Breaking the Ice (6 page)

Last month, it suddenly seemed
right. 

And here he sat, across from a
woman that had haunted his dreams more nights than he cared to admit.  He
stared at her openly, taking in her black bar tank top and snug jeans.  Her
dark hair was pulled back on top, held in small clips, the rest fell loose down
her back, a little longer than he remembered. 

There was
something
about
her…something that made her even lovelier than she’d been years ago. 

He rested one arm along the back
of the booth and watched her eyes take him in for just a moment.  He laid his
hand flat on the table and she followed the movement.  It was when he rubbed
his thumb against his fingers, and her lips parted, that he realized she was
pretending a disinterest she didn’t feel.

“You’re lovelier than ever,
Kenzie.  You look exhausted though.”

“I told you I was.  I keep a lot
of plates spinning.” 

She started to talk and asked him
how he was.  He answered like a man accustomed to talking about himself.  The
more he answered, the more she asked.  He tried to ask questions about her life,
and she told him a little, but he felt like she was
not
saying more than
she was saying.  She quickly turned the conversation back to him.

They ordered their food and the
owner asked him to sign an autograph and he did.  The woman thanked him and
left them alone.  Kenzie was focused on the table. 

“Where do you live, Kenzie?”

Her eyes jumped to his.  “Here in
Cambridge,” she said quietly.

“Funny how I figured that.  I
meant
where
?”

“Why, Diesel?” 

There was no way he was imagining
her distress.  “I want to see your house…you’ve seen mine before.”  He watched
her every expression intently.

“No.  Thad has classes all day
during the week and…he’s sleeping.”  She stumbled over the last part and he fixed
on it.  Kenzie glanced through the window to her truck.  Suddenly, she seemed
desperate to escape him. 

He stared at her in silence for a
long time.  “There it was again.  That strange hesitation, like you’re
censoring yourself.  What aren’t you telling me, MacKenzie?”

She leaned forward.  “Diesel,
this situation makes me nervous.  I haven’t seen you in four years.  I’ve grown
up and changed a lot.  I’m not interested in playing with you, or in you
playing with me for that matter.  I’m not the same person I was.”

“I’ll make you a deal,
MacKenzie.  Tonight we’ll catch up on unimportant topics and keep things light.” 
He leaned forward.  

“For tonight, I’ll be satisfied
to talk to you and watch you…I’m hoping to make you smile because you look like
you need to, like you don’t have enough chances to smile.  Looks like we’re
going to be living near one another again, Kenzie.  Like old times.  And I’m
going to figure out this little thing…whatever it is you’re keeping from me.”

She committed to nothing but
their food came and she watched him dig into his pancakes.  She picked at her
club sandwich.  “How is your jaw?”

Diesel’s smile was smug as he
swallowed and took a sip of his coffee.  “You really
have
been paying
attention, haven’t you?”  That pleased him far more than it should have.  “It’s
good.  Thankfully, it was the last game of the season, so I didn’t have to go
on the injured list.  I’m doing pretty good overall right now.”  He pointed to
his teeth.  “These three are implants.”

“I know, I saw the post-game
footage.  That had to hurt.”

“Kenzie, tell me you’ll see me
again so I don’t have to stalk you.”

“Diesel, that’s a really horrible
idea.  You’re doing so well.  You don’t need a Rhodes girl mucking your shit
up.  You should let things lie.  Leave the past in the past.”

He sat back with a grin.  “Stalking
it is then.”  She laughed because she couldn’t help herself.  “Do you know
Damien and Cristiana have been dating on the sly for the past several months? 
Trying not to let any of their siblings know?”  Diesel wiggled his brows and
made her crack up again.

Kenzie pushed her plate to the
side and crossed her arms on the table.  “Do
you
know Douglas and Katya
have been having hot monkey sex off and on for over a year and not even
Cristiana knows?  He makes
business trips
out to see her in LA.”

He came to full attention.  “
What?
” 
He shook his head and she nodded.  “Digger would have told me.  No way.”

“Think so?  I thought Kat would
have told me, too…I happened to catch her talking to him on the phone the last
time she visited.  I had to wrestle the damn thing from her…being nosey is my
prerogative since I’m the oldest.  Can’t mistake the caller ID of
Digger
Baby
.  She confessed after I threatened to tell her twin she was keeping
secrets.”

