Stealing for Keeps (Frost Lake High Book 1)
Stealing for Keeps: Chapter 43

The art show is held in the basketball gym. Each group is set up around the perimeter. Our collections are displayed on the wall against a white brick backdrop. It’s not exactly museum-style lighting and presentation, but it looks pretty good.

Speaking of looking good…

Claire’s smile is nervous as people start to filter in, but she looks gorgeous. Black long-sleeved dress and boots that come up over her knees. She is stunning. I know because every time I look at her, I feel stunned.

I’m a little anxious too. This collection is a big percentage of our grade, and putting my art up for people to see is not something I ever really wanted. I draw for me and sometimes Claire. Okay, most days, I draw for Claire.

We’ve kept exchanging my sketchbook. It’s almost time to buy a new one, and I’ll be sad to move on. This one is filled with pages of us getting to know each other and falling in love.

But since I don’t plan to stop falling any time soon, I imagine there will be plenty of used sketchbooks in our future.

Mrs. Randolph is the first to swing by.

I step up to her, blocking her from entering our little square. She could see behind me if she moved a foot either direction, but she plays along.

“Password?” I ask quietly.

“Knights Territory.”

I step to the side to let her by. Claire stands next to our pieces, hands clasped in front of her. Underneath our centerpiece is a small table with colored pencils and markers. Mrs. Randolph takes it all in, smiling as she does.

“This looks great, you two.” She glances between us and then back to our art. “I love the title. It’s a great name for a show, and this is clever.” She steps forward and points to the empty paper. “I assume this is for everyone here tonight to add their own art?”

“Yes.” Claire nods. “Or just add their names or a quote, whatever you want. We all leave our mark on the people we meet and the places we go differently.”

“That we do.” Mrs. Randolph continues to soak in each piece before she goes over and grabs a red pencil from the cupholder, then she writes A+ in the right-hand corner and circles it. “Well done.”

“Is that for real?” I ask.

“Yes. This collection is fantastic. You two really worked well together, and you’re both so talented. Congratulations. Enjoy tonight.”

When she’s gone, Claire and I hug and beam at each other with excitement.

“We did it,” she says.

“Was there any doubt? Your paintings stole the show.”

She looks like she’s about to disagree or talk me up, but I kiss her so she can’t. When we break apart, her face is flushed, and I successfully distracted her long enough that she seems to have forgotten what she was going to say.

“Break it up. It’s a family-friendly event,” Rowan jokes as he walks toward us with Lacey, Andie, and Brandon.

“You guys came.” Claire rushes forward to hug her best friends.

“Password.” My lips twitch with a smile as Rowan rolls his eyes.

“You were serious about that?”

“Completely.”

“I can see over your head.” He glances above me but then sighs. “Austin Keller is a…” He mumbles so low I can’t hear the last two words.

“I’m sorry, what was that?” I cup my ear and lean forward.

He repeats himself, a tiny bit louder.

“I’m so sorry, but I still can’t seem to hear you.”

“Austin Keller is a soccer god!”

“Oh wow, that’s so nice of you to say. Love you too, buddy.”

With an exaggerated eye roll, Rowan brushes by me. The others tag along behind him to look at our art show collection.

“What was that?” Claire asks, coming to stand next to me.

I wrap my arm around her. I can’t get enough of being able to touch her any time I want (which is always).

“I gave him a different password.” I lift one shoulder and let it drop casually. “I wanted to hear him say my name one time.”

“Austin Keller.”

A shiver rolls down my spine. “I definitely like it better when you say it.”

“Austin Keller is a soccer god,” she says sweetly in a tone that’s all flirt.

“Are you trying to kill me?” I bury my head in her neck and breathe her in. Now all I want to do is drag her out of here and make out in my car. I mean, to be fair, that’s always on my mind, but I was doing a decent job of focusing on our art show until now.

