Hockey Holidays

by Toni Aleo

  But then Isaac had never been the positive one in the family. Avery would chide him for such negative thoughts. After all, who’d have guessed they’d be here together after all those years of estrangement and near hatred of each other?

  Isaac heaved a sigh. He turned away from his brothers and toward the kitchen. Avery hurried toward him and grasped his hand and squeezed it. “Know anywhere we can get a decent meal tonight?” She smiled wryly and pointed at the still smoking and blackened ham.

  He had to smile. She was the love of his life. For her he would step out of his comfort zone and try to be a better man. Isaac didn’t do change well, but he was giving it his best shot. “We could start calling around.”

  She nodded. “We have plenty for dinner tomorrow but this ham was the main dish for tonight’s dinner.”

  “At least the burned smell is covering up Hal’s farts. We have to insist the kids stop feeding him table scraps.”

  “It’s pretty rank.” Avery nodded vigorously as both their gazes landed on Hal, the cranky boxer, who was now lying next to Zeke and Paisley’s kids across the room. His snores could be heard loud and clear.

  “I’ll make some calls.” Isaac whipped out his phone and did a quick search for local restaurants, not that the island of two-thousand residents had many to choose from, especially on Christmas Eve.

  Avery stole the phone from him. “Keep your brothers from killing each other. I’ll make the calls.”

  Isaac nodded reluctantly and walked over to Zeke and Tanner—the things he did for love.

  Standing between them, he clapped a hand on each brother’s shoulder. His comradely grin was forced and hurt his face. Tanner stiffened, and Zeke’s face hardened into an unreadable mask. Isaac held back a frustrated sigh. They still had a long way to go, and he honestly wondered at times if they’d ever get there.

  “Baseball players are soft and lazy. Look at all the fat baseball players. You don’t see out-of-shape guys like that in football.” Tanner turned to Isaac. “Or hockey. Right, Isaac?”

  Isaac didn’t want to get involved in this particular debate, which had the potential to turn ugly. He shrugged and said nothing.

  “You guys are grossly overpaid. Your bodies don’t take nearly the toll as athletes’ bodies in contact sports.” Tanner had that same self-righteous smirk he used to taunt the opposing defense and made Isaac’s temper flare. He chanced a quick glance at Avery. She gave him a wink and grinned. He frowned, feeling the weight of this family on his shoulders.

  Zeke pushed Isaac out of the way and stood toe to toe with their middle brother. “You fucking asshole. You don’t have a clue what it takes to play baseball, the grueling schedule, the travelling, the stress to be worth all the money they’re paying you.”

  Tanner clutched his chest in mock sympathy. “Ah, you poor, misunderstood bastard. Isaac knows all about grueling schedules. The NHL plays just as many games and their bodies get punished every damn one, yet they’re the lowest-paid athletes in the major pro sports.”

  Isaac wasn’t sure how he’d gotten dragged into this, but he needed to stop it now. He could see the women casting anxious glances their way.

  “Hey, let’s not argue on Christmas Eve,” he said lamely.

  Zeke snorted and Tanner rolled his eyes.

  “You think you’re so perfect, big brother?” Tanner growled, turning the full force of his irritation with Zeke onto Isaac.

  “Baseball requires fine-tuned athletic ability, sharp eyes, and strategic thinking.” Zeke jabbed his finger into Tanner’s chest. Their middle brother glared at the offending finger. The heat from his gaze alone should’ve burnt a hole in Zeke’s finger.

  “Fucking bullshit,” Tanner exploded, ignoring the chastising looks of the women in the room. “Football is the toughest sport there is. Talk about strategy. Football is like playing chess on a hundred-yard-long chessboard. Baseball players are wusses. Half of you are entitled prima donnas. The other half are lazy asses who make too much money. And let’s not forget hockey. Hockey players have shit for brains and who wants to watch hockey, anyway?”

  “Football players only have to play one game a week and even then they whine about it. Hockey players just skate around and knock guys on their ass while trying to get a piece of rubber past a guy wrapped in so much padding he can’t move worth shit,” Zeke shot back.

