CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Lexi listened as Kayleigh outlined what she had proposed to Alexander for the Christmas fundraising event. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised or not that he’d agreed without requesting any changes.
Granted, she didn’t know the man well—or at all, really—but Kayleigh and Hudson seemed to have a good relationship with him, so perhaps he was deferring to their judgement.
“There are lots of moving parts for this, but only some of it will fall on your shoulders,” Kayleigh said. “Basically anything that involves the ice will be what you need to plan.”
Lexi nodded. “The costumes and decorating, too?”
“We can discuss the costumes and where to get them. The decorating will be done by whoever we get to decorate the resort. I think you should have just a short program for the skating with the Santa thing. You, Wilder, and whoever you choose as elves.”
“I think I can do that.”
“Oh, and if you want, you can set up a playlist of Christmas songs that would be fun for people to skate to.”
That shouldn’t be too hard. “How long will the fundraiser last?”
“I think we’re going to run it for a few hours. Probably from one until six. That way, we will hopefully not get a huge rush of people trying to get here for just a couple of hours.”
“And what else will the time entail?” Lots of ideas had been tossed around, so she was curious about what they’d ended up with.
“We’ll have an auction to raise money for the orphanages. We’re also going to have a bake sale.”
“A bake sale?” Rori had mentioned that, but Lexi hadn’t asked her for further details.
Kayleigh gave her a curious look, then said, “People will bake things and donate them to us to sell. We have some really great home bakers in the church who will be happy to help.”
“I’ve never heard of that before.”
“We have a few of them each year, helping to raise money for various things. The school has done them to raise money for student trips. The church has one or two a year to raise financial support for missionaries. It’s something that people like, so I think it will go over well, especially if the baked goods are Christmas themed.”
Lexi felt like she had fallen into one of those Christmas romance movies her mom loved to watch.
“We’ll also sell hot beverages and mini donuts,” Kayleigh added. “And we’re still trying to figure out the logistics, but Rori is willing to take pictures of the kids with Santa.”
“It’s grown to more than I thought it would be,” Lexi said. “For a bit there, I was worried about how it was going to work out.”
“You and me both,” Kayleigh told her with a grimace. “But sometimes all you need is a starting point. We had that—even though it wasn’t a great one—and I think we’ll end up with something that’s amazing. Perhaps it will become a tradition for future years.”
For a moment, the idea of it was appealing to Lexi. Then she remembered that she might not be there next year. She had no idea what the future held for her, and it was entirely possible she wouldn’t be around in a year.
The door to the rink swung open, and Wilder walked in, grinning as he headed in their direction.
“What have I missed?” he asked as he unzipped his jacket and shrugged out of it, then hung it on the back of the chair and sat down.
“I’m just giving Lexi an update on the fundraiser since Alexander gave his approval,” Kayleigh said.
Seeing the two of them together, Lexi could see the similarities in the siblings, though she’d missed them back when she’d first met the pair. However, while their smiles were similar, Wilder’s came quickly. Kayleigh was more reserved. Of all Wilder’s siblings that she’d met so far, Lexi found that she related the best to Kayleigh.
“So what do you need me to do?” he asked, leaning forward to look at Kayleigh’s tablet.
As Kayleigh filled him in, Lexi stayed quiet and sipped on the tea she’d made herself at home and poured into an insulated mug. Like her, Kayleigh came into work early, so they’d decided to meet at seven before the day got underway.
After steady snowfall through the weekend, it seemed that perhaps Wilder would be starting work soon. Lexi wondered if that meant she’d see more or less of him.
They had the same days off, but that didn’t mean Wilder would want to see her on those days. Lexi hoped that wouldn’t be the case. Even though she knew there was no way there could be anything between them, she was reluctant to give up time with someone she’d come to view as a friend.
“So, are you going to design a program for us?” Wilder asked, his gaze meeting Lexi’s. “You just have to make it really simple. Like make Santa a hockey fan so I can use a stick on the ice.”
“You want Santa to be a hockey fan?” Lexi asked.
“Of course. Don’t you think Santa is a fan of all winter sports?”
She stared at him for a long moment, her pulse fluttering. When he returned her gaze, his brown eyes sparkled with laughter.
“I honestly haven’t spent even a second of my life thinking about what sports Santa might be a fan of.”
Kayleigh laughed. “I have to say I’m with you there, Alexandra.”
Hearing Kayleigh call her by her full name felt weird after Wilder had started to call her Lexi. She found that she wanted Kayleigh and the other Halversons to call her Lexi. The desire to lessen the formality of her relationship with them surprised her. But it also filled her with a warmth that made her certain it was the right decision.
“Well, I’ve given it some thought over the past few days,” Wilder said, relaxing back in his chair as he crossed his arms over his chest. “And I think it’s only right that Santa be a fan of hockey and other cold weather sports. Like figure skating. I’m pretty sure he’s a fan of yours.”
Lexi couldn’t keep the smile from her face at his words. “Well, if he wants an autograph, let me know.”
