snorted out a laugh.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”  Her eyes narrowed in irritation at Macy.

“It’s not that he’s Jameson’s friend.  It’s that one of your one-night wonders is in your house for the foreseeable future.”  Macy started laughing again.  “And you can’t even take off and leave him because you promised Baby Boy.”  Macy picked up her IPhone and began typing out a message, chuckling to herself.

“What are you doing?”  Ava snapped.

“Sending Lena a message.  This is too good not to share.”

“Damn it, Macy, that’s not why I’m so upset!  I’m upset because I picked up Chase’s brother in a bar last night, ended up in bed with him and now he’s in my house!  The Secords are like family to Jameson…this has disaster written all over it.”  Ava plopped down on the lounger and put her head in her hands.  “What am I gonna do?”

“You’re gonna remember that you’re a grown ass woman and behave as such.  So you had sex with him.  Big deal!  He’s hot as hell.  The more you make of it, the worse it will be.”  Macy said softly.  “This isn’t the end of the world.”

She took a deep breath and smiled as Macy gathered up her stuff.  “You’re right.”

“I know I am.”  Macy laughed, heading for the door.  She turned at the door.  “And besides, it’s gonna be so much fun watching you deal with Mr. Young and Discardable in close quarters.”  Macy exited with a giggle when Ava tossed a towel at her.

Ava relaxed back into the lounger and closed her eyes.  She couldn’t believe the gorgeous stranger she had hooked up with had turned out to be Cian Secord, Chase’s older brother.  Her stomach had damn near dropped to her feet when she’d seen him standing in her foyer, looking so flawlessly handsome, testosterone practically oozing from his pores.  He was so overwhelmingly masculine and self-assured, his big body rock hard.  She had some very erotic memories of that rock hard body.  The man couldn’t twitch a finger without muscles rippling.  He knew his way around the female body, too and had thoroughly demonstrated his knowledge the previous night.  It would have been nice if she could have filed that memory away to fondly recall at some future date but now that would be impossible.  She had never considered messing with any of Jameson’s friends and frankly, she felt like a pervert after being with Cian.  She imagined how embarrassed she would be next time she was around the Secords and groaned aloud.  Seriously, could this day suck more?

Chapter Nine

“Who’s this friend of Jameson’s that you have staying at your house?” Lora Talbot asked her daughter the next afternoon while they sipped iced tea at her kitchen table.  Lora was sixty years old but often passed for ten years younger.  Her carefully maintained strawberry blonde hair was kept in a classic short style that complimented Lora’s petite frame and she never left the house without her makeup done and dressed to the nines.  Ava shrugged, looking out the window at her mother’s flower garden rather than look her in the eye.  Lora always saw too much.

“Chase’s older brother, Cian.” She responded nonchalantly. “His ex-girlfriend was causing him some problems so he’s laying low here for the time being to let it all blow over.”  Ava’s response had Lora looking intrigued.

“Wonder what happened.” She asked in a speculative tone. “Did you ask him?”  Ava gave her mother a look of censure.

“No, I didn’t ask him but next time I run across him I’ll tell him my mother would like to know the whole sordid tale…” 

“Ooh...do you really think it’s a sordid tale?” Lora appeared fascinated by the thought.  “Does he have
that
look about him?” Ava looked at her mother as if she’s grown an additional head.

“Mother!”  Lora Talbot burst into laughter at her daughter’s scandalized tone.  Ava, realizing how prudish she sounded calling her mother down for some idle speculation on Cian Secord’s tale, sordid or not, grinned ruefully. “I sound like an old woman…”

“Yes you do.” Her mother agreed reaching for a cookie from the package of Double Stuff Oreos she had pulled from the cabinet, still chuckling. “So is he a nice boy?”  Ava choked on the mouthful of tea she had just taken into her mouth.  Thinking of Cian as a boy and a nice one at that was enough to send her into fits of coughing.  Lora reached over and smacked her on the back until she was able to move away from her mother’s pounding on her back.  Ava reached for a cookie and took a big bite.

“He’s not actually a boy.” Ava muttered around a mouthful of cookie.  Lora turned from the counter she had been getting ready to wipe down to aim a skeptical look at her daughter.  Ava met her mother’s gaze and rolled her eyes, figuring she’d better come up with something quick before her mother continued with this line of questioning. “Mom, it’s not like Jameson and Nate are boys anymore.  They’re men and Cian is older than they are.”

