“You set up this whole party just so Ava could see Gabe?” she asked.
Silas nodded and shrugged. “It’s no big deal. We would have met here sooner or later anyway. It’s a tradition.” He pointed to the right. “See the house way off in the distance? It’s dark but if you look closely you can just see the smoke coming from a couple chimneys.”
She frowned and squinted in the darkness. After a moment she could just see the darker outline of a house. Emmie thought it looked more like a mansion than a house. She looked back at him confused.
“It’s Old Man Dan’s house. He built this rink when we were teens for his grandchildren but they rarely come around. He keeps it ready for them though just in case. We sneak out here but part of me thinks he knows. I’ve only met him a time or two. He’s practically a hermit, the way he keeps to himself in that house,” Silas explained.
“It’s a tradition to come out to some ice rink in this old man’s field and freeze your rear off in the middle of the night?” Emmie teased, trying to make him smile.
He did give her a crooked grin as he spoke but it didn’t quite meet his eyes. “Do you need a warm up again?”
Emmie laughed. She wished he didn’t look so tense. He’d been so relaxed a few minutes ago. She went back over their last conversation in her mind. I like it but it’s not home . . . That’s what she’d told him. Sometimes words flew out of her mouth before she had the chance to think of their meaning.
Emmie looked up at Silas. He was taking something from Trick. Some sort of black shoes. When she looked down at Trick’s feet she noticed he had on the same strange boots. He squeezed her shoulder after passing off the boots.
“You giving it a try?” Trick asked with a grin so wide that showed his dimples.
Emmie looked back out to the rink. Nearly everyone was making their way out on the ice. Men, women—they were all wearing the same shoes. They were ice skating. She’d heard Ava mention it but she’d never seen a pair of the crazy shoes.
“Umm. I don’t have any of those shoes,” she answered him. They both knew she was just making excuses. Sliding face first across a cold sheet of ice was not on her to-do list tonight.
“Surely, our little ball of trouble hasn’t become a scaredy-cat on us?” Trick shouted as he stepped onto the ice.
She watched the people glide along the rink. Their balance was amazing. A few of the boys were showing off, jumping, turning, and skating backward. The girls were holding their own. Emmie spotted Jemma turning in close circles like a dancer. It was amazing. There was one person out there wobbling but the rest made it look easy.
“I wouldn’t call it scared. I’d call it knowing your limitations,” she answered.
Trick laughed to himself as he skated away from them toward a group of guys near the center of the rink. Emmie turned to face Silas. He was tying up his last skate. As he rose to his full height he seemed massive. The blades on the bottom of the skates gave him an even greater height advantage and he towered over her.
He took his coat off and laid it on a blanket. He was wearing a charcoal colored sweater. In all the time Emmie had known him she had never seen him wear anything but dress clothes. It fitted tightly to his body, showing the curves of his shoulders and arms. She reached out and touched the wool.
“Silas you’re gonna freeze,” she said, forcing herself to look away from his arms and chest.
He leaned down and kissed her cheek before whispering, “I’m still feeling warm but if I get cold, I know where to find you.” As he pulled away he gave her a devilish grin.
Emmie felt herself blush from her toes to her hair.
“Put those on. My girl runs moonshine. She isn’t scared of a little ice.” He pointed toward the blanket.
When Emmie looked down she saw a small pair of skates. Her heart pounded at the thought of stepping on the ice in those torture contraptions.
“No, I’m perfectly fine watching right here by this warm fire,” she said, shaking her head. “You go have a good time with your friends.”
Silas walked over to her, grabbed her hands, and pulled her to the blanket. He gently pushed her down to the ground and knelt down in front of her. His hands wrapped around her calf and slid down her leg, pulling off her shoes. He repeated the same slow removal of her other shoe. She was pretty sure this wasn’t supposed to make her warm but that didn’t change the fact that it did. The only other time Silas had ever touched her legs like this . . .
Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his laughter. “What are you thinking about Emmie?”
“Nothing,” she replied too quickly.
He finished tying her skate and helped her stand. The minute she came to her full height her ankle buckled under her. Silas helped her find balance again.
“If I can’t even stand here on the frozen ground, how do you expect me to stand on that ice rink?” she asked. “People aren’t supposed to walk on water, Silas.”
“Trust me,” he said, pulling her to the rink’s edge.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she gripped tightly on Silas’s hand. With tiny scissor-like motions she made an attempt to skate but was horribly unsuccessful. Silas tried to give her tips but she couldn’t focus on him. She could feel the cool breeze of people passing her. When she passed Ava and Gabe, who had now sat down on a pile of blankets near their fire, they clapped for her. She wasn’t sure if they were cheering or mocking her. About halfway around the first lap she felt someone come up on her other side. She had expected it to be Trick but it wasn’t. It was a blond guy she didn’t recognize.
He turned and skated backward in front of her with a grin. He was younger than Silas, early twenties at most. The boy reached out and grabbed her free arm.
“I think this one needs more than a one arm hold, Silas,” he said.
He put his other arm out in an attempt to take it from Silas.
“No, boyo, I’ve got her,” Silas answered his unspoken question.
“I can work with her a bit. It’ll be easier on her if she has a sturdy support from the front. If I’d known we were going to have new legs out here tonight I would have brought some crates for her to push,” the guy said, looking down at her feet. “Bend your legs a little, sweetheart.”
Emmie frowned at the man but did what he said. For just a second it was easier but with one arm out to the front and the other to the side it threw off her balance. They steadied her on her feet.
“Sorry boys, I’m a hopeless cause. Let’s find some grass, what do ya say?” she asked, gripping onto their arms tightly.
“Silas, I can work with her a bit, if you want to go skate,” the guy offered.
Interestingly enough, he didn’t sound like he was coming on to her. He just sounded like he wanted to help. Sort of like a coach.
“Emmie, this is Elijah McKee. He’s another Bell House boy like me, but he moved away last year. Elijah plays hockey up in Canada. He quit playing on ponds and thinks he knows it all now,” Silas said with mock annoyance. From the corner of her eyes she thought he was grinning as he spoke. She couldn’t be sure though because she was afraid of what would happen if she turned to look at him straight on. Bell House boy, McKee—he was obviously from Irish immigrants too.
“Boyo here, is just sore that I beat him three to nothing in our last hockey game,” Elijah said with a grin, still looking at her feet. “You’re going to have to bend those knees a little. You’re skating like you’ve got a stick stuck up your—”
“Elijah,” Silas warned.
The boy laughed.
Silas let go of her hands for just a second. She grabbed onto Elijah tightly until she felt her feet leave the ground. The other man let go as soon as she was cradled in Silas’s arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. When he had her weight balanced he took off. Emmie squealed as they passed couples. Her short hair blew backward into his chest. She couldn’t stop laughing. Excitement trumped any fear she might have been feeling at being carried around the i
ce. He finally slowed to a stop in front of their starting point, near the blanket where her shoes were. She turned to see his face. His cheeks were chapped and red but he was smiling too.
“That was so much fun,” she squealed.
He stepped off the ice and onto the grass before setting her down on the thick stack of blankets.
“See, there’s no reason to be afraid of a little ice,” he said, kneeling down in front of her.
“Not as long as you’re there to skate me around,” she said, touching his cheek.
Elijah yelled for Silas. Emmie nodded toward his friends. “Go join them.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Of course, besides you look pretty handsome out there all relaxed and playing around,” she said.
He grinned again before standing up.
“Oh, and Silas,” she said. He looked down at her with an eyebrow arched in question. “I said the wrong thing.”
“About what?” he asked.
“I should have said I like it here and my home will be where you are,” she said with a grin. The words came out easily because she realized it was the truth. She did like it here. She liked the Chicago he had shown her: the Old Man Dan’s ice rink, his apartment, his office, the Irish party, and especially the Bell House. It wasn’t hills and cabins but she had room enough in her heart for both Illinois and Kentucky.
