Page 5 of Lyrical

He was transferring some of his strength to me at a time when I desperately needed it, and I wanted more than anything for him to be right.

“Do I need to bust out my guitar?”

That earned him a smile. There were few things better than hearing him play for me. I couldn’t imagine a world without that sound filling my soul.

God, I love this man. Please let Daniel accept that.

Forty-five minutes later, I was holding one small mittened hand while Chase held the other. Hazel was between us, legs scissoring, large brown eyes not budging from her skates as we shifted across the frozen pond.

“You’re getting better, Hazelnut. Pretty soon you won’t even need us anymore.”

I smiled warmly at him. Hopefully, that time wouldn’t arrive too soon. I’d grown way too attached to the little girl with hair the color of her namesake. She’d been an important part of Chase’s life before we met, but since he and I became close, their relationship shot up a dozen notches. And I was a part of it all. It was awesome.

“You were right, Jillian,” Hazel said. “I do like this place.”

I squeezed her hand. “Me too, but we still promise we’ll take you back downtown before the weather warms up.”

Over Christmas break, we’d taken her to Red Arrow Park to awe her with all the lights and decorations before taking her skating on the outdoor rink. She’d fallen in love and wanted to return, but because it was a school night, we’d chosen Candle Park instead. As long as they sold hot chocolate, she was willing to give it a try.

“Jillian?”

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Stop. I hafta tell you something.” We slowed our already leisurely pace, and I bent down. Hazel whispered into my ear, “I hafta go to the bathroom.”

“Okay,” I whispered back.

I stood and faced Chase, putting on a serious face. “Hazel has some official business to attend to that will require our absence for a few minutes.”

He saluted, and Hazel broke out into a fit of giggles. “Are you sure yourboyfriendwon’t die without you?”

I gave her a wacky grin. She loved that word and seemed to use it at every opportunity. She was calling Chase my boyfriend long before I’d acknowledged anything between us.

Chase clenched his chest and pretended to fall over, causing her to laugh even harder.

“All right, smarty pants. Let’s go.”Before you pee in them.

We tromped over to the small restroom, the fluorescents flooding my eyes. She started in another round of giggles.

I put my hands on my hips. “Now what?”

“You look like Rudolph.”

I glanced in the mirror. Holy shit, I did. My bright red nose didn’t seem to be acclimating to the cold too well. I tapped the tip of her nose. “Okay, you. Go to the bathroom now. Do you need any help with your skates?”

“Nope.”

She toddled off, and I fanned my face. I was sweltering. We’d just gone from twenty to eighty in half a second. I pulled off my hat and saw a mess of stringy hair. Now I looked like a drowned reindeer.

When Hazel came out of the stall and washed her hands, I expected her to laugh again, but she just asked, “Can we get some hot chocolate now?”

“Already?”

“I think it’ll help me skate even better.”

I laughed instead. “Okay, sweetie.”

“Extra whipped cream?”

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