Though Kenton desperately wanted details, he turned his attention to the rink instead. “Are you going to skate?”
“I might,” Avery replied. “Wow. Dalton is a really good skater.”
“Yeah. He is.” Kenton leaned his arms on the top of the boards. “When I was a teen, I used to think male figure skaters were sissies.”
He glanced over at Avery when he heard her laugh. “You weren’t alone in that. I heard plenty of that sentiment from the hockey players who’d come to the rink to practice and have to wait while the figure skaters finished doing their thing.”
Happy to see some of the tension fading from her face, Kenton laughed too. “I wonder if I was one of those players. We’re about the same age. Did you practice at Gateway?”
Avery regarded him for a moment. “Yeah, I did sometimes. And yes, you were.”
Kenton stared at her in surprise. “We’ve met before? I don’t believe that. I think I would have remembered.”
“I doubt that,” Avery said with a laugh as she turned her gaze back to the ice. “Braces and acne. I think that says it all.”
Sadly, Kenton knew she was right. He probably wouldn’t have looked twice at her. By the time he was in his teens, he was already getting lots of attention from the girls, which had kind of swelled his head when it came to the type of girl he would have hung around with back then. And later, of course, there had been Grace.
“I hope I was never rude to you,” Kenton said, a slightly sick feeling in his stomach at the thought that he might have been.
Avery shook her head. “No. You kind of reserved that for the guy figure skaters.”
“I’ve since changed my tune,” Kenton said, finding it necessary to let her know that. “I grew up.”
She glanced over at him with a smile. “Haven’t we all.”
Benjie and Elliot had just stepped on the ice and were sticking together as they tentatively started out. Dalton came up beside them as did Tristan, and soon they were venturing out a bit more aggressively.
“Well, if you want to skate, don’t let me hold you back.” Kenton motioned to the benches. “You can put your skates on over there.”
Hunter was sitting on one of the benches with Gabe and Maya. Noella was also seated there with her husband, Finn. He had an arm around her, keeping her close.
Kenton introduced them to Avery and then took her skates from her when she pulled them from the bag. “Let me tie them up for you.”
Before she could protest, he settled on the bench beside her. She turned to face him, lifting her leg onto the bench when he asked her to. He made quick work of removing her boot and putting her skate on. Tying the laces was second nature to him, so in no time, he had both skates done for her.
“You’re kind of a pro at that,” Avery said as she set her guard-protected blades on the ground.
“I’d better be. I could lace skates in my sleep.” He got to his feet and held out his hand. “Ready to hit the ice?”
After a brief hesitation, Avery placed her gloved hand in his and allowed him to pull her to her feet. Together they walked over to the opening of the rink where Avery slipped the guards off the blades and handed them to him when he held out his hand.
“Off you go,” Kenton said with a smile, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy he felt as he was left on the sidelines.
She took a few tentative strokes, obviously trying to get a feel for the ice. Though it wasn’t professionally prepared, his dad was a pro at making the ice fairly smooth. Of course, he wouldn’t know how it was this year since he couldn’t lace up and try it out for himself.
He watched as Benjie and Elliot came up on either side of Avery and grabbed her arms. Avery laughed as they rounded the end of the rink, heading back toward him. The smile on her face pulled one from Kenton. He leaned against the boards, then held out his hand for Benjie to smack as they skated by. How he wished he could be out there with them.
There weren’t as many couples on the ice as in past years since pregnancies and babies were more prevalent this year than they had been in the past. Kenton would have loved to be out there, skating side by side with Avery to the music Dalton had provided. Instead, as with his career, he was relegated to the sidelines.
Dalton came to a stop beside Kenton, his gaze on Avery. “She’s a good skater.”
“Yep. She took lessons, just like you.”
“Nice. Maybe we should have a jump-off.”
“You could always ask.”
As they watched, Benjie and Elliot took off in chase after Tristan and Mitch, leaving Avery to follow more slowly. Dalton pushed away from the boards and quickly caught up to her. He wasn’t much taller than Avery, and the two of them matched strokes easily. Dalton turned to skate backwards, talking to her as they moved around the rink. Because of the music and distance, Kenton couldn’t hear what they were saying, but soon Dalton swung around to her side again.
He could tell they were keeping an eye on the other skaters, then, when they had a free stretch in front of them, both of them lifted their arms straight out. They did a series of cross-over strokes then shifted backward and popped into the air, each rotating a couple of times before landing smoothly on the ice. They high fived as those watching them applauded. Most had moved to the edge to give them space as the spectators called out for more.
For the next few minutes, they were treated to Avery and Dalton performing increasingly difficult jumps and spins. Kenton didn’t know the names of the skills they were performing, but he knew that the ability to perform them came only through a lot of practice. It took him a bit to recognize that the ache in his chest was an intense longing to be on the ice with Avery and his family. It felt like forever since he’d last laced up his skates. Even in the off-season, he rarely went more than a week or two without spending significant time on the ice.
And now he was feeling jealous of his sixteen-year-old brother. He wanted to be out there, to be part of what was putting a wide smile on Avery’s face, making her cheeks flushed. Instead, he was relegated to a role he’d never enjoyed playing. That of spectator.
