Candy for Christmas: Hockey Player vs Ice Skater by Novalee Swan Page B

Or his bed —
after they finally made it there. So he’d asked her to go with him
to New York.
    She hadn’t needed much
convincing. They’d spent the rest of the season either at the rink
or in his Fifth Avenue apartment. While they were in the city Candy
had set up a skating program for kids from low socio-economic
backgrounds who couldn’t afford training otherwise. She had told
Nolan, one night in bed, that after she lost her parents skating
had saved her life. She wanted to make sure other kids who needed
it would have that chance.
    Over the year, as her
ankle slowly healed, Nolan taught her how to play ice hockey. She
was a quick study and one of the fastest things on ice he’d ever
seen. This wasn’t the first backyard game they’d played.
    “This time you are
going down, Ducayne.”
    “Bring it, Candy
Divine.” He called her that to her face now.
    “Winner’s choice in
bed tonight,” she said, bending her knees to bring her closer to
the ice and sliding her grip down low on the stick.
    Nolan grinned. She’d
never won a game against him. She’d scored, but never won. “You’re
on. 3, 2, 1,” he called it and their sticks went after the
puck.
    There was no denying
that she didn’t really stand a chance — he was an NHL hockey player
and one of the best. But he did have one weakness on the ice.
    Her.
    Nolan respected her
abilities but was careful with her. When they played on a rink he’d
check her, but if they were close to the boards he always turned
and took the hit. If they were on the pond and it got rough, he
never let her fall.
    She rarely won the
faceoff — he was too damn fast with that stick — but this time she
had a plan. She stopped going after the puck, skated forward and
cross checked Nolan. She banged her stick against his and tried to
push him back. She didn’t move him even an inch.
    “Whoa, penalty box for
you, tough guy,” Nolan said as he dropped his stick and wrapped an
arm around Candy’s waist. He picked her up and tossed her over his
shoulder.
    Laughter bubbled over
as she tried to wriggle free. She didn’t have a hope. Nolan skated
to the edge of the pond and tossed her in the fluffy snow on the
embankment. Then he came down after her. “Look what I found,” he
murmured into her lips as he kissed her.
    Candy moved her legs
so her skates were clear of him. They were the hockey skates he’d
bought her and didn’t have a toe pick. That was okay. Her ankle
still wasn’t quite ready. She’d learned not to push too hard and
they could both tell that fairly soon it would be back to full
strength. But it had taken a while and Nolan always seemed to know
when she was hurting without her saying a word. So he found a
solution.
    The man was
quicksilver on ice and when they weren’t playing hockey he skated
with her. That’s not to say he figure skated, because he didn’t.
Flat out refused to even try. But he skated with her in a way that
made the connection between them evident. His body was conscious of
hers. They could be at opposite ends of the ice, but there was an
ebb and flow between them. It was new to them both. New, but
cherished.
    The first time they’d
come back to Colorado he’d brought her down here the the pond and
told her to try a jump. She’d looked at him askance.
    “Trust me.”
    She did. So she did a
triple axle and when she came down, Nolan caught her. Hands about
her waist for just a moment, steadying her, before he set her free.
The first time it happened she’d cried in his arms on the ice.
Whispered in his ear. “The ice is…”
    “…part of who we are,”
he finished. “It used to be the biggest part of me, Candy, but now,
that’s—”
    “—you.” This time she
finished the sentence.
    It was the first time
he told her he loved her. With words, anyway.
    She felt cold hands
burrow under the Rangers jersey she wore. He’d never gotten it
back. Never tried to. “So, what penalty will you have to pay
tonight?” he mused.
    “You