CHAPTER NINE
Lexi didn’t know if she was supposed to offer to help, but it seemed that everyone had things under control. The food smelled delicious, so she hoped she liked it.
She hadn’t been altogether truthful when she’d told Wilder she hadn’t had much Indian food in her life. The fact was, she’d never had any, so she was about to get her first introduction to it.
“Hi, Lexi.” The soft voice had her turning to see that Lee and his girlfriend, Rori, had joined them in the kitchen.
Lexi smiled, hoping it disguised how out of place she felt. “Hi. How are you?”
Rori’s smile grew. “I’m good. How about you?”
“I’m fine.”
“How are you finding life in Serenity?” Lee asked. “Is it different from where you lived before?”
“Not really. I lived rurally in Maine, so it wasn’t like I came from a big city.”
Lexi heard barking and watched as a little dog came bounding into the kitchen with Amelia hot on its tail. Its ears flopped forward as it came to a stop, looking around. As soon as it saw Lee, it ran over to him and sat at his feet.
“She wants a treat, Uncle Lee,” Amelia said, then smiled when she spotted Lexi. She gestured to the dog. “This is Elsa. She’s Uncle Lee’s dog, but we all love her.”
Lexi could see why. The dog was really adorable.
“Can I give her a treat?” Amelia asked, looking up at her uncle. “She’s sitting pretty.”
Lee chuckled. “Of course she is. Maybe put some foot in her bowl so she can eat while we do.”
Amelia hurried off toward a doorway in the kitchen, then disappeared inside. After a moment, she popped back out with a cup full of dog food in her hand.
Elsa hurried over to where Amelia was emptying it into a small bowl. She immediately sat, her tail sweeping the floor while she watched Amelia closely.
“What type of dog is she?” Lexi asked.
“Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.”
“She’s very cute.” Lexi had never considered getting a pet. She hadn’t felt it would be fair to the animal because she was so busy with other things in her life.
“You should get one,” Amelia said. “Dogs are the best.”
“We’re still not getting one, Berry,” Blake said, running his hand over her hair as he walked by.
“But if Uncle Lee moves out, we’re going to be so lonely.”
“There are enough of us here. I don’t think you’ll be lonely,” Blake assured her.
Amelia crossed her arms. “Maybe he should leave Elsa here. She’d be lonely without me and Layla.”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
Lexi was intrigued by the interactions within the family. What would it have been like as a little girl to grow up with aunts and uncles around?
Her dad had always said that his family and her mom’s were the wrong sort of people. What Lexi had only recently discovered, thanks to her mom, was that her dad had distanced himself from his impoverished family when he’d started to earn more money. And when her mom’s wealthy family had made it clear they didn’t think he was worthy of their daughter, he’d forced her mom to cut them off, too.
Turns out, they’d been right.
In the one conversation she’d had with her dad following his arrest, he’d been adamant that he’d done what he had in order to make sure that their family always had money. And once she’d heard from her mom about her dad’s growing-up years, she understood a bit more—even though she still didn’t accept it—why he’d done what he had.
Unfortunately, he’d also said he’d stolen money from those people in order to fund her skating career. It left Lexi feeling guilty and angry. She didn’t want to bear any responsibility for what he’d done, but it was hard not to. She had definitely benefitted from the wealth he’d accumulated through nefarious means.
“Let’s pray,” Blake said once everyone had gathered in the kitchen.
Wilder came to stand next to her, offering her a quick smile.
Lexi bowed her head, knowing that was expected when someone prayed. She wasn’t a stranger to faith and prayer. Her mom had a strong faith, and she’d insisted that Lexi go to church with her. At one point, when Lexi had been seven years old, her mom had led her to the Lord, however, she’d never been as devoted to the church as her mom was.
Her dad had supported her mom’s faith. Even insisting they go to church each Sunday as a family. They’d attended a large church in a nearby town, and her mom had been involved with the ministries there.
Her dad hadn’t gone there because of his desire to be a good Christian, however. He had thought being a church-goer would make it easier for people to trust him. It had been a smokescreen persona to hide his true personality and his actions. In the end, he’d swindled people at the church too.
Since her dad’s arrest, Lexi hadn’t set foot in a church. Part of that decision had been the shame she’d felt over what her dad had done. But a bigger part had been her own struggle with her faith when confronted by the realization that she couldn’t take anyone—even Christians—at face value.
When she’d accepted Alexander’s offer to work at the rink, she hadn’t thought she’d end up surrounded by people who were Christians, involved in their church the way her family had been. But here she was.
