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Logan pulled her close and shut her up the only way he knew how. He opened his mouth and kissed her, pouring all of his hurt and anguish and love into one kiss. He held her carefully, as if she was a breakable. As if there weren’t inches of padding and equipment between the two of them. As if they were the only two people inside the entire arena.
Because to him, she was the only one who mattered.
When he finally ended the kiss and pulled back, her mouth was bruised and her eyes were wet.
“You scared the shit out of me,” he said haltingly.
“Oh, Christ,” Dearling mumbled, “Forest is a pussy.”
Her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “I know how to take a hit, Forest. I kept my head up and my shoulders squared, but…” She exhaled softly and a shudder rolled through him as he felt her warmth against his cheek. “But what I can’t figure out, is how to ask you to forgive me. I don’t know how to explain what I did or why,” her voice broke and he thought his heart was going to snap in two.
“Shut up, kid, so we can get the hell out of here and work on it together.”
He stood and helped her to her feet, as the crowd clapped thunderously, yelling congrats and screaming their approval. He watched her face glow as she smiled up at her father, who thankfully was clapping and hollering along with the rest of the Barkers—save for the missing in action, Betty.
Logan slipped Billie’s hand into his and eventually was able to lead her from the rink. He kept his promise too. He took her back to his place—after politely declining Thanksgiving dinner with his folks—and it took damn near the entire weekend for them to work out their issues.
It was the best long weekend they’d ever had.
Epilogue
It seemed like a hundred thousand multi-colored lights were draped across the top of the old arena. They twinkled and glowed amidst the steady snowfall—their bright colors somewhat subdued because of it. It had been snowing since noon and now, six hours later, there was a considerable amount of the white stuff on the ground.
There was a carnival atmosphere that permeated the air—kids running and laughing, throwing snowballs and ducking from the inevitable retaliatory missiles. Parents milled about, snagging hot chocolate passed out by Kendall and the rest of her teammates, while Frank Talbot and his wife replenished supplies.
Billie wiped a snowflake off her face and stood back, pride swelling in her chest at the sight of the newly minted sign hung above the main doors, [i]Barker’s School of Hockey Instruction & Training[i]. She still couldn’t believe things had moved so fast. Permits had been fast-tracked, the ice had installed and less than a month after the idea had first taken hold, she was up and running.
“Looks good, kid.”
A warm hand slid beneath her scarf and gently kneaded the back of her neck as a hard male body stood behind her. She leaned into him—eyes still on the sign—and sighed. “Hmm, that feels good.”
“Good,” he said, his other hand wrapping around her waist as he moved in closer to her backside.
Billie smiled. “Just so you know, my boyfriend isn’t exactly the type of man who likes to share.”
“Smart man.”
Shivers exploded along Billie’s neck as lips grazed her bare skin. His mouth was near that spot—the one that drove her crazy and she shifted slightly so that access was easily granted.
“He is a smart man and I love him like crazy, which is why I can only let you keep doing that for, maybe another half an hour or so.”
When warm lips nuzzled her just below her ear, she closed her eyes and would have fallen on her ass if not for the large, strong…
“Jesus, why don’t you two find a room?”
Billie opened her eyes to a scowling Shane, who stood a few feet away, hands shoved into his pockets, his wide shoulders hunched forward in black leather. He shook his head and turned to the building.
“Nice job, Barker.”
She grinned and grabbed Logan’s hand, from where it was settled against her ass, and yanked him forward. “Thanks. It’s pretty exciting.”
Several young boys arrived for the grand opening—all of them with skates thrown over their shoulders and sticks in hand. They waved to B
illie and strode inside, several girls following in their wake, along with a healthy dose of giggles and shoving.
“Hey, Forest,” Shane said. “How come the Pirates don’t have any puck bunnies?”
Logan linked his hand through Billie’s. “Speak for yourself Gallagher.”
