Olive’s dad, Charles was in the driver’s seat and as I approached the car Chloe jumped out. “Bye, Olive. Bye, Mr. Jones.”

  “Hi, Dad.” She barely even glanced at me and walked into the house.

  Charles looked at me and gave me a knowing look. Whether it was disapproval or admiration, I couldn’t tell. “Coach,” he nodded.

  “Quite the dump of snow last night.” I held the shovel out in front of me like a staff. “How was the night?” Chloe was a good kid, and I’d never had a poor report from any of the kids’ parents when she’d gone to sleepovers.

  “We had to separate them after midnight. They wouldn’t stop talking.”

  I shook my head. “Kids.”

  Charlie put the car in gear. “These two, more like teenagers.”

  “Dad,” Olive groaned from the back seat.

  “Good game last night,” Charlie said then reversed out of the driveway. He waved and honked as he drove away.

  I waved back and realized that I wasn’t wearing gloves. They were somewhere in Amber’s house. It’s a good thing Chloe wasn’t remotely observant. I didn’t know how the hell I was going to explain what was going on with Amber. Hell, I didn’t even know what was going on with Amber.

  I cleared the walkway to our house and then quickly did Amber’s too, replacing the shovel next to her door. My hands were freezing and I blew onto them to try to get the feeling back into the tips as I walked into the house.

  “Em?” I shouted. “We have to leave for skating soon.”

  The house was silent. Chloe’s skating bag was sitting ready next to the door. “Em?”

  My house was the mirror image of Amber’s house. I headed up the staircase and knocked on Chloe’s door.

  “Em? Everything okay?”

  I leaned my ear against the door and then knocked again. “Em?”

  The handle rattled in my hand as I tried to open it. It was locked. Something Chloe had never done before. “Chloe.” I rattled the door more aggressively. I heard a voice that wasn’t Chloe’s and then Chloe tell the person she’d have to call them back.

  “Chloe.” I knocked again and took a deep breath. “Open the door.”

  The door swung open and Chloe ducked under my arm. She was wearing her skating practice clothes and I followed her down the stairs. “Who were you talking to?”

  “Ugh. Dad. It’s none of your business.”

  Calm down. I urged myself. “None of my business?” I was able to say it through gritted teeth without shouting it. “What are the rules with your phone?”

  “I’m going to be late.” She grabbed the handle of her skating bag and shoved her hand with the phone into her pocket.

  I crossed my arms. “We’re not leaving until you tell me what’s going on.”

  My daughter’s shoulders rose and started to shake. Oh no. “Em.”

  She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I know I’m not supposed to talk to people on my phone without asking you first.” Her voice wavered.

  “It’s for your own safety.”

  “I’m not a kid.”

  Yes, you are. I thought to myself. You’re my kid.

  “There are people out there, Em…” We’d already had this conversation, but it looked like it was going to be an ongoing battle.

  Chloe stamped her foot and that’s when the tears finally started to fall. “I was talking to Mom.”

  “Oh.” This caught me off guard. “Honey, you know if you want to talk to your mom, all you have to do is ask. You don’t need to hide it.”

  “You hate her.”

  She wasn’t wrong.

  “I don’t hate her.” That was a lie. I shouldn’t lie to my daughter, but somehow the truth felt like it was more damaging. The people who created and raised her should learn to be civil to each other.

  I told her you’re getting rid of all of her plates and stuff.

  “What did she say about that?” Chloe didn’t know that Kira had moved to Europe with a hockey player ten years younger than her. She also didn’t know that it was the second time that Kira had cheated on me with one of my players. Damn you, Kira. I thought to myself. Why did I have to look like the bad guy?

  Chloe opened the door. “I don’t know. You cut us off.” She trundled the skate bag down the walkway and stood beside the car. I was still in my coat and my bare feet I had shoved into my boots. The socks would have to wait.

