Girls Only! (22 page)

Kevin offered a comforting smile. “Don’t worry about telling Mom and Dad. Everything will work out.”

Heather patted her brother on the back and went inside. She hoped her former skating partner was right. More than anything.

A Perfect Match

Chapter Eight

Kevin’s face was everywhere! Even when Heather closed her eyes in the shower and shampooed her hair, she could see the disappointment in his eyes. His jawline had practically sagged as they’d stood on the ice with Coach McDonald after their skating lesson. Now she couldn’t get the image out of her mind.

She knew he was hurt. Let him say what he wanted about sensing her intention ahead of time and all that—even sounding so sure of himself about finding another partner. But she knew better. No matter what Kevin had said on the porch this morning, she knew it was her decision that had bruised his ego.

After showering, she dried her hair and went to her bedroom to dress. Mom had always insisted that they wear clean clothes and look presentable even though
their
schoolroom consisted mostly of the dining room table, where they read the Bible together, wrote individual book reports and essays, and worked math problems. The kitchen area was used for science experiments, spreading out historical timelines, and a twice-a-week cooking class. The family room was large enough to build a model Gothic castle and put together an occasional three-dimensional puzzle. Still, Mom was a stickler for neatness. And honesty.

Heather smoothed the wrinkles out of her bedspread and stuffed her dirty clothes in the hamper in the closet. Glancing around the room, her eyes fell on the poster of Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, called the greatest ice-dancing team in history so far. The enthusiastic, bright faces of Torvill and Dean had spurred her on many mornings as she dressed for skating lessons or sessions with Kevin on their own.

“I won’t be needing this anymore,” she said, removing the poster from the wall. Then she carefully pulled off the adhesive from each corner and rolled up the colorful poster. Way in the back of her closet, she stood it on end, out of sight.

The wall looked bare now. Definitely exposed. Just like her dreams and goals had been laid bare to her brother and Coach McDonald this morning. But all of that would have to be worked out.

Sighing, she stared at the empty spot where the
poster had been. If her dad’s birthday wasn’t so close, she might’ve wanted to spend part of her allowance to purchase something new. A full-length poster of Kristi Yamaguchi—her current inspiration—would be the perfect replacement. Slender and light-footed, Kristi was strong enough to consistently land triple everything. Triple toe loops, triple flips, triple Salchows, and triple Lutzes. Unbelievable!

How many years till I can catch up?
she thought of her free-skating dreams.
Am I too late?

She gathered up her English homework. Along with history, science, and math, her parents were big on grammar. So she and Kevin and their younger brother and sister were reviewing correct sentence structure and usage of verb tenses. They even diagramed long sentences sometimes.

“I want to make sure you know how,” Mom would say whenever Tommy whined about it.

Heather didn’t mind doing things Mom’s way, especially when it came to homeschool. But skating? That was another thing altogether. Would her parents be upset about the money they’d already spent on lessons, ice time, costumes, and everything else?

Nothing’s been wasted
, Heather reasoned as she headed downstairs for school. She would transfer all her ice-dancing knowledge into free skating. Easy as one . . . two . . . three.

On the living room bookshelf, she located her Bible and hurried to the dining room. Glancing at her watch, she saw that she was nearly late.

“It’s about time,” Tommy teased, his brown hair sticking out in the back.

“Did you primp real nice?” Joanne asked, sitting next to Heather at the long table.

“Not much.” Heather ruffled her sister’s ponytail. “Did you?” She tightened her sister’s hair bobble, admiring the shine of the long brunette hair.

Tommy scowled. “Primping’s yucky.”

“Is not,” Joanne said with a frown. “Heather’s pretty . . . as pretty as any ice princess who ever lived!”

Quickly, she took her place at the table next to her sister. “What’s this about an ice princess?” she asked.

“That’s
you
I’m talking about,” replied the little girl, offering a grin.

Heather noticed an empty space in Joanne’s mouth where a front tooth had been. “Looks like somebody just lost something,” she said.

“I sure did,” Joanne said, her brown eyes shining.

“Did you save it?” asked Tommy.

Joanne pulled a tiny white tooth out of her pocket. “It’s right here. But I’m hiding it from Mommy . . . for a surprise.”

“Then you’d better smile with your mouth shut,” advised Heather.