Once the prayer was over, the kids were quickly served. Then Wilder handed Lexi a plate and motioned for her to go ahead of him.
Glancing at him, she said, “Can you tell me what the different dishes are?”
“Sure.” He came to her side and pointed out each dish, giving a brief description of it.
In the end, she took some rice, curry, and butter chicken. Then, at Wilder’s insistence, she added a piece of naan bread to her plate.
“We’re sitting in the dining room,” Charli said, pointing at the doorway the girls had gone through once they’d filled their plates. “Do you want anything special to drink?”
“Water is just fine.”
“Perfect.”
Rori had her plate filled by then and smiled at Lexi as she tipped her head in the direction Charli had indicated. “We can go sit down, if you’d like.”
She would have been most comfortable with Wilder, but Rori seemed nice enough, so Lexi followed her into the dining room.
“You can sit by me,” Layla said when she spotted her.
The room was large with big windows. It was probably a sunny space during the day. But that wasn’t the case right then, since the sun had already disappeared.
“We don’t have assigned seating,” Rori said as they approached the large rectangular table surrounded by chairs. “So, you can sit wherever you want.”
Lexi appreciated Rori telling her that because she wouldn’t have wanted to sit in someone’s seat. Since Layla had requested to sit beside her, Lexi went to the chair next to the girl.
When Wilder appeared a few minutes later, he headed directly to where Lexi was and sat down beside her. It wasn’t long before the table was full, and people were eating.
“How are you finding the food?” Wilder asked. “I know spicy isn’t for everyone.”
“I really like the butter chicken,” Lexi said. “The curry is probably right at the top end of what I enjoy spice-wise, but the naan is delicious.”
“I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”
Lexi still wasn’t sure it was her favorite type of food, but it was something she wouldn’t mind eating again. Part of the reason she enjoyed it so much was because she hadn’t had to cook it.
She continued to struggle with making meals for herself, and a lot of days, the meal she ate at the resort was the only one she had. She had the money for groceries or even take out, but she just couldn’t be bothered. It was easier to just eat at the resort, then have fruit, yoghurt, raw veggies, and protein bars the rest of the time.
When she’d been training, her meals had all been fairly basic. They’d been flavorful, but they hadn’t had a lot of unique ingredients in them. Whoever her dad had hired to cook her meals had done a good job operating within the limited parameters they’d been given.
“So, I suppose we need to discuss the Christmas skating program,” Kayleigh said after they’d been eating for a few minutes. “We should do that now, so no one has to stay late. Also, we don’t want to keep Charli and Blake from being able to do their nighttime routine with the girls.”
“I appreciate that,” Charli said as she spooned some pureed food into the baby’s mouth.
“If it’s okay with Alexandra, I’ll give you a brief overview of what we need.”
When Wilder glanced at her, Lexi nodded, more than happy to let Wilder take the lead, since she still wasn’t entirely sure what they were doing.
“I called around yesterday and determined that we can rent bleachers that would actually fit the area around the ice at the rink. That would save us from having to set up a rink outdoors. Plus, it means we won’t be at the mercy of the weather for this event.”
“That’s good,” Kayleigh said. “I’m sure Alexander would rather see the program performed in the rink that he spent so much money on.”
“So with that settled, what we need next is skaters.”
“How good do the skaters have to be?” Charli asked. “Are you going to want auditions?”
“I don’t know about official auditions,” Lexi said. “But we’ll need to make sure that the kids—and adults—who want to participate can at least stay up on the skates to move about the ice.”
“Would you want them to know jumps and spins?”
Lexi shook her head. “It would be too much with that many skaters on the ice. If we want to have some skaters do spins and jumps, we’ll choreograph it so that it’s just a small group of two or three doing that part.”
“Would kids with a skill level similar to Layla and Amelia be okay?”
Lexi nodded. “Even a little less skilled would be alright.”
“How about costumes?” Charli asked.
“I think we’d just have them go with a Christmas color shirt and maybe white pants,” Lexi said. “So red or green or even gold would work. I don’t want it too complicated because we don’t have the time for that. And I also want the kids comfortable as they skate.”
“We might not have many kids from the church as they’re also practicing for the children’s program there,” Charli told them.
Kayleigh sighed. “I wish I understood why Alexander was so determined to have this. It’s such short notice.”
“Did he say he wanted a program with a bunch of kids and such?” Hudson asked as he rubbed his hand on his wife’s back.
“Not specifically,” Kayleigh said. “But what else could he mean?”
Hudson glanced at Lexi. “Maybe he just wants to see you skate.”
