Crossing Center Ice

by Kimberly Rae Jordan

  “Did you want to order some tea?” he asked as she got settled.

  “Yeah. I need something warm.”

  The server approached their table and took Avery’s order.

  “So Benjie’s back to school tomorrow?”

  Avery nodded as she rubbed her hands together. “He tried to convince me that since it was just one day, he didn’t need to go back until next week. But I told him if he wanted to play hockey this weekend, he’d be going to school tomorrow.”

  Kenton grinned, remembering similar conversations with his dad. “Guess he agreed pretty quickly after that.”

  “He did.” She looked up as the server returned with her tea. “Thank you.”

  Though he wanted to know why she’d asked to meet with him, Kenton let her drink her tea without pressing. “I ordered some pastries too, so help yourself.”

  She nodded but didn’t take any, just sat there taking small sips of her tea. Unable to just do nothing, Kenton helped himself to the pastries, taking what looked like a small chocolate croissant. Despite being tense about Avery’s reason for meeting with him, Kenton was able to enjoy the flaky pastry with the burst of flavor from the dark chocolate within it.

  “I had a talk with Benjie,” she finally said.

  Kenton stared at her in surprise. “About Julian?” Avery nodded. “How did that come about?”

  She gave him a rueful smile. “It was by accident, but I guess it proved a point. That he could find out about Julian by accident or he could find out from me. I guess if anyone had to accidentally spill it, it’s good it was me.”

  “Did he have lots of questions?”

  “Not a lot. I told him what happened. Well, most of what happened. What he needed to know anyway. There are some things I’d prefer he never know.”

  Kenton nodded. After finding out who Avery was, he’d read up on the case, desperate to know more details about the attack on the woman he loved. The information he’d found had made him even angrier. There was definitely information that Benjie didn’t need to know—ever, if possible—but at the very least not until he was old enough to better comprehend what had happened.

  “It’s good he got the information from you, so you could control it and answer his questions. Did he ask about meeting his…Julian?” Kenton couldn’t bring himself to call the man Benjie’s dad. After what he’d done—even if he’d been under the influence of a substance—he didn’t deserve the title of dad.

  “He did, but when I asked him if he wanted to, he said no. That Julian wasn’t his father.”

  Kenton felt a surge of affection for the boy. “Are you still worried about Julian finding out about him?”

  “A bit. I mean, I wouldn’t put it past Julian to try for custody just to get back at me, and while I’m not too worried about him succeeding, his parents would no doubt want to get to know their grandson. Though they weren’t exactly keen on me, they were anxious for us to have kids. Julian didn’t want any children though.”

  Again, Kenton wanted to ask what this latest development with Benjie might mean for them, if anything, but if it hadn’t changed how Avery viewed their situation, he’d rather wait to hear it. “Your boy is pretty incredible. In spite of the circumstances, you’ve done a terrific job raising him.”

  Avery’s smile grew, her eyes sparkling. “Yeah. I’m pretty proud of him.”

  The music in the café filled the silence that fell between them. Was that all she had wanted to tell him? Disappointment threatened to rob Kenton of the happiness he felt on Avery’s behalf. He would be happy for her because he knew how worried she’d been about Benjie finding out about his dad, but he still longed for more with her. It was almost laughable how he’d been so determined to form a friendship—and only a friendship—with her at the beginning, but now friendship seemed so shallow compared with what his heart wanted to have with her.

  “Like I said, I’m still worried about Julian finding out about Benjie, but I can’t let that fear rob me of the future I think God has for Benjie and me.” Her gaze lowered to her cup of tea. “I never really thought I’d want to be in a relationship again after my horrible experience with Julian. And for sure it wasn’t going to be with another professional athlete. And doubly sure not with a cocky hockey player.”

  “Well, you can’t be talking about me,” Kenton said, fighting the grin that threatened to take over his face.

  “It wasn’t love at first sight, so keep your ego in check,” Avery said, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth. “But to be honest, it didn’t take too long before I knew I was falling for you. As fans of yours, the boys had gone on and on about you long before we ever met, so I kind of felt like I knew you. However, I quickly realized you were so much more than the person I first thought you to be. It just about crushed me when I realized you had taken the HGH because, by that point, my heart was already well involved.” She paused and took a deep breath, looking at him with eyes filled with emotion. But then her gaze dropped to her tea.

  Kenton couldn’t figure out if it had been regret or hope or something else altogether in her eyes. He swallowed hard, trying to keep words from spilling out until she’d had her say. He would plead with her, if necessary. His heart told him they should be together. That she and Benjie were supposed to be his family. But her heart had to be in sync with his in order for that to happen.

  “I think I would like to…” Her words trailed off as she looked up. She straightened, pulling her shoulders back as she met his gaze. “I want to be with you. I mean, if that’s still what you want.”

  Kenton set his coffee down on the table and cupped her hands in his, both of them holding her cup of tea. “I do want to try. Lately, a relationship with you has been all I want. More than skating again. More than playing hockey. More than winning another Stanley Cup. More than another million dollar endorsement. I want to have you and Benjie in my life.”

