Destiny's Whisper (3 page)

Danielle looked over Cynthia’s shoulder at her brother’s smirking
I told you so expression
and, with nothing else left to do, stuck out her tongue in retaliation.

It was great to be home!

CHAPTER 2 

D
ani and Sergei silently pushed through the double doors leading back to the rink where their parents practiced on the ice and slid onto the cool benches to watch the pair as they ran through the program they planned to skate for an upcoming benefit. The music that echoed off the high ceiling was classical in flavor and hauntingly romantic, bringing to mind lost-loves found and fairy-tale endings. For as long as either Dani or Sergei could remember, they had watched their parents skate together and had marveled at the perfection they witnessed on the ice. Even during practice sessions, Aleksei and Jordan strove for perfection, wanting to be the best they could be for each other and instilling in their children the belief that you might not be perfect every time you stepped on the ice but there was nothing wrong in trying to be. They asked no more of their children then they asked of themselves: do your best and you could be proud of whatever you accomplished, despite the outcome. Strive for the pinnacle but understand that it’s not always achievable and learn from your mistakes. Not always an easy lesson when your parents were Olympic Gold Medal winners, but certainly something to aim for. “I wonder if I’ll ever be a good as Mom and Dad.” Dani whispered, her eyes never leaving the pair on the ice as they executed a perfect star lift, Aleksei’s hand firmly under his wife’s hip as he held

her over his head, her arms and legs stretching gracefully outward in a star pattern.

“It’ll be tough to be as good as a pair when you’re only a single!” Sergei teased, his gaze absorbing every move his father made and storing it away for possible future use.

“Funny…” Dani growled, lightly elbowing her brother in his ribs and taking pleasure in his exaggerated grunt of pain, his stomach was nothing but muscle, and she lightly rubbed her elbow. “Those sit-ups you’re so fond of are finally paying off, aren’t they?”

“Ssshhh.” Sergei whispered, watching as they built up speed for their upcoming throw. His father launched his mother across the ice in their signature triple loop throw, watched her spin three times in the air in a blur of motion and land, her toe-pick catching the ice and throwing her off balance. In slow motion they all watched as Jordan hit the ice and slid to a stop. Smiles appeared as they heard their mother’s frustrated comment to herself and then her scream of outrage as her husband slid to a stop, showering her with icy particles and held out his hand to help her up.

“You just love doing that, don’t you?” Jordan inquired laughingly, accepting his hand and allowing him to easily pull her to her feet.

“You’re the one that made up the rule that the one who falls gets an ice shower.” Aleksei stated, brushing the ice from his wife’s shapely bottom.

Jordan’s laughter echoed off the high ceiling, the sound merry and light, carrying to all the corners of the large rink. “Aleksei, that was years ago,” she returned.

Aleksei shrugged nonchalantly, “So, you keep the good rules and lose the bad ones!”

“Dare I ask what a bad rule is?” Jordan laughed, her eyes glowing brightly, her smile widening as she caught her husband’s devilish look.

“No sex on the ice.” Aleksei stated in a serious tone, his dark eyes held a sensuous glow that said otherwise.

“Aleksei…” Jordan scolded, her tone filled with laughter and breathless at the same time. Jordan’s scream of delight as her husband pulled her into his strong arms and scattered teasing kisses over her face and neck caused her to dissolve into laughter.

“Oh, Christ.” Sergei mumbled from the bleachers where he watched his parent’s outrageous behavior. The look he shared with Dani was perfectly clear–
they’re at it again
.

“Aren’t they supposed to be too old to still be acting like that? I mean, jeez, they’ve been married for a hundred years!” Dani questioned, her eyes rolling in disgust.

“You’d would think so.” Sergei mumbled, getting to his feet and pulling his sister with him as he walked toward the ice. Cupping his hands around his mouth, he called across the wide expanse, “We’ve had complaints of lewd and lascivious behavior being observed on this ice and the police are giving you five minutes to clear the ice before they haul your horny butts off. And Cynthia’s also complaining she can’t keep the ice frozen when you’re on it. What excuse should I give her this time?”

