Chapter 4

"C'mon, Joy. I want to go see that puppy again." Danielle twisted a lock of her hair around her finger while she waited for Joyce to finish her cereal and her banana.

"I don't know, Danni. Are you sure this can't wait until later?"

"No. We'll be at the pool later," Danielle said. "Besides, don't you want to see that cute guy again?"

Joyce spooned the last of her cereal into her mouth. "Who said he was cute?"

"Joyce," Danielle said with a shake of her head. "Even I could see how cute he was."

Joyce let out a sigh as she snatched her phone off the counter and shoved it in the back pocket of her shorts. "Let's do this thing."

"Mom said we should take them these cookies." Dannielle slid a white cardboard box wrapped in a black-and-white polkadot ribbon off the counter. "Besides, I thought you liked puppies?"

"I do. I just don't want to run into Sydney Gray." Joyce pulled open the front door and bounded down the front steps.

Danielle sighed. She had heard about what had happened at the rink. "Don't let her get to you, Joy."

"I'm trying." Joyce let out a breath of air. "Sorry, I'm just super stressed, is all."

"Give her a chance," Danielle said. "Maybe she will try and be a good friend."

"Remember the stories of how Aunt Gen was when mom and Aunt Buffy first moved to town?"

"Yes," Danielle said with a nod.

"That was the way Sydney Gray was at camp."

"And you do remember that mom and aunt Gen became the best of friends, right?" Danielle asked.

"Yes I remember, but I doubt that Sydney Gray and I ..." Joyce huffed out a breath. Sydney didn't look scared. She looked perfectly calm. Confident. Especially when she landed that Triple Salchow without even a hint of a wobble.

They walked along in silence.

"Let's stop by the Connors and make sure their bearded dragon has enough crickets," Danielle said, pointing to the Connors house three doors down.

"Ew." Joyce cringed. "So disgusting. Y ou go ahead. I'll wait out here."

"Not fair." Danielle stopped at the bottom of the Connors driveway. "Half of everything, remember? Our jobs are supposed to be equal."

"I'll feed the Magnani's cats and change the litter box if you get the crickets. How's that?"

"Deal. Hold these. I'll be right back." Danielle handed Joyce the box of cookies then jogged up the driveway. She fished a spare key out of the frog dish by the front steps and let herself inside the Connors' house.

Joyce shifted the cookies to one hand and pulled out her phone and checked her messages. Hannah had stopped texting her. She brushed aside the twinge of disappointment that lodged in her chest. The truth was, she'd thought about calling Hannah at least five times last night.

"They're good." Danielle popped back through the front door, turning to check the lock behind her.

"Cool." Joyce tucked her phone back in her pocket and they crossed the street to the Magnani's house. She scooped up the bundled newspaper from the driveway and pulled Saturday's mail from the box.

"Have fun," Danielle said, giving Joyce a little wave with her fingers.

"Thanks. I'm having a blast already." Joyce knew she'd probably regret her end of the deal. The Magnani's cats were notorious for leaving a mess in their owners' absence. Punching the access code into the keypad by the garage, Joyce waited while the door hummed and clicked, holding her breath in anticipation of what might be waiting for her. The door rolled up to reveal the empty garage. Phew. No dead trophy rodents. Since the cats could go in and out the pet door through the back door in the garage, there was usually a dead mouse or the occasional bird proudly displayed in the middle of the garage floor or on the steps leading into the house. Joyce put the newspaper and mail in the bin by the steps and made short work of changing the litter box, wrinkling her nose at the foul odor. This was not her idea of a good time. But she had agreed to be Danielle's partner in their pet-sitting business. So she did the task. She dumped out their water bowls in the utility sink next to the hot water heater and added plenty of fresh water. The cats had yet to make an appearance. Scooping a healthy serving of food into each of their bowls, Joyce hurried out of the garage and punched the code in again to let the door roll back down.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Danielle asked.

"I guess not. It's definitely easier when they don't leave any dead animals lying around."

