So, it looks like your determination has paid off. You’re clear to start playing again. But ease into it,” Dr. Masey said the next day.
His final session had gone well. He had no more pain and had regained full movement in the knee joint. He knew his determination had definitely played a role in his quick recovery, but most of the credit went to Emma. She’d known how hard and fast she could push him.
She knew him.
Asher pushed the thought away as he sat up on the therapy bed.
Five weeks. Not the two to three he’d boasted, but at least not the six to ten they’d recommended. He’d be back on the ice by New Year’s Eve. “Thanks, doc,” he said, taking the clearance letter Dr. Masey had prepared for him and climbing down from the table.
“Will your milestone game be here in Denver?” he asked as Asher put on his coat.
“Yeah. On New Year’s Eve.” It would be the last game he’d play in Denver that season unless the two teams made the playoffs. And oddly enough, his injury had made reaching his milestone on “home” ice possible…which he was reluctantly grateful for. “I’ll try not to beat the Avalanche too badly,” he said as he opened the therapy room door.
“Merry Christmas, Asher.” The doctor shook his hand. “Good luck with the rest of your season.”
“Merry Christmas,” he said, leaving the office and entering the empty reception area. He was the last patient of the day…for the year actually, as the office was now closed until after the holidays.
Emma’s door was open, but the lights were off and she wasn’t there. He didn’t know when she planned to leave for Florida, but he suspected it would be right after the holidays.
How was he going to spend the first Christmas in years in his hometown so close to her but not spend it with her?
Man, he’d messed up. If he could go back and change things, he would.
Pushing through the door, he pulled the zipper of his jacket higher as he walked home. The snow was falling in large, fluffy flakes, collecting on his jacket, his boots, and the crunchy ground beneath his feet. This part of town in the late afternoon was quiet as offices had closed already for the Christmas break and only a car or two passed as he walked, head down against the blowing snow.
Arriving home, he shook his head, seeing Mr. Callaway stapling another row of multicolored lights to his doorframe. He must have noticed Beverly’s latest addition: an inflatable Santa Snoopy on the front lawn.
It was the day before Christmas Eve, and their feud was still going strong.
At least their parents were only fighting over holiday lights…
Opening the front door, he stomped his boots on the outdoor mat before entering.
“How did it go?” his mother asked, coming out of the kitchen.
“Great,” he said. He removed his coat and hung it on the hook near the door. “Got my clearance.” He took off his boots and set them on the drying rack. “I’ll be back in Jersey and on the ice after Christmas. Coach agreed to let me play here against the Avalanche on New Year’s Eve for the milestone game.”
She wiped her hands on a Christmas apron that was covered in flour and gave him a quick hug. “I’m glad we will all get to be there,” she said.
Would they all be there?
As if reading his thoughts, she said, “Emma stopped by.”
His mouth went dry. “When?”
“About an hour ago.”
When she knew he wouldn’t be there.
“She brought over some things, left them in your room. Are you two okay?” Her perceptive gaze studied him. He suspected she already knew the answer. He and Emma had never gone this long without seeing one another, without talking…and his mother had noticed his depressed mood since he returned from Breckenridge.
He shrugged. “Yeah, fine…”
“She wasn’t going to wait for you forever, you know,” his mother said gently, touching his arm.
He did now. “I just wished I’d known time had run out,” he said with a sigh and headed upstairs.
On his bed was a bag from Trinkets & Such—a shop in Breckenridge. Opening the box inside, he found a snow globe with a winter scene that could have been captured in his own front yard years before. Reaching into the bag, he read the note.
For your mom…
He sat on the bed with the snow globe as his mother appeared in the doorway.
“Is that for me?” she said, leaning against the doorframe.
Of course she’d already checked out what was in the bag.
“Yes.” He stood and handed it to her. “Merry Christmas. I have fantastic taste,” he said, desperate to ease the mood in the room and the ache in his chest.
His mother took the globe and hugged it to her chest. “She’s a wonderful girl, Ash.”
He nodded. He knew that. “The best.”
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Play hockey.” The only thing he could do.
* * *
So, she’d chickened out. Dropping off the snow globe for Beverly when she knew Asher wouldn’t be there had been a gutless move, but she couldn’t face him. Not a day before Christmas Eve, when her heart was still in a mess.
She couldn’t trust herself not to fall right back into his arms.
At the clinic, she packed her belongings and looked around the quiet, empty space. She hoped to be back working there once she finished her program, but in reality, with a specialization in sports therapy, she’d have little chance to use her skills in the small town.
It was more likely that she’d find new work in Denver…or maybe Florida, or wherever else the wind might take her.
For the first time in her life, the uncertainty of what came next made her nervous. She used to love to travel and explore different parts of the country and other countries. Her snowboarding days had been all about adventure and unpredictability…but now she craved the safety and security of a stable, solid future.
She picked up a frame from her desk, a picture of Ash and her taken the year they’d met. They’d been hiking on Pikes Peak and had stopped to snap a selfie before selfies were cool. No one else had been around that day on the mountain, and it was probably the first time in her life she’d truly felt connected to someone. She sighed, setting it carefully in the box. Then, putting in a few other items, she closed it, noticing an envelope with her name on it on her desk.
Opening it, she saw a party invite from Jane, addressed to her and Asher for New Year’s Eve.
She tucked it into the box, knowing Asher would most likely be playing his one-thousandth game, and the chances of her attending alone were slim to none.
What she would be doing on New Year’s Eve wasn’t something she wanted to think about. All she knew was that it would be the first New Year’s Eve she’d spent in ten years without blowing Asher a kiss through a Skype connection.