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Jamison “Drill ’Em Hard” Decker knew his past would catch up with him someday. Today was the day. That he was sitting in his favorite sports bar, Double Ds, while his former teammates fought for the Stanley Cup, made it even worse, because the place was packed like commuters on public transit during rush hour. It was a sea of black, silver, and white, with every eye glued to the big flatscreens plastered on every wall of the joint—broadcasting none other than a game with his old team.
He was surprised at how remote that part of his life felt and how grateful he felt to be working alongside his brother honoring their father’s legacy. Well, at least he had until that moment.
“How bad is it?” Decker squinted at the TMZ article on Brian’s phone.
“Keep reading,” his older brother and business partner, Brian, said from the barstool next to him.
Holly Castle, daughter of Stan Castle and heiress to the Castle Homes fortune, made a perfect assist when she took her family’s construction empire and Jamison “Drill ’Em Hard” Decker—NHLfive-time Player of the Year and Olympic gold medalist—from partners to paramours, all with a single goal.
Shit.
He pulled his well-worn Decker Construction ball cap low on his head to shield his face from spectators. This was the last place he wanted to be when news of this sort broke. All it would take was a single fan to recognize him and it would be game over. But his brother had insisted that he meet him there so he did, when all he wanted to do was call Holly, ask her how the video had been made public, and maybe hide in an isolated cave on a mountaintop in an undiscovered corner of the world until this all blew over.
Decker and Brian had been wooing Stan Castle for over a year, which was how Decker Construction landed a ten-million-dollar deal with Castle Homes. He might have made the intro, but the close was all Brian. It was the biggest contract to date they’d agreed to, but it was a gentleman’s deal—a simple handshake. They were supposed to get it in writing next month. Decker had put this project and his brother’s respect in jeopardy. It was the last part that had a wave of shitty emotions churning in his stomach.
As a former goalie in the NHL, Decker was used to pressure. But this was something else. He had already blown his hockey career by playing it fast and loose on the ice. And now it seemed like he was going to blow his family’s business by playing it fast and loose off the ice, too.
He turned to Brian and met his dark gaze. His brother was dressed in his typical uniform of jeans and a starched button-down, looking more corporate than the physical side of construction. Except for his hands. Those were the hands of a working man, calloused and scarred—kind of like their relationship. Something Decker was hoping desperately to repair.
Not that Decker was the only one who had a hand in thefinancial straits of the family business. Brian had played his role, too.
“I don’t even know what to say,” Decker began.
“Maybe start with, ‘I’m fucking sorry.’”
Another long pause ensued where the cords in Decker’s neck twisted into tightly coiled rope. “Well, if you’re talking about responsibility, when are you going to admit that you were wrong sticking your fingers into the family bank account?”
“We needed some capital.”
“It was my money. Money that was supposed to last a lifetime and take care of Dad. But because of bad decisions like over-ordering steel beams and custom windows before our current project with Keith Mills was signed, that money is draining fast. I know shit happens, but you never even bothered to tell me. I had to find out when I got the company’s bank statement, which was several digits short. Christ, Bry, you finished houses even after the owners had defaulted on payment. You took on projects that you had no business taking. Even though Dad had a heart of gold, he’d never do that because his family’s security was more important.”
“You don’t think I know how we rely on your money?” he spat.
“I didn’t mean it like that. I know that you’ve put your life on hold to keep the business going. But that money was supposed to float the business; it does not pay for houses for strangers. All I want you to admit is that you, too, can fuck up.”
“Me borrowing money, which I will pay back, and you sleeping with Castle’s daughter are two completely different levels of fucking up.”
“How do you think I knew Stan Castle?”
“Why would she release it?”
Had they broken up on the nicest of terms? No. She’d drawn a line in the sand about spending more time together, but he was at the beginning of his career and he’d chosenhockey. Healwayschose hockey. His heart had been broken and so had hers. It had taken three years, but eventually they realized they were wrong for each other. In fact, they were still friends, which was why he was adamant she didn’t leak it.
“I don’t buy that she did. And why after all these years? She’s moved on. Engaged, even.”
“Then who?” Brian pressed.
“Sure as hell wasn’t me. But trust that I’m going to find out.”
“Well, can you at least tell me how you’re going to fix it?”
Decker ran a hand down his face. Just like when he blew his knee out, he didn’t know how to fix it. He only hoped this wasn’t the end of his second career. But looking at his brother, he knew that if he didn’t come up with a solution—and some cash—he’d let his team down once again.
Only this team was his family.
Their father had founded Decker Construction with nothing more than a truck and a toolbox to his name. And while Decker had been chasing his dream of fame and glory on the ice, Brian had given up his own to run the family business after their dad had a stroke. Then last year their dad died and left them both the company.
