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He released her arm from his elbow but remained within inches in case she lost her balance.

Sage was proud of herself. This was going far better than she’d hoped. Ricky and Michael skated past her, with Lilly following behind. Ethan remained nearby.

“I’m good,” she insisted, waving him off.

Ethan moved in front of her, skating backward the way Ricky had earlier.

“Show-off,” she teased.

“I promised to keep you upright. I’m here in case you need me.”

“Go away, you’re making me nervous.” She shooed him off, longing to prove that she could skate on her own. She made it all the way around, slower than the other skaters, which didn’t bother her. She was upright, enjoying the exercise and singing along with the music.

Silly as it seemed, she felt triumphant, as if she’d completed a highly skilled athletic event. She wondered if this emotional high was what marathon runners felt after crossing the finish line.

Ethan and Ricky skated up next to her, slowing their pace. “You doing okay?” Ethan asked.

She nodded. “I’m doing great. This is fun.”

Ricky grinned boyishly. “Told you.”

“Yes, you did,” she concurred.

A group of noisy teenage boys around thirteen or fourteen appeared. Ethan steered Sage closer to the railing and issued a warning. “Watch out for those boys,” he said. “They think they’re hot stuff.”

“You’ve seen them before?”

Ethan nodded. “It might be a good idea for us to take a break.”

“No way,” Sage protested. “I’m not going to let a group of troublemakers intimidate me.”

“Sage,” Ethan warned.

She was only now getting the hang of it and didn’t want to quit. “Go away. I’m doing fine on my own.”

She should have known. A little taste of confidence was a dangerous thing. No sooner had Ethan left her side than one of the youths skated past her, intentionally bumping her shoulder.

With her arms whirling like helicopter blades, Sage managed to remain upright. “Hey,” she shouted, her voice full of irritation, “watch where you’re going.”

The teen laughed and skated away as if he hadn’t heard her. Ethan immediately flew across the ice to confront the youth. Sage couldn’t hear what was said, which was probably a good thing. The kid responded with a smirk and joined his friends. She noticed that the boys stayed clear of her from that point forward.

“You okay, Auntie Sage?” Ricky asked.

“Right as rain.” Her confidence grew with every lap. After thirty minutes she was willing to confess it had been a mistake to quit lessons as a youth. She was a natural.

“I’m happy you talked me into skating again,” she told Ethan when he joined her, skating by her side.

“I can see that,” he said, as if his wisdom wasn’t something to be questioned. “I’ll leave you to it,” he said, as he shot past her. She skated at a much slower pace than Ethan did, and for that matter, Ricky, too.

Feeling confident, Sage increased her own speed and gracefully glided across the ice, watching her feet instead of the logjam in front of her. When she did notice, it was too late. She plowed into a group of kids. Unable to remain upright, her skates flew out from under her. Gasping with alarm, she landed with a solid thud on her buttocks. Thankfully, she was the only one to go down.

Too stunned to move, she blinked several times. Ethan was instantly at her side, offering her a hand up.

“Are you hurt?”

“My pride and my dignity are suffering.” She brushed the ice off her backside as skaters moved past her like she was a boulder in the middle of a fast-flowing stream.

“Nothing else?”