by Jen Gilroy
“Sometimes everyone needs a helping hand. No man or woman is an island.” Luc’s blue gaze drilled into Cat, the same blue as his crewneck Henley. The T-shirt molded to his broad chest and powerful forearms before it dipped below the waistband of his jeans to rest against…
Cat’s hands tingled as warmth spread through her chest. She wouldn’t go there. Not with anyone, but especially not with Luc. As toddlers, they’d gone to the same playgroup and attended the same birthday parties. He’d seen her with cake on her face and ice cream in her hair. He’d been her lab partner in chemistry senior year, and he’d rented her old bedroom in her mom’s house for the past four months.
In all that time, he’d never looked at her except as a friend of the family. The kid with the thick glasses who’d skipped fifth grade, and who was so bad at sports she was the last one picked for any team except when he took pity on her.
In their small-town world, Luc had been a god. The kind of guy who’d dated the pretty, popular girls. Even if Cat had been the kind of woman for a man like him, having feelings for him would be wrong on so many levels. Her life had changed almost beyond recognition since high school, but it hadn’t changed enough for that.
Luc opened the metal gate separating the reception desk from the arena foyer and waved Cat and Amy toward the cubbyhole that served as the coaching office. Even before Jim MacPherson’s accident, the hockey program had been in chaos, so one more kid truly wouldn’t make a difference. Even if it had, though, making that exception would have been worth it for the expression on Cat’s face. Relief, gratitude, and something he didn’t want to put a label on but that touched an emotion he’d forgotten he could feel.
As for Amy, he might not know much about kids, but her longing was palpable. She clearly needed to play hockey almost as much as she needed to breathe. “Take a seat.” He gestured to the two chairs in front of the coach’s desk, now his desk at least until the end of the season.
Cat nudged her daughter, who continued to stare at him like he’d sprouted an extra head.
“You…you’ll be coaching me…like for real?” Amy’s voice stuttered.
“Sure.” Luc moved a stack of paperwork and several fishing magazines aside to make a clear space on the desk for the registration package. “You think you can handle that?”
“Yeah.” Amy leaned forward. “You played in the NHL. You played for Tampa, and Chicago, and Vancouver, and Winnipeg. You were on the U.S. Olympic team and World Juniors and you…” She stopped as Cat gave her a silencing look.
And Luc had the scars to prove it, not only the physical ones but also those that couldn’t be seen. “I retired after last season, so now I’m just a regular coach.” He pulled a plastic portfolio from atop a pile. “Why don’t you take a look at some of the player information while I talk to your mom? You can see the uniform, and there’s a bunch of pictures from games.”
Amy gave a quick nod and took the portfolio he held out.
Luc sat in the battered black vinyl chair and studied the woman across from him. Cat still had that serious look she’d had as a kid, and she wasn’t much taller than when she’d joined his sixth-grade class, almost two years younger but a whole lot smarter than everyone else. But she’d been a sweet kid, and he’d looked out for her when he could. He’d never have expected her to produce a hockey player, though. It must have something to do with Amy’s dad, a guy who’d never been in the picture and, unusually for Firefly Lake, nobody ever mentioned.
Cat glanced at her daughter, and her mouth tilted into a smile filled with so much love that Luc’s heart caught.
He cleared his throat. “I feel bad you and Amy aren’t staying at Harbor House with your mom. I already told her I can find another place to rent until my new house is ready.”
“Of course not.” Cat’s face went pink, and she tucked a strand of blond hair behind one ear. Why had he never noticed she had pretty ears? “Even if you weren’t staying there, Amy and I would still need our own space. Besides, I wouldn’t think of inflicting my cats on Pixie.” Her expression changed. Not defensive exactly, but watchful and tinged with apprehension.
“That little dog sure rules the roost at your mom’s place.” An unexpected prickle of sexual awareness whipped through him. Cat had a pretty face, too. Big blue eyes behind almost invisible glasses, delicate features, and a classic oval face. Why had he never noticed all that about her, either?
“I sublet my place in Boston and rented an apartment above the craft gallery on Main Street. I got a great deal on rent as part of helping the gallery owner. The winter months are quiet, but the gallery owner has a few buying trips coming up, so he needed to hire somebody to look after the store.” She glanced at her daughter again and her face softened. “Like I tell Amy, everything works out somehow. You have to keep the faith.”
Clearly, Cat was a glass half full person. The kind of person he used to be before he lost his wife and his hopes and dreams along with her.
