14. Rosie
14
ROSIE
As we sit side by side at the ice rink, I find myself constantly peeking over at Peter to make sure he’s okay. Out on the ice, the brothers and Veda are playing hockey three on three. Asher and Veda are on opposing teams, and although I can’t hear what Veda is saying, it’s clear she’s taunting Asher.
Normally, the temperature doesn’t get to me. Probably because I’m usually surrounded by fans. But Peter and I are alone, and it’s borderline frigid. I tug a pair of blue mittens with pearl detailing from the pocket of my coat. They were a gift from my mom last Christmas. Knowing her, there’s a possibility that the pearls are real.
With a centering breath, I find my courage and ask, “How are you feeling?”
Have I been avoiding my father-in-law since his return home from the hospital? Most definitely. The last thing I need is for him to faint and fall down the stairs at the sight of me.
“Fine.” His breath fogs the air, the tip of his nose pink. He fiddles with the scarf at his neck. “I wanted to ask you the same.”
I laugh lightly. “I’m okay.”
“Your dad called me.”
The flinch is involuntary. The ache in my chest is one I’ve been ignoring since that day at the hospital. “He did?”
He pats my knee and gives me a look of pure apology. “He’s not too happy with you, is he?”
“At least he didn’t have a heart attack.” Wincing, I give him a sheepish shrug. “Sorry. Bad joke.”
Peter laughs anyway. “Fair enough. You two took me by surprise, and I guess that’s all it took.” He snaps his fingers.
I clutch my mittened hands, studying the pearl design. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“Me too.” He smiles at the boys out on the ice. “I love my boys, and I hope to have many more years with them. Now that they’re starting to marry off, I hope to have some grandkids to love too someday.”
I press my lips together and swallow back the sigh that tries to escape me. Daire needs to fess up, and soon.
“I’m sure you’ll get some eventually.”
Just not from me.
“Are you two going to move off campus?”
I wiggle my fingers inside my mittens. “We bought a house. It’s beautiful. If you ever need to be near Nashville, you should come visit. Or just come for fun if you want.”
Dammit. I’m rambling. Heat rushes to my cheeks as I bite my bottom lip to shut myself up.
“I’d like that.” He shifts his legs slightly.
On the ice, Roman scores. He and Daire celebrate with Veda and taunt the others.
Shaking his head at their antics, Peter says, “These kids of mine never grow up.”
“They’re all pretty awesome.”
My chest aches at the nostalgia of all of this. This family was an integral part of my life for years, but after Daire and I fell out, I missed all of this. These little things I loved so much. While I remained in touch with the others, mostly Cash and Roman, I no longer hung out with them. It would’ve been too awkward.
“Do you happen to know why Cash and Daire have been giving each other the silent treatment?”
On the ice, as if to demonstrate their father’s point, they glower at each other but say nothing. Then Veda drops the puck, and they’re off once more.
“I might,” I admit, lowering my head.
Peter sighs, crossing his arms over his chest. “Growing up, Cash always had heart eyes for you. You were oblivious because?—”
“Because I was always looking at Daire.” More and more since I married Daire, that old heartache returns, but I swallow it down.
He flashes a smile. “Exactly. I thought things would change when Cash moved away, but apparently not.”
I fiddle with my ring, spinning it on my finger. “He’ll have to accept it eventually.”
I might not have feelings for Cash, but that doesn’t mean I don’t sympathize with him. I know exactly what it’s like to have feelings for someone and not have them reciprocated. Without my permission, my eyes find Daire. He streaks across the ice, working the puck back and forth with his stick.
Neither of us speaks for a few minutes.
“I really am sorry for ruining your break. I know it’s a short one.”
“Peter,” I sigh, resting my head on his shoulder. “You did no such thing.”
“It’s hard to get all my boys together at the same time now that they’re all grown. I finally made it work and…” He trails off, frowning sadly out at his kids.
“Things happen, but it’s been nice to be together like this. Thanks for letting me stay with you.”
Rubbing his jaw, he chuckles. “You’re married to my son. You don’t think I’d kick you out, do you?”
Right.
“Sorry.” I shake my head, laughing softly. “I’m not used to it yet.”
The smile on his face is nothing short of fond. “When I married Susie, it took a full year for it to sink in. Maybe two. I was so excited to call her my wife, but there were a few times I slipped up and said fiancée or even girlfriend. Believe me, she didn’t let me forget it.”
“You miss her.”
“Every day.” A sigh escapes him. “I wouldn’t change a thing, though.”