  She smiled at him then, and his heart filled with warmth. “It’s a good thing I’m not asking you to give up any of that for us to be together.”

  “You do realize that for awhile, we’re going to have a long-distance relationship. I know your life is here, but I can’t even contemplate a move back until my contract is over.” Kenton didn’t want to be throwing up obstacles, but he also needed to make sure that he and Avery were on the same page.

  Avery leaned toward him. “I understand that. We have a few months to see how things go and to make decisions on what we want in the future.”

  “That’s what I want to hear.” Kenton leaned forward as he cupped her cheek. “And I want you to know that you’ll be part of my decision-making process from this point on too.”

  She covered his hand on her cheek. “The only thing is, I’d rather our relationship not be public fodder. Not just because of Julian but because I’d rather not have our lives dissected by the sports gossips.”

  “And I’m perfectly okay with that. I never minded the gossip before because what I had with those other women wasn’t worth protecting. But this, with you, deserves to be protected. As does my relationship with Benjie, and even Elliot. The only people I want to know about us are those who will love and support us. But you do realize that I can’t guarantee that at some point, someone won’t find out about us. I don’t want to hide you.”

  “I know. I just don’t want to make it too obvious.”

  “Agreed.” Kenton slipped his hand around the back of her neck and drew them closer together. “Can we seal it with a kiss?”

  Rather than replying, Avery pressed her lips to his.

  Three months later

  Avery pushed off from the boards, gliding across the ice on one foot then the other. Benjie was already on the ice, skating with more speed as he raced around the perimeter of the rink. Also on the ice were Gabe, Mitch, Tristan, and their dad, Steve. There were even more people in the stands, watching the activity before them.

  Excitement filled Avery as she circled around and came back to the opening in the
boards.

  “Ready?” she asked as she rested her arms on the top of the wooden boards.

  Kenton looked up from where he was tightening his skates and winked. “I’m almost as excited as I was when you agreed to us.”

  “You are such a flirt.” Avery couldn’t help the smile that formed on her lips. “Now get out here and be my doubles partner.”

  He laughed as he got to his feet and made his way to the ice. With one hand braced on the boards, he pulled off his first guard and then stepped on the ice before taking off the other.

  Avery immediately skated to his side, resting her hand on his lower back. “How does it feel?”

  Though she was excited, Avery was also worried about it being the first time Kenton was back on the ice. She was sure that his body was ready. All the tests indicated that the surgery had been successful and the ligaments around the knee were strong enough to skate. Still, it was one thing for the tests to say he was ready, it was another for him to put the knee to the test on the ice.

  He’d rented out the rink at the same community center where Benjie skated since the one in their backyard had been melting under the milder temperatures of early spring. She knew Kenton was excited about the next step in his recovery, but he was also a bit nervous. If this went well, a lot more of his time was going to be spent at the rink.

  Avery held out her hands to him, and when he took them, she began to skate backward, pulling him with her. Recalling the instructions of the exercises the team wanted her to put him through, she began to have him maneuver his skates, testing out the feel of his knee.

  “Be sure to tell me if anything hurts or feels off,” she reminded him. “Pushing through it won’t do you any favors in the long run.”

  Over the past three months, she’d gotten to know him quite well, and pushing himself was one of the things he did best. It would be that drive that would allow him to return to training camp as good as he’d been before the injury. As long as she could get him to rein it in until they were confident his knee could handle the demands of being back on the ice, all would be well.

  The others on the ice stayed out of their way as they took their first lap around the rink, aware that the ice rental was for Kenton’s benefit, not their entertainment. There were cheers from his sisters in the stands as they skated past them. Even his mom was there to cheer him on. Emily was still working hard, and she was doing well for the most part. But she still had her ups and downs—both emotionally and physically. Thankfully, the good days were starting to outweigh the bad on a regular basis.

  Bennett was standing at the boards with a phone that had a FaceTime connection to the team in LA. They had wanted to witness Kenton’s first time back on the ice. After she’d put him through all the required exercises, they both skated to the edge so that the trainers could talk with them.

  Kenton answered all their questions then ended the call before handing the phone back to Bennett. “Thanks for videoing that for us.”

  “Anytime. Glad to see you back on the ice.”

  After that, Kenton reached for Avery’s hand and tugged her away from the boards. “Come skate with me. I’ve wanted to skate with you ever since you skated in our backyard on Boxing Day.”

  Avery was happy to join him, keeping a tight hold of his hand as they circled the rink. At one point, Kenton dropped her hand and slid his arm around her back. They were moving slowly enough that they were able to get their strokes in sync without tripping each other.

  “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done to get me to this point,” Kenton said, looking down at her. “I truly believe I wouldn’t be here without you. It’s because of your hard work that I’ll be crossing center ice again next season.”