“Bug off, Rocmanov! This is no place for children right now.” Aleksei growled deeply, his wife’s laughter echoing around him as he continued to kiss and tickle and caress her shapely form, ignoring her half-hearted attempts to escape him.

“You’re right about that! There must be rules on the books somewhere about minors being subjected to such outrageous behavior.” Dani called over her brother’s shoulder, peeking around his tall form, her smile widening at her father’s surprised expression.

“Dani!” the word fairly exploded from both her parents’ mouths and suddenly their graceful forms were skating across the ice at breakneck speed, exiting through the open doorway and enveloping her in a joint hug. Kisses and laughter and a million asked questions all happened at once. With a final hug, Dani was released and held at arms length.

“Oh, sweetie, you look wonderful!” Jordan exclaimed, running her eyes lovingly up and down her daughter’s petite form. “You haven’t changed at all.”

“Jordan, she was only gone for eight weeks.” Aleksei commented, his own gaze caressing the length of his daughter.

“A lot can happen in eight weeks.” Jordan quipped.

“You’ll never know how much!” Sergei mumbled, the look he cast his sister filled with humor and the knowledge that her little secret wasn’t long for this world.

“Oh, come on now, Sergei. Tell me one thing that’s different about your sister.” Aleksei challenged his son.

“He’s just ragging on me because I teased him about Felicia.” Dani stalled, trying to change the subject.

“It’s
Felicity
,” Sergei corrected her, his dark eyes filled with a spark of devilment so bright it didn’t bode well for his sister. There was nothing better than having your sibling under your thumb with no place to go!

“Pardon me-
Felicity
-I stand corrected.” Dani allowed, her gaze pleading for mercy.

“Besides, that shouldn’t bother you. You haven’t seen Felicity since Dani left for camp.” Jordan asked her son, her gaze catching the look that suddenly passed between her children. The same look she’d see pass between them for years whenever one of them had something on the other that would cause an uproar in one way or another. “Okay, what’s up?” Jordan suddenly asked, her eyes moving from son to daughter and back again.

“Nothing.” The answer was simultaneous from her children.

“Don’t give me that. Something’s up with you two and considering Dani’s only been back for a matter of minutes, I’d say you have the answer, Sergei. Talk!”

“Heh, I didn’t do anything. There’s no reason to be grilling me. I’d suggest you speak to the youngest Rocmanov.” Sergei offered, turning to walk toward the doors in the hopes of escaping the soon-tocome explosion under the pretense of finding Whittaker. “Frank’s waiting for me so we can decide the best way to find a partner for me.” Sergei stated, walking away from the small group of his family.

“A what?” Dani yelled, following after her brother, her expression filled with confusion and disbelief. “Did you say
partner
? I can’t believe this! Did you really say
partner
?”

“Don’t change the subject, Dani. Stay and face the music. I’m not the one with spikes on my head.” Sergei fired his parting shot as he pushed through the double doors and headed toward the office.

“Spikes?” Aleksei asked quietly, his voice a deep growl.

“Dani?” Jordan asked softly, her expression filled with questions.

Dani turned to face her parents, her eyes widening at their expressions that so clearly stated
what have you done now?
she almost laughed out loud. With more courage than she felt, she took a deep breath, pulled the felt hat from her head and fluffed out the soft honey-colored curls covering her head. “Isn’t it just too cool?” she asked with false bravado.

Her mother could only stare, her mouth slightly open as she struggled to find words.

Her father had no such trouble; his deep voice rocked the building. “Danielle Janae Rocmanov, what the hell did you do to your hair?”

“You’d think I’d dyed my hair bright purple and pierced my nipples the way Dad’s carrying on,” Dani complained from where she sat amid a pile of stuffed animals piled at the foot of her bed as she watched her mother, seated cross-legged on the floor, unpack her suitcases.

