Home Ice

by Rachelle Vaughn

  The first day of training camp wasn’t a day for on-ice activities. Instead it was a time for medical and physical testing, consisting of X-rays, blood, heart and strength testing. There was also a lot of administrative stuff, so everyone was especially enthused for the day after when they would finally be back on the ice.

  The next day, the veterans and regulars joined the rookies on the ice for the first full day of training camp. After that, the training camp roster was broken up into squads for a scrimmage. There was a contagious energy of excitement in the building and on the rink. The players were finally back on the ice shooting, skating, and slamming each other into the boards. Everyone had big grins on their faces during the conditioning skate.

  Hockey was back.

  At the end of the day, Ben was sitting in the players’ lounge chatting with some of his teammates when his cell phone rang.

  “Well, would you look at who’s calling me,” Ben said into his phone. “It’s Dom Devereaux. It’s good to hear from you.”

  “Of course it is,” Dom said smugly. “How are things in the CO? How’s the hometown hero?”

  “Things are good. It’s nice to be somewhere where you can’t fry an egg on the sidewalk in August. I’m actually getting ready to go house hunting.”

  To pick out another bachelor pad.

  Once upon a time, Ben had imagined Ally going with him to look at houses, but that wasn’t going to be the case. He had been dreading it, but he couldn’t stand being cramped in his apartment any longer. It had been good in a pinch, but Ben needed room to stretch out and he didn’t like not having a yard for Moose. Also, he wanted a kitchen where he could actually have the dishwasher and the fridge open at the same time. Not like he was Emeril Lagasse in need of a gourmet kitchen, but Ben felt like Sasquatch living in a dollhouse.

  It was also time to put down some roots in Denver. Not to mention the fact that he hated playing ‘avoid the neighbor’. Lately, Courtney seemed to be everywhere. Every time the elevator doors opened, Ben said a silent prayer that she wasn’t behind door number one. He didn’t think he was strong enough to see her in another one of those tight sweaters. When he went downstairs for a stint in the weight room, there was Courtney on the treadmill. When he went across the street for coffee, she was there ordering a latte. When he walked through the lobby, there she was checking her mail.

  Dom’s voice brought Ben back to the present. “Yeah, you sound thoroughly overjoyed about it. What’s up?” Dom had known Ben long enough to know that Ben was holding back.

  “Ally and I kind of broke up, so…” Ben trailed off, knowing full well that Dom hated any resemblance of heart to heart conversations.

  Dom groaned. “Dude, forget about her and get yourself some new pussy. You are The Shit right now, man. You’re on SportsCenter more than me for Christ’s sake. Take advantage of that.”

  Ben smiled at how Dom’s competitive streak extended off the ice.

  “Benny, you can have any girl you want.”

  “Yeah,” Ben said halfheartedly to appease him.

  It wasn’t like Ben hadn’t tried to move on. So far, he’d shared a bitter serving of Chinese food with his scrumptious neighbor and he’d rejected his new teammate’s sister’s best friend. Not bad for a few weeks in town.

  “So, Mr. SportsCenter, what do you think of Las Vegas?” Dom asked.

  “As a city or a TV show?” Ben replied with a smirk.

  “As a home base. Or, get this Benny, think of it more as a pimp pad. No…Pimp Headquarters. Yeah. Pimp HQ.”

  “I think I’m going to stick with the Mile-High City. What’s going on?”

  “Benny, are you sitting down? I just signed with the Las Vegas Greenbacks!”

  * * *

  It was trash day and green and black cans littered the curbs. Izzy drove herself somewhere she didn’t think she would ever see again. Dom’s house. But she had to do the right thing. She was starting to feel a little guilty about taking his mirror and was on her way to return it. She was, of course, the better person and the mirror didn’t even match her décor. Or, her taste, for that matter. Dom’s taste was ornate and gaudy. Gaudy. She couldn’t even say that about his women. They were just plain cheap.

