by Toni Aleo
“The Assassins!”
“Yup! Good job, bud.”
“Mommy, can we watch all the games when Lucas plays? Oh! Can I wear my number 22 jersey, too?!”
“Of course, honey,” Fallon said with a smile. Aiden let out an excited squeal, causing Fallon and Lucas to laugh.
“You know, they might be on a little late, Fal,” Lucas said as he turned onto the road that led out to the airfield. Fallon had been out there many times when she had to travel for company business, so she knew where they were.
“I’ll record them if they are on late,” she said simply. He nodded as he pulled into a parking spot between two other cars. Lucas handed Fallon his keys and got out to help Aiden. Fallon tucked the keys in her purse and followed behind them.
Then she stopped.
She had been so mad before that she hadn’t even realized that they were being so domestic. She had agreed to drive his truck back to her house, and to even let it stay there! Lucas wasn’t her man! What the hell was she doing!? Ah! He drove her insane with how he could manipulate her into doing anything!
What the hell was she going to do with him?
Fallon glanced up to see Lucas and Aiden walking away, so she quickly walked towards them to catch up. Aiden walked close beside Lucas, his little hand in Lucas’ massive ones as they headed towards the plane. It was such a sweet image that Fallon took out her phone and snapped the picture quickly. Even though Lucas drove her nuts, she did love watching him with Aiden.
Lucas stopped and handed his bags to a crewman before looking back at Fallon.
“I gotta go, buddy,” he said as he look back down at Aiden. Aiden was looking up at Lucas like he held the moon and Fallon’s heart broke at the sight. She had to look away but when she did, she saw other children saying bye to their daddies. When she glanced over and saw Shea standing with a pregnant Elli, kissing Shelli all over her face, she decided that if she was going to cry, it was going to be over her own child. Fallon glanced back to see Lucas bent down, hugging Aiden tightly.
“I’ll call every day, bud.”
“You promise?” Aiden whispered into Lucas’ shoulder. Fallon took a deep breath in as the tears started to fall. Damn it, she hated the goodbye. This had to be the worst part of being in the hockey world. It was this and the thought of something happening to the hockey player she loved. It drove her insane and when she had left this world so long ago, she swore she would never come back.
So much for that promise.
“I promise. Every day.”
“Okay,” Aiden said as they parted. Lucas smiled and pinched Aiden’s nose before standing up.
“Take care of your momma, okay?” Lucas said, looking deep into Fallon’s eyes. She wiped her face as Aiden smiled widely up at her.
“I will,” Aiden declared and Fallon almost choked on the sob that escaped her lips. She wanted to say that she didn’t need to be taken care of, that she would take care of Aiden, but she couldn’t say anything. She covered her mouth as Lucas looked into her eyes sadly.
“Don’t cry, Fal,” he said. Aiden came over to her, wrapping his arms around her as he leaned his head against her stomach.
“Just take care of yourself, okay?” she cried as she ran her fingers through Aiden’s hair.
“Always do, always will,” he said and Fallon was sure she stopped breathing. Before she could say anything, even goodbye, Lucas started for the plane. Fallon couldn’t even think of a time he didn’t say that to her before he boarded a plane when they were younger. He never said goodbye to her, he would say those four words and then he would be gone for days, weeks, sometimes months at a time.
“Mommy, Lucas didn’t say bye.” Fallon looked down to see that Aiden had started crying.
“He never does. He used to always tell me that when he says goodbye, that it means for forever, and he would never be gone that long.”
Aiden buried his face into her stomach again and Fallon continued to rub his head with her fingers as she watched Lucas disappear into the plane. “I’m gonna miss him,” Aiden said into her stomach.
Me, too, she thought as she watched the plane door shut.
So much.
Chapter 21
“Fuck you!”
That was the only thing Lucas got out before he was being cussed out in a language he didn’t even know. Lucas was sure the forward from the Flames wasn’t wishing him well as he spat out some of the nastiest-sounding words, but Lucas didn’t care.
Actually, he loved it.