  “There’s a reason hockey is the least popular sport in the US. They never score and who wants to watch a bunch of grown men skate around for a few hours with nothing happening?” Tanner said.

  “It’s boring as hell,” Zeke agreed. At least they were agreeing on something.

  They were also baiting him, trying to pull him into their pointless bickering. He should be better than that. Set a good example as the oldest brother. Yeah, he should, but he couldn’t.

  “Hockey players aren’t the brightest guys in pro sports,” Tanner added.

  “They’re about as dumb as they come,” Zeke said.

  Isaac’s blood boiled to a breaking point. When both brothers cast superior smirks his way, he lost it and jumped into the fray. He hadn’t meant to, but his brothers were disrespecting hockey, and he couldn’t let that happen.

  “You’re morons. Both of you. Everyone knows hockey players are the toughest mentally and physically. I’d like to see either of you survive one shift on skates against any of the NHL’s finest.” His voice rose to be heard over his brothers’ indignant retorts.

  Isaac ignored the irritated stares from the women, especially his wife. He was hell-bent on setting his ignorant brothers straight. God, it was times like this when he could see their asshole father too clearly in both of them. Not him, of course.

  Tanner’s face glowed a deep, dark red, and his gaze narrowed until his eyes were just slits. He was pissed. Fuck him. Isaac was pissed, too.

  “Hockey is a fourth-rate sport below the big three. You guys get paid shit.” Zeke smirked, knowing he was making bank compared to his brothers.

  Forgetting Tanner, Isaac turned on his baby brother. “Just ’cause we’re paid shit doesn’t mean we aren’t the best athletes. Hell, baseball players get paid embarrassingly huge amounts of money and are in the worst athletic shape of the bunch. You assholes don’t put your bodies on the line the way hockey players do.” His fisted hands twitched in anticipation of wiping the smirk from Zeke’s face.

  “And you’re bragging about not earning your money?” Tanner snorted with undisguised disgust. “Baseball players are all pansies.”

  “Fuck you both.” Zeke gave them the middle finger.

  And the entire discussion went downhill from there. At least they didn’t come to blows. Not yet, anyway.

  Chapter Two

  Avery, Isaac’s wife, had never been much for cooking or baking, but she gave it a shot under Emma’s watchful eye. Her twin sister, also Tanner’s wife, had been even more domestic than usual. Most likely some nesting instinct brought about by being four months pregnant. Emma insisted they make pies from scratch, including the crust. Both Avery and Paisley, Zeke’s wife, had tried to sneak in some frozen pie crust, but Emma would have none of it.

  As they rolled out the crust on the large kitchen island, they were covered in more flour than the counter. Except Emma. Somehow she managed to stay pristine and flour-free.

  Suddenly there was a bang and the entire room went dark except for the fire blazing in the two-story stone fireplace that dominated one side of the great room.

  “Shit,” Isaac muttered. “Sounds like the island lost a transformer.”

  Zeke pressed his face against the large window. “I don’t see any lights on at any of the neighbors’ houses, so it’s widespread.”

  “And the ham is burnt to a crisp. We don’t have anything for dinner.” Emma sighed. She might be Avery’s twin, but they were total opposites. Emma was the domestic one, while Avery could barely boil water and didn’t care to learn.

  “We could make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,” Paisley
offered helpfully.

  “On Christmas Eve? What kind of dinner is that?” Avery said.

  “It’s the best we can do. The most important thing is we’re all together.” Leave it to Emma to focus on the positive. Avery loved that about her, even while her sunshine attitude grated on her nerves at times.

  “Let’s get some light in here.” Emma started digging through drawers and cupboards, stacking candles and flashlights on the counter.

  “Guys, don’t just stand around looking pretty. We need more wood to keep this fire going. It’s our only heat source.” Paisley turned her sweet smile on the men, who’d stopped quarreling for the moment.

  Nodding, they filed out the door, fighting over who would man the axe and who would carry in the wood.

