Page 123 of Wilder

When they were cleaning the ice for the second time, the camera showed some footage from behind the scenes.

“Stop fast forwarding, Uncle Wilder,” Amelia said. “Isn’t that Lexi?”

Sure enough, on the screen, Lexi and Mik were walking through the building in their Team USA uniforms. Lexi was pulling a small suitcase. They walked with confidence, not interacting with anyone along the way. Lexi looked like she had ear buds in, totally blocking out everything.

Even though this wasn’t live, and he wasn’t seeing her in person, Wilder’s breath caught in his lungs.

He was so proud of her. She had come back from a horrible set of circumstances to show the world that she still had it. He might not know if she had won, but that didn’t matter to him. He still admired her for working hard and braving a potentially hostile environment to try for Olympic gold one more time.

He made a note to ask her what she listened to when she was trying to block out the world. If they ever talked again.

Aside from the flowers and balloons after she and Mik were named to the Olympic team, they’d had no real contact.

He’d seen her at church a couple of times, but she’d sat near the back and left as soon as the service was over. He had no idea if her commitment to her training was simply because of the Olympics, or if she’d always trained so hard.

Had she always trained to the exclusion of everything and everyone else in her life? Or was it just to cut him out?

That day would show if it all paid off. He didn’t know how Lexi viewed it. But, in Wilder’s mind, if they skated a clean program, he would consider it a success. Regardless of whether or not they won gold.

Something told him that Mik and the coaches—and possibly Lexi—wouldn’t feel the same way.

By the time the second to last flight of skaters had finished, they’d seen a real assortment of programs. Some that had been well skated. Others, not so much.

“I’m gonna go tell Mom it’s almost time,” Layla said as she jumped to her feet.

Amelia scooted down onto the floor next to Wilder. “I hope Lexi does good and doesn’t fall.”

Wilder glanced down at her. “She’s trained very hard, but sometimes, things happen.”

“Maybe we should pray for her,” Amelia said. “That she has a good skate. Do you think God would care about that?”

“I think He would.” Wilder considered his niece, then said, “Did you want to pray now?”

Amelia nodded and reached for Wilder’s hand. Smiling as her small fingers tightened over his, Wilder listened as she asked God to give Lexi a good skate and to help her win the gold medal.

Did God answer prayers retroactively? Hopefully He did so that Amelia could see that answer to prayer.

Soon, the ice cleaning was done, and the last flight of skaters was on the ice to warm up. Layla reappeared, followed soon after by Janessa and Will. The rest of them showed up a few minutes later.

Will sat down in one of the armchairs, and Janessa settled on his lap. Lee and Rori sat down on the loveseat, while Amelia and Layla stayed on the floor with Wilder. Charli and Blake sat on the couch with Shiloh, who was having a bottle.

Amelia continued to show her knowledge of the sport as she pointed things out during the warmup for Lexi, Mik, and the other pairs. It rankled a bit to see Lexi skate hand in hand with Mik, but Wilder knew it was all part of being a pairs skater.

They skated together around the rink, practicing a few jumps and a throw before they separated to warm up on their own. Wilder wished the camera would stay on Lexi, but he had to be content with glimpses of her as the warmup progressed.

Finally, the warmup period ended, and most of the skaters exited the rink, leaving only the fourth-place team on the ice since the teams skated in reverse order of how they placed after the short program.

Lexi took her guards from the coach, then slipped them on. She disappeared with the other skaters as the first team to skate took their position at center ice.

The fourth and third place pairs both skated, with the third-place team faltering and ending up in second after the fourth-place pair, who had skated a flawless program. It just showed how easily things could change with a simple two footed landing or a hand down on the ice.

“I’m so nervous,” Amelia said as she clutched her hands under her chin, her wide-eyed gaze on the television.

Finally, Lexi and Mik circled the ice hand-in-hand, then stopped in the middle of the ice to get into their starting pose. None of the nerves Lexi was surely feeling showed on her face. Her expression was beautifully serene as she lifted her chin and waited for the music to begin.

“I love her costume,” Layla said. “It’s so beautiful.”

Wilder had to agree. Lexi had mentioned changing her costume for this one, and though he wasn’t sure why, it was clear that she’d made a good decision. It had a fitted top and a flowy skirt in shades of dark purple and blue, but it lacked the nude illusion that many of the other female skaters had chosen as part of their costumes.

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