  She felt weird driving up to his house, but was glad that this chapter in her life was about to be closed and over with. She had Pierce in her life now.

  When Izzy pulled into the driveway, she noticed a car parked out front with a delivery sign propped on top of it. Pappy’s Pizza.

  Oh good. Just in time for lunch. I’ll just drop this hideous mirror off, grab a slice, and be on my way to my new Dominator-free wonderful life.

  Izzy hauled the mirror up to the door and rang the bell. Out of habit, she fluffed her hair, knowing she already looked extra fabulous today. Dom was going to miss out on all this fabulousness from here on out.

  Ten seconds later, Dom answered the door in his red silk robe. Whether he intended the resemblance, or not, he looked like Hugh Hefner’s younger, taller and more athletic prodigy.

  “Hi,” she said simply. Not volunteering any information, she hoped to make him feel like the uncomfortable one for once. It looked to be working already.

  “Izzy….Hey.” His voice was gravelly and he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. “What’re you doin’ here?”

  He was surprised to see her. After what happened the last time he saw her, he didn’t think he’d ever see her again. Especially not on his doorstep. Unless, she came back for one more taste of Dom. Yeah, that must be it. She had come running back to him. They always came back for more. He was like Lay’s potato chips.

  Izzy pushed passed him and into the house, using the mirror as a shield. “I just came by to give you your mirror back.” She turned and held the mirror out to him as a very large and ostentatious peace offering.

  He stood across from her a little hunched over, sort of resembling an ape. Then, as if to cement the image, he scratched at his balls.

  Jesus, Pierce would never be so vulgar and disgusting.

  But Dom also looked like something else. Tired. Really tired. Dark circles were starting to emerge from under his icy eyes. They had lost some of their fierceness and his slouching shoulders made him appear uncharacteristically defeated.

  “Thanks.” He shrugged, took the mirror from her and leaned it up against the wall. “Hey babe, I’m sorry about what happened between us.”

  Izzy was surprised by how genuine he sounded. Apologies were not the Dominic way.

  “Me too.”

  Just like old times, he started to reach for her and she took a step back from him in return. She wasn’t here for that.

  “It’s not how I wanted things to end between us,” he revealed. Now, that last part wasn’t completely genuine. Ideally, he would’ve preferred to end things by never calling her again. “You look…great. Different, but still sexy as hell.”

  Lazily, he looked her up and down, his gaze lingering on her best attribute. Her breasts. Something about her was different, though, and he couldn’t quite pinpoint what it was. Her attributes weren’t hanging out of her blouse, that was for sure, and that was very unfortunate to say the least. He was pretty sure she hadn’t changed her hair and her clothes were a little less revealing, but what was it?

  Then he saw it in her eyes. He knew a thing or three about satisfying women, but this was different. She looked one hundred percent happy. And he knew it had nothing to do with him.

  “Thank you.” She looked back at him, locking him in her memory. His dark eyelashes fanned around his ice blue eyes. They hadn’t changed. He hadn’t changed and she knew he never would. In a way, she felt sorry for him. She briefly wondered if he would ever find what it was he was looking for. Like she had. Then, she quickly flicked the thought away. She had a new man and a new life to think about. But, oh, it was hard to forget the time she and Dom had spent together.

  She was still physically attracted to Dom. He still had that raw, sexy maleness about him. It didn
’t help that his silk robe fell just about mid-thigh. Those wonderfully muscular thighs that had slapped against her own on more than one sweaty occasion.

  “I’m getting married,” she blurted.

  He took a step back like he had been slapped in the face. That was the last thing he expected her to say. “Oh.”

  “To Pierce Spencer. You might have heard of him.” He’s successful at his living without even breaking a sweat.

  She watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down when he swallowed. “Wow.” He blinked. “Well, congratulations.”

  “Thank you, Dom.”

  She felt a tug at her heartstrings. It was miniscule, but a tug nonetheless. He looked so vulnerable standing there all alone in his three million dollar mansion. So strong and virile wearing only a silk robe and his five o‘clock shadow.

