by Jen Gilroy
“Stephanie, you—”
“No, I promised myself I had to tell you this. I try to teach my boys to be kind, so I should take my own advice, starting with you.” She held out her right hand. “Whether you believe me or not, ever since you turned up here with Amy that day to register her for hockey, I’ve been thinking about you and me and how things were between us. I’m a single mom, too, and my ex… well, this job is all I’ve got. Sometimes… it’s hard, you know?”
“Yes, it is.” Cat took Stephanie’s hand in hers. One handshake wouldn’t wipe out almost thirty years of animosity, but it was a good start. And since folks who lived in Firefly Lake tended to stay here, she and Stephanie might have another thirty years or more to work things out.
“As for Luc, even though I might have wanted there to be, even back in high school, there was never anything between us. And now, well… I hope it works out for the two of you.”
“It… he…” Cat’s thoughts spun.
“You’re the icing on his cupcake, sugar.” Stephanie gave her a tremulous smile.
“What?” The word popped out before Cat could stop it. “Sorry, I—”
“No, it’s me.” Stephanie put a hand to her cheek and her face went even pinker. “When I get nervous, stupid stuff comes out of my mouth. Maybe it’s because of all the old movies I watch. I’ve been stuck here my whole life, so they’re like an escape. Real dumb, huh?”
“No.” Even though she hadn’t been stuck in Firefly Lake, Cat got that need to escape. It was why she’d spent the past few weeks buried in the historical romances on her e-reader—after she’d borrowed every movie from the library’s small collection that had promised a distraction from her real life. “I like movies, too.”
Stephanie’s brown eyes got shiny. “I have to go, but maybe sometime we could… I mean if you’re not busy… we could hang out… catch a movie together.”
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.” Stephanie gave Cat another bashful smile, then darted past her and almost ran out through the arena’s reception area, her boots clattering on the tile.
Cat pressed a hand to her stomach. Who would have thought she and Stephanie had anything in common, let alone a second chance to start fresh and try to make things better between them? She hadn’t, but if Stephanie could make that effort, so could she.
Like she had to do with Luc. She studied his closed office door. She was an adult. Luc was too. And this was about Amy, so she could talk to him for five minutes, fix whatever had gone wrong with the hockey camp application, and be on her way. Once she told him about the baby, she’d have to talk to him for the rest of her life anyway. Although this meeting wasn’t a second chance, it might at least help break the ice.
She rapped on the door.
“Cat.” Luc pulled the door open, his voice low.
“Here.” She shoved the paperwork toward him. “Amy’s medical files.”
He looked at her but didn’t move to take the papers. “I’m sorry.” A pulse in his throat worked and his blue eyes were somber.
“Mistakes happen, but Amy would be so disappointed if she missed out on the camp because some paperwork had gone missing. Stephanie said the deadline’s tonight.” Cat pressed harder on her stomach with her free hand. Morning sickness was a misnomer. It was all-day sickness and all night, too, but it wasn’t the baby’s fault. She’d love it enough for two parents, like she did Amy. And where was Amy anyway? Apart from Luc, the cramped office was empty and the connecting door to the training room was shut.
“This isn’t about the hockey camp application.” Luc’s gaze dropped to her hand, then jerked back to her face. He gestured her into the office. “I’ve already heard informally that Amy’s in. Despite her dyslexia, it’s likely she’ll get a full scholarship.”
“Then why?” Cat stuffed the papers back in her bag, then covered her nose again. If anything, the arena smell was worse in here. “And where’s Amy?”
“With Scott and the team in the training room for an impromptu end-of-season party. I had to find a way to talk to you.” Luc’s voice was raw, and he took her arm to ease her into a chair. The same chair she’d sat in all those weeks ago before she’d let herself love him, and he was nothing more to her than an old family friend and childhood crush.
“There’s nothing for us to talk about.” She stared at her scuffed, winter-weary boots.
