Home Ice

by Rachelle Vaughn

  “You can make a home anywhere, Allison.” Gram’s words echoed in her heart.

  She knew what she had to do.

  * * *

  For most of the next couple weeks, Ben kept occupied by looking at houses on the market, but his heart wasn’t in it. They all seemed too big and empty to live in alone. After today, the apartment wasn’t looking so shabby.

  On his way to the practice rink, Ben grabbed his keys and wallet and reached for the doorknob. Before he could turn it, his cell phone rang. He smiled when he saw who it was.

  “Dom, you sick son of a bitch. How is Sin City treating you?”

  “Benny,” Dom replied, unable to hide the excitement in his voice, “I’ve only been down here a week and this place is bat-shit crazy. Vegas is amazing. It’s a twenty-four-seven orgy of hot chicks, gambling and parties. It’s the best career move I ever made.”

  Ben laughed because sex had virtually nothing to do with the game of hockey. But for Dom, it meant everything.

  “Well, I’m glad to hear you’re adjusting. Be safe, all right, Dom.”

  “Oh yeah. Shit, Trojan’s stock has fuckin’ tripled since I’ve been down here, man!”

  “I can imagine.”

  “If I were you I’d be hittin’ the sheets with some of your hometown hotties.”

  “If I were you, I’d get myself tested,” Ben shot back.

  “Hey man, I’m clean!”

  “Right.”

  “It’s awesome to talk to ya, Benny, but I should probably let you go. I’ve got another call coming in.”

  “Yeah, I’m just leaving for practice now.”

  “Well, get some rest. You have less than a month until we play each other.”

  “Will do. I’ll be ready.”

  * * *

  Ally looked at her growing to-do list. She had several calls to make, so she started at the top of the list.

  “Hi Ruby, its Ally.”

  “Ally. How are you doing, sweetheart?”

  “Well, it feels like someone ripped out my insides and now I have to figure out how to function. But that’s not why I’m calling. I found Gram’s letter.”

  Ruby sighed. “Please don’t be upset with me. She made me promise not to tell you about it.” Ruby’s worry seeped through the phone line.

  “Ruby, I’m not the least bit mad at you. I just wanted to thank you for everything you helped out with over the past couple of years. I don’t think I told you enough how grateful I am to you.”

  “Oh, Ally, it was my job.”

  “I know it was. But you did so much more than that and became family to me and I’ll miss you very much.”

  “We’ll keep in touch,” Ruby said optimistically. “You and Gram were a joy to be around and I’m glad I had the opportunity to be a part of your life and your little family. Gram loved you so much and all she could ever talk about was how you were destined to do great things.” She could hear Ally start to cry. “I know it’s rough right now, but every day it will get a little easier. You’ll always have a place in your heart that aches for her, but eventually the normal everyday things won’t be so tough and you’ll be able to think about your future.”

  “Thank you Ruby. That means so much to me. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome, dear. And good luck.”

  They said their goodbyes and then Ally hung up.

  She tapped the phone on the kitchen table next to the completed puzzle. She was trying to figure out how to say what she needed to say over the phone without sounding like a blubbering idiot.

  Ah, what the hell, might as well shoot from the hip and talk from the heart.

  She dialed his new cell phone number. Ten brand spanking new digits, including a shiny new and different area code. She wondered why she hadn’t programmed it into the speed dial, but then she remembered why. Denial. It was a funny thing. Not ‘funny ha-ha’, but funny ‘I can’t seem to take a step forward’. Her stomach clenched with every ring.

  He finally answered on the fourth ring. Enough rings to make her realize she was clutching the phone with a death grip to her ear.

  Breathe. Remember to breathe.

  She loosened her grip.

  “Hi Ally,” Ben answered, reading her name on the caller ID. It sounded like he was glad to hear from her. That was a good start.

  God, it was good to hear his voice. “Hi.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Um, yeah. I mean no, not really, not yet.”

  “What’s up?” he asked. There couldn’t possibly be any more ways for her to hurt him, right?

  Breathe in.

  “I called to apologize and ask for your forgiveness.” There. She said it.

  Breathe out.

  “I love you, Ben. I always have. From the first time I saw you in your jersey all sweaty from practice.” Big fat tears started to fall from her eyes, but she wiped them away and continued with her declaration. “I love you now and I will continue to love you until I’m old and wrinkled.”

  “I love you, too,” he said softly.

  “It is so good to hear you say that. I miss talking to you every day. Nothing has been the same without you to share it with me. So much has happened and I was completely lost and confused. I’m so sorry about what happened after the funeral.” Her chest heaved at the memory of burying Gram and the disastrous aftershocks.

  “Oh, baby. I understand all of that and I forgive you, but that hasn’t made it any easier. I never meant for you to feel like you had to choose between your life and me. I just wanted to be with you. It was never about you giving anything up, okay?”

