Red Hot and BOOM! A Sizzling Hot Collection of Stories from the Red Hot Authors

by Randi Alexander

  I grabbed for his hand. “I will stay with you, no matter what they say.”

  He kissed my palm, making me swerve on the road. “I know. You won’t be happy without their approval, not completely.”

  We rode the rest of the way in silence.

  Seated at the table in front me were all of my children—sons, daughters, in laws, and grandchildren. Carlos and his staff covered the place with ribbons; each place setting had a cupcake with a small American flag in it. The love in the room was palpable. Standing to make a toast, as Jorge no longer could, I got choked up.

  “No, Mom. Dad made me promise.” Carlos put his hand on my shoulder as he joined me. “Family. It’s the most important thing in our lives because we are connected by love. Papa knew this most of all. He fought to keep us all together, only allowing the girls to move to Spain if their grandparents were down the road. Tonight, I’ve seen something I didn’t know was possible. Another man looking at my mother with the same love and devotion as my father.”

  Anteros stood up next to me as my knees gave way. “I’ve got you.”

  His cheeks were damp. “Are you crying?”

  “I’m a god. There’s a breeze.”

  My family welcomed my new love that night. Eating food, laughing, and telling childhood stories as we used to. He listened intently to all of them, whispering to me, “I’m learning about your life through the people who love you.”

  I knew at that moment I was his, for my lifetime and eternity. We finished dinner, walking hand in hand to the beach, and made out under the fireworks.

  Candy Man Delivery Service:

  Tastes Like Chocolate – Release 1/18/2014

  Irish Cream Dreams – Release 3/10/2014

  White Chocolate Cherry – 6/1/2014

  Apple Cinnamon Swirl – Early Fall 2014

  Hot Caramel Passion – Halloween 2014

  Dark Chocolate Peppermint – Christmas 2014

  Coming Home by Graylin Fox

  Your Biggest Fan by Graylin Fox

  The Princess of the Summer Fae (previously Contagion, Bloodlines, and The Legacy) – new revised version release date TBD in 2014

  Death Dealer by Rane Sjodin

  Graylin Rane Fox / Rane Sjodin

  Graylin Rane Fox / Rane Sjodin is a fantasy, and suspense author and poet. She began writing poetry in 1993 with her first poem published in 1995. In 2008, her characters demanded a larger format and she began to expand her stories into the short fiction market.

  Graylin Fox: Decadent Publishing published, Coming Home, an urban fantasy 1/1/11. Her short story series, Summer Fae, began with Contagion and continued with Bloodlines in 2012. The full series will be released as a single novel. In summer of 2011, Decadent Publishing released Your Biggest Fan, a psychological thriller.

  Graylin Rane: Self-publishing her Candy Man Delivery Service Stories, some in conjunction with the Red Hot authors begun in January 2014. There will be six stories in this series for 2014. More Red Hot to come in the future!

  Rane Sjodin: Dark Urban Fantasy is a passion of Rane’s. Her Arcane Court Series began with Death Dealer on 10/28/13. It continues with Red Lady in fall of 2014. There will be a number of standalone offshoot novellas set in this world as well. Look for Arcane Court on the covers.

  Her poetry can be found both in print and electronically. Lessons was published by The Stray Branch, #8, Fall/Winter 2011. Unconditional Love published by Moon Washed Kisses in their debut edition. Dark Encounter was published in Strange, Weird, & Wonderful Summer 2010 Issue. Folded In Darkness was published by Dark Horizons. Issue 57, September 2010. Blood Bound was published by House of Horror, Issue 17. It was chosen to be in House Of Horrors 2010 Anthology.

  She lives close to the beach where she practices psychology during the week. Her life is full of friends, family, and four-legged furry creatures. Graylin Rane can be found at RaneSjodin.com and GraylinFox.com.

  Scorin’ on the Fourth of July

  a Red Hot and BOOM! Story

  and

  a Storm Series Novella

  by Cassandra Carr

  Copyright © 2014 by Cassandra Carr

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  Published by C-Squared Publishing

  Cover by Cassandra Carr; stock photo CanStock Photos

  Contact information: AuthorCassandraCarr@gmail.com

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Chapter One

  The ink hadn’t even dried on Mikael Maatta’s five-year contract with the Buffalo Storm professional hockey team when trouble appeared on the horizon. He was still sitting at the conference table, where he’d had his picture taken with the general manager Keith, when he looked to see an older woman taking a seat to his right.

  “Hi, I’m Karen. I’m the GM’s assistant. Not the assistant GM—big difference!”

  Mikael chuckled uneasily. What kind of answer would be considered appropriate to that statement? He went with politely formal. “Nice to meet you, Karen.”

  “I’ll be the one you come to if you need to talk to Keith, and for most other off-ice issues.”

  “Okay...”

  “We’re thrilled you’re here, but I have a problem.” The woman looked so sad. Why?

  “Problem?”

  “Yes. I just got off the phone with another one of our forwards, Nikolai.” Mikael nodded, familiar with the man. In fact, he’d probably be playing on the same line as him next season. “Anyway, Nikolai twisted his ankle during one of our last games, and the team doctor won’t clear him to play in our charity hockey tournament in a few days.”