  “Do they have to compete at everything they do?” Avery threw her hands up in exasperation. She was ready to kick some male butt. She’d heard enough from all three of them tonight.

  “It appears so,” Paisley said with a sigh.

  “It’s getting on my nerves,” Emma admitted.

  With a shake of her head, Paisley carried a large candle to the coffee table where the children were playing board games so they could see what they were doing.

  “I’m going to fix something for dinner. Maybe the guys will be less cranky if they eat.” Emma retreated to the kitchen to scrounge around in the cupboards. The house had a gas range so they could still cook.

  At a loss as to what to do, Avery hovered between the kitchen and the window looking out onto the woodshed. She couldn’t see the men in the darkness and hoped they hadn’t taken an axe to each other. A few minutes later they returned, their arms loaded with wood, and stacked the logs by the fireplace.

  Zeke bent down to stoke the fire, but Tanner elbowed him out of the way. “I’ll do it. You suck at building fires.”

  “What? You fucking asshole. You’re the one who can’t get your hands dirty.” Zeke stepped forward, his hands clenched into fists, and got in Tanner’s face. Isaac pushed between them, looking ready to kick both their asses. Avery had no doubt he could pull it off. Isaac was formidable when he was pissed.

  “Knock it off,” Isaac snarled. Both brothers turned on him and their harsh words echoed off the walls and around the room.

  Avery rushed forward, followed by Emma and Paisley. They grabbed their men’s arms and yanked hard, everyone yelling at once, but it was sweet, quiet Emma who shut them up. She’d found a whistle somewhere, and she blew it hard. The noise interrupted the angry voices.

  “Shut up!” Emma screamed and glared at each one of them, hands on hips, looking formidable, even with her pixie face.

  The men fell silent and stared at her with surprised, wide eyes.

  “We’ve had enough of you and you and you.” She pointed at each one of them in turn. “We are going to have a pleasant, peaceful Christmas Eve. Do you understand?”

  Tanner shifted his weight and ducked his head. Zeke stared at his feet. Isaac nodded grimly, guilt etched on his handsome face.

  “Thank. You.” Emma turned to Paisley and Avery. “Let’s take care of dinner.”

  Chapter Three

  Isaac and his brothers had been dressed down by a fierce little demon with the face of an angel. No wonder Tanner toed the line with her. She had his once-playboy brother completely whipped. It was a thing of beauty to behold.

  Isaac barked with laughter, and Zeke joined him. Tanner’s head shot up, and his eyes narrowed to menacing slits, not that Isaac gave a shit. Stuff like that didn’t work on a guy who faced down the toughest guys hockey had to offer.

  “What are you fuckers laughing at?”

  “You know what.” Zeke grinned like the asshole he was most of the time.

  “She’s pregnant. I don’t cross her.”

  Zeke exchanged a knowing look with Isaac. “You never crossed her when she wasn’t pregnant.”

  “Like you are with Paisley?”

  Zeke frowned and glared at Tanner. “That’s different.”

  Isaac snorted and rolled his eyes, even though he knew his actions were poking the bull. “How is it different?”

  Both brothers turned on him like rabid dogs.

  “You’re the worst of all of us. You do whatever Avery wants you to do. Hell, she even has you riding a fucking horse,” Tanner said.

  “I like horses.”

  “Right. You’ve always been an animal lover. Your dog hates you.” Zeke added his own fuel to the fire, and it wouldn’t take much at this point to ignite them into a full-blown shouting match once again.

  “Talk about whipped. Big brother here is wrapped around his little woman’s finger.” Tanner threw back his head and laughed out loud, and Zeke almost blew beer out his nose.

  Just like that, their wives’ wishes were forgotten, and they were catapulted into another argument. Isaac had sworn to himself he’d play nice for the women’s sake, but he couldn’t control his need to come out on top with his brothers any more than they could. They’d been raised to be competitive at all costs by an abusive, ruthless father.

  It seemed they had a ways to go to get beyond his negative influence.

  “They’re at it again,” Emma sighed, almost as if resigned to her fate. “One of you gets to take care of them this time.”

