by Stacy Gail
As she spoke, images sifted through his brain to cut through the cold that had paralyzed him—a child’s first steps. Late-night monster hunts. First day of school. The first baby tooth lost, followed by a visit from the Tooth Fairy. Summer vacations. Teaching them how to ride a bike. And surf. And draw. And drive.
Teaching them about life.
He could do this.
No.
They could do this.
Together.
“Hey, guys.” Matt stuck his head out the glass door leading into the courtyard, and Ice barely recognized the panicked man he’d been only twenty minutes earlier. Matt wore a goofy-looking grin, like he’d been hit in the head and now could only see happy, cartoony shit. “You need to see the most beautiful baby ever to be born. I’m not kidding, when you look at him and you see his little face, you finally realize what perfection is. It’s just…oh my God. You’ll totally see what I mean.”
“I’m sure I will,” Ice said, even as Matt went running back without waiting for an answer. Leaning in to kiss his wife, he smiled into her eyes. “I’m sure we will.”
(One year later)
“…with the death of Damien Eisen, the suit he brought against you should now be voided.” Rising from her desk chair, Maya Montoya, the lawyer Ice and Sunny had hired to represent their interests in California, held out her hand. “Of course, I’ll push the judge for a ruling in our countersuit in order to get the legal costs paid, but that doesn’t require you to stay in-state.”
“Send us a bill,” Ice said, shaking her hand. “I just want this shit done.”
“I understand, Mr. Eisen, and for the most part, it is done. Considering Damien Eisen’s criminal case had already ruled that the evidence you’d gathered was done legally and with no expectation of privacy due to the fact that Damien instructed you to work on his computer, your stepfather’s claim that you’d invaded his privacy was never going to go his way. Suing you for damages was clearly nothing more than a frivolous lawsuit designed to harass you. Generally speaking, judges don’t like that, so I’m sure you’re going to win the countersuit against Damien Eisen’s estate.”
“But like you said,” Sunny cut in, gently rocking the adjustable stroller that held their snoozing five-month-old daughter. “We don’t have to be here for all that, right? We can go home now?”
“Absolutely. If I were you, I’d put this sordid mess in the rearview mirror and not give it another thought. As of now, this chapter in your life is, at long last, closed.”
“From your lips,” Ice muttered, and Sunny inwardly sighed over the gritty edge that had been in his voice since this whole rollercoaster ride had begun. That edge was anger, and it had been burning in him since he’d been served with papers informing him that Damien had brought a civil suit against him.
Sunny had been pretty damn furious herself. That time in their lives should have been filled with joy; they’d just brought their daughter, Adele Claire, home from the hospital a week earlier, and the world had been filled with hope.
Then Damien had shown them that even from behind bars he still had the power to turn their blue skies stormy.
No wonder Ice had been in a foul mood for months on end.
At first she’d feared what he would do; the last time Damien had threatened them with his unique brand of poison, her man had rashly thrown his world away and severed all ties with her. And for about a day after Ice had been served with Damien’s frivolous suit, she had dreaded a repeat performance. Ice went nearly mute, not even bothering to look at her when she tried talking to him. The distance she’d sensed he was trying to build had terrified her far more than anything Damien Eisen could ever do.
But eventually, Ice had worked himself out of his funk enough to sit down with her to work out a game plan. The only way to deal with the likes of Damien was to go on offense, so that’s what they’d done, hiring the best lawyer they could find in the state of California, where the suit had been filed. They’d even made the decision to dip into the money Ice had once tried to give Sunny from the sale of Skull and Bones Ink—money they’d since set aside as a college fund for Adele and any other little ones that might come along in the future.
The way Sunny saw it, it was money well-spent.
As stressful as the past few months had been, there was a definite silver lining to it all. An honest-to-God crisis had struck their little family, something they hadn’t foreseen. But unlike the last time, Ice had chosen to open up and deal with it with her by his side. He hadn’t shut her out, and he hadn’t done her thinking for her.
Somewhere along the way, her man had discovered that they were stronger together, and when he’d said he wasn’t going to live without her ever again, he’d meant it.
That, as much as anything, proved to her just how much he loved her, and how much he was willing to fight for the life they now had.
It certainly was a life worth fighting for. Their dream jobs at House Of Payne were only a small fraction of the harmony they’d built into their life together. They’d brought the sweetest, most perfect little girl into the world without a single hiccup in the delivery. Though their daughter’s hair was as dark and thick as Sunny’s, the blue of her eyes grew more intense by the day until even Ice had to admit Addie’s lovely, long-lashed eyes looked just like his.