“How much older?”  The innuendo in her mother’s voice was not lost on Ava.  She shrugged and managed to look her mother square in the face.

“He said he’s twenty-seven.”

“Hmmm…and why were you…”

“Can we talk about something else besides my houseguest?” Ava interrupted her mother’s questioning with a laugh full of exasperation.  Lora shot her a glare of minor irritation.

“Well…really, don’t you want to know more about this guy?”

“No, it’s none of my business.” Ava gave an indifferent shrug.  Lora regarded her daughter as if she were crazy.

“So you just let some stranger move into your home?” Ava rolled her eyes.

“Mom, he’s Jameson’s friend; hardly a stranger and besides, Jameson asked me to let him come stay.  You know how he is over the Secords.”

“I know he’d rather spend his vacations with them than us.” Lora grumbled, jealous of anyone that took one of her grandsons away from her.  Ava turned an admonishing look on her mother.

“That’s not fair, Mom.  Can you really blame him or the other boys?” Ava threw her hands up. “You know the crap they have to deal with every time they set foot in this godforsaken town.”  Lora sighed.

“I know you’re right, but I miss having him and Nathan underfoot.  Jack and Todd, too.” Lora stated forlornly, Jack and Todd being Lena’s sons.  Jameson and Jack had been seventeen, Nathan fifteen, and Todd sixteen when their mothers became instant multi-millionaires.  Being teenagers and inherently greedy they had wanted everything; unfortunately, they’d mostly gotten it.  Luxury automobiles, designer clothes, Black American Express cards and every toy and gadget known to mankind had been theirs for the asking.  Their mothers, having struggled to provide for their children all these years, had wanted to give them everything their little hearts desired as much as they wanted to have it. Since none of them had ever had any money to speak of, they were in no way prepared to cope with all the bullshit that came with it.   While everything the boys had gotten involved in was typical teenager behavior, the addition of unlimited funds had magnified the problems; the unrelenting media attention had portrayed them all as spoiled, carefree rich boys with no regard for anyone but themselves.  Things had been bad for a time before all of them gained some perspective.  Jameson had went off to LSU to realize his dream of being a music producer, Nathan had taken off for L.A. to become a rock star, Jack was at the University of Michigan playing football and Todd was at the University of Texas still trying to pick a major.  They were good boys for the most part but had developed an aversion to their hometown after the fallout and rarely stayed more than a few days at a time when they did make trips home.  When they were in town, all four of them made sure they paid a visit to Lora Talbot or there was hell to pay.

“I expected Ron to be here.” Ava mentioned Lora’s long-time boyfriend to change the subject.  Lora rolled her eyes dramatically and huffed out a sigh.  Ava giggled. “Let me guess…he’s pushing you to get married again.”

“You got it in one.” Lora muttered frustration apparent on her face.  Lora had been keeping company, as she called it, with Ron Carver for eight years.  Ron was a retired mechanic and worshipped the ground Lora walked on.  He had been proposing marriage to her since shortly after they met but Lora had stood firm on her decision to never remarry.  Ava had thought her mother would eventually give in but she showed no signs of changing her mind.  “I don’t know why he won’t just leave it alone.”

“Mom, everyone’s not like Daddy.” Ava gently pointed out.  Lora’s eyes widened in surprise before she snorted indelicately.

“You’re a fine one to talk Miss Commitment Issues.” Ava gave her mother a sheepish smile.

“Wonder if I could get that put on a sash to wear with my tiara?” They both laughed at Ava’s teasing sarcasm. “Seriously, Mom, Ron’s a good guy and he loves you.”

“You’re right.” Lora shrugged indifferently. “He’s a great guy.  I still don’t want to marry him or anyone else.  I was married for thirty years to your father and I don’t want to answer to anyone or have anyone answer to me again.”

“What are you going to do when he leaves you for a woman that does want to get married?” Ava asked curiously.  Lora looked thoughtful for a moment before giving Ava another shrug.

“If the only thing keeping him with me is a piece of paper that guarantees nothing, I don’t need him anyway.” Lora flashed Ava a smug grin. “Besides, what would he want with another woman when he has me?” Ava burst out laughing.  She visited with her mother for another hour or so before taking her leave.  She made a stop at the local drugstore to pick up a few necessities.  She was walking aimlessly through the aisles when a tall male figure coming towards her with a wide smile brought her to an abrupt halt.

