by Diana Palmer
“What new skates?” Lindy asked curtly. She glared at the white boots on Janey’s feet. “She doesn’t need figure skates, for heaven’s sake! She’s just going to skate. She’d only need those to do jumps!”
“I want to learn to do jumps,” Janey replied, holding on to her temper with difficulty. “Karina’s going to teach me.”
“On a broken foot,” she chided. “Sure, she is!”
“Lindy, suppose you wait in the car?” Torrance said icily.
She let out a huffy sigh. “Oh, all right!” She glared at Karina and Janey and stormed off toward the exit.
“She’s in one of her moods,” Torrance said carelessly. “Both of you be careful on the ice.” He looked out onto the rink, where one skater was knocking down others. “That boy is dangerous.”
Karina glanced at him. She noticed the former coach who owned the rink, Hilde Meyer, calling the boy to the barrier. She laughed. “He’s about to get his walking papers, I think,” Karina said.
Sure enough, the owner said something to him. He argued. She indicated the area behind the barrier and made a firm gesture. He skated off the ice and went with the owner to her office.
“He’s in trouble,” Janey said with a grin. “The lady who owns the rink doesn’t like people being reckless. She’ll probably make him leave for good.”
“I hope she does,” Torrance said coldly. “People like that should be barred permanently.” He looked back at Karina. “How’s the ankle?”
“It’s good,” she said. “I was a little nervous, but Janey’s helping me get my nerve back.”
The child beamed at her. “That’s not true, but thanks.”
“You’re really good,” Karina replied. “You listen to advice.”
“You’re nice, too,” Janey said. “You don’t yell at me.”
“I never yell,” Karina smiled. “It doesn’t help.”
“I’ll say!”
“Well, I’ll get going. I may be late,” Micah added.
“Okay, Dad,” Janey said.
“Don’t overdo,” he cautioned Karina. “Make progress slowly.”
“I will.” His concern made her feel warm inside. She looked up into his brown eyes and felt their impact way down in her stomach.
He smiled slowly. “I’ll see you two later.”
“Bye, Dad!”
He threw up a hand and walked out the exit.
“Lindy was really mean,” Janey said.
“A lot of skaters are good on the ice, but they aren’t so good at teaching,” Karina said kindly. “Besides, she’s right. We do look silly walking around the rink. But this is the first step. You need to learn to skate the right way. It will serve you well, if you really want to try to do jumps.”
“I do. I really do!”
“Then we’ll keep this up for a while, and progress to forward skating. Okay?”
Janey grinned. “Okay!”
* * *
JANEY FOLLOWED KARINA’S LEAD. She learned to skate backward by spreading her legs out and bringing them back in a repeating motion. She learned how to fall, how to get up safely, how to keep from pitching backward and getting concussed.
“It’s very complicated,” Janey remarked, smiling up at Karina.
“And you’re doing very well,” Karina replied, returning the smile. “Now. Want to learn how to do the hockey stop? It’s called a snowplow.”
“Yes!”
“You keep your feet close together, throw all your weight to one side, twisting your upper body, with your knees bent, and your feet close together. Then you dig in with your blades. If you do it right, you’ll spray snow when you stop.”
“I’ve seen skaters do that,” Janey said.
“Knowing how to stop is very important. It will spare you some bad falls. So you go like this.” She demonstrated, bending her knees slightly as she skated forward. Then she shifted, so that her feet were facing forward, threw her weight to the side with a little jump that shifted her direction and sprayed snow like mad.
She laughed with pure exhilaration. It brought back so many memories. Sad ones. Happy ones.
“That looked amazing!” Janey enthused.
Karina laughed. “You’ll be doing it like that in no time,” she promised. “Follow my lead,” she added. “Keep your feet together with your toes facing out, knees slightly bent, chin tucked. Skate forward, like we practiced. Then, do this.” She demonstrated again.
It took several tries, but Janey finally managed a little spray of snow when she stopped.
She laughed. So did Karina. The girl really did have talent. “Nice. Very nice!”
“Thanks!”
They skated for another hour. Karina longed to go out into the rink and do what she’d done since she was three. She wanted to fly on the ice, feel it beneath her feet as she gained speed for the jumps. She closed her eyes for a few seconds and she could almost hear the applause of the crowd in Sochi, the excitement of skating a perfect program, only to lose to a team that skated a better one. It had been a crushing disappointment to place eighth in the Olympics.
But her mother had been very supportive. She was certain that Karina and Paul had the ability to win that gold medal. They skated perfect programs. They had speed and grace, and the choreography was both creative and athletic. They had all they needed to go all the way.
So soon that dream had died. Karina’s leg, broken in the crash three years ago, had put her on the sidelines for months while she worked with her doctor and her therapist to get function back in the leg. She and Paul had gone on to win a World Championship in figure skating.
But this latest break was worrisome. What if there had been more damage than anyone realized from the first break, when her parents died? What if it caused a permanent weakness in the leg, one that had led to the broken ankle several months ago?
She was insecure. She was frightened. But the ice felt good. She loved the sound of her blades slicing through it, she loved being on skates again. She smiled, and then she laughed, with pure delight.
