Chapter 2

I'm in the middle of a dream where I'm back at Colonial Academy riding Blackjack when I'm shaken awake. "Huh? What?" I splutter, sitting up.

"Jess, it's five o'clock," someone says. I blink, trying to clear the sleep from my eyes and peer through the darkness. I can just make out my mother's shadowy figure standing next to me.

"Alright, thanks," I mumble, letting my head fall back onto the pillow and preparing to go back to sleep.

"No, get up," my mother insists. "You said you wanted to help in the barn. Your father and I gave the farmhands the day off so we need your help."

I give a long groan. I'm tempted to crawl under the covers and wake up again at a decent hour but a sense of duty compels me to get up. I wave a hand at my mother, "I'm up. Don't worry. Can you make me some coffee please?"

"No coffee," my mother says. "But I'll make some hot chocolate for you and the boys." With that she heads downstairs, leaving me to get ready.

I slip out of bed and shiver despite the fact I'm wearing flannel pajamas. It's only been two days since I got back but I decided that I wanted to get back into the farm routine. Switching on the lamp, I grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt from my dresser. Down the hall I can hear my brothers getting up as well and speed up so I can get to the bathroom before them.

Scurrying out of my room, I make it to the bathroom seconds before the twins' bedroom door swings open. "Jess," Dylan complains. "No fair."

"You snooze, you lose," I tell him smugly before shutting the door. While I brush my teeth I inspect myself in the mirror. My blonde hair is a tangled mess and when I try to tame it, the comb gets stuck. Giving up, I rinse my face and grab a hair tie from the cabinet.

Downstairs my mother is pouring the hot chocolate into three mugs and popping in a couple of marshmallows into each mug. "Hey. You actually got up," she teases me.

"Just about. I've gone soft. First Colonial Academy and now NYU," I say.

My mom laughs and begins to say something but whatever it is gets cut off by the sound of boot-clad feet on the stairs. My brothers come crashing into the kitchen and grab their hot chocolate, greedily sipping them.

"Gross guys," I tell them and take a small sip of my own drink.

"Whatever," Ryan replies and the two of them slam their mugs down on the table and dash out into the yard.

I shake my head. "Will they ever learn manners?" I ask my mother who shrugs.

I get up and snag my coat and boots from next to the door. I give my mother a quick kiss and hurry out into the yard. The early morning air is bracing and I gratefully join my father and brothers in the warm barn where I get to work milking the goats and mucking out stalls. My hands soon become numb and chapped but I doggedly continue my task. The routine is comforting as are the familiar smells and sounds of the barn. One of the newest kittens winds its way around my ankles purring softly and I lean down and pat it carefully. Once I'm finished, I make my way into the creamery to help my father clean it and prepare for the day.

My father strips off his rubber gloves and rinses his hands before checking his watch. "Wow, it's already six-forty five. We should head back to the house; your mother probably has breakfast ready."

I stretch and smile at him, "Good. I'm starving. Hopefully she made something good."

"Pancakes I think," my father tells me.

"Sounds yummy," I say, finishing cleaning the last counter and dumping the rest of my stuff in the sink.

I follow my father across the yard into the kitchen where I kick off my boots and hang my jacket on a peg. When I look up, I'm surprised to see my brothers already at the table greedily devouring a stack of steaming pancakes. "Pigs," I tell them cheerfully, snagging the plate from Ryan's syrup covered fingers.

"Hey! We were hungry," they protest.

I roll my eyes and pass the plate of pancakes back to them. My mom and dad sit at the table and soon a conversation about what needs to be done starts up. I mostly ignore the talk until I hear the word "hockey". My head jerks up. "What about hockey?" I ask, interrupting my mother.

"Jess," my father warns me.

"Sorry Mom," I say. "But what about hockey?"

Dylan pipes up, "Ryan and I joined the hockey team."

I gape. "Are you serious? How come I never knew about this?"

Ryan shrugs, biting into another pancake. "I guess we didn't get around to it. But you can come to our practice today if you want."

I don't say anything and so the conversation resumes. But I'm lost in my thoughts. How could I have missed that my little brothers joined hockey? What else did I miss? I quickly shake myself out of my funk and decide that I'll make plans to see Emma today. After helping to clear the table I take a shower and make myself presentable. As I sit cross legged on my bed flipping through my yearbook from Colonial Academy I call Emma.

She picks up on the second ring. "Hello?"

"Hey Emma."

"Oh hey Jess! What's up?"

"Just get back into the whole waking up at five in the morning thing." She laughs and I pause and then ask, "Did you know my brothers joined the hockey team?"

"Really?" Emma sounds surprised. "Well, I figured that it would happen soon enough. Almost every boy, and now girl, thanks to Cassidy, tries out for the hockey team when they're in middle school."

"That's true. So apparently they have a practice today and I was wondering if you wanted to meet me there so we could watch and just hang out," I say.

"Sure. What time does it start?"

"About one I think," I answer.

Faintly in the background I hear someone say, "Emma?"

Emma's reply in somewhat muffled but she soon is back on saying in a rush, "Okay, cool. I'll see you at the rink at one."

Before I have a chance to say anything else, the line is dead. I sigh and put the phone on the nightstand before turning back to the yearbook on my lap. Flipping through it, I find photos of Adele, Frankie, and Savannah and I as well as various other friends. I lost touch with Frankie and Savannah during the summer after we graduated since we were going to colleges so far apart. The memories of my high school years come flooding back and nostalgia sweeps over me. I shake it off, mentally scolding myself, you're only eighteen, don't get all sentimental.

