“Now you can have snow every day of the year.”
She set the snow globe down and threw her arms around me. “Thank you,” she whispered as she planted tiny kisses across my face.
“You’re welcome.”
“Your turn.” She grinned as she handed me a gift.
“OMG, Brooke. You bought me new skates?” I smiled as I took one out of the box.
“Out with the old and in with the new. Those skates will symbolize your comeback on the ice. When you wear them, you’ll always remember what you overcame.”
“How did you know what size?”
“I just looked at your old skates.” She smiled.
“Thank you. I actually needed a new pair.” I leaned over and kissed her lips.
“I noticed.” She laughed.
“Come here.” I held out my arms to her.
She scooted closer and snuggled against me as my back was leaned up against the couch.
“Thank you for spending Christmas with me.” I kissed the top of her head.
“You’re welcome. Thank you for making this Christmas away from home so special.” Her mouth met mine.
My hand ran up her thigh as my fingers met her panties. Seeing her in only my jersey turned me on like nothing else ever had. We made love in front of the brightly lit Christmas tree before getting ready and heading to my dad’s house.
****
Spending Christmas with my dad being sober was probably the best gift I could have received. The whole family was there, including my Aunt Vanessa and Uncle Alan, and everyone seemed happy, including me.
“Are you ready to go?” I asked Brooke, who was talking with my Aunt Vanessa.
“Yeah. I am ready.” She smiled.
Brandon and Owen walked over and gave me a hug.
“Have fun in Cali, bro. Oh, by the way, I know you fucked her. I can tell,” Owen whispered in my ear.”
As I shook my head, I couldn’t help but grin.
“I have some business out there in a couple of weeks. I’ll drop by and see how you’re doing.” Brandon winked.
“That would be great, Brandon.”
I walked over to where my dad was standing and staring at me.
“Take care, son. You can do this. You’ve always been a fighter.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I gave him a hug.
“Brooke is a very special woman. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that.”
“She is, Dad.”
“Just try not to get too involved. Things could become complicated.”
I gave him a small smile and a pat on the shoulder before Brooke and I headed out the door. As far as I was concerned, I was already too involved with her. I was falling for her more and more every day. I felt as though I was becoming more dependent on her and that worried me.
By time we landed in Los Angeles and drove to her house, it was after one a.m.
“Welcome to Casa Alexander.” She smiled as she set her suitcase down in the foyer.
“Wow. This is beautiful, Brooke.”
“Thank you.” She turned around and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I’m exhausted and we have a long day tomorrow.”
“Me too.” I kissed her lips.
“I’ll show you to your room, but you’re sleeping in my bed. As long as my dad isn’t home, that is.”
I chuckled as she held on to me while we went up the stairs. While Brooke was in her bathroom getting ready for bed, I couldn’t help but look at the pictures she had displayed on her chest. Some were just of her with her medals and some were with her parents. She was just as beautiful then as she was now. Walking over to a shelf by the window, I examined her trophies and gold medals that hung from it.
“Checking out the goods,” she spoke as she walked out of the bathroom.
“Yeah. This is really impressive.” I smiled.
“Are you going to get ready for bed?” she asked as she climbed under the covers.
It took me all of five seconds to strip out of my clothes. Holding out my arms to my side, I spoke, “There, I’m ready.”
The corners of her mouth curved upwards as she held up the covers.
“Get in here. I’m cold.”
Climbing under, I held out my arm as she snuggled tightly against me and laid her head on my chest.
“Better?”
“Much.”
“Good night, Brooke.”
“Good night, Logan.”
Chapter 23
Brooke
“Rise and shine, big boy,” I spoke as my lips pressed against his chest.
He grumbled, “What time is it?”
“Six a.m.”
“Come on, Brooke. We’ve barely been asleep.”
“Sleep is no longer your friend, Logan. Come on; we have to leave soon to go see Woo and it’s about an hour drive from here.”
As I tried to climb out of bed, Logan grabbed my waist and pulled me on top of him.
“Do we have time for a quick fuck?” He smiled.
“I wish. Naomi is downstairs preparing breakfast for us and we need to get ready.” I pouted.
He sighed. “Okay. But you owe me later.”
“Deal.” I grinned as I kissed his lips.
Climbing out of bed, we got dressed and headed downstairs where I could smell the aroma of Naomi’s pecan French toast filling the air.
“Morning, Naomi.”
“Ah, Brooke.” She walked over and gave me a hug. “It’s good to have you home.”
“Naomi, this is our houseguest, Logan. Logan, this is Naomi.”
“Nice to meet you, Naomi.” He smiled as he held out his hand.
She smacked it away. “Come here and give me a hug.” She placed her hand on his cheek. “Welcome.”
“Thank you.”
“You two go sit down and I’ll serve breakfast.”
“She seems really nice,” Logan whispered.
“She is. She’s been taking care of us since I was seven years old. She’s part of our family.”
Logan gave me a small smile as he continued to eat his French toast. Just as we were finished, Naomi walked in the kitchen and glared at both of us.
