“Most of them don’t. They hire seasonal workers.” Faith said. “Hence, the economic ruin this town goes into every fall after Thanksgiving.”

  The distaste in Faith’s voice was evident.

  “Anyway…” I continued. “They’ve been trying to get in touch with Dylan Moss so he can cut down some Christmas trees for them. I suggested that you and I cut them down – and decorate them.”

  Faith’s eyes lit up. “They’re not going to just want a tree – and they have at least five cottages on that estate.”

  “Exactly,” I said. “Faith. We need to expand the design services of Mel D. Designs to include seasonal décor.”

  “Oh, my god.” Faith set down her fork. “I think that you’re on to something.”

  I was so excited I hadn’t had any of my salad. I took a bite and washed it down with my wine. “Dean told me that a lot of the National League players have been spending the winter here.”

  “This could be huge.” She leaned in. “And I’ll bet a lot of these clients won’t want the same décor year after year.”

  “Exactly. Now, I did a bit of research and some of our suppliers have a seasonal department. We do up this Fitzgerald estate to the nines, have a professional photographer come in, and bingo.” I brushed my hands together. “We’re in business.”

  Faith put both of her hands on the table and took a deep breath. Her shoulders seem to relax a bit lower and when she looked up, her face seemed a little softer. “Amber, I think that you just saved Mel D. Designs.”

  I held up my hand. “Hold on a minute, Tiger. We still have to sign the Fitzgerald estate account. I’m heading there tomorrow. We are going to have to work all night to put together the most opulent holiday design board that’s ever been created.”

  “I’m in.” Faith patted the table with her hands. “And Amber. The Fitzgerald estate is called Pine Hill.”

  “Really? Dean hadn’t mentioned that.”

  She nodded. “All the wealthy places have names.”

  I smiled, the vision coming to me in waves. “Then we’re going with a pine theme for Pine Hill.”

  “Roger that, boss.” Faith raised her glass. “To another all-nighter for my girl Amber.”

  Twenty

  Dean

  Two weeks later

  The lineup of rowdy fans wound out through the parking lot and down the street. It was the last game before the break for the Christmas holidays and not only were all the college kids home for the holidays, a lot of the National League players were in town too. The security guards posted at the doors to the private boxes told me that they would be full tonight.

  The players had done their warmup and Andy had donned his holiday tuxedo for the game.

  It was a big deal.

  An even bigger deal was the fact that the Otters had moved up from last place in the league in only three games. Coincidentally, those had been the games that Lockwood was benched.

  I still hadn’t put Dylan on the ice for a game, but his presence at practice had totally changed the dynamic of the team. He still had it. His stick handling, his skating, his intuition, was all great. He was just a little out of shape. Andy had taken Dylan under his wing and over the past two weeks the dark circles under Dylan’s eyes had faded and his clownish grin had returned.

  Vincent Wellington had insisted that Lockwood be in the starting lineup for tonight’s game. He didn’t know that I was also putting Moss on the line. I had a feeling that the energies of the two players, the yin and yang, were exactly what we needed.

  When I left the dressing room after the pre-game speech, both Leo and Moss took over getting the guys riled up. The room was rowdier and more electric than it had been all season. Before I left, I pulled Lockwood aside.

  “You know who’s here tonight, right?” I whispered.

  He nodded; his eyes steeled at me behind the plexi of his mask. He took out his mouthguard. “Everyone,” he said.

  He was right: Scouts, National League players, reporters; the who’s who of the Northern Professional Hockey League were all in attendance.

  “And you’re going to what?” My whisper game out as a growl.

  He looked past me. “Follow the plays.” His distant gaze wasn’t a sign of disrespect, I knew he was in the zone.

  I tapped him on the back with my clipboard and took my place on the bench. Looking up at the fans, I knew exactly where to find those robin’s egg blue eyes. They were next to my daughter’s in the executive box at center ice.

