“A little?” I say, looking it all over.
Liam laughs and then changes the subject. “So this is the guest room. Apologies for not setting you guys up in here right off the bat. IthoughtKoen would have wanted you inhisroom, but, alas…” His green eyes sparkle with mischief, and mine narrow. “So if you guys want to move up here…”
“Yes,” I say, almost too eagerly, anxious to get out of Koen’s space.
“I can take Remi off your hands for an hour or two if you want to get… unpacked?”
I look around, suddenly anxious at the thought of being separated from Remi, although Liam has looked after her before.
Sensing my hesitation, he points to the large window overlooking the lake. “You can see us from here. But you’re more than welcome to come hang out—or skate, if you want?”
“I don’t know how.”
“You don’t know how?” Liam blinks at me like I just told him pigs fly or something.
I ignore him, eyeing the great expanse of ice warily. “Is it safe?”
“The lake?”
I nod.
“Oh yeah, four inches solid—gotta be careful about some of the hot springs out in the middle though…” He laughs to himself. “Rory learned that the hard way.”
My eyes widen, and he immediately backpedals.
“Er—you have nothing to worry about. She’ll be perfectly safe. Promise.”
“I don’t know—” I look between him, Remi, and the lake, but the way Remi’s looking at me…
“Okay,” I sigh, and they both shout, “Yes!”
Liam digs out a pair of hockey gloves and pads, to go along with the skates and helmet, before they head outside. I stand, watching them like a hawk from the guest room window for another solid thirty minutes.
While Liam gets Remi geared up, Aidan goes and retrieves a contraption—two milk crates that look to be zip-tied together—from the garage, that Remi’s now pushing around the ice on her own.
The crate gives her stability but still allows her to tear around the ice like a maniac.
She’s crashed a lot.
The first time nearly gave me a heart attack, but before I could race down there, she was back on her feet, laughing, careening around with the milk crates until crashing again twenty seconds later.
Having the time of her life.
Finally, content that Remi is safe outside, I turn my attention to the bags.
So many bags.
There are clothes for Remi, toys, games, andclothes for me…he thought of everything.
Glancing out the window, I laugh when I spy Remi practicing her checking skills on Liam and Aidan. Both dramatically fall to the ground when she hits them, and I can almost hear her laugh.
After I put everything away, I take a deep breath and head back downstairs to grab the few things we have in Koen’s room, but I freeze when I cross the threshold.
Koen is sitting on the bed, elbows on his knees, watching Remi on the lake outside with his brothers.
He doesn’t turn, but I know he’s aware I’m behind him, and for a while, neither of us says anything. We just watch our daughter play, smiling and laughing, on the ice below.
“You kept her from me,” he says after a while. His voice is…sad.