  “That’s too bad.” But what does it have to do with me?

  As if a thought bubble had appeared above his head, Karen said, “I don’t know how familiar you are with the Storm but, like most professional hockey teams, we do a lot of charity work. Recently one of our players, Rob D’Amico, began dating a schoolteacher who works in inner city Buffalo schools. He’s done some tremendous work to raise money for the school system, including this inaugural—first—hockey tournament taking place over the July fourth weekend.”

  Mikael nodded again, feeling like an idiot. His confusion must’ve shown on his face, because Karen laughed and said, “I’m making this into a four-act drama and it doesn’t need to be. The fact is, every team in the tournament was supposed to have a representative from the Storm playing on it. Now, with Nikolai injured, we’re one short and we were wondering if you’d be willing to step in and take his place. There are no other forwards in Buffalo for the summer or I’d ask them, since I know you’re new here and probably just want time to soak it all in. In other words, I’m desperate. It’s a four-day tournament, Round Robin style.”

  “You mean you would like me to be a player for one of the teams?”

  “Yes, exactly.”

  “Oh.” He frowned. Mikael had nothing against playing, especially if the money benefitted kids, but he hadn’t expected to be on the ice during this visit to Buffalo. “I don’t even have all my equipment here yet. It’s still in Minnesota.”

  “If you agree to participate, I can take care of that.”

  “Really?” Wow, that would be very fast, but this woman looked like she could do it. “Um, when does the tournament start? I assume soon since July fourth is in three days?”

  Karen smiled, probably knowing she had him. “Tomorrow.”

  Mi
kael rubbed his face. They really know how to welcome you to Buffalo quickly around here. “I need to speak with my agent before I can say yes or no. Is that all right?”

  “Of course. Just let me know as soon as you can.” She pushed a card toward him. “This is Keith’s card, but it has my work and cell numbers on the back. Please call me whether you can play or not. That way I’ll know if I have to find someone else. I don’t know of any other forwards in the area I haven’t roped in already, but hopefully I won’t have to worry about that.”

  “I will let you know as soon as I talk with him.”

  Karen rose and left the room. Mikael stared at the card, debating. He hadn’t fully recovered from a vicious, three-round playoff series with Minnesota, the team he’d played for last season, but he’d planned to resume skating on his own soon anyway, and it didn’t seem right to turn down a charity tournament. He could probably skate backward the entire time and still be the best player on the ice. Mikael didn’t have a huge ego, but at his age and skill level, playing with people who were probably parts of local teams, most likely he’d be the most elite guy.

  Grabbing his phone from his shorts pocket, he dialed his agent, Anton.

  “Hey there, I meant to call you to see how the signing went.”

  Mikael shrugged and then shook his head at himself when he realized Anton could not see him. “Fine. I came in, looked through the contract, and put my name on the last page. Pretty easy.”

  “Ah, good. Did they give you any details on off-ice workouts or anything?”

  “No, I will meet with their strength and conditioning coach next week. I was going to fly back to Minnesota soon, but I think I will stay here for a few weeks to look for a house and get an idea of where things are. I know some of the players, none personally yet, of course, so I will ask them where I should live. The captain, Ben, texted me the other day and offered his help with anything I needed.”

  “The Storm is putting you in touch with a real estate agent, too, right?”

  “Yes. I will see her early next week too.”

  “Okay, everything sounds like it’s shaping up.”

  “Well, except for one thing.”

  Anton’s voice sharpened. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing. But the Storm is hosting a charity tournament this weekend and asked me to play. It is not a professional tournament. It sounds like rec league teams from around Buffalo make up most of the participants. There’s one Storm player on each team, since they are the organizers, and one of the guys is not able to play. They asked me if I would help them out, and I didn’t know what to say.”

  “Hmm. That’s a tough one. Obviously you want to build up goodwill, both with the team and the community, but you got pretty beaten up in the playoffs, which only ended three weeks ago.”

  “Yes, these were my thoughts and I told them I needed to speak with you before I could tell them anything.” Mikael leaned back in the chair, looking around the empty, nondescript conference room. “I should probably play. I doubt in a tournament such as this there will much hitting or anything.”

  “Probably not, but did you ask?”

  “No, I did not think to.”

  “You probably don’t have a choice, much as I don’t like the idea. If you didn’t play it certainly wouldn’t make you popular with management, if the Storm is the host of the tournament and you specifically turned them down.”

  “That is what I thought. And it is for children. Who knows, maybe it will be fun. I haven’t played this kind of game in a long time.”

  “Just watch yourself.”

  “I always do.”

  He hung up from Anton and went to find Karen. She sat behind an L-shaped desk that seemed far too large for her, right outside Keith’s office.

  “Hi there. Have you got some news for me?”

  “I will play.”

  “Excellent. Where in Minnesota is your equipment?”

  “At my house.”

  Karen nodded and then tilted her head. “Yes, now that I think about it, of course the team wouldn’t have it anymore.”

  “No, I packed up at the end of the year, just like all the players do. I did not think to bring it with me when I came here since I had planned to only be here a few days and then come back to meet with everybody.”