I can feel my eyes growing heavy and I slide under the covers, promising myself that I'll only sleep for a few minutes. However, when I wake up I see that it's 12:30, only a half hour until I have to meet Emma.

There's a knock on my door and my mother pokes her head in. "The twins are leaving in fifteen minutes. You should get yourself together," she adds, eying my knotted hair and rumpled clothes.

I stifle a yawn and once she's satisfied I'm up, she heads to my brothers' room. I put my hair in my signature braid and put on an outfit that is suitable for the freezing weather outside. I troop downstairs and am greeted by my brothers who are waiting impatiently by the front door. They're carrying duffel bags with all their gear in it and announce that my mother has declared she has too much to do and that I should drive them to the rink.

I nod, and grab a set of car keys from the hook by the door. A gust of cold air blows in as the twins push open the door, raising goose bumps on my neck and I hurriedly unlock the minivan. The twins climb in, jostling each other and I sit in the driver's seat, switching on the heat full blast.

"It's too hot," Dylan complains as I glance over my shoulder as I prepare to back out of the driveway.

"Be a man and deal with it," I tease him. "It's a short ride. Besides, you'll be grateful once you're out on the ice."

He doesn't respond but in the mirror I can see him sitting slumped in the seat, a grouchy look on his face. Ryan elbows him and whispers something in his ear that causes him to flush. I wonder what that's about but before I have a chance to ask, I see the turning for the rink up ahead. I pull up in front of the entrance and Ryan and Dylan jump out with their bags, saying a muttered "bye".

I shake my head and find a parking spot. Once I switch off the engine, I slide out of the car and look around. All around are snow banks that are still miraculously white; unlike in New York City where within hours of falling snow is a dirty gray. There are cars parked around and the trees in the lot look bare and cold against the flat, gray sky that hints at more snow. I tromp through the path worn by previous skaters and settle in the stands, glancing at my phone. It's 12:07 and Emma hasn't shown yet. At that moment my phone buzzes with a message from Emma: running late. b there in 5!

Out on the ice, my brother and their teammates are getting warmed up, doing speed laps around the ice and laughing hysterically. I pass the time by identifying all the skaters I can and coming up with the Latin names for anything I can think of. Finally at 12:17 Emma walks into the rink. She spots me and waves before sitting next to me.

"Jess!" she exclaims.

"Emma!" I laugh, giddy at seeing her again.

"You look awesome," she says.

"You do too," I tell her and it's the truth. She's straightened her brown hair which falls in ripples down her back and is wearing her contacts.

"Aww thanks," she replies. "So how's it being back in Concord?"

"Good, but in a weird way. How about you?"

"I feel the same way. Like even though everything is the same, it's not."

"Exactly! So how are classes at Stony Brook?" I ask her.

"Terrible. Math 101 is killing me!" she groans dramatically.

I laugh and when I spy a flash of brown curls above me, I grin. Leaping up, I lock my arms around Darcy Hawthorne. "Darcy! You didn't say you'd be coming."

In my embrace Darcy seems tense but he smiles at me. I look up at his chocolate brown eyes and think I spy a look of apprehension but it's gone before I can tell if I'm imagining it. "Jess," he says, his voice as deep and as warm as always. "It's great to see you." He drops a kiss on top of my head.

"How's Dartmouth?" I ask him.

"Good," he says. "I'm going to go see if the coach needs help. The team needs to be in peak condition for their games."

He hurries away, leaving me staring at his retreating figure. I turn to Emma, feeling a bit hurt and embarrassed. "Do you know why he seemed so…tense?"

She shakes her head, "Nope, he seemed fine earlier."

I frown but drop the subject, instead switching my attention to the ice. Darcy steps out and begins to skate around the perimeter, correcting the form of a skater every so often. My gaze follows him around the rink until Emma bumps against me playfully. "Cheer up," she says in an attempt to take my mind off of Darcy. "I'm sure it's nothing. He's probably just worried about his exams or something."

I'm unconvinced but allow the conversation to be steered into more cheerful topics and for the rest of the hockey practice Emma and I catch up and gossip. We talk about Megan who is attending a Parisian university, Becca who went to Boston University, and Stewart and Emma's relationship which is apparently going swimmingly. But our biggest topic is Cassidy who is training for the Winter Olympics after deciding to take a gap year before starting college.

All too soon the hockey team is streaming off the ice, chattering excitedly and grabbing drinks of water. I stand reluctantly, telling Emma, "I should probably see if the twins need a ride home or if they're going to hang out with friends."

I approach the twins. "Hey guys. Do you need a ride home?"

Dylan shakes his head, sending his shaggy blonde hair flying. "Nah, we're going over to Andrew's house." He points to a tall, gangly boy who I realize is Third's little brother. I wave and he blushes.

"Alright cool. I'll tell Mom. See you later," I say, leaving them and preparing to head back to Emma.

As I'm halfway to Emma, Darcy steps in front of me, twisting his hands nervously. "Jess, can I talk to you?"

I smile at him but he looks serious. "Yeah, sure."

"Uhh…could we maybe go somewhere private?"

"Sure," I say as I lead him over to a small alcove by the water fountains.

We stand, cloaked in shadows and Darcy clears his throat and shifts nervously. "Jess, I have to tell you something…"

Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the wait (and the cliffhanger). I promise I'll try to update sooner and I couldn't resist throwing in the part about Cassidy and the Winter Olympics. Are any of you watching?