“Yeah, nearly a year older.”
“She’s such a cougar, going after a younger man.” Chrissy laughed, then grew quiet. After an awkward pause she sighed. “People used to say that about me and Donny. He’s two years younger than me. Sometimes I think that’s where things went wrong in our relationship. He just wasn’t mature enough yet to handle marriage and a family.” She shrugged.
Before J.J. could think of an adequate response, her cell phone rang. She stuck her hand in her gym bag and fished around for it, finally managing to snag it on the fourth ring. She groaned when she saw her boss’s number on the screen. His opening words did little to ease her concerns. “J.J., am I going to have to take you off of the Price-Wise account?”
“W-what?” She nearly dropped the phone. “Why? What did I do?”
“It’s what you didn’t do. You didn’t show up at the meeting on Saturday afternoon.”
“I told you days in advance that I had plans. And you know me, Brendan…I go above and beyond. I stay at the office long after everyone else leaves. It wouldn’t be fair to—”
“That’s not the point. The one time they needed you, you were a no-show.”
“No, I gave plenty of advance warning. I had to be at the –”
“Skating rink.” He cleared his throat. “And that’s the real problem. I needed you to be more focused than ever and your heart just isn’t here.”
“Of course my heart is there. I just teach a few lessons at the rink. For fun.”
He paused and J.J. felt her heart racing.
“Well, I’ll give you another shot,” Brendan said at last, “but your reputation is on the line. They need someone who’s a hundred percent focused. Got it?”
“Yeah. Got it.” Only, she found herself distracted by the sight of Jaden doing a perfectly placed Lutz jump, landing on just the right edge. Whoa. “J.J., are you with me? I really need to know we’re on the same team. No, more than that—I need you to be team leader.”
“I, um…team leader.” What was the rest, again? J.J. continued to watch as Libby showed Jaden how to do a spin. The poor kid lost his centering and slammed down onto the ice.
“Oops.”
“Oops?” Brendan repeated the word. “J.J., are you hearing anything I’ve said? I’m talking about Price-Wise. They need your attention. Undivided attention.”
“Got it. Undivided. From this moment on…” Her words drifted away as Kevin appeared. She looked on as he leaned against the railing to stare at the new skates on Jaden’s feet.
Kevin looked at her, clearly agitated. “What. Are. Those?”
She pointed to her phone and mouthed the words “On the phone.”
“You did it, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t do anything,” she said, her emotions taking hold of her. “Nothing at all.”
“That’s my point,” Brendan countered from the other end of the line. “Nothing’s getting done and the client isn’t happy. So focus, J.J., or we’ll be having a completely different conversation.”
At that, the call abruptly ended.
Only, the conversation with Kevin was just beginning. He crossed his arms at his chest, his penetrating gaze not releasing its hold on J.J. She slipped her phone back into her purse and tried to stay calm.
“Why didn’t you just tell me?”
“Tell you what?”
“That you’re coaching Jaden on the sly. That you took advantage the minute my back was turned to buy him skates—assuming you bought those ridiculous looking skates.”
“Ann-Marie and I went together and bought them.” Rusty’s voice sounded from behind them. J.J. turned and saw them both standing there.
“You…what?” Kevin shook his head.
“Yep.” Rusty nodded, a confident expression on his face. “And just so you know, we’re expanding our shop to sell figure skates now. We’ve found a vendor who will give us a great discount. So, jump this hurdle with us, Kevin.”
Kevin took a seat on a bench and dropped his head into his hands. J.J. felt a little sorry for him. He lifted his head at last and sighed. “You don’t need me here.”
“What?” Rusty sat next to him. “Of course we do. I couldn’t handle anything without you.”
“You told me you were retiring, that I’d be the one making the decisions.” Kevin put his hands up in the air and then brought them back down. “Not saying I don’t want you around. Just saying I’d gotten used to the idea of being able to decide a few things for myself. And then you all”—he gestured to Rusty, Ann-Marie and J.J.—“conspire against me.”