  We were planning on taking things slowly, but after a few dates, both Amber and I realized that we needed to spend every evening together. I couldn’t go a day without seeing her – and I knew that she felt the same way. Amber still didn’t sleep at my house, unless Chloe was at a sleepover, but she had become a member of the family so seamlessly, it was almost as though she had always been there.

  It had certainly helped to have someone to take Chloe to figure skating practice, and I knew that Amber appreciated having dinner ready when she got home from work. Her days had been jam-packed since Kent Fitzgerald accepted her seasonal design proposal.

  The crowd roared as Gunnar Lockwood took to center ice. Unlike last time, he didn’t showboat to the audience. He took his position, nodded at Leo, his right-winger, and Moss his left, and then won the faceoff with authority.

  Screaming fans seemed to fuel the energy of the starting lineup. Lockwood deked around the defensemen, faked a shot, dropped the puck as planned, right to the waiting stick of Dylan Moss. The first goal of the game happened in the first twenty seconds. The Otters on the bench stood up and celebrated. The goal was textbook.

  By the end of the first period, we were up two nothing; both goals were scored by Lockwood. As the buzzer sounded and the team left the bench, Lockwood met my gaze. He seemed to have gained some humility over the past few weeks and combined with the fact that his future was in my hands, had grown a little more respect for authority. The sides of his lips turned up into a partial smile and I returned it.

  Moss faltered a little in the second period and I had to pull him from the starting lineup, and the rookie, Jasper, stepped up and snagged the Otters their third goal. The Wild Cats weren’t giving up though and after Mike Ryan’s penalty for fighting left us shorthanded, the Cats got on the scoreboard.

  The intensity in the dressing room hadn’t changed throughout the game. My players were more focused and driven than I had ever seen them. I ran through the plays for the third period.

  “Keep it up out there.” I pointed to Leo. “You know the plays. You’re all over these Wild Cats.” I clapped my hands together then straightened my game tie. “But remember, these Cats have bitten you in the ass before.”

  A few of the guys chuckled, but I ignored it. “Don’t get complacent. I want to see a hustle out there. Any. One. Of. You…” I pointed as I enunciated… “Gets lazy? You’re out.” I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. The threat was real. Benching Lockwood had proven to my players that I was serious and wouldn’t hesitate to ruin any one of their careers that night.

  While the first two periods had been great, the third was perfection. The Wild Cats managed to get one more goal, but we got two, and when the game buzzer sounded the Otters had won the Christmas game 5-2. The team piled onto the ice as blue and white pyrotechnics and Queen’s, We are the Champions boomed. After celebrating and shaking hands with the Wild Cats, the team continued celebrating in the dressing room.

  When I walked in, the room went silent. Lockwood had his arm around Moss’s neck like they were best friends and every single guy in that room had a huge smile on his face. They smacked at each other as I stepped into the room.

  Instead of a post-game breakdown, I said four words that I meant from the bottom of my heart.

  “I’m proud of you.”

  I was proud of them. I was proud of myself. Life couldn’t possibly get any better. I left the room to go find Andy, but Pacey stopped me.

  “Coach.” He stepped out of the dressing room. “We’ve got a problem in here.”

  “Can’t you deal with it?”

  “It’s serious.” Pacey disappeared into the dressing room.

  I muttered underneath my breath. I wanted to celebrate by wrapping my arms around the woman I loved and hear my daughter tell me her favorite parts of the game. I didn’t have time for whatever childish shit the players had gotten up to in the last thirty seconds.

  Whoosh.

  My breath was taken away as I was hit with a wall of Gatorade. My game suit was soaked, and I wiped my brow with my tie. “What the hell guys?”

  The Gatorade dump was typically reserved for the playoffs.

  “It’s time to do things a little different around here, Coach.”

  To my right, Dylan Moss stood on the bench, the orange cooler in his hands.

  “I would never let my team see my cry, so I held those suckers in the best as I could. “Get out of here.” I smiled and swung my arm playfully. I managed to keep the tears of joy at bay until I was safely in my own office. Soaked and the happiest I’d been in my entire life.

