Free The Patricia Kiyono Christmas Collection by Patricia Kiyono Page B

jaw
dropped. Belatedly, he realized there was a question in there he
was supposed to answer. Above the sweater, a mane of curly platinum
blonde surrounded a face about four shades darker than the rest of
her skin. Sarah hadn’t worn that much makeup, even when she was on
camera.
    “ Umm, no. There’s nobody
sitting there.”
    The woman sat, surrounding Mitch in a cloud
of cloying floral fragrance. He stood, searching the rink for his
daughter, but the woman’s sultry voice stopped him. “You’re not
trying to get away from me, are you?”
    “ Uh, no. Just want to keep
an eye on my daughter,” he improvised.
    “ She’s fine. Sophie will
keep a close eye on them. That’s her job. You’re new around here,
aren’t you?”
    “ Yeah.” He remained
standing and kept his eyes on Angie. The woman’s perfume was way
too strong for him.
    “ I hear you’re a
photographer for one of those news magazines.”
    “ Used to be.”
    “ How exciting. So you’ve
been all over the world and photographed really famous people.
Don’t you find this hick town boring?”
    He shook his head. “Nope. There’s plenty to
see and do here.” And most of it had to do with a certain blonde
who was encouraging a little girl to skate with her.
    “ I’d love to hear about
some of your adventures. Where have you been?”
    “ Here and there.” He had to
get the woman to lay off. “Listen, I’m not the best company right
now. This is Angie’s first time skating and I’d really like to
watch. Maybe some other time.”
    The woman pouted and huffed, but she closed
her mouth. She didn’t move, though. And the silence ended only a
few moments later. “Which one is she?”
    Mitch’s senses went on alert. Why would she
want to know? He tried for a vague answer. “The cutie with the
ponytail,” he answered. There were at least a dozen out there
matching that description.
    But the woman’s powers of observation were
keener than he gave her credit for. “Well, I’m assuming she looks
at least a little like you, so that eliminates about half of the
ponytail wearing girls out there. I’m going to guess she’s the one
who fell just before you cringed. The one with the pink
sweatshirt.”
    Rather than give her credit, he tried to
change the subject. “Which one is yours?”
    “ The tall boy with the Red
Wings jersey on.” She nodded toward a dark-haired boy who looked
years older than any of the other kids on the floor. “He wants to
be a hockey player someday.” The boy wove through the crowds with a
natural speed and grace. But he also liked to tease the smaller
kids. So far he hadn’t bothered Angie, but if he did, then what?
Mitch looked down at his own skates. He couldn’t actually save her.
He’d have a hard time even reaching her.
    He looked out at the rink again, wondering
if he should take Angie home. Hockey Boy made a nuisance of
himself, pulling girls’ ponytails and grabbing caps off other boys.
Mitch went on high alert, hoping the boy wouldn’t target his
daughter. Other parents noticed the boy’s antics too, and a few of
them started yelling.
    Beside him, Hockey Boy’s mom apparently
sensed the impending problem and tried to fend it off. “Hey,
Ronnie!” she yelled. “Come here.” The woman’s voice carried over
the music booming through the arena’s speakers and heads turned
toward her from every direction.
    The boy glanced at his mom and frowned. He
started to skate toward his mom, but passing a tiny blonde, he
grabbed her ponytail and yanked. Hard. The little girl fell
backward and landed in a heap, along with the two girls skating
with her.
    Before any of the adults on the sidelines
could react, a red blur streaked across the rink. Sophie scooped up
the sobbing little girl and brought her to her mother, who had
already entered the rink. Then she swung back toward Hockey Boy
with a frown. The boy glared back at her with bravado.
    “ I didn’t do anything,” he
insisted. “I was skating to my mom and