  “I know that now. I know a lot of things now that I was too scared to accept before.”

  “Ally,” he sighed and paused, a little too long for her comfort. “This is all great, but we can’t keep going back and forth and putting ourselves through this.”

  “I know. That’s why I’m calling. I want to be with you. More than anything else. I can say that now and mean every word of it. I’m going to do whatever it takes to be with you.”

  “Really?” He had been waiting for her to say those words for months. “But what exactly does that mean? Are you coming to Denver?”

  “I still have some things to take care of here, but first I needed to make sure you still wanted to be with me,” she sniffed and tried to hold back the sob in her throat. So much for the blubbering idiot part.

  “Want to be with you? Have you lost your freakin’ mind? It’s what I’ve been trying to do for the last how many months! How many times do I have to tell you? I never want to be without you again. It’s been unbearable without you.”

  She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block the tears from coming. “I love you, Benjamin Price.”

  “Oh, Ally. I love you so much.” For the first time in weeks, his voice was full of optimism and hope. “So what do we do now?”

  “Well,” she swallowed and tried to compose herself. “What is your schedule like tomorrow? Do you have practice? Maybe we can talk afterwards.”

  “Yeah, that would be great. I have the afternoon free. I’ll call you.”

  “Good. We can talk more then, when I have things a little more figured out.”

  “Okay.”

  “Ben?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

  Next, Ally dialed the number that was all too familiar to her and it was answered on the second ring.

  “Hi, it’s me. I got the brochure you had sent to me.”

  “Good. I thought you might need a push in the right direction,” Izzy said with satisfaction.

  “Izzy,” Ally paused, then quickly finished with, “I want you to sell Gram’s house for me.”

  “Really?!” Izzy shrieked.

  “Yes.”

  “Wait. The brochure was just an idea of what options you have. What happened between now and a week ago to bring you to this? Are you sure that’s what you want to do, Ally? You don’t have t
o sell right away.”

  “I’m sure.”

  “I just don’t want you to do something irrational and regret the decision later. Are you okay?”

  “Yes. I’m better than I’ve been in a long time. Thanks for your concern, but I’ve given it a lot of thought. Sure, I have a lot of memories in this house, good and bad, but I think it’s time to let it go. It’s time for a new family to live here and take care of it like it should be taken care of and make their own memories in it. It’s not my place anymore and I’m afraid I won’t be able to move on if I hang on to it.”

  Let go.

  Ally hoped things would work out with Ben in the end, but either way she wanted to sell the house. If things didn’t work out, she planned on getting a little apartment near the college of her choice where she would focus on getting her Bachelor’s Degree. It would be quite an undertaking, but she would have plenty of free time to pack her schedule full of classes.

  “I guess I can’t argue with that. So, that brings up the most important questions of all. Where are you going to live?”

  “Well, I’ll answer your question with a question. Can you give me a ride to the airport tomorrow?” Ally had to hold the phone away from her ear, Izzy’s cheers of glee were so loud.

  Ally figured she needed to do some research on the internet in order to sufficiently surprise Ben. She didn’t know the exact address at his new apartment and asking him would have surely given away her surprise. So, she looked up his training camp schedule online and found that he had practice from ten a.m. until noon. Then, the Blizzards’ morning on-ice workouts were followed by an intra-squad scrimmage from noon until two-thirty p.m. All practices were free and open to the public. Perfect.

  Next, Ally broke out her trusty credit card and purchased a plane ticket to Denver. She was so nervous her hand shook with each click of the mouse. The flight she chose was scheduled to land at two o’clock. Hoping Ben milled around after practice talking to the guys, Ally thought she just might make it in time. Just in case the cab driver needed them, she printed out directions to the practice facility. Crossing her fingers, she hoped her crazy scheme would work.

  Ally packed light, bringing only a carry-on bag big enough to hold her necessities. Everything she needed was already in Denver.

  That night, she couldn’t sleep so she decided to get a head start on packing up the house. She kept only mementos, her extra clothes, books and a few other household items. The rest, she put in bags to donate to Ruby’s donation program for the needy.

  Now Ally knew how Ben had felt all those months ago when he was packing to move to Denver. And, like him, here she was all alone packing up her life. One box at a time.

  Thankfully, Gram wasn’t much of a packrat. Between that and Ally’s distaste for clutter, she was making quick progress of packing. It could have waited, but she had the night to kill and the already threadbare carpet couldn’t survive any more of her pacing. The television was on to keep her company as she went from room to room filling up boxes and bags.

  Sometimes, she would have to stop what she was doing when the tears came. The most difficult items to pack away were the photos from on the mantle, Gram’s puzzles and her tea cups in the kitchen. Then, Ally would remind herself that she was starting a new life and that Gram would always be with her. These were just material things and it wasn’t like she was disposing of a lifetime of memories. She was merely putting them in storage until she sorted her life out.

