Chapter 19 Scarlett #2
The second he pulls away, I jump at the weight that plops in my lap.
“Do you know how to skate, Auntie Lettie?” The most genuine smile splits my face, and tears burn the backs of my eyes when they land on the little girl in front of me.
She was so sad the last time I saw her, and I don’t think I’ve seen her since.
I want to ask Lucas if she knows about his mom, but I’m pretty sure I already know that answer.
She doesn’t need to know. Not tonight, at least.
I tap my finger against my lip a few times, “I don’t. I’ve never been on ice before.”
She twists, her little hands framing my face, eyes wider than a raccoon caught in the trash.
“Are you for real?!” She looks at Lucas and slowly shakes her head.
“Can you believe this lady?” Her dramatic sigh gives my mother’s favorite soap opera actors a run for their money.
“What are we gonna do with you, Auntie Lettie?...” She admonishes.
I fake a pout, “Think maybe you and Uncle Lucas could teach me?” I look up at her through my lashes just in time to see her turn into sunshine reincarnated. She jumps off my lap, clapping rapidly, then she’s off.
But before she takes more than three steps, she throws on the brakes, turning back around, and shouting, “I gotta go get my skates, can you tie them for me, Uncle Lucas?”
“Course, Lily Pad.” He smiles, eyes following her until she stops next to a little boy who looks almost identical to her.
“That her brother?” I ask.
He grabs my hand, pulling me closer to his side.
“Yeah, that’s Cade. He was the first kid Hannah sponsored.
He’s got a good head on his shoulders, but an attitude that rivals mine at that age.
” His look turns somber, “I hope hockey is the outlet for him that it was for me.” His shoulders fall forward, eyes cast to the floor.
“Hey,” I say as I place my hand on them and push back so he isn’t hunched. “Is this too much?”
One side of his mouth tips up into a smile. He lifts the back of my hand, placing a kiss on it before setting it on his thigh, still held in his hand. “No, but thank you for checking on me. I feel okay today. Not angry, not needing anything to take the edge off.” He pauses, “I’m excited, actually.”
Good, that’s good. I take in his posture.
He hasn’t been curled in on himself tonight, well, minus a few seconds ago, a soft smile on his face as he watches the kids run around.
He has a heck of a lot more trust than I do, because all I see is tiny humans with death blades in their hands, running around with other tiny humans.
I would one hundred percent be the anxious parent. My lips part as I quietly suck in a breath. Where did that thought come from, and why did I not hate it in the slightest?
I don’t attempt to get up when Lily sits on the floor in front of Lucas with her foot between his legs, eyes focused on how he laces up her skates with just as much care as he did mine.
In fact, I think I hold my breath because one wrong move of her foot and I’m sure we’d be in the hospital with one heck of a story to tell.
Once he’s done, he pats the top of her laces.
“Four laps, then I’ll teach you to hockey stop.
” Her eyes flare to life before she awkwardly runs toward the ice.
He stands, taking his eyes off her just long enough to hold his hand out to me and help me to my feet. “You’ll make a really good dad one day, you know?”
He looks at me, dumbfounded, “Come ooonnnnnn, guys.” Lily yells before he has a chance to say anything.
He steps over the threshold, and in a move that has me flinching, he turns himself toward me.
My eyes widen when I realize the man is backwards.
How is he going to see where he’s going if he’s backward?
He holds out both his hands, smiling at me like I hung the moon and hand-painted every star.
“Push me,” he says softly, clocking my hesitation as if it were his own. “Keep your knees bent, push your feet out to the side, not straight back. You got this, I won’t let you fall.”
“But you’re backwards, how can you see where you’re going?!” My voice sounds like I just inhaled all the helium in a birthday balloon.
“I skate backwards at fifteen miles per hour on a daily basis.”
I scoff, “mmkay, show off.”
He smiles, “This is child’s play. Come on, push me.” His eyes search mine before they drop to the sweatshirt I’m wrapped in. I push slightly with my left foot, and he smiles. “That’s it, swivel those hips just like you were in the parking lot, you little minx.”
I nearly trip at his blatant call out, but true to his word, he doesn’t let me fall. And before I know it, we’ve been around the entire rink. “That’s one, think you can try standing more upright this time?”
