Page 31 of Shining Through

Tabitha nodded. “Even if they make me crazy sometimes. They’ve sacrificed so much for my skating. What about your family? Are they back in Russia?”

“My father lives in Moscow, my mother is British and returned to London after they divorced. He sent me off to boarding school when I was eight, and I’m not close to either of them.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s the CEO of an international oil and energy company. He travels the world making deals.”

“Honest ones?”

“I see you’ve heard about me.” He looked away. “My father’s interest was making money, and he’s been very successful at it.”

“Must be nice.”

“In some ways.” He paused, then decided to tell her the rest, before she heard it from someone else. “It’s how I was able to stay in skating, even though the federation stopped funding me after my suspension.”

She frowned. “Couldn’t you have found other ways? Like teaching in off-season camps, or skating in shows.”

“No one would have hired me to teach, or skate in shows. I’ve never been much of a role model.”

She stopped to gaze out over the harbor. He stood beside her and rested his elbows on the concrete ledge. “And your mom?”

“My mother was a well-known model back in the 1980’s. Vanessa Townsend.”

“I’ve heard of her. Does she still model?”

“No. Now she collects wealthy husbands. I see her every year or two. My parents have their lives, I have mine.”

“Sounds lonely.”

It was, and though he didn’t like being pitied, he didn’t have the sense that’s what she was doing. She was observing, and she was right. Lonely described his childhood well. He’d grown up with everything and with nothing. But then, so had she, just in reverse. There was no reason to feel defensive. “I’ve made a family for myself,” he said. “My friends, my coaches. Ilya is more like a father than my real one.”

“How did you end up working with Ilya? And with Anton? I thought he was a pairs coach.”

“He is. But after I completed my suspension, none of the top coaches wanted to take me. Anton was willing, so I came to Lake Shosha. I thought it was a step down, but it was the best thing that could have happened.”

“Sometimes it turns out that way. There weren’t a lot of coaches eager to take me, other than Peter. It’s been a good match.”

This surprised him. He would have thought American coaches eager for a beautiful, talented student like Tabitha. “Why didn’t the top coaches want you?”

“I was in my teens and still not established as a top skater. I think a lot of them felt it was too late for me. But I worked my tail off and proved them all wrong. Speaking of which, I’ll be working my tail off tomorrow. It’s a been long day. Let’s get back to the hotel.”

She offered that brilliant white smile he’d seen on so many magazine covers. As gorgeous as it was, seeing it in person made him realize something he never had. The smile never reached her eyes.

~

The next afternoon, Anton and the Canadian jump guru they’d brought in kept him busy on one end of the rink. On the other, Tabitha worked with Misha to perfect the opening moves of Antigone. Even as he tried to focus on the quad Lutz/triple toe combination, he was aware of her.

Sensing his distraction, Anton frowned. “Do we need to find another place to work?”

His easy-going coach had been cool since Tabitha arrived. Not that it was Anton’s place to say she couldn’t train with Misha, who was her choreographer as well as Daniil’s. As long as their sessions didn’t take away from Misha’s sessions with the Lake Shosha skaters, who wouldn’t even arrive until next week, there was no conflict.

“No, it’s fine,” Daniil said, though the mournful Antigone aria was getting on his nerves. He forced his concentration back to where it belonged. After four consecutive perfect combination jumps, everyone seemed satisfied. Anton and the jump coach left. Daniil was tired after a long day’s practice, but the prospect of working with Tabitha gave him a second wind.

As soon as she and Misha wrapped up, he skated down to her end of the rink.

“I’m ready for my first ice dance lesson.”

She threw him a look. “I’m not sure what I can show you. Ice dance isn’t something you can pick up in an afternoon.”

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