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“On my way to Frosty’s now. What do you want?”
“Three extra-large pepperonis, and then one Hawaiian for me and you to split.”
There was a silence on the other end of the line, and it lasted just long enough that Shelley had begun to think that the call had been dropped. Just as she was about to ask if he was still there, Rudolph cleared his throat.
“Listen,” the old man grunted, sounding uncharacteristically cautious as he spoke. “I don’t think I’m going to stick around after I drop off the pizza. I think I’ll just head home and leave you to lock everything up.”
A small shock ran through Shelley at his words. She could have sworn that the old grump had begun to look forward to the classes that she taught. She most definitely had noticed him coming more to life each time he was around the kids, some of his general crabbiness falling away in the presence of the children.
She thought of that day at Frosty’s, when the two of them had talked about the showcase and when Colette had announced that Valerie Bernard was staying in Snowy Pine Ridge. Rudolph had been off ever since then. He hadn’t been particularly crabby or grouchy, quite the opposite, in fact. It was like the energy had just been zapped out of him ever since.
“Are you sure?” Shelley asked hesitantly. “I know the kids would love to have you.”
“Thanks, Shelley. But I’m sure. I’ll be there with the pizzas shortly.”
Rudolph didn’t wait for her to say goodbye as well before connecting, leaving Shelley standing there with the phone pressed to her ear and a perplexed look on her face. She had known that it was a low blow, bringing up the kids and trying to guilt him into sticking around. But she didn’t like the idea of him moping about and spending a bunch of time at home by himself, which he seemed to have been doing a lot of lately.
The door to the rink was pulled open, allowing a quick whip of cold air to rush into the building and pulling Shelley out of her thoughts of Rudolph. Matthew smiled at her as he approached, and her heart beat a little faster at the sight of his blue eyes crinkling with joy. And behind him strode the lanky form of his ten-year-old son, Brandon.
“Hey, fellas.” Shelley beamed, stepping into Matthew’s arms for a quick, comforting hug the moment he was close enough.
“Hey, Shelley,” Brandon said, shooting her a grin as he trotted past her toward one of the booths so that he could sit and begin lacing up his skates.
Matthew chuckled as he watched his son, and it caused his chest to rumble against her cheek. She squeezed him a little more tightly, and Matthew must have sensed that she needed it, because he didn’t let go of her. Instead, he planted a kiss to her forehead before craning back his neck so he could look down at her face.
“Everything all right, Shell?” he asked, brow furrowing with concern.
Shelley paused for a moment, wondering how to put into words exactly how her thoughts were spiraling.
“It’s Rudolph,” she began before slowly filling Matthew in on all of the details surrounding her concerns about the owner of the ice-skating rink.
She watched Matthew’s face as she spoke, noticing all the minuscule reactions, and she could see the skepticism in his expression as she began to wrap up.
“You think I’m reading too much into it, don’t you?” Shelley asked hesitantly.
“No.” Matthew shook his head, his sandy brown hair glinting underneath the building’s bright fluorescent lights. “I think there’s every possibility something might be up. But there’s also a possibility that there might not be. Rudolph is kind of just a strange guy. No one in town seems to know him very well, other than the fact that he doesn’t get along with people.”
Now it was Shelley’s turn to shake her head. “He gets along fine with me and the kids.” She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt protective of the old man, but she did. “You haven’t seen him when he’s with them. He loves being around the kids. I’ve even seen him cracking a smile or two.”
Matthew shrugged. “Maybe he’s just not feeling well?”
“Maybe,” she conceded, finally taking a step back and out of her boyfriend’s embrace. “But it feels like more than that.”
“Please don’t worry yourself sick about it, sweetheart,” he said again, giving her a concerned look. “I’m sure he’s just in a bad mood or something.”
Shelley nodded slowly. She didn’t agree with Matthew. She definitely didn’t think it was just Rudolph being in a sour mood. She’d been around the older man enough ever since he’d agreed to let her start using the rink to host her classes that she could tell the difference. Besides maybe Louise, whom Rudolph seemed to tolerate the most, might now be one of the people in Snowy Pine Ridge who was closest to the old man. Or at least one of the people whom he seemed to begrudge the least. Except for the children, that was. And she knew that something about the situation just wasn’t right.
Rudolph had been completely fine up until that day at Frosty’s. But something that day had struck a nerve in the old man, and she had a sinking suspicion that it had something to do with Snowy Pine Ridge’s new resident movie star.
Shelley let the topic drop as she and Matthew interlaced their fingers and walked over to where Brandon still sat. As they stood beside the bench, father and son chatting easily about everything he was excited to learn and practice that day, Shelley glanced toward the large glass entrance of the building.
Cars and SUVs were already pulling into the parking lot, and she knew that any second the kids would be in the rink, donning their skates and jittering with energy that demanded to be focused. She gave Matthew’s hand a quick squeeze before walking over to the skate counter, taking down the few sizes she knew that they’d need and getting everything ready, placing them gently on the counter for the children to grab.
The kids trickled in, talking excitedly to each other as they rushed up to grab the skates and began getting ready for the class. And Shelley watched the door vigilantly, wondering when Rudolph was going to show up with the pizzas. She knew it was a long shot, but she’d like to get a good look at him while he was there, maybe even call a break in the skating so that she’d get the opportunity to talk to him. She didn’t entirely know what was going on with him yet, but the one thing she did know for sure was that she was going to do everything she could to figure it out.
* * *
Valerie smoothed down her hair as she walked through the town toward the other bakery Evelyn had told her about called Baking Fiend. She had liked going to Sweet Thing, but it was a bit daunting when she thought about the fact that she already knew so many people there. So she’d opted to ask Evelyn for other recommendations instead, choosing to fly under the radar for a bit, just like she’d originally intended when coming to Snowy Pine Ridge.
