For Rachel Beckett the Olympics was a huge defining moment in her life, something she had been working tirelessly towards since she was five years old. Winning that gold medal meant everything to her and when she finally got there and choked, her li...
The next morning Rachel woke up to light filtering in through the massive windows at the end of the guest bedroom she was sleeping in. The bright white snow outside was almost blinding and she sat up and rubbed her eyes and stretched. She was laying in a big King Bed with bright white sheets and a thick white down comforter, like what you see in high end hotels.
She heard some noise so she slowly got up out of bed and looked out the window and saw Cain out on the lake with a hockey stick and puck skating around and shooting pucks at a goal.
She stretched for a second before getting up and putting on her coat and boots and bundling up with her gloves, scarf and hat before making her way outside to the lake. It was cold enough that she could see her breath in front of her face. The sun was glistening off of the bright white snow and little sparkling icicles hung from the tree limbs as she made her way closer to him, with the snow crunching under her feet. She had almost forgotten how beautiful winters up here were.
She stood there and watched him for a minute without him realizing she was there. He was so good. His movements were so fast and precise. His hockey blades shot sprays of snow as he came to a sharp stop before changing directions and spinning around behind him, pushing the puck with his stick in a big circle before shooting at the goal and hitting nothing but net. She wondered what kind of injury he had that made him have to quit because to her it looked like he could definitely still play.
He looked up and saw her and smiled, "Hey Lynn. Good morning. Did you sleep okay?"
"Yeah. I slept great. Thank you," she smiled. "It's really beautiful out here," she said, looking at the snow covered forest that surrounded the lake.
"Yeah it is. I love it out here. It really feels like home," he said, catching his breath and looking around. Right then three deer ran across the edge of the forest and he pointed them out to her.
"Oh yeah. We're used to seeing deer like that a lot up here in Minnesota," she laughed. "I guess you probably didn't have that in California."
"No," he said shaking his head. "So you skate?" he asked, pointing out at the lake.
That question took her by surprise and she panicked for a second. "No," she said quickly, shaking her head. She figured it was easier to lie. She didn't want to even go down that whole conversation path and explain her past to him.
"Seriously? You grew up in Minnesota, the hockey and figure skating capital of the U.S. and you never learned how to skate?" he laughed.
"Ummm, I guess skating just wasn't my thing," she said awkwardly, fidgeting with her gloves. She hated lying to people and she was really bad at it, but she wasn't ready to talk about everything yet and she knew where that conversation would lead.
"So are you hungry? I was thinking maybe we could catch breakfast before I take you home. There's an old diner in town that makes the most amazing breakfast."
"Oh yeah Maggie's Diner? That place is the best. I haven't had it in years," she said, her stomach growling at the thought. "That would actually be awesome."
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