Joanne’s eyes widened. “How do I do that?”

“Just keep your lips together. Like this.” Heather showed her sister how.

“Yeah, but Joanne’s got
another
loose tooth,” Tommy whispered, pointing to her.

Smooshing her lips together, Joanne let out a peep. “That one’s a secret, too.”

Overhead, they heard a commotion. It was Kevin, rushing toward the stairs. He flew down them, landing on both feet. “Am I late?” he asked.

“Fifteen seconds!” Tommy hollered, studying his watch.

Kevin pulled out a chair across from Heather. “What’s this about a secret?”

“Shh! You mustn’t tell,” said Joanne and quickly covered her mouth with her hands.

Kevin’s forehead wrinkled into a frown. “There are too many secrets in this family.”

Tommy and Joanne looked confused. “What’re you talking about?” Tommy asked, staring first at Kevin, then Heather.

“Never mind,” said Heather. “Mom’s coming.”

She couldn’t help but think Kevin was going to blurt out
her
not-so-secret plan the minute Mom showed up. She even held her breath, but her fears were unfounded. Kevin opened his Bible and seemed to forget.

“Thank the Lord for a beautiful winter day,” Mom said,
greeting each of them. Fortunately, she didn’t inquire about their early-morning skating lesson. Instead, she had them bow their heads and pray about the day’s studies.

When their prayers were finished, Mom asked, “Who’d like to read the Bible first?”

Tommy raised his hand. “I will,” he said, eyeing Joanne. Her lips were still smashed together, hiding the missing tooth.

“Wait just a minute, Tommy,” Mom said, looking at Joanne. “Is something wrong with your mouth, sweetie?”

Heather figured her sister’s tooth secret was history. She wondered if now was a good time to bring up her own news. Toying with the idea, she shot a curious look at Kevin. But he was paying no attention to her. His nose was already buried in his Bible.

“My tooth fell out when I bit into my toast,” Joanne was explaining to Mom.

“And—gross—she almost swallowed it!” Tommy said, clutching his own neck and pretending to gag.

Mom leaned down and kissed the top of Joanne’s head. “Sounds to me like your brother’s worried about you, little one.”

Kevin must’ve heard what he thought was a reference to himself. “
Who
am I worried about?” he asked from the opposite end of the table.

Tommy saw his chance and ran with it. “Yeah, you’re
worried. You said this family has too many secrets. I heard you!”

Slumping down a little, Heather knew what was coming. Her mother was no dummy; she’d taught school for a good number of years before Kevin and Heather were born. Mom knew the tricks kids liked to pull on one another.

“Family secrets, huh?” Mom’s big blue eyes were firmly planted on Kevin.

He was nodding, looking a tad bit sheepish. “Better ask Heather about it” was all he said, which was enough to get the ball rolling.

Bible reading and grammar were both put on hold momentarily. And Heather was in the hot seat. Thanks to her big brother. She had no choice but to plow ahead. “I’m quitting ice dancing. I told Coach McDonald today.” She stared down at the table. Didn’t dare look at her mother.

“Uh-oh,” Joanne said.

“Yikes,” Tommy whispered.

“What’s going on here?” Mom demanded of Kevin. “What’s she talking about?”

Heather couldn’t believe her ears—Mom was asking her brother instead of her!

“It’s true,” Kevin answered. “Heather wants to quit ice dancing and be a free skater.”

Mom straightened to her full height. “You’ve got to
be joking! Am I dreaming?” Her voice sounded strange. Very weak.

Heather had her chance to speak up. “
I’m
the one dreaming, Mom. It’s a fantastic dream, and I really want to do this.”

“So . . . you’re serious?”

“Definitely. I’ve never been so sure of anything in my whole life,” she said, hoping her mother would understand. “Is it okay with you?”

“Well,” said Mom, her face turning slightly pale, “I’ll have to think about this.” Mom promptly turned and headed into the kitchen.

Heather glanced across the table at Kevin and shrugged. “Now what?”

“She’ll come around,” Kevin assured her. “Just give her time.”

“I hope so.” But Heather wasn’t so sure. Based on Mom’s sickly expression, she decided to get the Bible reading started. Each of them took turns reading until the chapter was finished.

