by Diana Palmer
“Take down this number,” he said, and started calling it off.
“Why am I taking down a number?”
“Because I know who your school attorney is, and he doesn’t have an investigator at present. I know this one. He’s done investigations for people I know. He’s discreet, but he can provide proof. Will you ask your school attorney to call him?”
There was a hesitation. A sigh. “Yes,” she said finally. “I will. I can’t deal with the child until I have verification of the charges.”
“I know that. I want my daughter to enjoy school,” he said simply. “We live in sad times,” he added. “When I was a boy, we were far more interested in building forts and playing baseball than sneaking off with girls. Especially when we were her age.”
“I know. Society has done a complete flip. I’ll be in touch, Mr. Torrance. And I thank you for your help.”
“I’ll be keeping in touch,” he replied quietly. “You can count on that.”
“Yes. Of course.” She sounded as if she were being strangled as she hung up.
He knew how the wheels of justice turned in places like schools. The principal was afraid of bad publicity, if word of the girl’s behavior got out. But Micah was going to ensure that she did something about the situation, and didn’t try to sweep it under the carpet to save face. If worse came to worst, he’d have his attorney contact the girl’s parents and threaten litigation. More often than not, it worked.
Nobody was picking on his daughter the way that girl had, he promised himself. Janey could fight her own battles as a rule, but this situation was sordid and frankly threatening. He couldn’t stand back and let it escalate.
He checked his watch. Lindy would be fuming. He found that he didn’t give a damn.
CHAPTER FIVE
“THAT’S THE WAY!” Karina praised as Janey did her first flip. She laughed at the girl’s joy and pride. “You’re doing great!”
“This is really fun,” Janey said. “When I’m skating, I just don’t even think about things that worry me.”
“It’s always been like that for me. I’ve lived on the ice since I was a toddler,” she added. “It was my whole life.” Sadness claimed her face for an instant.
Janey saw it. She skated up to Karina. “You’ll get it all back,” she said. “Skating, I mean. I read where lots of skaters got injured and came back. One couple in pairs figure skating sat out two years while one of them had a baby. They came back and won a silver in the Olympics.”
Karina knew who the girl was talking about, but she couldn’t admit it. She just smiled. “I’ve read that, too.”
“I’m a fanatic,” Janey laughed. “I read everything I can find on figure skating. I want to compete. I love this!”
Karina felt her joy. It mirrored the pleasure she’d felt as a child, except that she’d been in competition for years when she was Janey’s age. “You heard what the rink owner said about you. She thinks you have what it takes to compete. So do I,” she added softly. “You’re amazing already.”
Janey flushed. “Thanks,” she said, laughing. “I’ll work hard, I promise.”
“All right then. Onward to forward chassés.”
* * *
THE DAYS PASSED LAZILY. Hilde Meyer’s coach had been delayed, but promised to arrive soon. Meanwhile, Karina mentored Janey at the rink and helped Burt in the house when Janey was in school. He fussed at first, but she reminded him that work was work, and she couldn’t look after a child who wasn’t home. He gave in. He enjoyed her company.
“I hear the skating rink owner’s putting in rental skates,” Burt said while they washed dishes after breakfast. He washed, Karina dried. There was no dishwasher. Apparently Micah Torrance didn’t think they needed one.
“I heard that, too,” she said, smiling. “It’s a smart move. She’ll do lots more business. Most people won’t go out and buy skates just to go around the rink a time or two.”
“No, they won’t. Especially in this economy. They say she used to be a famous skating coach.”
“She was,” Karina replied. “People told her she was old-fashioned in the choreography she taught.” She made a huffy sound. “Her style was beautiful. She was a world champion skater herself, you know, before she began coaching.”
“Why didn’t she go into one of those shows, where ice skaters perform?”
“It’s a dying thing,” Karina said sadly. “Audiences don’t care so much about sports like ice skating anymore. Well, except for the Olympics, but that’s only every fourth year. A lot of the ice skating revues have pretty much folded for lack of ticket sales. I guess it’s going to be a thing of the past soon.”
“You know, I used to love to watch figure skating, back in the eighties,” Burt said, smiling wistfully. He laughed. “I used to say that if they could lock the Russian pairs figure skaters in a closet somewhere, our country might win a gold medal. Those Russians were really great skaters.”
She smiled. “Yes, they were. But the United States had some awesome contenders, especially in women’s figure skating. Peggy Fleming. Dorothy Hamill. Many others.”
He nodded. “Back then, skating was elegant and graceful. I used to love the music. It was always classical.” He shook his head. “Now it’s these wild tunes, and skaters can’t even win if they don’t have impossible throws and acrobatics on the ice. Where’s the grace in that? It was like watching ballet on ice before. Now it’s,” he hesitated, “now it’s roller derby on blades!”
She burst out laughing. “It’s not that bad!”
He laughed, too. “I guess not. But I’ve got DVDs of the older pairs champions. I just watch those.”
She had some of her own. She couldn’t tell him that she was named for two gold medalists, or that she knew a lot more about ice skating than he might realize.
