Off the Ice

by L. P. Dover

  He shrugged. “Glad to help. I really like your family, Meghan. They make me feel like I’m a part of it.”

  “You are!” Ellie called out.

  Justin knelt back down. “I am, huh? Sure you don’t want to trade me in for someone else?”

  Ellie shook her head. “Nope. You make my mom happy. She hasn’t been that way in a long time.”

  Justin looked up at me and sighed. “I’m hoping I can make her happy for a very long time. And you too,” he said, tapping her nose. “You’ve kind of grown on me.”

  Ellie hooked her arms around his neck. “I like you too.”

  It was in that moment, I realized everything was going to be okay.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Justin

  The house was quiet, and it was the first night I hadn’t talked to Meghan’s father till early hours in the morning. We had so many things in common. I knew it drove Meghan insane. She walked across the hall to check on Ellie, and then quietly snuck back into the bedroom, locking the door behind her.

  “It’s about time I get you to myself. I was starting to get jealous of my dad.”

  I patted the bed. “Hey, I can’t help it. He’s an interesting man. I told him I was going to introduce him to Lucas Montgomery. I think that sealed the deal with him liking me.”

  She curled up beside me. “He likes you no matter what. You don’t have to bribe my family to get them to like you.”

  I shrugged. “I’m not. I enjoy doing things for your family. They actually appreciate it.”

  Meghan smiled. “That they do. I appreciate it too. I just wish I knew of a way to pay you back.”

  So many things ran through my mind; my dick twitched just thinking about it. “I’m sure I can think up a few ways.” She bit her lip and leaned in to kiss me. Before she could, Ellie’s voice echoed from across the hall.

  “Mommy!” Her voice sounded sad and scared.

  Meghan kissed me quick, and slid off the bed. “Hold that thought—I’ll be right back.”

  “Wait. Let me go.” She stood by the door, and I joined her. “I want to see if I can help her on my own.”

  Meghan opened the door, and nodded. “Go. Holler for me if you need me.”

  Ellie called out her mother’s name again, and I slowly tiptoed into the room so I wouldn’t wake up her two cousins who were on the bunk bed across the room. Ellie sat up in bed, clutching her pink teddy bear.

  “Hey,” I whispered, “you okay?”

  Sniffling, she shook her head. “I had a nightmare.”

  I knelt down beside her bed. “I’m sorry, peanut. Do you want to talk about it?”

  She laid back down. “It was scary. Mommy and I were in the woods, and a snake bit her. I thought she was going to die.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” I assured her. “Do you want me to get her?”

  “No, it’s okay. I’m fine now. But if you want, you can talk to me for a few minutes so I don’t fall asleep back to that dream.” With her amber, puppy-dog eyes and innocent smile, there was no way I’d ever be able to refuse her. She moved over on the bed so I could sit down beside her.

  “What do you want to talk about?” I asked, keeping my voice low.

  She shrugged. “Anything. Are you excited to play hockey again?”

  “More than excited. I miss the ice.”

  “My favorite movie is Ice Princess. It’s about a figure skater. Mommy never had the money to get me ice skating lessons.”

  My chest tightened, but it also made me excited to know I could do it for her. “You don’t need lessons when you have me. I can teach you how to skate. Then, when you get good at the basics, I can get you private figure skating lessons.”

  Her face lit up. “Really?”

  “Of course. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.” I tucked her bear underneath her covers. “What else would you want? Give me a list.”

  She pursed her little lips, and looked up at the ceiling as if she was deep in thought. “Let’s see. You’ve already taken care of the most important thing, and that was to make my mommy be happy again. I know she’s going to be sad when you have to go back home.”

  “I know, peanut. I’m going to be sad too, but I told her I’m going to fly out and see you both as much as I can. In fact, I have a surprise for you both when you get back to Wyoming.”

  “You do?” she gasped. “What is it?”

  “Can you keep a secret?”