“He’s very excited to be skating with Mrs. Claus,” Wilder said with a wink.
“Well, I, for one, am very excited to see how all this works out with Santa,” Kayleigh said as she picked up her tablet. “I think it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
“I do too,” Wilder told her. “This is going to be an amazing fundraiser for a great cause.”
“Now that we’ve got a direction to move in, I agree.” Kayleigh got to her feet. “I’m going to head back to work, but feel free to contact me if you have any concerns, Lexi.”
“What about if I have concerns?” Wilder asked.
Kayleigh rolled her eyes as she bent over to kiss the top of his head. “I’ve never had to tell you to contact me with your concerns, little brother. You seem to know to do that without any guidance from me. I’ll see you guys later.”
Once it was just her and Wilder, Lexi said, “I have never been involved with something like this. I really hope it works out.”
“I’m sure it will.” Wilder’s expression turned serious. “Are you worried that you might make a mistake somewhere with this?”
She shrugged, her gaze dropping to the insulated mug she gripped between her hands. “I don’t want to do something that might negatively affect the fundraiser.”
“You won’t.” His words were immediate and held a confidence she didn’t share. “The whole point of this is to have fun. There are no judges handing out scores. It’ll just be people looking for a fun experience.”
Lexi wasn’t used to not being judged when performing. There hadn’t been judges at the galas following competitions, but there had still been plenty of dissecting of their performances by the spectators and online. Even their practices had been judged by their coaches and by commentators, who were allowed to view the practice sessions at competitions.
“Seriously, don’t let this stress you out. We’re going to have fun, I promise you.”
“I have a feeling that my idea of fun and yours are slightly different.”
“Maybe, but I think you’ll come around to my idea of fun for this.”
“Okay.” She wasn’t going to argue with him about it. Time would tell. “Are you going to have time to practice once you start work?”
“Yep. If you want, we can practice around this time.”
“What time do the slopes open each day?”
“Nine o’clock on weekdays. Eight-thirty on the weekend.”
“We don’t have to start practicing right away. I’ll need some time to sort out what I think we should do.”
“Just don’t forget to work in a hockey stick for Santa.”
Lexi gave an exasperated shake of her head. She was going to have to work it into whatever she planned, because he wasn’t going to let it go.
“I’ll make sure you have a hockey stick.”
Wilder beamed at her. “Perfect!”
His smile warmed her, making her feel things she hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Well, I need to go talk to Trev. He asked me to come in today to make up the schedule, since it looks like the ski instructors will be back at work soon.”
Lexi got to her feet when he did and followed him to the door. He pulled on his jacket, then zipped it up.
“It’s definitely gotten colder over the past couple of days, so dress warm if you go out.”
She didn’t bother to remind him that she was used to the cold. His concern made her feel like he cared, even though he probably said the same thing to everyone. She’d come to see that he was just an overall caring person, like all the members of his family that she’d met so far.
Lifting his hand, he said, “See you later.”
She nodded, then wrapped her arms around herself as she watched through the glass doors as he jogged to his car. It was only once he’d driven away that she moved away from the door.
After returning to her small office, she pulled out her phone and went to the site for the scores for the weekend competition. She hadn’t been able to break the habit of looking, but she at least she’d managed to resist following along when the competition was live.
Mikhail and his partner had finished sixth in the short, but then had withdrawn from the competition. She wished she knew what had happened, but she knew better than to go to any forums to see what people were saying.
Some of the posts on the forums were fine, with people sharing their thoughts in kind ways on programs and costumes. Others were cesspools of negativity, where skaters’ looks and performances were torn apart and made fun of.
She’d made the mistake of going to the forums after her dad was arrested and she’d been dropped. There had been no positive posts about her. Every single one had ripped her to shreds. Her looks. Her skating ability. Her costumes.
It had been horrible, and she hadn’t gone back since.
She wondered if Mik or his partner had posted on their social media about it. After a brief hesitation, she went onto her new social media accounts and checked their pages. There was nothing there about the reason for the withdrawal.
In fact, on Mik’s, the last post had been months ago, which was different from when they’d been together. Back then, he’d posted a lot of little videos and photos from their practices and performances.
Her coaches had social media, though they hadn’t posted as frequently as Mik had. She went to theirs, but found nothing there either.
Lexi started running scenarios in her mind, but then stopped herself. It was no longer her concern what had happened. Still, she was curious if their short program might indicate what the problem was. Sometimes the commentators had information that had been passed on to them.
In the end, she couldn’t resist.
She switched to her laptop, which was sitting on her desk, and opened YouTube to the skating channel. After scrolling past all the individual videos of the programs, she found their short program.
When she’d last watched them, she had felt anger and regret, and maybe some jealousy. This time, though, as the program began, she compared it to the last one she’d watched, critiquing it just like her coaches would do if they’d had a less than stellar skate.
Lexi winced as she watched Mik throw Amberlyn into the air, but not high enough for her to get the rotations needed before he caught her. She came down too soon and at an awkward angle, sending them both crashing to the ice. From the length of time it took them to get back up, especially Amberlyn, she knew the fall had to have hurt.
