SHELBY AND MIGUEL NAILED their short program, as Brendan had known they would. He managed to keep thoughts of Katie mostly at bay until they were about to do their free skate the next day.
Before their names were called, Brendan leaned his elbows on the boards to give them one last pep talk. They had an actual coach who was more than capable of doing this for them, but in the last few months they had gravitated towards Brendan. He wasn’t sure what made them trust him so much, or from where he drew the words to calm their nerves and build their confidence, but he was glad of it, whatever it was. Glad, and also humbled. Brendan had been in their shoes once and knew how much faith they were placing in him. He couldn’t let them down.
Shelby’s eyes were huge. Miguel looked grimly determined.
