Fresh Ice (17 page)

“Guys, come on, it’s for the kids.” Quinn followed them to the bench for a break.

“Yeah, but you’re at least supposed to try.” One of the guys elbowed him. “Then again, that little blond is a distraction, isn’t she?”

“S
he looks familiar,” someone noted. “What did you say her name was?”

“Izzy Marks.” Quinn nodded at her as she waved to the bench. “She skated some in college, I think.”

“Is she in town with the Icecapades?”

“If she
’s with Quinn, she’s already had an Icecapade or two, right Quinn?”

Quinn let the general good natured ribbing pass by him without more than a nod and a weak smile.
Even here, among friends, my reputation is too much to ignore.

Why on earth would someone as kind and perfect as Izzy want me in her life?

The day was over far too soon. Everything about the event gave Izzy joy, and she felt a certain twinge of loss when the last child gave her a parting hug.

Not everything had been easy. The urge to fly over such perfect ice was difficult to ignore. She kept up a deluge of cheerful chatter with the parents and an impromptu skating lesson for the siblings of the youth hockey team, hoping to drive the ache in her heart away. She skated slowly, trying to calm the nervous energy in her legs.
I might as well try to reign in wild horses.

She’d never seen Quinn as comfortable as he was on the ice, with his friends and the kids. The cloud that always seemed to follow him lifted. His smiles held no echo of sadness.
Funny, I never thought of him as sad until I saw how different he is today.

What fascinated her most was his easy rapport with everyone. So often, when they talked at the Waffle House, he seemed distant, as if some huge space lay between him and everyone around him.
But here, on the ice, he’s present and connected.

He’s not looking over his shoulder.

Briefly she wondered what past spirit haunted him.

Now, sitting on the bench, staring absently at the empty ice, Izzy envisioned herself skating as she once had.
Had I known I was going to give it up forever, would I have made a different decision? Would I have slept with Jason?

She knew the answer. Sleeping with Jason lead to Jenna, and Jenna was the one thing in Izzy’s life she never regretted.

“You look a million miles away.”

Izzy startled at Quinn’s touch on her shoulder. “I was just remembering when Jenna was little. I’d take her to skating parties and school outings. It’s been a long time.”

“You were pretty awesome with those kids. I owe you.”

“No, I think we’re even.”

He sat down and nudged her shoulder with his. “Nope, see, I forgot that there would be all these little kids, with nothing to do. You saved the day. I owe you big.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Having Quinn Murray owe me a favor might come in handy at some point.”

He checked his watch. “Look, we’ve got a couple hours before the ice crew comes in. I usually just spend the time skating. I don’t get the opportunity too often. You don’t mind hanging around for a bit, do you?”

“No, not at all.” Her heart beat a bit faster.
Some free time on the ice?

“You could join me.” His beautiful eyes glowed hopefully.

Calm down. He’s just being nice.
“What, like be the goalie?”

Quinn smiled, mischief glowing in his eyes. “That would be great for my ego!”

“Oh, you think I’d be a push over?”

“I think I’d score on you easily. Oh wait…that didn’t come out right, did it?” His cheeks reddened, something Izzy found endearing.

Izzy laughed. “Not really. But I like a challenge.”

Cat would be so proud of me.

***

“Give me a minute, okay? I’ll be right back.” Quinn started up the stairs to the announcer’s booth. Behind him, he heard the smooth swish of blades on ice and knew that Izzy was skating slowly around the rink. “Nick, good, you’re still here.” Quinn greeted the young music coordinator who was locking the announcer’s booth.

“I gotta lock up Mr. Murray. You and your friend should probably get going.”

“Nick, do you know who that is?”

Nick squinted at Izzy’s small form on the distant ice. “Nope. She’s a decent skater though. Is she with the Icecapades?”

Probably best not to let him in on it just yet. There’s a reason she’s hiding.
“I’m not sure. But look, Nick, I’d really like to spend a little time with her, on the ice. Okay?”

“Oh, I don’t know. I’m supposed to get everyone out of here. The ice crew is coming in a couple hours to get the rink ready for the Preds game tonight.”

“Look, Nick, how about this: I have two keys in my pocket. One is for the owner’s luxury box. The other is for the bar in the owner’s luxury box.” Quinn watched Nick’s expression transition from doubt to interest to glee. “I’m sure a guy like you has a friend you’d like to maybe impress for an hour or so?”

“You have no idea!” Nick clapped his hands together. “Won’t the owners get mad?”

Only if we get caught.
“It’ll be fine. Just be sure you leave everything the way you found it.”

“Oh, I will!”

“How about if you return my keys in an hour?”

“I can do that.”

“And Nick?”

“Yes, sir?”

“Keep the curtains in the box closed. Neither of us wants an audience.”

Nick nodded. “You want the lights up?”

Quinn glanced at the shadowy ice and shook his head. “No, I like it dim. Oh, you could put some music on, something mellow?”

“I’m not sure what I have.” Nick rifled through a stack of CD’s. “Oh, wait, how about this?” He held up a CD marked, ‘Boring 80’s tunes chicks dig.’ “I think the guy who used to have my job used it, you know… to get chicks.”

“Where’s he now?”

Nick shrugged. “I’m pretty sure he got caught with a girl in one the Preds’ cushy locker room chairs. They fired him.”

“So let’s not get caught.” Quinn spoke more to himself than to Nick. Leaving the booth, Quinn heard the first strains of Toto’s “Won’t Hold You Back” and smiled.
It’s like it’s meant to be.