“What?” I asked. But I already knew what she was going to say.
“I went to make Logan’s bed and it hadn’t been slept in, but when I went into your room, I could see that two people had been sleeping in it. Care to explain?”
“Please don’t tell my dad. You know how he is, even though I am twenty-seven years old.”
I looked over at Logan and his face was red. I laughed.
“It happens, Naomi. You know. What can I say?”
“I won’t tell your father, but when he gets home, no more hanky panky.” She smiled and walked out of the kitchen.
“I have never been more humiliated in my life,” Logan spoke.
“Relax. She’s cool. She was just giving us a hard time for fun. Come on; we have to go,” I spoke as I took our plates to the sink.
Grabbing my keys from the hook by the garage, we climbed into my car and headed to Woo’s house.
As I pulled up the long winding driveway that led to his house, Woo was sitting on his porch.
“Hello, baby girl. How are you?” he asked as he hugged me.
“I’m good, Woo. This is Logan Jackson. Logan, meet Woo.”
Logan extended his hand and Woo stood there and stared at him for a moment. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye.
“He’s assessing you.”
“Oh.”
“Nice to meet you, Logan. I am a fan. The Rangers are one of my favorite teams.”
“I didn’t know that.” I frowned.
“You didn’t need to know that. Please, come in.”
I rolled my eyes as we followed him into the house and he led us to the back where his therapy room was.
“Lie down on the table,” he spoke.
Logan did as he asked and Woo stood over him. Placing his hand above Logan’s body, he walked around the table.
When he was done, he examined his leg.
Logan kept looking over at me in confusion and I just smiled.
“Have you been doing the massages with the special oils?” he asked me.
“Yes.”
He took hold of Logan’s leg and began manipulating it. Logan let out a howl.
“Relax,” Woo spoke in a soft voice.
“How the hell can I relax? It hurts like a bitch,” Logan shouted.
Woo removed his hands from his leg and walked behind him, placing the tips of his fingers on his head.
“The brain and mind is the most powerful organ in the body. If you want to heal, you have to believe you will, for it’s responsible for the way you move. Brooke and I are going to help you, but if you don’t believe you’ll play hockey or walk normally again, you won’t.”
“I do believe I will.”
“No you don’t. I can see your soul through your eyes and you have great doubts and fears. They will hold you back. It goes beyond treatment, Logan. Treatment is only a step. The rest comes from within you. I will be right back.”
As Woo walked out of the room, Logan looked at me.
“He’s for real, isn’t he?”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes, he’s the real deal.” I grabbed hold of his hand. “I’ll be right back.” I smiled.
Walking out of the room, I found Woo in the kitchen, gathering some supplies.
“He’s in bad shape, Brooke. Not only with his leg, but his mind as well.”
“I know.”
“You’ve gone and complicated things.”
“What do you mean?” I cocked my head.
“You’re sleeping with him.”
“How do you know that?”
“I can see it in both your eyes. Your feelings for him and his for you will get in the way of his rehabilitation.”
“No they won’t. I won’t let them.”
“For his sake, you better hope they don’t.” He walked away.
When we walked back into the room, Logan looked over at me as Woo started to stimulate the nerves in his leg with a device that I knew all too well. A device I hated because the pain was excruciating. Logan began to scream and I ran to his side, placing my hands over his eyes.
“Take your mind somewhere else. It wants to focus on the pain but don’t let it. Take it to a place that makes you happy. Envision yourself on the ice, skating and moving the puck around.”
“I can’t,” he shouted.
“You can. Trust me, Logan. You can do this.”
“I can’t,” he wailed. Suddenly, my hands became soaked with his tears.
****
Logan
Brooke and Woo had to help me to the car. It felt as if my manhood had been stripped away. Once Brooke got in the car, I couldn’t bring myself to look at her, so I stared out the passenger window.
“What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Nothing,” I growled.
“Are you in pain?”
“What do you fucking think?” I shouted.
Rage consumed me once again. The accident, Tommy’s death, my leg; it all came flooding back, reminding me of how much my life truly sucked.
“Don’t yell at me,” she shouted back.
There was a pain in her voice. A pain I’d never heard before.
“I’m sorry.” I reached over and took hold of her hand, but she wouldn’t look at me.
“I know you’re hurting, but you need to think before you speak.”
I let go of her hand and continued to stare out the window. After we arrived back to Brooke’s house, I sat down on the couch and turned on the game while Brooke wrapped my leg in hot, wet cloths.
“What are those cloths soaked in? They smell.”
“Special medicine, compliments of Woo. There. Your leg has to stay wrapped for at least an hour.”
As I looked into her blue eyes that stared up at me, I held out my arms to her. A feeling of guilt still resided inside me for snapping at her the way I did.
“Come up here.”
“Are you going to yell at me again?” She cocked her head.
“No, and I’m sorry about earlier.”
She climbed on the couch and snuggled tightly against me as I put my arm around her and kissed the top of her head.
