Tending Tara (Alaska Blizzard Book 8)

by Kat Mizera

  Donovan turned and pulled her into his arms. “Thank you. I’m the one that’s sorry. I hope this isn’t indicative of how the holidays are going to go.”

  “My parents will be here, too, and though my mother is sweet and angelic on the outside, watch what happens if someone messes with one of her children. She will cut you to the core without breaking a sweat and still smiling.”

  He chuckled. “I guess now I know where you get it from because that’s also an apt description of you.”

  “Go do your hockey thing,” she whispered, tilting up her face. “I’ll be fine, your family will be fine, and if not, my mother will take care of it.”

  He laughed with a little more gusto this time, dropping soft, sweet kisses on her mouth. “God, I want to make love to you right now so much, but I honestly don’t have time.”

  “Save it for later,” she whispered.

  “You sure you’re going to be all right? I feel like I’m abandoning you in a lion’s den.”

  “It’s not that bad, really. If they truly get on my nerves, I’ll have Charli bring Leon over. They won’t know what hit them.”

  They laughed together and he kissed her one last time. “I have to go, but I’ll see you at the game. Thanks for putting up with my nutty family.”

  “It’s not a problem.”

  Thankfully, the Blizzard pulled out another win that night, and Donovan was a lot more relaxed as he walked back to the family lounge. This would be interesting, having both sets of families together, but mostly he wanted to make sure Tara was okay. He was glad his father, at least, was on his best behavior, but Donovan and his mother were going to talk and then he was going to say something to Peyton as well. The need to protect Tara—to protect his wife—was stronger with her than it had ever been with Jane. Though he didn’t understand it, he couldn’t help how he felt. And he really hated that his family was making things difficult.

  He didn’t blame them for being suspicious. He’d gone from single to living with someone in the blink of an eye, but they should have at least given her a chance before giving her attitude. Nothing was ever simple, though.

  Everyone was hungry when he got to the family lounge, so they headed out to their favorite burger place and settled at two large tables in the back. Leon was holding court since Ryder and Logan had joined them, and Donovan found it entertaining that Peyton seemed as enthralled with his buddies as Leon was. Troy looked bored, of course, and never looked up from his phone, but it was probably better that way.

  “Are you mad at me?” Gina asked softly as conversation swirled around them. She was on his right, while Tara was across from him, and so many people were talking he didn’t think anyone could hear them.

  “A little.”

  “I’m sorry. As soon as Peyton found out your new girlfriend had moved in, she spoke to Jane and Jane insisted she get the scoop. So to speak.”

  “Are you—” His voice rose a bit and he immediately dropped off, shaking his head. “Are you kidding me? This is about Jane? You do realize that even if Tara and I broke up today, that ship has sailed. I literally feel nothing for her. Nothing but pity and remorse that I wasted so much time with her.”

  His mother looked surprised but then sighed. “She and Peyton are still close, even though Peyton never told you because she was afraid you’d be mad. They talk all the time, though, and Jane was devastated to hear you moved someone in.”

  “I was devastated when she told me she wouldn’t move to Alaska.”

  “That’s fair, but are you sure…” Her voice trailed off and she cut a glance in Tara’s direction. “I thought you were going to stay single for a while.”

  They were still speaking quietly but his gaze never left Tara’s. Her infectious laugh made him want to laugh, too. The kindness in her face permeated out and filled the room. Those stormy blue eyes always made him to lose himself in them. “That’s what I thought, too,” he said after a moment. “But she was unexpected. I’d held her at arm’s length since last winter and then after thinking about her for so long, I couldn’t help myself.”

  “I’ll talk to Peyton,” Mom said softly, patting his hand. “I’ll get her to back off. I’m sorry if we’ve upset you. Tara seems delightful.”

  “I’d appreciate it,” he said, looking at her. “She is delightful. And more than that, she’s important to me.”

  “I see that now.” She hesitated. “We don’t have anything for her for Christmas. I feel kind of bad, but to be fair, I only found out about her a few days ago.”

  “It’s okay. I’m planning to spoil her.” Donovan didn’t say anything else since Leon was holding court again, asking a million questions and generally being the life of the party. Peyton seemed completely engrossed with Ryder, too, which made no sense since Troy was sitting right there.

  On the plus side, Tara seemed much more relaxed. Hopefully, his family was coming around and things would be fun the next two days. Hell, all of that aside, he couldn’t wait for her to see her Christmas present. He was looking forward to surprising her even though he’d probably gone overboard, considering their situation. He didn’t care about that, though. As far as he was concerned, it was just money. He had plenty, and making Tara smile seemed like an excellent way to spend it. And she was definitely going to smile when she saw what he’d bought her.

  “We should get going,” he said at last. “We have a morning skate and another game tomorrow, so some of us have to get some rest.”

  “Jesus, we’re supposed to be on vacation,” Troy said, loud enough for everyone to hear.

  “You’re more than welcome to stay out and do your own thing,” Donovan told him, “but I’m not on vacation.”

  “Troy, it’s Christmas,” Peyton said to him. “Let’s just go home and spend time with the family.”

