Читать книгу A Perfect Catch - Anna Sugden - Страница 9

CHAPTER ONE

“WHY DOES IT take so long to have a baby?”

At her niece’s question, Tracy Hayden looked up from the stack of invoices she was logging into her business’s accounting system.

She smiled at Emily, who was playing a game on the other home-office computer. “They don’t have bar codes on their bums, so you can’t just pick them up at a grocery store.”

Tracy’s sister, Maggie, had gone to the hospital early that morning, when her water had broken. The latest update from Maggie’s anxious husband, Jake, at 5:00 p.m., had been that all was progressing well, if a bit slowly.

Now, at seven-thirty, ten-year-old Emily’s excitement was stretched thin by the lack of action.

“Very funny, Auntie Tracy.” The soon-to-be older sister rolled her eyes. “Do you think Mummy’s having a girl or a boy?”

“Hmm.” Tracy pretended to consider the question seriously. “I have a feeling the sproglet is a boy.”

Her niece leaned forward eagerly. “Why?”

Tracy lowered her voice conspiratorially. “Your mum put sugar in her cup of tea yesterday. They say you need extra sweetness if you’re having a boy.”

Emily’s eyes widened. “She also ate a whole bar of Cadbury’s chocolate from her stash.”

“Aha.” Tracy snapped her fingers. “That settles it.”

“A baby brother would be okay,” Emily mused. “He wouldn’t want any of my things. Plus he’ll like sports. I could teach him to skate and play hockey.”

Tracy clipped the invoices together, then slipped them into a folder marked November Bills. She’d allocate them to the appropriate accounts tomorrow. “That would be nice.”

“Maybe he’ll even get to play on the Ice Cats like Daddy Jake.”

Jake “Bad Boy” Badoletti was a star defenseman for the local professional hockey team, the New Jersey Ice Cats. He and Maggie had gotten together after his transfer from Chicago a few years ago, when Maggie had helped him find a place to live. Though she’d been wary of falling for another pro athlete after escaping an abusive marriage to Emily’s father—an English Premier League soccer player—Jake had eventually won the hearts of both mother and daughter. As well as being an avid fan of her stepfather’s team, Emily had also become a good mites’ hockey player.

The child pouted. “It’s not fair that girls can’t play for the Ice Cats.”

“You never know. Maybe you’ll be the second woman to play in the NHL.”

“But Manon Rhéaume was a goaltender.” Em wrinkled her nose. “I want to be a forward and score lots of goals.”

Naturally. Her niece was all about action.

The phone rang, startling them both.

Tracy’s heart leaped into her throat as she saw Jake’s number. She snatched up the receiver. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah.” He sounded a little befuddled. “We have a boy. Eight pounds, six ounces. Mom and son both doing well. Dad’s not sure he ever wants to go through that again.”

“Isn’t that supposed to be Maggie’s line?” Tracy said drily.

“She had an epidural. I did the whole thing without anesthetic.”

She laughed. “A tough guy like you can’t handle childbirth. I’m shocked.”

“I can’t believe, having survived it once with Emily, she’d be willing to do it again.” He paused and Tracy could almost feel his shudder down the phone. “Maggie’s one tough cookie.”

“She certainly is.”

Despite what she’d been through, Maggie had not only managed to make a fresh start in the US, but she’d also embraced marriage again.

Something Tracy couldn’t do after her own disastrous experience.

That mess wasn’t something she wanted to think about. Not when there was a new life to celebrate. “So, are you up for visitors?”

“Sure. Whenever you can get here. I’ll call my parents next and get them to pass the news to everyone else.”

After she’d hung up, Tracy turned to Emily. “A boy,” she said smugly.

“You rock, Auntie Tracy.” Emily reached across the back-to-back desks to fist-bump her. “When can we go to see him?”

“Right now.” Tracy saved her files, then switched off her computer and stood. “Get your coat and we’ll head over.”

Em dashed out of the office. A moment later, she stuck her head back around the door. “Don’t forget the teddy bear.”

“I won’t. He’s already in the gift bag by the front door.”