“Back off, asshole!” another one of the Flames players said when Lucas got into the non-English-speaking dude’s face.
“Fuck you too, and here is a bit of advice. If you are going to play hockey and cuss me out, at least do it in a language I know!”
Lucas glared at the guy one last time, daring him to throw his gloves down, before skating off to the bench where his teammates sat. Lucas jumped over the board and sat down next to a focused Shea Adler.
“Who does that?” Lucas asked as he squirted some Gatorade in his mouth.
“He was speaking French,” Shea said, his face actually breaking out in a smile. It was rare, because Shea Adler didn’t smile during a game; well he did when he scored, or when Elli was there. When Elli was there, he was grinning for the whole arena.
Newlyweds.
“Again, who cusses someone out in French? We play in the NHL, not the…what is it called, French hockey league?”
Shea laughed. “You are dumb, dude.”
“Just saying,” Lucas laughed, taking in deep, labored breaths. The Flames were playing hard, and they were having a great season, but they weren’t a match for the Assassins. The Assassins were winning by two and it was only the start of the game.
“Good game so far,” Shea said. “One more.”
Lucas’ face broke out into a grin because all he had to do was score one more goal for a hat trick. He hadn’t gotten one this year — hell in the last three years — so he was more than ready. He had been playing fantastic since leaving the States. He had gotten two goals when they won against the Oilers the night before, and it was looking like another win tonight. Yeah, he was killing it and Lucas knew the reason for his fantastic playing.
Aiden.
Lucas had never felt so whole in his life until that little boy came into it. Talking to Aiden every day, seeing his little face grin over the screen of their iPads, had brought so much happiness into Lucas’ life that Lucas felt like he was on top of the world. It had been so long since he had felt so loved and so happy. It felt as if a large hole was in his heart when he lost his dad, and then the hole had gotten bigger when Fallon left him. He never thought that hole would close up, but it did. All it took was one smile from his little guy and he was whole. All he needed was Fallon, and maybe a Stanley Cup, then his life would be complete.
“Yup, one more goal and I got my first hat trick in years. I’m ready.”
Shea nodded as he smiled over at Lucas. “You can get it done, too. We still have a lot of hockey to play.”
“Yup, let’s do this.”
Coach Bacter called out their line and the guys jumped over the boards, skating out to play the last two periods and all Lucas hoped for was that Hat Trick.
Lucas stood in the middle of the locker room as the guys threw their hats at him. He couldn’t help the large grin that was on his face as different ball caps hit him in the face. He couldn’t believe it, and he couldn’t wait to call Aiden.
Lucas had gotten his hat trick.
Scoring three goals in a game was huge, and he couldn’t believe he had pulled it off. He couldn’t have done it without his team, and Lucas couldn’t have felt more blessed that he had come to Nashville than he did at that moment. Not only was he playing the best he had ever played, but he had Fallon and Aiden in his life now. Everything was coming together for him, and Lucas couldn’t grasp that all it took was the love of a child.
“Let’s give it up to Brooks. First hat tric
k in what? Ten years?” Bacter asked with a grin on his face.
Lucas laughed. “Three.”
“Ten, three, same thing. Here’s your puck.” Bacter handed Lucas his puck and Lucas smiled widely as he looked down at it. Before he would have kept the puck, but now Aiden would be getting it. Lucas grinned down at his puck before grinning up at his teammates.
Man, he loved his life.
*********************************
“Three goals! Three! I screamed every time and Mom let me stay up late just to watch!” Aiden gushed the next day. Lucas sat in a hotel in Vancouver with his iPad in his lap, smiling at Aiden. He had been busy all day with workouts and press crap, and he didn’t get to talk to Aiden the night before because the game ran so late, so Lucas couldn’t have been more relieved than to be sitting in his bed talking with his son.
“That’s awesome, bud. I’m glad you got to watch,” Lucas said with a grin. “How was school?”
“Fine,” Aiden said with a wave. “Can you teach me how to do that one shot you did against that one guy? The one with a big nose? That shot was awesome! Even Mom cheered for you!”