  “If I wanted to spend time with family, I could’ve stayed in Chicago.”

  Peyton tugged him off to the side as they spoke in hushed whispers as everyone got on their coats and prepared to leave.

  “I was gonna offer to take them out,” Ryder murmured to Donovan, “but he’s a dick.”

  “That he is. See you tomorrow.” Donovan clapped him on the shoulder and turned to Tara. “You ready to go home?”

  “So ready.”

  Peyton and Troy seemed to be arguing, and Donovan wasn’t sure whether or not to intervene, so he looked to his mother, who was watching them with concern. Finally, he walked over to them.

  “Are you guys coming home or going out?”

  “We’re coming home.” Peyton didn’t look at Troy as she said it and then stalked out the front door.

  “Fucking women,” Troy growled.

  “Watch your mouth,” Donovan snapped. “That’s my sister.”

  “Whatever, man. Only reason I’m here is because she needed to check out your new girlfriend and report back to the wife.”

  “Ex-wife,” Donovan said through clenched teeth.

  “Like I said—whatever.” Troy moved past him, and Donovan watched hm go with a scowl. Why the fuck was Jane even part of this conversation? He’d barely given her a second thought since meeting Tara, and it was laughable that anyone might think there was a chance they would get back together. He had a new wife, whether people knew it or not, and he’d been happier in the month since marrying Tara than almost the entire time he’d been married to Jane. Now he just had to figure out why and what to do about it.

  28

  Tara was as mentally exhausted as Donovan was physically, and they fell asleep without talking that night. When she woke up in the morning, Donovan was still beside her, but awake and typing something on his phone.

  “Morning.” He looked down at her. “Did you sleep okay?”

  “Yes. I barely remember getting to bed. How about you?”

  “I always sleep well after games.”

  “Today’s game is early, right?”

  “Yes. Three o’clock. Coach cancelled the morning skate, said for us to rest up, so I
don’t have to rush out this morning.”

  “I have to get up and see about breakfast.”

  “No, you don’t.” He reached out and tugged her across his chest.

  She really loved when he held her like this, his strong arms wrapped around her and her ear pressed against his ribcage so she could hear the beating of his heart. When it was just the two of them, alone like this, everything was right in her world. It wasn’t until they went out into the real world that things got a little iffy. His family had her doubting everything about this faux marriage and guilt had begun to eat at her.

  It should have been simple to pretend to be a regular couple who was dating and falling in love, but it wasn’t. Between her family and now his, she felt like a fraud, deceiving people she cared about, including Donovan. She hadn’t lied about her reasons for wanting to get married, but she was definitely lying about her feelings.

  Maybe not outright lying, but more like lies of omission since he had no idea how she felt about him. Because they were married, she didn’t want him to feel obligated or somehow trapped, but the reality of living with her feelings was becoming more and more difficult. Especially in front of family during the holidays.

  “I’m going to go pick up bagels and cream cheese from that bakery that just opened,” he said. “So don’t worry about breakfast.”

  “Your mom and I never talked about food on Christmas Eve, so I have to bring that up.” She started to stir but he tightened his arms, holding her in place.

  “Not yet. I like when it’s just the two of us. The house is too full with all these people.”

  She smiled even though he couldn’t see her face. “Agreed.”

  “Let’s go stay at a hotel and let the families do Christmas without us.”

  “I’m in.” She relaxed against him, wishing they could do something like that.

  “I wish I could make that happen.”

  “I know.”

  “It also just occurred to me that we never decorated for the holidays. At first I was busy, and then we were dealing with getting married and stuff, and then it was here. My ex took most of the decorations when she left, and I didn’t think about buying anything new. I feel kind of stupid now, considering we’re hosting Christmas Eve for two families.”

  “I don’t think anyone cares, but I can pick up a few things when I’m out today. Maybe a wreath for the front door and some poinsettias for the fireplace? Maybe a centerpiece for the table?”

  “Yeah, buy whatever you need. I’ll give you my debit card.”

  She’d resisted taking his card before now, but today it felt important to make everything nice for their Christmas Eve celebration.

  “Why don’t you buy a couple of rib roasts and I’ll smoke them in the Egg?”

  She slowly lifted her head to look at him. “What on earth is an egg?”

  He squinted, as if confused by her question. “You’ve never seen it out on the deck? It’s a kamado-style ceramic barbeque cooker. I use it constantly in the off-season, but when I’m playing hockey I don’t think about it as much. I can fire it up and that’ll make it easier on everyone. I’m sure Charli will help with side dishes, and we can keep it casual, buffet-style. What do you think?”

  “I’m intrigued with this egg business, but yes, if you can barbeque the meat, I can handle the rest as long as we come up with a menu.”

  “Come on, let’s go downstairs, and I can run out for bagels. Once I get back, I’ll bring it up.”

  “You seem to have many hidden talents,” she said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed.

  “I’m not sure they’re hidden so much as underused.”

  She laughed.

  The next twenty-four hours were a flurry of activity. Once Donovan mentioned cooking meat on his special egg, everyone seemed excited about it and she, Gina, and Peyton spent several hours going from store to store, preparing for the holiday meal and picking up a handful of decorations. From there, they headed to the arena for the game. Afterward, they went out for a late dinner as a group again.