The drive to the hospital passed quickly, with Emily chattering like a magpie about her new sibling. As they walked across the parking lot toward the hospital entrance, Emily squealed and darted toward a tall dark-haired man getting out of a black Mercedes SUV.

“Uncle Ike!”

Tracy’s pulse hitched at the familiar figure of Ice Cats goaltender Eisenhower “Ike” Jelinek. She wasn’t surprised to see him. The four Jelinek boys had grown up with Jake, and the men were like brothers. Still, she’d hoped she’d get lucky and miss him.

Back when Tracy had been starting Making Your Move, her relocation business, she’d helped Ike find the perfect town house and they’d had a hot and heavy fling shortly after. Even though they’d been great together in bed—and a whole bunch of other places—the fire had burned out quickly when they’d realized they’d wanted different things from a relationship.

The flip side of all that passion meant they rubbed each other the wrong way ever since. Unfortunately they couldn’t avoid each other. Even ignoring the family connection, Making Your Move managed all the Ice Cats’ relocation, travel and accommodation projects, so Tracy spent a lot of time with the team.

What surprised her was that every time she saw Ike, her body reacted to his broad shoulders, his powerful legs and his crooked grin as if they were still lovers.

No way. She knew better than to go down that road again.

“Hey, princess.” Ike caught Emily as she threw herself at him, lifting and twirling her around, much to the girl’s delight.

Laughing, they headed toward Tracy.

Ike’s smile faded when he spoke to her. “Congratulations.”

“Thanks,” she replied politely.

Emily skipped between the two adults as they walked toward the hospital entrance. “Auntie Tracy, did you see that Uncle Ike bought exactly the same bear as you?”

Sure enough, the stuffed toy Ike clutched awkwardly by the arm was identical to the one in her gift bag, right down to the yellow ribbon tied jauntily around its neck.

“You can’t have too many teddy bears.” She kept her voice light, even though she wanted to snap childishly at him to take his back.

Ike arched an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t have thought you’d get something as old-fashioned as a bear.”

The emphasis was intended to goad her. One of the reasons she and Ike hadn’t made it was she’d thought his attitude toward women and life were stuffy and old-fashioned. “Teddy bears are traditional. There’s a difference.”

The look in Ike’s green eyes said he begged to differ. “Uh-huh.”

“Auntie Tracy got me the same bear when I was born. Except mine has a pink ribbon.”

“A family tradition.” Tracy smiled sweetly.

“My tradition for new Ice Cat babies is to get them one of those all-in-one things with feet, with the team logo on it.”

“Shouldn’t they be called Ice Kittens, Uncle Ike?”

“I guess they should. But you wouldn’t want to confuse them with the girls who clean the ice for us.”

“Why? They’re only cheerleaders on skates.” Emily’s lip curled.

“Just because we don’t like their job doesn’t mean we should disrespect the ice girls, Em,” Tracy chided gently.

Ike shot a look of surprise at her. “I thought you’d disapprove of them. Women being used as—” he paused, glancing at Emily, who was following the discussion intently “—entertainment for the predominantly male audience.”

“I wouldn’t want to be one and, if I owned the team, I wouldn’t have them at all, but the job exists. As long as they’re not being exploited, good luck to them. Besides, I’ve seen how hard the Ice Kittens work. They have a lot of promotional and charity duties, on top of what they do at games.”

“Be careful—they’ll be taking away your feminist badge.”

Tracy shrugged. Ike had always thought she was a bra-burning radical, rather than a woman who didn’t like to be pigeon-holed, dictated to or discriminated against because of her sex. “I believe in equality and that if you can do the job, you can do the job.”

“That means if I can play well enough, I can be an Ice Cat, not an Ice Kitten.” Emily nodded, with a satisfied grin.

Tracy bit back a smile as Ike clamped his jaw shut. Clearly, he didn’t agree with women playing in the NHL. Luckily, they arrived at the hospital entrance, so Emily’s attention turned to which floor her mother would be on.

A blast of warm air hit them as the automatic doors swished open, and the three of them hurried inside out of the chilly November evening. The lift was crowded with the start of evening visiting hours, but by the time they got to Maternity there were only a few people with new-baby gifts.

