After all, people live through hurricanes all the time. Surely, my parents can ride out one of them.

  Looking up, I realize I’m no longer alone. What in the world is Marcy doing here?

  CHAPTER 14

  JAMIE

  I slept a little bit better last night. I only got up twice to make sure the windows and doors were locked. Now that Ashlyn planted that seed about bears breaking in, every time I turn around, I expect to find them eating porridge at the table.

  After showering and grabbing a quick breakfast, I manage to get out of the house and down the drive without one bear sighting. I take that to mean today is going to go well.

  As I pull into the arena parking lot, I wave to several guys. One of the things I like most about being on a team is the camaraderie. Hockey players get a bad rap for being hot heads, but my experience has been mostly positive. Except for Harry.

  Speak of the devil. As I pull into the parking spot with my nameplate on it, I see my old nemesis getting out of his car. It’s not like I can avoid the guy now that we’re on the same team, so there’s no use hanging back until he’s gone.

  Stepping out of my rental, I greet him. “Harry.”

  He looks startled that I’m even speaking to him. “Jamie.”

  We walk side-by-side into the building in total silence, which is just as awkward as you might expect. As we approach the locker room, I turn to him and declare, “In the best interest of the team, I’ve decided to forgive you.”

  “For what?” he demands.

  How stupid can this guy be? “For trying to poach my college girlfriend,” I remind him.

  “What are you talking about, Jamie? You stole Paige from me.” He can’t be serious.

  “How do you figure that? I started dating Paige the month after we started our freshman year.” I tell him, “We met at a party in our dorm.”

  “Dude,” Harry says. “Paige and I had our first date the week after we moved into the dorms.”

  I rack my brain to see if that could even be possible, but I can’t come up with any reason why it couldn’t. “How did you meet?” I demand.

  “We took the elevator down to the cafeteria together. She ordered a biscuit, two pieces of bacon, and grapefruit.” That was her standard breakfast.

  Paige and I lived on different floors, but I do know that she and Harry were on the same floor. “Where did you go on your first date?”

  “To the roof of the medical school building.” There’s a glint in his eye that makes me want to punch him. That’s where all the underclassmen used to go to make out.

  “Did you just hook up, or did you actually date?” I want to know.

  “We dated.” Holding up one finger at a time, he enumerates, “We went to the zoo; we went into the city to see a movie; and we walked for miles by Lake Michigan one Saturday.”

  A weird barrage of emotions washes over me. The main one being dread that I might have been the interloper. “Were you exclusive?” I want to know.

  “Obviously not, because when you asked her out, she went.” So, they weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend. That’s something.

  “Did you date her after I started seeing her?” I ask like this might somehow lessen my culpability.

  He shakes his head. “She was suddenly unavailable to take my calls.”

  I’ve spent years being mad at Harry and there was no reason to. In fact, he had good reason to be mad at me. “I’m really sorry, Harry,” I tell him. “I didn’t know.”

  He turns the tables on me and with heat, demands, “How could you not have known? We were together all the time.”

  Shrugging my shoulders, I tell him, “I don’t know. I mean, I was eighteen. I was into me and wasn’t paying attention to everything else going on around me.”

  “Clearly.” Yet he must believe me because he says, “I suppose it doesn’t really matter. It’s all water under the bridge.”

  After a moment of silence, I confess, “It’s going to be weird not hating you.”

  “Tell me about it,” he agrees.

  On the surface, we seem to have made peace, but I know it’s going to take some time for us both to forget our past feelings. Walking in through the locker room door, I tell him, “I’ll catch you later, okay?”

  He nods his head once before crossing the corridor to his locker. I hurry to open mine and get changed for practice. Then I head into the office to talk to Dale. He’s on the phone but he motions me to sit and wait.

  Once he hangs up, he asks, “How’s my captain doing this fine morning?”

  Ignoring his question, I tell him, “I had an interesting supper last night.”

