Page 115 of Wilder

The man hesitated for a moment, then relinquished the little girl. “I want her back.”

“Getting your practice in?”

“You know it.”

“So, what essentials?”

“Let’s see…” Charli began to ladle hot chocolate into mugs. “Chips. Frozen pizza. Chocolate. You know. All the necessities when we’re snowed in.”

“Do you need to cancel your presentation on Sunday?” Will asked.

“I shouldn’t have to,” Wilder said, thinking about the church in Spokane where he was scheduled to give an orphanage presentation. It would be the second one he’d given, and each one felt significant and like he was doing something important. Which he was. Thankfully, Trev had been willing to give him a little leeway in his start time on Sundays to make hispresentation at the churches that weren’t in town. “I think the plows will have gone through by then.”

Charli slid a mug across the counter to him. “You should probably still contact them.”

“Yes, Mom,” he said with a laugh, then snuggled Shiloh’s neck, making her giggle. “Right, Shi-Shi. Yes, Mama.”

“Here you go, Will,” Charli said as she handed him his mug.

It wasn’t long before the front door opened. Amelia went to see who it was, and Wilder heard her greet Janessa. When she came into the kitchen, Lee followed her with Rori. The woman carried a duffle bag over her shoulder, so Wilder assumed she would be hunkering down with them for the blizzard.

Rori dropped the duffle bag on the floor by the entrance to the kitchen, then came to join them at the counter. Charli handed out more hot chocolate and offered them cookies.

Since there weren’t enough stools at the counter, they shifted over to the breakfast nook. As she slid onto the bench across from Wilder, Rori said, “Looks like we’ll see how Lexi and Mik do at Nationals this week.”

“Yep.” Lexi might have put distance between them, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t aware of what was going on with her professionally.

“Have you read the forums and stuff about Lexi and Mikhail being partners again?”

Rori was aware that Lexi had chosen to focus on her training instead of hanging out with them, but Wilder hadn’t shared that it went deeper than that for him.

“I have, and it seems like people’s opinions are all over the place.”

“I wish we could see her again,” Layla said. “I miss having her coach us.”

“Once the Olympics are over, she’ll be able to coach you again,” Charli said as she sat down at the breakfast nook. She cast a questioning look at Wilder, but all he could do was shrug.

“Don’t people like that they’re competing again?” Layla asked Rori.

“Some are thrilled that they’re back together. Those seem to be the people who’ve been big fans all along. I think the ones who don’t want them competing again are fans of other pairs who will be negatively impacted by their return.”

Layla was old enough to be aware of what had gone on previously with Lexi and Mik, and she didn’t think it was fair what had happened to Lexi. So now, she was definitely a big fan of the couple. Well, a big fan of Lexi. She seemed to be reserving judgement on Mikhail as a person.

“There are lots of people who think they won’t be able to rise to their former glory,” Rori said. “I hope that how they perform at Nationals will shut a lot of those people up.”

Wilder wished that he could text Lexi, but he was also trying to respect her wishes.

He knew that his siblings had experienced bumps in their quest for love. None of them had gone from point A to a committed relationship in a straight line. But he’d figured that was because they were more intense than he was.

Wilder was more easygoing, taking things as they came. His mom had always said to just live his life, doing what God led him to, and that he might end up meeting someone with similar interests. He’d thought that might have been the case with Miriam, but in the end, he’d only felt friendship for her.

But instead of falling for someone who had a similar outlook as him, he’d fallen for a woman who couldn’t be more different from him. The only thing they had in common was their faith, but he didn’t think that was enough.

“I wish we could go see her compete in person,” Layla said.

Wilder definitely wished that, too. “I think we’ll probably have a better view of them skating if we watch it on the big screen in the basement.”

“That’s true,” Charli said as she reached over and took a fussing Shiloh from him. “And we can make a big deal of it with snacks and stuff.”

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