“Really?”
“Never.” He looks over at me, tilting his head slightly. “A lot of people never have their great love. It might’ve been short, but I had it, and it was enough to last me a lifetime.”
“That’s…” Sadness floods me, and I have to choke back a wave of tears. “That’s really beautiful.”
“The game is over!” Daire bellows, his voice so loud it echoes through the empty rink. “We won. Get over it.”
Cash isn’t backing down. “By cheating.”
Daire throws out his arms. “Where were we cheating? Tell me. Oh, you can’t, because we did no such thing.”
“Hey, hey, hey.” Asher steps between his brothers and puts a hand on each of their chests in an effort to keep them apart. “Cash, they won fair and square. What are you going on about?”
“Daire is a lying, cheating?—”
“No, I’m not.”
“It’s just a friendly game. Quit it,” Asher scolds. He glowers at Cash, then Daire. I can’t blame him for being annoyed. He’s having to treat his grown brothers like children.
“Stop being such a douche,” Roman adds unhelpfully.
“Me?” Cash seethes, pounding his chest with his glove. “What about him?”
“What the fuck did I do?” Daire volleys back, throwing one arm out. “I scored a point. We won. That’s it. Why are we even arguing about this?”
Beside me, Peter shakes his head and mutters, “Boys.”
Since I’m looking at Peter, I miss who throws the first punch, but suddenly, Daire and Cash are scuffling on the ice. Asher’s trying to break it up. Roman is cheering them on. Hudson shakes his head and skates off toward the locker rooms.
“Guys!” I yell, standing up. “Quit it.”
They’re paying me no mind. I give Peter an apologetic look and hurry down to the ice. I’m not wearing skates, so I slip the second I step onto the slick surface. If not for Veda, who grabs me by the elbow, I’d already be on my ass.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” She releases me with a warm smile.
“Guys, stop,” I shout, shuffling closer.
It kills me to see them fighting. They’ve always been so close. It’s especially painful knowing I’m probably the source of their frustration.
“Rosie, back off,” Asher orders, putting a placating hand in my direction. “I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I ignore his pleas. “Daire, please stop. This is ridiculous.”
I make the mistake of tilting forward and reaching for him. The instant I do, he’s swinging his arm back to punch Cash, but he catches my face instead.
A bolt of pain works its way across my face as I drop to the ice.
Peter shouts from the stands, but I can’t make out his words.
Shit. Please don’t let him have another heart attack.
The pain is so intense that tears immediately fall from my eyes.
“Hey,” a soft voice says.
Still stunned, I blink up at Roman.
“Let me help you up.”
“Rosie!” Daire shouts. He shoves Cash away but takes a graze of knuckles to his cheek in the process. Then he drops to his knees, sliding across the ice toward me.
The genuine worry on his face makes my treacherous heart skip a beat.
“Rosie, Rosie, Rosie.” He chants my name, cupping my face gently with both hands—his gloves long gone from the tussle with his brother. He grazes a thumb around my eye, sending a zap of pain through me. “Shh,” he soothes, ducking closer. “Fuck. I’m so sorry.”
Behind him, a few feet away, Cash hangs his head and gives a sheepish look. “Sorry,” he mouths.
“Was I the one who got you?” Daire asks, probing the back of my head in search of further injury.
I nod. “It was an accident.”
“Doesn’t matter,” he mutters, shaking his head. “It shouldn’t have happened.” Without letting go, he twists at the waist and calls for Roman. “Go grab her some ice.”
“Dude.” Roman throws his arms out wide. “We’re on ice.”
Daire grunts at his little brother. “You want her to put her face on the slab of ice in the rink?” He turns back to me, continuing his examination of my head. “Idiot,” he mumbles.
“Right. Ice. I’ll get that now.” Roman throws a thumbs-up before skating off.
“Come on.” Daire takes my hands. “Let’s get you up.”
With far more grace than seems possible, he stands on his skates while hauling me up with him. And once I’m on my feet, he scoops me up bridal style.
Squeaking, I push against his shoulder. “I can walk.”
In response, he just holds me closer. “This is quicker.”
With a sigh, I hold on and let him do his thing. I can’t argue with him there.
Off the ice, he eases me onto a bleacher. Peter has come down from where we were sitting a few rows up and slides in beside me.
“Are you okay, sweetie?” He angles forward and inspects my face with a frown.
“I’ll be o?—”
“She’s going to have a black eye,” Daire says, tugging at his hair. “This is your fault.” He glares at Cash as he walks by on his way to the locker room.