  “With the mayor?” He looks perplexed like such a thing isn’t possible. “Did he tell you all about the history of Maple Falls and their love of otters?”

  I wasn’t quite sure how the Ice Breakers came upon their mascot but now I know it has something to do with the town’s history. Shaking my head, I tell him, “The mayor didn’t come. His daughter did.”

  “Who’s his daughter?”

  I spend the next few minutes telling him about Ashlyn and the news that the town is facing tremendous upheaval.

  He looks nothing short of panicked. “If any part of the arena or surrounding area isn’t owned by who we think it is, we could be in real trouble. We might even need to find a new stadium.”

  I hadn’t thought of that. “I suppose that’s true, but Ashlyn has an idea to try to raise enough money to buy the land back for the town.” Dale’s interest is clearly piqued, so I tell him about the bachelor auction.

  “All the single guys should do it,” he declares excitedly. “Heck, I’d do it too if there was any chance some woman would buy a date with a rough-looking fifty-something-year-old coach.”

  “Please,” I joke. “I bet you could raise at least a hundred dollars.” Dale rolls his eyes, while I ask, “Are you giving me the go ahead to confirm our participation?”

  “Heck, yes!” he says. “The last thing we need is to have to move all the guys now that the season is almost here.”

  We head out onto the ice together. Before practice starts, Dale calls everyone over. Once they gather around, he tells them, “Guys, we’re in a bit of a jam.” He relays the gist of my dinner conversation with Ashlyn and tells them about the plan for us to host a bachelor auction to raise money for Maple Falls.

  “Wouldn’t it be easier if we just donated?” Lucian calls out. “I want to help, but I don’t want to spend an evening with a strange woman if I don’t have to,” he jokes. “There have been enough of those, if you know what I mean.” Laughter surrounds him.

  “You can certainly donate, as well,” I tell him. “But the idea is to utilize the press we’ve been getting to promote this thing far beyond local channels. If we can do that, we might just get some big money coming to town. Remember, this cause is near and dear to all of us now.”

  “Come on, fellas,” Dale encourages. “We’ve all moved to Maple Falls to make our homes here, now we’re needed to help our new community. Let’s do this with gusto.”

  A slow but sure chant starts to build. “Maple Falls! Maple Falls! Maple Falls!”

  With everyone on board, I call out, “Let’s hit the ice and get this practice started. Not only do we have a town to save, but we have a cup to win!”

  Winning the Stanley Cup is a long way off for us, and probably not even possible given that we aren’t a longstanding team who know each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Yet the way to win anything is to go in with the mindset that you can’t lose.

  Dale divides us into two teams. I play center which means by default, I make a lot of goals. I’m also something of a wonderkid when it comes to faceoffs, or as my past team called them, Jamie’s fake-offs. I have a flashy maneuver I like to use where I let the other team get the puck, then I drop back and, with lightning speed, I steal it right back. Of course, I mix it up and go for my share of discs, so my opponents never know what to expect. It’s a bit of a cocky display, but it also shows my talent.

  Just my luck, Harry is playing center for the other side. We come face to face in the middle of the arena with Dale acting as ref. Harry stares me down intently and asks, “Fake-off or face-off, Jamie?”

  I smile back. “That’s for me to know and you to find out.”

  As the puck drops, I skate backward, letting Harry take first possession. As soon as he tries to pass me, I dip low to the right to throw him off, and then almost immediately change my course. Reaching out with my stick, I snatch the puck right out from under him.

  I don’t expect him to anticipate this move, but he does. In the end, Harry steals the puck right back and sends it to one of his defensemen, who in turn glides it down the rink and slams it home.

  Skating up to me, Harry says, “I guess you didn’t see that one coming, huh?

  Shaking my head, I tell him, “I did not.”

  I can’t tell if he’s joking, but he pats me on the shoulder and says, “Yeah, it’s never fun to be on the receiving end of one of those.”