Hopefully the worst was behind them now. That was the only thought she’d had in her head from the moment Maya Montoya had called to let them know the news—Damien had died in his sleep after suffering what authorities said was a massive heart attack. When Ice had hung up and told her the news, she’d burst into happy tears.
Halle-freaking-lujah.
Within hours they were in L.A. to help Ice’s chronically rehabbing mother, Ingrid, with the funeral arrangements. Much of Damien’s liquid assets and properties had been seized by the government, but Ice made sure whatever was left went to his mother, and not the pack of scavengers that had come looking for scraps of the once-great empire built by Inquiring Minds.
Now it was done. This was the last loose end on their list. As much as Sunny had once loved California, she was now anxious to get back home.
Back to Spike, who was being cat-sat by June and Franklin Lennig.
Back to House Of Payne, where her creative brain could work at its best.
Most of all, back to living the rest of her life with Ice, her dream man, and this time they’d be living it without the threat of Damien Eisen hanging over their heads.
She couldn’t wait.
“I hope Maya didn’t take it personally that we all but ran out of her office,” Sunny said after they’d strapped Addie into her car seat and Ice was behind the wheel. “I’m ready to do exactly as she said—put this all behind us and get on with our lives. How about you?”
“My old man’s bullshit has been with me my whole life, so it’s hard for me to wrap my mind around the fact that the hell he created is finally over. I keep thinking the fucker’s going to somehow reach out from beyond the grave and snatch away my happiness if I even think about relaxing my guard.”
“Baby, he’s gone.” His words hurt her heart, because she understood where that anxiety came from. Damien Eisen had toyed with Ice’s life before he was even born. That kind of casual viciousness had lashed scars into his very soul. It would take time, maybe even the rest of his life, to fully be at peace, but she wouldn’t rest until he found that peace with her. “That foul person is gone forever and he can no longer touch you. But even if he could, I know you. You’d handle it, just like you handled everything he ever threw at you. You’ve always been stronger than him, and you learned how to live without lies or secrets because of his horrible example. With your strength and your integrity, it’s no wonder you’ve always been able to come out the winner.”
“I had no other choice but to win. I had a hell of a lot to lose.” His hand reached for hers so he could bring it to his mouth. “The one thing that bastard kept gunning for was my happiness with you. No way was I eve
r going to let him win.”
Lord, he was sweet. “Thank you for fighting for me. For us. If you hadn’t done everything in your power to keep us together, we wouldn’t have Addie, or the life we have now. I can’t even stand that thought.”
“Like I’d ever let you get away.” He grinned, something she hadn’t seen in months, while he merged onto a freeway heading south. “As glad as I am the old man is dead and I no longer have to worry about him throwing shit my way, his kicking off doesn’t change a thing, Sunny day. No matter what kind of bullshit he pulled, I was never going to be distracted from the goal I had burned into my brain—us, together, for the rest of our lives.”
“Goal,” she murmured, a faint memory tickling in the back of her mind. Then she snapped her fingers. “You once said you didn’t see yourself as a success because you hadn’t achieved a goal that you’d been fighting for.”
“What, you’re just now figuring out that I was talking about being with you?” He chuckled, something else that had gone missing over the past few months. “And here I thought you were brilliant. Getting my ring on your finger was always my idea of success.”
“I like the way you think.” Smiling, she reached out and curled her hand over his. “I love how you take such good care of me. Of us. Addie has the most wonderful father in the world, a man who’d move mountains for her, and I have the most wonderful husband. We’re so lucky to have you.”
“I’m the lucky one.” He brought her hand to his lips before guiding the car to an off-ramp, then headed toward a vivid orange sun hanging low on the horizon. With the ocean shimmering like a mirage before it, the sunset reminded her of her portrait on his shoulder. “My woman was strong enough to take another chance on me, when no one else would have. If I have you believing in me, I can do anything.”
“You’ll always have me.” So happy she was giddy with it, she put the sun visor down and looked out the window. “Where are we going?”
“Back to the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?”
“Finding out who I was meant to be.”
When he made the familiar turn toward Skull and Bones Ink, she finally understood.
