Melting Ice (17 page)

“Isaac?”

Turning from the horse, Isaac grinned. “Hey.”

Lord, he’d missed her.

And how crazy was that? The last thing that girl needed was a screwed up mess like him. Tanner was so right. Isaac destroyed everyone who ever cared about him. It was his special talent. He drove people away to prevent them from getting so close. He’d learned his lesson with Jenny and his sister Karen. He should’ve spared them, but they couldn’t be driven away. They saw through him. And it had killed them.

He
had killed them.

He couldn’t do that to Avery, but he could look and not touch. Looking never hurt.

She was so beautiful. Sure, he’d dated beautiful women before, but none like Avery; not even Jenny had been as beautiful as Avery. Disloyalty pricked at his heart for thinking that, but it was true. Though it was somewhat like comparing apples and oranges. Jenny had been petite, dark, and exotic with mega makeup. Everything had to be perfect—her hair, her clothes, her nails, and she made sure he paid for that perfection. He’d gladly shelled out the bucks because money didn’t mean much to him anyway, but it had to her.

Avery, on the other hand, didn’t care about her nails, her hair, or her clothes. He suspected every penny she made went right back into the horses. And despite her lack of attention to her appearance, she was still the sexiest woman he’d ever met.

Hal padded along behind Avery, yawning. He’d never been a morning dog. He glanced at Isaac on his way outside to do his business and growled.

“Good to see you, too, buddy.” Isaac laughed.

Hal showed his yellow teeth and waddled on by. Isaac laughed, feeling better than he had in quite a few years. Hell, he felt better than he ever had.

Avery laughed at Hal. “He has a love-hate relationship with you, doesn’t he?”

“More like a hate-hate.” Isaac stared into her eyes, unable to drag his gaze away. For the longest moment, they said nothing, just gazed at each other. It was weird. It was wonderful. It was wrong. But he couldn’t stop himself from drinking in every feature of her makeup-free face.

She broke her gaze first and moved to a stall to check on a horse. He moved behind her looking over her shoulders. She turned abruptly, obviously not expecting him to be so close, and bumped into him. He steadied her with his big hands, his fingers massaging the points of her shoulders. His mouth was only inches from hers, and he wanted to kiss her so badly, he ached all over. Her lips parted, forming an “O” and revealing straight white teeth and a pink tongue. Isaac licked his own lips and cleared his suddenly dry throat. They froze for a moment, neither moving, neither breathing, but he swore he could hear both their hearts beating in unison.

Avery’s mouth clamped shut, and she ducked under his arms and moved to a safer distance. “I need to feed the horses,” she stated, even as she made no move to do so.

Isaac didn’t want to leave, not yet, so he searched his mind for a safe conversation. “How did your lessons with that German guy go?” he asked, genuinely interested.

“Awful,” she sighed and pushed her blond hair off her face.

“Want to talk about it?”

“Not really.” She shook her hair out of its ponytail then wrapped it back up again. Watching her deft fingers tame her wavy hair made him harder than a guy after an overdose of Viagra.

Isaac swallowed, itching to bury his fingers in that luxurious mane. “What does something like that cost?”

“More than I make in a week or two. I might have to beg my sister to let me party crash again.”

Isaac opened his mouth to offer to pay for her lessons then snapped it shut. She would never accept the offer, and he knew all about wounded pride. Isaac and his brothers specialized in it.

“So we’re still on for dinner tonight? Maybe a movie?”

“As friends, right?”

“Yeah, of course. You can even invite your sister as long as she keeps it between us.”

“Thank you. I think I will.” Avery smiled at him and lit up his world, even the dark, dank corners that hadn’t seen light in years—if ever. “I really have to feed the horses now.”

“Okay.” He watched her walked away, those long legs eating up the distance between her and the feed bins at the other end of the long aisle. She had a great ass, just perfect for his big hands, and her long legs would wrap just right around his waist. He loved her hair, long and luxurious, even if it was rarely styled and spent the majority of the time in a messy ponytail—not the stylish kind women liked to use, but the kind used by a woman in a hurry who considered her hair a bother and something she needed to keep off her face.

Everything about her, as imperfect as it might be, was perfect for him.

