The Winging It Holiday Special

By Ashlyn Kane and James Morgan

Hockey’s started, holidays are looming, and NHL player Dante Baltierra’s husband is keeping secrets.

Of course, secrets aren’t unusual this time of year, but Dante is pretty sure Gabe isn’t being squirrelly about a new flat-screen or tickets for a second honeymoon. Whatever is eating Gabe is more serious than a surprise under the tree. But as much as Dante wants to help, asking about it would be fruitless. Besides, he has a theory about the problem—and the solution.

He’s just not sure Santa has the power to deliver what Gabe really wants this Christmas.  

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
• Release date: Nov 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781641084598

Ashlyn Kane

Ashlyn Kane likes to think she can do it all, but her follow-through often proves her undoing. Her house is as full of half-finished projects as her writing folder. With the help of her ADHD meds, she gets by. An early reader and talker, Ashlyn has always had a flare for language and storytelling. As an eight-year-old, she attended her first writers’ workshop. As a teenager, she won an amateur poetry competition. As an adult, she received a starred review in Publishers Weekly for her novel Fake Dating the Prince. There were quite a few years in the middle there, but who’s counting? Her hobbies include DIY home decor, container gardening (no pulling weeds), music, and spending time with her enormous chocolate lapdog. She is the fortunate wife of a wonderful man, the daughter of two sets of great parents, and the proud older sister/sister-in-law of the world’s biggest nerds. Sign up for her newsletter at www.ashlynkane.ca/newsletter Website: www.ashlynkane.ca

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Table of Contents

Blurb

1. (Canadian) Thanksgiving

2. Season Opener

3. November

4. Veterans’ Day

5. National Adoption Day

6. (Actual) Thanksgiving

7. Advent Sunday

8. December

9. Christmas Eve Eve

10. Christmas Eve

11. Christmas Day

12. New Year’s Eve

13. Valentine’s Day

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By Ashlyn Kane

By Morgan James

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Copyright

The Winging It Holiday Special

By Ashlyn Kane and Morgan James

Hockey Ever After: Book 1.5

Hockey’s started, holidays are looming, and NHL player Dante Baltierra’s husband is keeping secrets.

Of course, secrets aren’t unusual this time of year, but Dante is pretty sure Gabe isn’t being squirrelly about a new flat-screen or tickets for a second honeymoon. Whatever is eating Gabe is more serious than a surprise under the tree. But as much as Dante wants to help, asking about it would be fruitless. Besides, he has a theory about the problem—and the solution.

He’s just not sure Santa has the power to deliver what Gabe really wants this Christmas.

1. (Canadian) Thanksgiving

THE DEKES’ season started the Thursday after Canadian Thanksgiving, so Monday found Dante and Gabe letting themselves into Olie’s place for team dinner.

By rights they should’ve been hosting. Gabe was the captain. But Gabe also, after six years of Dante’s intense instruction, could just about manage mashed potatoes without burning the house down. Dante wasn’t doing a full turkey dinner with an incompetent sous chef, no matter how many potluck dishes his teammates brought. Instead of spending hours watching a crisping bird and juggling side dishes, he loaded a grocery cart with sweet potatoes, cubed and roasted them until their edges crisped up, and tossed them with parmesan and fresh parsley.

Then he sent Gabe to the SAQ for a metric shit ton of wine and beer—because this was Canada and even the shit tons were in metric.

Oh good, you’re here, Adele said as Gabe hefted the three aluminum dishes of sweet potatoes onto the top of the oven. Putting those hockey muscles to good use.

Dante used his hockey muscles to bring the cooler with the beer out onto the back porch. Gabe wasn’t allowed to strain his shoulder. He’d just had surgery a year and a half ago, and Dante wanted him healthy for the whole season.

Sounds like you need a hand, Gabe commented to Adele, his voice floating through the open door.

Dante put the cooler down, opened it, and pulled the bottles of red wine from the top.

Yes, please.

When Dante slid the patio door closed behind him with his hip, two wine bottles in each hand, it was to find Adele thrusting Christian into Gabe’s arms.

Christian immediately attempted to stuff his chubby fist into Gabe’s mouth.

I need an hour to remind myself I’m not actually physically attached to him, Adele said. Freedom. Until feeding time, at least.

Christian blew an impressive spit bubble, and Gabe pretended to bite his fingers. What a goober. Can do.

Dante tore his gaze away to ask Adele, What about me?

She gestured to the wine, then the living room. Why don’t you go pour?

