Wyoming Legend

by Diana Palmer

“Neither would the rest of us,” he confided.

  “Want me to wake her up?”

  He nodded. “Almost time to get her to school.”

  “At least the roads are clear. For now,” she added, laughing.

  “Cross your fingers that it lasts. Weather’s tricky to forecast these days.”

  “Tell me about it!”

  She knocked on Janey’s door. A doggy whine came from the other side of it. She opened it and peered in. “Breakfast,” she called softly.

  Dietrich nosed her hand so that she’d pet him. Janey stirred in the big bed and yawned. “Bacon and eggs and biscuits?” she asked sleepily.

  “The same. Come on before I eat it all,” she teased.

  “Dietrich loves bacon,” she said.

  “I’ll make sure Burt gives him some. Come on, sweet boy,” she added, letting Dietrich out into the hall.

  “I’ll be right there,” Janey promised, throwing back the covers and reaching for her bathrobe.

  * * *

  IT WAS A QUIET, pleasant meal, with no complaining Lindy or snippy boss to mar the peace. But Karina missed him. The house lost all its color when he was gone. She wondered at her own reaction to him. The boss was almost eleven years her senior. He didn’t really believe she was innocent; he’d said maybe she was pretending. It cheapened what had happened between them, marred a sweet memory and made it shameful.

  “You’re really quiet,” Janey remarked.

  Karina caught herself and laughed. “I’m thinking about all the hard work Paul and I are going to have to put in, to get ready for competitions.”

  “It sure is hard,” Janey agreed. “You can watch it on TV and it looks so easy. But when you’re trying to stand up on skates on ice, it gets a lot harder. I never knew how hard, until I put on skates and tried to get out into the rink,” she added, laughing. “Two thin little blades, and blades have outside and inside edges. You have to jump just so, so that you take off on one edge on one foot and land on the opposite edge on the other foot...it’s so complicated! I can’t imagine how you and Paul do that so easily.”

  “Years and years of practice, since I was three years old,” Karina told her, smiling. “I started out just like you, nervous and unsure of myself, and terrified that I was going to fall and break something.”

  “You broke your ankle,” Janey recalled.

  “Yes, I did, and at practice, not even in competition.” She sighed. “I hope I never repeat that stupid mistake. It was a long recovery. The doctor said I should put up my skates and never try it again. I believed him. Until Hilde Meyer told me that he says that to all the skaters.”

  “Why?” Janey asked.

  “Skating is a dangerous sport,” was the soft reply. “They like beginners to wear helmets, to protect against concussion. If you fall backward, that’s a real possibility.”

  “That’s why you told me to always lean forward on my skates.” She made a face. “Lindy taught me everything wrong. Coach said I had to start from scratch. Well, from where you came in,” she added, laughing. “He said you’d done a great job of preparing me. All he had to do was build on what you’d already taught me.”

  “That’s very flattering. I like Chad,” she added. “He earned his place as a coach. He won silver at the Worlds. That’s hard to do.”

  She sighed. “I bet gold is even harder,” she said absently.

  Karina averted her eyes. Burt cleared his throat. She stared at him intently until he got the message and said nothing about her gold medal.

  “Gold is hard,” Karina agreed after a minute. “But the thing about skating is that you can have a perfect program and never miss a jump. One time you’ll win, another you may not even hit the top three spots. It’s unpredictable.”

  “Luck plays a part, that’s for sure,” Burt interjected. “But practice has a lot to do with it. Muscle memory. Karina and I were talking about that earlier. You practice the moves enough and you do them without thinking about it, so that they become as easy as walking or running.”

  “Muscle memory.” Janey grinned. “I’ll train my muscles to remember everything!”

  Karina and Burt both laughed. Dietrich laid his head on Karina’s lap and whined.

  “Okay, you heartbreaker,” Karina cooed at him. She gave him a piece of bacon. He wolfed it down and put his head back in her lap. His big brown eyes looked up at her hopefully.

