Authors: Elizabeth Moynihan
“Keep your knees bent and stay on your feet,” Jordan quipped, giving his skates a final pat before rising to her feet and holding her hands out to him.
Slipping his large hands into her small ones, he was amazed how with a quick tug she had him standing up. She was a hell of a lot stronger than she looked, but then so was Dani.
“Stay on my feet, huh?” Hunter asked cynically, eyeing the ice with disdain. “How’d I ever let myself get into this position?”
Jordan’s easy shrug and dazzling smile had him relaxing, despite himself. “Look at it this way, as long as you stay in this position, you’ve got no problems!
“Are you coming or not?” Dani called tauntingly from the entrance to the ice.
With a determined lift of his chin, he wobbled his way along the rubber mat, stumbling slightly once but righting himself almost immediately. “Maybe this won’t be so bad after all,” he mumbled to himself, completing the trek to Dani’s side.
Some people were born natural skaters-Hunter James was not!
Forty-five minutes later, Aleksei and Dani sat patiently in an emergency room while Hunter had his leg stitched up.
“Tell me again how this happened?” Aleksei asked calmly, casually thumbing through a worn copy of
PEOPLE
magazine.
Dani heaved a sigh and rolled her eyes in exasperation. “He stepped on to the ice, and within three seconds was sprawled out, flat on his back, looking like an upside down starfish.”
“And his leg got sliced open how?”
“Daddy, how many times do we have to go over this? The outcome isn’t going to change,” Dani complained quietly, anxiously watching the door from the examining room swing open and a mother holding her toddler pass through, a Band-Aid covering the young boy’s chin.
“And his leg got sliced open how?” Aleksei repeated, continuing to calmly peruse the magazine.
“I don’t believe this,” Dani mumbled to herself, running her hands through her short curls in exasperation before covering her face with both hands and shaking her head in frustration. “He tripped me, as he was going down, and my blade caught his leg,” Dani offered, her voice muffled behind her hands.
Aleksei stifled a chuckle, knowing how much it embarrassed his daughter to know she had been mowed down by an amateur, let alone the distress it caused her knowing she had injured him to boot, but he simply couldn’t resist the urge to raze her a little. “Dani, how many times has your brother
tried
to trip you up and not succeeded?”
“Daddy, I don’t want to talk about it,” Dani’s muffled voice begged.
“What’s the big deal? Accidents happen. Even your mother’s tripped me up a couple of times,” Aleksei continued, taking advantage of the fact that Dani gave him so few opportunities to rib her about her skating; she may as well have been a robot for the number of times she made mistakes.
“You don’t understand, he shouldn’t have been on the ice at all. For as athletic as the moron is, he’s a disaster on skates. He didn’t even manage to walk to the ice without tripping over his own big feet, and yet, I let him–heck, I dared him–into skating and it was my blade that sliced his leg open,” Dani wailed miserably.
“He’s a big boy. If he didn’t really want to skate he could have said no,” Aleksei countered.
“You heard us all, Daddy. If it had been you, would you have backed down?”
Aleksei’s snort of disgust and look that said ‘hell no’ was all the answer she got.
She nodded her head in acknowledgment. “I rest my case. I tell you, the testosterone level around our family is sky-high and climbing,” she complained, watched the door swing open and yet another patient-but not Hunter-make their exit. “What’s taking so long?” she asked worriedly.
“Probably some pretty nurse is taking her time to stitch him up and kiss his ouchee to make it all better,” Aleksei teased, one eyebrow lifting in surprise at his daughter’s suddenly dark look.
“If that’s the case, I should have sliced something else instead,” Dani mumbled. Thankful her father’s attention was drawn to Hunter’s deep laugh as a pretty nurse held the door open for him he missed her less than polite comment. In amusement, Aleksei watched as the nurse allowed him to pass through the doorway on a set of crutches, his left pants leg cut off at the knee, a white bandage wrapped around his upper calf.
“Oh, God,” Dani whispered, grimacing as Hunter spotted her, his gaze filled with fire and started toward her, the rubber tips on the end of his crutches sounding like squeaky sneakers against the tile floor.
I’ll go bring the car around,” Aleksei stated, leaving Dani to face Hunter alone. In her uncertainty, she found herself gently gnawing her full lower lip, her nervousness clearly visible to Hunter.
He used the crutches like an old pro, moving forward with a speed that amazed her and made her just a little fearful. Stopping before her, he stretched to his full height, towering over her by a good ten inches and looked down into her pale, upturned face. It took a bit of effort to keep from smiling at the uncertainty in her expression, but somehow he managed a fierce scowl. “Those were my favorite pair of jeans they had to cut one leg off of, I expect you to replace them.”
