Page 30 of Christmas on Ice
“Yes, baby. Are you ready?”
“I was born ready!” she announced, flourishing her arms in the air. I snorted and helped her down from the vanity stool. “Is Daddy coming to see me?”
She’d asked every day since she’d known about the event. And every day I gave her the same reply: “If he gets out of work in time, yes.”
“Is Mr. Tiggerman coming?”
Her innocent question hit me straight in the gut. It was clear how important Trask was to her—and to me—and it scared me to a point I didn’t want to admit, even to myself. Because if Ryleigh and I didn’t leave first—in May, after I graduated—Trask would leave us for a different team. There was a likelihood that could happen anytime, even before May. What then? Two men in Ryleigh’s life would have let her down. But there was something really special about Trask, and anyone who gave so much of themselves to a kid who wasn’t biologically or legally theirs.
I gave her a squeeze. “You know he’ll be there. All of the Voltage players will be there, remember? They’ll be skating after all the performances.”
“And we’re gonna take pictures and sign autographs! Like Thinter Bale does at the big park!”
“Theplayerswill be signing autographs. You get to take your picture with whichever ones you want after we go ice skating with them, okay?”
“Okay. But I’m going to sign, too.”
There was no arguing with her.
I dropped Ryleigh off with her coaches, Amelia and Nate; waved to Chelsea, who was running the event; and then headed for the basketball gym, where the teams would be performing in about an hour’s time.
“Kami!” I turned at the familiar voice shouting my name as I scanned the crowd for the faces. Chelsea’s sister, Taylor, waved from the bleachers. She was engaged to Brenna’s cousin Kingston, who played for Montana’s NHL team. Brenna was planning their weddings, and I’d been asked to be in both of them.
I waved back and hurried up the steps to hug her. “I didn’t know you’d be here!” I hugged her. “How’s Montana?” I peeked around them and noticed five-year-old twins Klara and Kord sitting with a pretty blonde. “Are Kingston and Alexei here, too?”
She nodded. “In Denver. They’re playing the Edge tonight.” The Denver Edge was the NHL team affiliated with the Voltage. Trask had played a few games with them. “This is Alexei’s sister, Petra. We took the kids this weekend to give Ginny some rest time.”
“Awesome.” I waved to the twins. Ginny was their aunt and had been caring for them since their parents had died in a car crash almost three years ago. Now Ginny and her husband, Alexei, were expecting their first baby.
“We came to see Ryleigh!” Klara said, pushing her way past Taylor to get to me. She lifted up a purple painted wooden clothespin. “I made this for her.”
I took the clothespin and examined it. “You rock” was barely legible going down one side in silver marker. The other side had a silver sparkle overlay and said “Kali.”
“That’s very sweet of you, Klara,” I said. “Thank you.”
“It’s for her backpack. I have a whole collection!” She grinned and yanked my hand down to point to the writing. “Kali is my new team. In Montana. Kali Allstars. At competitions, you trade with friends. It’s fun!”
Brenna arrived, and I chatted with her, Taylor, and Petra while we waited for the event to start. Taylor wanted to know how Nate, her former cheer partner, liked coaching the preschool team, which she’d coached until she’d moved to Montana. I told her he was loving it and the little girls got a kick out of being lifted up into the air to stand on his hands.
“Ladies and gentlemen!” We turned our attention to the floor mats, where the gym manager stood with a microphone. He explained to the audience how to assemble in front of the mats when their teams performed. I had figured we’d be watching from our seats and must have looked as confused as I felt.
“Just follow us,” Taylor whispered.
He finished his announcements and introduced one of the Plex’s Worlds teams, which would open the exhibition. Taylor led our group to the holding area, and I almost tripped watching the athletes fly into the air like Cirque performers. After thunderous applause and a standing ovation, we moved into place to watch the Tiny team. Klara and Kord pushed their way to the front and knelt on the edge of the mat.
“Hey.” A hum of energy pulsed through me at the sound of Trask’s deep voice, and I turned to greet him. My mouth dropped as over a dozen of his teammates filled into the space behind us.
“You brought the entire team?” I mentally counted—nineteen in total.
He shrugged. “Most of them. We were already here, so I bribed them with beer.” He winked. “Plus, Noel has the hots for one of the girls on the team that just performed.”
“I do not!” The petulant hiss from the kid standing behind Trask made me laugh. “We’re just friends.”
Trask raised a brow. “Whatever you say, Santa.”
I chuckled at the mention of Noel’s nickname. I’d heard him complaining about it on more than one occasion at Brewski’s.
We turned back to the mat when the emcee announced Ryleigh’s team. “Our next team is the Lil’ Chargers, who will compete in the Tiny Novice division. Comprised of three- to five-year-olds, most of these athletes are new to the sport. They’ve been workingveryhard to learn their beginning tumbling skills and performance expressions. Please join me in welcoming to the mat the Lil’ Chargers!”