Lexi frowned. “Just a solo program?”
Her stomach twisted at the thought of performing by herself. It was like a horrible reminder of what she’d lost. She’d rather deal with the hassle of a program with a bunch of kids than skate by herself.
“Maybe you could still use Amelia and Layla,” Charli suggested.
Hudson leaned back in his chair, though he kept his hand on Kayleigh’s shoulder. “I’m not sure why Alexander is so set on this ice skating rink. I think he’s done it for you, to be honest.”
Lexi frowned. “Me? Why?”
“He hadn’t mentioned anything about building a rink here until after everything happened with your dad.”
Lexi managed to keep from wincing at his words. “I never really knew him, though. So why would he care?”
“You are his goddaughter,” Hudson said with a shrug. “And from what he said when I questioned him about the rink and hiring you, he said that he thought the rink would add value to the resort. When he told me he’d hired you, he mentioned that your mom had been worried about you and what your future would look like. She said you’d been struggling to find a way to support yourself.”
Lexi felt like she was being stripped bare emotionally. How pathetic did she appear that she’d needed her mom to try to find a job for her? And on top of that, he’d spent a bunch of money on something to create a job just for her.
She was so confused and had no idea what to say to these people.
Glancing at her husband, Kayleigh then gave Lexi a sympathetic smile. “We’re not saying you don’t deserve the job or that Alexander shouldn’t have built the rink. Alexander has helped several of us over the years. Wilder and I, especially. We’ve worked hard to make sure he doesn’t regret the opportunities and money he’s invested in us.”
“I can tell you that as far as Alexander is concerned, you don’t owe him anything more than your best effort in the job,” Hudson said. “That’s all he wants from any of us, even those he’s taken a special interest in.”
While this dinner may have gotten her out of the stress of planning the program, it had left her with a tangle of emotions that made her feel vulnerable in front of virtual strangers.
“I’ll clarify with Alexander exactly what he wants,” Kayleigh said. “Because I don’t want to waste your time and energy, Alexandra, if he’d settle for a performance by just you. If you’re willing to do that, of course.”
Lexi really didn’t know if she could handle working on a program that was to be a solo piece. Even if Layla and Amelia were there, she would still feel like she was skating alone.
“Perhaps we should have clarified that with him last week,” Wilder said. “So we didn’t waste Alexandra’s time.”
Lexi looked over at him to find that he was frowning at his sister. She wasn’t surprised, as it had wasted his time as well.
“You’re right,” Kayleigh said. “I just didn’t think about how much work it would require. I apologize for that, Alexandra.”
Lexi’s eyes widened. “You don’t need to apologize.”
“Of course I do. If I’d followed up with Alexander right away, it’s possible we could have avoided all of this.”
“What’s the worst he’ll do if he wants a full-blown performance, and we don’t give him that?” Hudson said. “He’s not going to fire all of us.”
Lexi wasn’t so sure he wouldn’t fire her.
“Well, we know for sure he’s not going to fire you,” Kayleigh said with a laugh. “I don’t think any of the rest of us are that safe.”
“Are you kidding?” Hudson chuckled. “I think if he had to choose between you or me, he’d fire me.”
“Hopefully he won’t fire anyone,” Wilder said. “If he still wants the bigger program, maybe clue him in on the excessive amount of work and money it will cost to bring it about.”
“We’ll get this sorted out,” Hudson assured them. “And no one will lose their job in the process. I’ll make sure of that.”
As the conversation moved away from the program, Lexi pushed the food on her plate around, taking a small bite every so often. Her appetite had fled as she’d been harshly reminded of just what her life had been reduced to.
“You okay?” Wilder asked as he leaned close to her.
She gave him a smile, pulling up the one she used even when she wasn’t feeling it inside. “I’m fine.”
His gaze narrowed briefly. “None of this is a big deal. We’ll roll with the punches and get it figured out.”
Never in her life had Lexi been comfortable rolling with the punches . She much preferred everything to be planned out and organized well in advance. It wasn’t like she’d never experienced things going wrong, but planning ahead often helped keep those instances to a minimum.
She was also very confused. Not just because of the program. She didn’t understand why she had the job when there was no valid reason for the position to actually exist. Also, anyone that had been skating for more than a couple of years could have filled her role. She was overqualified for the job, which left her floundering.
Of course, she’d been floundering since the day of her dad’s arrest, so this was the same book, just a new chapter of Alexandra is Lost.
