“Try. Because at least two of those three have big mouths and they’re coming to the wedding. It would be just like one of them to toast the bride and groom and baby. However, when I don’t drink, someone’s bound to ask.”
“They know we’re together. You can tell them you’re five minutes pregnant. Just how pregnant are you?”
“Five minutes. I haven’t missed a period yet but I peed on a stick.”
“You did?”
“Uh-huh. Iris came in to set up a prenatal appointment. She’s five minutes pregnant and it made me just wonder.”
“Good for Iris! They want a baby! And by the way, we want a baby. This isn’t going to screw up your plans, is it? I mean, the big wedding, the dress, the flowers, all that stuff? You’re not going to get morning sickness at the altar or anything, are you?”
“No.”
“And you’re still planning to seduce me tonight?”
“Yes, Scott. I put your children to bed and when you’ve lost your mind on the sparkling cider I’m going to strip and make you crazy.”
He leaned toward her, slid a hand under her sheet of black hair and pulled her closer. “I do love that. If you haven’t folded up the tent, we could do it in there.”
“I’d rather do it in bed.”
He touched her lips with his. “I love you. Have I told you that lately?”
“Several times a day. And I love you, but apparently you have a real talent for procreation. I’m going to keep my eye on you.”
“Thank you, Peyton. I really want children with you. At least a few.”
“I agreed to one so far. Let’s see how it goes.”
“It’s going to be great. Your family specializes in big herds. Your grandmother had the last child at forty-six.”
“In your dreams, doctor hottie,” she said, kissing him.
“Hmm. Do I have to drink this,” he said, holding his glass up. “It tastes like shit.”
She laughed. “If I have to be off wine for nine months, then shouldn’t you? As a sign of solidarity?”
“Absolutely, I’ll swear off wine if it makes you happy. Thank God, I’m a beer man. Now come on, enough talk about dietary restrictions—let’s get you naked.”
* * *
Troy asked Grace several times if it would be best to cancel his friend Denny’s weekend visit. “No,” she said. “In fact, it might be better to have things to do, people around. But, Troy, do you have to tell them I shot you?”
“No, I don’t have to, but if we introduce them to anyone in town, they’re going to find out.”
“Oh, God,” she moaned. “Things were so quiet, then...”
“All of a sudden,” he agreed. “Well, it still isn’t bigger than we are, babe.”
The early April weather cooperated. Every day was sunny and bright except when those afternoon showers came in over the Pacific. The days had grown longer and Grace could keep the shop open until six and still close in daylight. The downside was that after Denny and Becca’s visit, Troy was going to be needed more at the beach bar—people would start migrating to Cooper’s for sunset. The weather was warmer, and more people were seen outside, walking rather than driving.
While it gnawed at Grace that someone could send her a note identical to the ones Bruno sent before capturing her, knowing he was under wraps brought her some peace of mind. And while she was loath to admit it, seeing that Taser take down her boyfriend gave her a little confidence. Aside from the confusion about a motive, she was quickly feeling calmer. She did not, however, wear the Taser on her belt. She handled it very carefully. She carried it in her purse and it was turned off!
On Friday afternoon at around five o’clock, Troy brought a lovely young couple to the flower shop to meet Grace. Denny was a tall, handsome man in his late twenties and his wife was a pretty blonde with the sweetest little baby bump. They introduced themselves, looked around the shop appreciatively and thanked her for welcoming them so nicely. And then Becca froze. Her mouth stood open slightly and she covered it with her hand. She stared at Grace, wide-eyed. “Oh, my God!” she said. “You’re her! You’re Izzy Banks!”
Twelve
It turned out that Becca Cutler had been hooked on figure skating and kept up with all the competitions. She loved it all, pairs, ice dancing, long programs, short programs. When it wasn’t Winter Games, she watched national and world championships on ESPN. Becca and Grace were the same age. They literally grew up together. Grace admitted who she was.
After closing up the flower shop, they drove out to Cooper’s so Troy could show his friends his other place of employment. “Not too different from your little bar in Virgin River,” Troy said. “Just a different landscape.”
Cooper and Denny shook hands like old friends. “Jack sends his best. Said to call him if you need anything.”
“I need his cook if I’m going to get rich. Tell him to send Preacher,” Cooper said.
“Like that’ll ever happen,” Denny said.
“Take a table, the weather’s great. Beer on the house for my friends. What can I get the little lady with that expectant look in her eye?”
“Just a noncaffeine cola, if you have it.”
“Sorry, darlin’, but everything here is high-test except the light beer.”
“There’s green tea in the cooler,” Troy said. “I’ll get you one.”
“Can I have one, too?” Grace asked. “I’ll drink along with the preggers, here.”
Grace was greeted by a number of people as she and Becca went out on the deck, where it was still cool enough that they had to stay wrapped in their sweaters. The men stayed inside. Cooper brought the women some chips. He leaned down to whisper in Grace’s ear.
“You doing okay, Gracie?”
“I’m fine, Coop. Thanks.”