Lucas chuckled as he smiled. At the mention of Fallon, his groin tightened. He had missed her so much, almost as much as he missed Aiden. “Did she now?”
“Oh yeah! She jumped up and everything! So you gotta teach me how to do that!”
“Will do,” Lucas laughed. “So, what did you do at school today?”
“Boring stuff, are you bored? Are you ready to come home?”
Lucas smiled as Aiden grinned at him. “I am.”
“I’m ready for you to come home, too. It’s gonna be the best birthday present! AA says that your mom is coming! That she’s my grandma! Do I call her Grandma?”
Lucas nodded. “Sure, we’ll have to ask her.”
“Cool, I already have a Grammie and a Grandpa, but Mom says that it’s good to have another grandma because that means I’ll be loved by all kinds of people, which is so cool!”
“It is cool. Have you been practicing with your stick?”
Aiden nodded quickly. “Yup. AA got so mad at me because I broke one of her vases in the living room. I told her that I need to practice, but it didn’t work,” he said with a guilty look on his face.
“We’ll buy her another one when I get back.”
Aiden’s face lit up and all of the sudden the screen went fuzzy from where Aiden was bouncing on the bed. Lucas laughed at Aiden’s excitement before the screen went back to normal and Aiden started talking about a game he wanted for his birthday. As Lucas listened to Aiden talk a million miles a second about the game, the only thing Lucas could think was that he had never missed someone the way he missed Aiden.
Lucas wanted to go home; he wanted to be with his son, but then he thought that even if he went home he wouldn’t be with Aiden 100 percent of the time. It would always be a trade-off with Fallon and he hated that. He wanted that moment when the door opened and he was attacked by his kid. All the guys from the team that had kids talked about that moment and Lucas knew he wouldn’t be able to experience it because of his situation with Fallon.
Man, how he wished they could work things out. Their flirting and hot glances were driving him crazy. Lucas said that he didn’t think Fallon could hold out much longer, but really he wasn’t sure how much more he could handle. He wanted her more than he wanted to breathe. Yeah, it was cliché but it was the truth. Lucas felt like his heart only beat her name, no other woman could compare and he just wanted her. Not only did he want to come home to Aiden in the house, but he wanted Fallon in his bed, or cooking for him, or just being lazy on the couch, anything! He just wanted Fallon and Aiden, all the time.
Lucas wanted a family.
His family.
**********************************
Fallon slowly climbed the stairs to the second floor to check on Aiden. She knew he went upstairs to Skype with Lucas, but usually she heard something out of him by now. When Audrey appeared at the top of the stairs, Fallon smiled.
“Hey you,” she said. She hadn’t seen much of Audrey lately. Either Fallon was working or Audrey just wasn’t home. Fallon noticed that ever since Lucas left, Audrey had been home more, which was weird.
“What’s up?” Audrey asked with a grin.
“About to go check on lil' man,” Fallon said, nodding her head towards Aiden’s room. “I haven’t seen you much.”
“Yeah, I’ve been busy,” Audrey said, looking away.
“Really? Busy doing what?”
“Nothing important. Just stuff.”
“Okay,” Fallon said, eying her younger sister. Sometimes it was hard to read Audrey. Fallon could never tell if she was lying, and it drove her insane. “Is everything okay?” Fallon found herself asking.
Audrey looked up, giving Fallon a small grin. “Everything is fine.”
“You would tell me?” Fallon asked.
“Yeah,” Audrey said looking back down towards the stairs. “I gotta go.”
“Okay? Where?”
Audrey kicked the front of her boot into the floor. “Out. I’m meeting someone.”
Fallon took in a frustrated breath. Why was she being so difficult? What was she hiding? “Okay,” she finally said, moving out of the way so that Audrey could go down the stairs. “Be careful.”
Audrey went down the stairs with nothing more than a wave for Fallon. Audrey was hiding something and Fallon wanted to know what it was.
Pronto.