  I suddenly wonder if maybe Harry isn’t quite ready to let go of the past like he claims.

  CHAPTER 15

  ASHLYN

  I was surprised when my dad told me his office was open on Saturdays, but at least it’s only a half-day. I go in early so I can be safely ensconced in the mayor’s domain before Phillip shows up. That way we don’t have to make small talk, or any talk, if I’m lucky.

  Even though I leave the house a full thirty minutes before Town Hall opens, my plan is for naught. As I pull into the parking lot and head toward my dad’s designated spot, Phillip is standing there waving me down. I unroll the window in time to hear him say, “That’s the mayor’s parking place. You can’t park there.”

  Oh brother, what a busybody. “My dad is coming in late,” I tell him. “I’ll move before he gets here.”

  He steps directly into the slip so he’s blocking my path. “Your father is never late,” he tells me with authority, like he spends every free minute spying on my dad. Which come to think of it, he probably does. Phillip doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy with an active personal life.

  “That may be,” I tell him. “But now I’m here to help.” I glare at him with every ounce of irritation currently coursing through me. Which is a lot.

  He counters. “I help him. That’s my job.”

  “I’m sure it is,” I tell him as I start to inch my rental car in his direction. He looks nervous that I’m going to hit him, but even so, he holds his own. “You want to play chicken with me, Phillip?” I ask. I’m about two feet away from tapping him.

  “You wouldn’t hit me,” his voice quakes with uncertainty.

  “You want to place a wager on that?” Less than a foot away now …

  He suddenly realizes I’m not faking it, and he jumps to his left before I kiss him with my bumper. “I’m going to tell your father!” he shouts.

  As he turns to walk into the building, I call after him, “You’re going to have to wait until he comes in.”

  He stops dead in his tracks and pulls out his phone like he’s going to call right now. I hurry to reach into my purse to silence my dad’s ring tone, but I must grab my phone instead. As soon as Phillip hits send, my dad’s phone starts to blare out the weird otter song he programmed into it. I hurry to close my window in hopes Phillip didn’t hear it but I’m pretty sure he did.

  I turn off my dad’s phone before getting out of the car. Then with my head high, I step out of my rental and walk right by dad’s assistant. “Why do you have your dad’s phone?” he demands.

  “I don’t have his phone. I have mine.”

  “That was the mayor’s ringtone.”

  “How do you know it’s not my ringtone, too?”

  He steps closer to me. “Hand me your purse.”

  “I will do no such thing, Phillip.” I hold my bag tightly on the off chance he tries to rip it away from me. I wouldn’t put it past the little toad.

  “I’m going to talk to your father about this,” he declares menacingly.

  “Enjoy your chat,” I tell him, knowing full well he won’t be speaking to my dad any time soon.

  Once I’m in the building, I take the stairs up to the mayor’s office, so I don’t have to ride in the elevator with Phillip. After reaching my destination, I close the door and lock it. Then I call Marcy.

  She answers after only one ring. “Marcy Fontaine Accounting, this is Marcy. How can I help?”

  “Marcy, it’s Ashlyn. Have you managed to come up with anything else regarding Victor MacDonald’s land, other than the ninety-day reprieve?” I have to admit I was surprised to see Marcy on my doorstep last night, but she was way too excited about having found a small clause in an obscure law that could at least buy us a few months’ time. It was a good start, but we need more than that.

  “I called a lawyer, Ms. Thompkins,” she tells me. “I asked about the statute of limitations rules in Washington regarding property. He verified what we already suspected. If Alexander MacDonald can prove he’s Victor’s heir, then the property is his. The lawyer confirmed that we have ninety days to make this happen before Alexander can go to court to make it official.”

  I lean back in the chair and rub my eyes in exasperation. “I was hoping there might be a loophole,” I tell her while sitting down behind my dad’s desk. Reaching into my purse, I pull out a couple of framed photos of my mom that I brought in with me. If nothing else, she’ll think my dad wants pictures of her around. That is, if things go well in Barbados and she ever comes into his office again.

