Girls Only! (21 page)

First thing Thursday morning, the phone rang. Heather hurried to get it. “Hello?” she answered.

“It’s Livvy. Are you awake?”

“Definitely. It’s almost time to leave for skating practice.”

“I know . . . for me, too,” Livvy said. “I was just wondering if you told your brother anything about . . . well, you know.”

“Not yet.”

“Oh.” There was a short pause, then, “I have an idea. Why don’t you talk to my coach before you decide anything.”

Heather had actually thought of doing that. And she told Livvy so. “It’s just that I’m so sure of myself now. Know what I mean?”

Livvy chuckled into the phone. “But it’s such a major switch. You’ve been programmed to be an ice dancer . . . with a partner. There’s a huge difference between that and free skating.”

Heather felt hurt. “I guess you just don’t understand where I’m coming from.”

“Honestly, I’m trying. It’s only that you’ve spent all these years training a certain way—a very
specific
way. Free skating is totally different.”

“Please don’t try to change my mind, Liv. I need your support, not a lecture.” She sighed. “I’m telling my brother right after practice.”

“What about your parents?” asked Livvy.

“I’ll tell my mom the minute we get back,” she replied.

“Oh, Heather, I really hope everything goes super well for you.” Livvy’s voice was quivering a little.

“Thanks. That means a lot.”

“Well, I guess I’ll see you at ballet,” Livvy said before hanging up.

“Okay, see ya later.” She was still holding the receiver in her hand when Kevin came up behind her.

“What’s with the phone?” he asked.

Quickly, she hung up, hoping he hadn’t heard her end of the conversation. “Just Livvy.”

“Ready to go?” asked Kevin, wearing his red-and-blue stocking cap.

She looked up at it and grinned. “You must think it’s going to be cold outside.”

“I’m prepared,” he said, his eyes searching hers, “for anything.”

Her heart sank as she headed for the entryway closet. Reaching for her down jacket, scarf, and warmest gloves, she wondered if she would actually be able to go through with it and tell Kevin.

“Better take a pair of dry socks along,” their mother called down from the top of the stairs.

“I always carry an extra pair,” Heather replied.

Kevin said he did, too. “We’ll be home in time for school at eight-thirty,” he said, throwing Mom a kiss.

“From what Coach McDonald says, you two are going to snatch up that first-place medal next summer,” Mom said, looking quite radiant in her white terry cloth robe.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do before then,” he said, waving.

It was the way Kevin glanced down at her that made Heather worry.

“Give Daddy a hug for me,” Heather said, turning to go.

“Bye, kids. Have a great skate,” Mom called softly.

A great skate
.

Heather honestly wished it
were
possible for her to
change her mind about her goal—about being a free skater. But there was no turning back.

Today was the day!

Thin flakes of snow seemed to hang in the air, teasing the ground. Kevin pointed it out to her, laughing goodnaturedly as they walked toward the village mall.

Heather didn’t see the humor in it. Nothing was funny about the snow looking stuck in midair. “There’s just no breeze. That’s all,” she said flatly.

“But it looks like the flakes are standing still,” he said, reaching out to touch the snow.

Standing still—stuck—just like my skating future
, she thought.

The rest of the way, they talked about one of their cool homeschool projects—a model of a medieval castle. They were constructing it with the help of detailed blueprints, according to historical data, with Tommy and Joanne and several other homeschool families. Actually, Kevin did most of the talking. Heather was trying to muster the nerve to share her new goal with her brother.

“You daydream a lot lately,” said Kevin as they headed toward the mall entrance.

“I do?”

“Sure seems like it.”

“Well, maybe there’s a reason.” She paused, wondering what he’d think if she came out with something a little weird. “People who daydream are thinking momentous thoughts.”

Kevin opened the door for her. “Life-changing thoughts?”

The question fairly knocked the breath out of her.
Does he know what I’m thinking?
she wondered.

“Well?” he persisted. “Are they . . . life-changing?” His eyes were fixed on her, blinking rapidly. Like he was determined to have an answer.

She felt awkward, standing there at the entrance of the miniature mall. But Kevin wasn’t budging. “We better get going,” she said at last. “Coach wants us to be prompt.”