“Janey really took to you,” Burt said. “I’m glad. She’s had it rough at school. Micah wanted to put her in boarding school, like the one his father sent him to. Janey refused to go. First time I ever saw the boss back down. I don’t like the idea of a child that young being away from home, unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Neither do I,” she said.
“Her dad’s all she’s got. No other family living, not even grandparents. And he’s gone all the time.” He shook his head. “It’s nice to have an empire, but you sacrifice a lot for it. He’s missing Janey’s whole little life. She’s nine. In another nine years, she’ll be in college or out on her own.”
“They grow up fast,” she agreed.
“How’s she really doing on ice skates?”
“She’s doing great,” she replied. “I wouldn’t have believed how much progress she’s made already. She does flips beautifully. Her toe loops need a little work, but that’s just practice. And she’s great at crossovers, even on her weak leg,” she laughed.
“You know a lot about it, don’t you?”
“My mother put me on skates when I was barely three. I’ve been skating ever since. It was my solace when I was Janey’s age. I got picked on, too. I was clumsy and awkward, and I never seemed to fit in with any of the other kids except one.” That had been Paul, but she wasn’t going to mention that.
“Boss never had a problem when he was that age,” he mused. “His dad was a general, you know. He was regimented at home and in boarding school, tough as nails. Most of the other kids walked wide of him, even then. A lot of men still do. He’s got some rough edges.”
“He has,” she said. “But he’s fair and honest and you always know where you stand with him.”
He arched both eyebrows. “Well, didn’t you learn a lot real fast?”
She laughed. “I guess I did.”
“Pretty much summed him up, except for that black temper. I don’t think anybody can cure that.”
“My dad had a temper like that,” she recalled
fondly. “He got over things quickly, though. So did my mom. She was a great companion.”
“It’s hard to lose parents,” he commented. “Mine have been gone for thirty years, and I still miss them.”
“Nobody is ever as proud of things you do as a parent is,” she replied.
The front door opened, interrupting them. Micah came in with a swirl of snow and slammed the door behind him. “There’s a blizzard out there,” he muttered. “I damned near ran the car up a lodgepole pine that came out of nowhere.”
“It’s been coming down for about an hour, sure enough,” Burt agreed.
“They’ve closed school,” Micah added, staring pointedly at Karina, who flushed.
“Oh, gosh, I’m sorry! We didn’t have the radio on!”
“You couldn’t look out a window?” he asked with a snarl in his voice.
She flushed even more. She took off the apron Burt had loaned her and draped it over the back of a kitchen chair. “I’ll go right now and get Janey,” she said, flustered.
Micah felt guilty when he saw her lack of composure and Burt’s scowl.
“Hell!” he said shortly. “I’ll go get her myself.”
He shoved his hat back on his head and stormed out the front door. As an afterthought, he slammed it behind him.
“Oh, dear,” Karina said uneasily.
“He has moods,” Burt said without rancor. “Mostly Lindy provokes them. She’s never satisfied with anything he does. She probably stoked the fire before he even got off the plane.”
“She’s very beautiful,” she said, not liking to complain about the boss’s fiancée.
“Like I said before, so are some reptiles, at a distance.” He shook his head. “Janey can’t stand her. Neither can I. The kindest thing she ever said about my cooking was that it might be fit for the dogs.”
She grimaced. “I think you cook very nicely, Burt,” she said gently.
He smiled. “Thanks.”
There was a quick knock at the door and Billy Joe walked in with Dietrich at his heels. “Boss home yet?” he asked.
“Already came and left,” Burt said. “What do you need?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to know if I could have Sunday afternoon off. Well, if the blizzard lets up,” he added on a chuckle. “There’s a dog show over in Cheyenne. I thought I’d take Dietrich over and humiliate the other working class dogs.”
Burt howled. “The boss would love it, if you put it that way to him.”
Billy Joe grinned. He cocked his head at Karina. “Do you like kids’ movies?” he asked.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“Cartoon movies,” he emphasized. “That new one, CoCo, is playing at the Catelow Rialto downtown.”
“Oh, that one! Yes, I love that sort of movie.”
“How about going to see it with me, if you’re not tied up Saturday night?”
“I’m not tied up any Saturday night,” she said, smiling. “I’d love to go. Thanks.”
He flushed a little and chuckled. “Okay, then. It’s a date. We’ll go about six. We can stop at the fish place and have supper.”
“I love fish,” she replied.
“Okay.” He tipped his hat, grinned and went back out into the snow with Dietrich.
Burt didn’t say a word, but he was thinking hard. The boss was abrasive with Miss Carter here, and he didn’t think it was because he disliked her. He wasn’t sure why, but he was pretty certain the boss wasn’t going to like this. Not one bit.
* * *
JANEY CAME RUNNING IN, her book bag covered with snow. “Gosh, we almost went over into the ditch! It’s bad outside!”
“That means no skating today, too,” Micah said gruffly. “The roads are almost impassible.”
“Aw, gee, no skating,” Janey said miserably.