He sat on a bench and tightened his laces, watching as Izzy moved to the music that would have won her a gold medal. She was hesitant, at first, as if only vaguely recalling the steps. As the music continued, she moved more confidently, her body floating over the ice. Her motions and jumps, though simplified, were clean, effortless. The years melted away. The
re were moments in the routine where Jason would have lifted her or sent her whirling into some fluttering, perfectly landed, throw element. Only because he’d memorized the routine did Quinn miss the elements. Anyone else would have thought her footwork was part of the routine.

She’s still breathtaking.

The song faded and another started to play. Quinn skated out to center ice where Izzy stood very still.

He put his hands on her shoulders. “That was spectacular…Miss Landry.”

She shuddered as if waking from a trance. “How?” Her voice was light and breathy from the exertion. Her eyes darkened. “How long have you known?”

Don’t freak her out by telling her you’ve stalked her.
“Call it a suspicion I’ve had for a while. The bigger question,” he circled her, “is why you’ve kept it a secret.”

“I haven’t been really ready to talk about it. It’s been a long time.”

He didn’t miss her hesitation. “I understand if you don’t want to share with me.”

“It’s not you.” She leaned against the boards. “Jenna’s the only one I’ve told, and Collier, well we grew up together. My hus—Jason always said we’d be safe if we didn’t talk about
it. I got out of the habit of thinking about…my past. Until recently.”

That explains her connection to Singer Guy. Childhood buddies. I can work with that.
“Look, I’m sorry if I brought up bad memories. That wasn’t my intention.”

She smiled, and in that smile was more forgiveness than Quinn thought he deserved. “Don’t be. I mean, it’s actually sort of a charge, skating again. I’ve missed it.” She started skating backwards, still facing him. “I guess you can never completely escape who you are, right?”

I’ve been trying to do that for years.

“Don’t beat yourself up. It might be good to talk to someone. At least you get it. You understand what it’s like to be away from the ice when you still love it.” She put a hand on his chest. “Our secret?”

I get to share a secret only a select few know? I’m in.
“Our secret.” He watched her skate away from him. “On a completely different note, you’d make a great defenseman.”

“How so?”

“You skate backwards faster than most guys I’ve seen in the league.”

“Sorry,” she slowed her speed and smiled. “On that same note, you’d be a pretty good
pairs’ partner.”

Their easy give and take was restored. Relieved, Quinn laughed out loud and sped up to skate next to her. “Doubtful.”

“No, honestly. You’re tall, and strong. Those are key points. Plus, you know how to skate.”

“No, you skate. I move around.”

“Oh, shut up. False modesty doesn’t work on you.”

“Did the First Lady of
Pairs’ Skating just tell me to shut up?” It was his turn to skate backwards.

“Oh, that’s where we’re going, seriously?” Izzy shoved him. “Monster Mash Murray is calling me names?”

“Obviously we’ve found each other’s Wikipedia page.”

“Obviously.” She slowed and skated next to him.

Emboldened by her nearness, Quinn softened his tone. “Show me some moves.”

The request surprised her. “What, now?”

“Sure, why not? We have world class ice right here.”

She frowned. “What did you do to make everyone in the place just leave?”

Quinn nodded to the faint light in the glowing from one luxury box. “I have a lot of charm and a couple of very important keys for rooms in this place.”

“How much time do we have?”

Quinn checked his watch. “An hour, give or take.”

Izzy skated a few paces ahead of him, then turned and skated backwards. She seemed to assess him more like a side of beef than a skater.

“A spin and a jump would take way too long, plus you really can’t spin in those.” She pointed to his hockey skates.

Quinn shook his head. “I always thought a death spiral would be cool.”

“No, those are way more complicated than they look, and you,” she looked him up and down with a practiced eye, “don’t look ready for something like that. But,” she reached her hand to him, “you could do a throw.”

Quinn took her hand willingly, but was not amused at her suggestion. “I’m sorry, a throw? Not a chance.”

“A throw is probably the simplest thing I could teach you. I would have a bit more control over the end result of a throw than I would a lift.”

Quinn pictured himself lifting Izzy over his head, and the image ended with her crashing more than six feet down, slicing his face open with her skates in the process. “Okay, a throw it is.”

“Now a lot of people debate over what the easiest one to do is, but I like the throw double Salchow.” She sidled up to him. “It’s almost romantic and I’m fairly sure I can stick a landing on a double without killing us both.”

“Oh, well, that sounds so easy. Sign me up.”

“Oh, come on!” She put a hand on his arm. “Just give it a try. I’ll admit, I’m sort of interested to see if I can still do it.”

“What do I need to do?”

Izzy’s eyes glowed in the dim light. “Okay, the first thing you have to know is that if you’re going to be a pairs’ skater, you have to trust your partner.”

“Got it. Trust.”
Simple word. Impossible concept.

As Izzy explained a few things, her whole body quivered with an energy Quinn hadn’t seen in her before.
How much magic did the skating world lose because they pushed her out?

“Now, put your hand here on my waist and one here on my shoulder. Now skate.”

He obeyed her command and they skated over the full oval of the ice. He held her, but Izzy lead them both. Her body was taught, tense, like a guitar string. He marveled at how easily she moved, and how natural it was to have his hands on her.

“Now, you’re going to throw me.”

“Now?” His feelings of comfort abandoned him.

She slowed and skated backwards in front of him. “Don’t sweat it. All you have to do is put your hands here, and hold my hand here. When I say go, just fling, sort of a like a Frisbee.”

“Frisbees don’t have arms and legs that break.”

“You’re not chickening out on me, are you?”

“No, of course not.” Quinn held her, tense, waiting for her command.

“Now!”

He spun and let her go. All he could do was watch as she twirled in the air twice, and fumbled to a wobbly landing. She regained her footing quickly, and shot a dazzling smile at him. “You did it!” She glided to a stop and leaned against the boards.