Page 57 of Crack the Ice

“Hey guys,” I call out. They stop and walk back toward me. “What do you think about this for Cecilia’s room?”

“She gets her own room?” Cade asks.

“I mean, yeah. She needs her own space, right? She can’t rotate between all our rooms.” I huff out a laugh, though there’s nothing I’d like more than for her to make my room, ours.

He nods, looking back up at the display.

“I think she’d love it, Reed!” Lily says, running her hand across the bedding. “It’s perfect.”

I thought so. “Yeah?”

“Mhm!” She grabs Cade’s hand again and skips in the direction they were originally going.

“Hey, Jason. Can I buy that whole room, and will someone make it look exactly like that?”

He lets his mouth fall open briefly before schooling it and nodding. I’m sure he’s trying to do the mental math of what this is going to cost me, or more importantly, what he’s going to make from it, but I don’t care.

They’ve fought for a good life long enough. I’m taking it from here.

We finally made it to the beds for Cade’s room, and he found the perfect one. Sleek, rounded-edged, with the mattress sunk into what looks like the floor. It’s not, obviously, but it looks cool as hell. I’ve already ordered the bookshelves he told me he liked, which I’m sure will hold more trophies and sports memorabilia than actual books, but that’s the point anyway. He’s proven to be a trustworthy kid, so he’s also getting a fifty-inch TV with a PS5 and a computer for schoolwork, you know, essentials for a sixteen-year-old boy.

“I think that’s it,” I say as I write down that tag number, too.

“Of course, let’s go over here and ring this up, and we can schedule delivery.”

I take it back. This must be what a proud dad feels like—being able to provide for his family, even if they aren’t mine. Yet.

“Hey, Reed?” Lily sighs as she sits down at the kitchen island.

I look up from the stove with a hiked brow. “What’s up?”

“Do you think Sheila came over here because she thought something was wrong or because she has a massive crush on you?”

The spatula that I was flipping the burgers with falls from my hand, hitting the floor with that signature plastic snap.

She places her elbows on the counter and rests her head in her hands. “When she comes over, she asks questions, but she only ever looks at you.”

My head tilts to the side, the burgers sizzling in the cast iron skillet.

“You don’t notice? Cecy did.” Lily’s soft laugh paints the walls of the kitchen. “She put her in her place.”

Of course she did. “I didn’t. But I’m more concerned with the two of you than Sheila. Does she make you uncomfortable?”

She hums in her seat, feet kicking softly against the island. “A little. I don’t want her to make up reasons to come over here to see you, and it hurts the chances of us staying forever.”

Do these kids constantly think about all the reasons they might get taken from me, from each other? “Lily, I’m not going to let anything take you from me. From the group of friends you have here, okay? If anyone tries, we’ll sick Sammy on them.”

She slaps a hand over her mouth, and a giggle slips through, but her eyes aren’t as bright as they normally are.

“Are you okay? Is there something you want to talk about?” I ask.

She slouches in front of me, and there’s a crack in her normal joyful demeanor that has me turning off the stove, all but saying to hell with the food and moving to her side.

“Lily, I told your brother this too, but you have to find a way to work through this. Whether that’s on the ice or by talking, you can’t hold it in. It makes your heart hard, and your soul is too bright to lose the most beautiful part about you.”

“It’s not really that. I mean, maybe a little tiny bit. But I’m not like Cade. I already knew Mom was gonna die, so I kinda got used to the idea while she was still alive. But now I keep thinking, what if true love isn’t even real? Like, what if I grow up and get married and then my kids have the same life I did. Love is for the birds.”

The hair on my arms stands on end. This kid is twelve years old and is already thinking about her future family. If she’s going to be able to have one and keep them together. The similarities between her thoughts and Cecilia’s fears around her and me are uncanny, and the thought that either of them thinks it may not be obtainable makes me feel a bit murderous. If anyone deserves the good things this world has to offer, it’s these two.