"Did you know that's a sign of …"

While Danielle launched into a long explanation about cats and their motivations, Joyce watched a Volvo station wagon pull out of the Gray's driveway three doors down. Were they leaving? Maybe she and Danielle would have to stop by another time. But then the front door opened and Mrs. Gray stepped out on the porch, Lila Jane tucked under one arm.

"Oh, hello," she called to them.

"Hello, Mrs. Gray," Danielle said as she reached up and pet the puppy. "Hello, Lila Jane."

Mrs. Gray smiled and her arm full of bangle bracelets jangled as she set Lila Jane in Danielle's open arms. "Here. You look as if you need your puppy fix this morning."

Joyce hung back, clutching the box of cookies to her chest. She cut a quick glance to the open door behind her. Was Sydney home? What about Dylan? She touched her hand to her hair, wishing she'd taken the time to blow it out before she rushed out of the house.

"Nice to see you again, Joyce. We didn't get to talk much at the rink yesterday. How long have you been skating?"

Joyce swallowed hard. "Since mom and Aunt Buffy thought I was old enough."

"How about you, Danielle?"

Danielle looked up from where she sat cross-legged on the lawn with the puppy. "Aunt Buffy has trained me, but mostly I'm hockey."

Joyce inched further up the driveway and held out the cookies. "These are for you from our family. Welcome to Millbrook." She hated how robotic her voice sounded.

"Oh, thank you. You didn't have to do that. Would you girls like to come in? Lila Jane can come with you." Mrs. Gray took the box of cookies and motioned for the girls to come with her, the hem of her chevron-striped maxi dress swooshing around her bare ankles.

Joyce and Danielle looked at each other. A few minutes couldn't hurt.

Danielle didn't look as though she was willing to leave that puppy anytime soon. "I guess for a few minutes. We have to be home for brunch in a little bit."

"How nice. My husband took Dylan to Starbucks to get some breakfast. They're so excited to have Starbucks so close here. You just missed Sydney. She's on a trail run."

So they weren't home. Joyce followed Mrs. Gray into their house. "On a Sunday? We usually take Sundays off."

Mrs. Gray paused to pull some of Lila Jane's toys out of a shoe box next to her crate in the kitchen. "Well, Sydney is very driven. She doesn't usually take a day off. Dylan wants to stay in shape in case he gets to play soccer."

Joyce knew that Buffy would not be thrilled if she found out about one of her skaters doing extra workouts. It had been one thing Buffy had always been adamant about, having a life outside of skating. Being able to date and be a normal girl. She knew that her aunt had made sure that when Grandma Tina had trained her mom, that her mom had time to be a normal girl.

Joyce looked around for a place to sit. Moving boxes were stacked two and three high around the kitchen and family room, some opened and some not. One full of trophies and medals sat nearby and Joyce tried to ignore it. Those were probably all of Sydney's figure skating awards. Several tunics and blouses were draped over the back of the kitchen chairs, most with the tags still on.

"I like these shirts." Joyce touched the sleeve of a royal blue shirt that reminded her of her mom's skating outfit.

"Oh, thanks." Mrs. Gray re-folded the newspaper, clearing a space at the kitchen table. "I do some design work on the side. Those are from a place I used to own in Denver. I'm hoping to open a clothing boutique at some point."

Joyce glanced at a stack of picture frames sitting on the table. The top picture was of the Gray family standing at the edge of the rink, Sydney smiling as she held up a medal draped around her neck and a bouquet of roses tucked in the crook of her very lean arm.

"Did you move here for Mr. Gray's job?" Danielle asked.

"Yes. He starts at University of Connecticut on Monday." Mrs. Gray continued to move around the room, unwrapping the paper from the items she pulled out of a cardboard box.

"Have you found a veterinarian for Lila Jane yet?" Joyce shifted from one foot to the other; half-wishing Dylan would come back from Starbucks yet also hoping that he didn't.

"No, we haven't. Sydney found an ad for puppies on Craigslist as soon as we drove into town. I wasn't planning on getting her so soon, but this is a big move and whatever makes things easier for Syd—"

"Lots of families around here use Millbrook Animal Hospital. It's close by," Danielle explained, picking up Lila Jane and rubbing her cheek against the puppy's side. Lila Jane squirmed in her arms, her pink tongue lavishly spreading kisses of gratitude in return.

