Page 7 of Can't Take Moore

He shook his head. “Not in a long time.”

“Don’t let him fool you.” Mr. Reinhold clapped his son on the back. “He gets out there to help during tryouts every summer.”

“Running drills so the coaches can evaluate the players isn’t really skating,” Mark disagreed, ducking his head.

“Sure it is.” I jerked my chin toward my rink. “If you ever want to lace up your skates and give synthetic ice a try, let me know.”

“That’s mighty kind of you, Miss Frost.”

“Vienna, please,” I offered for about the hundredth time today.

“Never gonna happen,” Mike muttered while his brother asked, “Can I feel the surface?”

“Sure.” I rounded the steel and aluminum framed dasherboard encasing the rink and pulled open the nearest door.

Crouching low next to Mark, I ran my fingertips across the synthetic ice. “I went with the thickest panels they offered. I’ll be using the rink a lot, and little pieces of the plastic will come off as I skate.”

Mark examined the dove tail joints where the panels had been pounded into place next to each other. “It’s pretty damn neat that you’ll be able to skate in here year-round without needing to worry about keeping it cold.”

“It’s definitely convenient,” I agreed with a nod as I stood. “And it’ll keep me on the ice while I try to set something up with the local rink so I can skate there too.”

“Have you reached out to them?” Mike asked.

I shook my head. “Not yet, but it’s high up on my never-ending to-do list.”

“As long as you aren’t picky about when you skate, they should definitely be able to give you some time. I can check for you, if you’d like.” At my surprised look, Mark added, “I know the manager.”

“That would be great. Please let them know that I’m up for a skate pretty much any day of the week, anytime.”

He chuckled. “To build a rink like this on your property, you’d have to be.”

With how much time I spent practicing, I would get my money’s worth. Not many people could say the same, though. And I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of regret over the distance I’d needed to get from my mom and sister when they were partially to thank for my ability to afford this place.

2

Dean

As a real estate broker with a few agents working under me, Fridays were one of my busiest days. That was when a lot of new deals tended to come together, sales in process closed, and owners called to list their home, hoping an agent could come out and take pictures over the weekend. But there really wasn't any off day in this business. I was always busy networking to generate business.

By mid-afternoon, I was already tired and craving a treat. Luckily, I had an in with someone who carried the best baked goods in town. Pushing away from my desk, I strode out of my office. The two agents in the office were on the phone, so I stopped in the foyer to speak with my receptionist. “Hey, Roxanne. I’m headed over to Leaves & Pages. Can I bring anything back for you?”

“I don’t know why you even bothered to ask. You know that I can’t resist those dark chocolate toffee cookies.” Patting her ample hip, she shook her head with a sigh. “It’s a good thing Stan loves my curves. I’d hate to have to choose between my sweets and him.”

“I’m pretty sure you’d decide to keep him.” I wasn’t the least bit worried about her marriage. They were high school sweethearts who’d been married for almost thirty years and were still madly in love with each other. “But I’ll bring back a few, just in case this is the last time you get to enjoy them.”

Leaves & Pages, the tea shop and bookstore that my cousin-in-law owned, was only a few blocks away from my office. In less than five minutes, I was rounding the corner to her store. I helped Skylar lease the space from my cousin about a year ago, and so much had changed in that time.

Back then, Baxter had just moved from New York City and was adjusting to the slower pace. When he met Skylar only a week later—and pissed her off due to a misunderstanding—he had no way of knowing she was going to bring even bigger changes to his life. My hunch that they were made for each other turned out to be truer than I ever could have expected.

As I walked through the door my lips curved into a grin at seeing how my cousin was hovering over his wife. “You gotta give your woman some space,” I called out, earning myself a glare.

“When you find yourself a woman, I'll consider taking relationship advice from you.”

Skylar giggled and shook her head. “Except you really won’t.”

“Fair point,” he conceded with a shrug.

“Hey now,” I complained. “Need I remind you that I'm the one who gave you a push in Skylar's direction?”

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