Page 73 of Dancing in the Rain

His face tightened. “Yeah, even that. Things that are the hardest probably take the longest for us to figure out.”

“Like you not being able to play hockey?”

He sat back in the chair. “Well. Yeah.” He huffed. “That is taking me a while to figure out.”

She just nodded again. “Do you wish you were still playing?”

“Hell, yeah.” It was the one thing he knew how to do, and do well.

After lunch they went to a nearby sporting goods store. Drew walked in and when a sales clerk approached them, he said, “We need a pair of in-line skates for this kiddo.” He set his hand on top of her head. “And all the accessories.”

“Sure. Right this way.”

Chloe tried on a few styles and wobbled around the store. They settled on a pair that felt comfortable and added a helmet, a bag to carry them in, and all the extra safety equipment she needed.

“Thank you, Drew,” Chloe said at the checkout, eyes wide at the money he’d spent.

“You’re welcome.” He didn’t mind dropping cash on someone who appreciated it. Nice to know she wasn’t spoiled.

Soon they were on Lakefront Trail. The afternoon wind off the lake was chilly, but they’d both brought jackets. Chloe caught on pretty quickly but held on to him as they slowly skated along the path. In-line skates were different than ice skates, but it still felt good to be moving.

“Show me how fast you can go,” Chloe said to him.

With a grin, he left her at a run, getting up speed. Luckily there weren’t many people around because he wanted to gofast. Wind rushed past his face as he skated. When he came to a low, flat rock he stepped up onto it, skated across it, and came back down on the path. Slowing, he turned and skated back toward Chloe. As he neared her, he did a hop straight up in the air, landing cleanly. Pain stabbed from his knee up his thigh.

Fuck, that hurt!

Goddammit, maybe his daredevil days were over.

He came to a sharp stop near Chloe.

She laughed with delight and clapped. “That was amazing!”

He grabbed her hands and skated backward, tugging her along. “Come on. I’ll teach you how to skate over that rock.”

“No way!” She tried to pull her hands away but she was laughing.

“Kidding. Maybe someday.”

“I’ll never be that good.”

He released her and she wobbled a bit but kept going. A lightness filled him, an expansive pleasure as he watched his daughter skating—her beautiful smile beaming, her cheeks flushed, eyes dancing. He wasn’t sure what this feeling was, but he thought it might be…love.

—

Peyton regarded her sister with dismay after Chloe and Drew had left. After such a good day yesterday, Sara wasn’t doing well today—confused and weak, refusing to eat anything at all. Peyton fought back tears as she sat next to her bed, holding her hand. The television was on, the volume low as neither of them were really watching, only background noise for Sara’s sometimes labored breathing. The rattling, gurgling noises alarmed Peyton and she checked her watch. The hospice nurse should be here soon. She hated this helpless, scared feeling, the near panic tightening her chest.

She gave Sara a small piece of ice to suck on and smoothed lip balm over her dry lips. Then she moved to turn off the TV and start some music playing. Maybe that would be better for Sara.

“Where’s Daddy?” Sara asked at one point. “Why isn’t he here?”

Peyton’s heart constricted and she smiled and stroked her sister’s arm reassuringly. “It’s okay, sis. He’s okay.”

When Sara started pulling at the sheet and comforter, Peyton held her hands and talked to her reassuringly, reminding her how happy Chloe had been yesterday with her friends.

When the hospice nurse arrived, Peyton shared her concerns.

“Moving her onto her side can sometimes help with breathing,” the nurse said. “But those noises don’t cause her discomfort. I think we may need to change her medications to a patch if we can’t get her to swallow the pills, though.”

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