“I wouldn’t call a baby nothing, but I didn’t make it easy for you to tell me.” He crouched beside the chair and rubbed her back through her coat. “I was wrong. I thought you knew how I felt about you, about us, so I didn’t… I’m sorry.” His voice was sad, but not angry.
“How did you find out about the baby? Georgia promised me she wouldn’t say anything.” Cat’s eyes burned.
“Georgia didn’t tell me. Nobody did. I guessed.” His breath rasped by her ear. “I love you, Cat, and even though I took a wrong and mixed-up way to do it, that’s why I asked you to marry me out at the house. I didn’t know you were pregnant then, but I knew I loved you. I still do. And baby or not, I still want to marry you.” His hand moved from her back to her face to trace the curve of her chin.
“Maggie was the love of your life.” Luc was doing the right thing like Cat had known he would, but even though he sounded sincere, she didn’t want to be second best. As well as a man who would be there for her and their child, she wanted her own love story.
Luc sat back on his heels. “I fell in love with Maggie when I was a kid. If she’d lived, we’d have grown old together. But I lost her, and although she’ll always have part of my heart, you have my heart, too. Like you tell Amy, hearts are stretchy and big enough to love more than one person.”
“How… Amy… she?” Her voice faltered and Luc moved closer on one knee.
“Amy loves you and, like me, she wants you to be happy.” He cupped her chin to make her look at him.
“I…” Happiness flickered then was quenched. “You said you don’t want children. I didn’t get pregnant on purpose. You have to believe me that I didn’t try to trick you.”
“As if I’d ever think that. You’re not that kind of woman.” The expression in Luc’s eyes was loving and honest. “There were two of us, remember? If anybody’s responsible, it’s me. It was my condom.”
He stood and pulled Cat to her feet like she was a piece of thistledown. “I said I didn’t want children because I vowed I’d never risk putting any other woman I loved through what Maggie went through.” His voice cracked and his big body shook. “And now you… if anything happens to you… I couldn’t… God, Cat, feelings go deep for me, and it was hard to say it right away, but I love you so much. I can’t lose you, too. I don’t want to go through the rest of my life without you by my side.” His eyes were grief-stricken.
Cat wrapped her arms around him. “My pregnancy with Amy was fine, and this one’s starting off exactly the same way. The doctor says everything’s okay so far.” She took a deep breath. Instead of sweat, beer, and dirty hockey gear, she smelled him. Clean and safe. The man she wanted and who also wanted her.
A tender smile lifted one corner of his mouth. “I never thought I’d get so lucky twice in this lifetime. Maggie’s my past, but I want you, Amy, and our baby to be my future.”
Happiness broke inside Cat like water surging through melted ice on Firefly Lake when winter gave way to spring. “Amy? She… did you talk to her?”
“That’s between Amy and me. I promised her I wouldn’t say anything to you. Don’t be mad, but along with Stephanie, Amy helped me get you here today.”
“I…” Cat’s heart bumped against her ribs.
“I want to fix things with you.” Luc’s voice was gruff and he held her tight. “I was wrong the way I handled things before. Let me make it right.”
“I love you, Luc. A part of me always has, right back to when I was a lost and bullied little kid, but I didn’t think you could ever love me back.”
“I love you, too.” His voice
vibrated with emotion. “You’ve made my world right. You helped me come out of that wasteland of grief I was stuck in and hope and look forward to the future. I need you, Cat. Do you believe me?”
“Yes.” She didn’t need to analyze any evidence or think things through. She only needed to listen to her heart.
“I don’t deserve you, but if you give me a chance, I’ll spend every day for the rest of my life showing you what you mean to me.” His voice was filled with love.
Cat raised her head. “You can’t change your past, like I can’t change mine. I called my dad a few days ago, and you know what?”
“No, what?” Luc’s expression was guarded.
“I’ve spent so many years being angry with him. For a lot of those years, I also missed him, at least when I wasn’t hating him for what he did to Mom and all of us. But when I called him, it was strange. I couldn’t feel anything except pity. He didn’t even seem like my dad, just someone I once knew.”