  I used the remote start on the Jeep. It started up with a roar and Chloe jumped inside. I quickly brushed the thick pile of snow from its roof, windshield, and hood, and then hopped inside. The cabin had warmed up, but Chloe was sitting in the back seat like an ice queen. Her gaze was trained out the window.

  As I back out of the driveway, Amber’s garage door opened and I tried to hide my smile as she rolled the snowblower out into the driveway and started it up.

  Why couldn’t life be easy?

  The drive to the rink was silent except for the local radio station’s weather forecast bulletin. There was another storm was heading our way. Chloe’s shoulders were slumped as she stared out the window and I wished I knew what to say to her.

  I hadn’t spoken to Kira since she left. And I didn’t want to. As far as I was concerned the woman had made her choice, and that choice was a hockey player in Europe. But if she wanted to talk to Chloe, I couldn’t deny my daughter her mother. What Kira did wasn’t right, but I needed to do what was right for Chloe.

  With morning hockey practice canceled, I didn’t know what to do until I had to pick Chloe up again. I thought about going for a drive to clear my head, but with the incoming storm, I couldn’t risk getting stuck out of town behind the barrier of a road closure. I headed home, my head and heart wanting two separate things. The hammering in my chest as I neared Butternut Street was a clear sign that I wanted to pull Amber back into my arms and tell her how I felt about her, that I wanted to be with her. My damn brain, on the other hand, couldn’t wrap its stupid self around how to be with Amber without hurting Chloe. The two of them fought each other like a gloves-off brawl and when I pulled into my driveway, my stupid brain won.

  Clearing out the boxes and getting our house set up like a real home would be good for Chloe. Living as if we had just moved in, pulling things out of boxes as we needed them, couldn’t be good for her. The first thing I did was move all the boxes of stuff to give away into the back of the Jeep. I would donate them before I picked Chloe up.

  The radio blared out rock classics as I set to unpacking the boxes in the house. The first one was heavy, I opened the lid and found Chloe’s book collection. She loved those damn Nancy Drew books and insisted on hardcovers only. Kids could be so weird. I lugged the box up the stairs and stacked the books on the top of her dresser. The second box of books would have to stay in the garage until I bought her a shelf or two. I sat down on her neatly made bed, the bubble gum pink comforter was upside down, the princesses on it hidden from sight. Chloe had taped pictures of her favorite figure skaters above her bed, the scotch tape neatly affixed to the corners. I winced, knowing that it would pull the paint off when she decided she was into boy bands, or some new figure skaters, or worse, hockey players.

  She had photos in picture frames sitting on the floor propped up against the wall – waiting for me to hang them. I wiped at my eyes, the tears surprising me. This wasn’t good enough for her. She had been through hell and deserved a room fit for a, I would say princess, but based on the turned over comforter, think that she’s past that phase of her life.

  In between the Allman Brothers and the Doobie Brothers, the news told me that we were expecting freezing temperatures that evening. I unpacked the rest of my mom’s dishes and silverware, grateful to be rid of Kira’s ugly dishes. There wasn’t anything I could do about her terrible furniture though. If I gave away the white leather sofas or the chrome and glass tables, we wouldn’t have anywhere to sit or eat.

  At the thought of food, my stomach let out a giant growl just as the doorbell rang.

  “Hi,” Amber smiled as I opened the door.

  “Hi.” I stepped aside. “Come in.”

  She stomped her boots on the concrete and stepped into the house. “I won’t stay long, I just wanted to…”

  My heart sucker-punched my brain and I slammed the door and slipped my arm around her waist, pulling her in close to kiss her.

  When I let go, she held onto my forearms. She looked like she wanted to say something, but kissed me instead.

  “Is that what you came here for?” I asked.

  She pulled her cell phone out of her pocket. “I realized that I don’t have your number and I wanted to see if I could buy you lunch.”

  I checked my watch. “I’ve got some time before I pick Chloe up from skating.”

  My brain turned back on and wondered if lunch was a good idea. “And I think that there are a few things that we should talk about.”

  She pursed her lips and nodded. “You must be a mind-reader. That was part of the reason I wanted to see you.”