“Okay,” Dani answered meekly; her eyes wide and filled with uncertainty.
“Don’t ever ask me to skate with you again!” he growled.
Her head shook back and forth, “I won’t!” she whispered.
“And you owe me,” he finished, poking one finger at her for emphasis, then turning and heading toward the car that Aleksei had pulled up to the emergency room entrance.
Dani blinked in surprise. “What? What do I owe you?” she asked shakily, following after him.
“I don’t know yet. When I decide, you’ll be the first to know,” Hunter stated cryptically and made his way toward the car door Aleksei held open for him.
“How bad?” Aleksei asked quietly, accepting the crutches Hunter passed to him and watching as he slid carefully into the front seat.
“Thirteen,” Hunter grumbled.
Aleksei opened the back door for Dani, helped her inside and closed the door behind her. Popping the trunk, he slipped the crutches inside and closed the lid. Making his way to the driver’s side, he slipped into the car, turned the key and smiled as the engine roared to life. A quick glance in the rearview mirror revealed his daughter, scrunching down in the back seat and trying to be as invisible as possible, her manner subdued, her usually chatty tendency toward conversation missing, leaving a tense silence in its stead. A quick look to his right showed him a tightly strung, albeit silent, Hunter, staring unblinkingly straight ahead. With a light shrug of his shoulders, Aleksei threw caution to the wind and stated in a voice filled with cheer, “It looks like you win, Hunter. When Jordan cut my leg open, I only needed nine stitches, and look where I am today!”
Hunter growled, Dani wished she could disappear and Aleksei laughed all the way back to the hotel.
ordan checked her watch again, a frown appearing on her
J
smooth brow as she noticed how close they were to the time when they needed to leave for the arena and get everybody’s mind-set where it should to be to successfully skate their short programs. A quick glance at Sergei and Chloe eased her mind that at least they appeared to be relaxed. Sharing a couch, in front of the TV, Chloe reclined against a stack of pillows, reading a book. Her legs were draped across Sergei’s lap, and while he gently rubbed her feet with one hand, he wore down the buttons on the remote as he clicked through the various channels with the other. The two of them momentarily reminded Jordan of herself and Aleksei so much she didn’t know whether to smile or frown.
Dee and Frank sat across from each other, a coffee table between them, as they argued over who had the better hotel room and why. Jordan could only shake her head in amusement. Why they insisted on having separate rooms, when everyone knew they’d been having an affair for years was beyond her. It seemed like a ridiculous waste of both money, and energy, as they tried to keep a secret that had long ago lost its secrecy. Even someone with only one eye could tell their feelings ran deep and strong, despite their protestations otherwise. But, hey, whatever worked for them was okay by her.
The sound of the door lock beeping as the key-card was used alerted Jordan of their return and she rushed the few feet to the door to greet them. Opening the door, the smile on her face faded, and a look of concern entered her eyes as she took in her daughter’s downtrodden look. Hunter followed a few feet away, making his way on the crutches, his expression filled with both embarrassment and anger, and Aleksei brought up the rear, a broad smile on his face, his dry sense of humor showing itself.
“I hate to break the news to you, my sweet,” Aleksei laughed, giving his wife a hearty kiss, “but your daughter beat your record for injuries caused requiring stitches!”
“Daddy,” Dani moaned, slouching into a nearby chair and trying to disappear into the pillows.
“Aleksei,” Jordan chastised lightly, elbowing her husband lightly in the ribs and shaking her head in bemusement.
“Good going, Dani. He’s the guy that’s supposed to keep my ass out of a sling and you’re trying to slice him into little pieces?” Sergei teased; barely dodging the pillow she hurled toward him and then grunting as Chloe smacked him smartly in the face with one of the pillows she’d been reclining against.
“Be nice to your sister. Can’t you see she’s already upset? You don’t need to make her feel any worse!” Chloe scolded him, swinging her long legs from his lap and going to sit on the arm of the chair Dani was trying to disappear into.
Dani’s small, sad smile was filled with gratitude.
“Besides, we’re as much to blame as Dani for Hunter getting hurt,” Chloe countered. “We egged him on as much as she did.”
“It wasn’t our skate blade that sliced his leg open.” Sergei argued.
“No, it wasn’t,” Chloe agreed. “But we’re guilty by association, and we did double dare him,” Chloe countered, sending Hunter an apologetic look.
