For the next ten days you can download the Kindle book for
only $.99. So now is the time to buy. You’ll not only have a fun book to read or
give to your favorite tween, but you’ll help me achieve a higher ranking on
Amazon. Why does this matter? Because Amazon gives more attention to books
with high rankings—and that’s especially important to indie authors (like me) who don’t
have a big publishing house behind them.
I just learned, for example, that once a book receives fifty reviews,
Amazon will actually promote it. So . .
. if you decide to download Pairs at
Nationals and enjoy it, I’d appreciate a review. It doesn’t have to be long—just a few
sentence is fine.
To find Pairs at
Nationals on Amazon, just click on the cover picture to your right.
Here’s the first chapter.
PAIRS AT NATIONALS
Chapter 1
Jamie
counted to the music as she circled the rink. Five . . . six . . . seven . . .
At eight, she tightened her muscles and leapt. One, two, three rotations, then
a smooth landing as her right blade touched the ice in a flowing glide. A
perfect triple Salchow! Even better, she could see Matt coming out of the jump
in perfect sync with her. They were awesome!
She
skated over to Matt for a high five. It was hard to believe that when they
started skating together last year, they couldn’t stand each other. Now he
was her best friend—or second best. No one could replace Nicole. She had been
Jamie’s best friend since their first time on the ice when they were six years
old. Jamie looked across the ice. Nicole gave her a thumbs up before setting up
for her own triple Salchow.
“So, what
do you think we should do next?” Matt asked. But he wasn’t looking at Jamie.
His eyes swept the rink.
Jamie’s eyes
followed his. “Where is he?” she muttered. Cam was almost an hour late—and he
was never late, not once in the whole year and a half he had been their
coach.
“Got me,”
Matt said, as if she expected an answer.
Jamie scanned
the rink again, hoping she had somehow missed Cam. But no, all she saw was a
kaleidoscope of skaters jumping, twirling and gliding over the ice. Cam wasn’t
anywhere to be seen . . . but . . . what was her father doing here? He was
standing by the bleachers talking with Bob, the rink manager. They both looked
serious.
Her
dad glanced up and his eyes met Jamie’s. He waved her over. “Get Matt, too,” he
called as she started skating toward him.
She
turned, but Matt was right behind her. They stepped off the ice. “What’s
up?” Jamie asked. She grabbed her skate guards from the shelf around the rink.
Her
father touched her arm. “Let’s go sit in the bleachers. I’m afraid I
have bad news.” He turned to include Matt. “There’s been an accident. Cam’s in
the hospital. They took him to surgery as soon as he got to the ER.”
Jamie
stopped so suddenly Matt bumped into her. “What do you mean? He’s going to be okay, isn’t
he?”
Dad
waited until they were seated before answering. “I don’t know. He was
unconscious when they brought him in. The only reason Bob knows anything is
because one of the skaters’ moms—Ashley’s, I think—works there. She called to
tell him.”
“He has to
be okay.” Matt blurted out what Jamie thought. “We’ve got Nationals in two
months!”
They
had almost missed gold at the Midwestern Sectional Championships last week when
Jamie stumbled coming out of the twist lift. Luckily, their biggest rivals,
Sarah and Sean, fell on a throw jump, which gave Jamie and Matt first place.
But they couldn’t count on that happening at Nationals. They needed Cam. They had
to nail that lift.
Jamie’s father
gave Matt a weak smile. “Cam may have bigger problems than Nationals.”
Jamie
flinched. It was hard to imagine Cam lying still on an operating table. Not
Cam, who was constantly moving. He was more than their coach. He was like a
favorite uncle, always encouraging them to be their best, on and off the ice. His thick
blond hair, red Olympic jacket, and soft folksy accent were a calming machine
telling them they’d be fine. Tears filled her eyes. She sat stone still. So did
Matt, cracking his knuckles, a sure sign that he was upset.
The
rink’s announcer cut into her thoughts. “Skaters may now take the ice
for the next session.” Everyone poured through the opening to the rink. She and
Matt should be out there, too, having another lesson with Cam.
Jamie
stood and grabbed Matt’s arm. She couldn’t just sit there. She had to be on the ice, just like she
had to believe Cam would be back in a week.
“Come on,
Matt,” she said. “Let’s get out there. Cam’d be really mad if we slacked off
because he wasn’t here for a few lessons.”
Matt
looked at her as if she had two heads. “A few lessons? Didn’t you hear your dad?”
“I know,
but Dad’s not sure of anything. Besides, I need to be on the ice.”
Matt
stared at the skaters whirling and gliding in the rink. He shrugged. “Okay,” he
said, “let’s do it.”
He
took her hand as they charged onto the ice. Jamie breathed deeply, taking in
its clean, cold smell. They glided into the familiar Killian position––Matt’s
right arm around her waist with her right hand over his, their left hands
joined in front of his body.
Her
stomach slowly unknotted, calmed by the scrape of her blades and the steady
rhythm of their strokes. What a difference from the first time they skated
together. She remembered how their skates had tangled, causing a fall and a
major battle about whose fault it was. Today, they moved as one person,
expertly weaving in and out of the other skaters.
“We better
warm up again before we start on our lifts,” said Matt.
Jamie
nodded and they dropped hands. She got into position for the easy Salchow,
doing a double jump with ease. She worked through to the more difficult Lutz,
where she tapped the ice before leaping, and landed in a perfect glide.