  When she was finished, Ally looked around the house that had been hers and Gram’s for the past two decades. The house she grew up in and the only place she knew as home. The little kitchen where she had tea with Gram. The shabby carpet and worn chairs where they had watched dozens of movies together.

  There was nothing left for her here anymore. She was a grown woman capable of making her own decisions and being in charge of her life. If only she could have come to that conclusion months ago, she could have already been in Colorado by now.

  Thinking she could finally close her eyes for a few hours, Ally went into her room. It hadn’t changed much over the years. The quilt on her bed was worn and not nearly as colorful as it was a decade ago when Gram had made it for her. The posters of her youth were gone, replaced by tacky framed art from the flea mart and yard sales.

  She curled up on her bed and drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow was a new day.

  The next morning, Izzy picked up Ally bright and early. In true Vintage Izzy form, she was wearing a clingy red tank top and denim mini skirt. Ally smiled to herself, knowing that the ‘old’ Izzy could never be completely suppressed by Pierce. And who would want it to be?

  On the way to the Red Valley Municipal Airport, Ally tried to keep her emotions under control while Izzy chattered next to her from the driver‘s seat.

  “Too bad I didn’t think of getting Pierce’s private jet for you or his helicopter. How romantic would that be?” Izzy put her hand over her heart. “You flying in and professing your love to the man of your dreams.”

  Ally laughed. “I’m surprised you didn’t make a banner.”

  Izzy snapped her fingers. “Damn! That would have been a brilliant idea.”

  “I hope that flying 1300 miles will be enough of a gesture.”

  Izzy looked over at her with a tender smile. “I’m so proud of you.”

  “Why? For doing things the hard way?”

  Izzy rolled her eyes and laughed. “Shut up.”

  After a tearful goodbye and half a dozen rib crushing hugs, Ally boarded the plane that would take her to her new life.

  During the flight, Ally found it impossible to concentrate on the in-flight movie. She checked her printout of the team schedule again. If her plane landed on time, she could catch Ben at his practice. It was a long shot, but she was ready to take a leap and leave everything to chance. For the first time in her life there was nothing stopping her.

  Except for the plane being delayed.

  It was three o’clock when Ally launched herself into the backseat of the nearest cab. She promised the driver an extra fifty bucks if he could hurry and checked her watch again. Practice had been over for a half hour.

  Oh, no, I’m not going to make it in time, she screamed inside her head.

  Then she remembered that she hadn’t factored in Ben taking a shower and getting dressed. She just might make it after all.

  So, like Gram used to tell her when she was a little girl, Ally put on a brave face even though she was terrified inside. She took Gram’s wedding band out of her pocket and turned the gold around in her fingers.

  Give your whole heart in all that you do because if you don’t you will always wonder what might have been.

  Ally slipped the ring on her left hand and smiled to herself.

  Ten minutes later, the cab finally pulled up to the Blizzards Practice Facility. Thank goodness she had done her research. Like the Razors, the Blizzards had a separate practice facility from the arena where they held their games. At least she was in the right place, but was she there at the right time?

  Seeing that most of the players’ cars were still in the parking lot, she looked around for Ben’s truck.

  Damn. Did every hockey player drive a black SUV, or what?!

  When some players started coming out of the front doors, she frantically scanned for Ben’s face.

  Then she saw him.

  He was more handsome than ever and his hair was still wet from his shower. She threw a wad of bills at the cab driver and grabbed her bag. She couldn’t find the door handle fast enough and screeched out loud when she finally hurled herself from the cab.

  “Ben!!!” she yelled.

  He looked up when he heard his name and his eyes widened when he saw her running towards him.

  “Oh, Ben, I’m here!” Her screams sent a few looks in her direction from the other players, but she couldn’t have cared less.

  Before she reached him, she dropped her bag on the asphalt and threw herself into his arms. Laughing
and crying at the same time, she breathed in the clean smell of him.

  “I can’t believe you’re here,” he said into her hair.

  “I can’t believe it either,” she cried. “I love you!”

  He pulled back from their embrace and grinned at her. Even his eyes were smiling. “I love you, too.”

  She stifled a sob. “I want to get married. I want to be your wife, Ben.”

  Allison Price. It did have a nice ring to it.

  Instead of saying anything, Ben leaned down and kissed her. The smell of strawberries danced around them and she knew…she was home.

  About the Author

  Rachelle Vaughn has been writing ever since she was old enough to sneak paperback romance novels under her pillow. She loves reading and writing all genres of romance, attending rock concerts and watching entirely too much television. Above all, Rachelle is a loyal, sometimes hopelessly devoted hockey fan.

  She lives in the real life version of Red Valley, located in California where she is at work on her next novel.

  Visit her website at rachellevaughn.com

  Table of Contents

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  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4