  “I had a thought,” she tells me. “And it’s not a good one.”

  The last thing I want to hear is more bad news, but I suppose it’s better to be forewarned, so I ask, “What’s that?”

  “If this Alexander MacDonald character did his research, and I’m sure he did, he’ll know the Ice Breakers are now based in Maple Falls. As such, he might not take a reasonable offer. In fact, he might not take any offer.”

  She’s right. Alexander might want to profit from the crowds that will be coming in to town. While most people will probably stay at hotels in Spokane, which is the closest city, he might use some of that land to build additional lodging and gas stations, and heaven knows what else. “I think I’d better call his lawyer and get a feel for how willing Mr. MacDonald might be to sell the land back to Maple Falls,” I tell her.

  “You’d better get a town council meeting on the books, too,” she suggests. “You’re going to have to let everyone know what’s going on.”

  “My dad will be back in a week,” I tell her. “I’ll schedule it for then.”

  “Ashlyn.” It’s the first time she’s called me by my first name, and it makes me nervous. “Make it for as soon as possible. We’re going to need all hands on deck, right away.” After a beat, she adds, “You might also want to call your father and fill him in.”

  “There’s no way I can do that,” I tell her. “He’d take the first flight out of the Caribbean and that would be the end of my parents’ marriage.”

  “We might be facing the end of Maple Falls,” she says plainly.

  Kicking my feet up onto the desk, I tell her, “I pick my parents’ future over the town’s.” I know how mercenary that sounds, so I hurry to add, “But I think with the two of us working together, we can keep things afloat until my parents get back. I mean, it’s only a week away.”

  “Let’s hope.” She doesn’t sound very certain and quite honestly, I don’t blame her. Who in a million years would have guessed something like this would happen within hours of my dad leaving town? Or ever, for that matter.

  As soon as I get off the phone with Marcy, I call the last person in the world I want to talk to. Phillip answers after the second ring. “What?”

  “My dad would like you to set up a town council meeting.”

  “For when?”

  “Tomorrow, if you can.”

  “Tomorrow is Sunday. What is this regarding?” he snarls.

  Lying through my teeth, I tell him, “I have no idea.”

  “I can’t just call an emergency meeting without giving people a reason.” I can just imagine the pinched look of superiority on his face as he says this.

  “Tell them the future of Maple Falls is at stake.”

  “What do you mean by that?” he spits.

  “You’ll have to ask my dad.”

  “I’ll do that.” Then he immediately hangs up.

  I have no idea how I’m going to get through this week without committing bodily harm on that man. I’ve never been a violent person, and I’ve certainly never threatened to run somebody over with my car, but Phillip brings out the worst in me. I’m going to have to keep my distance or risk winding up in jail.

  Looking at the clock, I realize I had better go home and bring my dad’s car back so that people don’t start to wonder what’s happened to him. It could get kind of complicated playing musical cars, but Phillip has made it clear he’s looking for my dad’s vehicle, so I’m going to have to let him see it.

  I walk right by the aforementioned bane of my existence, but I keep my eyes in front of me. I don’t say a word to him. Once I get into my car, I check my dad’s phone and discover the troll has texted him three times since we got to the office.

  Phillip

  Sir, are you unwell? You’re never late.

  Mayor Thompkins, your daughter parked in your space even though I told her that wasn’t allowed.

  What time can I expect to see you today, sir? I have some concerns.

  The worst part of taking over for my dad is not going to be trying to save Maple Falls—it’s going to be dealing with Phillip. Typing furiously, I tell him:

  Mayor Thompkins

  Phillip, I’m taking the morning off to spend time with my wife. I would appreciate it if you would quit bothering me. If you have any questions, please ask Ashlyn. She has my full blessing to do whatever she sees fit.