Page 62 of Wilder

“I can’t go back. The scandal would follow me everywhere. And if I can’t compete at the top of my game, I don’t want to compete at all.”

Wilder didn’t subscribe to that theory himself. He was motivated to give everything his best shot in the moment, even though it might not be the best he’d ever been. As he aged, he felt the effects of the skiing season on his body more and more, but he still believed he had something to offer.

And he believed that Lexi still had lots to offer as well. “Could you do singles skating?”

“Probably,” she said. “But not well enough to win gold, I don’t think. So many of the female skaters competing now are young and strong, performing amazing jumps. I’m old compared to them.”

Their discussion came to an abrupt end as he pulled to a stop in front of her building. “Listen, I’m going to send you a text with a link to our church’s website in case you’re interested in watching the livestream.”

“Okay. Thank you.” She opened the door, which flooded the interior with light. “I enjoyed tonight.”

“Me, too. Have a good night and a good day tomorrow.”

“I’ll certainly try. Goodnight.”

Wilder kept watch as she shut the door, then made her way to the entrance to the building. He waited until she was safely behind the locked door before he pulled away from the curb.

As he drove home, Wilder braced himself for curious siblings because he was quite certain that Lee wouldn’t keep it to himself that he’d run into them. No one would believe him that it hadn’t been a date.

Pushing that aside to deal with when his siblings confronted him, Wilder instead turned his thoughts to Lexi and church. He wondered if she would have wanted to attend with them if her schedule had allowed.

If she really did want to go to church, Wilder was sure Kayleigh and Hudson would approve changing up her schedule a bit. He didn’t want to pressure her, but he got the feeling that despite attending church previously, she’d never had a close personal relationship with the Lord.

Maybe he’d broach the subject again to see if she’d be willing to talk about her faith. It had seemed that her father had gone to church as a way to maintain an image and cultivate relationships that he could then abuse.

Wilder didn’t blame her for having a rather jaded view of church, if that was the experience she’d had. However, it made him long to introduce her to something that might help to offset her previous experiences.

Even if she watched the stream, it was better than nothing. When he was traveling, he often tuned into the livestream or watched it later if the time difference didn’t work out favorably. It was a nice way to stay connected to his church family, and to be spiritually fed from a pastor he trusted and respected.

When Wilder got to the house, he pulled to the curb to park. Before he had a chance to get out, lights appeared in his rear-view mirror, and he figured it was Lee. He got out and waited for his brother to join him.

“Thanks for letting us crash your date,” he said.

“No problem. I think it was good for Rori. She’s trying to make new friends, so it was good that she could be around Lexi, especially if Lexi’s going to be hanging out with us.”

“I don’t know if she will be or not. For now, we’re all kind of forced to spend time together as we sort out this Christmas program,” Wilder said as they approached the front door. “I don’t know if she’ll still want to be around us afterward.”

Lee opened the door and stepped into the foyer. “So it really wasn’t a date?”

“Nope. Dating isn’t something that would work for us, but a friendship is always doable.”

They headed for the kitchen, where they found Janessa and Will.

“Where have you two been?” Janessa asked.

“Rori and I were at the café, then Wilder and Lexi showed up.”

Janessa arched a brow at Wilder. “Date?”

“Nope. We planned to discuss the Christmas program, but then saw Rori and Lee there and decided to join them.”

“Really?” Janessa didn’t look convinced. “Not a date?”

“Both of them said it wasn’t a date,” Lee said as he settled on a stool at the counter. “So I guess it wasn’t.”

“Neither of us is in a place to date,” Wilder said. “I’ll be leaving again in the spring, and who knows where she’ll end up.”

“You don’t think she’s here long term?” Janessa asked.

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