The Playmaker (Fire on Ice) (2 page)

Three

Kian

Being back in Northern Arizona felt strange. Even though I hadn’t lived there very long, just while I played for the Firestorm
. I fell in love and left my heart with Taylor when I moved to Seattle. And without Taylor, Seattle felt temporary. Like a place I was just staying until our real lives together started. 

I met Runt at one of our old hangouts, O’Sullivan’s. It was a place all of the Firestorm players like to hang out after games, to get drunk and pick up girls. A lot of puck bunnies frequented the place. That was its main attraction for Runt. He loved women, the easier the better.

Runt was already seated at a table near the back of the place. It was early afternoon, so it wasn’t crowded yet. Just a few of the regulars were seated at the bar.

Runt waved when he saw me enter. At only five feet seven inches, Runt was the smallest guy on the team but he had skills. In many ways, he was a better player than me but he lacked size and mass. I was six feet two inches and outweighed him by fifty pounds. My agent liked to call me the
full-package
. Leaving for the majors, I had entered a new world and part of me was sad that I had to leave Runt behind to do it.

Runt had a glazed look in his eyes that told me he wasn’t on his first beer.
He liked to drink, rarely held back and was already flagging a waitress when I sat down.

“Two more pints,” Runt said to the scantily clad waitress. To my surprise, he didn’t make any comments about wanting a
piece of that
as the waitress turned and walked away. 

“I’m actually in the presence of an NHL player,” he gave a fake bow. “I’m not worthy.”

“Whatever. You’re one of the best hockey players I know.”

“That may be true. However, I wasn’t blessed with your physical attributes so I believe I’ll be playing in the minor leagues until my knees give out or turn thirty-five, whichever comes first.”

When the waitress set down our glasses, I noticed a small sparkle reflecting from Runt’s left hand. It took a minute for it to register that he was wearing a gold band on his ring finger.

“Is that a wedding ring?” I blurted.
It seemed hard to believe that Runt, a guy who got more tail than a rabbit, was married. And I had only been gone a few weeks.

Runt nodded like it was the most normal thing in the world.

“Why are you wearing a wedding ring?”

“I drove up to Vegas last week and got married.”

I nearly spit out the sip of beer I had just taken. “To who?”

“Shawna,” he said matter-of-factly. Shawna was a so-called Firestorm super fan who had hooked up with nearly every guy on the team at one time or another, including yours truly. She was actually proud of the fact that the guys called her a three-hole-wonder. How the hell did Runt end up married to her?

“Were you drunk?” I knew I probably sounded like a dick but I just couldn’t wrap my head around Runt being married. Even worse being married to Shawna.

He
tilted his head a few times then let out a low laugh. “Maybe a little.” He took a long drag on his beer.

I was speechless. This was definitely not how I expected our reunion to go.

“You’re looking at me like I did something wrong when for once in my life I did something right.”

I took another sip of my beer. “What do you mean?”

Runt leaned in close like he was going to reveal a major secret. “Shawna’s knocked up.”

“How do you know it’s yours?” I knew it was mean when I said it but Shawna had a reputation. More than a few times she’d screwed several guys on the team the same night.

He shrugged. “We’ve been sort of living together ever since you left. I can’t say for sure she hasn’t been with anyone else but I don’t care. I know I was with her a lot so chances are pretty good the kid is mine.”

Since we were in high school, Runt and I were really good about using condoms. We were especially careful with hockey whores. It made me wonder what changed.

He took another swig of his beer. “We weren’t careful. She didn’t always take her pills and I didn’t always use a condom. But I’m taking responsibility for my actions. I always told you that I wasn’t going to be like my dad, nothing but a deadbeat sperm donor. I’m going to be a real father.”

“Good for you, Man. If you’re happy, I’m happy.”

He tilted his head like he was thinking about it. “I know a lot of guys would feel like they were being trapped. But you know what? I don’t mind it. It’s nice to have somebody want me. And it’s been good. Shawna put us on a budget and she even started a savings account for us. So maybe I won’t be washed up and broke by the time I’m thirty-five.”

I laughed. Runt used to spend money like water and I always teased him that he was going to end up middle-aged and broke.

“So, any wedding plans in your future?”

I shook my head. “No, Man.” I knew I wanted to be with Taylor, and I couldn’t imagine myself ever being with anyone else, but marriage still seemed like something far off in the future.

Runt took another pull of his beer. “Don’t wait too long. You don’t want that little hottie to get away. Especially with you being out of town. What’s that saying about the cats playing when the mice run away?”

I narrowed my eyes. “You mean when the cat’s away the mice will play?”

“Whatever,” he said. “You know what I mean.”

“I know what you mean
. I just don’t believe those words are coming out of your mouth.”

“A lot changes when you’re a husband and father.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, big guy. Right now, I think you’re still probably the father to an embryo.”

“And ever since you started dating a college chick, you’ve been using all kinds of ten dollar words.”

“Really, Runt, I’m happy for you. You seem settled. Sometimes I wish I had that.”

“You kno
w you could always put a ring on her finger.”

“In the future. We’ve both still got some living to do first.”

***

When I pulled up to the Thompson’s
McMansion
, I felt just as intimidated as the first time I was at their house for Thanksgiving. It was hard to believe that was only a month ago. I already felt like so much had changed.

Or maybe I was the one who had changed.