“If you need Troy next week, all you have to do is say so. We back each other up out here on the water.”
“Thanks,” she said. “I forget sometimes how great people are here.”
“Never forget,” he said, giving her hand a pat.
When he left, Becca was smiling. “This reminds me a little of Virgin River,” she said. “Everyone is so bonded. I can see they all love you, Grace.”
“I think I took that for granted. But tell me how you knew who I was?”
“Seriously? You were always my favorite. I watched you compete in all the big events!”
“How could I be your favorite?” Grace asked. “I didn’t think I was anyone’s favorite!”
“You were everyone’s favorite!”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I had the worst reputation in the business. People called me rich and snotty. My scores always suffered most because of my facial expressions! I never smiled enough for the judges.”
“Really?”
“I thought everyone was rooting for Fiona Temple.”
“She was the underdog. Underdogs always get attention, in all sports. But you? You were gifted, people said so all the time. A natural on the ice. And scared. You were just a scared kid. But in the Vancouver Games, you nailed it. You owned that competition—there was no contest. There hasn’t been a competition like that since. Every newcomer is compared to you. Fiona was a good skater, but a total poser. They caught shots of her cursing or scowling all the time, showing she wasn’t the sweet darling she pretended to be for interviews. I bet she was mean.”
Grace was stunned. “As a snake,” she said. “People knew?”
Becca shrugged. “I bet they did. Don’t you remember what people said about you? Your reviews? Kiddo, you stole the show.”
She had to shake herself. She only remembered the very critical comments.
“Why did you quit?” Becca asked.
“It’s a long story, but it boils down to thi
s—I couldn’t take the pressure anymore. I’d gone as high as I could go and I was exhausted. I like my life better now, hard as that might be to understand.”
“Not hard at all,” she said with a laugh. “A good life, a good man like Troy? That’s more than a lot of people have.”
“Tell me about you and Denny,” Grace said.
“Talk about a long story!” she said. She launched happily into her tale of on-again, off-again romance that finally stuck after she chased Denny to Virgin River and captured him with a broken ankle. She was getting to the wedding and her decision to stay in the mountains with the love of her life when Denny and Troy joined them on the deck, adding bits and pieces to her story. The sun was sinking in the sky when Troy announced that he’d made reservations at Cliffhanger’s for dinner.
“Think about what you’d like to see and do while you’re here,” Troy said. “The weather is supposed to be good all weekend and the coast is beautiful.”
“I can think of one thing I’d absolutely die to do,” Becca said. “I’d so love to see you skate, Izzy...I mean Grace!”
Troy put an arm around Grace’s shoulders. “Gracie doesn’t skate anymore,” he said.
“Actually, I do,” Grace said. “There’s a rink in North Bend where the owner lets me skate before they open in the morning. It’s early, though.”
“Oh, my God, that would be so awesome,” Becca said excitedly.
Troy put a thumb and finger on Grace’s chin, turning her face toward him. “You’re skating again?”
“Now and then. Secretly. Just because, you know...”
“I don’t know.”
“Because I’ve been skating my whole life, but for the past five years not for an audience. Except the owner of the rink.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?” he whispered.
“Because I don’t want to coach or compete and I wanted you to believe that.”
“Gracie, I believe everything you tell me. So, you’ll skate for me now?”
“Would you like that?”
“Only if it feels right to you.”
“I think I’d like to. If you promise you can love a flower girl.”
He just smiled at her.
* * *
That Friday night was more fun than Grace had had in years. Seth and Iris were at Cliff’s, sitting up at the bar eating crab cakes, so they picked up their plates and joined them. Cliff teasingly asked Grace if she was packing tonight and the story of the Taser came out to the hysterical laughter of everyone but Grace. After Denny and Becca were dropped back at Troy’s apartment, Grace and Troy went to her loft, to bed. But there was no sleeping. They cuddled close and talked late into the night.
Grace was enchanted by Troy’s friends; she loved what they seemed to have together. “Do we have anything close to that?” she asked him.
“Close,” he said. “If I’m not kidding myself, I think we’re building something that could be solid.”
“You don’t talk about the future with me,” she said. “Do you want something like what your friends have? A marriage? Children?”
“Of course I do. But, Gracie, we’ve been together three months and change. That’s not long enough. There are a few things we still have to sort out.”
“Like what?”
“Well, let’s start with how many more secrets you’re keeping.”
“Troy, I’m not keeping secrets!”
“I didn’t know you were skating. Couldn’t you trust me with that?”
“Oh, Troy, that’s not a secret. I’ve only been on the ice a few times since right after Christmas. There hasn’t been time! You’ve kept me too busy. And besides, I only do a little skating now and then to keep in shape.”
“But why didn’t you mention it? That’s something I would have told you.”
“I don’t know. I guess because I don’t want anyone to say I shouldn’t give it up. I know it’s something I’m good at, but everything that goes with it...”
“Grace, you could have told me that.”
“I’m sure there are plenty of things you haven’t told me,” she said hopefully.
