Page 114 of Wilder

With a winter storm closing in on them, Wilder left the ski shop by two on the Monday following the new year. With no one allowed on the ski slopes because of the weather, he decided to head home. He could have hung out at the ski shop for the last couple hours of his shift, but Trev assured him there was really no need to stay.

Once he reached his car, he slid behind the wheel and started the engine. He cranked the heat, hoping to chase away the chill in the air, then got back out and cleared the snow off the windows.

Hopefully, Kayleigh had left already because he could see the snow piling up in the parking lot. The road between the resort and Serenity would be impassable by nighttime if they didn’t get the plows out quickly.

He also hoped that Lexi had left the rink. She was from Maine, so he would think that she’d dealt with winter storms in the past. Enough that she’d know that she needed to get home before it got too bad.

The temptation was there to go to the rink and make sure she’d left already, but he resisted. She’d made it clear that she needed him to back off.

In the days between the fundraiser and Christmas, something had changed with Lexi. At first, he’d thought it was just her being busy with training. But when he’d again issued the invitation to spend Christmas with them, she’d declined. But then she’d added that she thought it would be best if they didn’t spend so much time together.

He’d pressed her for a reason, and when she’d given it, he couldn’t argue with her. She was right. Their friendship had kept edging into territory that wasn’tjustfriendship. And he knew that she was also right when she’d said their lives were just too different.

He hadn’t thought seriously about switching up his plans and the way he lived his life. But he’d always assumed that when he decided to settle down, he’d be staying in Serenity.

If Lexi’s return to competitive skating went well, and she was able to start coaching at a higher level, Serenity was probably not where she’d want to stay. Even though Alexander had offered her the use of the rink for that purpose. Or maybe she’d even decide to continue to skate with Mik if they had a successful run at Nationals and the Olympics.

It hurt to think of not having Lexi in his life. He’d had a girlfriend in high school, but no one since. However, his feelings for that girl didn’t even come close to what he’d developed for Lexi. He had done his best to respect their “friendship only” relationship, but it had been a challenge.

It wasn’t until she’d essentially cut him out of her life that Wilder had realized that in the back of his mind, he’d been hoping that somehow, they’d be able to figure something out to enable a romantic relationship. With her career in flux, he’d known it couldn’t be something they worked out for a while, but now it didn’t seem like it was likely at all. And in the process, he’d lost a friendship as well.

It hurt, and Wilder didn’t know how to handle it.

Since Lexi didn’t seem to want him checking on her, he sent a text to Kayleigh instead. Hudson was out of town, but he was probably aware of the weather.

Hope you’re at home. Hudson will kill me if anything happens to you.

Kayleigh:Hudson’s been after me to leave, so I’m on my way now.

Good. Slopes are closed, so I’m headed home too.

Kayleigh:Drive safe. Love you.

You, too.

Setting his phone in the cup holder, Wilder reversed out of his parking spot. He flicked on his wipers as he left the nearly empty parking lot at the ski shop, clearing the wet snow that kept gathering on his windshield.

He drove slowly along the road, watching for anyone who might need help. There were other cars on the road, but most were all-wheel drives, which meant that he’d need their help before they’d need his.

When he got home, everyone but Blake, Lee, and Janessa were there. The city appeared to be shutting down for the blizzard. All the kids, Will, and Charli were home since school had dismissed early because they didn’t want to chance the buses getting stuck because of the increased snowfall and dipping temperatures.

“Hot chocolate, Uncle Wilder?” Amelia asked. “Layla’s…” She paused and frowned for a moment. “Mom is making it for us.”

“Sure. That sounds great.” He peeled off all his outerwear and put everything in the closet before heading into the kitchen. There he found Will sitting at the counter with Shiloh, while Charli was at the stove stirring something in a pot.

“No Janessa?” he asked as he joined Will.

“Lee’s picking her up. Both clinics are staying open a bit longer.”

“Is school cancelled already for tomorrow?”

“Yep,” Charli said as she turned to take several mugs off the wrought iron mug tree. “So an extra long weekend for us, with the exception of the few hours we had to go in this morning. They should’ve just let us have the whole day off when we knew we were getting snow.”

“Is Blake still at work, too?”

“He’s on his way,” Charli said. “He’s swinging by the store to pick up a few essentials.”

“Essentials?” Wilder asked, reaching to take the baby from Will.

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