Mom was still in the kitchen when it was time for grammar. Kevin and Heather knew exactly what to do. They assisted their brother and sister with the elementary-level worksheets.

Mom’s freaking out
, thought Heather.
I’m in big trouble!

A Perfect Match

Chapter Nine

“You and your brother are a perfect match,” Mom insisted during a break in social studies.

“I know,” Heather said. She couldn’t disagree. Everyone who’d ever seen her and Kevin skate together always said the same thing. The truth was they
were
perfect together. But their partnering days were over. “I really want to free-skate, Mom.”

“She’s just bein’ stubborn,” Tommy said, waving his chubby finger at Heather.

“Now, Tommy, that’s not for you to say,” Mom intervened.

Relieved, Heather continued to state her cause. “It’s so important to me, Mom. I
have
to try.”

Mom shook her head, still frowning. “Is this about
the jumps . . . is that what you want?” She was clearly groping for reasonable answers.

Heather wondered how to make her mother understand. Taking a deep breath, Heather began again. “Yes, it’s about jumping, and everything else that goes with free skating. I’ll work hard, Mom. I’ll do whatever it takes,” she promised. Then she looked at Kevin. “I hope my former partner won’t take this wrong, but I really want to skate on my own.”

At that point, Mom cut off the discussion. She said they couldn’t miss any more school time over the debate. Hoping Kevin truly did understand, Heather obeyed her mother and kept quiet about it.

“Girls’ll be lining up for Kevin,” Livvy told her on the phone that afternoon. “He won’t have any trouble finding a new partner.”

“Are you sure?” Heather had called to fill her friend in on the day’s events.

“There are always girls waiting for skating partners. Especially for super-talented guys like your brother.”

“You’re right.” She paused, thinking about what her next move would be
if
her parents gave permission to take free-skating lessons. “Mind if I watch you work with your coach tomorrow?” she asked hesitantly.

“Sure,” Livvy said. “I’ll even introduce you to him.”

Heather could hardly hold the phone. “You’re kidding! That would definitely be cool.”

“You’ll really like Coach Sterling. I can promise you that,” Livvy said.

“Okay, but I’ll double-check with my mom first.”

“Super. I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

“Hope so. Bye, Livvy.”

“Hang in there, girl,” Livvy said.

Heather hung up the phone.
This is definitely what I want!
she thought and scurried off to the kitchen. There she found Mom cooking supper. The expression on her mother’s face was as close to dismal as she’d ever seen.

“I’ll help make the salad,” she volunteered. “And set the table.”

Mom glanced at her, nodding, as though deep in thought. “Thanks, honey.”

“I understand if you’re upset with me,” Heather said softly. “I didn’t expect you to be thrilled.”

“No, I suppose not.” Mom’s voice sounded hollow. “But if you’re determined—and committed—I’ll make a deal with you.”

“Really?” She felt breathless. “You’ll let me get a new coach and—”

“Listen, Heather. I’ve already talked to Dad, and he agrees with me on this.” Mom paused for a moment, and
it was then that Heather saw the hope begin to rise in her mother’s eyes. “If it can be worked out with Livvy’s coach, I’ll pay him to give you one lesson. We’ll see how you do with some jumps. Like the axel, maybe.”

“You will?”

“I’ll give Mr. Sterling a call tonight.” Mom turned on the oven light, bending over to peek in at the meat loaf. “But there’s a catch to all this,” she said, straightening.

“Anything. Whatever you say.” Heather meant it.

Mom’s eyes were steady, fixed on her. “You must show Coach Sterling—and me—that you won’t freeze up on your jumps. That you’re not tense or hesitant going into them.”

“Is
that
all?” She flung her arms around her mother’s waist and squeezed. “Oh, thank you, thank you. I can’t wait!”

“Let’s see if Coach Sterling has some time this week . . . and if he wants to come out of retirement a little further,” Mom said, heading into the dining room.

Heather had to smile because she knew the story behind Livvy and her famous, but retired, skating coach. The older gentleman had come to Alpine Lake to seek refuge from the Lake Placid skating crowd, among other things. He’d agreed to coach Livvy because she was new to the area, having lost her coach after she and her father moved to Colorado. Besides that, Livvy was on track for
advanced-level competition. Maybe even the Olympics someday.