“Listen, Logan. You have no idea what you’re in for and today was only the beginning. It’s okay to be angry. In fact, I want you to be angry because healing comes from that anger. Just be careful not to misdirect your anger where it doesn’t belong.”
“I know, baby, and again, I’m so sorry.”
“I know you are.”
As we sat there wrapped up in each other, my heart was pounding out of my chest when my team won the game in the last twenty seconds.
“Jesus, did you see that?” I exclaimed in excitement as I tightened my arms around her.
“I sure did. I think a celebration is in order.” She smiled as she lifted her head and brushed her lips against mine.
“What kind of celebration did you have in mind?”
“Something that involves this.” She grinned as her hand brushed over my semi-hard cock. “And this.” Her lips pressed against mine.
“I like the way you celebrate.”
Chapter 24
Logan
One Month Later…
My leg was getting stronger every day that passed. Between Brooke’s therapy and the intense and excruciating acupuncture that was forced upon me by Woo, it seemed to be working. My muscle growth was increasing and that made me happy. Even though I still walked with a small limp, I no longer needed the cane for support. The pain was still there from time to time, but nothing compared to what it had been.
Rolling over, I placed my arm around Brooke’s waist and softly kissed her bare back. Her father figured out we were sleeping together about a week after he returned from Washington. After he and Brooke had some words about the sleeping arrangements, he let it go and accepted it, but only after having a fatherly talk with me.
“We have to get up, babe. Time to hit the gym.”
“No gym today. I’m taking you somewhere else.” She smiled as she rolled over and into my arms.
Reaching down, my lips softly brushed against hers. “Where?”
“You’ll see.” She grinned.
“I think you should tell me.” My hand traveled down her torso until it reached the top of her panties.
“No.”
Arching my brow and slipping my hand down the front of her panties, my finger dipped inside her.
“Tell me.”
“No.” She squirmed.
“Then I guess I’ll have to keep doing this until you do.”
“Uh.” She tilted her head back and closed her eyes.
As my fingers explored her, she swelled around them.
“On second thought, I changed my mind.” I grinned as I removed my hand from her panties and rolled over.
“Oh my God! You beast. You just can’t do that to me.” She sat up and pulled me on my back.
“Sure I can. If you can’t tell me where you’re taking me, then I can’t make you come.”
She sat there, on her knees, and glared at me for a moment.
“Fine. I guess I have to finish myself.” She smiled as she took down her panties.
To be honest, I didn’t see that one coming, but holy fuck, it was hot as hell. Watching her play with herself turned me on more than anything and my cock wasn’t standing for it. Her moans, her fingers, and her beautiful pussy were too much to handle. Grabbing her, I pushed her on her back and hovered over her.
“Stop. The only thing that’s going to make you come is my hard cock.” I thrust into her with force.
“Thank you.” A smile crossed her lips before mine gently brushed against them.
****
Nervousness settled inside me as Brooke pulled up to the ice arena and, suddenly, I was a little apprehensive.
“What are we doing here, Brooke?”
“It’s time to put on your skates.”
“I can’t,” I quietly spoke as I stared out the window.
“Do you remember the ‘can’t’ rule?”
“Okay. I won’t.”
“Fine. Just come inside, then.”
She parked the car, grabbed a big black bag from the trunk, and opened the passenger door.
“Out, Jackson,” she commanded.
I climbed out of the car and we stepped inside the arena. An overwhelming fear came over me and, instantly, I felt paralyzed.
“Why is no one here?” I asked as I looked around.
“I rented the ice. It’s our time. No distractions. But if you don’t want to put on your skates, then you don’t have to. But I am.”
After lacing up her skates, she hit the ice while I took a seat on the bench.
“This is where I practiced every day,” she spoke as she did an arabesque and went into a camel spin.
God, she was so fucking beautiful out there.
“I’ll never forget the feeling when I first walked into this place after the accident. I was so scared that I started to cry.” She skated around the ice, doing figure eights. “After sitting in that very spot you are for over three hours, I finally got the courage to step out on the ice. You’d think I’d never skated a day in my life. I held on to the wall as if it were my life support. I shook and I felt like I was going to pass out. The anxiety that took over me was awful. So I know how you’re feeling right now, Logan, and I didn’t expect anything less. I’ll wait for as long as it takes you to get the courage to come out here and join me.”
“I’m not ready, Brooke.”
“You are ready, Logan. You’re just letting your fear of not being able to get back out here and being able to do everything you once did stop you.”
She was right. Fuck. She hit the nail on the head. If I went out there and couldn’t become Lightning Logan the minute my blades hit the ice, I’d feel like a failure, and that was something I wasn’t ready to face yet.
“Baby steps, Logan. Baby steps.” She smiled as she did a triple jump.
She was so graceful, like a swan gliding across the lake on a beautiful sunny day. Seeing her skate like that made me so proud of her and everything she had overcome. I knew the courage to get out there was somewhere inside me, but I had yet to find it.
Skating over to me, she smiled as she held out her hand.