38. Winter

When a knock came later,I wondered why my mom was knocking, before the door opened. It wasn't my mom.

Duncan Fitzgerald stepped into the room, brushing rain off his coat. "Ah, Winter, you're here. How's he doing?"

I had no idea what to feel around this man except for instinctive dislike.

"He's okay. He woke up briefly, and they put him under again," I said, standing and wrapping my arms around myself. I was wearing Asher's oversized hoodie. He'd left it with me when I'd made him leave to go and see his mom. While my whole world had fallen apart, his had changed in other ways. I already felt bad about him leaving the ranch in Saratoga so soon after making contact with his father, but he'd insisted on coming with me.

Duncan nodded sympathetically. "I was so worried when I heard. Me and Charlie go way back. I hope he can come through this unscathed."

"He will. He's strong," I murmured, and turned to my dad.

He didn't look strong right now. He was pale and smaller than I remembered him being. In my mind, he was a bear of a man, but he wasn't really anymore.

"Well, a man can only be as strong as his physical flesh is willing to be. Stress takes its toll on everyone."

I glanced at Duncan. "Stress?"

"Didn't Angela mention his money troubles? He's made some bad calls, and it's had an effect on his bottom line. Being the DeLauries of Hade Harbor isn't a cheap lifestyle. I'm sure he was feeling the pressure."

"I don't understand. Are you blaming his family for his heart attack?"

Duncan raised an eyebrow. "No, of course not, but it's telling that you'd jump to that conclusion. Guilt comes in all forms."

"Guilt? You think I wanted money so bad that I wouldn't have cared that my dad was working himself into the ground? I would have given anything for him to be home more."

Duncan just shrugged. "Sometimes people don't get their priorities in order before it's too late. Thankfully for Charlie, it's not."

"It's not?" I echoed, feeling all turned around by this conversation.

Duncan shook his head. "Given our history, I have always made it a point to make sure your family is provided for. Charlie and I decided when you were young that a union of our families would guarantee the money and reputation that alone we never could have achieved. Luckily, we had a son and a daughter, so the dream continued."

I stared at him, frozen in place by the sheer ridiculousness of what I was hearing.

Duncan smiled thinly at my expression. "Be careful, Winter, or I might take offense…you don't seem to like Trent, and I take that very personally. Our two families and businesses joining forces was always the plan. A non-taxable way of merging." He straightened his cuffs. "Genius, really. And Trent is taken with you, he always was."

"I-I have a boyfriend," I heard myself say as if from a great distance. "My dad understands that."

Duncan chuckled. "Of course, young love, a youthful dalliance and all of that. I can understand it, too. In fact, the woman I loved had a boyfriend when we met. I'm afraid my son is as single-minded as I am when it comes to love. I didn't let that girl's boyfriend get in the way of becoming engaged… and I doubt Trent will, either."

"Your wife had another boyfriend?"

Duncan tutted. "Not my wife. I said the woman I loved." He reached out and touched the bracelet on my wrist. "You wear her jewelry. It's ironic, really."

Aunt Ruth?

"She took her own life," I breathed, mysterious pieces of the past falling into place.

Something dark and terrifying moved through Duncan's gaze. "Yes, quite the abrupt end to our engagement." Ruth had been engaged to Duncan and killed herself to escape it? It was a dark and terrifying thought, if true.

I stepped back, needing air. I felt like I was suffocating. Whatever the dark shadow that the Fitzgerald family had cast over our lives, I needed to free us from its grip.

"It's getting late. You should go. My mom will be here soon, and she doesn't like you," I stated bluntly, dropping all pretense of being polite. Fuck this guy.

Duncan chuckled. "She doesn't, does she? She always was a good judge of character. Think about what I said, Winter. Your dad, his business, and his health…you could affect all of it if you stopped fighting fate, and the best-laid plans of twenty years. Don't be selfish."

With that, he turned and walked away, leaving me in pieces.

I texted Asher when my mom returned and sent me home. She was worried about me; I was so tired I was swaying on my feet.

His reply was immediate.

I'm outside. I'll take you home.

I stepped out of the hospital, and there he was, waiting at the curb on his bike. I got on and hugged his back hard the entire way home.

Inside, the house felt quieter than usual. Asher came in with me.

"Did you eat something?" he asked.

I shook my head. "Don't worry about me. You should go. You've got practice in the morning."

He studied me. "You're really bad at this, aren't you, Ice Queen?"

"What?" I asked numbly.

"Letting people in. It's okay, don't worry…I know what you need," he said, and shook off his leather jacket.

