Page 19 of Can't Take Moore

“Thank you.” Vienna rubbed her hands together. “You’re my new favorite person in town.”

“Hey, now,” I protested around one of my spoons as I finished my sample. “I’m the one who brought you here.”

Vienna tapped her chin and nodded. “Okay, you’re one of my favorite people in town. But Dean is at the top of the list since he gets credit for bringing me to what I have no doubt will become my favorite places in Mooreville.”

“Nice.” Leena grabbed another spoon and scooped a sample of sea-salt chocolate caramel into it before handing it to me. “You get an extra sample for bringing me a new regular.”

“And I will happily take it,” I said, adding the spoon with my fifth favorite flavor to my stash.

“That should keep him busy while you try out a few flavors.” Leena grabbed several more spoons. “What can I get you?”

Vienna rattled off a few flavors, including the cherry the shop was famous for. That was the one she eventually decided to go with, and Leena scooped generous portions of our selections into cups. As we were ringing up, I asked, “How’s Luke?”

“Noisier than usual.” She shook her head with a sigh. “He and his friends decided to start a band after hockey ended, and now that school’s out, all he wants to do is bang on the drums all day. It’s driving me up the wall.”

Thinking of how Jude had pushed my buttons earlier, I muttered, “Younger brothers are uniquely qualified to do that.”

“Sisters, too,” Vienna sighed as she grabbed her cup of cherry ice cream.

“What’d they name the band?” I asked.

“First line.”

“I like it.” Vienna flashed us a sheepish grin. “But I’m biased since I think anything related to ice skating is cool.”

“Then you’d get along well with my brother and his friends. They’ve been skating since they were barely able to walk and playing hockey since they were like four.”

“Do you happen to know if the hockey league offers summer skating camps?” Vienna asked.

“They absolutely do,” Leena confirmed. “Luke spent time there year-round.”

“Thanks.” Vienna scooped some of her ice cream onto her spoon. “I think I’ll reach out and see if they need any help.”

“I’m sure they do. From what I saw when I went to cheer my brother’s team on, they were always on the lookout for volunteers.”

“Especially one as uniquely qualified as you,” I added as we walked out the door with our ice cream—and some fudge and sea-salt turtles for Vienna—in hand.

Since the gazebo in the town center was only a couple of blocks away, I headed in that direction. As we circled around the octagonal structure and Vienna noticed the names on a plaque, she leaned closer to read it. “Franklin and Katherine Moore. Any relation?”

“Yes, they’re my grandparents on my dad’s side.”

“Fancy.” Straightening, she smiled at me over her cup of ice cream. “What's it like growing up somewhere where everyone knows you?”

I shrugged. “Good, I guess. It was hard to get away with anything when I was a teenager because everyone is always in everyone else's business. I didn’t realize it at the time, but there was comfort in knowing someone was always looking out for us.”

“Have you ever thought about leaving Mooreville?”

I shook my head as we sat down on the bench inside the gazebo. “Only when I went to college. But I didn't go far, just west Lafayette. Attending Purdue is a tradition in my family.”

There was a faraway look in her eyes as she said, “Traditions are important.”

“What are some of yours?” I asked.

She thought about her answer for a moment. “The biggest one would be skating. My dad was a hockey player, and he got me on skates before I was in kindergarten.”

“So your sister skates too?”

This was the first time she sounded happy while talking about her family, but my question messed it up. “No, we have different fathers. My dad offered to have Nadia come skating with us lots of times, but she was never interested. She liked to play dress-up in the dresses I wore for figure skating, though. My dad even tried bribing her with some of her own to get her on the ice, but she can out-stubborn the best of them.”

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