Although she’d cried after she’d hung up the phone, tears dredged from the depths of her soul, they were tears that helped her begin to finally heal and move on, as if she’d washed away all the bad things and given the good a place to grow. “I’ve made my share of mistakes, but we’ve got a future ahead of us. I want my future to be with you.”
Luc had given her a priceless gift. Not only love but acceptance. As well as the kind of security that had nothing to do with money and everything to do with what she’d needed since that childhood day when her dad’s betrayal had ripped away her trust forever.
Luc’s breath got short and emotion almost choked him. Cat had given him another chance, and now he had to make the most of it. To give her the love story she needed and deserved. The kind of love story she’d only ever read about in those books of hers or seen in movies. “Come here.” He tucked her into his side and moved with her out the office door, through the deserted reception area and toward the rink.
“Where… why?” Her eyes were puzzled.
He gave her a brief smile, then tugged open the door to the ice and led her to the home team’s bench. It was edged with the tiny, white lights he’d set up earlier that now glowed in the darkness of the arena.
“What… ?” She sucked in a breath.
“Shush.” He eased her onto the bench and got down on one knee in front of her. “I made a big mistake before, but I want to do things right this time.”
“Okay.” In Cat’s steady blue gaze was all the love he could have ever wanted and more.
He stuck his hand under the bench and pulled out a box wrapped in shiny, pink paper. “I love you, Minnie, and I want to look out for you.”
“You’ve always looked out for me.” Her words came out in a soft whisper. “Even when I didn’t want you to or think I needed it.”
“I want to keep doing it, but from now on, I also want us to look out for each other.” He took the lid off the box and Cat drew in a breath.
“How did you… ?”
“Liz makes whole quilts. She said a wedding dress for little Minnie Mouse here was easy.” Luc set the plush toy on the bench between them. “Don’t worry, I swore her to secrecy.” He dug in the box again and pulled out Mickey dressed as a groom.
“I…”
He swallowed and, still on one knee, set Mickey beside Minnie and took Cat’s hands in his. “I love how smart you are, but I love your sweetness and kindness even more. I love you with every fiber of my being.” He paused and his throat tightened further. “If I ask you again, will you marry me?”
“Yes.”
Only one word, but it was enough.
“I won’t let you down. Or Amy and the baby, either. I swear it.” Luc’s voice was raw and his hands shook in hers. Cat’s beloved face swam together with the twinkling lights. “Even if you hadn’t agreed to marry me, I wanted to make sure nobody around here ever hurt you or Amy again.” He took one hand away to flip a switch beside the bench and the arena lights went on.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s Friday night. Family skating, remember?” Luc gestured to the far end of the arena where Amy, Scott, Amy’s teammates, and half of Firefly Lake skated onto the ice. “Since you’re sticking around, I want you to be sure you know you’re welcome.”
“But everybody’s here. Why?”
Luc’s gaze swung from Amy to Gabrielle and Ward, who held Pixie, to Nick, Mia, and the girls to Georgia with Josh beside her, Charlie and Sean, with Ty rolling Lexie along in a stroller, his folks, Stephanie, and her boys, and even Mason and his parents.
“Michael dropped by my office at the creamery last week. We were talking about Chamber of Commerce stuff, and he said something that made me think. He said that what brings us together is more important than whatever we might think divides us. I took the opportunity to remind a few folks of that.”
“You… I…” Cat’s eyes shone. “Michael said pretty much the same thing to me once.”
“He’s almost as smart as you.” Luc grinned. “It kind of snowballed from there. The only advantage to being a little bit famous is people don’t want to offend me. Pretty much the whole town’s coming out tonight. There’s pizza from Mario’s, Chinese food from the Wongs at the Pink Pagoda, and cold meats and salads from the deli. All the businesses in town chipped in so there’s free skating and skate rentals all night.”