  Twenty-One

  Amber

  There was an overly excited voice on the other end of the phone.

  “Hi, Faith.” I tucked my cell phone under my arm as I pulled out the gold zipper-backed dress that had been shoved to the depths of my closet since my first day in Laketown. It felt like years had passed since I’d worn it.

  "You’re never going to believe it.” She sounded out of breath.

  I slipped into the dress and jostled the phone between ears as I struggled to zip it, giving up as its teeth stopped mid-shoulder blade.

  “What am I not going to believe?”

  “The Yates’ Cayman Island home caught on fire.” She practically squealed and I held the phone out from my ear.

  Faith and I had become quite close over the past month, and I was starting to learn that she was a little dark and often cryptic. Through the Laketown grapevine, I’d heard that Faith’s father – Melissa D’s husband had disappeared on a hunting excursion the year before and never been found. I still hadn’t found the right time to talk to Faith or Melissa about it.

  “A fire. I’m fairly sure that’s bad news, Faith.”

  I could hear her scoff through the phone. “Not for us. They’re coming to Laketown for Christmas and they heard about our new business.”

  I put in a pair of emerald stud earrings and slid a matching gold bangle onto my wrist. The photographers had planned some action shots and I wanted to make sure my jewelry complemented the gorgeous pine boughs and red and gold accents that sparkled throughout Pine Hill’s main house and all of its accessory buildings.

  “Faith. We’ll have to talk about it at the shoot.”

  “Okay,” she gushed. “See you there.”

  I threw on my winter coat and fur-topped sensible winter boots and trudged over to Dean’s house holding a bouquet of pink roses.

  “Dean,” I shouted as I opened the door.

  Chloe bounded down the stairs. “Here are the keys.” She set the Jeep’s keys in my hand. The sedan I’d rented couldn’t make it down Mustang Point Road, so Dean and I had traded vehicles while I finished the Pine Hill project.

  “Thanks, Chloe. These are for you.”

  Her eyes grew wide as she took the giant arrangement from me. “They’re beautiful, Amber. I love roses.”

  “I know.” I had pretended favorite flowers were a trivia question on game night, just to find out a few of Chloe’s favorite things.

  With Dean busy in the shower, I was going to have to finagle the damn zipper up myself, or I would have to ask Faith to help me out when I got to the job.

  For the most part, Chloe and I had gotten along amazingly well. She was a thoughtful and very empathetic little girl. I knew that I would never replace her mother, but if things kept going the way they were, our bond would be almost as strong. Maybe even as strong, but different and I liked that. The desire to have a biological child of my own was gone now that I had such a beautiful little soul in my life.

  “Good luck with your ice dance test today. I wish I could be there.”

  If Chloe passed her dance test, she’d be the youngest to ever achieve her Senior Silver test. I knew she could do it.

  “Thank you, Amber. I’m nervous, but I’ve learned how to deal with that energy.”

  I couldn’t help but smile, I could hear her father in so many of the things she said. “I’m proud of you.” I glanced to the stairwell, hoping that Dean would appear before I had to leave, but he didn’t. “Tell your dad I’ll call him after the shoot.”

  Chloe nodded seriously. I knew that she’d pass on the message. “Amber?” she asked.

  I paused with my hand on the door.

  “Can you decorate our house like the one you’re working on?”

  The thought had already crossed my mind. And I wanted to check with Dean, but it didn’t make sense to have two Christmas trees. Not when we spent all of our time at his house. “You bet, kiddo.”

  She hugged the flowers to her chest and clapped her hands together. “Yay.”

  I jumped as the doorbell rang. Without thinking, I opened it to find a woman with sleek dark hair and a very full face of makeup standing on the doorstep.

  “Mom!” Chloe screeched. She dropped the flowers and ran past me.

  My mouth was agape as I watched the interaction between mother and daughter in front of me.

  “Chloe.”