  “You’re spoiling him,” Janey chided. “He’s learned that if he begs like that, he gets whatever he wants.”

  Karina smoothed over his silky head. “I’m just a marshmallow, I guess.”

  Janey looked at her with warm affection. “I like marshmallows,” she said with a grin.

  Karina just laughed.

  * * *

  AFTER BREAKFAST, SHE TOOK Janey to school and then drove on to the rink. Paul was waiting for her in the stands.

  “I thought you’d be along,” he said. “I heard that you were very sick.”

  “I was. I caught what you had,” she laughed. “Boss took me to his doctor and got medicine for it. I’m fine now.”

  “I’m glad.” He cocked his head. “Your boss carried you out like treasure, Hilde said,” he teased. “Is something building there, you think?”

  “He’s eleven years older than me, I work for him and he’s engaged to be married,” she recited, more for her own sake than his.

  “And none of that matters if he wants you,” he returned, laughing at her embarrassment. “Hilde thinks he does.”

  “Hilde doesn’t know anything,” she said.

  He pursed his lips. “Okay. Be secretive. But I would love for you to be as happy as I am,” he said softly.

  She sighed and put her head on his chest, letting him hold her. “Life is so hard.”

  He hugged her close. “Yes. It is. You deserve some happiness, chérie,” he added gently. “It is what Gerda and I wish for you, so much.”

  “I love Gerda and the boys,” she replied. “I miss seeing them.”

  “You should come down for the weekend and stay with us, like old times,” he remarked.

  “I would love to. But I have a job. And I love Janey.”

  “Who also loves you, I note,” he laughed. He hugged her with a brotherly affection and let her go. “And now, to business,” he teased. “Here comes our coach,” he indicated Hilde coming their way and grinning from ear to ear.

  Unseen, a woman in the back of the rink pulled out her cell phone and walked out the door.

  * * *

  THEY PRACTICED HARD. Hilde made suggestions and revised a section of choreography so that they skated more perfectly to the music. They were poetry in motion, she thought, watching them. They’d skated together for so many years that they anticipated each other’s movements and synchronized them without conscious thought.

  Hilde was certain that they were going to medal in the Olympics. There was no doubt in her mind that they’d climb back to their former perfection. That they would win. She’d never seen skaters with such passion, such grace. She was proud to be their coach.

  * * *

  KARINA LEFT PAUL at the rink and went to pick up Janey at school.

  “Can we go to the rink as soon as we get home?” Janey asked. “I thought of something I want to ask Chad if I can try.”

  “What?” she asked.

  Janey grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

  “Oh, boy,” Karina chuckled. “I love surprises!”

  “So do I,” Janey replied.

  * * *

  BUT WHEN THEY got home, a surprise of another sort was waiting for them. When they walked in, Micah was sitting on the sofa. With an ardent Lindy in his arms. He was kissing her as if he’d gone starved for a woman for months.

  He looked up as Janey and Karina walked in the door. And the smile he gave her w
as full of sarcasm.

  “We’re moving up the wedding,” he said without preamble. He looked down at Lindy with pure hunger. “It’s going to be next month.”

  Lindy gave Karina a cold smile as she moved out of Micah’s arms. “When are you and your boyfriend going to make your affair legal?” she taunted.

  Karina was blank for a minute. “My boyfriend?” she asked absently.

  “Yes. You were all hugged up with him at the rink this morning. I have a friend whose son skates there. She heard you tell your ‘skating partner’ that you loved him. Everybody’s gossiping about you. And he’s married. Isn’t he?”

  Karina felt her whole life sinking before her as she met Micah’s glittery eyes and saw the contempt and distaste there. He thought she was involved with a married man, and he hated her for it. His expression told her so, as plainly as if he’d shouted it.

  He glared at her. “Did you know that your erstwhile partner was married?” he asked Karina. He smiled coldly. “Or does that add spice to the affair?”