He thought of the therapy session he’d had on the previous Friday, and the results of the test Avery had administered for the team. She had tried to encourage him that even though he was at the low end of what was acceptable, he was actually doing very well. That considering his age and the wear and tear on his body, he was performing fine. The problem was, he didn’t want to be fine, he wanted to be great. He wanted to be what he was before the injury.
If he didn’t come back stronger than ever, the team management would always wonder if he was now going to be more prone to injury. And any future team who considered him would wonder the same thing. He couldn’t let there be any doubt as to his strength and ability to perform. The only way for him to have a successful return to the ice was to come back better than ever.
As he watched the skaters on the ice, the surety of what he needed to do settled in his mind. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he had missed skating. There had been moments as he’d watched his team play or when he’d gone to Benjie’s game that he’d felt pangs of the loss of being unable to play. But it wasn’t until he was faced with a sheet of ice that he wasn’t allowed to step on, when everyone else did, that the depth of his loss had really sunk in.
“Why the frown?” Gabe said as he nudged his shoulder.
Kenton slanted a glance in his direction. “Why do you think?”
“Dalton moving in on your crush?” he asked with a grin.
“Ha ha.” Kenton wasn’t going to admit that was part of it. “Just frustrated that I can’t skate, too.”
Gabe sighed as he propped his arms on the boards next to Kenton. “Yeah. I’m feeling the same way. You know that if they do play a game of hockey, it’s going to be so boring without you and me out there to liven things up.”
“There is that,” Kenton agreed. “It’s likely to be a mild game without any sort of penalties. Although Ben
jie might make it interesting. Show those old guys a thing or two.”
“Now that I can’t wait to see,” Gabe said with a laugh. “But for now, D and Avery are putting on quite a show, gotta say.”
“Kinda nice to see someone doing something Dalton can appreciate for a change. I think he gets bored with just plain skating, and you know how he feels about hockey.”
The music changed to an upbeat Christmas song, and Dalton and Avery began to just skate around with the other skaters again. After a couple more laps around the ice, Avery came to a stop in front of him, ice spraying up from her skates. Her cheeks were rosy, and her eyes sparkled as she smiled at him.
“Thank you so much for inviting us,” she said. “This has been amazing. Dalton is great.”
“He is pretty good. That was fun watching the two of you.” Though Kenton still wished he had been the one to make her so happy.
“I wasn’t sure I’d be able to keep up with him since he’s obviously been skating more recently than I have.” She moved to rest her hand on the boards near his arm, turning to watch as the others skated by. “But I guess it’s kind of like riding a bike. Once learned, you never forget how. Though I’ve skated with Benjie and Elliot, I haven’t really done any of the jumps and spins in ages.”
“You did beautifully. I mean, I’m not really a judge of what good figure skating is, but you stayed on your feet and looked gorgeous doing your thing.”
She glanced over at him, the flush on her cheeks deepening. “It was fun.”
“It was fun watching you, too.”
“I think I’m done for a bit though,” she said, looking around.
“Here you go.” Kenton held out her guards.
After taking them, she skated to the opening in the boards and held on while she slipped the guards onto her skates before stepping on the packed snow path. She took Kenton’s hand when he held it out to her and gripped it as he helped her over to the benches.
“Did you want to take your skates off?” Kenton asked.
She held her hands out to the fire. “No, not yet.”
“How about something hot to drink?” Kenton motioned to a small table nearby with some thermoses and cups on it. “I think there’s coffee, tea, and hot chocolate. Maybe apple cider too. Not sure.”
“If there’s apple cider, that would be lovely, but if not, hot chocolate would be nice too.”
Kenton moved to the table and poured them each a cup of the cider he found there. By then it was just the two of them at the fire. The others that had been seated on the benches earlier had either gone to the rink to watch or to skate, or they’d retreated into the warmth of the house.
Avery took the mug of cider from him, cupping it in her hands as she stared into the fire.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Kenton said as he sank back down on the bench beside her.
She sent him a sideways glance as she took a sip. “Just thinking how much my dad would have loved something like this. He would have enjoyed watching Elliot and Benjie skate on an outdoor rink.”
“And you too, I’m sure.”
Avery smiled at that. “Yeah. After all the money he dumped into my lessons, I’m sure he would have enjoyed seeing me skate again. He was my biggest fan. As a doctor, he was pretty busy, but he always made time to watch me skate.”
“I think you have a few new fans here,” Kenton said. “Me among them.”
Her smile held a bit of shyness this time. “Well, thank you again for inviting us. I wasn’t sure about coming, but I’m so glad we did.”
“Mom!” Benjie came to a stop in front of them, his guards sinking slightly into the snow. His brows drew together at his gaze moved between them, his curiosity clear. “Uh…Tristan says they play hockey sometimes. Will I be able to play if they do?”
Taking in the boy’s expression, Kenton was reminded of his brothers’ caution regarding how Benjie might come to view him, especially if he spent time with Avery. It took him a second to realize that both Benjie and Avery were looking at him.