Jake met them in the waiting room, looking tired but exhilarated. They exchanged hugs and congratulations before he led them down to Maggie’s room. Emily rushed ahead, chattering a mile a minute.

Ike caught the door and held it open for Tracy. She nodded her thanks as she walked past him into the room.

While Tracy appreciated his gentlemanly gestures, manners didn’t make up for the control issues that went with them. In the first flush of their romance, she’d believed Ike was different. But after only a few weeks, he’d shown her how naive she’d really been. No matter how much she might have wished otherwise, Ike had turned out to be as bad as her father and her ex-husband.

Besides, the only male she was interested in loving and having in her life permanently was the one in the pastel blue cap that her sister cradled in her arms.

“He’s a bit funny-looking.” Emily wrinkled her nose, disappointment in her voice.

“Poor lamb’s had a rough few hours.” Maggie stroked the shock of dark hair on her son’s head. “You didn’t look much better when you were born. In fact, he looks very much like you did.”

“Mu-um,” Emily huffed, rolling her eyes.

“She’s right, Em.” Tracy grinned. “You turned out fine, so he’ll be okay, too.”

“Kid clearly takes after his mom, not his dad,” Ike said.

Jake laughed. “Fine by me.”

“Do you want to hold him, sis?” Maggie asked her.

“Of course.” Tracy sat on the edge of the bed while her sister passed the precious bundle over. “Come to your auntie.”

Her throat tightened with love as his warmth filled her arms. “He’s gorgeous. Have you named him yet?”

Maggie smiled mistily at Jake. “Joe. Not Joseph—just Joe.”

“A good, solid name.” Ike leaned over and gently ran his finger over Joe’s soft cheek.

Tracy stiffened. It felt weird to be holding a baby with Ike so close beside her. His unique, spicy scent mingled pleasantly with the smell of the infant, making her feel even more unsettled.

Ike brushed Joe’s little fist with his finger. Almost immediately, her nephew curled his tiny fingers around Ike’s. Somehow, it felt as if the three of them were now connected. A strange prickling feeling danced across Tracy’s shoulders. She wanted to order Ike to move away, but knew that would sound crazy. Instead, she gritted her teeth and focused on her nephew.

Joe must have sensed her discomfort because his eyes popped open. Her heart squeezed at his solemn expression as he studied her. He then shifted his unfocused newborn gaze to Ike, giving him the same unblinking stare.

She hated to give the baby up, but she had to break the connection. Get away from the cozy tableau that had formed.

“Would you like a turn, Ike?” she asked politely.

“Sure.” He sat beside her on the bed and reached for the baby.

Ignoring the heat of Ike’s thigh pressed against hers, Tracy kissed her nephew’s forehead and passed him over.

She was surprised by how confidently Ike handled the small bundle.

“Goaltenders have the safest pair of hands,” he said smugly, as if he’d read her mind.

“Of course.” Her smile felt forced as she jumped up and went to sit in the chair on the opposite side of the bed.

“Ike used to help my mom look after Linc while Aunt Karina was at work,” Jake added. “He was a whiz at changing diapers, making bottles of formula and burping the kid.”

Tracy knew one of the reasons Ike was so serious was that he’d had to learn responsibility at an early age, after his father had walked out. Even though Jake’s parents had helped Karina Jelinek a lot—Jake and the four Jelinek boys had been raised together—it had been a struggle as Ike’s mum had worked several jobs to keep her sons fed and clothed. Ike and the next oldest, Tru, had done their part to help look after their younger brothers, Kenny and Linc.

It was touching to see the brawny goaltender holding her tiny nephew so tenderly, his green eyes looking fondly at the gurgling baby. Someday, he’d probably hold his own children with the same confidence. Look at them with the same affection.

She ignored the tug in her chest.

Tracy didn’t want to be the woman who gave him those children. She was happy with her life and her business; she answered to no one but herself. She enjoyed the freedom of doing what she wanted, when she wanted. Sure, she dated. Some guys had even lasted a few months. But every time things had started to turn serious, she’d felt hemmed in and backed away.

As for children... Well, she was a fantastic aunt and that was enough for her.

Really, it was.

