Page 97 of XOXO, Summer
Forty years?She’s being generous, but I’m not correcting her. Especially when this sounds like my Sunshine is about to get everything she wants. I move behind Summer, holding the door for her.
Mrs. Dover sighs as if a long battle is finally over. “They had a parking lot across from the docks, and they plan to tear down our historic downtown and replace it with what they call a ‘more efficient way to shop.’ I call it a generic strip center you can find anywhere but here currently.” She shrugs. “They sucked the personality away from our little town. That’s when I realized, I don’t need the money. Bessie and I are doing just fine. But I do want someone who cares as much as you to own it. So you are the only person I’m willing to sell that property to, but I’ll do ya one better and give it to you. Seems right with your property bumping up to it and the family history.” For the first time, a smile touches her lips. “It’s yours, if you want it.”
Summer gasps, holding it in her lungs. She’s in shock. Her hands tremble at her sides while she watches Mrs. Dover with wide eyes.
I lean down with her head blocking my mouth from view, and whisper, “Breathe, Summer.” I rub small circles against her back. “Breathe.”
Her breath is harsh as she sucks air into her lungs. Flipping her gaze to me, she asks, “Am . . . Am I hearing things?”
“I think your hearing is just fine.” Giving her the slightest encouragement forward, I say, “Go get your cottage.”
A burst of happiness wiggles her shoulders as it sets into her expression. “I want it.”
Mrs. Dover laughs. “Well, get in here and let’s get this done beforeWheel of Fortunecomes on.”
Summer stays, troubling her lip at the threshold of her past and future. I’ve always known her heart’s rightful direction. At this moment, that’s forward. But when she takes that first step and then both feet land solidly on Mrs. Dover’s hardwood floors, I worry about being left behind.
I signed a multi-year contract with The Breakaways this morning for more money than any player in the league. I have a guaranteed payout built in, even if I get injured or fired. Regretting signing my own contract pumps through my veins as she walks away from me. “Summer?”
She stops and looks back with a smile worthy of her nickname shining on her face. Holding her hand out, she says, “Are you coming?”
It’s the happiness in her features, the steadiness in her eyes that washes any doubt, any fear, away from me. Yes, things might just have gotten more complicated. But complicated doesn’t mean impossible. And when it comes to us and our love, nothing will stand between us.
I take her hand, lacing our fingers together. “Yeah. I’m coming.”
Mrs. Dover is mid-conversation, like we’d been in her kitchen the whole time listening. “. . . we’d be having a different conversation if you had harmed Bessie with your vehicle.”
“If it helps, she seemed her usual self when I was petting her,” Summer says.
Picking up a file, she stills her hand as she stares at Summer. “You pet her?” The astonishment is unmistakable, though I can tell by the twist on Summer’s face she’s thinking the same thing—what’s the big deal?“You pet Bessie?”
“Yes. She’s a gentle girl.”
Mrs. Dover drops into a chair on the other side of the table. “But no one pets her. She won’t even let me. I coax her with carrots, but she’s a moody girl if I try to pet her.” Handing us the file, she says, “If Bessie trusts ya, I do, too. The notary is on the way. She and your gentleman friend can be witnesses to validate the sale.”
When we sit down, Summer slips her hand into mine on top of my lap. I catch her excitement in a glance and smile with a squeeze of my hand.
And when the notary arrives, we get started.
As the t’s are crossed and the i’s are dotted, my mind has a moment to catch up. I think through everything, starting with the moment I met Summer.
My life hasn’t been the same since that ray of sunshine came into my life. I’ve known it for a while.But that gutted feeling that I had on the porch?That’s the tell. That’s the truth—truer than anything in the world.
I’ve wanted many things in my life. My sights have been set on contracts and Stanley Cups, stats and titles.Everything I’ve wanted for myself has had something to do with ice. Ironically, everything I want now has everything to do with Sunshine.
I want Summer.
Hell, I might even need her.
There’s not a signing, milestone, or performance bonus that comes anywhere close to being as attractive to me as her. Being in her orbit is like winning the Stanley Cup times a hundred, and holding her hand is far better than lifting the Cup over my head.
She’s it for me. But I won’t be responsible for dimming her dreams.
My life is on the road and in the city where my son lives. Hers is here in Mountain Laurel Cove.
I don’t know how we’re going to make this work, but we will.
We have to.
