Mackenzie
After spending the day helping Billy Redwing remove the fallen tree from his outdoor firewood nook, and repairing the damage to the roof, Jake drove back to pick me up from the small, snow-laden cabin by the lake. I had spent the day reading by the fire, something I’d grown fond of over the past two days. Without phone or Internet service, there was little else to do and with the day stretching out before me I had taken another James Patterson novel from the bookcase and devoured it. At first I thought I would be restless—thought the quiet and the time alone might allow my fears and anxiety to find me—but they didn’t and I had actually relaxed. No. I had completely and utterly found my peace and quiet.
When Jake pulled in, excitement fluttered throughout my body. Just the sight of him was enough to release the butterflies in my stomach.
I watched, fascinated, as he bound up the little steps to the porch and pulled me into his arms. He kissed me fiercely, like he hadn’t seen me in days, and within seconds his kiss had awakened every sexual need in my body.
I pulled away, breathless. “Either we go to dinner, or you take every piece of clothing off my body right now and fuck me.”
Heat glowed in his eyes and he dragged in a deep breath as if he was controlling a raw urge. “Believe me, every part of me wants that.” He pressed his teeth to his lower lip and the need on his face was rampant. But it faded and he looked regretful. “I promised Alice we’d be at dinner by six and she was already putting the spaghetti on when I left.”
Disappointment coursed through me, dampening the fires Jake had only just ignited, but I recovered quickly.
“Well, we’d better get going then,” I said, smiling brightly. I exhaled deeply, doing my best to ignore the sticky feel of desire between my thighs.
Jake took a step toward me and lifted my chin. “Don’t think for a second that this is finished.”
I shook my head. “No?”
He took my hand and pressed it against his stiffening groin. “What do you think?”
He was hard beneath my palm. “I think dinner had better be quick.”
The Redwings lived across the pond and just beyond the thicket of fir trees from Jake’s cabin. There was a short cut across the pond but because it would be dark when we left, Jake insisted we take his truck. It was the first time we had ventured away from the cabin since the snowstorm and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t excited. I needed to stretch my legs.
The Redwings home was ten times the size of Jake’s cabin. It was a massive two-story, A-frame with logged walls, exposed timber beams and magnificent riverstone columns. It was welcoming and comfortable, and filled with warm light. A massive timber table where the family ate their meals was the heart of the home.
When Jake and I arrived, eight vivacious Redwing children sat around the table chatting excitably, while their parents prepared dinner in the open-plan kitchen. As soon as we stepped into the warm home, I was seduced by the delicious aromas of rich spaghetti sauce and garlic bread.
“Just so you know, Alice’s spaghetti isn’t as good as mine,” Jake assured me as he closed the door behind us.
“Ah, that’s what he says now but we’ll see,” said a beautiful, native Canadian woman walking past us with a big bowl of spaghetti noodles. She paused so Jake could kiss her on the cheek and then placed the big bowl of noodles in the center of the table. Turning back to us, she fixed me with a big, beautiful grin.
“You must be Mackenzie.” She leaned in and kissed my cheek. “I’m Alice.”
Alice was stunning. Smooth, flawless skin and eyes the color of molasses. A curtain of glossy black hair hung to her waist and she had this incredible smell about her that made me think of running mountain streams and fields of blooming wild bergamot.
“Please, make yourself at home. Dinner is ready.” She smiled again, warmly, and then returned to the kitchen for a large bowl of meat sauce.
We sat at the table with the Redwing children. Their ages ranged from three to seventeen, including the twins who were ten. The oldest was Charlie, a very handsome young man who had his father’s size but his mother’s beauty.
Straight away, Jake was the center of their universe. They threw their excited chatter at him, teased him about his absent beard, and in true Jake form he was charming and comfortable, easily engaging with them, easily laughing with them. He was loved by so many and for good reason.
At one stage he looked up and caught me staring, and the laughter on his face faded. His eyes twinkled across at me and he gave me a gentle smile, which I matched with my own. Warmth spread through my chest as my heart bloomed with affection.
I couldn’t wait to get back to the cabin and explore what that was.
Alice leaned over to me. “I can see what you two are up to,” she whispered conspiratorially, and then winked at me.
“What do you mean?” I whispered back.
She nodded toward Jake who was deep in conversation with Billy and Charlie.
“That boy is crazy about you,” Alice said with a knowing glint in her eyes. “And if I’m right, he can’t wait to get you back to that cabin tonight.”
I looked at her with feigned surprise. “Oh, no. We’re not . . . I mean, we aren’t…”
But Alice just waved me off. “Oh, please. I’ve known Jake for a lifetime. And I’ve never seen him ever look at another woman the way he looks at you.”
I didn’t know what to make of that, as I chewed my homemade garlic bread, but it felt nice and warm, and precious. More precious than anything.
Dinner was raucous and fun, and rowdy. Noodles were spooned and slurped, and homemade garlic bread was pulled apart and dunked in rich spaghetti sauce. Laughter rippled across the table and conversation was as lush and delicious as the meat sauce. Billy and Alice were warm and welcoming, and their family drew us in and embraced us as if we were one of them.
And then Alice really upped the stakes when she brought out her famed maple syrup pie. One mouthful and I was in love.
“So what do you think?” Jake asked me.
“This is the most amazing thing I have ever had in my mouth!”
He cocked an eyebrow at me and leaned closer so only I could hear. “For now.”
Heat coursed through me and I had to look away before I cleared the table with my arm and took him right there on the Redwing’s table. I shuffled in my seat and sat on my hands. Tiny pulses throbbed between my thighs. I needed him.
After the dinner dishes were cleared, the kids gathered around the fire and the massive sixty-inch TV screen in the lounge room after a DVD was put in. Jake and I drank coffee at the table while Alice, Billy, and Charlie washed up. We had offered to help but Alice said guests to her home were never going to do dishes.
Jake and I watched the TV screen from where we sat. Tonight’s movie choice was eight-year-old Emma’s, so we were watching Sweet Home Alabama. When she had announced her choice, there had been groans all round because according to Charlie, she was obsessed with it.
Just as Reese Witherspoon’s character punched Candice Bergen’s character in the nose, I looked over and saw Jake looking at me.
“What?” I asked, taken back by how deep in thought he looked.
His eyes twinkled in the soft glow of the Redwings’ logged-home. “I’m ready,” he said, his voice calm and steady. “Set up the Galveston Fury deal.”
His words took me by surprise and I mentally took a step back.
“Are you sure?”
Jake had a way of looking at you that made you feel like you were the only thing in the entire world. His focus was completely on you.
A smile tugged at his lips. “No. But I have a feeling you’re not going to let up until I agree.”
“Jake, I—”
“I’m kidding.” He grinned. “I want you to set it up.”
I thought for a moment, suddenly feeling protective of him.
“I don’t want you to do something you’re not ready to do.” And I didn’t. I had come to Moose Lake with the sole intention of getting Jake back on the ice and into the pros. But that was before I knew him. Things were different now. His fears were real. His pain was real. He was real. The business side of things, the plan to get him back in the pros, the bet—they all seemed so unimportant to me now.
My concerns were with Jake the person, not Jake the hockey player.
“You’re right,” he said. “It will be good for me to get back to hockey.” When I didn’t look convinced, he leaned forward and put his hands on my knees. “I need this. If I want to get my life back then I need to do this.”
The fact he wanted to re-join the world and move on filled me with relief and optimism, and happiness.
My hand slid over his. “If you’re sure then I will make it happen.”
He grinned again. “Baby, I don’t doubt that for a second.”
We just stared at each other and I saw something in his eyes that I’d never seen there before.
Hope.
* * *