Was this going to be the totality of her life in the years to come? Killing time at a rink that was hardly used, while trying to put together skating programs for kids who’d only been taking lessons for a short time and had no aspirations to become elite skaters?
Had she seriously reached the end of her career already?
It hurt to imagine that everything she’d worked for and everything she’d dreamed of was gone. Swept away by her father’s greed.
Swallowing hard against the emotion that welled up inside her, Lexi scooped up another bite of food, though she struggled to put it in her mouth. Finally, they finished eating and moved on to dessert and coffee.
After dessert, when Charli tried to send the girls off to do their homework and received an argument in response from Layla, the dinner quickly drew to an end. Lexi was more than happy with that turn of events because she wanted to get back to the solitude and safety of her apartment.
There was nothing waiting for her there, but she needed to be alone with her thoughts. She needed to not have to school her expressions and reactions because of the presence of others.
“Sorry this evening kind of turned into a bust,” Wilder said as they left the house after saying goodbye to everyone. “That wasn’t how I thought it would end.”
“I think we’re all a bit confused about how to proceed.”
“True, which is why we need to get clarification sooner rather than later. It might not matter to Kayleigh and Hudson, but clearly, it’s important for you to know.”
Lexi appreciated that Wilder understood that. She didn’t like it when things were in flux, especially when it seemed there was no clear direction for moving forward.
She had experience with things being in flux. Every time she and Mik were creating a new program, things were in flux as they and their choreographer tried to figure out what worked best for the music they’d chosen. Sometimes they’d think one thing would work, but after skating it that way for a bit, they’d realize it needed to change.
Lexi could handle that because they were moving toward the ultimate goal of a perfectly choreographed program. They had an end point in sight, even if the journey to get there involved some twists and turns, and at times, some backtracking.
This mess, however, had no end point in sight—if there even was one at all.
“I know you’re probably stressed out by this, but try to not let it get to you. We’ll get it figured out.”
Lexi appreciated Wilder’s confidence. However, she did not share it.
“Are you off work tomorrow?” Wilder asked as he turned at the corner of her street.
“Yes. Tuesday and Wednesday are my days off.”
“Those are supposed to be my days off, too.”
“ Supposed to be? What does that mean?”
“I usually end up working seven days a week.”
“Why would you do that?”
“The money I earn at the resort goes toward the cost of my traveling in the off-season. Plus, I really enjoy working with people on the slopes. It’s not a hardship.”
Lexi understood that. When she was training, it was a seven day a week thing, although she had a much lighter workout on Sundays since her dad had insisted they attend church in the morning, and also, their bodies had needed a break.
“If you’re off tomorrow, do you want to do something?”
“Do something?”
“Yeah. If you’re not busy with other stuff.”
Lexi often struggled to fill her days off, and usually ended up just reading or sketching skating costumes in her sketchbook once the rink had opened, forcing her to leave the ice.
“I’m not busy,” she said. “What do you have in mind?”
“Is there anything you enjoy doing outside of skating? Like going to museums or to the movies?”
Lexi hadn’t been to a movie in ages, and museums hadn’t been things she’d had the time to explore. Both sounded interesting.
“Or… if you’re up for a little adventure, we could try a Segway tour in Coeur d’Alene.”
“Segway tour?”
“Do you know what a Segway is?” he asked as he pulled to a stop in front of her building.
“Isn’t it some sort of electrical bike?”
“Sort of. You stand on a wheeled base and hold on to handles to guide it,” he explained. “I think it’s fun.”
Lexi hesitated. Was this something she might enjoy? She wasn’t one for stepping out of her comfort zone very often, and she kind of felt like she’d done a lot of that already since her move to Serenity. Was she really prepared to do it some more?
“I… guess so?”
“I think you’d have fun. We’ll go on a tour around Coeur d’Alene. It usually lasts a couple of hours.”
“What time would we go?”
“I’ll have to see what time the owner has available tomorrow. I’ll text you as soon as I know.”
At least she wouldn’t be bored.
“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Lexi said as she pulled the handle to open the car door.
“Don’t back out on me,” Wilder told her with a wink.
“I won’t.” Although the thought had crossed her mind. “Goodnight.”
After closing the door, she made her way up the sidewalk to the front door. She used the code to open it, then glanced over her shoulder to see that Wilder’s car continued to idle at the curb. He didn’t pull away until she was safely inside the building.
It was a small gesture that her mom would have appreciated. The man might not be her type overall, but he still had good manners that made her feel valued.
It would be interesting to see what the next day held. If she could put aside the stress of the Christmas program for a few hours, perhaps she could actually enjoy herself.