The look on his face was priceless.
Chapter Thirty
Standing next to the fire the woods in the distance looked like eternal blackness. Emmie stood and extended her hands toward the dancing flame, soaking in the heat. The boys were passing a puck. She didn’t think they were playing a real game of hockey, but she couldn’t be sure. She’d never seen anything of the sport. Other than Ava, she didn’t know anyone who owned a pair of ice skates.
She turned and looked back at Silas. He was taller than the others so he was easy to spot. He and Trick were fighting over the puck, laughing and calling each other all sorts of appalling names. Gabe skated out to join them, leaving Ava alone on the blankets. Emmie moved over to join her, bringing one of the quilts along. She wrapped it tightly around her shoulders.
“You do realize that you are getting married tomorrow and you are going to have circles under your eyes as black as night,” Emmie teased.
“Pish-posh, it’s nothing a little powder won’t fix.” Ava dismissed her comment with a smile.
“Why aren’t you out there showing off your fantastic skating abilities?” Emmie asked, nodding to Jemma and a couple other girls who were still on the ice.
Ava laughed. “Because my abilities are only slightly better than yours.”
“Surely you are teasing. I would have had better luck getting around out there with a boat and an oar.” Emmie laughed.
“Do you not remember? I’ve spent most of my winters with you. I wasn’t up here very much when it was cold. But the few times I was here, I came out to Old Man Dan’s. They do look handsome out there don’t they?” Ava smiled.
Emmie nodded.
“You’d never guess their heads were full of problems.” Ava frowned and looked over at Emmie. “Speaking of problems, how are you holding up?”
Emmie swallowed hard. “I’m fine.”
Ava turned and looked back out at the ice. “Come rain or shine, Emmie’s always fine.” Emmie rolled her eyes at Ava’s silly poem.
“When you say you are fine it means you’re not. You forget I know you well,” Ava said, still looking out at the ice rink.
Emmie sighed. “I mean . . . it’s not easy. It’s a lot to process but on the whole, I’m fine. Regardless of my past, the truth is I’ve already lost my mother. It’s a pain I have learned to live with. And really, as awful as it is that I learned Gabe’s mother threatened to kidnap me as a child, it gave me some peace.”
“How’s that?” Ava asked, still looking straight ahead.
“Well I learned Gabe’s father, my father, tricked my mother. She didn’t know he was married. Mrs. Del Grandé’s actions finally explained why my mother kept me hidden away all those years. As painful as the answers were, I have them. It’s Gabe I feel more worried about. He’s just learned some horrible truths about his folks. You’re going to have to be strong for him,” Emmie answered.
Ava nodded without saying anything. Clearly she was mulling that over in her mind. A fair piece of dead silence passed before either girl spoke.
“I guess that is always our job, right? We are strong for them. We show it in different ways but that’s what you and I do,” Ava said, looking at her friend.
Emmie nodded and asked, “Is that why you don’t get in his business? You think you are being strong for him?”
Ava shrugged. “I don’t know. I don’t have the same desire to be in the middle of it like you do. I’ve listened to things if he wanted to talk. If he didn’t, I’ve learned ignorance is bliss.”
Ignorance is bliss. Emmie wasn’t sure she could ever see it that way.
She opened her mouth to argue with Ava but decided to say nothing. Ava was getting married tomorrow. She was pregnant with Gabe’s baby. At this point Emmie’s opinions on her relationship no longer mattered. Tomorrow. This time tomorrow Ava would be Mrs. Del Grandé. A question popped into her mind that she hadn’t considered.
“Ava, where will you live after you are married?” Emmie asked.
