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“Sweet! I’ll go tell the others!” Keaton replied and scurried off. I couldn’t help but laugh lightly as my eyes fell on Weston who looked especially frustrated.
“Give me a minute to find you some skates in your size. I think we’ve got a pair around here somewhere,” Weston said, his eyes drilling holes after Keaton, causing me to laugh again.
“Weston, I’m wearing a dress.”
“You look very pretty in it,” he stated nonchalantly, and then whipped his head towards me, confusion caressing his features. “Why do you mention that?”
“I don’t have a jacket and it’s cold.”
He shook his head. “Duh, idiot,” he muttered to himself, and then grinned. “Wait here. I’ll steal some tights or pantyhose or whatever they’re called from Pearl, and we will head out.” And Weston took off, leaving me waiting for another adventure.
Chapter 19
Weston turned around a corner and we emerged from the small pathway that had obviously been driven on many times before this trip. In front of me was a small pond, completely frozen over with scratches already across the surface. Keaton and Annie shouted in delight and Millie clapped her hands in glee as he put the Razor into park. They jumped out of the back.
I sat still, admiring the last bit of frozen green foliage whose tips peeked out from beneath the snow. Weston came around to my side as I tugged at the black, wool tights that clung uncomfortably to my legs, though I was grateful for them since it seemed especially cold today. He pulled open the door and knelt down in front of me. I furrowed my brows as he gently grabbed my foot and brought it towards him, resting it upon his leg.
His fingers slid the battered but functional figure skate upon my foot and then began lacing it tightly up. I watched his thick, veiny hands work something so delicately without a word, without hesitation. His cowboy hat was once again upon his head, hiding those beautiful blue eyes and that face that I so desperately loved to see.
Once the skates were on both of my feet, he stood and quickly changed his boots out for a pair of black hockey ones before extending his palms to me. I tenderly placed my hands in his, and he helped my shaky legs out of the Razor. Balancing against him, we made our way to the pond that the other three kids had already zoomed across.
Graceful and quick, Millie’s pockets bulged with rocks that she was gathering around the edge of the pond. Then she chased after Keaton and threw the small pebbles at him before gathering them up quickly and returning to her game that they all laughed at.
Weston’s skates hit the ice and he easily slid backwards, making room for my wobbly feet. I stared at the slick, frozen surface, nerves bouncing through my veins. The sledding was one thing, but this was something else. It always looked so romantic and fun in the movies but right now, as I stared at the ice in front of me, it looked like anything but fun.
“Trust me,” Weston whispered, and I looked up from the frozen surface at the man in a Carhartt in front of me. “I’ve always got you.”
Nodding quickly, I placed one skate on the surface and leaned into his hands. Balancing against him, I placed the other blade upon the ice, and he slowly tugged me forward. He skated backwards across the pond, gently pulling me along and allowing me to feel the freedom of the movement.
I was anything but graceful, but I slowly felt excitement slither back into my veins. After a minute of him pulling me along, he began to instruct me on how to push myself forward on the skates. He didn’t let go of my hands, but gave me time to struggle with the movement.
Giggling while he smiled wide, I eventually found a rhythm to the movement, and he loosened his hold on my hands. I grinned even bigger as I remained steady, skirting around the pond after Weston.
Suddenly, Keaton bumped into my backside, making me tumble forward. Directly into Weston’s outstretched arms.
“Sorry!” Keaton called, scooting on by. Weston wrapped his arms tighter around me as we slid slowly across the surface and then came to a gentle halt. I was laughing, he was chuckling and grinning. My cheek pressed against his chest, and I could feel his heartbeat steady beneath his ribs, holding me snug to his frame.
Instead of moving away, I sunk into his embrace. Closing my eyes and leaving my hands pressed against his abdomen that I’d braced upon. Pine trees and leather enveloped me along with a little musk that I didn’t have a word to describe. I liked this.
Gradually, I opened my eyelids and lifted my gaze to meet his eyes. He was already studying me, looking down at my face with the most tender contemplation. His thick, dark lashes fluttered as a crooked smile spread softly across his face, pulling his scar tight.
Oh, Weston. I thought adoringly. Finding myself seeing a side of this powerful man that I knew he never shared with anyone else.
His hand slowly drifted from my waist, and his fingers brushed against some hair that had fallen into my face. Fingers trailed along the edge of the strands, his eyes following steadily behind. There was no pressure to drift apart yet, and I watched his movements as my heart whispered in my chest like a soft breeze on a summer day.
“I like your hair like this,” he whispered, his eyes still with his fingers that slowly threaded through the end of the curls. I liked the way he was touching my hair. I liked the way he was speaking to me. I liked the way he’d looked at me earlier, even if we were just friends.
Millie skated by behind us, the crunch of rocks crashing against the ice muffled by the trance we were standing in. She paused to pick them up as Keaton roared up behind her and teased her before they skirted off, chasing one another.
Despite the distraction, I couldn’t peel my gaze away from Weston’s eyes that had drifted to mine. Intense and full of wonder.
And longing.
“Weston…” I whispered, and his body shuddered.
Suddenly, he slammed forward against me, unintentionally shoving me away. My eyes met Millie’s directly behind Weston, as she grimaced. Swinging my arms, I tried to maintain my balance, but failed and crashed onto the icy surface.
A crack sounded below me.