Diesel was floored but smiling.  “Dean
has been chasing Jackie in Chicago for months.  She won’t give him the time of
day.  Says she has more important things to do than entertain a flighty LeBlanc
boy.  Drives him nuts.”

“Just hard to get.  She’s crazy
about him…doesn’t want him thinking she’s easy,” Kenzie assured him. 

Pushing his empty plate aside, he
folded his massive arms on the table to mimic her position.  “Three out of four
Rhodes girls with three out of the four oldest LeBlanc boys.  Interesting
odds.  So MacKenzie…why are
you
playing hard to get?”

“How do you know I’m just not
interested
,
Diesel?  You’ve gotten used to supermodels falling at your feet, I think.  We
mere mortals do things a little differently.”

He flinched before he could stop
the reaction to her knowing about his highly-publicized flings.  He recovered
quickly when he realized she was
using
it to deflect him. 

Was she really trying to convince
him she wasn’t physically attracted to him?  Her nipples told a far different
story. 

Diesel leaned further across the table
and whispered, “I
dare you
to test that theory, Kenzie.”

She took a deep breath and looked
down at the table top.  “You don’t want to do this, Diesel.  I mean it.  Things
are good for you.  Leave them alone.  My personal notch is already in your bedpost;
no need to go there again.  I’m sure there are plenty of women just praying
you’ll call them.” 

She stood up and grabbed her
stuff.  Kissing his hair, he felt her inhale deeply.  As she stood up, she
added, “It was good to see you, Diesel.  I’m so proud of you.” 

Then she was out the door like
she was fleeing the scene of a crime.

Diesel threw money on the table
and hauled ass to his truck.  He could see her at the end of the block and
peeled out to catch her. 

For several miles he stayed far enough
away to avoid her catching sight of him.  As they slowly maneuvered the streets
of Cambridge, he grinned to himself.  He hadn’t been kidding about the
stalking. 

She was hiding something, and
since she wouldn’t come clean, he was going to figure it out. 

When she pulled into an apartment
complex, he passed it then circled around and waited to see which apartment she
was going into. 

A window lit up and he smiled. 
Got
ya, baby.
 

He watched as she moved around,
turning lights on and off.  A soft blue light in another window drew his
attention.  It seemed to be moving, like a display or something. 

What the fuck? 

Then he noticed the action
figures and plastic animals lined up inside the two windows of that room. 
There was a child sleeping in that apartment.  There was a small child in Kenzie’s
apartment. 

He thought about their
conversation, about her hesitations and nervousness, and he knew exactly what
she’d been hiding from him. 

Oh, no…oh, hell no.

Diesel got out of his truck and
walked slowly to her second floor apartment.  Taking a deep breath that didn’t
help the spinning in his head, he knocked softly. 

He knew she was standing on the
other side.  Knew there was only one person who’d be knocking on her door so
late at night.  She was probably scared and wondering what the hell to do. 

That was pretty simple actually.

Softly but firmly, he said,
“Kenzie, open the door, baby. 
Open
the door.”

He heard the locks click and she
pulled it open, standing aside for him to enter.  He stared at her for a long
moment but wouldn’t look at him.  One hand lifted to stroke her hair and she
jerked so slightly he almost didn’t catch it. 

“I would never hurt you.  Not
ever, Kenzie.”

He passed her, walking through
her living room, and absently noted the children’s books, toys, and drawing
supplies in a little play area off to one side.  He went down a short hallway
and stopped at a door with a colored drawing taped to it. 

For just a second, he placed his
palms on either side of the door and hung his head.  His heart was pounding
like a freight train and he took another deep breath. 

As he pushed open the door, he realized
the moving blue light was a solar system night light. 
Mystery solved.
  A
toddler bed on the far side of the room held a small form, breathing evenly in
sleep. 

Diesel felt like crossing the
room took forever.  He looked down at the little boy curled under a New Jersey
Devils quilt.  He had black hair and was big for his age.  No matter his size,
he couldn’t be more than four and there was no way he was younger than three. 