“I’m sorry if it looks that way, son.” Rusty wrapped his arm around Kevin’s shoulder. “I want to leave a legacy for you. And Jaden. And…” He paused and his eyes filled with tears. “For Donny, too. He’ll be getting out soon and I want to make sure the rink is doing well. I’m tired of struggling. Tired of everyone wondering where the next meal is coming from. We’re either going to go part-way with this plan and fail miserably or we’re going to put it all on the line and succeed. That’s the way I look at it, anyway.”
Kevin grew silent and J.J. had to wonder what he was thinking.
“The place is really looking great,” she said after a moment. “And you’ve been so good to listen to all of my ideas, Kevin. I’m a total stranger to you, and you’ve trusted me to give ideas on decorating and figure skating lessons and—”
“Boys in tights.” He gave her a pointed look.
She sighed. “Anyway, I agree with Rusty that there’s so much more out there for The Big Skate. But you have to trust us. Can you do that?”
He didn’t answer for a moment, until Rusty’s words: “Do it for me and Ann-Marie? For a wedding gift?” were spoken.
At this point Kevin groaned and slapped himself on the forehead. “Now, how can I say no to that?”
“So, you’re okay with Jaden taking lessons?” J.J. asked.
“I’ll never be okay with that, but if you think he wants to…” Kevin’s words trailed off as they all looked toward the ice, where Libby and Jaden skated hand-in-hand. They watched as Libby taught-him to do a pairs-spin.
“He’s really good, you know,” J.J. whispered.
“Mm-hmm.” Kevin stood in silence then rose and headed off to the locker room.
“Just give him a little time.” Ann-Marie placed her hand on J.J.’s arm. “He’ll come around, I promise.”
She surely hoped so, because the couple on the ice was blowing her away right now. With a little practice, she would have these two ready for the June competition at the Galleria…no doubt about it.
Chapter Nine
The rest of April was spent prepping the rink for the wedding. Kevin honored his promise to Rusty and allowed Jaden to take his first few figure skating lessons. J.J. could hardly believe the kid’s abilities—both with jumps and spins. He far surpassed her expectations. Even Kevin seemed to notice. She caught him watching from rink-side several times. When he wasn’t busy updating the shop. Or talking to vendors. Or setting up public skate sessions. Or replacing the broken plexi-glass pieces.
She had to admit, his enthusiasm level was higher than before. Maybe it had something to do with the increased business, or perhaps he’d finally come around to her way of thinking; she couldn’t be sure.
Not that J.J. needed to be hyper-focused on the rink. In truth, she needed to spend more time focused on her job. The executives at Price-Wise still seemed to appreciate her ideas. Hopefully they would remain loyal, as long as she stayed focused.
Oh, but how could she, with so many exciting ideas stirring in her thoughts? Her heart, mind and emotions were now firmly attached to The Big Skate.
~
Kevin stood at the edge of the ice, watching the public skate session in progress. In all of his years at The Big Skate they’d never had this many kids in a Saturday afternoon session. He hardly knew what to think of it. In the center of the ice Jaden and Libby worked together on a sit-spin with J.J. looking on. As muc
h as he hated to admit it, the boy really had a lot of potential. More than he’d imagined. And Jaden looked happy…really happy. Now, whether or not his father would be happy with the idea remained to be seen, but for now the waters were peaceful. Mostly.
Out of the corner of his eye Kevin looked at J.J. With her hair pulled back in a ponytail like that, she looked even younger than her years, though rumor had it she’d celebrated her twenty-sixth birthday recently. He should’ve given her a gift. Something. Anything.
She glanced his way and an inviting smile lit her face. J.J. gestured for him to join them and he skated toward the center of the ice, his hockey blades feeling a little dull against the mushy ice below.
“What’s up?” he asked as he grinded to a halt beside her.
“Watch this.” She gestured for Libby and Jaden to perform a pairs spin and Kevin looked on in admiration.
“Not bad. Not bad.”