  She felt the blood drain out of her face. He believed that of her. He really believed that she had no more morals than to seduce another woman’s husband.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  KARINA DIDN’T KNOW how to save the situation. Micah was furious. He looked at her as if she’d committed all seven deadly sins at once. The memory of how it had been between them, in the early moments of the night, hurt even more now.

  “No comeback?” Micah asked sharply.

  “Would it do any good, if I had one?” she asked with resignation.

  “Not much,” he replied. He laughed coldly and stood up. “On your way to the rink?” he asked Janey.

  “Yes, sir,” she replied, glancing with apprehension at Lindy, who was smirking.

  “It’s a waste of money, those lessons,” she told Micah. “And the company your daughter is keeping is not going to do you any good, with all the gossip.”

  Janey moved closer to Karina. “Paul’s nice,” she murmured, lowering her eyes.

  “Paul’s married,” Micah shot back. He glared at Karina. “I want those practice sessions to stop, right now. Or you’re fired.”

  She swallowed, hard.

  “No!” Janey protested. “No, you can’t do that! Please, Daddy, they’re working so hard, to compete!”

  “They plan to compete?” Lindy said with contempt. She looked coldly at Karina. “She can barely stand up on the ice. How is she going to compete?” she scoffed. “She doesn’t have what it takes to make a champion. I did. I won Regionals,” she added smugly.

  Karina wanted so badly to throw her gold medal in the arrogant woman’s face, but this wasn’t the time.

  “Paul and I are not involved romantically,” she said finally.

  “Oh, sure you’re not,” Lindy laughed. “Hugged up like lovers and confessing love openly. And he’s married.”

  “His wife is my friend,” Karina replied with quiet dignity.

  “That’s a joke, isn’t it?” Lindy retorted. “You’re lovers, and his wife approves. Pull the other one.”

  “You heard what I said,” Micah replied icily. “You give up your pipe dream or you give up your job. You can let me know later which you choose. Right now, Janey has a lesson to get to.”

  “Daddy, please,” Janey repeated, her eyes wide with worry.

  “We’ll discuss this later,” he said shortly. “Get going.”

  She started to argue, but she knew her parent. She just grimaced and went to get her skating bag.

  Karina went to get hers as well, feeling sick all over at the thought of giving up her job. She’d have to. She and Paul had worked too long, too hard, to give up now because of a prejudiced boss who thought the worst of her. She could prove that she and Paul weren’t lovers. If Micah had really cared for her, he’d have known she wasn’t like that. He’d have believed in her innocence.

  But he hadn’t. He’d taken Lindy’s friend’s word, that of a woman who’d manufactured scandal from an innocent act and statement. She and Paul had been affectionate, like brother and sister, it hadn’t been a romantic interlude. She could tell Micah that, but he wasn’t going to believe it. She saw that in his face. He’d condemned her without a trial, on circumstantial evidence.

  Well, if he wanted to think she was scandalous, let him. She didn’t care. Of course she didn’t. His opinion of her didn’t matter.

  She sighed. Sure it didn’t. And snow wasn’t white.

  She and Janey went out the front door. Micah was back on the sofa, holding Lindy’s hand and looking as if she was his world.

  “I thought she was gone for good,” Janey said quietly as they got into Karina’s car. “You aren’t going to quit, are you?” she asked with evident anguish.

  “Not unless I have to,” Karina said finally. She drew in a breath, flattered by the child’s concern. “But if it does happen, we’ll keep in touch, I promise we will. I have email. You have email. You can get Skype as well, it’s free, and we can talk to each other and see each other at the same time...”

  “I already have Skype,” Janey said excitedly.

  Karina smiled. “Okay, then. You write down your Skype address for me, and your email address. I’ll keep them. Just in case.”

  “You won’t have to use them,” Janey promised as she scrambled into her seat belt and searched her bag for a pad and pen that she used to write down skating moves she’d mastered. She scribbled them onto a page, tore it out and tucked it into Karina’s purse. “There.”

  “Thanks, sweetheart. It’s okay,” she added softly. “It will work out.”

  “Of course it will. I’ll worry Daddy to death.”