Cash doesn’t even bother replying, just shakes his head and continues on.
“The good news is, you took that like a champ,” Veda says, settling in on the bleachers behind me.
“Really?” I ask, my tears beginning to subside.
“Totally.”
“You’re a bunch of infants,” Asher mutters as he wanders by. “Grow up.”
Hudson says nothing, just shoots me a concerned smile before going to change.
“Where the fuck is Roman with the ice?” Daire curses, straightening from his crouched position in front of me and scanning the rink. “I should’ve gotten it myself.”
“I’ll go check on him.” Peter presses his hands to the cold surface beneath him, but before he can stand, Veda puts a hand on his shoulder.
“Stay put,” she says. “I’ll check on him.”
“It’s already bruising.” Daire brushes his fingers ever so carefully over the sensitive skin around my eye. “I’m so sorry.”
My first instinct is to tell him it’s okay, that he doesn’t need to fuss over me, but I keep my mouth shut because, selfishly, I love that he’s doting on me right now. Even if it took an elbow to the face to receive the affection.
Roman returns, with Veda trailing behind him.
“This was the best I could do.” He passes Daire a rag filled with ice cubes.
Daire says nothing as he takes the makeshift icepack and presses it to my face.
I wince from the icy chill of it, but it instantly dulls the throbbing.
Veda and Roman head off, leaving me with Daire and Peter.
“I’ve got this, Dad,” Daire says, frowning at Peter. “You don’t need to worry.”
Peter gives a humorless laugh. “Don’t tell me not to worry when you were just in a fistfight with your brother.”
Daire sighs, his entire body deflating. “If he wasn’t interested in fucking my wife, I wouldn’t be fighting him.”
Peter shakes his head. “Some fights aren’t worth picking. Rosie is your wife. You already won.” He gives Daire’s shoulder a squeeze. “I’ll be in the lobby.”
It’s strange, sitting here alone with Daire. So far, since we arrived, we’ve spent our days doing everything we can to not be alone together, and at night, we slip into bed without saying a word.
Daire’s blue eyes swim with sympathy and remorse. “I really am sorry.”
“You really need to stop fighting with your brother. Your dad’s right.”
With a sigh, he slides onto the cold surface beside me, careful to keep the ice gently pressed to my cheek.
“I don’t know why I feel so territorial,” he admits, lowering his head.
“I’m not sure either,” I say, my heart beating a strange rhythm in response to his words. “You hate me, remember?”
I hate to admit it, but at least my reasons for hating him are starting to feel a bit juvenile.
“Right,” he says softly, Adam’s apple bobbing. “How does it feel?”
“Cold.”
He laughs at my answer, the blue of his eyes lightening some. “I have to change, and then we’ll go.”
With a nod, I stand.
He rises too, his hands hovering around me like he’s afraid I might fall over.
“I’m okay,” I assure him. “I’ll wait with your dad in the lobby.”
He studies me, his lips turned down, like he wants to argue, but after a silent moment, he acquiesces.
I pull the ice away from my face and wander out of the rink. In the lobby, I find Peter sitting in one of the uncomfortable-looking chairs, so I join him, trying to ignore the pounding in my head.
He tilts forward and gently pats my knee. “I think I have ibuprofen in the car.”
“That would be much appreciated.” My smile is entirely grateful.
“I have some stuff for bruising we can apply to your face when we get back to the house too. With five roughhousing boys, I should’ve taken stock in arnica. It’ll also help with the pain.”
I press the ice to my face again. It’s beginning to melt, leaving my fingers wet, but I keep it there anyway. The more I ice it now, the less swelling I’ll have later.
“I always thought you’d be a part of this family.”
My chest tightens at the sentiment, and I shift in my seat so I’m facing Peter. “Really?”
“I thought the two of you would go the more traditional route, but it was inevitable.”
“Me and Daire?” Surely the hit to my head has given me a concussion. There’s no way he means Daire.
He laughs quietly. “I questioned it there for a while, when you guys fell out of touch, but I had a gut feeling you’d eventually find your way back.”
Daire and Roman appear, Roman knocking into his brother’s shoulder. They’re laughing, but when Daire spots me, he quickly sobers.
“How does it feel?” He crouches in front of me, gently pulling the ice away from my face. “It’s not looking too bad.”
“Is he lying?” I ask Roman.
Roman bends down too, peering at me. “It looks better than expected.”
“Good.” I stand, returning the ice to my face. “Let’s get out of here.”