Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
The sound of children’s laughter echoed through the Fir Tree Grove ice rink as Lincoln Blackwell adjusted the playlist for the third time in an hour.
He’d been experimenting with trying to find the perfect mix of Christmas classics and upbeat pop songs that would keep the kids entertained for the reindeer-themed skating day he’d planned, but finding the right balance was proving trickier than he’d thought it would.
“Mr. Lincoln!” A voice called out from across the rink. “Can we have ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ again?”
Lincoln grinned and gave a thumbs up to the group of eight-year-olds who had been requesting the same song every ten minutes for the past hour.
Their light-up Rudolph noses bobbed enthusiastically as they skated in wobbly circles, the red glow sending slightly spooky streaks of light across the gleaming ice in the dimmed lighting.
He loved his job. Seeing the thrill on the kids’ faces when they finally figured out how to get their feet under them on skates always gave him joy, and he loved the sense of community and camaraderie that there always seemed to be at the rink.
There was always a nostalgia to the aromas of hot chocolate and concession-stand food, even the slightly musty scent of the skate rental stand bringing back memories, and of course—the cold, crisp air of the rink and the slick glide of ice underfoot.
As a kid, it had been hard to pry him out of here.
Maybe it was a way of clinging to those days, and he had no idea if it was the best thing, but it made him happy, so he figured that was what mattered.
And keeping the old ice rink going definitely mattered to him.
Watching the kids bobbing around the rink with their light-up reindeer noses, he really couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.
The bell above the rink entrance chimed, and Lincoln looked up from the sound booth to see a familiar figure shepherding two little girls through the door.
His heart lifted at the sight of Imogen Sanders—his once-upon-a-time girlfriend and now just friend.
They’d parted ways amicably after high school, when he’d left for college and she’d stayed, but he couldn’t say he’d ever completely stopped thinking about her.
And, when he’d come back, seeing that she was still in Fir Tree Grove had made him happier than maybe it should have, all things considered.
There was a time when he hadn’t thought he would move back.
He’d spent several years in Providence, helping to manage a hockey team post-college, but after a while he’d started to miss Fir Tree Grove.
Sometimes he wondered if it was the town itself he’d missed or the people—or maybe it was both.
When he’d been a teenager, all he’d wanted to do was get away, but now he was wholly satisfied with small town life.
He looked over at Imogen as he switched the song to Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree as the lights over the arena changed colors.
She was helping Katie and another girl he recognized as Emma Patterson out of their winter coats, her chestnut hair escaping from its ponytail as she juggled mittens and scarves.
Even from across the rink, he could see the slightly frazzled expression she wore whenever she was trying to manage too many things at once—an expression he remembered well from their high school days when she’d been student council president, editor of the school newspaper, and somehow still managed to maintain a 4. 0 GPA.
She was older now, and a different person, but some things stayed the same.
“Lincoln!” Katie’s voice carried across the rink as she spotted him. “Did we miss the light show?”
“It’ll be on in just a few minutes, kiddo,” he called back, already moving toward the skate rental counter. “Let’s get you and Emma fitted with some skates first. You’re not going to miss anything, promise.”
Imogen smiled at him as he went to get the skates, and he felt a small flip in his chest. Her smile had always done that to him, though.
Maybe that was another one of those things that just didn’t change, he reflected, as he pulled out the appropriately sized skates.
He was lucky that they’d fallen back into such an easy friendship when he’d come back to Fir Tree Grove.
Even though they’d parted without any rancor on either side, it would have been easy for them to avoid each other, given that they’d once been in love—or as in love as teenagers could be, he reflected with a chuckle.
Still, while he was off in Providence, he’d never met anyone who had given him quite the same feeling that Imogen had when they were seventeen.
Maybe that was just the beauty of first love, a particularly special feeling that couldn’t ever be replicated, innocent and new as it all was.
He was glad they hadn’t avoided each other or made it awkward, or that the years in between hadn’t left Imogen with a different impression of what had happened between them.
He genuinely loved being around her, and, if he was being honest with himself, relished any opportunity that he got to cross paths with her.
