Page 78 of Home Ice

"This makes me like you guys even more," Lily says. "And I already thought you were pretty great."

Mom hugs her, and the only thing that surprises me about that is that she was able to hold off this long. "We think the same about you." I watch Barrie as Mom says it. She's focused on their hug, but her eyes flick to me for an instant.

"And while we're all gathered here," I say, "I think this is the perfect time to announce that I love this woman." I try not to laugh at the different shades of red that spread over Lily's face, but I can't help it. "I told her I would say it so much that she would get sick of hearing it, so I might as well start now. I love you, Lily." It looks like she wishes she could telekinetically fire the knives from the knife block into my chest. But I think I'm pretty safe, so I give her a teasing wink.

Mom and Dad look at each other with grins that might be wider than when my team won the under-seventeen hockey championship. "We should probably get going. The center is expecting us at two."

We all pull on our coats and take a container full of cookies as we head out the backdoor. Dad and I loaded the rocking chair into the back of his van earlier, so that means I'll have to drive Lily, Chloe, and Barrie in Mom's car.

It doesn't take long to get there. Chloe and Barrie ride in the back and spend the entire time discussing something about clothes. I knew I probably wouldn't understand whatever it was, so I didn't even pay attention. Besides, I have something else to do. Every time we stop at a red light, I turn to Lily and tell her I love her. And every time, she acts more and more irritated with me. Unfortunately for her, I know when something is really bothering her, and this isn't. So that means I get to keep it up until we get to the senior center.

When we come to a stop, she makes a show of throwing her door open to hurry and get away from me, but before she gets out, she leans across the center console. Her lips brush my cheek for just a second. "You know I want to say it back, right?" I nod. "Good." I watch her as she gets out and goes over to help Mom with the cookies.

"What's that about?" Barrie asks from the backseat. It makes me jump. I was so focused on Lily that I thought everyone else was out of the car too.

"What's what about?" I sigh.

"What Lily just said."

I turn to look at her, and I expect the annoyed, judgmental face I've had to get used to over the last few years, but she looks genuinely curious. "It's none of your business."

"You're my little brother, so it is my business. It's my job to make sure you don't get hurt. Not like you listen to me anyway."

I want to snap and tell her that it's not her job. I'm not some little ten-year-old being bullied by the bigger kids at school anymore. I am one of the bigger kids now. But I remember the things she said about Serenity. The warning that Serenity didn't really care about me and was just using me. I didn't want to hear it, and… well, I said things I shouldn't have. Today, we've already spoken to each other more than we have in the last two years combined. But Barrie was right, even if it hurt. And I'm tired of fighting, so I give in. "If you say anything, I will forever replace your shampoo with the kind that made you lose all your hair in high school."

"You know I won't," she says. Her voice is softer than I've heard it in years.

I nod. As angry as she's made me, I've never once doubted that she would keep a secret for me if I asked her to. "I won't get into specifics, so don't ask. But Lily is convinced that she loses everyone she loves. She's scared she'll lose me if she says the words."

"Hmm."

"Hmm? What does that mean?"

"It means we both know you would never do that, but I guess you need to do more to make sure she knows that."

Fuck, I've missed being able to talk to her without me or her or both of us feeling like shit afterward.

"And it means I was wrong." I quirk an eyebrow but don't say anything to her. We just look at each other in silence for a moment. "About Lily, not Serenity. I expected Lily to be just like her. She's not. Let's go." Before I say anything in response, she practically jumps out of the car and takes a load of cookies from Mom.

Inside the senior center, everyone is gathered in the front room. It's the space they use for community meals and card games that get a lot more rowdy than I'd ever expect from a group of ninety-year-olds. It's been pretty full in years past, but today, it seems like every older adult in town is here. When I walk in, almost every one of them is gathered in a circle around Lily and Chloe.

"Are these Shirley's sweaters?"

"They're even uglier than the last ones!"

"It takes a true artist to make something so repulsive."

I weasel my way through the crowd—careful not to bump anyone too hard—and put my arms around Lily and Chloe. My chest is tight. I should have come in with them so they wouldn't be mobbed like this. Well, they still would have been. These people do love to hate these sweaters. But at least I would have been here. Then I notice that neither one of them seems nervous. In fact, they're laughing about how ugly the sweaters are. I even hear Chloe insist that she refused to wear it at first but finally gave in after we begged her.

"So how do you two know the Morrisons?" someone asks. Lily looks at me and smiles, and I recognize my cue.

"These are my girls, Lily and Chloe." An aww moves through the crowd. "This one is the woman I love." I put my hand on Lily's head, and I can feel her scalp vibrate from her growl. But if the crowd notices, they don't care. An even louder aww builds around us.

"That means she's going to sing, right?" someone else asks.

This is another tradition that I intentionally didn't mention to Lily. Like the sweaters, I wanted it to be a surprise, but now I think that was a mistake.

"I can't actually sing," Lily says. "I'm sorry."

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