Hockey Holidays Read online

  “I’d better go check on the turkey,” she muttered, pulling away from her mother and the anxiety of the big meeting to come. At least cooking gave her something to do, something to distract her.

  Dinner was planned for 3:00, and everything was set. The turkey was in the oven, but it was still too early to cook much else. The potatoes were already peeled and diced, the casseroles were premade and waiting in the fridge, and the pies had all been baked the night before. The table was laid out with fourteen place settings beside the kiddie table set for her nieces and nephews. Construction paper, crayons, and scissors were set out at each of the chairs for the kids to make paper ornaments for the tree, to help keep them occupied.

  Georgiana had tried to think of everything to make the day go perfectly. She even asked Bryan about his family’s traditional recipes so that she could incorporate them into their dinner, hoping it would help him and his parents feel at home in Texas for the holiday. After all, Christmas was a really big deal for them, too.

  She could hear her brothers before she saw them. They all arrived at about the same time, and soon her house was bursting with people and noise. This was the Christmas Eve that Georgiana was used to: surrounded by organized chaos and everyone talking so loudly that she couldn’t think. The familiarity helped Georgiana relax, and she left the kitchen to greet them.

  Ian was closest. “Hey there, little sis.” He hugged her, and it was like being engulfed by another person. All her brothers were over six feet tall, and they were strong and muscular—a side effect from each playing football throughout high school and college. “Where’s Bryan?”

  “Picking up his parents from the airport.” She checked the time on her Fitbit. “They should be here . . . any second.”

  “So does that mean we’re going to get lectured on being on our ‘best behavior?’” Leo stepped over and took his turn to hug his sister.

  Georgiana then hugged Leo’s wife, Amanda. “If I thought that that would actually work, yes.” Leo was the oldest and the unofficial leader of her siblings. “Just try to be nice, okay? I want everything to go as smooth as possible.”

  There was a knock at the door, and then it opened. First Bryan appeared, carrying two suitcases, followed by two others who looked vaguely familiar. Of course they did; Bryan looked a little like both of them.

  That feeling of relaxation vanished and was immediately replaced by overwhelming anxiety.

  Bryan’s eyes were drawn to Georgiana, even despite the tall people around her. She was radiant, incandescent. She was always the first person he saw when he entered a room. He smiled at her. This was their first Christmas together. They’d already done Thanksgiving, when Bryan went over to the Piersons’ family home for dinner. But Christmas was a big deal unto itself.

  And this was the first time their families were meeting, which made it an even bigger deal. It had been way too soon to introduce each other to their families during the offseason, and then everyone’s schedules were too hectic during the season to make any plans. Hell, even their original plans for the three-day Christmas break had already been messed with. His parents missed the game on the 23rd, and now they were about to get thrown right into meeting not only his girlfriend but her whole family.

  His parents had been a little reluctant to spend their holiday in Dallas. They wanted Bryan to come home, like he had every year before. They were used to white Christmases, and they had a few—false—preconceived notions about Texans all being gun-toting oil tycoons. But once Bryan had revealed his big plan to propose to his girlfriend and asked for his grandma’s ring, his mother booked the tickets within hours.

  Carol and Perry were both college professors, and Bryan knew that they were pretty strict with their expectations. That’s why they’d insisted he’d attend college instead of trying to go straight into the pros—because he needed a backup in case the whole “hockey thing” didn’t work out. Bryan knew his mother had secretly hoped he’d give up the sport after college. They didn’t even want him to pursue hockey as a career in the first place, hoping that he’d see it as a hobby and a scholarship opportunity and choose something more academic in nature to devote his life to.

  But Bryan routinely followed his heart, wherever that might lead him, and it all started with hockey. He may not have chosen to be traded to the Comets, but he wouldn’t have otherwise met Georgiana. Funny how life works out that way sometimes; the one thing you think you really don’t want turns out to be the catalyst for getting the best thing in your life.

  It was only after Bryan first spotted Georgiana in her living room that he noticed who else was there—and it was literally the entire Pierson clan. Even though Bryan had met them all previously, it still was overwhelming to be in the presence of all those people, especially when Georgiana’s older brothers were taller than he was.

  Everyone stood around expectantly. Bryan set his parents’ suitcases down to the left of the door, and he gestured for his parents to walk past him. All eyes were on them, assessing the strangers.

  “Hi, Bryan,” Georgiana said, pushing through the crowd to get to him. She kissed him on the cheek, displaying a bit of modesty in front of everyone.

  “Hey.” It was time for the big introductions. “Georgiana, I’d like to introduce you to my parents. Mom, Dad, this is Georgiana.”

  “Mr. and Mrs. Comstock, such a pleasure. I’ve been looking forward to meeting you for so long now.”

  Bryan watched as Georgiana began to open her arms to greet them with an embrace, but his mom thrust a hand forward to initiate a handshake. He could see the microexpression that flashed across her face, the moment of disappointment and rejection that she felt, but she recovered quickly and shook hands with first his mom and then his dad.

  “A pleasure,” Carol said. “Bryan’s told us so much about you.”

  Yeah, he’d told his parents a lot about how much he loved her and why, but he left off the details of their first few encounters and when they actually started to date. Bryan shared a lot with his parents, but there were some things they never needed to know.

  “All good things, I hope.” It was a cheesy line, born out of nervousness rather than her usual charm. Bryan had never seen her so anxious before, about anything. She was always so confident. This was a new experience for him.

  “Of course,” his dad said. “And please, call me Perry.”

  “And I’d like to introduce you to my family.” Georgiana waved at her parents for them to approach. “This is my father, Leonard Pierson, and my mother, Rebecca.” Another round of handshakes.

  “And these are my brothers and their families. This is Leonard Junior, the oldest. We call him Leo. And his wife, Amanda. Their kids are . . . . Where are the little crumb snatchers?”

  “Outside, in the backyard, looking for the football,” Leo answered. “We play a game after dinner every year. It’s tradition.” More handshakes.

  “And this is Daniel, the second oldest, and his wife, Emma, with their one-year-old daughter, Bella.” Handshakes all around.

  “And this is Ian, the third of us. And . . . wait, where’s Carrie? I thought she was coming?”

  Ian shrugged. “This is the first Christmas her sister’s back from Austria, so she didn’t want to miss it. She said she’ll come next year.”

  Georgiana nodded and moved on to her final brother. “And this is Aidan.”

  He reached out a hand to the Comstocks. “Nice to meet you. Merry Christmas.”

  Just then, Leo’s three kids burst into the room, holding the football they’d found. They were all shrieking and chasing each other, bobbing and weaving through the obstacle course of adults.

  “Hey, take it outside.” Leo’s booming voice echoed, and his kids obeyed without complaint.

  “I have crafts for them,” Georgiana told him. “To keep them occupied.”

  “We can do that later, once they’ve calmed down. We should probably let them burn off all this energy.” Leo smiled at the Comstocks. “You know