He shook his head. “I can’t think of anything. Nothing that has an impact on us. I’m just glad Becca brought it out of you because I can’t wait to see you perform. And I think if we’re just patient, as we get closer, you’ll realize you don’t have to be afraid of how I’ll react.”
She wasn’t so sure about that.
* * *
Spending time with pregnant Becca brought Grace back to reality. She was sidetracked, busy, and she realized she still hadn’t gotten her period and couldn’t start the pills yet. She suddenly realized it must be late. She hadn’t thought about it—life had been too crazy. First the note came, then she almost killed Troy with the Taser and then his friends came for a weekend visit...
And now she lay in his arms listening to him whisper his love, as well as his concern that she kept things from him.
* * *
Grace dug out her tights and skates before first light. She had a flouncy little blue skirt and pulled her hair back into a ponytail. There was a time she had as many pairs of skates as other girls had shoes, with one pair she loved best. One that brought her luck. That was the only pair she had kept.
Troy, Becca and Denny drove to the rink in North Bend at seven on Saturday morning. Grace took the flower van so she could work for a while after the skating. The rink would officially open at ten. Becca was wriggling with excitement. Grace explained that she had to stretch and warm up before she could do any real skating. “And please remember, I haven’t trained in years. I’m not on top of my game. Just a few tricks, that’s all I have.”
Jake Galbraith met them at the door. “Well, an audience? That holds promise.”
“It’s just a favor for a friend,” she said. “It’s still private.”
“And I still hope you’ll train the younger girls one day. It would be a dream come true for them.”
“I wouldn’t make a good coach,” she said.
“You’d make a phenomenal coach,” he said. “You want some music?”
“If it’s not too much trouble.”
Grace took her time warming up. She stretched out on a mat in the girl’s locker room, then laced up her skates and raced around the rink a few times, doing front and back crossovers, a few jumps. The music came on, her Gershwin training music, and she started with a few easy moves, working up to the more difficult jumps and spins. She took a spill but got herself up and carried on. She didn’t look at her audience but sprayed the ice in their direction a couple of times. She was lost in back crosses, front crosses, figure eights, spins and axels.
Then Alicia Keys blasted into the arena and Grace put on a show. She didn’t think about anything but skating. She could lose herself so easily. She didn’t try anything fancy, all she wanted to do was make it pretty for Becca. And for Troy. If she were up to speed there would be triple axels and risky jumps, but she was smart enough to know she’d only hurt herself by taking ridiculous chances.
The reason she kept skating was simple. When there was no competition, she felt free, beautiful and fearless. She loved what she could do on the ice.
She’d been on the ice about a half hour, but steady and hard. She skated around the rink to cool down, then she made her way back to her audience, smooth and sleek, hands on her hips.
“Not much, but that’s all I have without training,” she said.
“That was awesome,” Becca said. “I would give anything to be able to skate, even a little bit.”
“Tell you what—when you’re not carrying around a little bump, we’ll get you on skates. It would take about fifteen years of hard training to do some of those moves, but there are some easy things I can show you.”
“I would love that so much.”
Grace looked at Troy and he was smiling. “I guess I understand why people try to get you to skate professionally again. Or coach.”
“I think that was a compliment, so thanks. But I really like what I’m doing now. And I have to be a drudge now—you guys go play. I’m going to have to open the shop for at least a few hours today. I can catch up with you later. You’re in good hands—Troy is the fun coach.”
“Thank you, Grace,” Becca said. “I know you wouldn’t have done that for just anyone.”
“It was time to share that part of me with Troy,” she said. “And now I have to get into the flower business.”
“Do you need me?” Troy asked.
“Nah. It’s a sunny Saturday morning. I’ll let you walk me to my van, though.”
“We’re going to see some more of the coast since we’re this far north. Then tonight I’m cooking for us,” Becca said. “Get your flower chores done and this evening you’re going to relax and let me pamper you.”
“Just a word of warning. When Troy tries to talk you into getting closer to the really big waves, don’t do it.”
“Enough,” he said.
When Grace had her boots on, she left her usual hundred dollars with Jake for his scholarship fund. At the van, Troy gave her a kiss that he didn’t seem to want to stop. She liked that so much.
Thirteen
Grace prepared a special order of four expensive centerpieces for a customer. An exclusive golf resort in Bandon had a guest who was throwing a party in one of the spacious cottages and wanted a delivery on Sunday afternoon. She could have told them she was closed on Sunday, but the resort was a regular customer, had an account with her and it was an easy five hundred dollars. She made up the arrangements on Saturday and put them in the cooler, then enjoyed dinner with Troy and his friends at his apartment. After dinner they played poker, and she cleaned house. She told Troy she was going to be closed on Sunday as usual but would make a delivery to the resort in Bandon in the afternoon.
“Becca and Denny are leaving around noon and spring break is next week—I’m off. I’ll go with you. I love that place. Someday I might even be able to afford to play golf there. Once, though. I’ll only be able to afford it once.”