Page 68 of One Kind Goal

“Yeah, we’ll work out the details, but I guess I should scout around for a place or something.” That thought made everything more real. She was actually going to buy the antique shop. She was actually going to live in Maplehaven. She was actually going to see where this route took her.

“We can drive around some and see what we find,” Sawyer said.

Something about the way he’d used the word we struck a chord in Morgan’s heart. Would Maplehaven be as fun without Sawyer and Nia? Or was it some combination of place and people that created the magic she was feeling?

Morgan didn’t get a chance to think more about these questions because Sawyer lifted Nia and carried her over to the ice.

“Let’s start out with an adult on either side of her,” he said over his shoulder.

Morgan hurried into position on Nia’s left and took her hand while Sawyer manned Nia’s right side. The three of them formed a little chain and joined the slice of Americana in front of them.

Nia took to skating quickly as if the skill had been dormant inside her. Simply touching the ice had released her innate ability and soon she was skating short distances away from Sawyer and Morgan then returning to them.

Of course watching Sawyer move on the ice was a ridiculous turn on. Morgan easily pictured a stick in his hand and a puck under his control. His body moved like something both graceful and threatening. A shame he had to hide who he was under his baseball hat because Morgan was certain he had hockey fans skating on that ice with him. They would have freaked out to know the RI Anchors center forward Sawyer Lundin was among them.

Nia’s round cheeks were pink from the cold air, but she kept going until the time to meet Charlie and Austin for the helicopter tour came.

“I love skating,” Nia announced.

“I’m so happy to hear that.” Sawyer pulled off her skates and helped her back into her snow boots. “We’ll have you loving hockey next.”

There was that we business again. Morgan wanted to be thrilled Sawyer wished them all to be a we.

But part of her was a little terrified too.