  “I’m moving to Vegas,” Dom said, scratching at the stubble on his face.

  “Good for you.”

  It sounded like the perfect place for a guy like him, but Izzy wondered if Las Vegas would be a big enough city for the likes of Dominic Devereaux. It would suit him, though. When she thought about it, Izzy couldn’t imagine Dom living anywhere else. He would be able to cycle through women and not have to sleep with the same one twice. The women in Vegas might last him a few years. Who would have thought they would end up living in the same city when all was said and done?

  They stood in silence while the seconds ticked away on the living room clock. A dog barked somewhere in his neighborhood. A plane flew overhead.

  Izzy shifted her feet. “I…”

  A woman’s voice came from down the hall breaking through the quiet. “Dominic? Come back to bed!”

  Awk-ward.

  Izzy wanted to be shocked, but she wasn’t even fazed by it anymore. She shook her head as if to shake off the trance he held her in.

  Dominic ignored the woman’s voice and scratched his head. “Thanks for bringing the mirror back.”

  “Goodbye Dom.”

  Enjoy your pap smear pizza.

  Izzy turned on her stilettos and marched out of Dom’s machismo home feeling six feet tall.

  She climbed into her fabulous car, cranked up the stereo and gunned the engine.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Home

  Ally pulled into the safety of her driveway, her knuckles white on the steering wheel. With Izzy’s news still fresh in her mind, she didn‘t know where to begin sorting out her emotions. She got out of the car and checked the mailbox. It had been shoved full of mail and she gathered the bundle in her arms. She unlocked the front door and tossed the mail on the counter. Once inside, Ally looked around the quiet and empty house only to be welcomed by clumps of puzzle pieces all over the dining room floor.

  Wonderful.

  Without unpacking, Ally started to pick up the pieces and put them back together again on the table, starting with the edge to give her a frame to start with. All day she worked on the puzzle, not focusing on anything but interlocking each piece with the next. Finishing the buildings first, she worked her way up to the sky next.

  Big decisions needed to be made about her future, but nothing mattered more than finishing the puzzle. The little house was silent except for the hum of the refrigerator and the occasional snap of a piece being put into its place.

  Ally’s shoulders and back began to ache from being hunched over for so long. She was about to finish the last few pieces of sky, when she realized two pieces were missing. 998 pieces stared back at her all hooked together in a single sheet. She frowned and looked on the floor for the ones she was missing. She found lots of crumbs and a few dust bunnies, but no pieces.

  Huh.

  Fresh air sounded good, so she went out to the backyard to stretch her aching muscles. The last pieces could wait.

  In the yard, Gram’s rosebushes were so overgrown that they had started to grow into each other in a tangled web of thorns and leaves. Ally walked over to them, her feet crunching on the dead, brown grass. Long ago, the roses had been Gram’s pride and joy, but now they were a stinging reminder of life collapsing around Ally. They brought to mind Gram’s battle with time and illness. If Gram had been well, she would have had the strength to take care of them all these years. Then, they reminded Ally of her own battle with time.

  She fingered the jagged leaves and sighed. She wished she’d been able to take care of them, but she’d been too busy with work and school. And life. Their heartiness amazed her. How they would still bloom come summertime, no matter how long it had been since they were pruned. How new stems would grow despite their twisted state from years of neglect.

  Relief began creeping into Ally’s senses. It mixed with all the other feelings of sadness and grief and guilt, but it was there all the same. Relief and comfort. She was comforted in knowing that someone would come along and nourish the bushes back to their original beautiful and healthy state. But it wouldn’t be her.

  Ally went back inside and made a pot of tea, just like how Gram would have, and started to go through the bundle of mail that had accumulated over the past few days. Catalogs. Bills. More bills. When she got to the middle of the pile, she came upon a thick manila envelope. It was from the Phillips University School of Veterinary Medicine. The return address was in Denver Colorado. She hadn’t sent away for it.

