Authors: Deirdre Martin

Tags: #Women lawyers, #Contemporary, #Legal, #General, #Romance, #Hockey players, #Fiction

Icebreaker (11 page)

BOOK: Icebreaker

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The small blonde girl entered the room shyly. “Daddy says you’re here to talk about Uncle Adam.”

“That’s right.”

“Are you his girlfriend?”

Sinead flushed. “No. Just a friend.”

“Wanna see me pirouette?”

“That would be great,” Sinead enthused, trying to ignore the small ache spreading through her chest.
I want a child. I want a little girl who peeks out from around corners and pirouettes
.

“Ta-da!” Carrie said with a bow when she was finished.

Sinead clapped enthusiastically. “That was terrific!”

“I know. I’m really good.”

With that she darted away.

Sinead went back to her computer, reviewing her questions for Rick. He returned holding two mugs of coffee, accompanied by a tall, svelte, tired-looking blonde.

“Hi, I’m Susie,” she said with a friendly smile.

“Sinead.”

Rick handed Sinead her mug. “Hope the coffee’s okay. I know you must be used to Starbucks.”

“Rick,” Susie admonished under her breath.

Sinead took a sip of the coffee. “It’s very nice.”

Rick sat down on the couch while Susie settled in the leather recliner opposite. Once again Sinead was struck by how strong Rick’s resemblance was to Adam.

“How was your flight?” Susie asked.

“Fine.”

“You ever been anyplace this rural before?” Rick asked.

“The town in Ireland where my parents grew up is pretty small.”

“Huh.”

Sinead couldn’t escape the feeling that he was suspicious of her. Perhaps it was a family trait.

“Probably hard for you to believe Adam grew up here,” Rick continued casually.

“I don’t know Adam well enough to have formed that opinion,” said Sinead. “Which is why I’m here.”

Rick sighed heavily. “Well, let’s get this show on the road.”

“Do you mind if I record our conversation?”

“Why’d you need to do that?”

“So I’m not distracted typing while I interview. And it allows me to quote you with complete accuracy if I need to.”

“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.

“Tell me about Adam’s childhood.”

“Not much to tell. I’m four years older than Adam. We were born and raised here.” He paused, taking a sip of coffee. “Our mother was a housewife; our dad was an autoworker.”

“Rick’s an autoworker, too,” Susie added proudly.

Rick shot his wife a dirty look. “
Was
an autoworker,” he corrected bitterly. “I was laid off about a year ago.” He paused.

“Anyway, I followed in Dad’s footsteps, but Adam went the hockey route.”

“Meaning . . .” Sinead coaxed.

“One of the ways to get out of a tiny town like this is by making it to the pros. Which Adam did when he was just eighteen.”

“You didn’t play hockey?”

“Oh, I played,” said Rick. “But not well enough. Not like Adam. No one played like Adam.”

Sinead ignored the resentfulness in his voice and pressed on. “Was Adam well liked?”

“Oh yeah, everyone loved Adam,” said Susie. “Did he tell you he donated the money for the new hockey rink?”

“No, he didn’t.”

“It was completely anonymous.”

Sinead’s ears pricked up. “Anonymous? Can you tell me about it?”

Rick looked distinctly unenthusiastic.

“It’d be really helpful.”

Rick looked put-upon. “All right. Well, obviously Susie and I knew about it, and the town council. But one of Adam’s stipulations for the donation was that it be anonymous.”

“Why?”

“Adam doesn’t like to draw attention to himself. He’s a pretty private guy.”

No kidding,
Sinead thought. The humility of Adam’s action surprised her. He sure as hell had no humility when it came to being a hockey player.

“No one’s figured it out?” Sinead asked.

“They probably have, but no one says anything about it. They know how he is, and they respect him.”

“What was Adam like growing up?”

Rick looked lost. “I don’t know. He was just Adam.”

“Was he shy? Was he popular?”

“Not shy, just private. Kept to himself. My parents used to joke that he didn’t say his first words until he was ten.”

Sinead smiled at this. She could picture it, quiet Adam, concentrating on hockey.

“How old was Adam when he started playing hockey?”

Rick rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Four, I guess. Four or five. That’s when all of us start. Coaches started to come watch him when he was twelve. He knew pretty early he’d be getting out of here.”

Sinead was dying to explore Rick’s unmistakable strain of envy:
Couldn’t you have left, too? Why did you stay?
She decided to avoid what was obviously a very sore spot.

“Was he always a hard hitter on the ice?”

Rick paused. “Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

“It’s what he was known for,” Susie added.

“I have to ask. Did he ever get in trouble with the law?” Sinead had already asked Adam, but she wanted to double-check.

Rick snorted. “Saint Adam? No. Wait. Yeah, once: he got a speeding ticket when he was seventeen.”

“What would you say are Adam’s best qualities?”

“Generosity,” Susie said immediately.

Rick looked irritated.

“It is,” Susie insisted.

“Hardworking,” Rick said. “He’s always busted his ass.” He took a sip of coffee. “Focused. Knew what he wanted early on, and went for it.”

“Loyal,” Susie continued. She paused. “He’s great with kids.”