“Tomorrow we are staying here at home. We plan to enjoy the wedding celebration with our family as late as possible. Then we may spend a few days in a hotel in the city. I’m not really sure. Gabe was to take care of those details. I was just in charge of planning the wedding and meal.” Ava smiled. “Although I do think I would like to spend Christmas in Kentucky. We nearly always spent Christmas in the country. I’m not sure it would feel like the holidays here. And I suppose you’ll be eager to get home to see Walter and his family.”
Emmie never got the chance to reply. Their conversation was cut short as three girls made their way over to join Ava. Emmie smiled at Jemma who was following in behind them.
“Hello, darlings,” Ava said in a voice that was too sweet to be sincere, “please join us.”
Jemma squeezed Emmie’s hand. “I saw you skating out there. Nice job for your first time.”
“Oh, you are being too kind. We both know I’m no good.” Emmie laughed.
“At least you gave it a try, unlike this one. Since when are you afraid of a little adventure?” one of the women asked snidely.
“We all know I would have just embarrassed myself,” Ava said with a grin.
“Well, I suppose it’s for the best being in your condition and everything,” the second girl said.
Emmie tried to place their voices. They sounded so familiar but she couldn’t remember where she had heard them.
“My condition?” Ava asked.
“Oh, please, we all know the reason for this rushed wedding tomorrow. Let’s just be honest,” the first girl said.
The queen and the deck of cards. These were the girls from the Halloween party. Emmie looked at her friend. She looked like she’d been hit. Ava swallowed hard before she spoke.
“I don’t know what you are talking about.” She smoothed her dress out across her knees. “Gabe and I are in love and eager to begin our life together. There was no reason to wait.”
“No reason to wait all right. That boy’s had you laid out flat on your back since last summer. Do you not remember we were here when your love was rekindled?” Both girls snorted as they laughed at Ava. Emmie had never in her whole life met two people more cruel. Well, she had met one person and she’d smacked him with an iron skillet.
Emmie stood and put her hand on her hip, “Go. Home. We don’t want you here.”
“I beg your pardon. You are a guest at our party. If someone should be going home it’s you,” one of the girls said.
“This is not your party and you have worn out your welcome. Leave,” Emmie repeated.
The taller girl looked from E
mmie to Ava with her arms crossed over her chest. “Oh I suppose you think this is your party because you’ve been carried around by Silas, which is highly improper, I might add. I guess we see why Ava’s turned out the way she has if you are an example of the kind of loose-moraled friends she’s had back in Kentucky.”
Each time the girl mentioned Ava’s condition her friend looked like she’d been smacked. Emmie never thought about what happened next. She just knew she’d had heard this girl refer to Ava in a hateful way for the last time. The sound of her hand popping the girl’s cheek seemed to echo through the quiet. Emmie couldn’t remember the last time she had smacked someone, but this girl deserved it. She had deserved it since the Halloween party when she had belittled her. She deserved it now for making Ava feel bad.
The girl stood there across from Emmie with her hand on her cheek and her mouth open in surprise. “You actually slapped me,” the girl said in disbelief.
“And yet here you are still talking when I’m pretty sure I asked you to leave,” Emmie said and turned to her friend. “You too little duckling; we don’t need any followers here.” The second girl backed away from Emmie like she was a crazy lady.
“What in the hell is going on over here?” Trick shouted as he came off the ice. Emmie looked up at him and saw Silas, Gabe, and Elijah following.
“We came over to visit with Ava and that girl smacked me,” the girl said to Trick, pointing at Emmie.
All four of the men looked at her with wide eyes. While brawls might be an everyday occurrence at the Irish parties, clearly they were not common at Old Man Dan’s ice rink parties.
“Next hockey game, I call Emmie. Poor skating aside, we need a fighter,” Trick yelled. Elijah laughed and said they’d flip a coin for her. Emmie didn’t understand their meaning, but she didn’t think it was good for her image.
Emmie crossed her arms around her chest and met the men with an even stare. “That is not exactly how it happened.”
Come Rain or Shine (Shine On Series, Book Three) Page 15