  I put on my coat and boots. “What was the other reason?”

  She blushed. “I wanted to kiss you one more time.”

  Uh. Oh. Did she mean one more time or one last time? Was this a breakup lunch? Could it be a breakup lunch if we weren’t even together? I couldn’t help myself, the idea that our last kiss had just happened made my stomach hurt. I put my hands on Amber’s shoulders and pressed her against the closed front door. She pulled my hips to hers. I slipped my hand behind her neck and our lips met. At first, I was trembling with trepidation but as soon as I tasted her again, I was ravenous for her. If this were to be our last kiss, I wanted to breathe her in completely, to press my body hard enough against hers so that I would never forget the feel of hers against mine.

  We broke apart with what felt like mutual reluctance. She rested her forehead on my chin and I could feel the warmth of her breath on my neck. “Are you hungry?” I asked and felt the nod of her head. I kissed her forehead tenderly and then held her hand as we walked to the car.

  After dropping the boxes off at the thrift store we drove down the main street of Laketown. “There’s really only one or two options for lunch.”

  “I’ve read good things about the Crepe house.”

  I sighed. “It’s only open in the summer. Like most places.”

  She nodded, her lips forming a narrow line. “They don’t say that in the brochures. I wonder why anyone…” her voice faded out.

  “Why anyone lives here?” I finished her sentence.

  She looked at me then glanced down. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”

  Of course she did, that’s how I felt when I moved here too. Laketown has its fair share of five-star restaurants, exclusive golf courses, and world-class concert venues – in the summer. “It will grow on you,” I smiled and patted her thigh. “There are lots of fun things to do in Laketown in the winter.”

  “Like what?” she asked, a light laugh in her voice.

  I found an empty parking spot at The Brew Pub and turned off the car. “Like watching the Otters hockey games.” I held up one finger and then a second, “Eating lunch at the Brew Pub….”

  “Is there a third?” She raised her eyebrows at me and hopped out of the car.

  “Come on, Florida. Get in.” I started the car back up.

  Amber pointed to the restaurant. “But lunch…”

  I grinned at her. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you some lunch.”

  She tilted her head at me but got back into the car. “Where are we going?”

  “Are you open to new experiences?” I raised my eyebrows at her and headed to the beach.

  I didn’t think her eyebrows could go up any higher on her head. “Dean Covington, where the hell are you taking me?”

  The lake was only about a minute’s drive from the restaurant. “I’m glad you wore your winter boots. Hold on, Florida.” I put the SUV into four-wheel drive and gave it some gas to get up and over the snowbank. It was early in the year, but because of the extended arctic-like conditions for all of November, the ice road was already well-traveled, plowed and maintained by one of the local builders who did winter work on the islands.

  It was hard to believe that a storm was coming in. The sky was the color of a bluebird and the glaring sun was almost blinding. “Here.” I handed Amber my sunglasses and squinted, looking into the distance.

  “Are we on the lake?” Amber asked.

  I nodded. “Don’t worry, it’s safe. Look.” I pointed to a dump truck ahead of us.

  She held onto the door handle. “Are you sure?”

  “Amber, I would never do anything to put you in danger. The ice is checked every day and you only need a foot for a car, and we’ve got double that.”

  Her eyes were wide and she looked like she was searching for words. “What happens if we go through?”

  It was a valid question, and every year, someone got off the trail and went somewhere they shouldn’t. But I wasn’t going to scare Amber with those details. “We’re not going through.”

  Andy’s pickup truck was parked next to his ice shack and I parked next to it. “I want you to meet someone.” I got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side to help her out. She took my hand but seemed reluctant to stand on the ice. I gave her my other hand and she gingerly stepped onto the blanket of snow.

  “A-a-a-a-are you sure about this?” She held my hand like she wanted to break it and took one step forward.

  I squeezed her hand back, hoping it would signal her to ease up the death grip.

  “Hello,” I shouted and Andy came around the side of his bright red fishing hut.

