Page 7 of Back On Ice

Tom shrugs. “She’s been attending all the council meetings, trying to figure out ways to keep the rec center from shutting down. She manages the whole thing now, you know.”

Shit. Part of me was hoping to see her again, but for it to be smack dab in the middle of all of… this?

“Why…” I run a hand over my face as I try to process, “why didn’t you say anything?”

“Listen, man,” Tom claps a hand on my shoulder, “I know how hard it was for you to leave her behind. You had your reasons and I respect that. I was just trying to not reopen old wounds. Keep our conversations a “Sophie-Free” zone.”

He’s right. At one point, years ago, I had asked him to not mention her to me if he could help it. It was just too painful. He knew all about the situation with my dad, so he understood, and I was so thankful to him for not giving me a hard time about it.

“But you should know, Carter…” Tom trails off, looking unsure.

“What is it?” I ask, my curiosity piqued.

“She’s not the same Sophie you remember.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Not the same Sophie? I can’t imagine her any differently than she used to be.

He shakes his head. “You’ll see later. Now, come on, Mr. Superstar, you’re coming to this meeting with me.”

We take my car to town hall, and I follow his lead to the meeting room. He stops us in front of a set of double doors, and I can hear the unmistakable timbre of Sophie’s voice through the wall. This is the first time I’ve heard her voice in nine years. Despite the fact that we can’t really make out her words and she sounds absolutely pissed, my cock perks up at the sound of her voice. I vaguely make out her saying something about reallocating some of the town’s funds to the rec center. I don’t think I ever heard her sound so determined in all the years we were together.

I try to subtly adjust myself, and Tom glances at me and shrugs. “She’s very… passionate.” He winces when the pitch of her voice goes higher. A deeper voice sounds, and hers picks up again, lower, calm sounding.

Tom shakes his head and smiles. “You ready for this, Carter Williams?”

I don’t have time to answer before he opens up the doors to the meeting room.

Chapter Four

SOPHIE

“Mr. Scottand his wife built this place, and it has been a staple in the community for the last fifty years. Why should we spend years benefitting from their generosity and then turn our backs on them when they need it most?” My voice rings with conviction in the council chambers of the historic town hall building. Small murmurs of agreement surround me as I stare at the councilmen from my spot standing in front of my seat, giving me the courage to continue.

“Who has benefitted the most from this rec center? Certainly not Mr. Scott and his wife, who have the financial records to prove that they’ve only taken enough of a cut to pay their bills and raise their kids. Every dollar outside of that went back into the rec center. The people of this town have been benefiting from the Scott family for fifty years, and it’s time we take on some of the burden.”

Glancing around my fellow townspeople in the audience, their nods and looks of agreement spur me further. Everyone seems to be receptive to my words, from the suit-and-tiebusinessman on my left, to the elementary school nurse on my right. “I say we start with the schools. Mr. Scott does not charge a single dime to schools for practice time on the rink. How much money has that saved them over the years? We can redirect funds meant to upgrade the bleachers in the football stadium for the what… third time in ten years? We use that money and direct it to the rec center, which should be treated as an extension of the school in that regard, since practice is free for the team.” A small burst of chatter erupts from the townspeople surrounding me, and I hold back a smile as I make eye contact with each member of the council sitting at the long head-table at the front of the room..

“Hold on just a second there, Ms. Hartwell.” Mr. Gibbons, the middle-aged councilman at the far left of the table, holds up his hands. He took over Carter’s dad’s seat when they left town, and he’s been nothing but a money-grabbing pain in the ass.

This whole thing with the rec center started about two months ago when some busy-body reported the light-up building sign being out to the town instead of talking to myself or Benson. This brought unwanted attention to the center and made the council bring up the question of its “curb appeal”, whichtheninvited further speculation on what repairs are needed. Now we’re faced with a fight to the death with the council because someone said we’d be better off knocking it down and building a strip mall if we couldn’t get the center in “acceptable condition”.

“That’s a lot of pretty talk, but let’s be realistic. It’s a lot of work to reallocate all of those funds, and I’m not even sure Ivy Glen needs a hockey team anymore…” He trails off, looking down the table at his fellow council members, clearly seeking backup.

Abbie’s dad, Michael Wixx, is one of the only two faces who don’t seem convinced. He meets my eyes with a grimace. Theonly other member of the council who doesn’t look to be in agreement with Gibbons is Oscar Davis, but I have a feeling that’s because he’s ogling my chest instead. Damn guy can’t take a hint—I’ve been shooting down his attempts to go out again for months.

Suppressing the disgusted shiver that threatens to erupt at Oscar’s scrutiny, I steel myself, remaining focused. The council will really just do anything to screw us over. My voice is low as I try to keep my temper controlled. “It’s not ‘a lot work’, it’s all part of the athletics department funds?—”

“Paul is right,” Ms. Sinclair says from a few seats down, nodding towards Mr. Gibbons. “Football seems to be the star of the show now, hence the constant bleacher upgrades. People will donate more to a sport that produces star players.” She shrugs. “We haven’t had a famous hockey player come out of Ivy Glen in ages. Not since Carter Williams.”

I’m just about to tell Sinclair exactly what I think of the fact she only thinks hockey is worth something if we get a famous player out of it when the doors behind us fly open, and a familiar, heart-stopping voice rings out, “I think I have a solution.”

My entire body freezes and my words die in my throat. Chills skate down my spine, and I’m not sure if the roiling in my stomach is because I’m actually going to be sick or if my fight-or-flight response is kicking in.

I knew he was coming, but nothing could have prepared me for this. To know that he’s in the same room. That if I just turned around, I’d see his face, and most likely get lost in his ocean blue eyes like I have so many times before. Eyes that used to solely be for me. Carter is here, and while waves of murmurs take over the crowd, I stand there frozen.

“...all-star hockey player…”

“...son went to school with him…”

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