“I knew you when you were going to law school, yet I can’t begin to imagine you as a lawyer now.” Climbing out of the car to dip into the backseat to retrieve Addie, Sunny gently held her daughter against her shoulder and joined Ice as he leaned against the hood of their rental car. “You were born to be an artist and tattooist. And in that ramshackle little building that used to be a surfer’s hut, you finally discovered who you were.”
“You don’t know how right you are.” He draped an arm around her shoulders and brought her and Addie close, all the while never taking his eyes off the building in front of them. It wasn’t much, as buildings went. In the ‘50s the place had been hopping, on the tail end of Venice Beach’s famous Boardwalk. It had gone to seed by the time Ice had bought the place, with the single-story, flat-roofed building looking like it would fall over with the next big storm. Once they’d landed on TV they’d renovated the place, and brought it back to its former kitschy glory.
Today, Skull and Bones Ink looked as vibrant and prosperous as the day she’d left it. The front of the building still boasted a surfing-themed mural that Ice had painted years ago. The neon sign touting the name of the tattoo parlor had a snazzy rendition of a pirate flag on it, from which they’d chosen the studio’s name. Though she knew it was silly, Sunny was thrilled to see the tattoo parlor was doing a brisk business, with people lining up to get their ink done at the now-iconic Skull and Bones Ink.
“This place was nothing until you came along.” Ice’s voice broke into her thoughts, and she looked up to find his eyes trained on the front door. “The day you turned up was the day I realized I needed to get my shit together. Took a while to outmaneuver the old man, but I finally got there in the end.”
“Yes, you did.” Pride filled her heart as she smiled at him. “You dragged the monster into the light so the whole world could see what he was.”
“I was highly motivated. The moment you walked through that door, I realized all I wanted to do was live free with you.”
“I’m surprised you remember anything about that day, you were so drunk.”
“I was in mourning.”
A gentle sound of understanding escaped her. “Ethan.”
“No. You.” He turned his head to press his mouth against her hair, while his free hand came to cradle Addie’s dark head. “That was just about the lowest point in my life. I’d gotten Ethan killed, and I’d checked myself out of your life before you wound up the same way. That made me miserable, but I couldn’t see how it could be any other way. Then you showed up with all these ideas on how to put Skull and Bones Ink on the map, and I saw I had a second chance. You walking through that door lit the fire in me to fight for the life I wanted. The life I’ve got now.”
“I love our life.” She looked up at him and smiled when his mouth came down to hers. Her man could be so sweet. “We’ve really built something amazing, haven’t we?”
“We’re not done yet.” Smiling like a man who was finally realizing the door to the prison he’d been locked in was now open, he kissed her again, this time turning to wrap his arms around both her and Addie. “This was the place where we started to build our life together, but we’re nowhere near done, Sunny day. From here on in, it’s only going to get better.”
As Sunny returned his kiss and held Addie closer, she knew without a doubt that her husband was right.
Note From Stacy Gail
Hi! I hope you enjoyed Ice and Sunny’s story! I started this project back in September, 2018 and was already in the Christmas mood. I knew I wouldn’t finish Ice and Sunny’s story by Christmas, but I just couldn’t help myself. How much was I in the Christmas spirit this year? The day I realized I didn’t know the words to “Carol of the Bells” was the day it showed up in this book. ;)
The folks at House Of Payne are always up to something, and I’ve already got my sights set on Styx. His story will be out later in the year (probably September), and Loki’s story should arrive around the first of the New Year (wow, 2020, can you believe it???)
The next project I’ve got lined up, however, takes us back to Green Rock Ranch and the Brody Brothers. Killian has a chance to put the past to rest once and for all with Dallas Faircloth in BRUISED, which will be out in June of this year. For updated info on this and all my latest projects, be sure to sign up for my newsletter!
I LOVE hearing from readers, just as much as I love interacting with them. Please feel free to drop me a line at [email protected], or follow me on Twitter or Facebook. If you mention that you’ve read House Of Payne (or any of my books, heh), I promise to follow back and say hi!
Look for the 3rd book in the Brody Brothers billionaire cowboy series, BRUISED, coming in June!
There’s more lust, lies and love to be had in the House that Payne built. Look for Styx’s story coming in the Fall of 2019!
About the Author
A competitive figure skater from the age of eight, Stacy Gail began writing stories in between events to pass the time. By the age of fourteen, she told her parents she was either going to be a figure skating coach who was also a published romance writer, or a romance writer who was also a skating pro. Now with a day job of playing on the ice with her students, and writing everything from steampunk to cyberpunk, contemporary to paranormal at night, both dreams have come true.
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