“You know how much he loved your long hair.” Jordan answered calmly, keeping the fact that she, herself, thought the new hairstyle on her daughter was adorable, although she would have preferred to see her natural auburn color as opposed to the light honey-tone that glowed brightly from her daughter’s head. “Besides, it’s not really about your hair, it’s about the fact that you’re his baby girl and you’re growing up faster than either of us like.” Jordan stated with a smile, one both wistful and a little sad. “When you’re a parent, you’re torn between wanting your kids to stay babies and cute and sweet and wanting them grown and out of your hair.”

“Mom, I’m seventeen.” Dani stated firmly, trying to assume an adult tone despite the fact she was surrounded by stuffed animals.

“Don’t remind me,” Jordan moaned, holding up an exceptionally short pair of short-shorts to her daughter and casting her a questioning look. “Please tell me you wore these over tights.”

Dani’s exasperated look as she rolled her eyes held a devilish glint as she answered her mother. “For heaven’s sake Mom, of course not…” she began, her smile widening as she watched her mother’s eyes close in mortification as she imagined the amount of bare bottom the shorts would have displayed, “I wore them over bike shorts!” Dani finished in a stage whisper, her laugh echoing through her bedroom as she caught her mother’s relieved look and sigh of relief.

Dropping the shorts into the pile of dirty laundry that was rapidly becoming a mountain, Jordan slid gracefully to her feet and joined her daughter amid the menagerie of stuffed creatures on her bed. Drawing her daughter into her arms, she breathed deeply of the scents that enveloped Dani: fruity shampoo, a light floral cologne and baby-powder assailed her as she held her daughter. Had it really been seventeen years ago that this beautiful young woman had been a baby, awaiting the lessons of life that would bring her to this point? Tears threatened Jordan’s eyes and the lump of emotion that refused to allow her to speak above a whisper caught her by surprise. Holding Dani’s face between her hands, feeling the silken texture of her daughter’s skin against her palms was her undoing. With tears flooding her deep green eyes, Jordan gazed into the same green eyes as her own and whispered, “How could you grow up so much in the last eight weeks? You weren’t supposed to do that.”

Dani’s gaze returned her mother’s look steadily, a new light of understanding and respect filled her as she acknowledged her mother’s whispered words. “I’ll try to remember that in the future. No more growing up unless you’re around,” she replied, her own eyes filling with tears that slipped silently down her rose-tinted cheeks and splashed onto the stuffed bunny that sat in her lap. With a little gasp, Dani dissolved into her mother’s arms, closing her eyes as the comforting feel of being totally safe and home again rushed over her in a wave. No matter how old she got to be, she couldn’t imagine ever feeling as safe as she did in her mother’s arms and this home. The bond between mother and daughter was rock solid, built on love, respect and communication, with a good dose of humor thrown in to get them over the rocky periods, which were, thankfully, few and far between.

Jordan gave Dani a quick, final hug and tussled her daughter’s short curls, “I think your hair’s adorable, but if you dare tell your father I said this, I’ll swear I didn’t, until my final, dying breath!” Jordan stated laughingly, with a quick kiss to Dani’s nose and slid off the bed.

“It’ll be our little secret.” Dani agreed, placing her favorite stuffed bunny back against the numerous fluffy pillows, unfolded her long legs and joined her mother. With a smile, Dani accepted the armful of dirty clothes from her mother and followed her out the door. As she made the short trek to the laundry shoot, she had to stop every now and then to pick up a lost piece of clothing that fell from the pile she carried and finally shoved the clothes through the small door.

“So tell me, Mom. What’s the deal with Sergei skating pairs? When did this all come about?” Dani asked, following her mother down the hallway that led to the stairs.

“Whittaker finally caught the hint I’ve been throwing at him for the last three years and made the
suggestion
today. I tell you, sometimes you have to hit a man over the head with a four-by-four a millions times before they can take a hint.” Jordan mumbled.

“Except for Daddy,” Dani qualified.

“Including your father!” Jordan announced. “In the beginning, your father was just like your brother, or at least according to Frank, he was. I think that’s why your father and brother disagree so strongly. It’s hard to deal with someone when you look at them and see yourself staring back. Mirror images have always been a hot issue. Think about it, your brother’s legally able to drink alcohol.”