Luckily or unluckily for me, there’s a steady stream of people stopping by after that. Some of my teammates show up as well as a few girls from her cheer squad. My entire family blows in like the chaos that they are. Wyatt runs circles around the gym after signing his name in big blue letters across the middle of our centerpiece. Mom and Dad are excited and complimentary, almost to the point where Claire is uncomfortable with it. Torrance hangs back a little shyly. Things have been better between us since we talked. I’ve forgiven her. I just hope she can replace a way to forgive me for everything else. Hopefully in time, she’ll see that Frost Lake isn’t so bad. When everyone is gone, I glance over at Claire. Something seems off with her.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” I ask. “Is it my parents? They’re a lot. I know. I’ll talk to them.”

“No, they were so sweet. I love that they showed up for you and wanted to hear all about each piece. And look! Your mom even wrote how proud she was of you on the paper.” She points to the short note Mom wrote.

“Like I said. They’re a lot.” But they’re mine, and I wouldn’t change them for anything.

“It’s not them.”

“Okay.” I wait for her to elaborate.

“I thought maybe my family might come. I sent both my mom and my dad all the information last week and reminded them yesterday.”

Fuck. I hadn’t even thought about them not showing up, which maybe says more about her family than my brain, but I should have realized that it would hurt. Especially when my family is here parading around like I created a masterpiece.

“I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s fine.” Her lips curve into a smile that if I didn’t know her better, I’d believe is real. “I’m sure my mom had to work late, and Dad never remembers anything without being prompted ten minutes beforehand. And it’s just a silly high school art show. Are you ready to go?”

Again, she flashes that gorgeous but totally fake smile. I really hate her parents sometimes, but saying so feels like dogpiling when all she obviously wants is to ignore it.

Snow is falling softly outside as we hurry from the door of the school to my car. We get in, shivering, and I start up the engine and get the heat going. It isn’t the first time I’ve seen snow fall, but watching it accumulate on the side of the road as I drive is a novelty.

I drop off Claire, spend entirely too much time kissing her before letting her go, and then have to drive home going slow so I don’t slide off into a ditch.

Wyatt and Torrance are in the living room staring out the front window, watching the accumulation cover the yard. I kick off my snowy shoes and strip out of my coat and hat.

“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” I ruffle Wyatt’s hair as I take a seat next to them on the couch.

“Mom said I could stay up since it’s snowing.” He barely takes his eyes off the window to glance at me. “Do you think we’ll be able to build a snowman tomorrow or have a snowball fight or make snow angels?”

Every idea makes his face light up more.

“I hope so.” Once, we drove up into the mountains to play in the snow all day. Wyatt was just three or four, so I doubt he remembers it. “Come on, little man. Let’s get some sleep. It’ll still be there in the morning.” I stand and then scoop him up into my arms. He rarely lets me carry him around anymore. I won’t be able to for that much longer. “You too.” I nudge Torrance’s leg with my socked foot.

“I just want to watch it fall for a little bit longer.” She rests her head on her elbow and keeps staring out at the snowflakes glistening under the moonlight.

* * *

The next day, there is more snow than any of us could have imagined, at least eight inches, and it’s so cold that it squeaks under our shoes. I spend all morning with Wyatt outside, building an entire snowman family and having an epic snowball fight. Torrance sits at the window, watching more than playing, but she helped Wyatt pack his snowballs good and tight so they hurt worse when he managed to hit me.

By afternoon, we’re all too cold and tired to stay out, and we watch movies together and have the snow day we always imagined. The rest of Frost Lake is going about their normal routines. The roads are clear, and this isn’t that much snow for them, but for the day, we just enjoy it.

“Do you want to come with me to the hockey game?” I ask Torrance as I’m about to head out.

“No.” She looks up from the book she’s reading. We haven’t talked more about how she’s fitting in here, but I’ve noticed she’s home more often. Bobby Boone had another party last weekend, and I fully expected her to go and sneak in late, but she was home the entire time. I know I can’t take on the guilt of that, but I hope she’ll replace friends here like I have.

Before I drive to the arena, I make a stop. The large brick house is quiet, but lights stream out the downstairs windows. I hit the doorbell, and then shove my hands in my pockets.

It takes a solid two minutes of me standing outside in the cold before Ms. Crawford answers the door.

“Austin.” She says my name with a hint of surprise and a lot of dislike. I have not managed to win her over since Claire and I started seeing each other again. “What are you doing here? Claire isn’t home.”

“I know,” I say. “That’s why I’m here. I’m hoping I can convince you to come to the hockey game to watch her cheer.”