“The snow will pass,” Karina said gently. “You’ll see.”
“Well, it’s Friday. We can go tomorrow afternoon, right? I mean, if the snow stops.”
“Of course.” Karina hesitated. “But we have to be back by six.”
“Six? Why?”
“Billy Joe’s taking me to a movie...oh!”
She jumped. Micah had dropped the boot he’d just taken off, and it hit the floor like a small bomb.
“What movie?” he asked, one foot in a sock and one in a boot.
“CoCo,” she faltered.
“Cartoons.”
“Well, there’s nothing wrong with a cartoon movie,” she protested. “It’s certainly better than some of the smut that passes for entertainment these days!”
His eyes widened. “Close the theaters. Shut down the bars. Ban music!”
She glared at him. “I am not Cromwell and this is not England,” she said huffily.
“You could pass for a Puritan,” he countered.
She made a face.
“We’ll only get to skate for a couple of hours,” Janey said miserably. “But it’s okay. I mean...”
“We could ask Billy Joe if you can come, too,” she said softly, and she smiled. “It’s supposed to be a very good movie.”
There were shocked faces all around. Karina was blissfully unaware of them.
“But you’re going on a date,” Janey protested.
Karina shook her head. “I’m going to a movie.”
“Oh.”
Burt and Micah were exchanging complicated looks.
In the middle of it all, Billy Joe stuck his head back in the door and grimaced. “Listen,” he told Karina miserably, “I really wanted to take you to that movie, but it’s the second Saturday in the month,” he added heavily. “See, we have a band, sort of, and we have standard gigs. We’ve got one tomorrow night and I clean forgot...” He glanced around at the odd expressions on their faces.
“That’s okay,” Karina said brightly. “Janey and I can spend more time at the skating rink. It will be fine. Honest.”
His face relaxed. “Okay, then. Thanks! Rain check?”
“Sure,” she said easily.
He tipped his hat, let Dietrich in the house and smiled as he closed the door.
“That went well,” Micah said to nobody in particular. “And without any blood loss to speak of.” With that enigmatic remark, he pulled off his other boot, threw it beside the one he’d already discarded and padded off to his room.
He closed his bedroom door and felt mild surprise that he’d wanted to toss Billy Joe headfirst into a waste lagoon. He shouldn’t be feeling betrayed because his daughter’s babysitter had wanted to go out with an eligible young man. After all, he was engaged. Or was he?
The more he compared Lindy to Karina, the worse he felt. He couldn’t understand why he was even making comparisons. The thought made him so bad tempered that he avoided the other occupants of his home all night.
* * *
KARINA WAS AFRAID she’d done something to upset the boss, but she didn’t know what. She gave Janey some more pointers on her toe loops and the chassés that challenged her weaker leg.
“This is so much fun,” Janey sighed. “I love coming here with you.”
“I love it, too,” Karina said, smiling as they skated along together. “I was so afraid to skate again. My ankle is almost completely healed now, but I kept thinking about how it felt when it was broken.”
“You have to go forward,” Janey said with a grin. “But backward is fun, too!” She turned around and moving her legs in and out, skated alongside Karina, laughing.
“Not bad,” Karina said.
“Can you show me the toe loop?” Janey asked. “And maybe that Lutz...?”
Karina took a deep breath. “Well, sooner or later I’ll have to try it, I guess.” She hesitated. A lot of skaters came to the rink on Saturday night, but there were other things going on in Catelow, so there were only a
handful now.
Mrs. Meyer saw Karina looking around. She smiled and changed the music. She put on Rachmaninoff’s Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini, Opus 42, variation VIII, and waited.
Karina caught her breath at the music. She was back in time, at the Worlds competition with Paul. That was their music. Without thinking too much about it, she started around the rink, gaining speed with each movement of her legs. Speed was the thing she and Paul were praised for most often. There was so much power and grace in their routines.
She smiled dreamily as she skated the old program, oblivious to the few other skaters going to the side of the rink to watch as she did Lutzes and toe loops, Salchows and camels and laybacks.
The music was in her blood, removing her from the world around her, so that she skated blindly, passionately, to the music that had almost belonged to her and Paul when they were on the ice together.
Her final move was a beautiful layback, followed by a sit spin. When she came back to herself, it was to thunderous applause. She flushed as she realized that she’d been skating with an audience.
She moved quickly back to Janey, smiling shyly at the other skaters.
“That was beautiful,” Janey said, agog. “I’ve never seen anybody skate like that, except on TV!”
Karina took a deep breath. “I used to skate a lot,” she said. “Before I broke my leg, and then my ankle. I was so afraid to do it again. Thank you.”
“Me? What did I do?” Janey asked.
“You gave me the courage to skate again, that’s what you did,” she said softly, and smiled at the little girl. “You inspired me to try. I don’t think I’d have had the courage, if it hadn’t been for you.”
Janey grinned from ear to ear. “Will I ever get as good as you are?” she asked.
“Of course you will,” she replied. “It’s not so hard. It’s just that you have to practice a lot. And fall a lot,” she teased.
