Goaltending: Seattle Sockeyes Hockey (Game On in Seattle Book 8)

by Jami Davenport

  Dean and Amelia had a knack for picking the wrong partners. They’d probably gotten that from their mother, with her succession of boyfriends and ex-husbands. Five, not including their father, to be exact. Their mother had gotten pregnant with Dean at sixteen. Their father had died overseas while in the army. He’d stepped on an IED. At least he hadn’t suffered. Amelia had been six, close to Macy’s age, and Dean had been eight, and their younger sister, Cami, had been four. Not wanting any more kids, their mother had her tubes tied and proceeded to enjoy her freedom from a man she’d probably never loved.

  Amelia didn’t remember much about her father, other than the empty hole left by his absence. Dean became the head of the household at an early age. As a teenager, he worked nights while going to school. He and Ruby met in a bar a few years ago after Dean’s longtime girlfriend had dumped him. He’d been vulnerable and lonely. Ruby had seen a guy with a stable job, a decent house, and an easygoing attitude. She’d pounced on him, and they’d married in Vegas a month later.

  The honeymoon had been over before it began, but Dean continued to believe in Ruby despite all the red flags being waved in his face.

  And now this.

  Dean would be inconsolable.

  At least they didn’t have kids. She guessed that was a blessing, even though it’d been a sore spot with Dean, who desperately wanted children. He’d thought Ruby couldn’t get pregnant, but Amelia had known the truth. Ruby was on birth control. It was one of many secrets Amelia held. She couldn’t keep this secret. As much as it hurt, he had to know. She was a great believer in fate, and fate had thrown her brother a curveball. And by association, she’d been thrown out at home plate.

  Surely Dean would let her stay in the apartment, assuming he kicked Ruby out and he could afford to keep it. That was a lot of assumptions, and where Ruby was concerned, Dean wore blinders. But right now Dean was her concern, not her personal situation. She’d figure out her problems later.

  Telling her brother would be one of the toughest things she’d ever done. She debated getting it over with by waking him up or waiting until tomorrow evening. If she were him, she’d want to know right away, but she wasn’t a guy, and the only guy who came to mind for advice was Brick. Hell if she knew why she wanted to confide in him. She was still mad at him and should stay that way for her own good.

  She could call Vi. Being a night owl, she’d still be up but most likely with her newest boyfriend. They’d been going at it like bunnies since they’d met a week ago and had barely come up for air.

  Lifting her head from the steering wheel, Amelia wiped the tears and squinted into the darkness. Once again fate had intervened. In her aimless driving she’d somehow ended up across the street from Brick’s condo. A light shone in his kitchen window. He was still awake, unless he’d left a night-light on for Macy.

  Feeling one part stupid, one part needy, and two parts desperate, she walked up the stairs to his door and listened. She could hear the faint murmur of male voices. He had company. Now what?

  He was probably drinking, but she could use a drink right now. Besides, she desperately needed to talk to someone, and more than one male opinion would be a good thing.

  Not allowing herself to debate her options any longer, she rang the doorbell.

  She didn’t wait long. The door swung open to reveal Brick in nothing but low-slung shorts. Her eyes fastened on his chest and took a leisurely journey downward. She licked her lips as she took in those ridged abs and that flat stomach. A bulge appeared in his crotch area right before her eyes.

  Damn.

  Rather than be embarrassed, Brick chuckled. She jerked her head up. Her face burned with mortification right to the tips of her ears.

  “Change your mind?” His cocky grin spread widely.

  Mutely, she shook her head.

  “I thought you were mad at me.”

  “I—I am, but I need a cease-fire.”

  “You do? For what, eh?” He spoke in an exaggerated Canadian accent, one of the few times she’d noticed it. His hand flew to his chest and he gasped dramatically.

  “I, uh, no, I—I need some male advice.”

  His brows drew together, and he frowned, disappointment clouding his eyes. “Advice?” His voice was incredulous. “That’s it?”

  “Yes, advice. Do you have company?”

  “Uh, no, it’s just Rush. He’s not company.”

  He stood back and opened the door wider for her. “Come on in.”

