8

 

“What are you doing here, Cole?” Rebecca asked as she opened the door of her house the next afternoon.

“I promised you dinner.” Dark smudges shadowed her pretty eyes, and Cole’s heart tugged. Her tears tore at him.

“Are you kidding?” Rebecca frowned and stepped back as if he’d slapped her. “Under the circumstances, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Just hear me out.” Cole stepped forward, filling the doorway. Rebecca’s silver locket caught the light, and Cole knew now what the two hearts represented. He reached for it, grasping the hearts between his fingers. “The circumstances—this locket—are just the reason we need to go to dinner.”

“I’m not hungry, Cole.” She swatted his hand away and tucked the necklace beneath the collar of her blouse. “I couldn’t eat a bite.”

“I figured. That’s why I came early. We’re going skating first.” Cole stood his ground. “It’s good for the appetite. Grab a jacket and some mittens.”

“Cole—”

“And, if you still have your skates. Bring them, too.”

Tears suddenly pooled in Rebecca’s eyes. “Where’s Kimmy?”

“She’s with Patty and Derek.”

“Derek?”

“Patty’s husband.”

“Did you tell Patty what’s happened?”

“No. The doctor has put her on bed rest, and I don’t want her to worry about me. Any hint of this and she’d most likely ignore the doctor’s orders and be back on her feet. I won’t be responsible for that.”

The tears spilled over to stream down her pale cheeks. “I want to see Kimmy.”

“I know.”

“This isn’t fair, Cole.”

“For any of us.”

“But mostly for me.” She drew a breath, sniffling. “I didn’t consent to the adoption. I didn’t know…”

“Neither did I.” He was quiet a moment. “Kimmy’s birthday is tomorrow.”

“I’m well aware of that.”

“Please, Becca.” He tucked a curl behind her ear and smoothed his knuckles across her cheek. “This is almost too much…let’s just get away from it for a bit; go back in time for a while, to when things weren’t so confused. I think we both need that right now.”

“I need much more than that, Cole.”

“I know, and that will come later. But, for now…”

“OK.” Rebecca’s gaze softened and she sighed. She smiled through drying tears as she stepped back from the doorway. “Come in while I get my jacket…and my skates.”

 

****

 

“I just can’t do this.” Rebecca plopped down on a wooden bench at rink side. “It doesn’t look the same. Nothing looks the same…or feels the same.”

“Those banners are the same.” Cole motioned to the rafters, where a row of crimson and gold banners hung. “They’ve been hanging nearly a decade, but I remember when the Hurricanes won that state title.”

“I do, too. You were in the net.”

“You came to watch?” Surprise flickered in his widened eyes.

“I wouldn’t have missed it.”

“Things don’t have to be the same, Becca. Different doesn’t mean worse.” He offered a lopsided grin, and the chill in Rebecca’s heart thawed just a little. “They can be better instead.”

“I don’t see how.”

“Take my hand.” He reached for hers, clad in hunter-green mittens that matched the scarf wrapped loosely at her neck. “Let me show you.”

Rebecca followed him to an opening in the boards. Without hesitation, he plunged right onto the ice and then turned to beckon her. “Come on, Bec. You can do it.”

She took a tentative step. The first push-off felt wobbly, the second a bit better. The third had her gaining speed and whizzing by Cole, gliding as though she’d never left. The wind in her hair, coupled with a string of deep, cool breaths, freed her.

“Wait for me!” Cole shouted as she executed a toe-loop and then slipped into a blinding spin. When she came out of it, Cole was waiting.

“You’re just as beautiful on the ice now as you were back then—more.”

She adjusted the scarf, her pulse stammering as she studied him carefully. “How do you know?”

“I used to watch you from the glass—up there.” He motioned to the observation deck. “That afternoon, when I saw you crying, it tore me up inside.”

She gasped as a flash of heat coursed up her spine, chasing away the chill of the ice. “You were so kind to me that day.”

“What made you cry, Bec?”

“My grandmother who raised me after my parents died had just passed away. We were very close. She’s the reason I skated. She encouraged me. She never missed a competition or a performance.”

“I remember.” Cole pointed toward the stands. “She carried a yellow and green patchwork lap blanket and always sat right there.”

“That’s right.”

Cole paused a moment, then took her hand once more. “I have a confession, Becca.”

“I’m not sure I can stomach any more of those.” Her lips tickled at the corners as her voice teased.

“I had the most colossal crush on you—for more than a year.”

“But you never said…”

“Because you started dating Steve, and then I met Leah.” He took her hand and led her across the ice. “I loved Leah, truly. I still—”

“Don’t, Cole.”

“This is coming out all wrong.” He spun once in a wide arc, the skate blades scratching along the ice, before pausing to face her again. “It just seemed like we were meant to be together. I thought…”

“Let’s just skate.”

“We will, but I have to get this out first.” He eased toward her. “After Leah died, I sometimes wondered what had happened to you…where you were, what you were doing.”

“We’re not the same people, Cole. Too much time has passed.”

“I don’t believe that, Becca, because when I saw you again, I felt…alive.”

“What are you saying?”

“My feelings are all jumbled. It’s been so much, so fast. It’s nearly impossible to digest.”

“I know.” She dipped her head. “Because I feel something, too.”

“What is it?” He slipped a finger beneath her chin, coaxed her gaze to meet his once again. “Tell me, Becca.”

“I don’t…” She shook her head. “I don’t know, Cole. There were times that I watched you and I thought…I felt. But you never said anything, never let on that you wanted anything more than the friendship we shared. And then Steve came along.” It was Rebecca’s turn to skate away and spin a quick circle. The motion should have chased all thought from her head, but only served to intensify the memories. Breathless, she jammed her toe pick into the ice and stopped abruptly, facing him. “I’m so confused. Maybe—yes…I do feel something for you, but I’m not sure what it is, exactly.”

“Will this help?” He pulled her in, kissed her forehead, her cheek, before claiming her lips.

“Oh, Cole.” The arena was spinning, yet she stood perfectly still. Blood rushed through her ears as her pulse hammered. It was difficult to draw a breath. “I just need some time.”

“I understand, Bec. Really I do.” He leaned in to stroke damp hair from her cheek. “Let’s spend some time together to know for sure…to find out.”

“Are you sure, Cole, that this isn’t just because of Kimmy…and what’s happened?”

“I’m not sure of anything, except that when I’m with you I feel…” He dropped her hand and skated ahead. “Come on, skate with me.”