Hunter’s eyebrows lifted in surprise.
“Oh, that explains it. We double-dared him! I was worried we may have crossed some legal line when we double-dared him,” Sergei laughed, dodging the pillow Chloe heaved at him.
“Christ, it’s bad enough having to listen to one attorney; don’t you two start sounding like one too,” Whittaker bellowed from across the room.
“Hush, Frank,” Dee demanded, sending him a warning look and then casting a commiserating look toward Hunter. “How’s the leg?”
“Not as good as it was a couple of hours ago,” Hunter growled.
“How are you going to be able to keep an eye out for Manning if you’re gimping around on crutches?” Whittaker challenged him, casting a derisive eye at Hunter’s bandaged leg and the crutches he leaned against.
“You don’t need to worry about me ‘gimping around on crutches’, I can get along just fine without them.”
“I’ll believe that when I see it!” Whittaker grumbled, ignoring Dee’s glare.
“All right, everyone. That’s enough. We’ve got a competition to get to and I don’t feel a lot of positive vibes radiating through the room at this minute,” Aleksei stated firmly. Casting a pointed look toward Whittaker, he added, “If you feel the need, you can finish this conversation later. In the meantime, I trust everyone has everything and we’re ready to roll!”
Sounds of agreement were murmured and the group, as a whole, made their way toward the elevator that would take them to the lower garage and the awaiting limo.
The crowd-problem at the stadium wasn’t any better when they returned to prepare for the evening’s competition. If anything, the mood of the crowd had intensified, becoming almost frenzied; as they watched the competitors arrive and slip into the arena.
Aleksei had called from the limo and made special arrangements with Gus. When they arrived, the head of security was waiting for them at an employee’s side door and had ushered them quickly inside, bypassing the screaming crowds.
With final words of encouragement, Dee and Chloe had gone to the ladies locker rooms to dress, and Whittaker had accompanied Sergei to the men’s locker rooms. Aleksei and Jordan had slipped into the arena that was rapidly filling with people, disappearing into the crowd, unrecognized by the simple disguises they wore.
Dani and Hunter sat in front of one of the TVs that had been set up in the waiting area behind the long curtains that separated those ready to skate from those that had a while to wait yet. The tension of the skaters who waited their turn on the ice was nearly palpable, and Hunter shook his head wonder as he watched the various skaters as they prepared to compete. Some read, some practiced their programs on the floor, some simply paced; all were doing their best to remain calm, not all of them were successful in their endeavor.
“How do you stand it?” Hunter asked quietly, his gaze suddenly drawn to a female skater who suddenly pushed through the curtains, her hands covering her face as tears coursed down her cheeks, her partner following several feet behind her, his face a mask of disappointment and anger.
“How do I stand what?” Dani asked, her eyes glued to the television set in front of her, seemingly oblivious to the chaos around her.
Hunter frowned. “The waiting, the possibility of failure, the risk of injury; all of the above.”
Dani shrugged, “My career isn’t a whole lot different than your own. Don’t you spend a lot of time waiting? Don’t you risk the possibility of failing a client every time you step before a judge?”
Hunter sat silently pondering Dani’s question for a moment before he answered her. “I can truthfully say, I don’t spend much time considering failure; I prefer the other side of the coin,” he stated sardonically.
“We’re a lot alike in that respect; I hate to lose, too,” Dani agreed softly.
“I’ve noticed. So tell me, how do you stand this waiting? I feel more tension in this room and I’ve ever felt standing before a judge.”
Dani’s shrug was nonchalant. “I don’t know, you just do it.”
Hunter’s snort of disbelief put her back up.
“Everyone has their own tricks for survival and I don’t presume to know what will work for any given person. All I know is I’m never nervous about my own performance. I know my program, I imagine myself winning and I go out there and skate because I love skating. It’s as simple as that,” Dani explained, her attention drawn back to the TV as the announcer stated that they would be back after a brief commercial break, during which time, the next group of pair teams would be warming up on the ice as they prepared to compete. The camera’s scanned the group of five teams as they stepped onto the ice, and began their warm up. Sergei and Chloe were the last team out.
Hunter heard Dani’s sharp gasp and turned his gaze to the television a few feet away from where they sat and watched as the cameras captured the image of Sergei and Chloe as they began to circle the ice before fading into the promised commercial.
“This is it.” Dani murmured.
Hunter watched her silently, could feel the nervousness pouring out of her in waves, watched her hands fidget as she sought to keep calm, and it suddenly became crystal clear just how much she cared for her brother and Chloe. “For all the things you do to drive your brother crazy, you really care about him. Don’t you?”