Tracy turned to Maggie and asked brightly, “How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, considering.” Her sister lowered her voice. “I don’t want to upset the men by telling you about my stitches, so I’ll give you the gory details later.”

Tracy bit back a laugh as the two hockey players winced. “At least we’re in the right place if they pass out.”

“I’ll go and check if anyone else is in the waiting room,” Jake said quickly.

“I’ll come with you.” Emily hurried after him, already bored with her new brother. “I wonder if Nonna and Poppa brought me a big-sister present.”

Maggie shook her head indulgently. “Jake’s poor parents have been bombarded with helpful suggestions for gifts.”

“Em’s thrown a few ideas my way,” Tracy said.

“Mine, too.” Ike nodded.

“The little monkey. We had a talk about that and I told her not to try it on.”

Tracy patted her sister’s arm. “Emily’s excited about Joe’s arrival, which is nice, given she’s been an only child for so long.”

“I know. She’s a good kid, just a little cheeky.”

“I don’t blame her. It’s not like our parents ever spoiled her.” When their father was alive, Em had been lucky to get a birthday card, let alone a present. Dominic Hayden had believed gifts were frivolous. Since his death, their mother had continued to abide by his rules. God forbid she should have a thought of her own.

“True.” Maggie grimaced. “I suppose I should let Mum know about Joe.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll call her later.” Tracy deliberately changed the subject. “Have the doctors said when you can go home?”

“Tomorrow, assuming everything’s okay.” Her sister sighed. “I’m sorry. This has messed up our plans at work for the next few weeks. I can’t believe I went into labor so early. Everyone kept telling me I was bound to be late because it had been so long since I’d had Em.”

“Babies come when they want to,” Tracy reassured her. “I’d factored in the possibility. Which is why the intern we recruited is starting ahead of schedule—on Monday. Carla’s grateful for the extra money and I’m happy to pass over the admin duties, so it’s all good.”

“Even more reason for you not to pay me while I’m off work.”

“Don’t start that again. You know how well the business is doing and there’s more than enough in the budget to cover your maternity pay, so relax. Besides, didn’t I read somewhere that worrying turns a mother’s milk sour?”

“That’s an old wives’ tale.”

Tracy shrugged. “I wouldn’t want to risk it.”

“Okay.” Maggie laughed. “Can I at least ask if you heard back from those two new business pitches we made this week?”

“Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll let me know before the weekend,” Tracy lied smoothly, not wanting her sister to start fretting again about her workload.

Both contracts were in the bag, which would be a nice boost to their bottom line and another step closer to Tracy’s goal of getting their business to number one. Even with Carla’s help, she’d be working flat out until Maggie returned. But the extra hours would be worth the financial cushion it would give them for next year.

“How will you cope if we win them both?” her sister asked.

“I thought we just agreed that everything was under control,” Tracy scolded.

“Yes, but...”

Thankfully, Maggie’s protest was interrupted when Jake’s parents bustled into the room, followed by Ike’s mum and stepfather.

As the older folks exclaimed excitedly over Joe, Tracy was touched by the joy and love in the room. So different from when Emily was born, when Tracy had been the only family member to visit. Their father had hated London and refused to travel south. Even though it had broken their mother’s heart not to see her first grandchild, as usual she hadn’t fought her husband’s decision. Horrified, Tracy had sworn then that she’d never let a man control her life. Sadly, only a short while later, she’d fallen into the same trap.

Tracy’s phone vibrated against her hip, breaking into her dark thoughts. Grateful for the interruption, she stepped away from the bed to check the caller ID.

Bloody hell. She’d missed a call from Glen at the Brooklyn Bridgers, one of the local Major League Soccer teams. She and Glen had played phone tag all day. The Bridgers were interested in the Helping Hand services her business had recently begun to offer. They had a new French star, Marcel Chabal, whom she’d been helping to relocate from France. Marcel’s wife didn’t speak much English and needed support for the transition to living in a new country.

As she listened to Glen’s voice mail, she saw Ike frown at her. His obvious disapproval made her bristle. How dare he judge her? Her business was successful because she was available to meet her clients’ needs 24/7. Unscheduled calls like this one were rare, but right now, time wasn’t on her side. She needed project and budget approval so she could have everything in place for when the couple arrived this weekend.