"Do you work there?" Mrs. Gray asked.

Joyce smiled. The perfect segue to launch into their pet-sitting spiel.

"No, I'd like to. But I can't play hockey and have a regular job. That's why we have our pet-sitting service. Right, Joy?"

"That's right. For a small fee, we provide regular walks, cuddles, food, and water as needed. For puppies, we can come by as often as you need. Obviously, that would be in the morning and afternoon, with school starting and everything."

"Wow, that's quite a sales pitch you have there." Mrs. Gray linked her arms across her chest. "Any references I should contact?"

"You can ask anyone on this street. We've probably worked for all of them," Joyce said.

"Except for Mrs. Baxter at the end. She's never had pets and doesn't let anyone touch her plants and flowers," Danielle explained.

Mrs. Gray laughed. "Sounds fastidious. Let me talk to my husband and get back to you."

The front door opened and Joyce turned to see Dylan and the same man who talked to the movers come inside, a cardboard carton full of Starbucks cups in their hands. Her pulse sped up as her eyes met Dylan.

"Hi," he said, stopping when he recognized her.

"Hi," Joyce whispered, feeling her cheeks warm under his piercing blue gaze.

"Honey, this is Joyce and Danielle Harwood-Summers. Their mother and aunt own the rink Sydney checked out yesterday," Mrs. Gray said.

"Hi, ladies." Mr. Gray offered a hand to Joyce. "Nice to meet you."

Joyce shook his huge hand and smiled. "Nice to meet you, too, Mr. Gray."

"Is Sydney back yet?" He looked around. "She'll be sorry she missed you."

Joyce bit her lip and shrugged. She could still feel Dylan watching her.

"She usually runs for a couple of hours, Dad." Dylan brushed past Joyce and set the coffee carrier on the kitchen table.

Joyce cleared her throat. "Did you talk to the soccer coach yet?"

"Would you like some coffee?" he asked at the same time. "You can have Sydney's. She never drinks it—"

"Dyl." Mrs. Gray shot him a warning look. "You can't give away your sister's coffee."

"It will be cold by the time she gets back," Dylan insisted. "She won't drink it, anyway."

Mrs. Gray pasted on a smile for Joyce. "Don't mind him. Can I get you girls something to drink?"

This was awkward. "Um, no. We really need to get going. C'mon, Danni."

"Not yet, Joy. I need to give this girl some love. Yes I do," Danielle crooned as Lila Jane toppled over, chasing a ball.

"Thanks for asking about soccer," Dylan said, twisting his cup in the cardboard sleeve. "I have a meeting with the coach before school on Tuesday."

"I hope it works out. I heard one of our best players transferred," Joyce explained, forcing herself to maintain eye contact and hoping he couldn't hear how loud her heart was hammering in her chest.

"Yeah, I heard that, too." Dylan drank some more coffee, rocking back on his heels.

"Danni, we really need to get going," Joyce prompted.

"Okay, okay." Danielle got to her feet. "Hey, we're all heading to the pool later. You all should come check it out."

"That sounds fun," Dylan said. "Are you going, Joyce?"

Joyce could only nod.

"Is it the one in the neighborhood?" Mrs. Gray asked. "I think I drove by it yesterday."

"Yep, just a couple blocks from here. It's so fun. You'll love it," Danielle said.

Joyce did not want to spend her afternoon at the pool with Sydney. All week at school and at the rink was going to be bad enough.

"Maybe we'll see you there," Mr. Gray said, walking with them to the front door. "Thanks for stopping by."

"Bye," Joyce managed a quick wave in Dylan's general direction.

Once the door swung closed behind them and they were out on the sidewalk, Joyce nudged her sister with her elbow. "Thanks a lot. Why did you invite them to the pool?"

Danielle stared at her with wide eyes. "And we both know he's cute. Why wouldn't you want him at the pool?"

"Because that means he'll bring his twin sister, too. Duh."

"Maybe she won't come."

"Whatever. I bet she will. She'll probably look perfect in her teeny tiny swimsuit, too."

"Boy, what has gotten into you?"