“Yes, and Olivia Hudson will be showing up soon—for
her
practice session,” Kevin said out of the blue.

Heather felt her cheeks grow warm as he turned away. What was he getting at? What did he know?

The area of the mall rink was smaller than the World Arena, by far. But it had a cozy, familiar feel to it. Tall trees were scattered outside the ice rink, strung with little white lights the year round.

Kevin’s remark about Livvy made Heather wonder. Maybe he had overheard the one-sided phone conversation, though he would never have eavesdropped purposely. The Bock kids—including Tommy and Joanne—had been taught in their character-building studies that
snooping was wrong. She honestly couldn’t imagine Kevin standing behind her, or even dawdling around the corner, listening in on her phone call with Livvy. There was just no way!

Yet just now he’d mentioned Livvy Hudson—Alpine Lake’s Olympic free-skating hope for the future.

Why?

What
was
he thinking?

A Perfect Match

Chapter Seven

The ice was her enemy. Heather fell more times during warm-ups than she ever remembered. She did some high-speed skating on her own, with lots of hard stroking around the rink.

When she and Kevin came together and did two back-to-back run-throughs of their original dance routine, the cha-cha, Heather kept tripping and falling.

Even Coach McDonald seemed concerned. “Must be one of those bad practice days,” he muttered, shaking his head as he watched from the sidelines.

“Sorry,” she said again and again. But her heart wasn’t in it. She just wasn’t trying.

“What’s happening?” Kevin asked as they continued their warm-up step sequence.

Heather couldn’t tell him. Not here, on the ice. Not
when they were supposed to be polishing their dance patterns. It would be cruel.

“Are you tired?” he probed.

She felt helpless to answer.

“Should we stop and talk with Coach?”

That would never do. “I’ll be all right,” she replied, but she knew today’s practice was pretty much toast. In her mind, it was their last session together. And she could hardly wait for it to end.

“Have a great skate,”
Mom had said.

The words stayed with her as she separated from Kevin for some more solo stroking. Coach always had them drill their individual step sequences and turns. So she worked on the bracket—a one-foot turn that often tripped her up. Especially if she wasn’t focused. Today was a disaster. She kept at it until Coach turned his full attention to Kevin.

Switching moves, she practiced the rocker—another difficult one-foot turn. The skate blade edge changed at the V-shaped tracing called the cusp, where the skate reversed direction.

All the while, her thoughts were on Kevin. What would her decision do to his Olympic dreams? And what would Mom and Dad say?

She was pretty sure Mom would hit the roof. Well, at first, anyway. But after the notion settled into reality, both Mom and Dad would come around—understand where
she was coming from. At least, she hoped so. Heather was counting on their support. She needed them to understand and cheer her on.

In spite of all that, she couldn’t seem to give this skating session her best shot. She was finished with ice dancing. Done!

Pretending to be a free skater was the only way to get through the next two hours. So she swirled across the ice, connecting the blades of her skates in clean, silent strokes against the surface.

Kevin’s encouraging smile actually defeated her. She wished she had the courage to tell both her brother
and
their coach after practice. That would be the right thing to do.

After what seemed like an eternity, the skating session was over. Kevin was about to put on his skate guards when Heather spoke up. “Can we talk . . . just real quick?”

Coach hovered near, and she heard him take a deep breath. But he nodded to her, as if waiting for an explanation about her lousy performance on the ice. Kevin, on the other hand, was quiet, standing near the railing that circled the rink.

“I’ve been thinking about something for a long time,” she began, hoping this was the right time to say what she’d been planning. “Neither of you will probably understand this. And that’s okay.”

Kevin’s face was terribly sober and his eyes blinked rapidly. “I think I know what you’re going to say, Heather,” he said suddenly. “And it’s all right with me.”

She could hardly believe her ears. “You
know?
”

“I’ve sensed this coming for a while,” he told her, glancing quickly at Coach. “Guess we’re just too close, huh?”

She didn’t know what to say. Kevin’s comment was startling, and Coach seemed as baffled as Heather. She hesitated, then blurted the truth. “I want to be a free skater.”