“I’ll be available until eleven tonight.” Glen signed off. “Call me.”

If she phoned right now, she might catch him. Since no one other than Ike—and he didn’t count—was paying her any attention, Tracy slipped out of the room.

Luckily, the waiting room was empty, so Tracy could call Glen in privacy. This time, they connected and he approved both the proposal and the budget. “Send over the revised paperwork and I’ll sign it.”

Tracy kept her voice calm and professional, though she wanted to fist-pump the air. “Great. I’ll get that to you first thing tomorrow.”

Once she’d hung up, Tracy decided to celebrate with a coffee. As she waited for the machine to do its thing, she gave a happy wiggle. Major score! And a very nice boost to her turnover. Hopefully, once the Bridgers saw how Helping Hands enabled Mme. Chabal to settle more easily and eased Marcel’s stress, they’d extend the contract to cover all their foreign players. Their positive reference would be invaluable for pitching the service to her other clients.

Collecting her coffee, Tracy glanced at the clock. Visiting hours would be over shortly and she wanted another cuddle with her new nephew. It had been a good evening all around.

“Excuse me.”

Ike’s deep voice, close to her ear, startled her.

She jerked her head around as he leaned forward to program the machine. Their gazes clashed.

He was too close. Tracy could feel the heat radiating from his body. Prickles of awareness danced across her skin. Her pulse skipped as emerald fire flared briefly in his eyes.

Then he blinked and the flames disappeared. “Finished your business?” Ike reached past her for his coffee.

Tracy jerked away from him. Hot coffee splashed over her hand.

She swore and sucked on the sore patch before answering. “Yes, thank you. A client needed me,” she added, before she could stop herself. Damn it. She didn’t owe him any explanations.

“What kind of relocation emergency can there be?”

Her earlier irritation returned at his sarcastic tone, but she fought to stay polite. “You, of all people, should know that problems don’t just happen between nine and five. As I recall, you liked me to be available whenever you needed me.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I had to work viewings around the Ice Cats schedule.”

“Then you should understand when other professional athletes need flexibility, too.”

“Sure, but there are times when business should take a backseat. Like when your sister’s just had a baby.”

He was acting as though she’d abandoned Maggie and Joe. She’d stepped out briefly, leaving a room full of people to fuss over them. “Really? So you’ve never had to leave a family event to get to a game or missed a family occasion because you’ve been on a road trip?”

“That’s different. I don’t get a choice about where I have to be or when. I thought the whole point of running your own business was that you were in control. I remember how vital being your own boss—in every part of your life—is to you.”

His bitter tone brought up memories she’d rather had remained buried. Arguments better forgotten. “You’re the one who wouldn’t compromise.”

“You didn’t want compromise—you wanted things all your own way.”

“I didn’t want them all your way. Big difference.”

“What was so wrong with expecting you to take me, our relationship, as seriously as your career?”

Once again, he was twisting the facts to make everything her fault. Irritation turned to anger. “That wasn’t what you expected at all. You wanted my career to take a backseat to yours.”

“I never said that.” He drained his coffee and threw the cup in the bin.

“Maybe not exactly, but you made it clear that you thought my business was only something to keep me occupied until I had a husband to look after me. Meanwhile, you chasing around after a puck was—” she used air quotes “—‘so much more important,’ even though you only had, at best, another ten years.”

He clenched his fists by his sides. “I’d make enough money in those ten years to keep you living comfortably for the rest of your life.”

“I didn’t need you to take care of me and I didn’t need your money.” Tracy worked so hard because she never wanted to be dependent on another man or his money again. “I can bloody well look after myself.”

“Yeah, you’ve made it pretty freaking clear there’s no room in your life for a man.”

“Not quite true—there’s no room in my life for you.”

“Trust me, babe, I’m glad,” he drawled. “I had a lucky escape. I get banged up enough on the ice—I don’t need a ballbuster in my bed.”

Tracy gasped at his cruel words. Then she tossed her coffee over him. She’d show him a ballbuster.