Luc leaned toward her and, despite the clang of skates, he lowered his voice. “There are good people here, but a lot of them have had a tough time. People like Mason and his family. His dad’s been out of work for almost a year, and although Mason wanted to play hockey, his folks couldn’t afford it this season. He’s a good player, so that’s why Amy became a target. He resented her.”
“You did all this for me… for my daughter… I…” She put a hand to her mouth.
“I did it for all of us. You, Amy, me, and everyone in this town.” Luc drew her hand to his and gave her knuckles a gentle kiss. “Most people want to do the decent thing, but sometimes a few of them need a nudge in the right direction. Or in Mason’s case, a pair of skates and next year’s hockey registration fee once I’m sure he understands his words have consequences.”
“And you… you were the one who gave that nudge in a way that included rather than divided people.” Cat’s smile was full of so much sweetness and love that Luc’s heart skipped a beat.
He shrugged. “I didn’t do a whole lot. It was Michael’s idea, really. I only pointed folks in the right direction.” Luc searched the crowd to find Michael standing with Liz by the boards. The older man gave him a small, knowing smile.
“Don’t be so modest.” Cat squeezed his hand. “No matter whose idea it was, you made it happen.”
Luc slid onto the bench beside her and dipped his head toward hers.
“You can’t kiss me here. Not with everybody looking.” Cat’s face turned that pretty shade of soft pink he loved, sweet and oh-so-sexy.
“That’s the point. I want everybody to know we’re together, so you better get used to it.”
But even as his mouth covered hers, and his hand settled on the curve of her waist to pull her and their baby close, Luc knew, to his bones, that he’d never get used to it. And he’d never take it for granted, either, because this wasn’t only a happy ending he never thought he’d find again but a brand-new chapter in a lifetime of living and loving together.
Epilogue
Three weeks later
Tradition is that it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the ceremony.” With her hands on her hips and elegant in her pale-pink bridesmaid’s dress, Mia stood at the top of the sweeping staircase at Harbor House and blocked Luc’s path. Despite her stern expression, her tone was amused.
“Please? Just for a few minutes?” Luc glanced beyond Mia to Charlie, who stood behind her sister in a matching dress.
“Around here, weddings are all about tradition.” Charlie’s brown eyes twinkled. Through the half-open window beyond, a warm wind fluttered the lace c
urtain and birds sang a springtime chorus.
“They’re right,” Georgia chimed in. As Cat’s maid of honor, she wore a darker pink dress that matched the Celtic knot tattoo on her forearm.
“I thought you’d at least take pity on me, Georgie.” Within the small confines of Firefly Lake, there wasn’t anybody less traditional than Georgia. “All I want is to see Cat first, without a crowd of people around. There’s even a reporter and photographer at the end of the driveway.”
“Only from the local paper.” Mia gave him a teasing look before she turned to the other two. “I suppose we could make an exception.”
Charlie and Georgia grinned and stepped aside.
“Five minutes and I have to time you.” Georgia gestured to her phone. “Mom will freak if we’re even a minute late getting to the church. She’s waited years to be a mother-of-the-bride, then she’s a bride herself and a bride’s mom in less than two months. She has another grandchild on the way, too. You’re lucky she doesn’t have heart problems. If she did, this much excitement could kill her.” Her laugh was warm and so infectious that Luc, Charlie, and Mia laughed, too.
“Thank you.” Luc moved to stand in a circle with the three women, all of a sudden serious. “Thanks for everything. You’ve put this wedding together so fast, and you’re all helping Cat at the gallery since she’s so tired and sick.” Which scared him so much that he’d called the doctor’s office three times a day until Cat had made him stop.
“Although you’re the reason she’s tired and sick, you’re okay.” Georgia elbowed him.
“And we love Cat, so we love you, too.” Peacemaker Mia patted his arm.
“Get in there before we have to come and get you.” Charlie gave him a gentle push toward Gabrielle’s closed bedroom door. “Gabrielle and Ward left ten minutes ago, so, apart from Amy, the coast is clear.”