“She sent you here to ask me to go to the game?” She crosses her arms over her chest.

I can tell she wants to shut the door and tell me to get lost, but if I don’t say what I came here to say, it’ll weigh on me for not doing everything I could to make Claire happy. I know what it’s like to have the love and support of my family. It’s better than any trophy or victory.

“No, of course not. She wouldn’t. Claire knows how you feel about her joining the cheerleading squad, so I doubt she’ll ever ask you to come, but I know it would mean so much to her. She just wants you to be proud of her and to know you’re going to love and support her no matter what she does.”

The annoyed stare Claire’s mother aims at me doesn’t waver, but she doesn’t say anything.

“Your daughter is so talented. I never got to watch her compete, but she puts her all into everything she does. I know you probably worry about what she’ll do or who she’ll become without figure skating, but you don’t need to. She’s already the most incredible person I’ve ever met. She’s good and kind, and I know she had to have gotten some of that from you. Anyway, I just thought you should know how much you showing up for her would mean. She wants to make you proud, even if she won’t say it.”

Claire’s mom doesn’t look any more convinced than when she opened the door, but at least I’ve said what I wanted. With a smile and a nod, I back off her steps and then hurry to the game.

Rowan and Vaughn are sitting in their usual seats, Lacey and Andie in front of them. The girls have signs made with a lot of glitter. Lacey hands me one, and I grin at the Go, Claire! written in big, bubble letters.

“We’re cheering for the cheerleaders?” Vaughn quirks a brow but smiles.

“We’re cheering for our friend.” Lacey glares at him. I can’t tell when she’s teasing and when she’s serious, but I would not want to be on the receiving end of one of those looks.

I don’t spot Claire until a time-out. The cheer squad skates out onto the ice in their blue-and-white pleated skirts with matching blue sweaters. Claire’s cheeks are pink from the cold, and her whole face is lit up as she cheers along with the others.

The way she glides across the ice is beautiful. Her movements have an ease to them that speaks to the many hours she’s practiced.

We wait until they’re done with the cheer, and then the five of us stand, screaming and yelling for Claire. The embarrassment splashed across her face is dimmed with a pleased smile.

The game becomes the sideshow, and I perk up every time Claire steps onto the ice. She’s amazing. And the look on her face is pure joy.

When it’s over, I wait for her by the locker rooms. She comes out still in her uniform but with a big coat over it, sneakers instead of skates, a bag on one shoulder and her pom-poms in one hand.

I hold up the sign Lacey gave me earlier over my head.

Laughing, she approaches me. “We lost.”

“Didn’t notice,” I say. “I was too busy staring at you instead of the game.”

I let the sign drop to my side and circle my free arm around her waist.

“You looked great out there. I’ve never seen anyone skate like you.”

“Thanks. Maybe I can teach you sometime.”

I scrunch up my face. “I don’t think I’d do well on ice.”

“Oh no, you’re doing it. I played chess for you.”

Laughing, I drop my mouth to hers. I never knew kissing could feel like this. The press of her lips to mine is like a jolt to my central nervous system every single time.

Someone clears their throat behind me, and I pull back reluctantly. Claire’s smile falls. “Mom?”

I swivel around.

“Dad?” Claire adds.

Sure enough, both of her parents are standing three feet away. Ruby too. The latter comes forward and hugs Claire. “You looked so pretty out there. I missed watching you skate.”

“Thanks.” Claire hugs her back, still looking stunned.

Ms. Crawford meets my gaze briefly and gives me the smallest nod. I wouldn’t say it’s appreciation, but she’s here.

“You still got it, Claire Bear.” Her dad comes in for a squeeze next.

“I don’t understand.” Claire looks between them.

“You looked beautiful out there. Like you were meant to be there.” Her mom speaks slowly, like she’s realizing it only as she says the words. “Watching you skate still takes my breath away. I forgot…” Her voice breaks, then she steps forward and hugs her daughter.

The surprise on Claire’s face makes her eyes widen and brows raise. Then something else crosses her face, understanding maybe. She wraps her arms around her mother without taking her eyes off me, then mouths, “Thank you.”

“I love you,” I mouth back.