  She walked past him, brushing against his body when he didn’t give her enough room. He winked at her. She rolled her eyes.

  “Hey, beautiful.” Rush greeted her with a hug. She couldn’t help but like the guy. He was gregarious and gorgeous, and his accent was enough to make most women swoon. Only Amelia wasn’t a swooner, and Brick was barely clothed. Rush didn’t stand a chance. At least, not with her.

  The guys were a few beers into it judging by the bottles on the coffee table. Good thing Macy was a sound sleeper, as they weren’t exactly quiet.

  “It’s freezing in here.” She upped the thermostat five degrees, ignoring Brick’s irritated scowl. “What is it with you and heat anyway?”

  “He likes it cold. Heat gives him panic attack, reminds him of childhood.”

  “Really?” Amelia looked to Brick, who was shooting poisonous darts at Rush with his eyes.

  “Vhat you need advice for?” Rush popped the top off one of Brick’s beers and handed it to her.

  Amelia’s gaze slid back to Brick. She couldn’t help it. He was so…so…hot. He leaned against the kitchen counter, watching her with a hooded gaze that sizzled a slow burn across her body. He stroked his arm slowly, the motion mesmerizing her. Amelia’s hand rose to her chest as she tried to calm the million butterflies fluttering inside her.

  “You vant to take it in the bedroom or what?” Rush interrupted.

  “Uh, of course not.” Amelia winced, responding much too loudly, drawing a soft chuckle from Brick.

  “So much heat being generated, air conditioner will never keep up.” Rush gestured for her to take a seat on a barstool. She did so, and Rush sat next to her.

  “Tell us what’s up,” Brick said.

  Sucking in a deep breath, she told her story in a shaky voice but managed to hold herself together. The two men listened without comment. Brick’s expression tensed when she got to the part about walking in on the two of them, and he grimaced. Rush narrowed his eyes, and his mouth drew into a grim line.

  “Iz not good for your brother. She iz beetch.”

  “She’s a beetch, all right,” Amelia agreed.

  “Did you tell your brother?” Brick asked.

  “Not yet. I hate to wake him up. He works for Boeing and has to be at work at four thirty a.m.”

  “Sheesh. That’s vhen I go to bed,” Rush said.

  “You didn’t tell him? I’d fucking want to know right away.” For a guy who slept around and hated any kind of attachment, Brick was getting pretty wired about this.

  “I thought I’d tell him tomorrow after work.”

  “I can take care of her and her lover if you vant. My uncle Vladimir knows people. Very mean people. They vill never find her and her boyfriend,” Rush volunteered helpfully with a cheerful grin.

  Just what Amelia needed—to be in debt to the Russian Mob. “Thanks, but I can handle this.”

  “If you change your mind, you know vhere to find me.”

  “I should go. You two leave early for that road trip to Anaheim.” Amelia stood, and the two men stood, too, walking her to the door.

  She paused in the foyer. “I’m not going to be working at the day care anymore. Do you still want Macy to go there after school?”

  Brick shook his head. “Not if you’re not there. I never trusted Ruby.”

  “Okay, I’ll pick her up after school and bring her here. Will you tell her to look for me?”

  “Sure.” Brick opened his mouth as if he might say something more, but he didn’t.
>
  “Good luck with your brother,” Rush said.

  “Thanks.”

  Brick followed her to her car, his dark eyes filled with concern. “Are you going to be okay?”

  She shrugged. “I have to be. He’s going to need me.”

  “I know how it feels.” Brick rubbed the point of her shoulder with one large hand. She couldn’t resist leaning into his touch. He pulled her gently against his strong chest, and she let him, giving in to the strong comfort of those muscular arms. Laying her cheek on his shoulder, she gazed up at him.

  “You do? Did a woman cheat on you?” She couldn’t believe he’d kept a woman around long enough to even have an exclusive relationship, but decided it would be best not to voice her opinion.

  “My parents.” Pain flickered in his eyes, and he momentarily closed them. When he opened them, the pain was still there, dulled but there.

  “What happened?”