“Not bad?” Jaden elbowed him. “Dude, you couldn’t do that if your life depended on it. Admit it.”
“I’m sure it’s not that hard.”
“Oh yeah?” Jaden gave him a knowing look. “You think?”
Kevin shrugged.
“Okay.” Libby’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “If it’s that easy, then you two do it.” She pointed at J.J. and Kevin.
“What?” He shook his head. “In hockey skates?”
“I could get you a pair of figure skates, if you want,” Jaden said. “We’ve got some in all sizes, you know.”
“No thank you.”
“Just try it, Uncle Kevin.” Jaden crossed his arms at his chest. “Okay?”
“I think we’d better let him try a single spin before I risk my life doing one with him.” J.J.’s crooked smile showed a bit of concern. “What do you think, Kevin? Want to show these kids how it’s done?”
“Um, sure.” He squared his shoulders and pushed off. A few long strides around the far side of the ice got him warmed up and he headed to center, where he attempted to do a spin, attempted being the key word. Things went okay at first, but after a few seconds of trying to lower himself to the sit-spin position, he lost his balance. Seconds later, splayed out on the ice, Kevin assessed his injuries. Okay, nothing hurt but his pride.
J.J. doubled over with laughter. “Well, I have to give you an E for effort. But if you were my student I’d advise you to practice a few squats off-ice, first.”
“And dude, work on centering.” Jaden slapped his thigh and erupted in laughter. “You’re way off-center.”
Yeah, he was off-center, all right, but not in the way the kid meant.
“You ready for a pairs spin yet?” J.J. asked, a playful expression on her face.
“Don’t think you’re ready to do a pairs move with me. I might kill you.” He rose and rubbed his achy backside. “Ow. And…ow.”
They all laughed.
Thank goodness the public skate session ended and Uncle Rusty pulled out the Zamboni to clean the ice.
Kevin skated toward the stands, along with J.J. and the kids. As she put her blade guards on he worked up the courage to broach a conversation with her, one he’d been avoiding.
“Hey, J.J…”
“Yeah?” She looked up as she shook the ice from her boots.
“I, um…” For a moment he didn’t know how to begin. Finally the words, “I don’t know what to say,” slipped out.
“That never happens.” Jaden laughed. “Trust me.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “I was talking to J.J., not you.”
“Fine. We can take a hint.” Jaden took off across the ice and Libby headed off to meet her mom in the foyer.
“Come with me a minute?” Kevin took J.J.’s arm and led her away from the ice, toward his office. He paused just short of the office door and reached to give her hand a squeeze. “I just had to tell you that Health Check Pharmacy offered a sponsorship to the rink.”
“What?”
“Yeah. They’re donating five thousand dollars for the hockey team and another five for the figure skating program. On top of that, they’re giving us five thousand dollars to continue renovating.”
“Kevin, that’s…amazing.” Her eyes flooded with tears. “I’m just so happy right now. I had no idea you were even planning to approach them.”
“I didn’t. It’s all because of you.”
“Me?” She looked perplexed by this.
“Yeah. One of the local managers was here about a week and a half ago, checking out the hockey team for his son, and saw you working with Jaden. He came and talked to me privately. Asked a ton of questions. Told me they had been looking for a local team to sponsor. I laid it on the line, told him everything we were working toward, and then he approached his corporate office. Next thing you know, I’m getting a call with the offer, not just for the team, but the figure skating program, too.”
“Kevin, that’s great.”
“It is. But I had to tell you something else. With the income from the private skating lessons and the increased sales in the shop—you wouldn’t believe how many pairs of figure skates we’ve sold this week alone—the rink is actually in the black. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since we were in the black?” He paused for breath. “I mean, I know it’s probably a given for most businesses to be working in the positive and not the negative, but it’s been so long. I don’t want to count my chickens before they’re hatched—”
“Trying to picture you raising chickens.” She grinned.
“Anyway, I’m trying not to get my hopes up, but maybe you were right. Maybe the rink really can have a chance at success with this new program.”
