Melting The Ice Read online

  “Hey Honey! How’s my baby boy?” She greeted her twenty-one year-old “child”, a smile wreathing her face while she deactivated the alarm system and dropped her keys and purse on the slate countertop in the restaurant quality kitchen.

  “I’m good, Mom. You in Cancun yet?” He asked in his soft, deep voice. It always amazed her that he sounded like a grown man despite the fact she still felt like he was a small child. Apparently, that feeling wasn’t going to change any time soon.

  “No, I’m actually in West Virginia. I haven’t even brought in my luggage.” She said with a laugh, flipping through the pile of mail left for her by the housekeeping staff that came several times a week. “It’s taken me over twenty-four hours to get here from Maui.”

  Jameson chuckled. “I don’t even want to know what you were doing in Maui. I’m actually surprised you’re in Dub-V.”

  “And why is that?” The question was asked absently while she continued sorting through the enormous pile of mail. Her son snorted in disbelief.

  “You’re kidding, right? Ever since I went off to LSU, you’re rarely at home.” Ava thought about it for a minute and realized he had a point. “Is something wrong?” She hesitated before responding, not sure how he would take the news regarding his uncle. After a moment she mentally shrugged and decided to tell him the truth since he would most likely hear about it anyway.

  “Your Uncle Joey is causing your Aunt Macy some trouble over the money. He is trying to claim a percentage of our lottery winnings.” She listened to Jameson blow off steam about his uncle for a few minutes before interrupting. “I wanted to come home and offer support and besides, I’m tired of jetting all over. I just want to come home and chill for a while. Is that okay with you?”

  “Of course, Mom. I was just teasing.” Jameson said with a laugh before pausing for a few seconds. His next words came out in a rush. “The thing is I have a friend that is coming to stay there for a little while.”

  “What? Where?” She asked, surprised by her son’s revelation. Jameson had brought his roommate, Chase, from college home with him on several occasions and he often visited Chase’s family in Connecticut on school holidays. “Is it Chase?”

  “No, it’s actually his older brother.” She didn’t know a lot about Chase’s family. She had met his parents several times and a couple of his brothers at different visits to the college. The Secords were a large, boisterous bunch. Chase was the youngest of five brothers. Ava had met brothers three and four, the twins Carey and Caden on her last visit. The older two brothers didn’t live at home anymore. Ava couldn’t remember their names but one was married and had kids and one did something with sports. When Jameson didn’t say anything else, she immediately became suspicious.

  “What’s going on Jameson?”

  He hesitated before answering. “He had a bad break up with his girlfriend and just needs a place to relax for a while where no one will bother him. It’s no big deal, Mom. I was just going to let him stay in the Barracks.” All the boys referred to their quarters as the “Barracks”. “You don’t mind, do you?” She pondered the situation for a few moments, wondering how much trouble it would be to have a guest. Oh well…Jameson’s friend was a grown man and wouldn’t even be staying with her so how much trouble could he actually be?

  “No, I don’t guess. When is he supposed to be here?”

  “He should be there sometime tomorrow.” Jameson answered. “Thanks Mom. You know how good the Secords have always been to me. It’s the least I can do for Chase’s brother. And who would look for him in Dub-V?” She went instantly on alert at that question.

  “Why would anyone be looking for him, Jameson?” She asked in confusion, her son’s words setting off alarms. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing! I just meant his ex wouldn’t be able to stalk him there, that’s all.” Jameson said with a laugh. “You are the most untrusting woman I’ve ever met.”

  “Thanks. I’ll take that as a compliment.” She responded dryly. “Is he flying or driving? Do I need to send a car or someone to get him or what?”

  “He’s flying and he will have a rental so you don’t have to worry about that. I gave him the GPS coordinates to get there. Can I give him your IPhone number so he can call you when he’s close?” Jameson inquired.

  “Yeah, that’ll work. Tell him to let me know when he gets in and I’ll make sure someone is around to greet him and get him settled.” She said with a weary sigh.

  “Thanks, Mom. I appreciate this. It’s only for a few weeks.”

  “A few weeks? I thought you meant a few days.” She said incredulously. Her suspicions were immediately aroused again. “Are you sure there’s not more to this story? What grown man with a job can just take off for a few weeks?”

  “Mom…would you stop being so suspicious? He has a job that allows him to be off during the summers and the ex-girlfriend is really getting annoying. Listen, I gotta go. Chase and I are meeting up with some friends and they’re here. I love you. I’ll talk to you after Cian gets there. Bye!” The connection broke. She sat there in a daze, wondering how she got roped into these things. Now she was stuck with Chase’s brother for several weeks. At least he would be staying in the Barracks and she wouldn’t have to deal with him much. She called her mother next.

  “Ava?” her mother’s voice came over the line loudly, causing Ava to wince. Lora Talbot had never gotten the hang of cellphones and thought she had to talk at an almost ear-piercing level to be heard.

  “Hey Mom, guess where I am.” Ava said as she set down at the kitchen table to gaze at the lush green landscape outside her windows.

  “God only knows.” Lora grumbled. “Tahiti?” Ava burst out laughing.

  “Wrong answer. I’m home.” Ava held the phone away from her ear to keep from being deafened until her mother had calmed down.

  “It’s about time. It’s been months since I’ve seen you, Honey.” Lora happily started making plans for a big welcome home dinner before Ava interrupted her.

  “Mom, I don’t think it would be good idea for us to have a family dinner right now.” She quietly relayed the particulars of Joey’s lawsuit to her mother. “I’m afraid I would kill him with my bare hands if I got that close.” Lora let out a long, tired sigh.

  “I hate that money has come between you all…” Ava cut her off with a loud snort.

  “Money didn’t come between us. Him treating Macy and the kids the way he has come between us first, then that thing he married and finally his greed in going after money that doesn’t belong to him.” Ava hated talking about Joey because it always ended up infuriating her. She resigned herself to her mother’s defense of Joey but was pleasantly surprised with her mother’s disappointed agreement.

  “I know. I just wish things could be the way they used to be.” Ava knew her mother was talking about more than just Joey and his ignorance. Lora was still a little bitter about her own divorce from Ava and Joey’s father, Ben. They had been married for 30 years before divorcing 10 years previously over Ben’s infidelity. The divorce had left Lora financially devastated despite having a good job. Having never been responsible for bills or upkeep on the house, Lora’s life had changed dramatically for the worse culminating in her losing the house and barely struggling along. Ava had been able to alleviate all of her mother’s financial troubles when she won the money and had built her a large Victorian-style home to her specifications in town. Thanks to the winning lottery ticket, Lora would never have to work again or worry about a bill. Ben had remarried and Lora had a long-term companion, Ron, but things were still pretty dicey when her parents came into close contact. Lora had stated on more than one occasion she wouldn’t ever remarry and so far had stuck to her vow. They chatted for a few more minutes with Ava promising to visit in the next couple of days and ending the call. She hit the speed dial button for Macy.

  “Hello?” Macy’s voice came across the line as Ava headed back out to the car to carry in her bags. She had c
onsidered having live-in staff at one time or another but in the long run, it was much better to have her privacy than to have someone always on hand to fetch and carry. Ava had taken care of herself for far too long for the money to change that and in the last few years, she had learned to value her privacy.

  “Hey, I just got in. Where are you?”

  “I just dropped Maddie off at Mom and Dad’s. I wasn’t expecting you this early.”

  “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 te
e-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.