  “I will.” Paisley’s voice was determined, with an edge to it they seldom heard. She marched over to the three men, shouldered her way between them, and got in each of their faces. Whatever she said, she kept her tone low, but they watched her warily and didn’t say a word. A few minutes later, she marched back, while the three men scattered.

  “What did you do?” Emma sounded incredulous.

  “I put them to work. None of them are good at just sitting around, so I gave each of them jobs to do. After all, we don’t have any power. I sent Zeke back outside to bring in more wood, Isaac to stoke the fire and close the doors upstairs, and Zeke to the store to buy more candles, flashlights, and batteries.

  “At least we’ll have a few moments of peace before they start in again.” Emma rubbed her slightly protruding stomach.

  “I’m going to have a talk with Isaac. Regardless of what they’ll admit, he’s the oldest and the other two do look up to him. This madness must stop.”

  “Good luck with that,” Paisley said.

  Avery shrugged and headed for the wide staircase. She stepped gingerly in the darkness until she was on the large landing. The candles from below flickered and cast an almost eerie light on the house.

  A cold chill came over her. She was perfectly aware the former occupants of this house had met their fate in a plane crash on their way to this house for Christmas Eve. The entire family had been wiped out except for Isaac’s former teammate and current owner of the home.

  She wondered if it was haunted and shivered. She didn’t really believe in such stuff, but she’d been in places where things had gotten a little weird and unexplainable. Not in this house though. She didn’t feel anything off about this home other than the brothers’ constant bickering.

  “Isaac?” She felt her way down the long hall, wishing she’d brought a candle or flashlight. No answer.

  “Isaac?” she tried again.

  Someone grabbed her around the waist, and she opened her mouth in a silent scream. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she whipped around, ready to do battle. Isaac grinned at her in the darkness. She swatted him on the chest, but he paid no attention and pulled her close. He felt good, as always, warm and hard and very male. Even better, he was hers, all hers.

  She snaked her arms around his neck and beamed up at him. Despite how mad she was at his behavior and his brothers’, she loved this man, damage and all. Beneath his hard exterior, he had a heart of gold, even if he hated showing it to the world.

  “You’re incorrigible,” she said.

  “But you love me.”

  “I have to. I have no choice.”

  One of his brows shot upward. “You have to?”

  “Yeah, if
I don’t love you, who would? I’m a sucker for stray animals.”

  Isaac chuckled, not the least offended by her words. “Thank God for you and your kind heart. I’d be lost without you.”

  “I’d be lost without you.” Avery wasn’t one for romantic statements, but her voice sounded breathless and soft even to her, not her normal no-nonsense tone. When it came to Isaac, she was a different person, too. Most of her life, she’d saved her affection for her animals because the people in her life had disappointed her too much. Until Isaac.

  “Then I guess we can get lost together.” Isaac bent his head and kissed her. Avery kissed him back, forgetting their family below, forgetting it was Christmas Eve, and forgetting she was mad at him. His mouth had that effect on her. Damn him. His kiss deepened and she buried her fingers into his short hair and pressed her body against his.

  He came up for air and jerked his chin toward the bedroom they’d claimed earlier in the day. “Why don’t we take advantage of this power outage and keep each other warm?” His grin broadened to a lecherous smile.

  Avery started to nod but shook her head. “I know what you’re doing. You’re trying to distract me to avoid hanging out with your brothers. Sorry, but as much as I’d love to take you up on it, I can’t. We’re going back downstairs. You guys are going to be a family if it kills you.”

  “It is going to kill me,” he muttered.

  That pretty much summed it up.

  Chapter Four

  After going back downstairs, Avery was drafted along with Paisley into making more pies, while Emma rushed around preparing dinner with the items they had at hand, hamburger, bread, lettuce, and tomato. Avery had no idea who was going to eat all these pies unless they invited the entire island to dinner.

  “Where’s Sadie?” Paisley asked, looking around the large room. She wiped her hands on her apron, her brows furrowed with concern.