* * *

IKE SWORE AS he wiped down his sweater and jeans with his handkerchief. From the heat around his zipper, the coffee had got too close to the family jewels for comfort.

Tracy Hayden had been a major pain in his ass from the moment she’d strutted into his life on those killer legs. With a toss of her dark hair and a glint in her brown eyes, she’d challenged him in every way. Still did. Damn woman was as irritating as grit in an oyster, except he never got a pearl. That said, a coffee shower was a first.

“I should apologize.” Tracy’s crisp tone, which emphasized her still-strong English accent, was grudging.

“Why bother, if you don’t mean it?” He stripped off his sweater. Beneath it, his T-shirt was damp but wearable. “I thought the one thing we had left was honesty.”

Her gaze lingered on his chest before flicking up to meet his. Color tinged her cheeks. “You’re right. Your remark was uncalled for, but I reacted badly.”

His conscience pricked him, taking the edge off his anger. It was partly—okay, largely—his fault. One minute Tracy had been cooing over her nephew and the next she was desperately checking her phone. Since she’d just told Maggie that everything was under control, what could be so freaking important?

Ike hadn’t deliberately followed Tracy into the waiting room. The cozy family image Jake, Maggie and Joe had presented had scraped on his already raw nerves, reminding him of the life he’d once hoped he could have with Tracy and making the hospital room feel claustrophobic. He’d escaped to get some air. He’d been surprised to find Tracy by the coffee machine and had nearly turned back. But then he’d seen that damn wiggle. That sexy hip-shimmy she always did when she was happy. The one that always fired up his pulse—and his groin.

He’d barely got himself under control when she’d spilled coffee on her hand. He’d wanted to kiss the burn better. The thought of putting his lips on her had sent desire rocketing through his body once more. Frustration had fuelled his annoyance. After all this time, he hated that he was still so pathetically affected by her, while all she felt for him was aggravation. And he’d snapped.

“No harm done,” he said stiffly. “I should apologize, too.”

“Okay.” Tracy dropped her empty cup in the trash and turned back to the coffee machine.

As she tapped in her selection, Ike stifled the urge to offer to buy her a drink. He turned to go when her voice stopped him.

“I know you won’t believe this, but I wouldn’t ordinarily let business intrude on such a special occasion.”

“So why the exception?” He was pleased his question held no hint of his skepticism.

“It was a time-sensitive issue.”

“Aren’t they all?”

“I suppose so.” Tracy smiled ruefully as she collected her drink. “But in this case, it would have been a costly mistake. The Bridgers are a major client.”

He frowned, unsure how one phone call could be that important. Unless she’d been about to lose the soccer team as a client. “Is Making Your Move in trouble?”

“Not at all. In fact I’m trying to broaden the range of services we offer with the new Helping Hands package.” Tracy explained the extra support her company wanted to give players and their families.

Ike obviously had a different definition of emergency. If her company had been struggling, he’d have understood. But how could adding business when her company was already successful be more important than celebrating a new member of the family?

Don’t go there.

What was the point? It would only lead to another fight and he probably wouldn’t survive another dousing unscathed. Besides, all of this only reinforced what he already knew—the two of them would never work. He couldn’t be with someone who put work ahead of everything and everyone else. He sure as hell wouldn’t compete with a woman’s career.

Ike acknowledged that his own childhood colored his thinking. Not just the weight of responsibility that he’d carried from too young an age, but also the way his mother had worked herself to exhaustion to provide for the family after his father had walked out. Ike was determined that his future wife and children would not struggle or suffer. Which was why he firmly believed the traditional male-female roles were necessary. Men provided and supported so that women could take care of the family.

Tracy would never be that type of woman.

Now if only his body would get the message.

“So you can see why I couldn’t risk messing up and not getting the Bridgers on board.” Tracy wound up her explanation and looked at him expectantly.

He was damned if he understood. Luckily, Ike was saved from having to come up with a suitable reply when his younger brother, Kenny, ambled toward them. “So, this is where the sane people hang out. The kid’s cute and all, but do we really have to sigh over every gurgle and dribble?”

