Holiday Hockey Tale The Icebreaker's Impasse (By Ivory Row) novel Chapter 114

Easton

Luci sleeps facing me, with her left hand under her cheek. I can’t help but smile seeing that ring on her finger. My ring that she agreed to wear. She’d never given me a reason to doubt she’d say no, but I had the one little fear in the back of my mind that she’d say it was too soon. I only truly met her three months ago.

I hadn’t watched a minute of the ballet last night. They could have trotted out a giant squid or flaming ratchet toad instead of the rat prince or mouse king or whatever the hell was in it, and I’d never have noticed. I stared at her face the entire time. She was truly enthralled and I stored away the idea to take her to another ballet soon. Or I’ll buy tickets for her, Syd and Stormi to go. Play instigator and add Kylie in along with no filter Catalina and Mrs. Isabelle. Syd says she’s been to a musical and a few other plays.

I cheated last night and took the ideas for the flower heart from one of her movies she liked. I always knew I would do the walkway with my family basically also proposing to her and the rest of her family in the audience. They accepted her long ago.

Becker had the idea for the hotel room with dinner. He’s damned creative for a single guy. Cole and Barrett wanted candles all along the path, but instead I compromised with using Skittles.

Explaining that romance was more than flickering firelight might have been dangerous with those two.

Luci begins waking and I move closer to her. Her eyes open a crack and she smiles. “Morning.

How long have you been awake?” She rolls slightly and runs her fingers over my cheek.

“Fifteen, maybe twenty minutes. I like watching you sleep. You were smiling, so I think it was a good dream,”

“I had all good dreams. Some handsome, blonde hockey player was in them.” I grab her moving fingers and kiss her palm then her wrist.

“I’ll have to have words with him over being in my fiancée’s dreams.”

She laughs. “All he was doing was teaching me to skate.”

“Definitely warning him off then. He’ll be teaching you to play hockey so he can touch you a lot.”

Her eyes narrow. “Now I see what you were up to with your hockey dates.”

I make a wry face at her. “You complain about me, but smile about the dream guy.”

“Grumpy flurry. You are the dream guy.” She grins. “Look at what you got me to say.”

Now I laugh. “Mission accomplished. Want to go out for late breakfast or order in? Check out is at 11.”

“Could we go have stuffed french toast at close to 11?” Luci doesn’t have please eyes. She has her sweet, hopeful smile which is worse for me.

“If that’s what you want. Let’s check the weather. Make sure it’s not snowing like crazy.” I turn the tv on without looking at it and the announcer is saying “Barry Traylor is opening a new restaurant this weekend. Barry, how….” Luci tenses up. I know her cues and immediately search her face. “What’s wrong, Luci?”

She glances down. “That name…his wife is the one who said I wasn’t real.”

I look up to see an older middle–aged guy with thinning brown hair. “Barry Traylor.” I read off the caption.

She nods. “His wife is Rachel. They had two kids, Sam and Lana, who were nice.”

“Tell me Luci, please.” I beg softly. “Don’t keep me out of this part of your past anymore, sweetness.” This is the last wall she’s kept me behind. Her eyes search mine and I cheek. “I want to know.”

She nods and the whole story tumbles out first. “Don’t go lava volcano please. Rachel’s mother was the meanest woman. She would always grab my upper arm painfully at anything.

Making me be last, saying I needed to be watched and that the other two got to do things first. She would bring their cousin, who was horrible. He would grab my hair and tell me I was a throwaway kid. Try to break things if he knew they were mine.”

I want to beat the life out of all of them. “Was he the one who destroyed your pictures of your parents?” She slipped up one day and confessed that to Cole.

“No, that was…that was the house I went to after the Traylors. The daughter there, Hazel, she was mean to all the foster kids. She got mad because I stood up for a younger boy she was yelling at. She ripped up four of my pictures and then she took scissors to my clothes. I hid some of them, luckily, but her parents wouldn’t replace them. Her parents never believed she did wrong. She told them I tore my clothes trying to get new ones. The house I lived in before the Traylors was the same. They bought their kids new clothes and we were given very old hand–me downs and used clothes she would go buy. That was why the memory of my new outfit for the Santa visit with Rachel Traylor was such a big deal. She made sure our clothes were nicer. Looking back, I can remember other little things she would say towards me and an older girl. Like for our birthdays after that Santa visit, we got a cupcake with a candle and she mentioned not giving us expectations since the day was a reminder how we had no one that could remember why we came into the world. That no one had chosen us to take home for good. Like I said, a horrible woman. Her husband would nod and agree with her.”

“You told Collins?” She said he was a good guy.

“Some of it. I was young and some of what happened didn’t register with me that it was wrong. Not until I got to Janet’s after Hazel’s house. It’s in the past though. Like I said, I learned what I needed to and moved on.”

“That’s all of it? No more held back from me?”

“That’s it.” I know she’s sincere.

“You should have never had to go through that. You are really amazing sweetness to come out with your soft heart and outlook on life.” I kiss her softly while my insides flame. The Traylors will not foster kids any longer if they still are. And I’ll make sure Rachel never forgets my Luci’s name. Her poison lived inside my girl’s head for far too long. Mine is about to live in hers.

“You didn’t erupt.” She observes.

“More like internally boiling. You can distract me though. And then I’ll take you for stuffed french toast before heading home to our little boy and our dog. Sound like a plan?”

“Yes. Thank you for this weekend. All the beautiful moments you created for me.” Her eyes shine with happiness again.

“Get used to them. I plan on filling your life with them whenever I can.” I promise her. Jason.

“Grandpappy, will I live with you forever?” Cole stares at me over his stack of pancakes. I brought him out for breakfast just us.

“Why do you ask that buddy?” I’m curious when he goes for the big stuff.

“Cause Barrett lives with his daddy in their own house.” He answers before munching on his bacon.

Such a simple observation with so much weight behind it.

“No. I love having you live with me but one day your daddy and mommy are going to want their own house. One where you and them and Skittles live as a family.” I’ll miss seeing him.

I’ve been home longer the last almost three months than I had in two years. Realizing all the pieces I’ve missed had been even more bitter to swallow. I didn’t want to face my wife and cost myself other things in the process. That was all my fault though, not Imogen’s. I made that choice. Now I was working on making that right.

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