* * * *

Avery chewed a bite of salmon and glanced nervously at Emma. She desperately wanted her twin sister to like Isaac. It shouldn’t matter, but it did. Considering Emma’s secret crush on Isaac’s brother, Avery feared Emma might take sides.

She shouldn’t have worried. The two hit it off famously, talking about everything from the weather in Seattle to the dying Orca whale population in the San Juans to the Sockeyes’ chances in the playoffs—assuming they made the playoffs. Who would have ever thought Isaac would be so well-informed or so deep on subjects not related to hockey, and who would’ve guessed her bookworm sister even knew what a puck was for, let alone be able to intelligently talk hockey. The entire evening was proving to be an eye-opener.

It was a cold, crisp night in Seattle, and the lights from a ferry bound for Bainbridge illuminated the waters of Elliott Bay. Avery watched as it motored out of Seattle and into the darkness of Puget Sound.

“So, Mr. Wolfe, what do you think of our city so far?” Emma leaned forward, her eyes sparkling, and drew Avery’s attention back to the conversation.

Isaac smiled back, not one ounce of badass, all nice guy. “I love it.”

“Really?” Avery inserted. “What do you love about it because it’s not everyone who can handle Seattle winters?”

“I don’t mind the gray. It’s—it’s romantic.” Isaac ducked his head, concentrating on cutting a piece of steak.

Was he blushing? Or was it just hot in here? Avery wanted to fan herself so it had to be the temperature in the room. She took a long slug of water, but it didn’t cool her down. Stealing a glance at Isaac, she found him watching her with an all-too-familiar hunger in his predatory ice-blue eyes.

Emma gave Avery a pointed look. “I’ve never thought of it that way.”

“I have.” Isaac winked at Emma and grinned.

Emma shot another sideways glance at Avery, and Avery got the distinct feeling the two were conspiring against her.

“How’s Hal doing?” Avery changed the subject.

“He bit my ankle, took over two-thirds of the couch, and farted for an hour straight, so I’d say all in all he’s a happy dog.”

“Tiff and he have bonded.”

“What’s the story with her, anyway?” Isaac asked.

Emma shot Avery an accusatory glare. “You never told him?”

Avery shrugged.

Emma turned to Isaac and leaned forward, lowering her voice, like the two of them were BFFs or something. It was disgusting. “You don’t know?”

“Really, I don’t.”

“It’s very tragic. We all protect her as best as we can. You heard about the Seattle school shooting last fall, right?” Emma glanced around, as if making sure no one could hear her.

Isaac nodded.

“Tiff was there. One of the shooters was her boyfriend. He pointed the gun between her eyes, point-blank range, and pulled the trigger. There wasn’t a bullet in the chamber. The gun just clicked. I guess he laughed and said something like ‘
Remember me and remember them’
and shot her two best friends dead in front of her. She’s never been the same since. It’s tragic.”

Isaac frowned, his brows drawn into a grim line.

“Cooper’s nephew Riley was there, too. He was shot, but not seriously.”

“I had no idea.”

Emma glared at Avery. “I can’t believe you didn’t fill him in considering the huge crush Tiff has on him, and how the tragedy affects his team captain.”

“I was planning on saying something.”

As one they both stared at her, and Avery squirmed. She really should’ve told him. She saw the disapproval in her sister’s eyes and the hurt in Isaac’s.

Isaac shrugged one shoulder as the hurt disappeared to be replaced by the cold, unemotional Isaac he’d been when she’d first met him. She hated that she’d caused him to retreat into his shell.

“I’m sorry,” she almost pleaded with her voice and her eyes.

“No big deal.”

“We’re all very protective of Tiff,” Emma rushed to make it better. In her typical Emma way, she wanted everyone to get along and be happy. If only they could be so lucky to all live in Emma’s rose-colored world.

* * * *

Their dinner took longer than expected, and they missed the movie so Isaac dropped them off at the barn, turning down Avery’s invitation to come inside and watch TV and gorge on popcorn. He recognized the olive branch she extended, but he didn’t feel like being social. The news about Tiff bothered him on too many levels, and he didn’t want to be around anyone.

Shit
.

Parked in front of his garage was a truck. He’d hoped ignoring the problem would make it go away. It hadn’t. Blake was here. At his house. Now their house. Isaac hadn’t shared his space with a person since Jenny.