She was turning unconsciously while she dreamed, into a perfect layback, the elegant and graceful one that her coach had taught her years ago. She wasn’t aware of other skaters watching her, or Janey, who was breathless at what she saw.
Karina came back to the present abruptly when Janey skated slowly up to her and laughed.
“Oh, gosh, I’ll never be as good as you!” she exclaimed. “That was...just beautiful!”
Karina stopped, with guilt written all over her face.
“You do know how to skate,” Janey said softly. “You know how to skate very well.”
Karina drew in a breath. “I can, sort of,” she said, embarrassed. “But this is just between you and me, okay?” She had a nightmare vision of the child telling her father just how well Karina skated. She didn’t want to be found out. Not yet. She wasn’t sure that she could go back to competition. Right now, she only wanted to heal a little more and make progress slowly.
Janey didn’t realize how much skill was involved in that layback. But Lindy would. She might start asking questions that Karina didn’t want to answer. She wasn’t doing anything illegal or immoral. She just wanted privacy. Only that.
“It’s okay,” Janey said quickly. “I won’t tell a soul. Honest.”
Karina managed a smile. “Okay. Thanks.”
“I can’t afford to lose my coach,” Janey returned, tongue-in-cheek.
“Oh, is that it?” Karina teased.
“Yes, it is. So can you teach me chassés?” Janey added. “I’ve been watching those kids do it.” She indicated the small group in the roped off area. “It looks complicated.”
“It just takes practice, that’s all.” She glanced at her watch and grimaced. “We need to get back home.”
“Awwww,” Janey moaned.
<
br /> “We’ll come back tomorrow. I promise.”
“That’s okay, then,” the child replied.
They headed slowly toward the barrier.
CHAPTER FOUR
MICAH WAS HOME very late. Janey was in her room. Karina was in hers when he came in. She heard his heavy footsteps slow as he opened his own door, down the hall, and went inside.
Karina had enjoyed her first skate with Janey. They’d progressed easily to forward skating and backward skating and the snowplow stop that Janey loved so much. Later would come chassés and flips and crossovers and toe loops. But for the time being, Janey was doing well.
The excitement of being on skates again made Karina’s spirit soar. It was less scary than she’d thought. Yes, there might be a weakness in a leg that had suffered a fracture, followed three years later by a broken ankle. But both injuries had healed, and Karina felt no pain or impairment. She’d keep up the exercises, and, on her next day off, she’d go to Jackson and see her sports therapist.
She drifted off to sleep amid memories of flashing lights and speed and skating with Paul to their signature tune, Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. She could close her eyes and see the beautiful fantasy composition of the last time they’d competed. Their performance had been flawless, earning high marks. World gold medalists, they skated perfectly most of the time. Until Karina’s accident. Paul had tossed her in practice. She’d twirled, but landed awkwardly on her left foot. The accident had left her in tears, almost hysteria. She knew immediately what it meant. It was the end of her career, the end of the partnership, at least for several months. She’d never experienced such an injury while skating. It broke her heart. It broke her spirit. After the doctor examined her, treated her, he advised her to keep off the ice forever, citing the broken leg previously in addition to the broken bones in her ankle. It was an unnecessary risk that might leave her handicapped for the rest of her life.
Karina, frightened and traumatized by the accident, had believed him. She was certain that she’d never skate again.
Now, months later, here she was, going tenuously back onto the ice with this sweet little girl, who was encouraging her, when it should be the other way around. Janey seemed to sense Karina’s fear. She reacted to it with gentle smiles and assurances that Karina could do anything she wanted to. It was a kind of partnership. It amused, and delighted, Karina.
She drifted to sleep. But sometime in the night, a loud voice woke her. A man was shouting. There was horror in his voice. Belatedly, she recognized the voice. It was her boss.
She got up and wrapped herself in a thick chenille robe that dropped to her ankles. Her hair had come loose from its high bun and was draping around her shoulders in a wavy pale gold mantle. She didn’t take time to put it back up. She went out into the hall, hesitating halfway toward the boss’s door.
He was still yelling. She knocked on the door. “Mr. Torrance?” she called loudly. She wasn’t about to go into the room. Sheltered and virginal, Karina had never seen a nude man. She certainly wasn’t anxious to see her boss that way, in case he didn’t wear pajamas!
The yelling only increased. She knocked again. “Boss?” she called. “Are you okay?”
There was no reply. He sounded as if he was in terrible pain.
She went to the stationary phone in the living room and punched in Burt’s extension.
He answered drowsily. “What?”
“Burt, I think Mr. Torrance is having a nightmare. I can’t go in there. Can you come see about him, please?”
“Nightmares again?” he wondered. “I thought he was getting over them. Sure. Be right there.”
She waited. A minute or two later, Burt appeared in his own pajamas and robe. Karina, on bare feet, was still at Micah’s door, worried and uncertain what else to do.
“It’s okay,” Burt said gently. “I’ll see about him.”
“Thanks.”
He opened the door, walked in, closed it. Minutes passed. Burt’s voice. Another voice, shocked and angry. The door opened. Burt came out, closed the door, grimaced at Karina, and beat a path back down the hall.
