One Wish (Thunder Point #7)(54)

On Friday afternoon at around five o’clock, Troy brought a lovely young couple to the flower shop to meet Grace. Denny was a tall, handsome man in his late twenties and his wife was a pretty blonde with the sweetest little baby bump. They introduced themselves, looked around the shop appreciatively and thanked her for welcoming them so nicely. And then Becca froze. Her mouth stood open slightly and she covered it with her hand. She stared at Grace, wide-eyed. “Oh, my God!” she said. “You’re her! You’re Izzy Banks!”

Twelve

It turned out that Becca Cutler had been hooked on figure skating and kept up with all the competitions. She loved it all, pairs, ice dancing, long programs, short programs. When it wasn’t Winter Games, she watched national and world championships on ESPN. Becca and Grace were the same age. They literally grew up together. Grace admitted who she was.

After closing up the flower shop, they drove out to Cooper’s so Troy could show his friends his other place of employment. “Not too different from your little bar in Virgin River,” Troy said. “Just a different landscape.”

Cooper and Denny shook hands like old friends. “Jack sends his best. Said to call him if you need anything.”

“I need his cook if I’m going to get rich. Tell him to send Preacher,” Cooper said.

“Like that’ll ever happen,” Denny said.

“Take a table, the weather’s great. Beer on the house for my friends. What can I get the little lady with that expectant look in her eye?”

“Just a noncaffeine cola, if you have it.”

“Sorry, darlin’, but everything here is high-test except the light beer.”

“There’s green tea in the cooler,” Troy said. “I’ll get you one.”

“Can I have one, too?” Grace asked. “I’ll drink along with the preggers, here.”

Grace was greeted by a number of people as she and Becca went out on the deck, where it was still cool enough that they had to stay wrapped in their sweaters. The men stayed inside. Cooper brought the women some chips. He leaned down to whisper in Grace’s ear.

“You doing okay, Gracie?”

“I’m fine, Coop. Thanks.”

“If you need Troy next week, all you have to do is say so. We back each other up out here on the water.”

“Thanks,” she said. “I forget sometimes how great people are here.”

“Never forget,” he said, giving her hand a pat.

When he left, Becca was smiling. “This reminds me a little of Virgin River,” she said. “Everyone is so bonded. I can see they all love you, Grace.”

“I think I took that for granted. But tell me how you knew who I was?”

“Seriously? You were always my favorite. I watched you compete in all the big events!”

“How could I be your favorite?” Grace asked. “I didn’t think I was anyone’s favorite!”

“You were everyone’s favorite!”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I had the worst reputation in the business. People called me rich and snotty. My scores always suffered most because of my facial expressions! I never smiled enough for the judges.”

“Really?”

“I thought everyone was rooting for Fiona Temple.”

“She was the underdog. Underdogs always get attention, in all sports. But you? You were gifted, people said so all the time. A natural on the ice. And scared. You were just a scared kid. But in the Vancouver Games, you nailed it. You owned that competition—there was no contest. There hasn’t been a competition like that since. Every newcomer is compared to you. Fiona was a good skater, but a total poser. They caught shots of her cursing or scowling all the time, showing she wasn’t the sweet darling she pretended to be for interviews. I bet she was mean.”

Grace was stunned. “As a snake,” she said. “People knew?”

Becca shrugged. “I bet they did. Don’t you remember what people said about you? Your reviews? Kiddo, you stole the show.”

She had to shake herself. She only remembered the very critical comments.

“Why did you quit?” Becca asked.

“It’s a long story, but it boils down to this—I couldn’t take the pressure anymore. I’d gone as high as I could go and I was exhausted. I like my life better now, hard as that might be to understand.”

“Not hard at all,” she said with a laugh. “A good life, a good man like Troy? That’s more than a lot of people have.”

“Tell me about you and Denny,” Grace said.

“Talk about a long story!” she said. She launched happily into her tale of on-again, off-again romance that finally stuck after she chased Denny to Virgin River and captured him with a broken ankle. She was getting to the wedding and her decision to stay in the mountains with the love of her life when Denny and Troy joined them on the deck, adding bits and pieces to her story. The sun was sinking in the sky when Troy announced that he’d made reservations at Cliffhanger’s for dinner.

“Think about what you’d like to see and do while you’re here,” Troy said. “The weather is supposed to be good all weekend and the coast is beautiful.”

“I can think of one thing I’d absolutely die to do,” Becca said. “I’d so love to see you skate, Izzy...I mean Grace!”