When the program ended, there was no hiding their exhaustion and pain as they skated to center ice for their bows and then off the ice to the kiss and cry area.
At one time, she would have kind of felt like Mik deserved what he was enduring, but right then, she just felt badly for both of them.
Sitting back in her chair, she stared at the image frozen on the screen. She didn’t know what was going on with her coaches, because there was no way they would have let them on the ice at an elite competition with the possibility of making an error like that.
Leaning forward, Lexi reached out to close the laptop, then settled back in her chair. She crossed her legs and gazed blankly out the open door toward the rink.
Why wasn’t she feeling the intense emotions she usually felt when viewing her ex-partner/ex-fiancé skate? Oh, she still had plenty of feelings about him and how the whole situation had unfolded. But they weren’t as overwhelmingly negative as they had been in the past.
She still wished she was competing with Mik, though she wasn’t sure she’d want him back as a fiancé. He’d clearly shown that his love for her wasn’t strong enough to stick by her side in a time of crisis.
But as a skating partner? They’d truly been the perfect match.
Lexi thought of all the beautiful costumes she’d worn, now sealed and packed away in a trunk that sat at the foot of her bed. Soon she’d have another costume, but it was one she’d never have imagined wearing.
Mrs. Claus.
It was probably the least pressure she’d ever faced for a program. But at the same time, she felt an intense need for whatever she and Wilder came up with to be the best. She wanted people to enjoy it and for Wilder to be happy with it.
With that in mind, she sat forward and grabbed her phone. Opening her music app, she searched for some Christmas music. She decided rather quickly that, of course, they’d skate to Here Comes Santa Claus.
Putting the song on repeat, Lexi leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. Once the rhythm of the song had gotten into her mind, she began to see ways that she and Wilder could move to it.
By the time she’d listened to the song for the tenth time, she had an idea in her mind. Picking up the phone, she went to the bench where she’d left her skates earlier and sat down to put them on. After they were laced, she hooked her phone up to the Bluetooth speaker system in the rink.
As the song played, she tried out on the ice what she’d envisioned in her head. Skating Wilder’s part, and then her own. As the song finished for the second time, Lexi smiled. This could really work. And Wilder would be happy because she found a way to incorporate the hockey stick.
She wasn’t sure when they’d be able to practice, but hopefully it would be soon. There would still be changes to the program that would come about as a result of them actually practicing it together, but that was to be expected. It was possible the final product wouldn’t look much like what she had in mind right then.
But without the complicated jumps and spins that competitive programs had, they should be able to perform what she’d mapped out without too much trouble.
It was a quiet day at the rink, with only a few people wanting to skate. None needed Lexi’s attention, so she sat in the small booth where the sound system was located. Sometimes people had requests for music, which she played for them. That was the case that day, with some Taylor Swift fans wanting her to play the singer’s latest album all the way through.
As she sat in the booth, she tapped out a message to Wilder.
I think I’ve figured out a program for us. Could you come by early tomorrow to try it out?
Tuesday was her day off, but she had no problem coming in before the rink opened to practice. This program and the fundraiser would be something she could focus a lot on over the next few weeks. She was grateful for that, because while it wouldn’t help her figure out her future, it gave her something to work towards in the present.
When her phone’s text alert sounded, Lexi looked down at the screen.
Wilder: Yep! I can do that. Have you figured out the costumes yet?
No. I thought maybe I could find something on Amazon. Or do you have another idea?
Wilder: I have no ideas for that. Amazon is probably a good place to start.
What size should I get you if I order something? We can always return it if it doesn’t work. I’d like to place an order soon, though. So we can practice with the costumes on.
Wilder: I think an extra large if we’re thinking of adding some padding.
Okay. I’ll see what they have.
Once their conversation was over, she retrieved her laptop from the office and logged onto Amazon to see what she could find there. After searching for a bit, she found a Santa suit that looked like it would work. It didn’t look cheap, and it had a nice blue toned red instead of an orange red that others had. So into the cart it went.
Finding an outfit for Mrs. Claus was a little more difficult. Too many of the outfits were for a sexy Mrs. Claus, which she knew wouldn’t be appropriate for this particular program.
Finally, she found one with a full skirt that ended around mid-shin. It was the same rich red color as the costume for Wilder. The hem of the skirt had a fluffy white fringe on it, and that same fringe went around the hooded cloak that came with it. She thought it would be comfortable to skate in.
After she had them both in the cart, she completed the order, which should arrive in two days. Hopefully Wilder was okay with what she’d chosen. At least they had a little time to get the costumes sorted out if he wasn’t.
For the first time in a very long time, she felt a frisson of excitement that was related to skating. Now that they’d gotten the program sorted out, she was looking forward to it. And not just to the program itself, but she was anxious to have a purpose in the practicing she did each day.
And though she might have questioned the whole idea of a Christmas program at the start, she was definitely on board now.
She might not be competing, but she was putting to use the only skills she had. It was a good feeling, and it made her happy.