Page 127 of The Last Inch Of Ice
“Nothing.”
“Nazar.”
He sighs. Looks at Kai—really looks at him. At the openness in his expression, the patience that Nazar definitely doesn’t deserve.
“Your father,” he says instead of answering. “What’d he say?”
Kai is quiet for a long moment. Then: “The family name. Legacy. Legacy this, legacy that. How I’m destroying it. How Liam would be ashamed.” His voice is carefully neutral. “You know. The usual.”
“Fucking hate that you let him talk to you.” Nazar shifts closer, close enough that their faces are inches apart. In the distance, laughter carries from the house—his grandmother saying something that makes the guys crack up. It feels like it’s coming from another world.
“Nazar,” Kai whispers. His eyes search Nazar’s face. “I was thinking about something. Just… don’t laugh at me.”
“Why would I laugh?”
“I’m serious. Promise you won’t laugh.”
Kai looks uncertain—a rare expression on him. It makes Nazar’s throat tight.
“What is it, baby? Tell me.”
Kai swallows. His eyes dart away, then back.
“The best legacy,” he starts, the words coming quickly now, like he needs to get them out before he loses his nerve. “The most real one there could be. It’s you and me.” He takes a breath. “For my brother… and for yours. What we have. This. It’s real. It matters.”
Nazar’s breath catches.
All this time, he’d been focused on revenge. On making Doyle Callahan pay. On destroying the man who destroyed Derek.
But that was never what Derek would have wanted.
Derek had tried to help a kid. Tried to do the right thing. And that kid grew up to be Kai—beautiful and brave and so fucking brilliant it hurts to look at him sometimes.
And Nazar found his calling too. Found purpose in hockey, in protecting people he cares about, in being good even when it’s hard.
Especiallywhen it’s hard.
Derek’s legacy isn’t revenge. It’s this—Kai safe and happy and loved. It’s Nazar learning that being good requires effort, requires choosing kindness over rage, requires being strong enough to be gentle.
“Yeah,” Nazar says. His voice comes out rough. “Your brother wanted you to be happy, Kaisyn.”
He leans in and kisses Kai’s nose. Then breathes against his cheek, feeling Kai’s breath hitch.
“I love you,” Kai whispers.
Nazar nods. He knows.
They lie there for another moment, the grass soft beneath them, the world continuing around them.
Then Nazar sits up, pulling Kai with him. “Come on. You need to help me chase out all these uninvited guests.”
Kai laughs. “You’re such a liar. You love that they’re here.”
“I’m tolerating it. There’s a difference.”
“Sure there is.” Kai stands, brushing grass off his jeans. “Very convincing, Rykov. Your grandmother will definitely believe—hey! What are you doing?”
Nazar has reached over and plucked the large tomato—the one Kai was so carefully considering. It’s perfect. Heavy and ripe and exactly the kind his grandmother loves.
