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And just like that, I’d somehow partnered with the grumpiest guy in Ontario.
SEVEN
Luciana
I tooka deep breath and leaned back on my hands. I’d say one thing for Ontario—it sure had beautiful lakes.
The scents of pine and cedar wafted from the trees standing along the hill I was sitting near the base of. A whiff of roasting meat carried from the barbeque pits farther along the shoreline. The water lapped gently at the rocks that gave way to a narrow stretch of sandy beach.
I wasn’t the only one from Hobb Creek who’d come out to this spot just north of town on this fine afternoon. The warm early September day had brought some of the local kids right into the water, jumping and splashing.
Their parents watched from the towels they’d spread out on the sand. A little ways further, a group of teens had stretched out to sunbathe.
It all felt so perfectly, blissfully normal.
I’d always found that immersing myself in nature eased my nerves—and oh, did I have a lot of nerves skittering away right now.
Niko had ended today’s training session early… because tomorrow, Jasper and I had our first pairs practice.
Tomorrow, we’d find out whether I could match him or end up looking like a total dunce despite Niko’s faith in me.
It shouldn’t have mattered. A week ago, I’d had no skating prospects at all. So what if I ended up back in the same place?
But I wanted to be the great skater Niko said I was.
And a larger part of me than I wanted to admit wanted to see admiration spark in Jasper’s striking eyes too.
I grimaced at myself. Getting the hots forbothof my new skating companions didn’t seem like the best idea. Especially when the second one spent about ninety-nine percent of the time being a total grouch.
But telling that to the butterflies that’d taken permanent residence in my lungs hadn’t worked out so far.
I inhaled another gulp of forest air and brushed the dry needles off my plaid leggings. A few of the older beachgoers had glanced my way with looks that weren’t completely approving. Maybe they saw me as a “punk” too.
My fashion sense wasn’t that out there, but it was definitely different from most of what I saw in Hobb Creek.
Oh well. They’d just have to get used to me as I was, because I was done squeezing myself into a box for anyone.
But I had picked a perch away from the main beach area where I wouldn’t make the locals feel intruded on. That way I didn’t have to worry about getting questioned either.
I glanced at my phone. Five-thirty. Rafael and I had made a habit of eating dinner together at seven every night, so I still had plenty of time to exhale my nerves.
God, it was perfect here.
Except maybe it wasn’t exactly perfect. A voice reached my ears, faint and carrying from somewhere behind me.
I couldn’t make out the words, but the tone was distinctly distressed.
I was way more familiar with that sound than I wanted to be.
With my senses on high alert, I got to my feet and ventured through the trees up the hill. It only stood about twenty feet over the lake with an easy slope my toned legs had no trouble scaling.
As I reached the top, the voices became a little clearer. A cry rang out, still faint but with obvious pain.
My stomach knotted. I crept down the other side of the hill, peering between the tree trunks.
What the hell was going on?
When I got close enough to make out movement up ahead, I froze, keeping behind a broad oak tree for shelter. As I watched, I gradually picked out the figures in this drama.