Luc took a bulging folder from the bottom desk drawer and got his mind back on hockey, where it belonged. “The practice schedule is in here, along with the game dates and all the other information you need. The parent volunteer roster is already set, but if you want—”
“No.” Cat’s voice was laced with what might have been panic. “I’m not really a hockey mom. I help out when I’m needed, but…” She took the folder from him and set it on her lap on top of a bulky black tote. “I want to help Amy get settled at her new school first. It’s hard to change in the middle of the year.”
“Of course.” Luc’s heart gave a painful thud. His mom had been a big hockey mom. Like his wife would have been if she’d had the chance.
“Thanks.” Cat’s smile was sweet and genuine. It shouldn’t have been sexy but somehow was.
Luc tented his hands on the desk and tried to work moisture into his dry mouth. As far as women were concerned, he was off the market indefinitely and by choice. He shouldn’t look at Cat’s straight, blond hair and wonder how it would feel as it slipped through his fingers. And he definitely shouldn’t wonder about her petite figure beneath her chunky gray sweater and tailored black coat. Despite all the women who’d made it clear they’d be interested in whatever he offered, Luc wasn’t offering anything. Once the house he was having built was finished, coaching and working alongside his dad and uncles at Simard Creamery would be his life—his whole life.
“Your mom’s real excited about your brother’s wedding.” He changed the subject with an effort. “She says it’s so romantic that Nick and Mia are getting married on New Year’s Eve.”
“Yes.” Cat smiled, and damn if the soft curve of her rosy lips didn’t take Luc’s thoughts right back to where they had no business going. “It’s great to see Mom so happy, and Nick and Mia too. With Mia, it’s like I’m getting another sister.”
“Nick’s been a good friend to me.” And that was even more reason why Luc shouldn’t think about Cat like he’d been thinking about her. A guy didn’t have those kinds of thoughts about a buddy’s little sister.
Luc dragged his gaze away from Cat’s mouth to stare at the frost-fringed office window. The tall pine trees outside were etched in white, and the open field behind the arena slept in a blanket of snow as it sloped in a gentle hill to the shore of the ice-covered lake. In the distance, wisps of wood smoke curled from chimneys in the small town of Firefly Lake cradled between the dark-green Vermont hills.
Home, family, and community. Everything Luc needed to get his life stable and back on track was right here. Apart from his wife and professional hockey, everything he’d ever wanted was here too.
“The uniform’s great.” Amy’s excited voice brought him back to the present. “Does Mom need to fill out some forms and pay?”
“Yeah, she does.” Luc’s voice hitched.
“While I do that, why don’t you go out to the rink?” Cat dug in her tote and pulled out a folded bill. “You can get yourself a hot chocolate and watch the figure skating pr
actice.”
“Mom.” Amy made a disgusted face. “Figure skating’s for girlie girls.”
“Before she switched to hockey, my wife started out as a figure skater.” Luc pushed the words out through lips that were all of a sudden numb. When it came to sports, Maggie had been as driven as him and as reckless. Between his failings and hers, he hadn’t been with her when she needed him most. “My mom was a competitive figure skater, too. You have to be real fit to do those routines. Unlike in hockey, you aren’t wearing gear to protect you from falls, either.”
“Sure, but you’d never get me into one of those costumes.” Amy gave him a dimpled grin. “I had to wear sequins for a school play once. I never itched so much in my whole entire life. Can you imagine skating in one of those outfits?”
“Nope.” The force of Amy’s smile kept the memories at bay and, despite himself, Luc managed a smile back. “Go on, we won’t be long.”
“Okay.” With another grin, Amy took the bill from Cat and tucked it into the front pocket of her jeans.
When Amy had left, shutting the office door behind her, Luc turned back to Cat. There was no mistaking the sympathy in her eyes.
“It must be hard to talk about your wife. Amy’s still a kid, so she doesn’t think before she speaks.”
“Life goes on.” His voice caught again. Maybe it did for everyone else, but his life had stopped two years ago. Although he went through the motions and did what his family and everyone expected, the biggest part of him was numb. Until today, he’d been fine with that numbness. Then Cat had poked through it with her big blue eyes and a smile that was like a warm hug on a cold day. He cleared his throat. “What’s up?”
“Nothing…I…” She fiddled with the strap of her bag. “Until my grant money comes through after New Year’s, money’s a bit tight. Amy needs new skates, and with my move, the holidays, and the wedding and all, I wondered…can I buy a secondhand pair anywhere?”