He moves to my side, letting one of my hands flutter to my sides. I immediately ball up the sleeve of his sweatshirt in my hand to keep the chill of the air out. “I think you’re a good teacher.”
“It helps when I can’t keep my eye off my student. She’s always had my complete undivided attention.” This man, I swear. He could undo me with his words alone.
“Are you guys gonna kiss now?” Lily giggles as she skates up on my left side. She wraps her gloved hand around my hand that’s still balled up in the sleeve. “Lucas and Lettie, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-”
He lets go of my hand, skating behind us to tickle Lily, who jerks as she fights to keep herself upright.
He quickly realizes his mistake when my arm starts to windmill, and I bend at the waist. I cringe, bracing for the impact I know is coming.
But at what feels like the last second, his arm wraps around my waist, suspending me midair while he holds me like a freakin’ sack of potatoes.
My face flames, mortification rolling through me, only made worse when Reed appears in front of us.
“You know, I wasn’t sure this was going to work out.
You were too… growly? But this?” He motions to how Lucas is holding me, “Yeah, you’re going to fit in just fine.
Welcome to the framily, Lettie.” He laughs and skates away.
“Lucas, put me down.” I hiss, my hands pressing into his sides.
He makes sure I’m steady before he smiles at me, “Sorry, but I don’t break my promises.” He winks before he’s back at my side.
I don’t miss the numerous glares and hushed whispers from women around the rink, nor do I miss the pictures of the guys hung up over what he’s told me are called the boards, and the glass that isn’t actually glass, but plexiglass.
“I don’t like the looks we’re getting,” I try to hide in front of him, suddenly very self conscious of not only my skating abilities but of myself in general.
His arms wind around my waist, squeezing my hip slightly as Lily zips past us, caught up in a game of tag with her brother and his friends.
Apparently, learning to hockey stop isn’t on her priority list anymore.
He slows us to a stop, picks me up like I weigh nothing, and sits me on the edge of the boards.
When I look behind me, I see a bench and a drop that's a good three feet. My body immediately stills, one wrong move and I’m going over backwards.
My panic ebbs when he skates in between my legs, hands softly sliding against my cheeks, fingers tangling into my hair, and my own hands come to rest on the outside of his biceps. “I see no one but you, Scarlett.”
His lips are mere inches from mine, and the heat of his breath sends a shiver down my spine despite the cold of the rink.
Everything else fades away until it’s just him and I.
My eyes fall to his lips before flicking back up to his.
The desire in his heavy-lidded gaze has me trying to squeeze my thighs together, but instead, I just squeeze his waist. “I love you, Scarlett.” He whispers before his lips briefly meet mine.
He doesn’t wait for me to say anything, just gently sets me back on the ice, wrapping his hand around mine as we skate back to the opening where we can get on solid ground.
Almost to the door, I’m slammed into from behind, my feet fall out from under me as Lucas quickly maneuvers in front so that instead of hitting the ice, I hit him.
A cloud of breath fans around me as a giggle sounds from the top of our dog pile.
“I told you, you were gonna kiss.” Lily squeals with joy.
She slides down my back, pushing off my legs, bringing her face within view.
Her smile is bright, full of joy as she looks at the two of us.
My head rests on his chest, his massive hand cradling the back of my skull, the other arm banded around my shoulders.
“Can I be the flower girl?” She asks, and it breaks the spell that we’re in.
Our joined laughter is loud, seemingly louder than all the chatter and the music blaring through the speakers. But it’s ours, a moment frozen in time, where in a room full of people, the only two that matter are the little girl who’s pulled me out of my shell almost as much as the man under me.
The rest of the night goes off without a hitch.
I even managed to skate a couple of laps without him holding on to me.
I’ve never felt so loved, so treasured. Even with his team there, he stuck by me the entire time, and he introduced me to everyone who came to talk to him as “my Lettie Girl.” I’m not going to lie, I’m a big fan.
“Come back to my house for a bit?” He asks as we pull up to the ranch's front gate.
I couldn’t imagine ending this day any other way, so I smile, “Let's go home, Casanova.”
A chill runs through my veins at the word home, but there’s no denying my home has always been wherever he is.