“Back to riding with Preach in the morning?” She grinned. “Very nice!”
“Maybe…” I said, trying to play it off as she revved the engine to life.
“Can I ask you something?” she asked, steering her way out of the parking lot.
I wrapped my scarf around my neck. My body was shivering. “Sure.”
“Your hand…is it really going to be okay?”
“It’s going to be fine.I’mgoing to be fine.”
Willow took a right turn. “What if—”
“There’s noif, Willow. Iwillbe fine.” There was no other option than being fine. Starting basic training later than I’d planned was bad enough. But thewhat ifshe was about to say wasnotgoing to happen.
It wasnot.
“I get that. Believe me, I do.”
“And you were fine. Back to your old, skating self. Youchosesomething different than skating.” There were no other choices for me. I was going to complete basic training, then start my life in the Air Force.
That was it.
“Well, that’s not 100 percent true.”
“What?”
“I’d rehabbed and got strong enough to the point that I was doing some serious jumps. The kind of jumps that could take me somewhere in skating again. Hell, a program down in Florida wanted me bad.” She let out a sigh. “But it wasn’t without pain. The kind you know won’t get better over time. The injury changed me. Not only my body, but my heart. I’m sorry. I—I just get it, okay? Skating was all I knew. Was all Iwantedto know. I didn’t think I’d ever want anything else in my entire life, let alone hockey. I mean hockey? Really? A figure skater turned goalie? You can’t make that shit up.”
I chuckled. She wasn’t wrong. But her situation was different than mine.Iwas different. She hadn’t come from three generations of figure skaters. She hadn’t lost her brother because of her injury. Not that her stuff didn’t matter or anything like that, it was just… My life, well, it was different. And, no matter what it took, I was going into the Air ForceforEmmett. To honor his memory. There was no changing that.
Tears stung, but I blinked them back. I was not going to break down. I was strong. Focused. I would not yield.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Preach
“I’m so glad we’re done with that dungy storage room,” Grace said as she straightened some bookshelves filled with books.
The sun spilled over her, and a cool, refreshing breeze swept through the school parking lot. The last of the stuff from the storage room had just been brought out by some of the football players.
“I think those guys are stoked to be getting a new weight room,” I said, nodding toward them.
“I bet.”
It’d been a couple days since the non-date movie. When Brodie had asked me to go to the movies, I had no idea she’d be there. It was awesome, and that almost kiss was hot. I could see why she thought it was a setup, though.
It was probably Willow’s idea. Brodie totally would have spilled the beans if he’d planned it.
“So, official practice starts tomorrow. You ready?” I asked her as I lifted the last of the few textbooks onto the shelf she was messing with.
“Yes. I’d rather run ten miles every day than have to spend one more minute in that storage room.”
“Well, our community service ends today once we’ve finished these last five hours.” I glanced around the parking lot again. A handful of teachers were here to monitor the sale of everything, and a few members of the student council as well.
“I never knew selling old school stuff was a thing.” Grace brushed some dust from the front of her Woodhaven High hoodie.
“I think the money’s going to help fund some new soccer uniforms or something. I can’t remember.” I shrugged. Didn’t much matter to me, I was glad to be done serving my time as well. Except now I’d get to spend even less of it with Grace.