Dante saluted with the bottles. Aye aye.

By the time he finished filling glasses, Gabe had found a chair and Christian had found a disreputable stuffed animal to chew on. Dante frowned at it. What is that thing?

Gabe shrugged. Whatever it is, it must be delicious.

Snorting, Dante handed him a beer and collapsed to the floor at his feet with his own. He could’ve pulled over another chair, but that could’ve landed him in an argument about Bauer versus CCM, and he wanted no part of it.

Besides, with them both conveniently out of hearing range of anyone else and with Gabe trapped by the chubby kid in his lap, he had a perfect opportunity to bring up the elephant in the room. He leaned back against the armchair and Gabe’s legs. So. How’re you holding up?

There was a pointed, unnecessarily sarcastic pause. On baby duty? he said. This guy’s no trouble.

Dante rolled his eyes and turned to look over his shoulder at Gabe. He’s teething. He waved his right hand at the chew toy. It’s early, though. Hopefully he won’t start screaming in the next couple hours. Christian was only five months, but Olie’s kid would be an early developer.

How do you know that? Gabe sounded amazed, like he didn’t know Dante was the team’s favorite off-season babysitter or that he’d lived with Flash and Yvette and their kids for a year when they had a newborn.

Uh, experience? Gabe loved teasing Dante that he was the kids’ favorite because he was still a kid himself. Dante wasn’t fooled. Gabe tagged along on babysitting nights often enough, and he didn’t exactly look eager to offload Christian, potential time bomb or no. And don’t think I didn’t notice you deking around the subject.

Gabe broke his gaze. What subject?

Your dad didn’t come for Thanksgiving. Gabe was focusing on the baby as though determined to avoid his own emotions. Typical.

It’s fine, he said. We had our dinner last weekend. You were there.

Yes, they had, and yes, Dante was. All of which was immaterial, because Gabe hadn’t missed a holiday meal with his dad for a reason other than hockey since his mother left them. "Not all change is bad, corazón."

Finally Gabe glanced up, his cheeks tinged with red—embarrassment, not anger. Well, of course Dante knew he hated change. Duh. I know that. He shifted Christian to his other side. It’s just weird.

Oh, it’s definitely weird. Dante paused for dramatic effect, then added, That your dad waited this long to start dating again.

Gabe groaned. Christian laughed at the funny noise and hit Dante in the face with the soggy dragon-goat. It’s just… he’s my dad, you know?

Dante did know. Yeah, it must be so weird knowing your father’s a total DILF.

He could feel Gabe shaking with reluctant laughter. I hate you.

No, you don’t. Seriously. How does it feel to know the eligible women of Ottawa threw your dad a fucking debutant ball?

Gabe squawked, drawing an answering earsplitting shriek from Christian, which was softened with more stuffed animal. "One woman invited him to a fancy party. You’re the worst."

You love me, Dante said with the confidence of years of experience. Your dad’s on a cruise with a nice lady. I’m sure they’re just playing bingo and drinking fifteen-dollar cocktails and courting skin cancer. It’s not the end of the world if the man has a little fun. Or a little romance. Nothing’s going to come between you.

That was the real issue, he knew. Gabe’s mother had left her mark. Family could do that. Dante would know; it had taken him three years to get Gabe to marry him.

But it was the right thing to say. Yeah, I know. Gabe’s knee bumped his shoulder. Thanks for the beer.

Dante kissed his kneecap. What are husbands for?

2. Season Opener

THE SEASON started quietly. After so many years, Dante was used to it and didn’t freak out if the team didn’t fire on all cylinders right out of the gate.

Apparently he was mellowing in his old age. Ugh.

Not so much Gabe, who was sulking because Coach wouldn’t play him more than twelve minutes a night.

It wasn’t that Dante hadn’t known what in sickness and in health would mean when he promised it. It wasn’t that he didn’t know hockey players hated being injured, being sidelined, and not playing their best. He was one, and he would put his personal sulking skills up against anyone’s.

He maybe underestimated how much it would suck to see Gabe like that, though. Not just because he was grumpy, but because Dante felt for him.

On the plus side, when they bought the new house, they made a hot tub a priority, so at least they could enjoy Gabe’s sulk in comfort. Maybe Dante would even tempt him into something naughty.

The door closed behind them, and Gabe kicked off his shoes like he was too tired to bend. Bad sign. Dante nudged them toward the mat and took his husband’s coat, partly because he wanted to perform a sweet