Shrugging her shoulders, Fallon went towards Aiden’s door. When she reached it, she heard Aiden yawn. She slowly opened the door to see him lying on his side, with his back to the door, and the iPad sitting up so he could see Lucas. Lucas was also laying in a bed with a grin on his face as he talked to Aiden. Fallon’s heart lurched at the sight of Lucas. He looked so inviting, laying with his head on the pillow and his eyes half lidded. It was obvious that he was tired. Lucas had been playing some amazing hockey the past couple games. Fallon had no doubt that he would be tired, but why did he have to look so sexy while doing it?
Aiden took in a deep breath and Lucas smiled. “Buddy, you are tired. Go to sleep.”
Aiden shook his head. “I miss you.”
Fallon’s heart broke as she leaned against the doorway. Aiden had asked for Lucas every morning before school and then after. It broke Fallon in pieces when he would look up at her with those big gray eyes and his lip wobbling because he missed his daddy. She wished that she could take Aiden to Lucas, or bring Lucas home, anything just to make her baby happy.
“I miss you too, bud. I’ll be home in two days, and then you’ll meet your grandma. So go to sleep okay? I’ll call tomorrow.”
Fallon’s hands clasped together tightly at the thought of Molly coming to Aiden’s birthday party that weekend. Fallon had been a nervous wreck about seeing the woman that she had thought of as a second mother so long ago. All her fears before Lucas and Aiden knew of each other came back in full force. She was so scared of what Molly would say to her that Fallon was convinced she would be on pins and needles the rest of the week.
“I’m fi..,” Aiden tried to say, but the last word didn’t fully come out. Fallon slowly walked towards the bed, peeking over to see that Aiden had fallen asleep. When she heard Lucas chuckling, she picked the iPad up to see his beautiful sleepy face.
“Hey there, beautiful.”
Fallon smiled. “Hey. He knocked out on ya, huh?”
“Sure did. He’s been talking a million words a minute; I didn’t think he would last that long tonight.”
“Yeah, he’s had a long day at school since I let him stay up last night.”
Lucas nodded. “Thanks for that. He seemed pretty excited.”
Fallon shrugged her shoulders. “It was a good game.”
Lucas smiled before running his hands through his hair and sitting up. “So you watched it?”
Fallon’s cheeks warmed a little before she nodded. “I did.”
&
nbsp; Nothing was said as the two stared into each other’s eyes. Fallon wanted nothing more than to climb into the iPad and magically appear on the other side in Vancouver, where she would promptly screw Lucas Brooks’ brains out. It was something about his eyes and mouth that had Fallon on edge, or maybe it was his whole body. Who the hell knew, all she did know was that she wanted him, even if it was against her best judgment.
“I miss you, Fal.”
Fallon took in a sharp breath before biting her lip. Why did he have to say that? Why couldn’t he just let her be? It was hard enough trying to resist his sexy ass but then he would say sweet things like that and Fallon really did want to figure out a way to climb through the damn iPad.
“You do?” she asked because she didn’t know what else to say.
Lucas nodded. “A lot.”
“Well stop,” she said, when really she wanted to tell him she missed him too.
“No.”
“Nothing is ever gonna happen between us,” she said, trying to convince him.
And herself.
“So you say,” Lucas said with a grin.
“I do say, and I’ll stand beside it,” Fallon said, her temper flaring.
“I don’t believe you. Something is going to happen. The location and time is still unknown.”
“Ah! You’re madding!”
Fallon hit the disconnect button and crumbled into the chair beside Aiden’s bed. She turned off the iPad before letting her face fall into her hands. As she shook her head from side to side, all she could do was think why did he still miss her? Why did he still want her? She was a complete bitch to him, had kept his child from him. It made no damn sense. There was no way he still loved her because he had cheated on her, he had ruined them.
It had to be convenience. He wanted to be around Aiden all the time, and of course, there was still sexual attraction between them so why not try to get Fallon on board. Then he could have Aiden all the time AND get laid, but then again, that didn’t make sense because Lucas could easily fight Fallon for custody of Aiden and still get laid by all the females that threw themselves at him.