Luc’s throat closed as guilt needled him. If money was that tight, Cat and Amy should be staying at Harbor House, rent-free. Except they weren’t, and he couldn’t shake a sense it had something to do with him.
“Len’s Hardware on Main sells used gear, but it goes fast.” Although there was money in Firefly Lake, folks were thrifty New Englanders who could sniff out a bargain at twenty paces.
“Oh.” She pulled out her checkbook. “Amy will have to make do—”
“Hang on.” He stood and came around the desk to sit beside her in the chair Amy had vacated. “I can wait for the hockey registration fee. Put that money toward new skates instead. Len sells those too, and he gives a discount to local kids. Show him Amy’s paperwork so she’ll qualify.” In the meantime, he’d square the registration fee with the arena manager. Cat would never have to know.
“Really?” Cat’s cheeks reddened. “That would be great. I don’t want to ask my mom or Nick. They’d both help me out, no question, but…” She gripped her bag and slid down in the chair.
Luc’s heart squeezed. She was embarrassed to ask her family for help, like he’d have been embarrassed asking his. Except, that would never be an issue because he had more money than he could spend in one lifetime. Money to finance the creamery expansion his dad had talked about for years. And to send his folks on that cruise they’d hankered after but could never afford because of the cost of raising four kids and putting them through college. Money for everything except what mattered most—taking care of his wife and their child like he’d planned.
“Pay for the hockey registration when your grant comes through.” He tried to smile. “I know you’re good for it.”
“Thanks.” Cat’s voice cracked and she took one hand away from her bag to rub it across her face. “Hockey means everything to Amy. I want her to be able to play, but she’s growing so fast right now.”
“Hockey’s an expensive sport.” He slid an arm around her shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. The same kind of friendly squeeze he’d given her all those times back in high school when she’d saved his butt in chemistry. Before today, however, his fingers had never tingled when he’d touched Cat. His body had never heated, either.
Cat started and pulled away at the same instant he did. “Hockey can be a dangerous sport too, and now Amy will be playing with boys. She hasn’t played with boys since she was seven. She could get hurt.”
Like he had, hurt so bad it had ended his career. “Amy’s playing minor hockey. At her age, there is a rule about no body checking.” He tried to make his tone reassuring. “I promise you I’ll keep a close eye on her.” It was his job as her coach, and he’d do the same for any kid. It had nothing to do with the strange and unexpected attraction he all of a sudden had for this woman he’d known his whole life, who he’d never really looked at until today.
A woman who wasn’t Maggie. Luc’s stomach clenched in a tangled lump of guilt and grief, tied tight with a slippery ribbon of disloyalty. Maggie was never coming back, but that didn’t mean Luc could forget her. Or that he wanted to.
About the Author
Jen Gilroy grew up under the big sky of western Canada. After many years in England, she now lives in a small town in eastern Ontario where her Irish ancestors settled in the nineteenth century. She’s worked in higher education and international marketing but, after spending too much time in airports and away from her family, traded the 9-5 to write contemporary romance to bring readers’ hearts home.
A small-town girl at heart, Jen likes ice cream, diners, vintage style, and all things country. Her husband, Tech Guy, is her real-life romance hero, and her daughter, English Rose, teaches her to cherish the blessings in the everyday.
You can learn more at:
www.jengilroy.com
Twitter: @JenGilroy1
http://facebook.com/JenGilroyAuthor
Acclaim for Jen Gilroy
The Cottage at Firefly Lake
“Gilroy’s debut contemporary is packed with potent emotions…[Her] protagonists tug at the heartstrings from the beginning of the story and don’t let go. The strong group of supporting characters includes Charlie’s sister, Mia, and her daughter, Naomi, whose stories are to be later told. Long on charm, this story invites readers to come in and stay a while.”
—Publishers Weekly
“4 stars! Memories, regrets, and second chances are front and center in Gilroy’s fantastic debut. The first book in the Firefly Lake series is complex and mired in secrets. The Vermont setting adds a genuine feel to the story, and the co-stars are highly entertaining.”
—RT Book Reviews
“Such a sweet love story. 4.0 stars for this second-chance romance!”
—TextTeaserBookBlog.com
“The first in a promising new series…I most certainly will be on the look for more books from Ms. Gilroy.”
—Reviews by Crystal (reviewsbycacb.blogspot.com)
“There’s a lot to love at Firefly Lake. I’m looking forward to a return visit.”
—ReadingReality.net
“A touching story that will resonate with those who enjoy women’s fiction and contemporary romance.”
—NightOwlReviews.com
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