  “Does anyone there—a teammate or a friend—have a key for your place?”

  “Yes, one of my teammates and a college kid who lives next door and helps me with things while I travel.”

  “Can you call one of them and ask them to ship your equipment overnight here to the Barn? We’ll pay all costs on arrival or I can give you our account number with the National Parcel Service.”

  Mikael scratched his head, blowing out a breath. “Would you be able to call or at least be here when I do? I do not want to make you do more work, but I am not sure I can do this myself and have it be right. Sometimes my English isn’t good to give directions like this.”

  Karen smiled and pointed at her guest chair. “Of course, sweetie. How about since you have their numbers, you call on your cell and put it on speaker?”

  “Okay. I will do that.”

  Soon they’d gotten arrangements made to have the equipment arrive by nine a.m. the next morning. Sometimes it amazed Mikael how quickly things could get done here in the US, but at least, from what he’d seen, if you had enough money you could get whatever you wanted.

  The Storm had paid for a hotel room in a huge, brand-new facility attached to their arena. Some of the games would be played on the rinks in the facility, he noticed, as he read some promotional posters for the tournament on his way back to the hotel. Mikael spied a couple of restaurants too, which made him happy as his stomach rumbled. After quickly changing, he got some late lunch and then went back to his room to rest and read. If he would be playing multiple games in the next four days, he needed to take it easy now. Exploring Buffalo could wait a few days.

  *****

  The next morning, Mikael arrived at the Barn a little after 9:00 am. The tournament had just begun, but his team would not play their first game until the night game at 5:00 pm. His equipment arrived right on schedule, and he took a moment to look through the huge bag and make sure he had everything he needed. Karen told him his team had gathered on one of the other rinks for a quick skate and he hurried to get over there and dress.

  Practice had already begun when he stepped onto the ice. Right away a man skated over to him, taking off his glove and offering his hand. Mikael shook it.

  “We’re really excited to have you on our team, Mr. Maatta. Thanks for stepping in like this. It must’ve been a shock to sign here and then end up playing in a tournament twenty-four hours later, huh? I’m Paul, the captain of this team, at least for the tournament. Normally we don’t really bother. And there’s no real coach since we’re just playing in a rec league.”

  “Nice to meet you. Mikael, please. Or Matty.” He gave the man a sheepish grin. “Hockey players are not very creative.”

  “Which would you prefer?”

  He’s treating me like royalty. This is weird. Mikael had obviously had contact with fans while playing for Minnesota, but had never done anything like this. He tended to be an easy-going guy off the ice and didn’t like too much attention. It made him nervous and he began to scissor back and forth on his skates like he did before games.

  “Matty is fine.”

  “Okay.” The man pivoted and called out, “Everyone, this is Matty, also known as Mikael Maatta. As you probably already know, Matty just signed a free agent contract with the Storm. We’re really happy to have him here.” Then he turned back to Matty, who could feel his face flaming. At least his shield blocked the view a little. “We’re just having a skate-around, taking some shots, stuff like that. Want to save our energy for the game tonight. We’re not all in the shape you are.” The man was probably four inches shorter than him and had to look up so he wasn’t talking to Mikael’s chin.

  Mikael laughed. “
Well, I do this for a living. I’d better be well-conditioned.”

  The man nodded, smiled, and skated off. Mikael took a couple of lazy strides and then fielded a pass from one of the guys. He passed it back and kept skating, going around the back of the net. Another puck came his way and he shot this one from the slot. He didn’t put much on it, and the goalie made an easy save. Continuing to skate in slow circles, he passed a lot and shot some. He always liked to watch the goaltenders in warm ups. It told you a lot about what to expect during a game, as far as how much defensive support they’d need on any given night, and this one really impressed him, making some great saves as the skate went on.

  I thought I was the only professional on the team. They’d said one per team. But this guy is good. Really good.

  Paul called everybody together. Mikael took a knee a little ways back, not wanting to intimidate anybody or make people think he wanted to take over. As the guys took off their helmets, Mikael tried to check them out surreptitiously. Most looked to be in their twenties and thirties, with a few teenagers and a couple of older guys. Interesting.

  His gaze began to move past the goaltender when his brain froze and his head snapped back to take a better look. A woman.

  Oh my God, that’s so hot.

  His groin woke up in a hurry and Mikael willed it back. Hard-ons in cups sucked. She had blonde hair like his, but long, now that she’d released it from whatever way she’d had it up under her mask, and big, brown eyes that were currently—oh shit—looking right back at him.

  Distracted beyond reason, Mikael almost missed it when Paul said, “Besides Matty, we’re really lucky to have Terri Kirkland, the starting goaltender for the US Women’s Olympic hockey team. You might recall them beating the Swedes, Russians, and finally the Canadians, by a score of five to one, no less, on their way to winning the gold medal this past February.”

  The guys banged their sticks and Mikael realized that’s why she’d looked familiar to him. Mikael had played for Team Finland in the Olympics and had gone to a couple of the women’s games, including one of those Paul had mentioned, when the US played Russia. Terri had stood on her head that night and one of his teammates remarked it sucked there wasn’t more competitive hockey for women to play.