Page 50 of Searching for Nova

“Yeah. You too.” Except I have no idea who he is, which is making this really awkward.

“You know who he is, right?” Rod asks me.

I stare at the guy, trying to figure it out.

“Gordon Linz,” the old guy says, extending his hand.

I shake his hand, but still have no clue who he is. I’ve never heard of him.

“He played for the NHL,” Rod says. “Went to the Olympics.”

“Congratulations,” I say, my face heating up as Rod and the old guy stare at me.

Gordon laughs. “Don’t worry about it. Not everyone’s into hockey.”

“They are in Wisconsin.” Rod turns to me. “Gordy Linz. He’s a legend around here. You really don’t know him?”

I shake my head, then say to the old guy, “Sorry. I don’t watch sports.”

“Okay, well, you can go back to cleaning,” Rod says, sounding disappointed I wasn’t more excited about meeting the guy.

“You’ve really fixed the place up,” I hear Gordon say as I’m walking back to the locker room. “It’s good to see it back in business. I got a lot of memories here. I would’ve hated to see it torn down.”

“I still have more to do,” Rod says. “But it’s getting there. Not sure your students will like it. It ain’t no five star resort like they’re used to,” Rod says with a laugh.

“They’ll be fine,” Gordon says. “If they’re not, I’ve got plenty of other kids waiting to take their place.”

I’m not sure what they’re talking about. Is this Gordon guy giving skating lessons? That’s the only thing scheduled today, so it must be why he’s here. Why would a former pro hockey player give skating lessons? He’s obviously retired now, so he has the time, but I’m sure he doesn’t need the money.

Turning my music back on, I get to work wiping down the lockers. Rod said I only had to do the ones that needed it, but I’m finding that’s most of them. He said kids sometimes put juice drinks in the lockers and they spill, making the locker sticky. I don’t mind wiping them down. It’s better than cleaning toilets.

After finishing a row of lockers, I take my phone out and turn up the volume a little because I really like this song. I grab my rag and wipe down the next locker, dancing a little to the music. If the job is always like this, I think I’m going to like it. Nobody’s bothering me. I can play music. And Rod seems like an okay boss.

“Excuse me.”

I freeze when I hear a guy’s voice. Rod said nobody would be in here.

When I turn around, my jaw drops. My heart races. My stomach flutters.

How did he know I was here? Did Ted tell him? Ted wouldn’t do that. Ted wouldn’t even answer the door for him.

“Nova?” Easton looks just as surprised to see me as I am to see him. So maybe he didn’t come here to see me. But then why is he here?

He walks up to me and stops. “What are you doing here?”

“What areyoudoing here?”

“Meeting with my coach.”

“You mean for your skating lesson? You’re learning to ice skate?”

He laughs a little. “I know how to skate. I’ve been skating since I was six. I’m actually really good at it.”

“Then why are you taking lessons?”

“It’s not a lesson. He’s coaching me to help me improve how I move on the ice.”

“Why?”

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