  “My dad had an affair with my best friend’s mother. Shocked all of us, especially when he left Mom for her.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “Not as sorry as I am. It wasn’t a good time in my life. I thought they had the perfect marriage, and it was all a sham. My dad fell prey to a manipulative, evil bitch with plastic boobs and slutty clothes.” The memory tinged his words with bitterness, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close. They stood there for a long moment, listening to each other’s heartbeats, absorbing each other’s warmth, and taking comfort from the shared pain.

  Amelia drew back first, resisting the temptation to throw herself back in Brick’s arms and forget the rest of the world for a night, but she didn’t. She smiled feebly at him. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you—for everything. Even if I never say it, I appreciate you.”

  Amelia’s throat constricted. She could feel the heat of unshed tears. She moved to the car, and Brick opened the door. “Good night.”

  She got in her car and drove the short distance to her studio, feeling somewhat better and not so alone in the world. She had Brick and Rush as friends if nothing else.

  Ruby’s and Dean’s cars were in the driveway. Amelia parked in the back alley and entered through her sliding glass door. She hesitated in the living room, listening for shouting or signs things weren’t going well, but all was silent upstairs. Crawling into bed, she set her alarm so she’d make her first class on time. Only, sleep eluded her. Her mind churned with thoughts of her brother and Ruby.

  Then it hit her. Right to the gut. She was unemployed. She had Brick’s income for the next week while he searched for a nanny.

  Why not tell him she’d changed her mind and wanted the job?

  Maybe because she’d be living under his roof 24-7. Maybe because they’d end up in bed, and she’d be one more conquest. Nothing more. Maybe because she was tired of fighting the attraction.

  Maybe, just maybe, she’d stay on as a nanny with benefits.

  Chapter 10—The Sin Bin

  Amelia opened the door to Violet. Her friend sauntered inside, her pink hair swaying from side to side to the rhythm of her jaunty walk. But then, Vi never did anything without packing it with a punch or a bit of attitude.

  Vi walked past her into the expansive living room with its kick-ass views. “Wow, this place is awesome.”

  Amelia stood beside her. “Isn’t it?”

  “And who are you?” Vi knelt beside Macy, who’d ceased her incessant chattering and clammed up. She looked up at Vi with those big puppy-dog eyes and conquered another soul. If only she could conquer her father. But then, he’d have to have a soul for that.

  “Macy,” she said, ducking her head and picking at a bead on her Barbie’s dress.

  “Well, Macy, I’m going to stay with you for a little while so Amelia can run an errand. Do you think we could play dolls together?”

  Macy nodded and scratched her head. Vi gave Amelia the thumbs-up.

  Amelia leaned down and kissed the little girl on the forehead. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Be good for Vi, okay?”

  Macy nodded solemnly.

  Amelia drove the short distance to the coffee shop where she’d arranged to meet her brother. She picked a private booth near the back. The not-so-soft smooth jazz would drown out their voices. She felt sick with worry as she rehearsed for the hundredth time what she’d say to Dean. She rubbed the back of her neck, attempting to ease the tension shooting needles of pain through her spine.

  Dean walked in a few minutes later. His mouth was set in a grim line, and Amelia knew this wasn’t going to be fun for either of them. He acknowledged her with a terse nod of his head, ordered his coffee, and slid into the booth seat across from her. He glowered at her as if she’d done something wrong.

  She opened her mouth to speak. He silenced her with a raised hand.

  “I know what you’re going to say. Ruby told me all about it.”

  “She did?” Amelia had half expected this. “What exactly did she tell you?”

  “That you caught her and Patrick late last night in the day care.”

  Amelia slanted him a sideways glance. Still not sure what he knew. “Did she tell you what I caught them at?”

  “She did.”

  Amelia blew out a breath. “What are you going to do?”

  He blinked several times and avoided her gaze. “I love her, Ammie. She’s sorry. It only happened that one time.”

  Amelia snapped her mouth shut. She had no proof, but she was sure Ruby and Patrick had been dancing the vertical tango for a long time.

  “She wants us to try again. I’ve been disconnected and distracted lately by finances. I haven’t paid attention to her. You know Ruby; she’s a princess, she needs constant ego fluffing. I haven’t given her that.”