  “Don’t,” she advised. “It will only make things worse. Especially now.” She grimaced at the thought of Lindy marrying the boss so soon.

  “He just can’t marry her,” Janey said, as if she was thinking the same thing. “It will be the end of the world.”

  “No, it won’t,” Karina replied. She forced a smile. “You’ll get through it. You’re tough, Janey. It will be all right.”

  Janey drew in a breath. She looked out the window silently, wishing her father wasn’t such an idiot. If only he’d noticed Karina, who was twice the woman Lindy was, and Karina liked kids. She hoped against hope that her father would come to his senses in time.

  She glanced at Karina worriedly. She knew her companion couldn’t give up practice. Not now, when they were so good, when they had a shot at national competition. Paul wasn’t romantic with Karina, he was affectionate. But like a brother. Not like a boyfriend. She wished her father could see the pair as she saw them. He was blind to Lindy’s faults, and even blinder to Karina’s virtues. It was going to be a rough time for her, if that marriage happened. She prayed silently that it wouldn’t. Losing Karina would be like...well, like losing the mother she’d barely known. She glanced at the blonde woman beside her and ached at the thought that she might be soon gone. If she left, Janey would have nobody to talk to, nobody to share her hopes and dreams with. She could talk to Karina about things she wasn’t comfortable talking about to her father, although she loved him very much. Karina was her best friend. If she left, it would be, she thought sadly, the end of the world.

  * * *

  PAUL WAS WAITING for Karina, all smiles. “So there you are! I’d almost given you up,” he teased.

  Karina smiled, but her heart wasn’t in it. “We had a late start. Sorry.”

  “No problem,” he replied easily. “I’ve been doing figures,” he teased.

  “Nice for discipline,” Karina replied, glancing at Janey. “And there’s Chad, waiting for you,” she laughed. “Let’s get our skates on!”

  They did. Janey walked to the barrier and took off the skate guards. “The test is next week,” she said with obvious reluctance. “Tests at school make me nervous,” J
aney added worriedly. “What if I don’t pass?”

  “You’ll pass,” Karina said with a smile, joining her at the barrier as she took off her own skate guards. “I’m sure of it. You’re really good. And I wouldn’t lie about it,” she added firmly. “Skating is my life. I take it very seriously. I wouldn’t tell you that you’re good if I wasn’t certain of it.”

  Janey beamed. “Okay.” She flushed a little with embarrassment. “Thanks,” she added, and impulsively hugged Karina.

  Karina hugged her back. “Have fun,” she said with a smile.

  “I will!”

  * * *

  PAUL SKATED OVER to Karina. “Okay, spill it. You’re worried. Why? Boss take a bite out of you, did he?”

  She flushed.

  “Oho, my girl,” he taunted. “More than a bite, ha?”

  She glared at him. “You stop that. He’s just my boss.”

  “I might believe you, except for that scarlet blush,” he chuckled as they skated to the middle of the rink and took up their positions for practice.

  “I always blush.”

  “You do not.”

  “Pay attention to the music,” she laughed as it began to flood the speakers. “And skate!”

  He made a face at her, and then moved to his pose as they began to skate their program. Hilde came to the barrier to watch. Karina gave herself to the music and moved into position, smiling dreamily as the music washed over her and pushed her worries aside.

  It had been like that all her life. No matter how bad things got, and she’d had some upsets in her young life, she could always put on her skates and leave the world behind. It had worked when the assistant coach assaulted her. It had worked when she had to fly back and testify against him, with all his students and fellow coaches glaring at her. Although three other female skaters, encouraged by Karina’s bravery, came forward at the last minute to testify against him and he drew two years in jail for his criminal act. It had worked after the loss at the Olympics and the death of her parents. Skating was her balm for any wound. It was helping now, when she faced losing the man she...loved.

  Her heart jumped as she heard her own voice, in her mind, making a confession that she hadn’t expected. She faltered a little but caught her balance as she went into a layback side by side with Paul.