Fresh Ice

Fresh Ice Read Online Free PDF Page B

Book: Fresh Ice Read Online Free PDF
Author: Sarah J. Bradley
option for me.”
    “Mom, you gave up your dream…for me?”
    “I don’t think of it that way. I think, at the time, I was certain I’d have you, and then go back to skating. I was just going to take a year off. I was so young; it never really occurred to me that I wouldn’t be able to come back. I tried to lay out that plan to everyone.”
    “And?”
    “There was a major fight. My parents demanded I have an abortion. They’d put so much time and money into me…you cannot even imagine. Our coach wasn’t all that excited but at least he was supportive.” Izzy closed her eyes, recalling the how the disappointment in Coach’s eyes hurt her more than any of her parents’ shouting. “Once the US Olympic committee got wind that I was pregnant…it became a legal issue, because I was a minor. Your father…well he faced some pretty stiff charges.”
    “What did you do?”
    “We vanished. We left Nashville, got married, and changed our last name. Dad got a job working in Uncle Sean’s body shop, and that turned out pretty good for him. Skating was done. I couldn’t watch skating for a very long time. We certainly didn’t put skates on until you got older and started going to skating parties.”
    Jenna smiled. “I always thought it was cool that my mom didn’t crash into the walls when we skated. Everyone else’s mom did. Now I know why.” She chewed on her lower lip fo r a moment. “Did you and Dad, did you ever regret…you know…giving it up?”
    Izzy shook her head. “All I have to do it look at you and I do not regret it one bit. I’m so proud of you and I love you. I wouldn’t change a thing if I had to do it again.”
    “So I have a big dramatic family history.” Jenna stared at the medals. “I think I’m glad you told me. I think it explains a lot.”
    A tear welled in Izzy’s eye. “I thought it might.”

FIVE
     
    It was late, but after an evening in Serena’s bed, Quinn needed a shower. The hot water stung him like nails, but he didn’t care. More and more his evenings with Serena left him feeling dirty, and scalding water helped cleanse his body and his soul, if only a little.
    Leaning against the shower wall, Quinn closed his eyes and accepted the release the water’s sting gave him as he tried to erase images that ran through his mind, the images that haunted him every day.
    How did I get to this place?
    He knew the answer all too well. He opened his eyes and adjusted the water to make it hotter, wishing he could wash away the images burned into his memory like scars, ugly and red. Red, like the lights of the police cars and the rescue vehicles were that night.
    Has it really been three years?
    It didn’t feel like three years. Standing in the shower, in the upscale apartment paid for by his fame, he felt as lost and as agonized as he had the night Sally died.
    Don’t think about that now. It’s over, it’s past.
    Only it’s really never over, is it? Every time I sleep with Serena, every time I had to go harass that poor bastard Jason, it was all there in front of me.
    Sally was the stereotypical personal assistant. Young, fresh like a new rose, still tightly closed, dew rolling off the bud. Quinn’s stomach churned as her face, so sweet, so trusting, crossed his memory. She’d be twenty-four now, wouldn’t she?
    No, she’d be twenty-two.
    That’s how it started: A simple lie on a job application. A high school graduate, too poor to afford college, looking for a job that would support her and give her a leg up, that’s all it was. Though why such a sweet girl like Sally ever wanted to be a personal assistant to someone like him, Quinn never knew.
    Five years ago, Quinn signed with the Predators, and was the hottest thing in town. His arrival gave a struggling team a shot of energy, and Quinn capitalized on it by giving great post game interviews. Well, that and a hell of a lot of personal appearances. His appearances started to overwhelm the front office, so they suggested
Read Online Free Pdf

Similar Books

Flint

Fran Lee

Fleet Action

William R. Forstchen

Habit

T. J. Brearton

Pieces of a Mending Heart

Kristina M. Rovison