“I haven’t skated since I was a kid. Mom and Dad put me in figure skating, and I sucked hard. I begged to get out of it.”
I laugh. “You were that bad?”
“After one whole year, I still used the boards to stop, and what I mean by that is I crashed into them, and came to a fast stop. It wasn’t what I’d call graceful.”
Gavin reaches for my hand, as I toss my arm around her playfully, but the second I do, strange sensations move through me. It feels a little odd. A little real. I can’t deny that I envy the guys on my team who’ve made marriage and family work. “Come on, I’ll give you some pointers.”
“I don’t need pointers.” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and that little worried, little vulnerable look on her face punches me in the gut. “I need a miracle.”
I hug her tighter, drag her closer in an attempt to offer support, but it could also be because I like the feel of her next to me. “I bet there are a lot of things you can do that I can’t.”
She arches a brow. “Look at you. A hockey player and a therapist. Gavin is getting more than we’ve bargained for.”
I resist the urge to ask if I can give her more than she’s bargained for.
“I’m just saying, we’re all good at something. You’re good with animals. I’d probably forget to feed it or something.”
She arches a brow. “Is that something you want to say to the mother of the child you’re mentoring?”
“Uh,” I cringe. “What I meant…” I scratch my head, trying to get my foot out of my mouth when she laughs and playfully whacks my stomach.
“It’s fine, and I’ll have you know that if I didn’t become a pet groomer, I’d have become a baker. I make a mean lava cake.”
“Mommy, can we have a lava cake?” Gavin asks, not missing a thing.
“Well, I have to make one for Jason’s upcoming birthday. I can probably sneak you and Holden a piece.”
The strangest surge of jealousy goes through me. “Jason?” I ask, sounding like a total, possessive dick, I’m sure.
“Holden’s dad. His birthday party is coming up. You should come.”
As soon as she says the words, her eyes go wide, like she instantly regrets them. “I mean, I’m sure you’re too busy, and that it would be pretty boring for you, and—”
“Sure, I’ll come. I mean, I can’t miss out on this lava cake you’re so clearly good at making.”
My arm slides from her shoulder, and I miss her closeness as I open the doors to the rink. Cold air rushes over us, and laughter reaches our ears.
“It’s just that Jason is a huge fan,” she says. “That’s why I asked.”
I nod, not at all insulted that she wasn’t asking because she wanted me there. “Am I Jason’s favorite?”
“I think so.”
“Finally,” I say with a laugh.
The corners of her mouth quirk with a grin. “Although, I can’t be completely sure.”
“Jason likes Jonah best,” Gavin kindly clarifies.
I shake my head and laugh at the kid’s honesty, which I really like, actually. These two are definitely not going to stroke my ego, that’s for sure. “No filters on that one, is there?” I tease. I lead them to the bleachers, so I can tug on my skates. I hand Gavin his bag. “Grab your sweater, bud.” It’s chilly in the rink so he doesn’t protest. Gavin reaches into his bag, and puts on his sweater and helmet.
“You don’t happen to have a helmet for me too, do you?” Harper asks, her lashes blinking over worried eyes.
“I can run back out to the truck and get mine if you think you need it. It might be a bit big.”
“I’m sure it’s huge.” I eye her, take in the smile that she’s trying to hide, when she adds, “You know, to house that big ego of yours.”
My jaw drops playfully. “Who told you that?”
She grins. “I think I’ll be okay. I don’t plan to venture too far from the boards.”
I chuckle as I lace up and stand. “Your folks obviously picked the wrong sport for you.” She glances off into the distance when I mention her folks, like she’s remembering a happy time.
“My mother figure skated and thought I would be a natural.”
“Does she still skate?”
She gives a fast shake of her head. “No, she’s gone.”
I take her hand in mine. “I’m sorry, Harper. I didn’t mean to bring up hurtful memories.”
“It’s okay, it was long ago. They were in a bad accident, and well…” She gazes at Gavin. “He was only one. It’s really a shame they never got to know him, and he never got to know them. They would have loved each other.”
I suck in air. That couldn’t have been easy for her, losing both her parents at once. “Do you have siblings?”
“No, just me.” She puts a smile on her face, and claps her hands to redirect and I guess the trip down memory lane is a hard one for her. Since today is about fun, I plan to make sure she has a lot of it, and Gavin too.
“Okay, let’s do this,” she says. Just then Cole comes skating over to us, and when Gavin sees him, his mouth drops open and no sounds come.
“Hey Gavin, want to be on my team?”
“You’re…you’re Cole Cannon,” he says and Cole laughs.
“You can just call me Cole.”
“Mommy,” Gavin says and tugs on Harper’s sweater, or rather my sweater that hangs loose on her small frame. “That’s Cole Cannon.”
“I know. Nice to meet you, Cole,” Harper says and holds her hand out.
“Same,” he says as we shake hands. His sons Brandon and Casey comes skating up to him. Brandon takes off his helmet and gives Gavin a big smile. My God, it’s hard to believe how fast my friend’s kids are growing. I still think of Brandon as a three-year-old, but now he’s seven and
