Page 13 of Jesse and the Ice Princess
An uncharacteristic squeal left her mouth. "Thanks, Dad." She took the bag to the kitchen and retrieved two plates. "What are you doing home early?"
"There's a birthday party at the rink tonight, so we're closed for anything else. It's not like I can get any work done with kids yelling everywhere."
Charlotte suppressed a grin. Her dad wasn't a kid person, yet he owned a rink catering to them. "How was practice?" She might not like the guys on his team, but she always enjoyed talking about the game with him. Small moments alone like this were the only time her mom didn't steer the conversation toward figure skating topics.
She'd never admit it to her mom, but she found hockey much more exciting.
"I don't know what to do with these boys." He led her into the living room and flipped on the TV, turning it to a Lightning game before settling into his recliner. "It's like most of them have never taken skating lessons in their lives."
She laughed but covered it up by biting into her juicy slider. It tasted like heaven, much better than the dry chicken and asparagus her mom told her to eat tonight. "Can't you teach them to skate?"
He lifted a brow. "I was never the best skater in my career, but I made up for it with other talents."
"You can say it." She grinned. "Fighting. They ignored your skating because you were good at pummeling people."
"Hey now." He feigned affront. "This is your father you're speaking to."
She laughed. "Have you ever thought of giving up?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you keep coaching a team that isn't getting any better? They kind of suck, Dad."
"Kiddo, you can't just give up because you face adversity. Not everyone was blessed with your God-given talent."
"I've worked for this talent."
"I never said you didn't. But my guys... they love the game. They have fun playing together, and I have fun coaching them. I wouldn't give that up just because of a few losses."
His guys. Sometimes, she wondered if her dad loved his team more than he loved her. He certainly spent more time with them. Not that she blamed him. He loved hockey. Heck, she did too. But only one of them was stuck in this rut where they had to choose one or the other.
Hockey or figure skating.
Her mom or her dad.
Only her parents knew she'd trained in both sports, not making her decision until she hit competition age for figure skating. She loved her sport, she really did. But she didn't know when it had become her entire life.
The TV announcer started talking as the teams skated off the ice for intermission. Charlotte finished eating in silence, soaking in the talk of strategy and technique of a sport that revolved around teams, not individual accomplishments.
She once asked her mom if she could try pairs skating—just to have a partner, someone to go through the highs and lows with. Her mom's response? "Why would you share the spotlight?"
Charlotte never wanted the attention. She cared little for the flowers thrown at her or the medals looped around her neck. All she'd ever wanted to do was skate.
"Hey, Charlie?" Her dad's voice was tentative.
She met his gaze. "Yeah?"
"I was thinking of heading downstairs to do some shooting. Do you... want to join me?"
He hadn't asked her to shoot around with him since she was a kid. "I should go for a run before Mom gets home."
"Aw, come on. Give your old man a break. You can slack off for a night." He gestured to the empty cardboard box in her lap. "You've already killed your diet."
"You're a bad influence on me, Dad." She couldn't help but smile.
He winked. "What are dads for?"
"Um, I don't know. Protection, making sure I follow the rules, giving me your credit card for a shopping spree."