Just then, the doorbell rang. I frowned at the clock. Who could it be at this time?

Asher left the kitchen and went to open the door, I guessed. It was night, and there were no staff on site. The silence that had fallen over the place was broken by the sounds of voices coming from the hall.

"I've put instructions on the top of each one. How to heat them in the microwave. But the oven is better, honestly."

"Mom. You know we're going to zap it. Give it to me, it's too heavy." It was Eve's voice.

"Beckett can carry it for me, can't you?"

"Whatever you want, Melly. I'm the favorite son, after all."

Lily appeared first. The daughter of the hockey team's coach arrived in the kitchen and gave me a shy smile. Her boyfriend, Cayden, appeared next, draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, Winter. Where can I put this stuff?" he asked and lifted a bag full of what looked like soda and junk food.

I stood as the rest of the Ice Gods came into the kitchen, as well as Eve, Isabelle, and Melly Martino. The matriarch of the Martino family wasted no time bustling over and enveloping me in a hug.

"You poor girl. It's so hard. How are you?" She rubbed my back.

Tears welled at the corners of my eyes. I shook my head, unable to speak for a moment.

She nodded and kept rubbing those warm circles on my back. "I know, I know. You shouldn't be alone right now. Let your friends keep you company…it will help."

She pulled back and went into the kitchen to direct the placement of various Tupperware dishes into the fridge.

"Rest assured, these are all cinnamon free," she called. Unshed tears punched me in the throat.

She'd brought a week's worth of food, it looked like. I glanced at Asher, bewildered, overwhelmed, and surprised by this sudden development. From feeling like the loneliest girl in the world, to being surrounded by people in the span of a few minutes. I felt so thankful.

The bell rang again, and I gazed around the assembled company. There was only one person I could think of who might be missing. I went to answer the door myself. Selena stood there, wrapped in a warm winter coat. She reached out and hugged me when I opened the door.

"Are you okay? No call?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know what to say," I admitted. Everything was all tangled up inside my mind. "How did you know?"

"Asher called me. He was set on gathering together a full house, and there was no saying no. I'm glad he did."

"I don't want to pile on. You have enough going on," I murmured.

She shook her head. "No. You need me, so, I'm here."

"Go and grab some food," Asher suggested, waiting at the end of the hallway for me.

We approached him. Selena took a deep breath and headed through toward the kitchen. Asher stopped me as I moved to join her.

"Not so fast. Is this okay?" He jerked his head toward the kitchen and the sounds of everyone talking. "I can get them all out of here in seconds if it's not."

"Yeah. It's weird…having so many people show up, short notice, just because you asked them to."

"It's not because I asked them to. It's because of you. They're here for you," he said.

I didn't know what to say to that. I wasn't used to having a support system. I didn't let people in. It was my thing. The barrier I'd never tried to dismantle, always too scared. Now, it was smashed on the ground.

"I have something for you," he added when I had no words to give him. I was emotionally spent.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny bag, deftly untying the strings.

"What's this for?"

"For? It's for nothing. I don't need an excuse to give my girlfriend a gift. Sure, it might be handmade and not in a Tiffany's box…but I'm hoping you'll like it anyway."

I watched his long fingers reach into the small bag, feeling like an impostor. Why was he giving me gift? I felt awkward and undeserving. My head was all over the place.

"Give me your hand," he said.

I complied immediately, palm up.

But he just turned it over, tutting softly, and selected my ring finger. "Like this, Ice Queen."

He slipped something onto my left ring finger. I blinked down at my hand.

It was a ring. A ring made of some kind of dark industrial-looking metal, like pewter. The band was thin and surprisingly elegant for something he'd made himself. The entire thing was plaited like a rope, and in the very middle sat a knot, carefully tied in the middle.

"Can you name the knot, Your Majesty?"

I shook my head, unable to speak.

"It's called a grapevine knot. Most commonly used in search-and-rescue missions. This knot means finding someone who's lost and holding on to them and never letting go. Wherever you go, whatever you need…I'm with you."

I stared up at him. The damn tears were back. He cupped my face and smoothed them away from under my eyes. "No more tears. Everything is going to be okay."

I opened my mouth to speak, but there was still nothing there. My heart was overflowing, and I had no idea how to handle it. Asher seemed to sense that, because he wiped my eyes and took my hand. "Come on, let's go and let that rabble take your mind off things."

And he led me into the kitchen, full of conversation and company. The warmth of the room slipped over me and would have chased away the last chill from my heart, if not for the whisper of fear running through my mind on a never-ending loop. How will you keep this wonderful man and his family safe?

I still had no idea.