Walk on Water by Laura Peyton Roberts Read Free Book Online Page B

repeated uneasily.
    “You’re sixteen now—such an important age! A teenage girl living alone with a middle-aged man wouldn’t be ideal under the best circumstances. But Blake’s so lost in himself that he doesn’t see who you’ve grown into, let alone the woman you’ll become. All he sees is what he wants and what he thinks he needs.”
    “Sounds about right.”
    “So come and live with me. Wait!” Beth held up a finger before Lexa could reply. “Hear me out. I know I must seem ancient to you, but I haven’t forgotten a minute of what it’s like to be a girl. I can help you with things that Blake will never understand, and that includes skating pairs. Move in with me and I’ll take over your training. You can skate at Cleveland Ice Arena with Candace Zaharian. I’ll pay for everything.”
    Lexa’s heart leapt so hard it hurt. Candace Zaharian was a former Olympian and top pairs coach. No one in the Midwest had a better reputation for molding competitive teams. For a moment, teetering on the edge of a completely different future, all Lexa could hear was the blood roaring in her ears.
    Then reality intervened.
    “Zaharian isn’t taking new students, and she’d never agree to take me. Not this late in the game. Not considering . . . everything.”
    Beth’s eyes gleamed with an almost predatory sparkle. “Never assume,” she said. “Your father may have been the skating star, but he’s not the only one who knows how to work the system. How do you think he became a star?”
    It was true, Lexa realized. Beth had managed Kaitlin’s and Blake’s skating careers right up to the day they’d run off to Atlantic City and become Walker and Walker. Maybe she could pull it off. Except . . .
    “You know Candace and Blake can’t stand each other. They don’t even make eye contact.”
    Beth laughed. “You don’t have to talk her up to me , kitten. I’m already sold!”
    Lexa’s mind reeled. Was there any actual chance Candace Zaharian would take her on? Could she get herself back and forth to Cleveland Ice Arena? It was over an hour’s drive each way, longer in bad weather. But if I wasn’t working at the rink anymore, I could use that time to commute.
    “School would be a problem. More of a problem.”
    “I’ve considered that too,” Beth said. “What makes the most sense is to pull you out. There’s only a few weeks left of this year anyway, and you can finish it off with the tutor. It’ll be much easier not working around a school schedule.”
    “It would be. Much easier.”
    Beth swung her legs off the sofa, smiling happily. “Wonderful! It’s settled, then. I’ll start making calls in the morning.”
    “What?” Lexa blinked away her confusion. “I mean . . . no.”
    “But, kitten, you just said—”
    “I can’t do it, G-mom. I’d love to, but . . .” Lexa shook her head. Leave Blake’s house, his rink? Skate with another coach? Skate pairs? “Blake would never forgive me.”
    She wasn’t sure she’d even blame him. “I appreciate the offer. I do. But I can’t.”

 
—13—
     
    “I have a feeling I’m going to be sorry we came,” Bry said.
    Lexa nodded. “I already am.”
    Jenni was at the center of the gym with Jacob Larimore, her white formal hiked over her knees, dancing like a pole should be involved. Everly Brooks and her top-ranking sidekick, Emmi Wallace, glared from a gang of cheerleaders as if they’d like to poison the flask Jacob and Jenni were obviously drinking from. Lexa and Bry were already forgotten on the sidelines. And the prom had barely started.
    “Her mom will kill her if she gets suspended,” Bry said.
    “She’ll talk her way out of it. She always does.” It was impossible to understand what Jenni was thinking, though. She finally had the school audience she’d always wanted, and the show she was giving them was one she could only regret in the morning.
    “Do you think she even likes him?”
    Lexa shrugged. “She likes having