“I’ll tell you more as you’re skating. Swing your legs over the wall.”
She swivels around. I stand behind her, keeping an eye on her balance. The only thing separating me from the ice is the wall.
Baby steps, Harper.
The first step was putting on the skates.
“Start with marching on the spot. Feet slightly apart. One knee up and then the other.”
“This isn’t so bad,” she calls out.
“Glad you think so. Now, let’s try swizzles. Square your feet central to your hips. Make sure you have loose knees. Angle your skates into a V shape and try to bring your skates back together.”
She looks down at her feet.
Lost.
I chuckle. “Like this.” I demonstrate the motion with my hands.
She takes a deep breath, bites her bottom lip to help her focus and pushes on her skates until she glides forward.
“You did it, Bookworm,” I cheer, fist punching the air. She squeals, does a little jump, and crashes to the ice, landing on her ass.
Laughter bubbles out of me before I can stop it.
She shoots me a death stare, gorgeous eyes squint at me in warning.
She pushes off the ice. One hand on her knee, the other flat on the ground. Pride bursts through me as she stands and nails two perfect swizzles in a row.
We move onto glides next. They’re small, at first. She learns fast, pushing off with one foot and then the other.
Clean lines.
“Am I doing it right?”
“You’re doing great!” I shout back.
Step by step, push by push, glide by glide, she begins to get the hang of it. Her pushes and glides get longer and more controlled each time.
Her giggles echo around us, light and infectious, filling the space. A beautiful smile, one I haven’t seen before, takes over her face as she throws her arms out wide. I thought I knew all of them by now, but this one is new. There’s a dimple on her left cheek, peeking out in hello.
It steals all the air from my lungs.
She’s gorgeous, and I desperately want to tell her that.
A crack slices through the air, jostling my thoughts.
Once.
Twice.
My stomach bottoms out before I can even react.
Erin’s head lowers just a fraction at the sound, but before a scream can escape, the ice cracks and pulls her under.
“ERIN!”
Her name rips from my jugular as I catapult over the wall. My skates eat the distance, ice spraying behind me. I don’t think. I just move. I drop to my knees at the break in the ice. The cold bites me as I plunge my arm into the water. My fingers scrape against the jagged edges as I reach for her, pulse thundering in my ears.