“Really?”
Sinead couldn’t hide her surprise.

“Oh yeah. Our kids adore him. He can be very imaginative and silly when he wants to be.”

Adam Perry? Silly? Sinead couldn’t wrap her mind around it. She knew he had a somewhat dry sense of humor, but silly? She’d pay to see that.

“What would you say are Adam’s flaws?”

“Adam has flaws?” Rick mocked.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Susie murmured.

Sinead sipped her coffee, waiting patiently.

Rick’s eyes flickered with annoyance. “Like I said before, he can be distant.”

“Aloof?” Sinead confirmed.

Susie bit her lip. “Aloof might be too strong a word. He’s just cautious about who he lets in.”

“Can you think of anyone else here in town I should talk to?”

“Nope,” said Rick. He stood up abruptly. “Nice to meet you, Sinead. If I can do anything else that might help Adam, give me a shout.”

“Will do.”

He disappeared into the back of the house.

Susie looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry. Adam is a touchy subject for him.”

“Why’s that?”

Susie lowered her voice. “Adam’s been helping us out since Rick lost his job. It’s been hard on him; Rick’s a proud man, and for his little brother to be paying some of the bills—he’s embarrassed. It makes him feel like a loser.”

Susie was looking at Sinead with interest. “You married? Kids?”

“Divorced,” Sinead replied. “No kids.”

“Well, maybe one day.” Susie looked discomfited. “If that’s what you want,” she amended quickly.

“It is.”

Why was she telling Susie private info she was usually so reluctant to give out? Greasing the wheels, she told herself. Plus it wasn’t like she could say, “It’s none of your business,” after the woman had been gracious enough to let her into her home and ply her with questions. And she liked Susie. She could tell she cared about Adam, and she was probably one of the few people Adam trusted.

Sinead put her tape recorder in her shoulder bag and stood. “Thank you so much for your time. I really appreciate it.”

“Oh, it was no problem. Again, I apologize if Rick seemed abrupt.” She hesitated. “He’s a little bit envious of Adam’s success, and sometimes it comes out. It’ll sort itself out,” she continued, walking Sinead to the door. “They’re very close, and it means a lot to Rick and me that Adam loves our kids and is so good to them.”

“I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you told me Adam got silly with them. I just can’t picture it.”

“It’s not a side of him many people have seen. I have a DVD from last Christmas if you’d like to see it.”

“I’d love to.” Sinead felt like she was doing something sneaky, but there was no way she was going to pass on footage of Adam Perry being silly.

Susie grabbed a laptop off an end table. In one minute, the computer was purring itself back to life. A few clicks later, there it was, the image of Adam sitting on the floor of his brother’s house, letting Carrie make up his face.

“You have to have lipstick, Uncle Adam,” Carrie insisted quite solemnly.

“Am I gonna look like Katy Perry when you’re done?”

“Yup.”

He started singing the chorus of Perry’s “Hot ’N Cold” in a high-pitched voice, causing his niece to collapse in a heap of giggles.

Sinead’s mouth hung open. “Oh. My. God. This is unbelievable.”

“Oh, there’s more.”

Susie fast-forwarded to footage of Adam with Dylan. Adam was juggling three hockey pucks while singing “Oh, Canada.” He taught Dylan to juggle, even though Dylan wanted to quit every time he messed up. But Adam was patient and encouraging, even with Carrie hanging off his leg begging him to do ballet with her, which he eventually did.

Susie put the computer to sleep. “That’s the Adam we know and love.”

“Wow.” Sinead was beyond surprised. She was stunned.

“He’s a good guy,” Susie said warmly. “A really, really good guy.”

“Yes, I can see that.” She squeezed Susie’s hand. “Thanks so much.”

“I’ll give you my cell number,” Susie said conspiratorially. “That way, if you have any more questions, you can just ask me and bypass Mr. Crabby Bones.”

“Thanks again, Susie.”

“Oh, anytime. Anything to help Adam.”

Sinead backed down
the drive, taking
all
of it in. So, the only skeletons in Mr. Big Bruiser Hockey Player’s closet were positive: financing the new rink and helping his brother out. That was good, though she wished he’d told her himself; it would have saved her the trip to Alberta. Even so, at least she’d gotten the information. She was slowly getting a sense of who Adam was: a somewhat enigmatic, hardworking guy whom others respected. Someone who’d known early in life what he wanted and went for it, who didn’t need to be lauded for his generosity, who valued family. Someone to whom she was becoming attracted despite his being reserved. How could she not find it attractive, when she herself was the same way outside of work?

She was just about to pull away from the curb when Susie flew out the front door, waving her arms.

“Wait!”

Sinead rolled down her window. “What’s up?”

“Have you talked to Ray yet?”

“Who’s Ray?”

“Ray Milne. Adam’s best friend. You should definitely talk to him.”

Adam has a best friend? Who he conveniently forgot to mention to me?

“Could I have his number?”

“Give me a minute; I’ll get it for you.”

Susie ran back into the house. All Sinead could hear in her head was Oliver saying,
Skeletons, dude, skeletons
.

“Here you go,” Susie said, out of breath.

“Thanks so much.”