AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I recognize the blond girl behind her as Lovey. I met her at the beginning of May, shortly after we moved to the cabin where we’re living. “Winter? Holy crap! Small world!” She looks between me and BJ, questions on her face. “You two know each other?”
“Uh, yeah. We just met today.” This is so awkward.
“When BJ almost ran her over with his Jeep,” Rose announces.
“What?” Lovey looks horrified.
“And then he held her skate hostage so she would come skating tonight. And it worked.” Rose grins.
“I’m so confused,” Lovey says.
“I’ll explain later,” BJ tells her.
“Yeah, you sure will.” She turns to me, her smile warm and inviting. “It’s so cool that you’re here.”
“How do you two know each other, anyway?” BJ motions between me and Lovey.
Lovey glances at me and waves a hand in the air. “Oh, you know, from all the volunteering.”
I’m grateful it seems to be enough of an explanation. And I’m especially grateful when another couple skates over. But for the second time in two minutes, my stomach sinks.
“BJ, fashionably late as ever.” The dark-haired guy, who is strangely familiar, arches an eyebrow and looks at me. “And you brought a friend.”
“Winter? Hey! I had no idea you were coming tonight!” Clover Sweet—it’s her real name—pushes past the dark-haired guy and hops off the ice, pulling me into a hug.
“You know everyone,” BJ says with a curious smile.
“This is a six-degrees-of-separation convention.” Rose motions between me and Clover. “How do you two know each other?”
Clover hugs my arm. “From the library. We bonded over our mutual appreciation of hockey.”
The first time I met Clover, she was standing in the stacks, simultaneously shelving books and trying to read. The second time I met her, I was working on an assignment for my online college course and fell asleep in one of the comfy chairs. She had to wake me because the library was closing. My feet had been propped up on my hockey bag. She helped me gather my things and made small talk, mentioning that her boyfriend coaches here. Since then, we always chat when I come in, so she’s aware that I moved here recently and that I’ve started working at Boones.
The dark-haired guy smirks. “You mean your appreciation of hockey romance?”
“I had no idea that was a thing until I met Clover,” I admit with a grin.
“It’s all about the stamina.” She winks and motions to the dark-haired guy. “Winter, this is my boyfriend, Maverick.”
“Hey. Nice to meet you.”
His eyes light up. “Clover’s mentioned you before, I think. You play hockey?”
“Mostly pick-up, but yeah.”
“Awesome. We’ll scrimmage later. It’ll be fun to have you on the ice with us.”
I’m amazed by how welcoming everyone is—and grateful that Lovey hasn’t said anything about how we know each other. There’s always a level of discomfort when people who know about my circumstances are also familiar with one another. It’s hard not to wonder if they’ll gossip later. The only thing I loathe more than my father’s sharp words is pity.
BJ nudges me. “Come on, let me introduce you to everyone.”
“Sure. Yeah. Okay.” The girls give us room to get on the ice, and I follow BJ across the rink to a group of older, dad-aged guys.
BJ does some kind of spin thing and skates a circle around me.
He must have taken some figure-skating lessons along the way to hone his skills on the ice. “You showing off?”
He winks. “Maybe a little.”
