Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 90524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“I…” Fighting off the building pains feels impossible. “I…I can’t…”
The man desperate for me to return to him…to us…quietly croaks, “I meant on your face.”
Not knowing what he wants me to say or do convinces the tears collecting in my lids that it’s time to fall. “I can’t do this.”
He ignores my statement and sniffles his own away to proclaim, “Easy fix, baby.”
“Wh-”
“Hoss!” Alexeyev calls out to the light brown skinned woman directing the camera guy. “Throw me one!”
Without missing a beat, she unhooks a sharpie from the collar of her Dalvegan’s polo and tosses it our way.
I don’t bother repeating my objection; however, it doesn’t stop him from reiterating his declaration after removing one glove. “Easy,” falling out of his mouth is followed by him using his teeth to take off the lid to the marker, “fix.”
The second his hand lands softly on my face to draw my eyes helplessly fall shut on a soft sigh, “Ig.”
His breath hitching prompts my own. “Yeah, Joeski?”
Trapped thoughts riot for freedom during the drawing of the number four.
“Do you…” the words ruthlessly brawl to be known and heard and recalled as he writes the number two, “have…any… idea…” my watery gaze is driven to find his, “how hard this is gonna be to get off of me?”
“Da.”
“Yes,” I mindlessly translate, eyes searching for more answers.
More information.
“Come here, Bella,” Anna sweetly states transferring her from my hold into hers. “Let’s give Daddy and Nanny Joey a little alone time.”
“But I need Nanny Joey,” Bella grouses on a pout, folding her arms.
“Too bad,” Hoss casually interjects. “I heard Uncle Frosky say he was gonna buy you rainbow ice…”
“He did?!”
The glimmer in her eye indicates that he did not.
And that this is probably something she’s doing to him out of spite.
Or…maybe spiteful flirting?
I don’t know if that’s right.
But it feels right.
Just like being this close to Ig.
“He did…” Hoss happily coos. “Let’s go see him, so you can have it!”
“Okay!”
Bella, Anna, and Artyom follow Hoss as well as the social media girl – I wanna call Kelly – out of the area while Ig motions to all the players on the ice they’re good to go.
He swings over the edge at the same time I ask, “Wait. Is there not an actual game today?”
“Net.” Flopping down on the bench is accompanied by him patting the space beside him. “The boys are headed out for a road stretch in a few hours,” he kicks his chin to where their families are wandering down to meet them for what looks like a skating session. “And the ‘opponents’,” this time he offers a wave to the older males freely skating the length of the rink, “are actually from my dad’s team.” Our eyes find one another’s again. “He called them in for a favor, and they were happy to do it.”
Awe replaces some of the anguish. “All this just to try to jog my memory?”
“All this to show you I’m willing to do whatever I need to, to be there for you, Joeski.” He sheds his other glove and uses both hands to remove my forty-two necklace from around his neck. “You once asked me to show you I’m a real one. To prove it. And I did by-”
“Showing me the marker from this very moment you recreated.”
“Da.” His hands linger in his lap as opposed to forcing the jewelry back where I’m certain he wants it. “But the next time you needed me to prove it…I didn’t.” His gear bearing shoulders slump towards the floor. “I let my own bullshit…my own hangups…hurt you. You needed me to be there for you, and I showed you that I could only be there for myself.”
Faint yelling in Russian echoes in the very back of my mind, provoking more concerning emotions to resurface.
Urges to sing Christmas carols.
Watch the movie Elf and singalong.
“And for that…I’m sorry. So. Fucking. Sorry, baby.” The previously gone tears trickle back into view. “I was out of line. I overreacted because I was fucking scared of losing you and then I actually fucking lost you and…I realized there’s shit much worse than you getting another job or having to train somewhere else…Like you never remembering me again.” He scoots a little closer. “Or our daughter.” Igor follows my stare as it attempts to veer away. “Or our family.”
Bleariness brutally returns to my own glare.
“I’ve spent my whole life leading on the ice so when it comes to the assisting off it, I’m still a fucking rookie.” The corner of his lip kicks upward. “But I’m here. I wanna train. I wanna learn. And I’m willing to do whatever it takes for however long it takes to not only help you remember us – me, Bella, Mom, Father– but the Slayers who have come to basically be your siblings along with your biological sister who doesn’t wanna lose you again.”