  She nodded quickly, and held out her pinky. “I pinky promise.” We linked fingers, and I whispered the secret in her ear. “Oh, my goodness. She’s going to be so happy.”

  “That’s what I was hoping for.” She let my finger go, and sunk further into the covers. I kissed her forehead, and tucked her in. “Are you okay now?”

  Yawning, she held her bear close. “Yes.” I got up, and slowly walked back to the door. “Justin?”

  I turned around. “Yeah?”

  She lifted her head slightly over the pillow so she could see me. “Is this what having a father is like?”

  So many emotions hit me like a ton of bricks. I never thought I could have so much love for a child that wasn’t my own. I’d only spent a week with her, and she had me wrapped around her little fingers. And my heart was breaking for her, too, that she’d never known the kind of love a father had for a daughter. I walked back over to her, and knelt back down.

  “Yes,” I murmured. “If your father was alive, I know he’d come running every time you called his name. From what your mother told me, he was an amazing man. I’m sorry you never got to know him.”

  Her eyes glistened. “Mommy lets me watch their wedding video so I can see him. All of my friends have fathers, and I’ve always wondered what it would be like. You’d be a good one.”

  I ruffled her dark hair. “Thanks, peanut. That means a lot to me.” I tucked her in one last time, and she closed her eyes. When I got back to the bedroom, Meghan had already fallen asleep. I tried not to wake her, but the bed jostled her when I slid in.

  “Everything okay?” she asked, snuggling up against me.

  I wrapped my arm around her and rubbed her shoulder. “She’s fine. We had a heart to heart.”

  “Oh yeah? What about?”

  “That’s between me and Ellie,” I teased. She slapped my stomach, and I laughed. “So listen, next week is our last week together. I thought maybe we could spend a couple of those days doing what we were supposed to for my birthday.”

  She gasped and sat up. “The private island?”

  I nodded. “I thought it’d be nice to have just a little bit of time to ourselves. Then we can come back here, and I’ll have the private jet for you and your family to take back home.”

  Sighing, she sat up. “Justin, you don’t have to do that. I don’t want you spending your money on me and my family.”

  Taking her face in my hands, I kissed her long and hard. “I love you, angel. I’ve said this before—there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

  A tear slid down her cheek. “Same goes for you. I love you so much.”

  I rolled on top of her, and winked. “Then show me.”

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Meghan

  The last week moved by quickly, leaving Justin and I only one night on his friend’s private island. Neither Justin nor I minded because it was time we got to spend together with Ellie. That was the most important thing to me right now, getting them a solid relationship started before we had to separate ways.

  Justin reached over and grabbed my hand, drawing me away from the scenic view of the ocean below. “We’re almost there,” he said, his voice echoing from the headset.

  I thought we were going to get to the island by boat, but Justin surprised me with a helicopter ride. I’d never been on one before, and I wasn’t going to lie … it kind of scared me. Thoughts of crashing into the water and getting eaten by a shark passed through my mind a time or two.

  Justin glanced out the window, and squeezed
my hand. “There it is.” He pointed to the island, and I breathed a sigh of relief. It was covered in trees, but I could see the roof of the cottage.

  “Where do we land?” I asked, hoping it didn’t have to be in the water. I wasn’t scared to swim, just terrified of the creatures lurking beneath.

  The pilot, whose name was Charles Patterson, glanced back at us. “Mr. Montgomery had a helicopter pad built on the front side of the island. You’ll see it when we get closer. He did it for his guests who don’t like boats. That way they have another option.”

  He flew us around the island so we could see all of it, and then landed us on the front side by the dock. There were two kayaks floating to the side of it, along with a wooden boat and paddles. It was strange to think that the whole island was ours until tomorrow.

  Charles took off his headset and slipped out of the helicopter. He came over to my side and opened the door. Once we were out, Charles shook Justin’s hand. “I’ll be back tomorrow at noon,” he shouted, his voice barely audible over the helicopter blades.

