Read Love on Ice (Cannon City Series Book 2) for Free Online

the other end of the ice.
    Jay sat down at one of the tables and thought about looking at the paper, but couldn’t concentrate. He wanted to be excited about Kate maybe coming over to the rink, but felt nervous. A couple of times this afternoon when they were at lunch and at the bridge, she’d gotten a frightened look on her face and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. That kiss out on the bridge rang his bell and he hoped he could convince her to give him a chance.
    “Hey boss,” Zack called out. Jay looked across the ice and waved. “I’m out of here. Thanks for the night off. The wife waited up for me. Do you want me to lock the doors?”
    “No. Leave it open, I’m expecting someone.” He watched Zack leave the building and thought of some things he could do to improve the atmosphere. He jumped up and ran for the stairs. He went up to the sound booth and picked a couple of CD’s out of the racks that he thought would be good for a skate around. He dimmed some of the lights, but left them on at the front door. He didn’t want her to think the rink was closed.
    He once again tried to read the paper, but it didn’t work and he decided to re-string a bunch of the rental skates. He was putting them back on the shelves when he heard a quiet voice.
    “Hi, Jay.”
    He turned and smiled. “You came over, great.” He was both relieved and excited at the same time.
    She held a box in her arms and walked to the table where his empty coffee cup sat. She put the box down and took her coat off. Jay realized he stared at her from the counter and moved around it. He walked up to her and still smiled.
    “Kate, do you want a bottle of water or pop? I have a new pot of coffee, too. We have both hot and cold.”
    “Water’s fine, thank you.” She smiled.
    He ran over to the concession stand and grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator. When he headed back he saw her look out at the ice. He set the bottle down. “What do you think? Are you ready to give it a try?”
    She looked up at him. “It’s been a few years. I’ll either split my pants or pull something.” She sat down and took a Scrunchy off her wrist. She pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
    Jay watched her and said, “Oh, oh, hair’s going up. This is serious.”
    “No, it’s not serious. I just don’t want my hair to fly around my face.” She bent over her feet and took off her sneakers. Sitting back up straight, she looked at him. “You were planning to skate tonight, too?”
    “Yes, yes I am.” He sat down and took off his shoes. “I hope you don’t mind hockey skates.”
    “They’ll be on your feet, so, no problem.” She opened the box and pulled one of the skates out. The laces were stuffed into the boot and as she took them out, the blade guard fell off.
    He glanced over and was surprised. “Wow, those are nice. Where do you get the blades sharpened?”
    “I don’t remember. It’s been a while since they’ve been out of the box.” She put the guard back on and leaned over to put it on her foot. She did the same with the other skate and tightened the laces. She stood up and bounced a little on the blades. She looked down at him. “If I fall on my butt a lot you have to promise you won’t laugh your head off.”
    “No, ma’am. I’d never laugh at you on your butt.” He smiled and arched an eyebrow.
    “Ha, ha.”
    Jay watched her walk toward the entrance to the ice. She knelt down and put her hand on the frozen surface, moving it over the ice. He could see her lips move and then she patted the ice. This little ceremony that she did looked familiar and he thought he remembered where he knew her from, but something just didn’t add up.
    She stood up, removed the blade guards and slid out. He stood up and walked over to the rail. He watched her flow over the clean surface and couldn’t believe how smooth and graceful her moves were. He remembered where he knew her from and couldn’t believe his luck. The only