by Anne Stone
“But what I really wanted to share with you is I made a decision on my future.” She reached for Ryne’s hand. “I haven’t been happy for a long time, and I didn’t realize it until this wonderful man helped me see that. I’ve been going through the motions on a daily basis but when I picked up my camera again, I felt like I could breathe. I hadn’t realized how much I missed it until I was forced into this fundraiser.”
“Forced?” asked Wilford.
“Well, I was. But with Ryne’s guidance and support, I realized that what was a gentle prodding from Johnston to oversee this affair became a godsend. I’ve found my way again. So without further ado, I’ve decided to resign my position at Lakeview at the close of the school year. I’m reopening Steele’s Photography.”
“Oh dear,” Rowena said as she placed her hand over her heart. “Your father would be so proud of you.”
“I hope so. I want to also thank you, Jacklynne. You helped me see the forest through the trees. I appreciate your support, and I hope to make all of you proud of my decision. Because if I fail, I’m going to need a lot of support to pick myself up again.”
“Honey, you’re not going to fail. In fact, I see you soaring.” Jacklynne wrapped her in her arms.
Before they knew it, it was time for Ryne’s family to go. Philippe and Etienne had left moments ago. Jen said her goodbyes to Jacques and turned to Jacklynne. “Thank you so much for coming. It was the best of surprises.”
“Thank Ryne, he arranged it.”
“I will.”
“Come here, dear. Let me give you one last hug.” Jacklynne embraced her one last time. “I hope you’ll come for the holidays.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“Talk to my son. I’m sure you’ll find a way.”
“Honey, the car’s here,” Jacques called.
“Coming, dear,” she called in return. “Jen, please try and come. You know how much we’d love to have you.”
“I know. I’ll call you soon.”
Ryne draped his arm around her as his parents got into their car. Rolling down the window, Jacques said, “We’ll see you soon. We love you.”
“Love you too,” Ryne shouted back. He turned and looked at the love of his life. “You know he included you in that comment.”
“I know,” she shyly said. It felt good to have his parents in her life. For some reason, she felt like they were her parents too. Although they’d never replace her mom and dad, it was good to have someone else that she could refer to as Mom and Dad. She hoped that one day she’d be able to call them that.
Chapter Twenty-Three
After much thought, Jen decided to hold off informing Johnston of her plans until the new year.
Since making her decision, a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders. She and Ryne were in a good place. She missed him when he was on the road and was always ecstatic with his return. She and Lauren attended every home game, and she’d watch him fly down the ice, in awe that he was hers. When he had away games, her heart ached with how much she missed him.
Ryne had been on the road for the last ten days. His first game back would be against the Storm. He’d phoned the night before he was scheduled to return home.
“You realize your first game home is against your brothers.”
“I do.”
“Let’s plan something.”
“Dinner?’” he suggested.
“Sounds great. I’ll make reservations.” She paused. “I miss you. It seems like forever since I last saw you.”
“You have no clue how much I miss you. I hate these road trips. They’re too long.”
“Yeah, ten days is a long time to be away from the ones you love.” She sighed.
“You have no idea. I can’t wait to hold you, kiss your sweet lips. Jen, you’re my everything.”
“I feel the same way.”
They spoke a few minutes longer when his phone beeped an incoming call. “Hey Jen, I’d better take this, it’s my mom.”
“Okay. Love you. Say hi to Jacklynne.”
“Love you too.”
She made reservations at Lucerne’s. It was a higher end restaurant located in the hotel where the Storm players were staying. She wanted them to have as much anonymity as possible and secured a private table.
At the last minute, she decided to invite Lauren. She wanted her best friend to get to know Ryne better but also wanted to introduce her to his brothers. She’d spoken with Etienne when they first arrived. He seemed weary and was thankful they were able to remain at the hotel. The season was still young and she worried about all of the Ferguson’s.
She knew Ryne would be cutting their dinner reservation close since his flight from the West Coast wasn’t scheduled to land until five-thirty, so she’d arranged to meet him at the restaurant. She’d been unsettled since speaking with Etienne. Since their plane had arrived that morning, instead of going home, she headed over to the hotel.
Thankfully, Etienne had texted their room numbers in case she needed to get ahold of them. Since she hadn’t spoken with Philippe, she chose to visit his room. Knocking on the door, she heard him call out and then the door flew open. He was shirtless. His face reddened and his head ducked when he discovered it was her. “Oh, hi there, Jen. Come on in while I grab a shirt. Sorry about that.”
He grabbed a dress shirt from the closet and threw it on. “I didn’t expect you for a while. Isn’t dinner at seven?”
“Yep, but I wanted to visit with you and Etienne. You’ve got to be lonely traveling all the time, never seeing your friends or family.” She paused. “Not that you don’t see your brother, and I’m sure you consider your teammates family.”
He ran his hand through his short-clipped hair. “I understand what you mean.” He walked towards the phone. “Shall we phone Et? I’m sure he’s just lounging about waiting for dinner.”
“Sure, but I have a question for you first. Is he okay?”
“Why do you ask?”
