“Fallon?”

“Yeah.”

“Ok, so why are you smiling about Fallon? She left you,” Molly pointed out.

Lucas grimaced before looking back up at his mother. “Yeah, but wouldn’t you have left Dad if he cheated on you?”

Molly smiled, nodding her head. “Why yes I would, but you do no wrong in my eyes.”

“But you know I’ve done plenty wrong,” Lucas laughed as Molly joined in. “But really, I hurt her, I didn’t deserve her.”

“Maybe not, but why are you smiling about her now?”

“I met up with her again, and I want to try again with her.”

Molly scoffed. “And what did Ms. Parker say to that? Wait, she isn’t married?”

“Nope, and she isn’t too happy with me. That was who called.”

Molly laughed, shaking her head. “That girl was always a little feisty when she knew what she wanted.”

“Yeah, she’s feistier now though,” Lucas said with a smile. “You know I’m not over her.”

“I never thought you were. Fallon was your person, just like your father was mine. When you lose your person, you walk through life like a zombie, and sometimes you feel like, like…” Molly paused, a small smile on her face. “Basically if I didn’t have you, I don’t know what I would do. So I understand that you want Fallon back, and I wish you all the luck in the world on your endeavor to get her, because if I had the chance to have my James back, I wouldn’t stop until I succeeded.”

Lucas and Molly shared a long, sad look before looking back down at their food. There wasn’t a day that passed where Lucas didn’t think of James Brooks. He was the man that taught Lucas to play hockey, he picked Lucas’ number out, he did everything in his power to give Lucas everything to succeed in the hockey world. When Lucas’ condition came into play, James did everything to get the best help for him, even if it didn’t help or broke his parent’s bank. James didn’t care, he just wanted Lucas to feel normal.

James died the day before Lucas’ 18th birthday. Lucas would never forget the feeling when he saw his father fall at the end of their driveway, or how he screamed when James wouldn’t wake up. Lucas held his father’s body until his mother found them and pulled Lucas away.

Lucas looked down at his finger, seeing the fingers that at the time had been bloody and bruised from where he tried to get to his father while his mother held him back. Lucas was in such a state of hysteria that he had dug his nails into the cement, popping off two of his nails as he tried to get back to his father.

James was only 42 when he had the massive heart attack, and instead of getting the help he needed, Lucas turned to alcohol. Lots of it. He was drunk through the first year of college and pretty much through his first couple years of the NHL. He sobered up some for the two years he was with Fallon, but that was only when he was with her. When he was on the road, he was drunk because he couldn’t handle being alone. Even with Levi there, Lucas still felt alone.

“You’re father once got a fortune cookie that said ‘Love is like war, easy to start and hard to stop’. He looked at me, and laughed before saying, ‘Isn’t that the damn truth?’” Molly laughed before looking up at Lucas, “She’ll take you back honey, once she sees that you’ve changed. She will.”

Lucas smiled over at his mom, his rock. Lucas loved the little stories his mom would share about his father, they would always fill him with the love he missed from his father being alive. Most of all he loved Molly like a son should and would do anything for her. He believed anything she said, because he knew she loved him so much, but for some reason he was pretty sure it was gonna take more than Fallon finding out that he had changed for her to take him back.

“We’ll see,” he said with a grin. “I’m going to head out early tomorrow, I need to get back.”

“Alright, I just love that you’re only an hour plane ride away,” she gushed, reaching over the table to cup his face.

“Me too Mom, me too.”

“Can you do me one favor though?”

Lucas smiled. “Sure Mom, anything.”

“Shave your face honey; you look like a homeless person!”

Lucas laughed. “Mom, it’s almost playoffs season.”

“I don’t care. You know you better shave it, or Fallon might not take you back,” she warned with a grin.

A bashful smile went across Lucas’ face. He knew for a fact that Fallon liked his beard.

A lot.

Especially the feel of it between her thighs.

Chapter 8

Lucas should have known when he walked into Rocky Top Wine’s main office that he was going to have a problem. Fallon’s poor ‘boyfriend’ almost jumped out of his skin at the sight of Lucas before rushing to shut Fallon’s door. Lucas found that odd because when he had called earlier, Rob had said Fallon was out on lunch and wouldn’t be back until two, and it was only one.

Lucas stood in front of Rob’s desk that was surrounded by the flowers he had bought Fallon, begging Rob to do him a favor. As he looked around the office he wanted to laugh out loud. If she didn’t want the gifts, why were they still on display?

Because she wanted them.

“Okay now Rob, how much do I need to pay you to get you to do this for me?” Lucas asked, pulling his wallet out. Rob’s eyes became the size of quarters as he looked up at Lucas from his desk.