Page 23 of Wilder

“Maybe.” She shrugged. “But I don’t have any other skills that aren’t tied to skating. I probably should have taken some college courses or something.”

“I have one brother who could have played basketball professionally and another who’s still hoping that will be his future, but my parents insisted they each get a degree in something unrelated to the sport in case something happened to prevent them from playing.”

“And did something happen?” Alexandra asked.

“Well, Cole is still hoping he’ll make it, but Jay decided not to follow that path. He ended up back here in Serenity, working at the medical clinic my family runs.”

“Do you all work there? I mean, except for Kayleigh?”

Wilder let her guide the conversation away from herself, knowing that they’d been mired in a difficult subject. “Nope. Most of us don’t, actually. My oldest brother is a doctor there, along with Jay’s wife. Jay is in charge of the office, and our sister, Janessa, is the nurse. My other sister-in-law is also a part-time nurse/receptionist there.”

“Was that a brother or sister?” Alexandra asked, gesturing toward the door.

“Oh. I forgot to introduce you to them. I’m sorry. That was my brother, Lee, and his girlfriend, Rori. He’s a vet, and Rori works as a receptionist at the same clinic.”

“I can’t imagine having that many siblings.”

“How many do you have?”

“None. I’m an only child.”

“Well, to be honest, I couldn’t imagine that.”

“I was so focused on my skating that I didn’t really miss not having a sibling.”

Wilder wondered if that also applied to friends. Just because she hadn’t been friendly with her competitors didn’t mean she hadn’t had friends off-ice.

“Say, Kayleigh mentioned that you and her were discussing having a themed night here soon.”

Alexandra nodded. “I’m not sure what else to do to encourage people to spend some time at the rink. That sort of thing is not my forte. I wasn’t responsible for bringing people into the events I was a part of.”

“And yet a lot of people came because of you. I saw the posters with your name and face on them in the crowds where you competed.”

Alexandra’s shoulders stiffened. “I’m not using my fame—or notoriety—to bring people in. I already told Kayleigh I wasn’t willing to do that.”

“You don’t think people will recognize you?” Wilder asked.

“It’s possible that some might, but I don’t want my name to be what attracts people. Those aren’t the type of patrons we want.”

Wilder understood what she was saying and agreed with it. “So what theme are you thinking?”

“An 80’s night.”

“You want people to come dressed in 80’s fashions?”

“If they want, but we’d also play all 80’s music to skate to.”

“That would include some great tunes,” Wilder said. “I like the hair bands of that era.”

“But I’m not sure how to get the word out. I am not the right person to design posters or social media posts.”

“I can help with that. I have some experience in marketing and digital design.”

“Really? I thought you were a ski instructor.”

“I am, but as I said earlier, my parents insisted that we all get a useful degree, though they didn’t force us to use it. I’m the only one with a degree who doesn’t have a full-time job in their field.”

“So you could design posters for the event?”

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