Page 45 of A Winter's Wedding

“And there’s no relaxing spa treatments. Sorry, ladies.” Grant ran his hand down his face and took the smug look with it. “Here’s the deal. Boys against girls. Five-minute periods. No goalies. No checking. No penalty shots. In the case of a tie, which there won’t be because?—”

Thandie pulled on Grant’s waistband from behind and took his place on the stump. “Because the girls are gonna win. We’ll have a shoot-out. Everyone clear?”

“But the guys have one more person than the girls,” America said and counted the teams out loud with her fingers to make sure. “Me, Poppy, Carol, Thandie, Jenny, and Mom. Leo, Grant, Cam, John, Pa, Dad, and Alfonso.”

“Alfonso no skate.” The animated chef held his hands up beside his face and wiggled his fingers. “Shake my money makers, no?”

Everyone laughed along with the young Italian who had come to work at The Foundry a year ago. Vivian had befriended the man during a trip to northern Italy the previous Christmas. When Leo decided to transform the old lake houses into an upscale retreat, Alfonso was at the top of his mind to join the team. America was glad to see him embracing new experiences, but the hockey game would be better with even teams.

“Maybe Alfonso could be the ref?” she suggested.

“Great idea,” Grant said and tossed a glowing, chartreuse hockey puck in Alfonso’s direction. “Nice catch. When we’re ready to start, just drop that thing on the ice between the centers and then get the heck out of the way as fast as you can.”

“Now that that’s settled. Let’s get to the good stuff,” Poppy said. “What do the girls get when we win?” and America admired her confidence in the girls’ abilities.

“The stakes. I almost forgot,” Thandie said. “The losers will be on Bingo’s stable duty for the next month, and the winners, the girls obviously?—”

“The winners will win bragging rights and the pool,” Grant finished her sentence.

“What’s the pool?” Leo said.

Grant grabbed an old rusty coffee can from beside the fire and held it up. “Everyone get whatever cash you have on you right now and shove it in here. Winners take all!”

“I have all the equipment laid out over there,” Thandie pointed to a pile of skates and sticks stuck into the piled-up snow. “Let’s go to war, people!”

The men and women separated as they grabbed their gear, and there was no fraternizing with the enemy. America was surprised to see Carol lacing up her skates in one fluid motion like a pro. Poppy needed help with hers, and Jenny was kind enough to assist.

“I’ve never played hockey before,” Vivian said to Carol, who sat on either side of America.

“But you’ve skated before,” America said.

Thandie leaned over from further down the bench. “I’ve gotten a ton of time on this ice over the last few weeks with the guests. I mean, how cool was it that we got to have a Christmas Eve skate this year?”

“I can’t believe all that water level stayed through the summer and fall,” Carol said. “It hasn’t been like this in a really long time.”

“Do you think we’ll have the lake full for the summer again?” Jenny said. “The water activities will bring a lot more people to town.”

The whole town had felt the stress since the dam blew out and the lake dried up, but these past few months had brought a renewed outlook to the Cove. In the year since the neighboring city, Elizabethtown, had incorporated Christmas Cove, it wasn’t much more than a name and a feeling. But with the population doubling since then, they would have the opportunity for a voting member of the council, and perhaps an alderman in coming years. Things were definitely improving all around town, including Leo’s strained relationship with his brother.

Across the ice, Leo sat next to John. They were laughing about something—she wished she could hear what was so humorous—but it was nice to see them getting along. America finished wrapping her laces and grabbed a stick from where they had been stabbed into mounded snow around the makeshift rink space. In the same snow heap, someone had nestled a keg and a couple bottles of unopened booze.

Grant half-buried the coffee can and stood like a club bouncer at the entrance to the cleared ice. “Cough it up,” Grant said and folded his arms in front of his chest.

America dug in her coat pocket and flashed a crisp twenty-dollar bill in front of Grant’s face.

“Is that all? These stakes are no joke,” he teased, and she swiped her fingers over the paper revealing two more bills.

“Is this better?” She crammed the money into the can and snapped her fingers in a taunting way. Pushing him aside and gliding across the ice, she knew this hockey game was going to be worth staying up for. Taking a turn around the makeshift rink, she found her comfort stride as the others did the same. Everyone was finding their legs, except Poppy who was struggling to stay up on her feet at the entrance.

America skated over to her, but John got to Poppy first. He reached down to help her, but she dismissed his hand. Instead, she dug in her blade edge and pushed him away. “Accept no mercy. Give no quarter,” she yelled a war cry which elicited an echo of female shouts. Hockey game or not, it was no surprise for Poppy to react to John in that way. She had been holding a grudge against the mayor of Elizabethtown for over a year. Poppy was a loyal friend, and there was no way she was going to forgive John for what he did to Leo, until Leo was ready to forgive him first.

Concerned for his safety, America put herself between John and Poppy before her loyalty turned violent. “Save it for the game,” she said and helped Poppy, who was showing off just how much of a city girl she really was. “The trick is to keep your weight centered over the blade. Not too far forward or too far back. Then use the edge to press into the ice and you’ll go forward.”

Poppy turned and shot eyeball fingers at John, threatening him that she was keeping her eyes on him. “I just can’t with that man.”

“You know Leo and John have actually been getting along much better,” America said as she continued to defuse the situation.

“I don’t know how you can forgive him after he tried to tank Christmas Cove last year.” Following America’s directions, Poppy moved ahead as well. “What if I have to stop?”

---