She just blinked at him. He apologizedandacknowledged the position it put her in? If she was keeping score, that would’ve earned him some extra points. And not that she’d give extra points for attractiveness, but his nose, which was now red from the cold night air, made his hazel eyes pop. And that 5 o’clock shadow along his jaw looked rather touchable.
“Thank you. Here’s hoping tonight goes much more smoothly.”
Like every night in the weeks leading up to Christmas, there were plenty of people in the park. Some were walking around, looking at the sculptures. Others were admiring the elaborate setup of Santa’s village or riding the small train that circled the village. Some were looking at the life-sized nativity, and some were lined up at the hot chocolate gazebo.
Connor glanced at Santa’s village and said, “Please tell me that I’m not here to put on an elf costume to help Santa.”
Katie tried to hide a smile as she turned and started walking, Connor joining her. “I heard that the town’s one and only costume was completely destroyed by a barbarian. No— we are going to that building just between the hot chocolate gazebo and the nativity.”
“The community center? What’s in there?”
How had she forgotten even for a moment that he used to live in Mountain Springs? He knew where everything was. It was his eyes. They distracted her. “All of the gingerbread housesthat were submitted for the competition.Youare going to judge them.”
“Oh. I wish someone would’ve told me— my Gingerbread House Judging Certification has lapsed and I didn’t get it renewed.”
“I’ve heard the renewal process is a real bear,” Katie said.
Connor nodded. “So many classes…”
“And so many terms to memorize…”
“And the certification test takes hours.”
“And there’s only so many hours in a day,” Katie said.
“I feel like you really get me.” He gave her a look that was part teasing, part something else. She wasn’t sure what, just that it made her suddenly aware of her own heartbeat.
“Don’t worry.” Katie patted him on the shoulder. “That NHL jersey with your name on the back came with an honorary certificate.”
“Whew!” He brushed the back of his hand across his forehead. “That’s going to save me some embarrassment here in a minute.”
Katie snuck a peek at him as they walked and smiled. She liked a guy who didn’t take himself too seriously.
When they had almost reached the community center, a boy who looked like he was probably five years old came running up to Connor and said “Are you number seventeen?” It surprised her that Connor was already being recognized since he’d only been on the team for three days, but he was wearing a Glacier’s coat, so maybe that helped.
Connor stopped and gave all his attention to the little boy, who was dressed in a puffy coat, gloves, and a knit hat with a big pom on top. “I am.”
Katie immediately pulled her video camera out, just in case. She held it up just a bit, wordlessly asking the boy’s mom for permission to get the exchange on video, and the mom noddedquickly, her focus going back to her young son. She started filming from behind the child, so she was getting Connor’s face and not the kid’s, but the more the little boy talked, the more she moved to his side so she could get all his animated expressions and gestures.
“I watched you last night and you did awesome! ‘Specially that one part where you got that pass and took the puck down the side goingswish, swish, swishback and forth, and that defender was right on you, so you turned around backward!Swish, swishwith the puck, and he couldn’t keep up and wentdown! And his skate nearly took out you, too, but no. You just turned around andswoosh!” He threw his arms up into the air. “Right into the net! It was so awesome! And the crowd was screaming so loud. We were only watching it on TV, but I’m pretty sure that we were screaming louder.”
The boy’s arm motions as he told about the play and his excitement were pure gold. So were the expressions crossing Connor’s face as the boy talked. And all the Christmas festivities in the park were the perfect backdrop. She couldn’t have planned a better composition for the shot.
“Wow— you really know a lot about hockey. Do you think you’ll want to play?”
The boy puffed out his chest. “I already do.”
“I bet you’re pretty good at it.”
As they talked, Katie noticed a second, much quieter boy who was holding back from the conversation a bit. He looked like he was about twelve years old, and if she had to guess, he was the animated boy’s brother.
She was surprised at how quickly Connor noticed the boy and pulled him into the conversation. “Do you play, too?”
The boy immediately lit up and stepped forward. “I do. Right-wing, just like you.”
She suddenly wondered if the boy was the older brother that the girl at the present wrapping station yesterday was referring to. If she was his sister, she didn’t see her nearby, though.
Connor chatted with the two brothers, and when the older one asked for Connor’s advice about what he should do if he wanted to play in the NHL someday, Connor gave it. He told him to focus on the fundamentals, not get caught up in complaining, work hard, and get the best grades possible. Yes, as a way to get into a college where he had a better chance of being drafted, but also because hockey was about a lot more than skill on the ice, and getting good grades helped prepare for all of that. Katie was pretty impressed by his answer. When she glanced at the boys’ mom, she saw the woman was not only impressed, but grateful nearly to the point of tears.