  Tara was pulled in a lot of different directions. While it felt important to spend time with Donovan’s family, she desperately wanted to be with her own, too. There just weren’t enough hours in the day during the holidays, and she would be glad when they were over.

  Today, however, was Christmas Eve, and she still had a lot to do. She’d hung the wreath on the front door and added some poinsettias and festive candles to the fireplace. She’d also picked up red and gold garland to decorate a few other places, as well as a fantastic holiday-themed centerpiece she hadn’t yet decided where to place. They weren’t having a formal sit-down meal, so the dining room table didn’t make sense, but putting it on the kitchen counter wasn’t right, either.

  She mentioned it when her mother arrived around noon to help her get ready.

  “What about the coffee table in the family room?” she suggested. “That’s where you said you spend most of your time, yes?”

  “Maybe you’re right.” Tara was distracted and a little flustered. She’d never been in charge of cooking for a big crowd, and though eleven people wasn’t that many, it felt like Donovan’s family was watching her carefully.

  “What’s wrong, my love?” Her mother asked in Finnish as they began putting together a casserole. “You’re not yourself.”

  “I don’t think his parents like me,” she murmured. “And his sister is reporting back to his ex-wife about me.”

  “But they’re divorced and you’re his wife,” Aiti said simply. “Also, she didn’t want to come to Alaska while you love it here. He’s your husband, whatever the circumstances, and if he’s still in love with his ex-wife there’s nothing to be done about it. You can’t force him to love you or even to stop loving her. But from what I’ve seen since I’ve been here, he’s crazy about you.”

  “It’s hard to tell. We agreed to go slowly with things because we did jump right into marriage even though we’d only just started dating. And I don’t know how to tell him that I’m already invested.”

  “Stop thinking and start living,” she responded. “Why are you spending so much time worried about the future of something that’s just begun?”

  “Because what if I let myself love him and he decides to go back to his ex or that this marriage is inconvenient somehow or just wants out?”

  “Can you stop him from deciding any of those things?”

  “No.”

  “Can you stop yourself from falling in love with him?”

  “No.”

  “Then all the stress and worry is a waste of time. Live it. Enjoy it. Love him. Even if he doesn’t return your feelings, which I think is debatable anyway, you lose nothing by loving someone. Your feelings still matter. Your enjoyment still matters. Will it hurt if he leaves? Of course. But it won’t hurt any less if you deprive yourself of truly enjoying it while you have it.”

  Tara turned to her mother and wrinkled her nose. “Why are you so smart?”

  “Because I’ve been around the block a few times. Now, what’s next on the menu?”

  Christmas Eve turned out to be more fun than Tara had thought it would be. They ate and talked, played Christmas music, watched It’s A Wonderful Life on television, and drank a lot of wine. Leon, of course, had a thousand questions about the movie, which made everyone laugh except Troy, and by the time the movie was over she was ready to smack him. Luckily, everyone had simply started ignoring Troy, and when Miikka, Charli, and the family got ready to leave, they had something else to talk about.

  “I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Donovan said, looking at his phone, “but it appears there’s a blizzard coming late tomorrow. We’re supposed to go to the party at the Caldwells’, and Gage sent an email saying we’re all welcome to stay since he has multiple generators and plenty of room. If we lose power, it’ll be both dark and cold because I don’t have a generator. The fireplace is nice, but it’ll only warm this room, and we can’t all sleep in he
re.”

  “We have a small one,” Miikka said, “but not enough to last more than six or eight hours. If we lose power more than that, it will be the same at our house.”

  “So we’re just going to spend the night at some stranger’s house?” Troy demanded. “Why wouldn’t we just hunker down here?”

  “Like I just said, because I’m not set up for the kind of weather event we’re expecting,” Donovan retorted. “Normally, I’m gone half the winter, and Jane never lived here, so it never occurred to me to buy generators and stuff.” He looked over at Tara, a soft smile on his face as he continued. “I’ll have to re-think that now there is someone living in the house in the winter while I’m away, but it’s too late for tomorrow. So the choice is, we stay here and risk being stranded without electricity for several days, or we head over to our billionaire team owner’s house where we’ll be warm and comfortable regardless.”

  “We’re going to go,” Miikka said.

  “We’ll bring a couple of overnight bags,” Charli added, “and hunker down with everyone. If the storm turns out to be milder than expected, we’ll head home the next morning, but the weather channels are all telling us to expect it to get pretty bad. The snow isn’t the issue as much as the wind and cold temperatures. They’re saying it’s going to go down to about minus thirty degrees, and with precipitation, that means ice. Things could be frozen for days.”

  Gina shivered. “Damn, that’s cold.”

  “And if everything turns to ice, that’s when we could have issues with power. My house is pretty old, so it happens a lot when it gets this cold.”

  “This house is much newer,” Donovan said, “but I’m still not sure what to expect.”

  “Why don’t we decide in the morning?” Earl suggested. “We’ll have updated weather reports and can decide then.”