  Justin and I hurried over to the other side of the dock while Charles lifted the helicopter into the air and flew away. It was a little scary to know we were on the island by ourselves, with no one around to help if something happened, but it was also exhilarating.

  Taking a deep breath, I glanced around, trying to soak it all in. “I can’t believe this is real.”

  Justin grinned. “And it’s all ours. Just the first of many places we’ll get to see together. Ellie’s going to love it. We can take her to Disney World, Paris, Alaska—anywhere you both want to go.”

  It was like a dream come true. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I looked up at him. “You don’t have to take me places to make me happy.”

  He kissed the tip of my nose. “I know. I’m doing it because I want to. You told me a few nights ago that you’ve barely been anywhere besides Wyoming and North Carolina. I want to change that.”

  I shrugged. “Hey, if that’s what you want to do, I can’t complain. It all just feels like I’m in a dream, and I keep expecting to wake up.”

  “No dream, angel. This is all real.” He flung our bag over his shoulder, and turned to the white sandy path that was lined with palm trees. “How about we drop our bag off and explore before it gets too dark?”

  “Sounds good to me.”

  We walked up the path and through the trees until we arrived at the teal-colored cottage with a light gray tin roof. It was up on stilts, so we had to climb a lot of stairs to get inside. When we opened the door, it was magical. There were fresh flowers on the kitchen table, and the whole place was bright and open.

  Justin set our bag down on the floor, and grabbed my hand. “Let’s go. I want to see this place.” He pulled me along, and I giggled at how excited he was. There was a path that led to the back side of the island, and that was where he took me. “Lucas said the waves are awesome on the back side, and that you’ll love all the seashells. I think his wife found an eight-inch conch shell.”

  “That’s pretty big,” I said, enjoying the hike through the trees.

  When the trees opened up to the beach, he was right. The waves crashed against the shore, and there were all sorts of things on the sand. Seashells of all sizes and colors were everywhere. We walked over to the water’s edge, and my feet slowly sunk in the wet sand. Gazing out at the water, there was nothing but miles and miles of ocean.

  We stood there for a few minutes – hand in hand – until Justin’s sigh broke the silence. “We go our separate ways tomorrow.”

  My chest tightened. “I know. I’m not ready to say goodbye, but we have to.” I’d been trying to forget about it, but there was no escaping it. I turned to face him, and I could see the turmoil in his eyes. “What if the distance becomes too much?”

  He shook his head. “I’m not going to let that happen. No matter what happens, we’re going to make this work. I need to hear you say it too.”

  Taking his other hand, I pulled him closer. “No matter what happens, we’re going to make this work. I just wish I wasn’t so scared to let you go. I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.”

  He leaned down, and kissed me. “You’ll be surprised how much you see me. Flying to Wyoming is a piece of cake.”

  But how long was he going to do that before he got tired of it? That was the big question, and one I didn’t want to ask. I had to think positive. “Okay,” I said, pulling him down the beach. We slowly walked along the water line, and I picked up shells. Justin gazed out at the ocean, and his focus landed on something in the water. “What do you see?” I asked, curious.

  The waves brought it closer, but he had to go in a little way to pick it up. It was just a clear glass bottle, but as he brought it closer, there was something inside of it. Justin held it up and smiled. “Looks like a message in a bottle.”

  I gasped with excitement; it was so cool to find something like that. Justin brought it over, and we knelt down in the sand. There was a cork in the top, with a folded, light pink piece of paper inside, along with a dried piece of what appeared to be lavender.

  Justin pried the cork out, and it took a little bit of maneuvering to get to the piece of paper. He handed it to me, and I opened it gently.

  I read the message out loud.

  Always follow your dreams, but don’t leave the ones you love behind. You might come to find it’s too late if you do.

  “Sounds kind of sad,” I said, rolling the paper up. “Hopefully, whoever wrote it wasn’t too late.”

