Page 20 of Cold as Ice

BOONE

Pacing the living room,I waited for her to come downstairs. “Gin, we’re going to be late,” I called just as she stopped at the top of the stairs. She was dressed in a beautiful green dress that hugged her perfectly. I wanted to rip it off her.

“Quit looking at me like that. We will not be late for supper because you can’t keep your mind out of the gutter.” She swatted me before turning to grab her coat and purse. “Are you going to at least kiss me?” Reaching for Ginny, I grabbed her and pulled her to me. Our kiss was hot and demanding and made me want to close the door and stay in tonight. Ginny pulled away first, “okay big boy, let’s get going and when you bring me home tonight, we can go right t bed” The grin that sprang up on her face made me want to kiss her again. She was showing signs of being the woman I knew.

The drive to the house was quiet. I think we were both a little nervous. “There you are. Come in.” My mother hugged Ginny as soon as we walked through the door. “I tried to convince him you needed to be here all day, but Garrison assured me you had things to do.” She ushered Ginny to the couch, and they sat down and chatted like they had just seen one another the day before.

The house was festive, to say the least. Christmas was what my mother planned for all year. There was a Christmas tree in almost every room, and the one in the living room was a real balsam fir she ordered on line that took up most of the floor space. She made dad and I rearrange the living room this year just so it would fit.

Noise on Christmas Day was next level. The twins ran around the house like they had been given an intravenous of straight sugar. Christmas carols played through the house, a fire in the fireplace and all of our stockings hung along it. There was an extra one this year that caught my eye. Mom had hung Ginny’s back up. She had kept it all this time. Glancing at the woman beside me, I followed her gaze, and it was locked on her stocking. A slight smile graced her face, and I instinctively put my arm around her waist and brought her close.

The boys thundered down the stairs as I directed Ginny to sit. “Uncle Garrison, can we go play hockey like we did last year?” Dylan came up to the back of the couch, hopped up on it perching there. Waiting for my mom to tell him to get off, she just smiled and sat down in her chair. Who was this woman? I would have gotten a slap.

“Dylan, get off the couch. If you can’t sit on it normally, you can sit on the floor.” There it was, the words I had been waiting to hear, but they came from my sister Rachel, not mom. Dylan slid on to my lap and waited for my answer.

“I don’t know if a family skate is in the cards this year, bud.” His bottom lip immediately stuck out and I hated disappointing him. “Tell you what, when my season is over, I will come home and we can spend an entire day at the rink.” His eyes brightened a little bit, but I could tel the wheels were spinning in his mind.

“This is because of your leg, isn’t it? It’s too hard for you to go and not skate. Or at least that’s what mom said.” He shrugged, looking over at Rachel.

“Did she? Well, if she’s so smart, why am I there coaching your team?” I stared at her, arching my brow. She turned eight shades of red and looked at the floor.

“I don’t want to cause trouble, but the rink should be free. The last booking was at three, so other than it would need to be cleaned, it’s available. Also, I got the results of your scan, and the recommendation from my friend came in last late last night and I think as long as you don’t try to skate like you play in the pros, you will be fine.” Her eyes were full of joy and before I could stop myself, I pulled her to me and kissed her.

“Ew, Uncle Garrison, that’s gross.” Dylan hopped off my lap and went to the tree to shake presents.

“So much for keeping things quiet.” She mumbled when I ended the kiss.

“Virginia, we’ve all known since the night of the auction. Did you really think Garrison's bidding a small fortune for you would go unnoticed?” My mother stood and looked at both of us, trying to hide the smirk that was crossing her face. Ginny forced a smile, but it didn’t go to her eyes, that were quickly filling with internal panic. “Dear, we are happy for this to be happening.” Mom reached out and patted Ginny’s shoulder, before looking at my dad who, if I wasn’t imaging things had tears in his eyes.

“Get your skates. Everyone was going to the rink.” He’s said as he cleared his throat and wiped his nose. My dad the big softy.

Ginny stood and looked at me. “why don’t we go now? We can swing by the house so I can change, then I can get the ice cleaned and it will be ready when everyone gets there?” This wasn’t a hey do you like this idea question. It was a we’re doing this statement disguised as a question.

“That sounds good. See you all in a little bit.” I walked behind Ginny and helped her put her jacket on. The benefits of living in the south, we didn’t need to worry about snow and cold. Reaching for her hand, I held it tight as she instinctively tried to pull away. “Not hiding, remember?” I said as I opened the door of the car for her.

* * *

Iwatched Ginny expertly drive the Zamboni as I laced up my skates. My feet rebelled at the tightness of the boot, but I finished tying them up and stepped onto the ice for the first time in three weeks. “Well, how does it feel?” Tiny called as she walked back toward the end of the rink I was at.

“If anyone walked in here right now, they wouldn’t believe I play pro hockey, that’s for sure.” Her laugh rang through the empty arena. “Are you skating with us or sitting this one out?” I asked as I slid to a stop only inched from her.

“Are you kidding? I won’t miss a chance to be on the team that beat’s the one with Garrison Boone. It will be bragging rights for years to come.” She sat down on the bench and grabbed her skate bag.

It was my turn to laugh when she pulled out her gleaming white figure skates. “You can’t play hockey in those.” I said, grabbing my stick from behind her.

“I can, and I will.” She had her skates tied and was on the ice before I stopped laughing. “What are we playing for, big man? And no strip betting today.” She whispered under her breath, even knowing it was only us in the rink.

“If I win, you have to do anything I ask tonight in bed. And if you win, I do what you want.” I said, skating around her.

“What if I want you to have your way with me?” She looked down at the ice instead of looking at me.

“Is that what you want, Ms. Boone?” I skated in front of her but didn’t stop, so she had to move backwards.

“It’s Ms. Davenport and yes, I want you to make me yours again.” She traded a glance with me before turning beet red. I secretly loved to know I could still make her blush.

“Did you legally change back to Davenport?” I asked as we stopped at centre ice. She shook her head no. “So if I looked at your driver’s license, it would still say Boone?” She nodded. “What about your medical license? Is it Boone to?” She nodded again. “So why does everyone refer to you as davenport?”

She shrugged. “People just assumed I changed it back, and I didn’t bother telling them.” She bit the corner of her mouth and looked away from me.

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