Page 141 of Pucked Up Plans
“I’m ready. Watch this,” Lennon directs from the ice, shouting to make sure we can hear her. She takes off, her little legs gaining speed and momentum with each glide of the skate. For her age, she’s pretty graceful. Her feet coast over the ice, her arms in a T. Skating as often as she does has its merits.
She rounds the corner, one foot crossing over the other, a move she’s worked on a lot lately. Her left leg lifts in the air behind her. Damn, she does have new tricks. Her right leg wobbles a bit, but she brings the other down to steady herself. She continues around the ice, Liliana near her. She ends her show with a hop and a twirl, landing it with a toe pick in the ice. It’s not a perfect landing, but I’m impressed.
Her fan club claps and cheers, and the ice princess bows before skating our way, Liliana on her heels.
She pants when she reaches us, standing on the bottom of the bleachers. “Tate! Did you see my arabest? Wasn’t my leg so high?”
“You were wonderful, Lennon. Amazing skating. You sure can do a lot of tricks.”
“Liliana’s been teaching me. She’s a good teacher. I bet she could teach Aubrey too.”
“No.” There’s no hesitation in Aubrey’s voice, and she punctuates her decision with a head nod. A shiver passes through her again.
My girl shrugs, not upset by her friend’s decision. She reads her well, partly why their friendship works despite their differences. “How about a s’nores cookie?”
Aubrey’s expression sours. “Yuck. Mommy brought carrots.”
Lennon turns her nose up at the mention of carrots. “More for me.”
“One, Lennon Victoria. Mimi has meatloaf for dinner.”
“I like meatloaf,” Aubrey pipes up.
“Great. Mimi saved you some. All we have to do is heat it…” I start an internal countdown in my head. Three, two, one…
“Did she leave you strict instructions for what temperature and how long?” Tate inquires.
“Great, than—” The words die on my lips rewinding through what she said. It wasn’t an agreement to cook the meatloaf, but a question if I had the directions. Not what I expected from her.
My eyes swing to my right. Tate curls her lips into her mouth, trying not to laugh. Everything I was going to say dies on my lips when Kenny enters the rink from the back hallway. He raises his hand in a wave, strutting toward us. Reaching the stands, he stops next to Liliana and kisses her on the cheek.
“Hey, Dad. What’s up?”
“Heard Walsh was here. Wanted to talk to him.”
“Me?” My voice is a high-pitched squeak. “What do you need from me, sir?”
He dismisses my use of formalities. “Secure a job for the fall yet?”
“Not yet. I’ve got feelers out in a few places. Why, do you have one for me?” A nervous chuckle releases.
“Indeed I do.”
His words are serious, but it takes a moment for them to sink in.
He does?
“You’re leaving Aspenridge?” I spurt. Even though I’m no longer a student, I had hoped he’d be my connection here when and if I needed a job.
But wait. He said he has a job for me.
Liliana’s gaze flies to her father. “Dad, what’s going on?” She rips the question from my brain.
“Coach Pagano was offered a position in Florida. Already packing his bags as we speak.”
Coach is leaving? My last season didn’t end on the best note. We didn’t make it to the tournament, but it’s not like we had a losing record. And I thought he liked it here at Aspenridge. The news is mind-blowing.
Again, his words about a job thump into me. He can’t mean for me to…