At least this time, I didn’t feel like a complete loser who was trying to steal their daughter. This time, I had something to offer—
a lot more to offer
. Not that her parents cared. Neither one of them knew anything about sports. I mean nothing.
The fact that hockey was played on ice and the players wore skates may have been more than they knew about the sport.

They
did
care that I was only a high school graduate. The
fact that I had never been to college, to them, was the worst of my sins. Coming from a dirt poor, dysfunctional family didn’t help. I know they imagined their daughter would be with a doctor or lawyer, someone raised in a family similar to their own. I would want the same thing for my daughter. I sure as hell wouldn’t want her dating an ass clown like me.

My daughter
. Being married and having a kid seemed like something so far off. And before I met Taylor, getting married and having a family wasn’t even something I considered. The only thing I considered was getting laid. But that changed when we got together. From the moment I laid eyes on her in a bar—studying—I knew she was different. She wasn’t someone you just screw around with. Taylor was a forever kind of girl.

And now that she was my forever girl, I felt like the luckiest guy on the planet. I didn’t want to do anything to screw that up
ever. Losing Taylor would be worse than losing an arm. It would be like having my heart ripped from my chest and tossed into the fiery pit. It was my worst fear—worse than getting injured and never being able to play hockey again—worse even than death. I didn’t think it would be possible to live without Taylor Thompson.

It took me a few seconds to gather the courage to knock on the door. That’s right, a guy who could knock another man’s teeth out without blinking an eye, was afraid to knock on the Thompson’s front door.

Come on, Kian
, I said to myself.
The longer you act like a pussy and don’t knock, the longer you have to wait to see your girl
.

I finally grabbed a pair and knocked on the heavy wood door.

No answer.

That’s when I noticed the doorbell.
Smart move, Genius
. I rang the bell and within seconds, my beautiful princess was standing in front of me.

When she gave me one of her dazzling smiles, she nearly knocked the breath right out of me. Taylor had a smile that lit up the world around her. And I loved the way her eyes always sparkled when she smiled.

I grabbed the belt loops of her skinny jeans and pulled her body close to mine. I took in her scent, her strawberry shampoo and the lotion she always wore. God, I missed her. I missed holding her in my arms. I missed touching her and being with her. I missed being inside her. Oh, did I want to be inside her, as soon as possible.

But what I missed most was just being in her presence. Of all the places I had been in my life, it was the only place where I felt I truly belonged.

“I can’t believe you’re really here,” Taylor said as she touched my face. The warmth of that single touch spread through my body like a wildfire.

I didn’t waste any time putting my lips to hers and tasting her sweetness. Our hunger for each other deepened as our mouths did a ravenous dance.

“Kian Kavanagh,” a deep male voice said and Taylor and I both jumped away from each other. “Glad to see you made it back to Arizona safely.”

Taylor’s dad was tall and thin but still an imposing figure. Even though I outweighed him
by probably forty pounds, he scared the shit out of me.

I straightened the collar of my brand new dress shirt. Most guys I knew, professional athletes, spent money faster than they could make it. Most of it was wasted on cars, booze and women, in some cases even drugs. I was one of the exceptions. I saved nearly every penny I earned so that one day I could open a sports bar. It was my backup plan just in case anything went wrong, like a career-ending injury. But I wanted to look nice for Taylor and her parents, so I splurged on some new dress shirts and pants. Just seeing the look on Taylor’s face as she
sized up my new threads was worth every penny.

I put out my hand. Mr. Thompson just stared at it for a few seconds, as if he was trying to decide if I was worthy of the gesture. Then he glanced at his daughter, who was scowling at him and reluctantly took my hand and shook it.

“Thank you for inviting me to stay with your family for the Christmas holiday,” I said.

“We hope you enjoy your stay with us,” Mr. Thompson said.

“I’m sure I will, Sir.”

A few awkward moments went by before Mr. Thompson a
ctually let me in the front door.

The interior of their house hadn’t chan
ged at all since my first visit at Thanksgiving. Their house was everything I imagined a home should be whenever mom and I were evicted from one of the crappy one-bedroom apartments she’d lease and then never pay the rent. My mom had a difficult time using her money for anything but drugs and booze. Getting high and wasted was always her priority. It was obvious that the Thompsons had better priorities and the means to live an upper middle class life style.

As we walked through the study filled with books, I took note of the fact that the same book,
The Alchemist
, was still sitting on a small table, apparently still half read. I wasn’t a reader. I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a book, probably high school, but I knew it shouldn’t take more than a month to read one.

We made our way into the kitchen, where Taylor’s mom was cooking
. I took in the scent of cinnamon and baked ham. It felt like we had left her mom in the exact same spot at Thanksgiving. She was even wearing the same apron. My mom never cooked an actual meal my entire life.

It was no wonder Taylor was so perfect. She had parents, who actually cared about her, who actually fulfilled their respo
nsibilities and took care of her. The only thing they couldn’t do was protect her from Austin. The prick nearly destroyed her.

I vowed that I would never let anyone hurt her again and I meant it. Taylor was now my responsibility. The moment she gave herself to me, her body, heart and soul, I knew I needed to take care of her and that it was my duty to protect her. There was no job on the planet more important than that.

“Kian,” Mrs. Thompson said as she turned to face me. “It’s good to see you again.” She gave me a smile but it seemed forced.

“Thank you for inviting me,” I replied.

The four of us stood awkwardly in the kitchen looking at each other.

“I’m going to help Kian get his bags from the car and we’ll take his stuff up to my room,” Taylor said. “Will you let us know when dinner is ready?”