That seemed ominous. Karina was about to go back to her room when the door jerked open. Micah was wearing long plaid pajama bottoms and nothing else. His broad hair-roughened chest was bare. His shoulders were broad, his arms muscular without being overstated. He was absolutely gorgeous like that, with his thick straight black hair tousled and hanging down over his wide forehead.
The only thing that spoiled the picture was the murderous glare on his face and the glitter of his brown eyes.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing, getting the household up in the middle of the damned night?” he demanded hotly.
“Sir, you were having a nightmare...”
“It’s not a public event,” he snapped, interrupting her. “You do this again and I’ll send you back to Jackson in a knapsack, do you hear me? You keep your nose out of my business!”
“Yes, sir,” she said, almost shivering at the bite in his voice. Tears stung her eyes. He sounded just like the abusive coach that she and Paul had finally fired. The abuse had broken Karina’s spirit.
“Go the hell to bed!”
“Yes...yes, sir,” she stammered. She ran down the hall to her room and closed the door, her eyes and cheeks wet.
She hated him. She was only concerned and trying to help. He was an ogre. She couldn’t stay here. She was leaving in the morning. She’d wash dishes in some restaurant if she had to, to manage her finances. Anything was better than this!
* * *
MICAH FELT GUILTY when he woke again. He whipped on a robe and went into the kitchen to get a cup of coffee. Burt was already there.
“She hasn’t come to breakfast?” he asked Burt, nodding toward the hall.
“Came to get a cup of coffee. Looked like she’d been crying all night. You yell at her or something?”
Micah’s lips compressed. “Or something.”
“She’s just a kid, Micah,” Burt said softly. “Don’t you remember being twenty-three and intimidated by forceful people?”
He laughed hollowly. “I was never intimidated by anyone. My dad was a general. He raised me to be fearless.”
“Well, she wasn’t raised by the military, from what I can see,” Burt replied. He handed the boss a cup of black coffee. “Mentioned that she might be leaving today,” he added.
Micah grimaced.
“Janey won’t be happy about that. She loves the girl already. Doesn’t yell at her when she does something wrong at the skating rink,” he added with a chuckle. “She’s come out of her shell since Karina’s been here, too.”
“I noticed that.”
“You don’t like crow, I guess,” Burt mused.
The boss’s thick eyebrows went up in a question.
“If I were you, I’d consider eating some. Bad move to let Karina leave.”
Micah glowered at him. Burt just grinned.
“I’m making pancakes,” Burt said.
“I’ll get dressed and eat some.” He sighed. “I hate crow.”
He walked back to his room, coffee in hand, and went to dress.
* * *
KARINA CAME TO breakfast uneasy and sick at heart. She was going to leave. She couldn’t stay in a place where people yelled at her. She’d had enough of that from the former coach that she and Paul had endured until they couldn’t take any more. Intimidation never made life easier.
Janey noticed her companion’s misery and grimaced. It was obvious that Karina had been crying, a lot. Her father came into the room all taciturn and glowering, and Janey had a pretty good idea that they’d argued.
“Morning,” he said gruffly.
Karina didn’t answer. She ate a pancake without ever looking up.
Micah filled his own plate.
“You going to the rink today?” he asked Janey.
Janey glanced worriedly at Karina. “Are we?” she asked plaintively.
Karina looked up, so unhappy that she almost vibrated with it. “Janey, I...” she began.
“I yelled at her,” Micah said tersely. He didn’t look her way. “Didn’t mean to. I’m sorry,” he bit off.
Karina had the impression that he’d never apologized before, because Janey and Burt gaped at him.
She took a deep breath. “Mr. Torrance,” she began, “I don’t know that I’m the right person for this job...”
He looked at her, his dark eyes apologetic and soft. “Don’t go,” he said gently. “I know you meant well. I’m not used to concern. Well, not from women.” He averted his eyes. “I overreacted.”
She hesitated. He didn’t seem to be hostile anymore. She really needed the job. She loved Janey already. The indecision was plain on her face, on the pale gray eyes she lifted to his.
His own dark eyes narrowed. “Scared of me?” he chided. “Want to run away?”
She swallowed, hard. Yes, she wanted to run. But he was chiding her. Why? Did he want her to stay?
“Please stay,” Janey said softly, her eyes pleading.
Karina ground her teeth together. “Oh, all right,” she muttered with faint exasperation. “I guess I can live with a timber wolf, if Janey can.”
It took a minute for that to penetrate. He laughed. A real laugh, not a sarcastic one, that rolled around the room like gentle thunder.
“A timber wolf?” He smiled. “Okay. I get the point. Janey, pass me the syrup, honey, will you?”
“Yes, sir.” Janey handed it over, grinning. She glanced at Karina, who was smiling faintly. “So, you’re staying, right?”
Karina’s eyes were soft on her face. “Yes. I’m staying.”
“Woohoo!” Janey enthused. “Burt, these pancakes are great!”
“They’re very good,” Karina added.
Burt chuckled. “Thanks. Not usual for the cook to get much praise around here,” he added, with a pointed look at Micah.
“Not usual for the cook to produce anything edible, either,” Micah shot at him.