Page 30 of Racing Hearts

Ellie couldn’t believe they were actually standing out in the cold, unlocking the practice for some family from out of town. Ellie’s mom didn’t ask for many details before saying she’d love to help, so the only thing Ellie knew was that some teenage girl had fallen on the ice and done something to her ankle.

Ellie watched as a car slowly drifted from the road into the parking lot. It parked in what would have been the closest parking spot if the spots could actually be seen. Ellie watched as one woman got out of the driver’s side and another out of the passenger side. They both looked vaguely familiar, but she couldn’t figure out why, especially if they were from out of town.

When the back door of the car opened, Ellie got her answer. Slowly, but surely, Sierra stepped out of the car. Even though it was almost impossible to see anything because of the snow coming down, Sierra’s eyes drifted right to Ellie. Ellie felt it more than she saw it, but she had no doubt Sierra was watching her. Every bone in her body told her she was. Ellie bristled, but it wasn’t from the cold winter air.

Wait.Is she hurt?A feeling of dread passed through Ellie’s body as she thought about all of the times she and Juniper had hoped that very thing would happen. Now that it could have been the case, she was praying it wasn’t. She watched Sierra, looking for any sign that she had hurt her ankle, but it was hard to tell with the low visibility.

From what she could see, Sierra’s figure was walking from her side of the car to the other. She opened up the door and helped someone else.Duh. Her sister.Ellie could only assume she was her sister, at least, since they looked exactly alike. Sierrawas built more like an athlete, which was to say she had all muscle and no meat. Her sister had less muscle and a little more cushioning around the midsection.

The two older women, who must have been Sierra’s moms, walked to the back of the car as well and helped Sierra get her sister out. The four of them struggled to walk from the car to the office, but soon enough, they were standing in the lobby of the office with Ellie’s family.

“I can’t thank you enough for coming in to see us,” the woman with long auburn hair said to them. “I’m Brooke Finnegan. My daughter, Sienna, is the one who slipped on the ice.” Her eyes slowly drifted from Ellie’s moms to Ellie. “Wait a second. You’re Ellie Finch.” She put an arm around Sierra, who hadn’t made eye contact with Ellie since making it inside. “You’re on the track team with Sierra.”

Ellie saw when the realization hit both of her moms about who this was. It was obvious they were intrigued after everything Ellie had told them.

Ellie’s mom stepped forward and took Brooke’s hand. “It’s very nice to meet you. I’m Ellie’s mom, Brinley.”

“Very nice to meet you,” Brooke said.

A brunette stepped up beside Brooke and held her hand out as well. “I’m Tiffany Finnegan.”

Brinley grabbed Tiffany’s hand, but stood frozen for a moment. “You look oddly familiar to me.”

“Me?” Tiffany furrowed her eyebrows for a moment. “Maybe you saw me at the meet, and you’re recognizing me from that.”

“Maybe.” Brinley shook her head. “I just feel like I know you for some reason.”

“You do feel familiar to me too.” Tiffany looked between Brinley and Ellie’s mama, Annalise. “You both do. But, it could definitely be from seeing you at the track meet.”

“You didn’t ever happen to live in this area, did you?” Annalise asked with a laugh as if she suspected the answer to be no.

Tiffany pointed between herself and her wife. “Not Jersey, but we both lived in and around Philadelphia at one point.”

Brinley laughed now too. “Wait. I also used to live in Philly. Maybe we have met at some point.”

“Small world, huh?” Tiffany laughed, but it was short-lived, and her eyes went wide as she stared at Brinley.

Ellie watched as her mom’s eyes went wide at the same time, and she swallowed hard. “Very small world,” she said with a nervous giggle.

Okay, what the hell is happening?

Tiffany looked all around her before putting her focus on Sierra’s sister. “Anyway, this is Sienna, Sierra’s twin sister. She fell coming out of our hotel this morning and did a number on her ankle.”

Brinley bent down in front of Sienna and felt her ankle. “Definitely might be broken. If you come with me, I can do a few tests.” She stood back up and looked at Ellie and her mama. “Annalise, could you begin getting Sienna’s information put into our computer system? And Ellie, stay with your friend.”

Friend. That seemed like a very strong word for Sierra, but also, somehow, didn’t feel like enough. Soon, it was just Ellie and Sierra left in the room, both of them staring at the floor awkwardly.

Ellie cleared her throat and pointed behind them. “Want to have a seat? I’m guessing this will take a while.”

“S-sure,” Sierra answered hesitantly, as if she was anythingbutsure.

Ellie led the way back to the waiting room chairs and sat down, motioning for Sierra to take the seat beside her. Partof her expected Sierra to refuse to sit next to her, but Ellie was pleasantly surprised when she did.

“So, what happened to your sister?” Ellie asked, desperate to find any way to break the ice between them.

Sierra snorted. “She’s an idiot. She was walking way too fast and not paying attention, as usual, and completely ate it on the ice.”

Ellie cringed as an ache came to her legs just from the thought. “Sounds painful. I’m glad it wasn’t you.” Ellie cringed again, but this time, it was at herself. Why the hell would she say something like that? “I just mean, that would really suck for the track team. You did an amazing job yesterday, by the way.”

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