Page 195 of Ice Mechanic

“That and I want to drop you off. I need to catch up on all the mornings I missed with you.”

She tilts her head, her hair falling over one shoulder. “You don’t have practice?”

“Max is giving me time to sign a lease tomorrow.”

“A lease, huh? You’re not staying in a hotel this time?”

I loop my arms around her waist. “Don’t get excited, Tink. I’m just renting a place whileourhouse is being built.”

“Ourhouse?”

“You’re the one who said we weren’t going to find exactly what we wanted unless we built it. So I bought a few acres.”

She pushes me away. “Chance McLanely, you better head home. You’ve made enough important life decisions for one day.”

“It technically wasn’t made in one day. I bought the property before I left for the league?—”

“Good night,” April says, pushing me down the stairs.

I whistle as I open my car. April’s waiting on the stairs when I look over my shoulder. She gives me a wave.

I wave back.

Man, my heart is full.

As if by magic, mom calls as I’m leaving April’s. It’s funny how my mother always seems to know when I’m on an April-high.

“Chance, I saw all the speculations online and made a few calls. Is it true? Are you stepping away from hockey and finally joining the business?”

She sounds so excited that I almost hate to burst her bubble.

“No, mom,” I say gently but firmly, “I’m still playing hockey. I’m moving to Lucky Falls permanently and sticking with the Lucky Strikers.”

“What?” Mom explodes. “That backwater town? You can’t be serious!”

“Lucky Falls is where April is, mom.”

My mother says nothing for a few seconds.

“Are you sure about this, Chance? You’ve never, not once in your life, loved anything more than hockey.”

She’s not wrong. Hockey was my queen, my focus, my everything until I met April. Now, the number one slot in my life belongs to her.

“Final decision?” Mom asks one more time.

“It’s April or nothing, mom.”

She sighs heavily. “Then I suppose… I’ll have to accept your choice. If you’re determined to marry the girl, do it soon and give me grandbabies. Perhaps one of them will be business-minded and we can leave the estates in their name.”

Rather than correcting mom for calling April ‘the girl’, I accept the heart behind her statement. “Thanks, mom. I love you. I’ll call you later.”

She hangs up and will, I’m sure, proceed to call her lawyers and immediately set up trust funds for my unborn children.

As I drive, I think of everyone’s frantic responses compared to my own internal calm.

I hadn’t felt nervous about firing Derek or officially withdrawing from my team. I hadn’t cared about what people would say online or all the spectators who’ll think I’m ‘scared’ to return to the league. I wasn’t terrified of what mom would think of me leaving everything for April, and it didn’t bother me even when April questioned my certainty.

Totally at ease, I crawl into bed that night and fall into a deep, peaceful sleep.

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