Page 25 of Sew Matcha in Love
Right. Hockey.
Shooting.
Okay.
I pushed off on my right skate and joined her at center ice. The girls arranged the pucks along the red line. “Do you mind if I get behind you and, um, guide your swing?”
Her eyes locked on mine. “I’m all yours.”
Whew. Okay.
Did she have any idea how her words could be misinterpreted by a guy?
“All right. I’m gonna place your hands on the stick, then I’m gonna bear-hug you.”
She watched attentively as I placed her hands. When I skated up behind her and reached my arms over hers, she stiffened.
“Relax,” I whispered into her ear. The pompom on her hat tickled my nose. I slid my hands into position over hers.
“I’ll try. It’s a bit … awkward.”
“I promise to get you a better-fitting stick for your next lesson,” I assured her. “You’re perfectly set up for a golf swing, but this is hockey. You need to widen your stance and crouch.”
She adjusted her position to the frame I’d created. “Like this?”
“Just like that. Now pull the stick back, and when you bring it down, try to imagine scooping the puck with the curve of the blade instead of hitting it straight on. You want to guide it, direct it, not see how high and far you can launch it. Not yet, anyway.”
With my hands over hers, I pulled the stick back and swung it down toward the ice. It caught the puck, which sailed straight into the net.
“We did it!” Arwyn hopped up, and I nearly missed getting clocked in the chin by the Tam of Death.
The girls cheered and encouraged her to try it again, on her own.
She was a fast learner and a crack shot. One after the other, she hit the pucks into the net.
“See?” Isla asked. “It’s not hard if you know what you’re doing.”
“Nope,” Arwyn agreed. “Not too different from mini golf, which I am decent at. Or croquet. Bigger target, until you add a goalie, at least.”
“You play croquet?” Amelie asked. “I love that game!”
“Me too!” Arwyn smiled. “We should set up a course after the snow melts.”
“Yes!” the girls chorused.
As I watched the exchange happily, my body tingled from the aftershocks of contact with Arwyn. She sure was one of a kind. And the girls loved her.
I wouldn’t be worried when I left them with her tonight for the road trip.
But I might be a little sad.
CHAPTER 9
Arwyn
Ah, the smell of new books! Nothing like it!
In an effort toengage,I decided to volunteer at Palmer City Academy’s book fair. Most of it had been set up over the weekend, so by the time I arrived in the school library after dropping the girls off, all that was left to do was open the rolling bookshelves and tidy up the displays.