J.J.’s cheeks turned pink as she laughed. “Let me clean my ears out. I’m pretty sure I just heard you say that I was right.”
He chuckled and rested his hand on her arm. “Don’t let it go to your head.”
“I make no promises. This is pretty big, you giving me credit for something.”
Her words made him sad. “I’m sorry about that, J.J. I really am. I should’ve supported you from the beginning. I think we were just so set in our ways around here. Mostly, I was worried about Jaden, but you proved me wrong with that one, too.”
“You know it was never my intent, right?”
“What?”
“To prove you wrong. That was never my intent. I just wanted what was best for him and for The Big Skate. I…” She paused and offered a little shrug. “I love this place.”
“You do?” He could hardly believe this was the same girl who’d entered the rink for the first time just a couple of months back.
“Yeah. It’s growing on me.”
“Like a fungus?” He laughed.
“No. Like a family.” Her eyes moistened. “I don’t have a lot of local family. Just my mom and she’s so busy at work. Always has been. So, having people to hang around is great. You guys have made me feel at home.”
“Ann-Marie and Rusty have done a better job of that than me.” He sighed and leaned against the edge of his desk. “I’m sorry. I really am. Just call me set in my ways.”
“No, I get it. If this was my place of business I’d be just as possessive, trust me. Maybe more so.” She paused and then gasped. “Oh! I almost forgot to tell you something.”
“What’s that?”
She took a seat in a chair by the door. “Well, you know about the big competition at the Galleria, the first weekend in June? The one that Jaden and Libby are competing in?”
“Right.”
“Turns out they’ve had a lot more entrants than they expected. People are coming from all over the state. So, the Galleria isn’t big enough. We’re the next-closest rink, so I got a call, asking if I thought we’d be willing to host some spill-over events here.”
“Whoa.” He paused. “Okay, so realistically, what does this mean??
“It means exposure, for one thing. And lots of incoming traffic. We can stock the gift shop with extra skates, costumes, and other equipment. I can guarantee you, a ton
of quick sales will come in. And the USFSA will get a good look at the rink, which means they might come back to us in the future.”
He paced the tiny office, his thoughts in a whirl. “The foyer’s done. The concessions area is mostly done. Shop is jam-packed already, but if we knocked out that back wall we could extend it into the storage space behind. That would give us room to add more racks of skating costumes to sell.” He released a slow breath. “I’m still working on the rink, itself, but with the money from Health Check I think I can make some strides there. The question is, can we get it all done in time for the committee to decide?”
“Sure. We’ve already got a more important deadline, anyway. Rusty and Ann-Marie’s wedding in two weeks.”
“Right. But the wedding will be over in a day. What we’re talking about now will change…everything.”
“In a good way.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement. “You’ve always wanted to bring The Big Skate back to its glory days. This will do all of that and more. You’ll bring in a whole new crowd of figure skaters. And before long, new coaches, new competitions, new public skaters, new hockey players…they’ll all fill this place up.”
He studied the joy in her expression and, for a moment, rode the wave of excitement. “I never thought about entering the figure skating world until you came along, but I can’t deny the potential for income.”
“More than that, Kevin.” She rose and stood in front of him, taking his hand. “It’s a chance to give kids like Libby, like Callie, like Jaden, like…me…a chance to do the thing they love. And it’ll be so good for your uncle’s psyche. He and Ann-Marie might say they’re retiring, but it’s obvious neither one of them is ready to give up the things they love. I can see both of them having a place to enjoy for years to come. And who knows…maybe you can even expand the hockey program along the way.”
“How? I need other coaches for that.”
“We’ll be able to afford them, if things go as planned. What do you say?”
He had to admit, the idea of bringing in coaches, of expanding the rink, of renovating every nook and cranny, was overwhelming. Still, when he thought about the potential, he couldn’t help but get excited.
Love's Sporting Chance: Volume 1: 6 Romantic sporting novellas Page 6