Everafter (Kissed by an Angel) Read Online Free PDF

shielded his eyes with his hand. “Maybe food would help, if it’s not all-American greasy stuff.”
    “I doubt it’s tofu and green tea, but there might be something plain, like a soft pretzel,” Ivy said, and led the way.
    The concession area had wooden tables and chairs painted in bright orange and blue, a cheerful contrast to the warehouse gray of the rink. The mosaic of framed photos, hanging on facing walls, began with black-and-white and changed over to color. While Dhanya and Chase surveyed his options, Ivy checked out the pictures, starting with what appeared to be the most recent ones. In addition to the posed team pictures, there were action shots, and Ivy recognized Bryan in several of them in which he appeared to be teaching younger players.
    Her heart skipped a beat: Bryan in a sport coat. She pushed a chair out of the way to get closer to the photo.
    No use—she couldn’t see his shirt cuff. It looked like a ceremony in which he and his uncle were giving out trophies to kids.
    There was another photo of Bryan and Luke, which must have been taken in high school. Ivy swallowed hard. It was strange to see a face she now thought of as Tristan’s staring back at her, looking like a relaxed and cocky hockey player.
    “Are you stuck on him or me?” Bryan asked in a quiet voice.
    Ivy jumped. “Him, of course. When was this taken?”
    “Senior year, just before we won the city championship. Just before Luke dropped out of school.”
    “Did he? That’s too bad,” Ivy said.
    “Less than three months till graduation, and Luke dropped out. He didn’t care about anything except hockey and Corinne—and me,” Bryan added, grinning. “Luke cared about me.”
    Ivy wanted to slap him. She hated Bryan’s reckless indifference. And she was afraid of it. There was no appealing for fairness, much less mercy, when a person was devoid of feelings for others.
    To Ivy’s relief, Kelsey was coming toward them with two tall cones, and Will and Beth had just taken a break.After excusing herself, Ivy joined them for ice cream, then returned to the rink.
    “C’mon, Ivy. Like we used to,” Beth invited her. They moved around the ice arm in arm, in perfect rhythm, as they had last winter. Beth sang with the canned music; Ivy provided harmony.
    As they skated, Ivy kept looking around, trying to figure out the layout of the building. She saw signs for the men’s and women’s lockers and doors to other rooms that appeared to be used for maintenance and storage. Somewhere Uncle Pat had to have an office. It was her last hope for an incriminating picture: a shrine of family photos.
    Will joined them, and they skated three across with Ivy in the middle. After several laps, Ivy let go of their hands. “Catch up with you later,” she said. When the two of them didn’t close the gap between them, Ivy put Beth’s hand in Will’s, then skated off.
    Uncle Pat had put on his “date music,” and out of the corner of her eye, Ivy had seen Bryan and Kelsey step onto the ice at the far end of the rink. Ivy made a beeline for the locker room. Inside a bathroom stall, she undid one skate, then slipped its lace under the blade of her other, rubbing back and forth until it broke. Now she had an excuse for padding around in her socks and, if necessary, pretending to be lost on her way to the rental desk. Between the foodand lobby areas, she found the door she wanted, one with a plaque that read PATRICK CAVANAUGH, OWNER, MANAGER, THE BOSS, AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT!
    The office was lit and the door partway open. She listened intently for a moment, then nudged it. There was no response from within. After peeking around the door, she slipped inside.
    Just as she had hoped! Sports photos, family photos, and framed clippings from newspapers.
    “Looking for something?”
    Ivy froze, then turned slowly to face Bryan.
    “Oh! Mr. Cavanaugh!”
    “That’s what it says on the door.”
    Ivy nodded. “You sound just like Bryan. I’m Ivy, a