Page 24 of Wilder

“I can, yep.”

A relieved smile crossed Alexandra’s face. “I want the event to be a success, but had no idea how to make that happen. Are you sure you don’t mind helping?”

“I don’t mind at all. We’ll have to run it by Kayleigh, just to be sure, but I doubt she’d have a problem with it.”

“Oh, that would be great.”

“I know it’s not convenient right now, but if there’s a time that would work for you to meet and go over details, just let me know.”

“I guess I should get your phone number,” Alexandra said as she slipped her guards on her blades. “My phone is in the office.”

Wilder waited by the boards while she retrieved her phone. When she returned, he gave her his number to input into her contacts. His phone chimed with a text alert, and he pulled it out and checked to make sure it was from her.

“Got it.” He quickly added her to his contacts. “If you have any ideas, be sure to jot them down.”

“Will it be a problem if I don’t?”

“Nope. We can brainstorm together.”

“Kayleigh also said that Alexander spoke to her about us putting on some sort of Christmas skating program. Do you think there are enough skaters in the area who might be interested in being part of that?”

“Possibly. As long as you don’t want them to do anything too tricky. Even I can skate in a straight line.”

“Maybe you could be Santa.”

That made Wilder laugh. “I don’t know about that. Would you be Mrs. Claus?”

As soon as the question was out of his mouth, he realized that she might take it the wrong way.

Alexandra shrugged. “The girls would probably like to be elves.”

“I’m sure they would.”

“I don’t normally work with children,” Alexandra said. “I might need some help coming up with a creative idea for a Christmas program.”

“Charli’s an elementary teacher, so maybe she’d be able to help. I’m pretty sure that she creates programs for her class at Christmas.”

“I hate to impose on you all.”

“No imposition,” Wilder assured her. “I can’t promise that Charli will be able to get involved, but there’s no harm in asking. My help, however, you can count on.”

“I appreciate that, as I don’t have the connections that would be necessary to pull off something like this.”

“Be honest with Kayleigh about stuff like that, because she might just not be thinking of what’ll be necessary. She’s very business-minded and is used to delegating.”

Alexandra nodded. “I’ll talk to her.”

“Excellent.” Wilder smiled at her, hoping she might give him a truly genuine smile back. Unfortunately, it was just a fleeting moment across her face. “I’m going to head off and let you get on with your day.”

After they said goodbye, Wilder left the building and got into his car, but he didn’t start it up. He sat for a moment, wondering if he should move out to his folks’ place since their company had left.

The idea didn’t hold a whole lot of appeal now that he’d experienced living at Charli and Janessa’s. He enjoyed being surrounded by his siblings and their children. It was more lively, and he liked that.

He doubted his parents would be upset with him over the decision, so he just needed to talk to Charli and Janessa to see if they minded. If they had any reservations, he’d move back to his parents without hesitation.

Resolved to talk to them, Wilder backed out of the parking spot and headed for home. As he drove, he couldn’t help but wonder if Alexandra struggled with what most likely was a lonely life in Serenity.

Even if she hadn’t had lots of friends or a large family to support her, she had had a group of people—her partner, her coaches, and her parents—who were always around her. Losing all of that must have been a real blow to her.

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