  “Coach!” he shouted. “Thanks for the morning off.”

  I knew that Andy would be out fishing. Right now, the Otters were the only team using the McManus Place ice surface. Most of the National League guys who liked to keep up their skills were out of town, so a day off for the Otters meant a day off for Andy.

  Andy punched me in the arm. “Who’s this?” he smiled. It was selfish, but I was thankful that I was still holding Amber’s hand. Andy was a little older, but all the young girls said he looked like a scruffy Ryan Reynolds.

  “Andy, this is my…” shit. What was she?

  “Neighbor,” Amber released her death grip and shook Andy’s hand.

  I filled in the next blank. “Amber. Amber, this is Andy a good friend of mine.”

  The interaction seemed to relax her fears of plunging to the bottom of Lake Casper. “Nice to meet you, Andy. Is this your… place?”

  Andy laughed. “Yep. This is my palace. You two showed up just in time, I was just about to fire up the grill. Caught a few lake trout this morning. After I picked up Dylan Moss from the station.”

  In all the excitement with Amber, I had forgotten about Dylan and the night he spent in the drunk tank. “How was he?”

  “A little green,” Andy said. “And embarrassed.”

  I felt better about my decision to let him get taken to the station. He wasn’t going to learn if everyone kept enabling him. “Here’s hoping that taught him a lesson.”

  Andy gave a light shrug and I could see the worry in his eyes. “Welcome to Lake Casper, Amber.”

  Amber gave Andy her big dimpled smile. I think we were all glad to be off the subject of drunk Dylan. “I’ve seen these palaces in the movies.” She seemed full of wonder. “I didn’t think that people actually did this.”

  “Where are you from?” Andy laughed and waved for us to follow him.

  Amber seemed to remember that she was terrified and looped her hand through the crook of my arm. I patted her hand and joined Andy beside a charcoal barbecue. He opened up two additional folding chairs. “Have a seat.” He gestured to the chairs across the hole from his. “Oh, wait.” He took the orange cushion from his chair and set it on one of the new seats. “That’s for Amber, not you, Coach,” he laughed.

  “Before we sit down, I just want to ease Amber’s mind a little,” I said. “About the ice.”

  “First time?” Andy asked.

  Amber nodded. “First time standing on something not meant for standing on.”

  “Where are you from again, Amber?” Andy repeated his question and pulled an ice auger from the side of the shack.

  “Florida,” Amber said. She was watching Andy like a hawk.

  “You don’t have to drill a new hole, Andy. Just show her how thick the ice is.”

  Andy pushed me aside. “My shack, my rules,” he laughed. “Amber, the best way to feel confident about the ice is to make your own hole.”

  Amber took the auger from Andy’s hands and looked at it like it was a part of a space ship.

  “Coach, want to show our guest how to do it?”

  “Sure.” Andy was a good friend. He knew that showing Amber how to use the auger to drill a hole in the ice would require a rather cozy position, not unlike teaching someone how to hold a golf club from behind.

  “Did Faith explain the choke on the snowblower to you?” I asked.

  She nodded.

  “Same idea here, although it doesn’t need it because Andy has just used it.” I tilted my head to what I knew was a freshly bored hole in the ice. “Pull the cord to start it like a lawnmower.”

  “Those…” she laughed. “I’m familiar with.” She tugged the cord and the engine growled to life.

  I helped her put it into position. “Now hold on and pull this handle.”

  As much as I wanted to wrap my arms around Amber and hold onto the auger, the woman was strong and didn’t need any help at all. The machine revved and sounded like a chainsaw. “Is it through yet?” she shouted.

  “You’ll know,” I shouted back.

  She was jostled forward when the machine broke through and then she pulled it out. “That was hard work,” she huffed, sounding slightly out of breath.

  I took the auger from her. “Now look at how deep you had to go.” I pointed to the blade that had completely disappeared from sight. “That’s thick ice.”

  “Thick enough to drive a team of horses,” Andy shouted.

  “Feel better?” I whispered.