Dani looked at him quizzically, as if to say
what a stupid question
.
“You just razz him for the hell of it,” Hunter offered, one long index finger running across his lower lip as he pondered the thought.
“I razz him because he’s such an easy mark, it’s impossible to resist,” Dani corrected. “It’s just my way of showing my feelings; I get a bit uncomfortable with the mushy stuff.”
“So I should take the fact you sliced my leg open as a show of affection?” Hunter asked quietly.
Dani’s eyes went wide, her breath catching in her chest, all thoughts leaving her brain at his quiet question. It took her a couple of tries before her mouth and brain seemed to work together again and she finally managed to answer him without sounding like a total moron. “I don’t know if that’s an accurate statement. I certainly wasn’t intending to slice your leg open; it just kind of happened. And, if you’ll remember, you were the one who pulled me down.”
“I was trying to keep from killing myself,” Hunter mumbled.
“I can’t think of a single person who has died because they fell while they were skating. Except, of course, those idiots that fall through the ice while they’re skating on a pond that’s not fully frozen,” Dani rambled, trying to keep her train of thought. Looking into his gorgeous eyes, it was easy to forget what she had been meaning to say.
“It was a figure of speech, Danielle,” Hunter stated, his voice a deep, sexy drawl, tinged with a touch of amusement.
Dani was saved from responding by the commentators on the TV announcing their return from commercial break, and beginning their preliminary commentary on the competition as it stood.
“Here we go,” Dani stated quietly, gluing her eyes to the television screen, unblinkingly and barely breathing as she took in every word that was uttered. Without consciously thinking about, she automatically reached for Hunter’s hand; her fingers comfortably lacing between his own and held on for dear life.
“It’s hard to believe, but over twenty-five years ago, we watched the pair team of Jamison and Rocmanov burst onto the ice, with results that were so reminiscent of Gordeeva and Grinkov it was eerie. With their son, Sergei, now officially a pair skater and making his debut with his partner, Chloe Spenser, it will be interesting to see if history repeats itself and this team shares in the same greatness as those that have come before them,” sports announcer, Robin Meade stated.
“I can’t imagine it’s an easy decision to make, to step into the same profession as your father, and not feel an overwhelming pressure to do as well,” her co-commentator stated.
“You’re right, Jim. Sergei has got to be feeling extreme pressure from all sides. First off, he’s new to the pairs field, only having been skating ‘officially’ as a pair for the past several months. But, you have to remember, he’s been exposed to his parent’s skating his whole life, and we have, on more than one occasion, seen him skate with his mother, so he’s not totally alien to the process involved in skating with someone else. Secondly, his partner, Chloe Spenser, has never been anything but a pair skater and is known for her elegant lines, speed and technical ability.”
“Don’t forget though, there have been questions, as to her ability to present a program. She’s often been criticized as being too robotic and inexpressive. It should be interesting to see if changing partners makes a difference in her skating style and presentation.”
“There is also the issue of Andrew Manning’s new partner and all the adjustments they have had to make. Susan Franklin is a strong pair partner, having been sidelined while her partner recovers from a broken leg he received in a motorcycle accident. Like Chloe and Sergei, Susan and Andrew have been skating together for the same short period of time, each having a lot to learn about their new partners, a tremendous undertaking to say the least. So here they are, two teams starting with the same blank slate. I have to admit, I’m really looking forward to their first meeting.” Jim said.
“I agree. It will also be interesting to see how, if at all, the added stress of having to compete against her ex-partner effects her. It’s no secret there is no love lost between Sergei Rocmanov and Andrew Manning. Perhaps here, on the ice, their differences can be resolved,” Robin Mead offered diplomatically.
“Time will surely tell us,” Jim added with a ‘we’ll see’ shrug and turned his attention to the ice as another announcer called for the end of the warm-up and requested the skaters leave the ice.
“How’s it feel?” Whittaker asked both Sergei and Chloe as they came off the ice.
“Fast and hard,” Sergei answered calmly, accepting the bottle of water Dee offered and taking a sip before passing it to Chloe.
“Nothing we haven’t skated on before,” Chloe added, taking a sip of water and handing it back to Sergei.
“Okay. Then do either of you have any questions, comments, or complaints?” Whittaker asked casually, received negative nods from the two and clapped his hands together jubilantly. “Good, then use the next two and a half minutes to show the world just how good you are and prove that I wasn’t out of my mind when I made you a pair.”