“I’m afraid so.” She patted his shoulder sympathetically. “Give it a few weeks and you’ll be doing the same. I’ve seen harder men than you going gaga over a cute baby.”

“No way.” Kenny gave an exaggerated shudder.

Tracy laughed. “Well, I’m not afraid to say I want another cuddle.”

“Good luck prying him away from the grandmas.” Kenny rolled his eyes. “I’ll grab a drink and wait until the bloodshed is over.”

“Coward.” She waggled her fingers in farewell.

Ike and his brother watched Tracy walk back down the corridor.

Kenny punched him in the arm. “I don’t know why the two of you don’t just sleep together and get it out of your system.”

Ike choked. “Where the hell did that come from?”

Kenny smiled smugly. “So you don’t deny you’re hot for her.”

“Because it’s too dumb to bother denying.”

“Ike’s got the hots for Tracy,” Kenny added in a singsong voice.

“Mom must have dropped you on your head when you were a baby. You’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

“And you’re protesting a little too much, especially since you still haven’t taken your eyes off her admittedly great legs.”

“Leave her legs out of it,” Ike growled.

Kenny held up his hands in mock surrender. “She’s all yours. Or would be if you’d get your act together.”

“Trust me, the last thing Tracy or I want is a relationship.”

“Who’s talking about a relationship?” His brother plugged change into the soda machine. “I’m talking about doing the horizontal mambo until neither of you can move or snipe at each other.”

Damn it. Even Kenny’s teasing words were enough to spike Ike’s temperature. He did not need to remember what that had been like with Tracy. “I know for a fact we’re not compatible.”

“How do you know unless you give it a sho—” Kenny stopped and stared at him. “Holy cannoli. You already did it, didn’t you?”

Although Ike had never told anyone what had happened, Kenny and his other brothers had picked up on something between him and Tracy—perhaps the electricity in the air whenever they were together—and delighted in giving him crap about her. Maybe if he admitted it, they’d lay off. “A long time ago. It didn’t work out. Game over.”

Kenny studied him, his usually happy-go-lucky expression serious. “That sucks.”

“Yeah.” His brother didn’t know how much.

By unspoken agreement, they walked back toward Maggie’s hospital room.

“Are you starting in goal again tomorrow night, bro?”

“For sure.” Ike appreciated the change of subject. “What about you? Are you playing? Did the extra practice sessions help?”

Kenny’s confidence had been knocked when Coach Macarty had made him a healthy scratch for the past couple of games. Ike had reassured him that it wasn’t unusual for a player in his first season with an NHL team to struggle—the game was much faster and harder than in the minors—but his brother wouldn’t be happy until he was back in the lineup.

“Coach said he’d let me know in the morning.” Kenny sighed. “It wasn’t so bad. Watching from the press box gave me a different perspective on how the game is played here, so my positioning on the wing should be better. I just need a chance to put what I’ve learned into practice.”

Ike clapped his brother on the back. “Keep at it, kid, and after the All-Star break in January, it’ll click.”

“I hope so. I want to do my part, but I feel like I’m a step slower than everyone else.”

“Right now, we all need to pick up our play, and that includes our big-money guys.”

The Cats’ start to the new season had been okay, but not great. They were fourth in their division and a couple of places out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. But their points tally masked the real win-loss picture; the extra points they’d gotten for going to overtime or a shoot-out blurred the fact that they’d lost every freaking one.

Man, he hated shoot-outs and not just because he was 0-for-4 so far. Damn skills contest. They might as well toss a freaking coin. The Cats had lost a couple of their shoot-out stars when his brother Tru had moved to Denver and Vlad had returned to Russia, and to date no one else had stepped up. Sure, Ike could do better, too, but he needed a little help from his teammates. Like at least one of them could score. Then again, they weren’t scoring much during regulation, either. Worse, they couldn’t hold on to a one-goal lead. The number of times the Cats had given up the tying goal in the last two minutes of a game was plain crazy.

They were all adjusting to the new coach’s “run and gun” style. The veterans, like Ike, Jake and the captain, Scotty Matthews, preferred a more defensively responsible system, where even their best forwards would back-check to help out. The kids liked the focus on offence, but tended to be a bit wild. Shots on net hadn’t gone up. Goals sure as hell hadn’t, either. Ike had had to play out of his mind to scrape the wins they’d got.