As he pulled into the garage, Blake got out of his truck and waited. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Isaac groused, not at all happy about the situation.

“You don’t want me here, do you?” Blake spoke bluntly.

“Not really,” Isaac shot back, just as bluntly.

“You didn’t really forget I was moving in today, did you?”

“Actually, I did.”

“Well, I’m here.” Blake grabbed a suitcase in one hand and a cat carrier in the other. Oh, crap, Isaac had forgotten the guy had a cat. The cat was the very reason Blake couldn’t stay in the place the team had found for him. What kind of guy had a cat, anyway? Seemed weird.

Isaac shrugged, grabbed the other suitcase, and led Blake into the house, wishing he could strangle the teammates who’d put him in this situation. At least the house had a large bedroom at the opposite end of the house with its own attached bathroom. Isaac placed the suitcase inside the door.

“Here you go. This is your room.”

“Thanks.” Blake glanced around with a grim smile on his face.

Hal waddled in the room and sniffed Blake’s leg. Isaac expected him to lift it on Blake’s jeans, but he didn’t. Instead he sat down at Blake’s feet, wagging his stump of a tail and whining.

“He doesn’t usually like men.”

Blake laughed and patted his head. “All animals love me. How is he with cats?”

Isaac shrugged. “Hell if I know.”

Blake sat the cat crate on the bed and opened the door. A small kitten poked its head out of the crate and gingerly crawled out. Hal sniffed at the kitten and got a sharp whack across the nose in response. He yipped and ran from the room.

“I don’t think he’ll be a problem.” Blake chuckled. “Nick is a tough little guy. He survived a freezing snow storm.

Isaac nodded, staring at the miniscule kitten Blake now held in his huge hands. “I’ll leave you to get settled.”

“Thanks.” Blake smiled at him. Isaac forced a smile back and escaped from the room.

It was bad enough he’d been forced to share a room on the road, now he’d been manipulated into sharing his house. Nothing personal against Blake—he seemed like a decent guy who minded his own business—but Isaac valued his privacy above all else.

And the guy had a fucking cat. What kind of defenseman had a cat?

* * * *

Blake knew Isaac didn’t want him there. Hell he’d have to be an idiot not to know. He didn’t care. Blake needed this place not just to live and because he had a kitten, but because he needed the company. He’d been alone too long, pushed people away, and it hadn’t been healthy.

Isaac did the same thing, and Blake had made it his mission to figure out what made the kid tick. Blake’s career might be on the downside, but Isaac was only twenty-six and extremely talented if he could just get past his attitude and be a better teammate.

That one week with Sarah had taught him about the damage a guy could do to himself by cutting himself off from people and going it alone.

Thinking of Sarah depressed him. She’d encouraged him to return to the NHL when the opportunity arose. He hadn’t wanted to walk away from their short, whirlwind relationship. She’d said he’d never forgive her if he didn’t give his career another shot.

And when she’d kissed him goodbye at the Madrona Island ferry landing, he’d felt as if he’d left a huge part of himself on that island. She’d broken it off with him, insisting she didn’t want a long-distance relationship. She wasn’t leaving the island and her veterinary practice, and he had to be where his team was.

It was for the best.

Yeah, right. Bullshit.

He talked to her every night, but he could sense her pulling away, and pushing him in the opposite direction. Maybe it’d all been a Christmas illusion. They’d fallen fast and hard, declaring their love in twenty-four hours. Practical Blake wasn’t the type to do that, but it’d seemed so comfortable, so real, and he believed it still was.

But she was right, as usual; he needed to take his career as far as he could take it. She’d be there waiting when he came back. Of that he was certain.

But what if he pursued coaching after his playing days ended? Then what? Hell if he knew.

For now, his entire focus would be hockey—his game and Isaac’s.

He have to deal with his personal life later.

It was always later.

And someday
later
might be too late.

Chapter 13—A Plan

As February turned into March, Isaac settled into a routine of sorts, somehow managing to keep his hands off Avery in the process—though that part was killing him. They hung out a lot. She watched his games, he watched her ride. They laughed and talked, and Isaac enjoyed every minute of his time with her. He’d was attached in a way he’d never been attached to anyone but his sister.