“He didn’t seem like himself when we spoke earlier. I’m concerned.”
He contemplated his words before admitting, “He had a rough game last night. Took a pretty hard hit and ended up on the ice for a few minutes. I think the wind got knocked out of him. Other than that, I’m sure he’s fine.” She questioned whether he was telling her the truth to prevent her from worrying. “I haven’t seen him since we arrived.” He grabbed the phone and dialed. It seemed like it took forever for him to answer. Maybe he’d gone out. Just as Philippe was ready to hang up Etienne answered.
“Hey, where were you?” She knew he was waiting for a response. “Jen’s here. Why don’t you come down and we can hang out before dinner?” She tried not to listen to Philippe’s portion of the conversation but it was hard not to. Her back was to him when she heard him set the phone down. “He’ll be here in a little while.”
She believed Philippe knew more about his brother’s condition than he was telling her. About a half hour later, a soft knock came. He didn’t even check to see who it was before he opened the door and Etienne strolled in. Unless her imagination played games on her, Etienne was moving slowly. She looked into his eyes and saw pain.
She rushed to his side. “Etienne, what’s wrong? You look like you’re hurting.”
“I must look pretty bad,” he said.
“What happened to you?”
“Jen, I play hockey— that’s what happened.”
“Philippe told me about your hit last night.”
“Hit. It was more like a bulldozer ran over me. Thankfully, I don’t have a concussion, but I am pretty sore. I don’t remember it. What I do remember is waking up on the ice with my brother hovering over me, asking if I was okay.”
“I was concerned,” Philippe added as he ran his hand across his face. “You weren’t moving.”
“I’m not moving very well right now, either.” He chuckled as he eased himself down on the bed. “Enough about me, what’s new with you? Have you found a space for your st
udio?”
“Actually, I still have my father’s. He owned the building, and we rented out a portion of it. But I left his studio intact. I couldn’t let it go.” She paced about the room. “I guess my subconscious knew that someday I’d return. I can still remember the day I closed the door on it for the last time. My grandfather Wilford manages the building for me, so he takes care of everything.”
“I’m glad you don’t have to worry about it.”
“So am I. Oh, by the way, I asked my best friend to join us tonight for dinner. Her name is Lauren Masters and she’s a tax attorney.”
“I never heard how the fundraiser turned out.” said Philippe. Etienne sat hunched over on the bed.
“We did better that I ever expected. We raised over five hundred thousand dollars.”
A loud whistle pierced the room. “Wow! I’d say you made the right decision to return to photography.”
“It wasn’t all from my sales. Don’t forget there was a silent auction. The dinner was also underwritten. I’m thrilled with the results.” She tapped her hand on her forehead. “Etienne, I forgot your picture.”
She could tell he wasn’t paying attention to their conversation as he seemed lost in his thoughts. “Et, did you hear Jen?”
“Huh, ah no, I’m sorry. I checked out there for a second. What did you say?”
“It doesn’t matter. Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
Out of the blue, Etienne asked, “So, how’s Rowena?”
“She’s doing great, thanks for asking.” Sitting down on the bed beside him, Jen said, “She asks about you all the time. I think she’s in love with you.”
Philippe burst out in laughter. “I think she likes you because you’re not dating her granddaughter.”
“Thanks, bro. I thought she liked me for my good looks.”
“That, too,” she added. “She definitely grilled Ryne when he met her in June. I felt sorry for him, but he made it through, and it’s behind him—at least for now.”
“Only because he hasn’t seen her in some time. I bet she’ll be on his six when he sees her next.”
“Glad it’s him and not me,” Philippe added. “I had it lucky with Annabelle’s family. We grew up together and everyone got along.”
“You also had a set of parents to watch out for you.”
“That, too. She just has your best interest at heart.”
“I know and so does Ryne,” Jen said. “Hey, it’s getting late. Let’s head down to the restaurant. Lauren should be here shortly.”
As they made their way towards Lucerne’s, Jen caught sight of Lauren. She waved and walked over.
Reaching her hand to Etienne, Lauren said, “I gather you’re Etienne. You and Ryne look exactly alike.”
“We are twins,” he scoffed.
“That you are, with the same sense of humor.” Jen shook her head at her friend.
“Bad day at the office?”
“Isn’t it always?”
Just as the hostess began to seat them, Ryne appeared. She smiled as he slapped his brothers on their backs in a welcoming way, and then he kissed her softly on the lips. She was ready to point out Lauren when he saw her standing on the sidelines.
“Lauren, I didn’t know you were joining us. It’s so good to see you.” He drew her friend into a warm embrace. “Have you met my brothers?”
“Yeah, Jen just introduced us.”
On one side of her sat Ryne and the other was Etienne. Seated next to one another and across the table from her were Philippe and Lauren. The brothers immediately started talking hockey. She imagined the dinner table while they were growing up was just like this. She knew Lauren was enjoying listening to the anecdotes about their road trips. Their late nights and travel delays on top of the game. Jen sat back, enjoying the scene before her.