  I whipped my head to the staircase to see Dean standing on the landing in a towel. He looked at me with a smile that faded as his gaze happened upon what was happening outside the front door.

  It felt like a very bad movie. A horror fucking movie. But that wasn’t the worst part. Oh no, the worst was yet to come.

  Dean disappeared and left me holding the door like a butler while Kira and Chloe walked through the door. Thankfully, Dean almost instantly reappeared wearing gray sweatpants and an Otters T-shirt. He ran down the stairs in his bare feet.

  “Kira. What are you doing here?”

  The woman’s blood-red mouth gaped into a forced smile. “I’m back.”

  I choked. Or coughed, I couldn’t tell what was happening in my body, but it was getting hard for me to breathe.

  “Dean, who is this?”

  Chloe, who was clearly too young to grasp the fucked-uppedness of the situation gestured at me with her little palm. “This is Amber. She lives next door.”

  Kira looked me up and down, then stared at Dean. She set down the huge handbag she was carrying and that’s when I saw it.

  “What the hell, Kira.” Dean gasped.

  The woman in front of me was pregnant. Very pregnant.

  “I’m back.” She shot me a death glare and then steeled her cold snake eyes on Dean. “It’s yours.”

  Twenty-Two

  Amber

  Being in shock felt like I was walking in an alternate universe like my body had switched over to autopilot. I didn’t scream or yell. I didn’t say anything. I walked past the woman who had ruined everything and vomited on the snow-covered boxwood that lined the walkway to Dean’s house. Then, I got in the Jeep and drove away.

  The radio hummed in the background, but the announcers sounded like they had marbles in their mouths. I couldn’t hear what songs were being played. When I reached the circular driveway of Pine Hill, I couldn’t remember driving there.

  I stepped out of the Jeep and shuffled in my winter boots up to the grand entryway. The stiletto boots I’d brought for the photoshoot sat forgotten in the back seat of the SUV.

  The smile on Faith’s face was the biggest and brightest I’d ever seen. “The photographer just told me that Casper Lake Cottage magazine is going to run a story on this new part of our business.”

  I’d never heard of Casper Lake Cottage magazine. “That sounds nice,” I murmured. I took off my jacket and stepped out of my winter boots, walking into the kitchen in my stocking feet. The cottage sparkled. There were times when I thought we were bordering on too much gold, but when the lights were on, a warm glow lit up the historic mansion on the lake.

  “It’s magical.” The photographer, a beautiful older woman with silver hair extended her free hand.

  “Thank you.” I still felt like I was in a daze. I knew that I was shaking her hand, but I couldn’t feel it.

  “I’ve got the tripod set up for some wide-angle shots and I’ve brought in some extra lighting.”

  I walked away without saying anything. I dropped onto the down-stuffed sofa in the great room and stared out at the lake. Wind squalls were blowing the snow in circles and the landscape looked totally barren.

  The sofa puffed with the weight of someone sitting beside me. “Are you okay?” Faith whispered.

  “Yes.” I turned to her but felt like a robot.

  Faith zipped up the back of my dress. “Do you want me to do the shoot?”

  I stared at her. My mouth moved and I heard myself say yes. And that’s the last thing I remember from that shoot.

  Faith took me back to her mom’s house and I could hear them talking about me as I stared at the log cabin wall of the spare bedroom.

  “I don’t know what’s wrong with her,” Faith whispered.

  The door burst open and Melissa sat heavily on the bed beside me. “You need to eat something.”

  “Okay.” I let Melissa take me by the hand and deposit me at the kitchen table. She put a bowl of chicken noodle soup in front of me, the kind from the can I used to have when I was a little kid. The nostalgic smell brought me back to reality. I looked at Faith and Melissa and then felt my face crumple. I literally cried big fat tears into my already salty soup.

  The two of them sat with me and let me cry. When my eyes couldn’t take anymore, Melissa passed me a tissue. I cleared my throat and dabbed at my eyes.

  “Kira is back.” I could feel myself speaking now.