Sensing someone, the little boy
opened his eyes and stared at Diesel.  After several big blinks, he said
sleepily, “You’re da hockey p’ayer.  Mommy said you was a friend.  Diesel,
huh?”

Diesel nodded, floored and
overwhelmed at the magnitude of this situation.  He was looking at a younger
version of himself.  In a voice he didn’t recognize he asked, “What’s your
name?”

“Dalton.”

“That’s a really good name.”

“Thanks.  Mommy gave me it.”  The
little boy rubbed his eyes and sat up. 

“Can you stand up for a minute, Dalton?” 
The little boy nodded and scrambled to his feet.  He wasn’t just big…he was
huge
for his age.  LeBlancs only came in
extra-large
.  “How old are you?”  He
held up three chubby fingers.  “When is your birthday, do you know?”

“Are you gonna give presents?”

Diesel nodded and the hysterical
voice in his head thought, I will buy you anything, everything you want…just
don’t hate me. 

Dalton grinned and answered,
“Setender thirteen.  I’m gonna be four.”  He turned and saw Kenzie in the
doorway.  “Mommy!”  His voice was like a gunshot in the quiet apartment and he
ran for her. 

He jumped and Kenzie caught him
but she wouldn’t be able to for much longer. 

“I’m
starvin’
Mommy.  I
want more ’sagna.”  She nodded and carried him down the hall to the kitchen. 
Kenzie kissed his cheek and set him on a chair.  He scrambled up on his knees
and started chatting a mile a minute.  “Mommy, Uncle Thad and me watched
Muppet
Caper
.  It was
so
funny, we laughed and laughed!  You have to
watch.”

“Okay, Dalton.  Maybe we’ll have
time before I leave tomorrow.  PS, its
Uncle Thad and I
, sweetie.” 

He giggled and repeated the
sentence a half dozen times while she put lasagna on a plate and microwaved
it.  When she placed it in front of him she said, “Use your fork, Dalton.”  He picked
up the utensil with a look that said he’d much rather use his hands.  She poured
juice in a cup with a straw but no lid. 

The sound of another door down
the hall opening had Diesel turning his head.  “Dalton you promised to let
Mommy sleep, you know she never does.  You can’t be hungry aga…” 

He was running his hands over his
face and head when he caught sight of Diesel and drew to an abrupt stop. 
“Well,
shit
.”

“Uncle Thad!  You owe de jar
money!”  Dalton looked at Diesel and said, “Mommy won’t let him say cusses. 
Said
soap
is next.  I will laugh ‘til I throw up if dat happens!”

Thad recovered from his shock and
held out his hand to Diesel who shook it.  “Good to see you, Diesel.  Glad the
cat’s out of the bag.  With all our sisters dating LeBlancs, it was only a
matter of time.”  He looked at Kenzie who looked like she was going to shake
apart.  He said gently, “It will be fine, MacKenzie.  You worry too much.”

He poured himself some juice and
kissed her temple.  To Diesel he said, “No matter what you might think, she did
it for you, man.” 

Kenzie pushed away from the
counter she’d been leaning against and rushed out, “I need a…a few minutes. 
I’m going to shower and change.  I smell like peanuts and beer.” 

She tousled Dalton’s hair on her
way by and he caught her hand.  She stopped and he lifted his arms for a hug. 
Diesel watched as she smelled her…
their
…son’s hair just like she’d done
to him earlier. 

As she disappeared down the hall,
Thad took a seat across from his nephew.  Dalton had already resumed inhaling
his food and both males watched.

“Dude, slow down, no one’s going
to take it from you.” 

“I’m
hungry
d’ough.  My
belly was starvin’.  Breakfast was forever away, Uncle Thad.”

“This guy eats
non-stop
. 
Kenzie cooks ahead because he chows like eight times a day.”  He paused to make
sure Dalton was fully engaged in his food then leaned toward Diesel. 

“I need to say something before
she gets back.  Kenzie won’t allow herself to be an obligation…or let anyone
else
be either.  She’s rocked this little surprise just like she did with the four
of us.  Goes to school full time and pulls three twelve hour shifts at the
bar.  She’s exhausted.”