“Sorry. What?”
“Is it okay if he plays?” Avery asked.
“Sure. They don’t play rough, and there are usually only penalties when Gabe or I play since we’re a bit more aggressive and tend to egg each other on. Neither of us can play this year, though, so it’ll be fine for Benjie to play and even Elliot if he wants.”
“Yay!” Benjie punched the air with a gloved hand then laughed. “And that will be a no for Elliot on playing. It’s a wonder he even got on the ice just to skate.”
As Benjie spun around to head back to the ice, Gabe and Maya came back out of the house and joined them at the fire. After a while, Avery took off her skates and pulled her boots back on. Kenton knew it was selfish, but he was kind of glad she wasn’t going back out onto the ice again. If he couldn’t be out skating with her, he’d rather be seated at the fire by her side.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
By the time Avery managed to pry the boys away from their new friends, it was almost eight o’clock. They could have stayed later—no one was forcing them to leave—but she needed some space. Kenton had stuck close to her out by the fire and then again as they’d come inside to eat. Later, when they’d gone back outside, he’d stood beside her at the boards while they’d cheered Benjie on as he played with the big guys in his first game, which his team had won because the other team kept underestimating the ability of their littlest opponent.
For his part, Elliot had enjoyed hanging out with Dalton and his sister, Danica and a girl named Sierra. Someone had said she was Ethan’s sister, and she lived with him and Makayla. It was nice to see her brother expanding his circle of friends. The teens had been great with Benjie too, which Avery appreciated since the kids closest to his age had been girls, and it was apparent he wasn’t too sure how to interact with them. However, he had been super infatuated with the little girl who had toddled up to him at one point.
Avery was just glad that the day at the Callaghans’ had gone well after the rough start she’d had. Benjie had made the mistake of asking if she would ever consider dating Kenton. That had led to a conversation about how he should never pose that question to Kenton, along with an explanation of why anything other than friendship wouldn’t work between her and Benjie’s favorite hockey player.
Still, having spent several hours at the Callaghans’, it was time to head for home. She also didn’t want to leave her mom on her own for too much longer. Though she had also been invited, Avery hadn’t been surprised when her mom had declined the invitation.
Anyway, she’d be back at the gym the next day with Kenton and Hunter. It was hard to believe two months had already passed since she’d started working with Kenton. The progress he’d made was encouraging, and she had no doubt that if he continued to work out at the level he was, Kenton would be ready for the next hockey season.
On the way home in the car, Benjie again broached the subject of her and Kenton, his question no doubt spurred on by the amount of time Kenton had spent at her side. All she could tell him when he’d asked again was that Kenton had likely stuck close to her because she was there at his invitation and she didn’t know the others in the family very well. Avery wasn’t quite ready to consider any other interpretation of Kenton’s behavior.
Two weeks into January, Avery was still struggling to avoid thinking about Kenton in any way other than as a patient…and sometimes friend. He had invited them to join his family for New Year’s Eve, but there was just something about ringing in the New Year with him that took things to a level she wasn’t prepared for. Would she have given in to temptation—if he presented it—and kissed him as the new year began? It wasn’t a risk she’d been willing to take.
“Excuse me, Avery.” She glanced up from the laptop screen where she was finishing her report on Emily to see Max Zevardi standing in the doorway of the therapy room. “May I speak with you?”
Avery got to her feet, mindful of the fact that this was the man who had
gotten her this job. “Certainly.”
“Go ahead and have a seat,” Max said as he moved the other chair in the room closer to the desk.
Once they were both seated, Avery said, “What can I do for you?”
He stared at her for a moment, tense lines bracketing his mouth. “I don’t know if you’re aware of the connection between our two families.”
“Connection?” Avery asked.
“Your father played a large role in treating Maya when she fought cancer twice as a teen.”
“Really?” For some reason, the picture of her father being there for Maya was heartwarming. “I didn’t know that.”
Max gave a single nod. “We owed him the world, really, and after Maya beat cancer for the second time with his help, I told him that I would always be there for him and his family in the way he’d been there for mine.”
Avery frowned. “So I didn’t really earn a scholarship from you?”
Max hesitated before shaking his head. “Your dad wasn’t sure you’d take the money for your education under any other circumstances.” A corner of Max’s mouth lifted briefly. “Something about you being stubborn.”
She sighed at that. “Well, I think I got that trait from him.”
His expression sobering again, Max said, “When your father passed away, I determined that I would always be there to take care of you and your family in the way he would have.”
“Why are you telling me all this?”
Another hesitation. “I am aware of your past, and I’ve had people in position to let me know if certain things changed.”
Avery felt a knot form in her stomach. “You know about Julian?” Max nodded. “And something has changed?”
“A lawyer that I’ve had monitoring Julian for the past decade has informed me that he is due to be released within the next two months.”
Her stomach lurched, and Avery had to swallow hard against the wave of nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. “I didn’t know. Why didn’t anyone tell me?”
“I’m not sure,” Max said. “But my lawyer let me know as soon as he heard the news.”
Crossing Center Ice Page 25