“I thought that was you.” Patrick Corbin’s deep voice hit her like a ton of bricks, bringing back way too many memories.  She hadn’t seen Jameson’s father in over a year and the shock of seeing the man she would have once given everything for froze her in place.  He pulled her into his embrace and dropped a kiss on her cheek before she recovered enough to angrily jerk free of his arms.  He huffed out a sigh, looking up at the ceiling as if praying for divine intervention. “Still not past the hard feelings, huh, Ava?” She scoffed derisively.

“As always, you are the master of understatement.”  She turned around to walk the other way but he grabbed her arm.  She whirled to face him. “What do you want Patrick?” she asked scathingly.  He held his hands up and offered her a guiltless smile.

“I just wanted to know how you and my son are getting along.” He stated calmly.  Patrick had been her biggest downfall.  They had started dating while he was in college and she was still in high school.  He’d been a self-centered, egotistical bastard, but just the sight of him had been enough to melt her back then.  Pat had never been good to her.  He’d lied, cheated and stole from her on numerous occasions.  It had seemed the worse he treated her, the more determined she had been to have him.  When she had found out she was pregnant right after graduation, she’d been ecstatic believing that Patrick would settle down and marry her.   She’d soon learned the error of her ways.  He had not only
not
wanted to marry her; he had refused to accept any kind of responsibility and even accused her of trying to pawn someone else’s child off on him.  She had spent most of her pregnancy in tears but had been thrilled when Jameson had been born. 

For the first fourteen years of her son’s life she went back and forth with Patrick.  They would date for a couple of months and every time she’d become complacent, he’d pulled the rug out from under her.  There had always been other women and several paternity suits had even been filed against him; Jameson had a couple of younger brothers and a sister that he didn’t even know.  The final straw had been Ava reading about his engagement to another woman in the paper while he was supposedly living with Ava.  All of those out of town business trips had largely been a cover for his relationship with his new fiancé.  The fiancé hadn’t even known about Ava and Jameson.  Macy and Lena had helped her load all of his belongings up and they had hauled it all over to the fiancé’s house in a neighboring town.  Patrick had arrived while they were throwing his belongings into the woman’s yard.  He had talked to her like she was dirt beneath his feet and that more than anything made her finally realize he had never loved her.  Ava had told him to “fuck off” and nothing he had done in the intervening years made her regret her decision. 

He’d married the woman who had watched all the drama unfold in her yard with a helpless expression on her face; they’d divorced within a year due to infidelity on his part which surprised no one except maybe his wife.  He’d tried to come back to Ava but she had learned her lesson with him and it had been easy to turn him away.  The first time she had seen him after that none of the old feelings had returned and she’d known she was free of him for good.  Now that she was a wealthy woman with no need of anything from Patrick, she couldn’t help but resent his lack of financial help with Jameson’s needs while she’d struggled to make ends meet; other than a general loathing, she didn’t have any other feelings for him one way or the other.

“You have Jameson’s number.  Call him.” She was short with her answer.  He reached his hand out as if to touch her but she jerked out of his reach.  The pleading look from the gorgeous green eyes that he had passed on to their son that used to melt her had no effect.

“Don’t you ever miss the way things were with us?” he asked in a husky tone, his eyes beseeching.  She burst out laughing and shook her head in disbelief.

“Are you high?” She stopped laughing and looked at him like he was something she had found on the bottom of her shoe. “Of course I miss being lied to, cheated on, stolen from and talked to like a dog…I mean, what woman wouldn’t miss that?” she asked scathingly.  His eyes narrowed dangerously.

“This is why we could never get along.  You never believed I could change.” He stated accusingly.  She rolled her eyes.

“Maybe but you always proved me right, didn’t you, Pat?” She asked, suddenly exhausted with the entire conversation. “Look, just let it go, okay?  We will
never
get back together and I am saying
never
.”

“I heard you were hanging all over some young guy at Hal’s place the other night.” Patrick took a verbal swat at her, his expression turning leering and ugly. “Have you turned into a pedophile, Ava?”

“Go to hell, Patrick.” She said calmly and with that turned and walked away.  Patrick’s caustic laugh followed her out the door.