  Justin pulled out his phone, and took a picture of the note. “Maybe we can find out. If this note goes viral, the person who wrote it might see it and contact us.” Justin slipped it back into the bottle, and pushed the cork in.

  It made me wonder what kind of person wrote it. Judging by the handwriting and the lavender, I’d say it was a woman. “Hopefully, whoever it was got their happily ever after. In this day and time, it’s hard to find that.”

  Justin put his arm around my shoulders, and squeezed me tight. “We may not have ours just yet, but in time, we will.”

  I wanted to believe he was right.

  The day passed by way too quickly, just like every other day I’d spent with Justin. To save us trouble, Lucas had a chef-prepared meal in the refrigerator so all we had to do was heat it up. It was perfect.

  Justin had disappeared off into the bedroom, and I took a seat on the couch. It was closing in on ten o’clock, and I dreaded going to sleep. I didn’t want to waste time with Justin by sleeping. Brows furrowed, I could hear him fumbling around in the bedroom, but I couldn’t see what he was doing.

  “Justin?” The door opened, and he came out with a large blanket and a battery-powered lantern. “What is that for?”

  He winked. “Come and see. It’s a surprise.”

  I followed him out the door, and we walked all the way down to the calm side of the island. The sand was softer, almost like clay. Justin turned off the lantern, and spread out the blanket.

  “Do you know what tonight is?” he asked, lying down on the blanket.

  I shook my head and dropped down beside him. “What’s tonight?”

  Hands tucked behind his head, he stared up at the sky. “Tonight is the peak night to see the Perseid Meteor shower.”

  Excitement bubbled in my chest. I’d totally forgotten about that. The Perseid Meteor shower always occurred between mid-July to the end of August. I stared up at the sky and waited. So far from inhabited land, we’d no doubt be able to see a ton of the meteors. That was one of the reasons why I loved living in Wyoming. You could see the stars as if they were close enough to touch.

  “Let’s make a bet,” Justin said.

  “A bet? For what?” I looked over at his mischievous grin.

  He nodded toward the sky. “To see who can find the most meteors. I bet I’ll see more of them.”

  “What do I get if I win?”

  His gaze met mine, and there was a seriousness there that made me shi
ver. “You can ask me any question you want, and I’ll answer with full honesty. If I win, it applies to you as well.”

  I shook his hand. “Deal.”

  There were so many questions that rolled through my mind, but I had no clue what to even ask if I won. Lying back on the blanket, I concentrated on the sky.

  “Found one,” Justin called out, pointing at the sky. I’d caught the tail end of the meteor as it fizzled out. A few seconds later, he pointed again. “Found another.”

  I flung my arm over, and smacked his stomach. “What the hell? You must really want to ask me something.”

  “You have no idea.” About twenty minutes passed by, and he had found a total of four, while I only saw two. Turning his body to me, he took a deep breath and let it out slow. It was almost like he was nervous. Justin was never nervous around me.

  “Hey,” I said, running a hand through his hair. “What’s going on? Why couldn’t you just ask me the question without having to win the right?”

  He shrugged. “By winning, it gives me an official reason.”

  Now I was nervous. “Ask me?”

  Reaching over, he grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. He stared at my hand for a few seconds before meeting my eyes again. “What would you say if …”

  I waited for him to continue, but all he did was stare at me. “If what?” I asked.

  “What would you say if I asked to be traded to Colorado? That way, I could be closer to you. I would do Wyoming if they actually had a major team.” That was not what I expected him to ask. Mouth gaping, I stared at him like he’d lost his mind. There were no words. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

  “Because I’m wondering if you’re serious?”

  He nodded. “I am. I was hoping you’d have a happier response.”

  My eyes burned, and a tear fell down my cheek. Nothing would make me happier than to have him closer to me and Ellie. Only it wasn’t going to work. “I can’t let you do that, Justin.”

  “Why not?” He sat up, and I could see the hurt on his face.