Coach McDonald’s eyebrows had always been thick, but now they seemed too bushy, nearly hiding his almost stern gray eyes. “No . . . no, I think it would be unwise to try something so different just now, Heather. It would not be in your best interest to change horses in midstream. And certainly not a wise choice, considering your brother’s goals.”

She figured he’d say something sensible like that. He wouldn’t be Coach McDonald if he didn’t.

But what puzzled her even more was the way Kevin had stepped back a bit—away from her—studying her now, almost from a distance. He was silent and seemed perfectly content with her decision. This was strangest of all.

“So you don’t mind?” she asked Kevin.

A fleeting smile crossed his face. “You’re not looking for a debate, are you? Your mind’s made up, right?”

She was quiet. He knew better than to quiz her this way.

He raked his fingers through his thick hair. “I’ll have to look for another partner. That’s the end of it, I guess.”

She shivered slightly, wondering how her brother could be so confident. Had he already thought this through? Had he heard about her decision from someone?

Not wanting to make a scene—and with Livvy Hudson showing up just then for her lesson—Heather thanked Coach McDonald. “It’s definitely been fun. You’re a great coach,” she said. “I’m sure Mom and Dad will want you to keep working with Kevin.”

“And my new partner, don’t forget,” her brother added. “Maybe Coach has some ideas about who that might be.”

Heather didn’t feel the slightest twinge of regret when her coach reached down and gave her a bear hug. “You have no idea what you’re up against, young lady. This is not a good athletic move for you. But I’m on your side—keep your chin up, kiddo.”

When she stepped back, she noticed the corner of his eyes glistened. “I’m sorry, Coach, I really am. But I have to be honest with myself, don’t I?”

He agreed with her, nodding his head up and down slowly. “I can help you with that, if you’ll let me.”

She couldn’t stand here and listen to someone try to talk her out of what she knew she must do. Besides, Livvy Hudson was sitting on the bench within earshot, lacing up.

Kevin was the one to wrap things up. “We’ll talk again, Coach . . . later.”

“Yes, and I’ll be phoning you tomorrow, Kevin,” Coach said, his face too solemn.

I have to be honest with myself
. . . .

Heather felt numb inside. She knew she’d been the cause. Still, only half of the ordeal was over. Now she had to tell her parents, starting with Mom.

In spite of everything, she felt freer than she had in months. “I was shocked when you said you knew what I was going to say,” she told Kevin as they walked home.

He glanced at her. “It’s easy to read you. Your eyes give you away.”

“Since when?” She didn’t like how this conversation was going.

He chuckled. “You should see yourself sometimes. You’re a dead giveaway . . . about your feelings.”

“I am?”

“Everything shows on your face,” he said. “It’s there for the world to see.”

Well, she certainly didn’t like the sound of this! Surely he was just making small talk. He couldn’t mean it. Besides, whoever heard of reading someone’s face?

“I think you must be getting strange ideas from your sci-fi novels,” she lashed out at him.

Their boots
clunking
on the snow-packed sidewalk was the only sound she heard for several paces. Then Kevin said softly, “I won’t make this a problem for you with Mom and Dad.”

“Thanks.”

“I know the sort of girl you are, Heather. You don’t change your mind very often. This free-skating thing must be real important to you.”

His words warmed her heart, and for a good half a block, she was glad again that he was her brother.

“I’ll be doing some serious looking this Saturday when we go to Colorado Springs, though,” he said as they turned the corner onto Cascade Avenue—their street. There was eagerness in his voice.

“I know you want to get on with your skating goals,” she said as they headed up the front steps to the porch. “And I understand.”

Stopping, Kevin turned to face her. “No, I don’t think you do,” he retorted. “Because if you did, you’d think long and hard about your decision. Bottom line: You just wouldn’t do it.”

“So . . . you’re mad? That’s the real truth, isn’t it?”

He leaned his hand high against the storm door, looking down at her. “I’ll never stoop to anger about this, Heather. God will provide a skating partner for me. You’ll see.”

“And He’ll help me with my free skating, too.”