"You're keeping the rink and the programs?"
Relief washed over me and my muscles, which had been coiled tightly for days, finally let go. "Thank you, Everleigh."
"You're welcome."
I stood. "I need to get into costume."
"There's one more thing." Everleigh's riding boots clicked on the flooring as she rocked from side to side. "When Beck dug deeper and confronted Mouser, he quit the King Corporation."
I paused with my hand on the doorknob and turned. "He quit?"
Her eyes sparkled as she grinned. "And vowed to whistle-blow the entire operation. That's when I hired him back and fired Mouser."
My throat closed up.
"I'm not saying you have to forgive him," she said. "That's your call. But you should have the facts." She started walking away, then turned back as the opening notes of the halftime show blared through the speakers.
"So you're not the Wicked Witch?" I couldn't help myself.
Everleigh laughed. "No, sweetheart. Not this time."
My eyes were blurred with tears as I watched my kids perform their numbers. Reality hit when the ukulele version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" started to play. My cue.
I pushed off and glided to center ice. The crowd went quiet, then started buzzing. They'd expected a ten-year-old Dorothy. Instead, they got a thirty-three-year-old in braids and a square-dancing skirt. Mrs. K was in the front row. She blew me a kiss and held her hands clasped at her chest. Donnie rested his arm on her shoulders.
My brain shut off and my body took over. The crowd clapped as I dropped into a deep layback spin, the skirt whirling wide with the rotations.
The song built toward the finale. Maddie was supposed to do a single lutz. I picked up speed. I went into it a little faster than usual. I wasn’t scared anymore. The crowd blurred and memories flashed of my mom at the boards and Beck handing me white roses.
I squeezed every muscle in my body as my toe-pick launched me into the air. My braids flew out as one, two, and then finally three rotations were completed. I stuck the landing.
The crowd roared.
Tears streaming down my cheeks when I threw my arms up into the finishing pose. The flying monkeys swarmed me and the crowd stood in a standing ovation.
I waited while the kids filed off the ice. I was breathing hard and my "freckles" were probably smeared across my face. Then Beck stepped onto the ice. He skated toward me carrying white roses wrapped in brown paper.
The whole town watched as he skidded to a stop in front of me.
"I knew you could land it," he said. "I'm so proud of you." He held out the roses. "I'm sorry. I should've checked the final contract."
"Stop." I took the roses from him. My bottom lip quivered as I looked him in the eye. Why had I doubted him? "I love you, Beck."
The crowd let out a collective "aww" as I rose onto my picks to kiss the Beardog Growler player wearing number 23. Beck wrapped his arms around me. "Everleigh told me everything," I whispered into his ear.
A whistle pierced the air. "Get a room, you two!"
I giggled, tucking my face into Beck's neck. He grabbed my hand and we skated off the ice together. Mrs. K gave me a nod of approval from the stands. The Zamboni circled the ice, driven by a dapper-looking Donnie in a brown velour suit.
At the door to the makeshift dressing room, Beck held my hands. "I'm not leaving, Clara. Ever again. I'm staying in Chance Rapids."
"You're staying?"
"If you want me to stay.”
I sniffed the roses. "We're going to need a new spatula."
The crowd roared as the announcer called the Beardog Growlers to the ice. Beck kissed me. "Gotta go.”