Still, Kenny needed reassurance from his oldest brother, not a lecture. “The season’s only a month old. Things’ll get better. Besides, everyone has to sit out at some point in their career. Even JB Larocque.”

“Sure, but no one’s going to send a superstar like JB down to the minors if he doesn’t deliver. I don’t want to go back to riding the bus now that I’ve made it to the show.”

Jake came out of Maggie’s room in time to hear Kenny’s words. “Hang in there, bro. It’ll work out.”

Kenny grinned. He didn’t stay down about anything too long. “If you old guys say so, I guess I’ll be okay.”

Ike cuffed his brother around the head. “You need to learn to respect your elders and betters, brat.”

“Yeah, but I’m only seeing elders here.”

“We old guys have clout with the boss. You don’t want to be benched because you gave us too much lip.” Despite Ike’s ribbing, he was proud to have Kenny playing alongside him.

“This is why I need Tru here.” Kenny shook his head. “He has a sense of humor.”

“Speaking of which, I called him to give him the news,” Jake said. “He’s going to try to stay an extra day when the Avalanche comes east in December.”

“It’ll be good to see him.” Ike grinned. “It feels weird not to have him skating with us.”

They’d all been shocked when the Cats had shown Tru the door during the off-season instead of re-upping his contract. Hardshaw and Macarty had favored the Canucks’ stud defenseman, Troy Davidson, over the second-oldest Jelinek brother. Unfortunately, Davidson hadn’t yet shown the form he’d had in Vancouver, which had made Tru’s absence more difficult.

“Yeah.” Jake sighed. “At least he’s enjoying Denver. He’s slotted into the team well and the Avs are doing better than anyone expected.”

“That’s because we taught him everything he knows,” Ike said loftily.

They all laughed as they headed back into the hospital room.

Despite his best intentions, Ike’s heart squeezed when he saw Tracy cradling baby Joe. Her expression was soft and adoring as she murmured nonsense to her drowsy nephew. The maternal look suited her. He couldn’t understand why she preferred contracts and clients over a child of her own.

Perhaps Ike was projecting his own feelings. His career wouldn’t last forever. He hadn’t considered what he’d do once it was over; he didn’t like to think about it. That was tempting fate. The hockey gods had a funny way of knocking you on your ass when you thought everything was set. But as retirement loomed closer, he’d begun to feel frustrated that his personal life had stalled. It wasn’t as if he were a monk—he’d dated lots of nice women. Seeing Jake and Tru so happy in their marriages had made Ike question why he hadn’t been able to find anyone special.

The answer was simple. He hadn’t thought seriously about a woman since Tracy. Because of Tracy. Even now, four years later, the shock of her turning him down flat ricocheted through him. He hadn’t even proposed, just asked if she wanted to move in with him.

“Your turn. I have to go.”

Ike blinked as Tracy handed him the baby. The little dude snuggled into Ike’s neck; the scent of baby powder laced with a hint of Tracy’s perfume assailed him.

“Leaving so soon?” He hadn’t meant the question to sound accusing.

“I need to phone my mum and let her know she has a grandchild.” Tracy’s icy tone was the stinging rebuke her words weren’t.

“Right. Sure.” He stumbled over his words, but she’d already turned away and was saying goodbye to the others.

Crap. Why was it that when he was around her he couldn’t open his mouth without sticking his big foot in it?

Tracy didn’t acknowledge him again before leaving. Not even when she gently caressed baby Joe’s head. Ike didn’t need his kid brother’s censuring look to know he’d screwed up again.

Maybe it was time to admit he couldn’t handle being around her. He should treat her like any other problem. Do them both a favor and steer clear of her. Out of sight, out of mind. That might even open the door for him to find someone who was better suited to him.

Pleased with his solution, he gently rubbed Joe’s back. The loud burp that erupted from the little guy startled them both. The timing was coincidental, not a commentary on his plan, Ike reassured himself, even as he hoped the kid wasn’t right.