  With trembling fingers, she opened the envelope.

  Dear Ms. Monroe,

  Thank you for your interest in the Phillips University School of Veterinary Medicine. Enclosed is the information you requested.

  The glossy brochure showed smiling students gathered around a Springer Spaniel and went on to describe their training programs and dedication to learning.

  Who did this?

  Ally stared into her teacup looking for answers.

  Later, Ally unpacked her clothes and overnight bag and started a load of laundry. She had walked by Gram’s room several times without being able to look into it. Knowing she couldn’t avoid it forever, she finally went in and sat down on Gram’s bed. Ruby had already stripped the sheets from the bed, so Ally sat on the bare mattress.

  “I can’t believe you’re gone,” she murmured out loud to the empty house.

  She was answered by the swish of the washing machine switching into the next cycle.

  Looking around the room, she saw a lifetime of memories. School photos of Ally were lined up on the dresser. Jigsaw puzzles stacked in the corner. Still, the room seemed a little too empty to represent such a special woman. But then again, Ally’s heart and mind were full of memories created over the last twenty-five years. A trinket or photo couldn’t substitute the feelings Ally kept with her.

  On the bedside table, Gram’s special box caught her eye. She reached for it and took a deep breath before opening it, thinking maybe it held some comfort inside for her. A crisp sheet of paper lay folded on top that Ally didn’t remember seeing before. She unfolded the paper and her heart skipped a beat when she saw Ruby’s handwriting. The letter was dated the same day Gram had passed away.

  My dearest Allison,

  Ruby was kind enough to take down this letter for me. I wanted you to know how much I love you appreciate everything you have done for me. I know you are sad, but please take comfort in knowing that you will do such great things in the future. My greatest blessing was to see you blossom into a beautiful young woman.

  Trust yourself and your instincts, my dear. Give your whole heart in all that you do because if you don’t, you will always wonder what might have been.

  Take comfort in knowing that I am always with you.

  I love you, dear.

  Your loving Gram

  p.s.

  I took out some life insurance after Henry died so that you wouldn’t have to worry about financial things in case something happened to me as well. It should be enough to provide for you to go to school and get your degree. I know that you will make a wonderful vet.

  Love, Gram

  Ally looked down at the floor and let t
he tears come. She wrung her hands in her lap and cried for everything. For Gram and her roses. For Izzy moving to another state. For Ben. For herself.

  When the tears stopped coming, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve. In the box, under where the letter had been, she found Gram’s insurance information in an envelope. She took the papers out, unfolded them and looked over the policy.

  Her eyes widened when she saw the amount. She couldn’t believe what she saw. She wasn’t going to have to worry about money for a long, long time. The policy amount was more than enough to pay off the mortgage on the house and cover all of Ally’s costs for veterinary college.

  When she placed the papers along with the letter back into the box and got up to go back into the kitchen, something on the carpet caught the attention of her blurry eyes. She knelt down to see what it was. Lying there on the worn carpet were the two missing puzzle pieces. She must have tracked them into the room earlier. She picked them up and interlocked them. They snapped together like magnets. She took them into the kitchen and added them to the puzzle.

  There.

  It was done. 1,000 pieces.

  Ally smoothed her hand over the finished puzzle. All of the pieces fully and perfectly interlocked with each other. She realized that if she had a piece, it would fit with Ben’s. Just like Izzy fit with Pierce and Gram fit with her Grandpa Henry.

  Ally took a deep breath. It was time to embrace the future and let go of all things past. No more hiding behind excuses or responsibilities. All she had ever known was Gram and Izzy’s love. The thought of being without either one of them still chilled her to the bone, but she would never truly be without them. She would carry them with her always, no matter where they were.

  Ally thought back to the river during the storm at Izzy’s house. She knew that if she were to stand in the middle of the river, the current would sweep her away with it and she wouldn’t be able to stand still. Moving forward was sometimes the hardest thing to do, but it was the only way to get anywhere.