As
she turned to skate forward, Nicole appeared. Her red practice dress looked
bright and cheerful next to Jamie’s black skirt and top. “What’s going on with
your dad? You guys looked so serious I was afraid to interrupt. And where’s
Cam? I thought you had lessons today.”
The
high Jamie felt on landing her jumps faded away. The knots came back to her
stomach. “We did, but––oh my God, Nicole––Cam’s been in a car accident, and
he’s in surgery right now. We don’t know what’s going on.”
Nicole’s blue
eyes widened. “But Nationals are coming!” Nicole skated junior singles and had
placed first at Sectionals. Nationals were on her mind, too.
“I know.
That’s the first thing I thought. Matt, too. Now I feel guilty thinking about
us and not Cam.”
“Maybe it’s
not so bad,” Nicole offered. “Maybe he’ll be all right.”
“That’s
what I keep telling myself, but what if we’re wrong . . .” Jamie’s eyes filled
again as two skaters in her class, Ashley and Megan, joined them. Ashley
touched Jamie’s arm. “Sorry to hear about Cam,” she said. “My mom sent me a
text.”
Megan
nodded. “Me, too.” She really did look sorry. Megan was a lot nicer to Jamie
now that Jamie skated pairs and didn’t compete against her anymore.
“Thanks,”
Jamie said. She guessed the rink’s rumor mill was whirling with the news.
She
and her friends skated together silently, then one by one, they went back to
practicing. “See you later,” Jamie called as Nicole glided away.
Matt
took her place. “You’re the one who wanted to practice,” he said, “so let’s do it.”
“Okay.”
Jamie wanted to keep some sense of things being normal. “We should start with
the platter. I know I can do it.” She loved that lift, but it had been so hard
when she started pairs. There was something terrifying about being six feet off
the ground. Now she could spring into the air, confident that Matt would hold
her.
Side
by side, they skated once around the rink before Matt turned to skate
backwards. “When I count to four,” Jamie said. She counted off to the music,
then Matt put his hands on her waist. Two more counts and she jumped as he
lifted, until she was in the air, back arched, arms out as if she were going to
do a swan dive. Matt turned again to skate forward. A few more beats and she
came down, landing so smoothly she hardly felt her blades meet the ice.
“Yes!” said
Matt, pumping his fist in the air.
Jamie
grinned, but her grin disappeared when Matt said, “How about
the twist lift?” That was where she had stumbled at Sectionals.
She
shrugged. “Okay. Maybe I can get it together today.”
They
started skating, Jamie close behind Matt. When they turned to skate backwards,
Matt placed his hands on Jamie’s waist as she put hers on his wrists. After two beats of the music, Jamie tapped the ice with her toe-pick and leaped. At
the same time, Matt lifted and threw her into the air. She drew in her legs and
arms as she whirled around––once, twice. She struggled to complete the second
turn, but her blades met the ice a moment too soon. She stumbled into Matt as
she tried to control her landing. Only Matt’s hands on her waist kept her from
falling. She stomped her foot. This was just like Sectionals. Would they ever get this lift?
The
music stopped and Jamie heard, “This session is now over. Will skaters please
clear the ice.”
“What the
heck’s the matter with you?” Matt snarled, as they skated to the exit. “How
hard can it be to make two stupid turns?”
“You try
coming down clean every time, you’re so great.”
“I sure
wouldn’t stumble like some kid who’s never skated before.” He practically
shouted the words.
Jamie’s face
flushed. “Oh yeah, maybe I wouldn’t either if you’d lift a little . . .”
She
stopped when she saw her dad talking with Bob again. Maybe he had more news
about Cam. That was more important than fighting with Matt, even if he could be
so full of himself sometimes.
They
stepped off the ice, still not looking at each other. But when Jamie’s dad
walked toward them, his face grave and shaken, Jamie took Matt’s arm. She was
over the stumbled landing.
“Cam’s wife
just called,” Dad said before either of them could speak. “She said to cancel
all of Cam’s lessons.”
“For how
long?” Jamie asked.
When
her dad didn’t answer, her heart began to race. “He’s not dead, is he?”
“No, but he
was hit hard. She said the other car ran a red light and smacked right into
him. The impact broke his hip and shattered his femur––that’s the thigh bone.
He won’t be walking for a long time. And . . .”
“Yeah, but
he can get better,” Matt said. “Maybe he can come to the rink in a wheel
chair.”
“I don’t
think so.” Jamie’s dad reached out to touch Matt’s shoulder. “You didn’t let me
finish. Cam also has a bad head injury. He’s not waking up. They think he’s
slipped into a coma, and they can’t predict when he’ll come out of it. The
longer it lasts . . .”
His
voice trailed off as he pulled the two of them into an embrace. “I’m so
sorry,” he said, holding them tight. Jamie tried to imagine skating without
Cam, but the image wouldn’t come. Tears filled her eyes.
Matt
pulled away, eyes glistening. “I gotta go.” He grabbed his
skate guards and stopped only long enough to put them over his blades. Then he
practically ran to the locker room.
Jamie
didn’t care who saw her. Her dad’s arm still around her, she sobbed into
his shoulder. Cam was gone. Maybe he was never coming back. How could they
skate without him? And if they couldn’t skate, what would happen to their
Olympic dream?
Want to read more? Just click on the cover picture to your right.