Which, since Katie loved to skate, was fairly often.
“Hey, stranger,” Imogen said, settling onto the bench beside the counter while the girls excitedly examined their light-up noses. “This looks amazing. Katie’s been talking about reindeer skating for weeks.”
“I have to admit, the noses were Emma’s mom’s idea,” Lincoln said, handing Imogen Katie’s skates. “Although I think the light show is going to be the real hit. I’ve been working on choreographing it to ‘Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.’’’
“Choreographing?” Imogen raised an eyebrow, the same expression she’d worn in high school when he’d announced his plan to ask her to junior prom by spelling it out in hockey pucks on the ice. “How is that going?”
Lincoln felt heat creep up his neck. “It’s just some colored lights and music timing. Nothing too elaborate.”
He was pretty proud of it, though. He’d spent a lot of time trying out different combinations of colors and patterns until he’d found something that would create the perfect winter wonderland effect.
“I’m sure it’ll be wonderful,” Imogen said, and the genuine warmth in her voice made him smile. “Much better than hockey pucks.”
Lincoln chuckled, glad that she remembered it too. He’d been so nervous to ask her to prom that year that he’d figured he needed to make some grand gesture. Instead, he’d ended up finding out that she’d been hoping he’d ask, and had turned down two other ‘promposals’ just in case he did.
After that, they’d been boyfriend and girlfriend.
The sweetheart couple of Fir Tree Grove High.
He’d had plans to try to play hockey professionally, and Imogen had been unsure about leaving their small town.
They’d both been smart enough, at least, to know that if he’d stayed because of her or she’d left because of him, it would only have poisoned their relationship—more sensible, he thought, than most teenagers would have been.
It wouldn’t have lasted, because one would have resented the other. And he didn’t regret it.
He would always have wondered if his dreams of professional hockey would have come true if he hadn’t tried. And if Imogen had left, she wouldn’t have her adorable chocolate shop that she loved so much… and she wouldn’t have Katie.
He didn’t necessarily like thinking about whoever Katie’s father had been, not least of which because the man had broken Imogen’s heart and left her a single mother.
But Katie was so perfect that he couldn’t begrudge whoever had swept in and picked up the pieces of Imogen’s heart after he himself had left, if only briefly.
Things worked out the way they were supposed to, he thought. They were all happy now, and he had a good, strong friendship with Imogen, something he was lucky to have.
“Mom, look how fast I can go!” Katie’s voice broke through Lincoln’s reminiscing. She was already on the ice, wobbling but determined, her light-up nose glowing red as she gained confidence.
“Be careful, sweetheart,” Imogen called, but Lincoln could see the smile on her face as she watched Katie get her balance and glide out toward the others.
“Those skating lessons are really paying off,” Lincoln said with a grin. “She’s going to be a professional one of these days.”
They stood in comfortable silence for a moment, watching Katie and Emma attempt to skate together while wearing their reindeer noses.
The other children had fully embraced the theme, and the rink was filled with bobbing red lights and giggles.
The scent of the concession-stand food wafted over to them, and Lincoln’s stomach rumbled.
He’d skipped lunch, getting everything ready for tonight.
“I’ll be right back,” he said. “I’m going to grab some pizza. Want anything?”
Imogen shook her head, leaning on the railing as she watched Katie, and Lincoln headed over to the stand.
He got a slice of pepperoni pizza for himself, and he couldn’t resist getting an elephant ear for Imogen, even though she’d said she was fine.
He thought she could use a treat. It wasn’t like she had anyone to do little things for her or surprise her with something thoughtful, and she worked so hard.
Someone should do that for her, so why not him?
What were friends for, anyway? He returned to her side a few minutes later balancing two plates and a soda cup tucked into the crook of his arm—one plate with greasy pizza on it, and the other with a warm elephant ear dusted with cinnamon sugar.
“Peace offering for subjecting you to ‘Jingle Bell Rock’ on repeat.”
“Accepted,” Imogen said with a laugh, taking it from him. She tore off a piece and popped it into her mouth. “This is better than it should be.”