  Amelia had seen this coming. Dean would fault himself instead of placing blame where it belonged.

  “This is not your fault.” She ground her teeth together. She wanted to say a whole lot more but didn’t.

  He shook his head, his eyes sad. “Amelia, you’ve never liked her. Always blamed her for everything and let my behavior slide.”

  Amelia didn’t like the feeling she was getting from this. She sipped her coffee, but the rich brew couldn’t erase the sour taste in her mouth.

  “She told me you quit.”

  “I did.” Amelia watched him warily, but he didn’t lift his head. Instead, he studied the menu on the table.

  “We need a fresh start, free of negativity from the outside.”

  She was going to throw up, retch up her lunch and the coffee she’d just drunk. She battled the nausea and remained stoic.

  “Are you moving?”

  “No, you are.” He still wouldn’t meet her gaze.

  “Wha—?” She couldn’t swallow, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t speak.

  “Ruby and I agreed we can’t start over with you living in the basement monitoring our every word and action.”

  “I don’t monitor—”

  “Ammie, I’m sorry. I’ll need you out of the basement by Sunday.”

  “By Sunday? But it’s already Friday. Where am I going to find a place that quickly?”

  “Move in with your weird friend or Mom.” He shrugged.

  “My weird friend only has a one-room studio. And Mom, well, she’s living in her boyfriend’s house over an hour away if the traffic is good. I can’t go there.”

  He still wouldn’t meet her gaze. He stood and shrugged into his coat. “I’m sorry.” With those two words, he walked out the door.

  Amelia stared at the closed door for what seemed like hours. She dabbed at the tears drizzling down her cheeks, but she couldn’t heal the nasty hole her beloved brother had chiseled into her heart. She had weathered similar blows and bounced back stronger and smarter. She’d push past the hurt and concentrate on taking care of herself and her immediate problem—a place to live and a job.

  She’d swallow her pride, squelch her common sense, and not only ask Brick for her job back, but a place to st
ay. Yeah, and she’d be in his bed within a week. She didn’t have any more backbone than her brother when it came to matters of the heart.

  She’d ask him anyway. Bad choices ran in her family, but she thought she’d broken the mold.

  Obviously not.

  She drove back to Brick’s condo to relieve Vi, who didn’t need relief. In fact, she made no move to leave. After they put Macy to bed, Vi hung out with Amelia. Like any serious bestie, they got shit-faced together, discussed men, sex, orgasms, and dumbshit brothers. Just so happened Vi had a couple of her own.

  A few hours later, Vi passed out on the couch in her underwear, while Amelia was asleep in her own bed before her head hit the pillow.

  * * * *

  A one-game road trip was hardly a road trip. The Sockeyes flew in, played the Friday-night game, and flew out. They won one to zero. Brick felt damn good getting a shutout, especially considering he’d blocked some tough shots.

  The team was ranked number two in the Pacific division. This early in the season, ranking didn’t matter much to Brick. He was more concerned about putting in a consistent performance, which had been an issue since Amelia and Macy disrupted his life.

  He hadn’t been laid in almost four weeks. That had to be a record since he’d hit puberty. The weirder part was only wanting Amelia. No one else. And even weirder, while he wanted her body in the worst way, he liked hanging out with her, watching her with Macy, and trading barbs with her.

  The flight from Anaheim was relatively quick, and they were home by 1:00 a.m. He rode with Rush from the airport and once again was sorry he had. Rush raced down I-5 like a NASCAR driver, but not nearly as safe. They made it home in one piece, just to prove God had some other devious plan in mind for Brick’s demise. He hoped it was later rather than sooner.

  Brick opened the door and dropped his duffel. He threw his suit jacket over the back of a chair and walked into the kitchen. He’d refused Rush’s invitation to party. Despite it being Friday night, he wasn’t in the mood. Rush accused him of never being in the mood anymore, and he didn’t dispute the truth. His buddy had almost pushed him out of the car when they’d arrived home, then taken off in a squeal of tires to meet some of the guys at a club.