Christmas in the Rink Read Free Page A

skating, and into a glorious future with Chaney, where after they won the gold, they did exactly what she was doing now.
    Foolish dreams. That’s what his father had called his skating, and as much as Conner hated to admit it, his father had been right. Dreams didn’t pay the bills, and—he glanced down at the grease staining his fingernails—it was foolish to think he could have a future with this beautiful, classy woman. He gave his head a little shake, dislodging the memories.
    “Pete must have given you the key.”
    “Yeah. He said I could use it whenever, but early morning fits in best with my work schedule.” He didn’t really need to point out that his dreams had been reduced to working part time at an automotive shop with his head buried under hoods instead of arching to the glimmering lights. Word got around quickly in a town this size, so she’d find that out soon enough.
    “Oh.” Her gaze flitted to the girl again. Was that disappointment she was trying to hide?
    “I guess we’ll be seeing more of each other then,” her voice came out barely above a whisper.
    He met her gaze head on, trying hard to control that frizzle of excitement and anticipation that zinged through his veins at the thought of seeing her every morning, but not succeeding. “Looks that way.” He stole a lightning-quick glance at Chaney’s hand. No rings. He could do nothing to stop the rush of adrenaline that surged, almost painful in its intensity.
    She reached down and scooped up the little girl, who wrapped her tights-covered legs around Chaney’s hips and stared at him with curious eyes.
    The image in front of him couldn’t have been more beautiful, more exquisite, if heaven floated down to earth. So precious, he wanted to hang onto it forever. God, You’re killing me here. Skating, Chaney, now this…You’re making it impossible for me to think about leaving.
    “This is my niece, Annabelle.”
    “Ah. That’s why she looks so much like you. Hailey’s daughter?”
    “Yeah. But I’m raising her since Hailey…” her voice trailed off.
    What had happened with her sister? He waited, but she didn’t complete the sentence. “I bet you’re an awesome surrogate mother.” Was that the right term?
    “Thank you. I try. I was so worried about getting to her last night.”
    Realization smacked him across the face. “Wow. I’m sorry. I probably should have just hooked you up to the truck first and not wasted—”
    Her hand reached out to land on his forearm, her touch feather light. “It’s OK. My mom was able to get to her. When I got home, Annabelle was already fed and in her jammies. And if it hadn’t been for you coming out in that storm, I might have had to spend all night in my car.”
    At the mere mention of such a horrible scenario, his gut plunged to his skates.
    But, obviously, she hadn’t needed him in all these years. She’d managed to take care of herself just fine without him.
    “School, An Chaney?” Annabelle’s hands reached up and framed Chaney’s cheeks, forcing Chaney’s face and her attention back to the little one.
    He chuckled.
    Chaney’s hand left his forearm to cover Annabelle’s tiny hand. “Are you ready to go to school, sweetheart?”
    Annabelle wagged her head, her eyes bright with excitement.
    “Well, let’s go, then.” Her glance landed back on him as a dark shade of pink crept up her neck. “I guess we’ll see you tomorrow?”
    “Yeah. I’ll be here.” Not much would stop him.
    She nodded and set the little princess back on the ice. Grasping her hand, they skated to the sidelines, their similar ponytails swaying against their backs. Chaney shortened her strides to match Annabelle’s.
    When Chaney assisted Annabelle off the ice, he exhaled. Imagine that. Chaney. Annabelle. Living in Evergreen Peak didn’t seem near as bad right now.
     
     
     
     

3
     
    Conner twisted the jumbo garbage bag closed and hauled it to the back door, setting it next to the five others