The conversation shifted. Etienne had asked what Ryne’s schedule looked like during the holidays. While she listened to Ryne rant over the Generals’ upcoming road trips, she was surprised to see Lauren and Philippe engaged in conversation. Philippe seemed more at ease since their talk in June, and she hoped that she’d contributed to it.
“Jen?” She felt Ryne wrap his arm around her shoulder. “Did you hear me?”
“Umm.”
“You didn’t, did you?” She didn’t have a clue what he’d asked. “Et wants to know when you get out of school for the holidays.”
“You know, I haven’t checked yet. I’ve been so busy finishing up orders from the fundraiser.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Et replied. “Just let Ryne know so we can figure out our arrangements.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Nothing, dear. I’ll fill you in later.”
The remainder of their night flew by and before she knew it she was saying goodbye to his brothers. “I’ll see you on the ice,” Ryne called out as he headed toward the lobby with her. Lauren had left a few minutes earlier. Jen was glad she came and seemed to enjoy sitting next to Philippe and that made her happy.
“Watch your back,” Philippe added as they headed in opposite directions.
“That was fun,” Jen said as they made their way to her car. Ryne had taken a cab from the Generaldome.
“It was and I think Lauren and Philippe enjoyed themselves.”
“I noticed that.”
“Was that your plan?”
“No,” she sheepishly replied.
“Sure about that?” She knew he didn’t believe her but was glad that their evening turned out the way it did.
At the beginning of the season Ryne leased a townhouse. It wasn’t far from her home, and she thought it suited him. She’d listened to him go on and on about owning a sizeable piece of property in Calgary not far from his parents. He liked the freedom of the ranch and hoped to own something similar. Even though she knew he wanted to own a house, leasing one at this time was so much easier especially if he were traded again.
As they drove along, she thought about his brother. “Do you think Etienne is feeling okay? He didn’t seem himself.”
His delay in answering spoke volumes. “He’s injured, isn’t he?” When he didn’t answer her, she knew. “Ryne?”
“Yeah, he is. He called me earlier today after he spoke with you. He knew you’d figured it out.” Right then, she pulled up at his home.
“How?”
“Just by the way you kept asking him questions.” She hadn’t realized she’d done that but when she replayed the conversation in her mind, she guessed she had.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“He tweaked his back.”
“He said he didn’t have a concussion.”
“He doesn’t, but like me, it’s a nagging injury he’s been dealing with the last several years. He hoped it would go away, but they encountered a lot of turbulence coming into town and on top of his hit last night, it flared up again.”
“Phil said he took a nasty hit and ended up on the ice for several minutes.”
“That too.”
Turning to her he cupped her jaw, leaned in and kissed her. “You need to stop worrying. We’re used to injuries. It’s a part of the game.”
“I realize that.”
“Come up for a minute. I have something I want to discuss with you.” He sounded serious, and it triggered red flags that sent a shockwave scorching through her system.
Hand in hand they walked up the sidewalk, all the while Jen wondering what he wanted to speak to her about.
He threw open the door and she walked inside. She became even more unsettled by the look on his face. With his past injuries and now Etienne’s… She gnawed on her lower lip as she waited for him to close the door. He placed his hand on her lower back to move her towards the sofa when she spun around and looked deeply into his eyes. He hadn’t said a word since they arrived and it worried her. She didn’t know what to say or do, so she waited for him.
“What’s wrong, why are you so tense
all of a sudden?”
“It’s nothing,” Avoiding the sofa, she made her way to the French doors that led onto the balcony. She clasped and unclasped her hands, waiting and wondering. She watched in the glass as he moved his hand around his neck as though he were searching for words. Her heart dropped. They hadn’t been in a fight, their dinner went well, at least she thought it had. What did I do? What’s wrong? Is he going to break up with me? Those questions might have answers she didn’t want to hear. She closed her eyes and held her breath, waiting for the inevitable. She loved him. He said he loved her but what was wrong, what had she done? Was she overreacting?
Then he tightened his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. “Breathe, Jen,” he whispered. “Just breathe.” She took that breath she’d been holding and felt his lips along her neck. “What’s wrong? What did I do?”
“N-n-nothing,” she stammered.
“Then why have you gone so cold all of a sudden? Come on, let’s sit down.” He reached for her hand and guided her to the sofa— the same one she’d tried to avoid. She was afraid to sit. Afraid of what he wanted to tell her.
She eased herself down and kept her eyes averted and her hands clasped in her lap. For the first time in a long time, she was scared. She didn’t understand where her fears came from. From nowhere she’d lost her sense of confidence.
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong? Why are you so tense?” He massaged her neck. “Didn’t you have a good time tonight? I did. I love having the chance to meet-up with my brothers during the season. Thank you for arranging our dinner. I’m sorry I couldn’t have been there earlier.”
She tried to find comfort in his touch. “It was fantastic seeing Lauren again. I loved the way she and Philippe interacted. He seemed good tonight. I wonder if he took your advice and if he’s seeing a counselor? Whatever, he seemed much more relaxed. It was good to see, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, it was.” She took another deep breath. She waited and waited.