  Though she knew that his ability to skate would take him away from her in the near future, and keep him away for several months, Avery was happy to have been part of his journey of recovery. It had brought them together in ways she could never have imagined. They’d seen the good and the bad sides of each other—working together as they had every day pretty much guaranteed it—but it had made her fall even more deeply in love with him.

  At one point, Kenton slowed them down then turned to face her, cupping her cheeks with his gloved hands. “I know that getting to this point means that separation is coming, but it’s just the beginning for us. I truly believe that. I love you so much.”

  He bent his head and pressed his lips to hers. Avery gripped his jacket as she returned his kiss, feeling her love intensify as it always did when they were together. Their kiss didn’t last too long—after all, standing on the cold ice with an audience wasn’t exactly conducive to romance—but after a couple more lingering kisses, Kenton lifted his head and smiled down at her.

  “I love you too,” Avery said. “More than I ever thought would be possible.”

  EPILOGUE

  “I’m here today with Kenton Callaghan of the LA Kings,” the female sports reporter said with a wide smile at the camera. “After an ACL injury last year, Kenton was able to come back stronger than ever and play a stellar season with his team. But now I have to ask…are the rumors true?”

  Kenton shifted on the high stool they’d had him sit on opposite the reporter. “If the rumors have to do with my retirement, then yes. They would be correct.”

  The woman gave a shake of her head. “I’m sure I’m not the only one who is shocked by the news. I think we all assumed it would be an injury that would force you into retirement.”

  “To be honest, I’m glad I’m not being forced to take this step. I’ve made the decision on my own terms. It was time.”

  “So there wasn’t any one thing that caused you to make that decision?”

  “No. It was actually several things, most of which started with my injury last year.”

  “But you’re fully recovered, aren’t you?”

  Kenton grinned. “I think my last season has proven that to be true.”

  “Then what do you mean?”

  “After I was injured, I made the decision to return to my hometown for my rehabilitation. It wasn’t exactly the norm, but I felt that I could focus better there, and really, I just wanted to be around my family. As it turned out, I had a wonderful team there of therapists and trainers who helped me through my recovery process. They became my friends and welcomed me into their world.”

  “Well, who wouldn’t welcome you into their world?” the woman said with a flirty smile.

  “Don’t make me blush,” Kenton responded with a bit of a sarcastic edge to his voice. He had to admit that the perception that he was single and available had been annoying over the past several months, but he’d respected Avery’s wishes to not parade their relationship out for the world to see. “Actually, it was meeting a little boy who was my biggest fan—and also a terrific player in his own right—that made me look at the game in a new light. Or rather, it reminded me of why I had started to play the game in the first place. I fell in love with hockey all over again, but not at the professional level. At the grassroots level.”

  “Oh dear. For a moment there I thought you were going to say you fell in love with a woman,” the sports reporter said.

  “Well, the media would be the last to know in that particular instance,” Kenton told her, smiling at the private joke that only a few people would get. “Anyway, I realized that I had nothing left to prove at the professional level, and maybe it was time to contribute to the sport in a different way.”

  “So you’re off to coach midget hockey?”

  “I’m not sure about that just yet, but I wouldn’t say no. My coach at that age played a large role in instilling in me the things that I believe helped lead me to success in the sport. I would like to be able to pass that on to another generation.”

  “Are you returning to Winnipeg?”

  Kenton nodded. “It’s where my love of hockey began, and it’s where the people who are most important to me are.”

  “Your family all live there, ri
ght?”

  “Yes. And it’s a growing family as my brothers and sisters have kids, so I’d like to be close enough to be an uncle to them.”

  “No chance you’ll play for the Jets at some point? Was that even on the table?”

  “It was on the table, but no, no chance. The future that I want now doesn’t include me playing at the NHL level except maybe as part of an alumni game.”

  “You do seem quite excited about what lies ahead. I think I speak for a lot of people when I say that we will miss watching you on the ice. You’ve brought a level of play and decorum to the game that isn’t seen a lot. You will be missed.”

  Kenton had a momentary flash of emotion at her words, but it wasn’t enough to make him reconsider his decision. It was time to move forward. The past eight months had been challenging. Despite lots of FaceTime chats and texting, he’d missed Avery terribly. And more times than he could count, he’d wished he could have been there to cheer Benjie on, or to get up early to take him to practice. To just be a part of their daily life.

  But finally—finally!—he was going to have that life, and he couldn’t wait.

  “Thank you for your kind words. It’s been my privilege to play for each of the teams that I’ve been part of over the course of my career, and I hope that I gave people lots of entertainment over the past decade. I’m thankful beyond words for my fans and the people who have supported me. I would not be here today without them.”

  “And so a chapter closes in the life of Kenton Callaghan. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us and share what your future will be like beyond the rink.”

  When the lights on the cameras blinked off, Kenton held out his hand to the reporter as they slid off their stools. Wade had been the one who had lined up the interview with the understanding that it wouldn’t be aired until the following day. He wanted to be out of the city before the news was official.

  “Do you have time for dinner?” the reporter asked, obviously trying one last time to grab his attention.