Chapter 1
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�Yes. . .� And then I suddenly knew. �You�re . . . you�re . . .� �Dominic Riefen,� he interrupted, �Nice to meet you.� Dominic Riefen was a name that was avoided under Andrei Peretkov's roof at all costs. Dominic and my father had never gotten along. According to the gossip I�d heard and the rumors I�d read, the coaching relationship had only lasted because mom refused to leave either of her men. Then in the fall of 2003, she and Dominic had some sort of fight. There were numerous theories as to the subject of the fight, but not even dad knew the truth. He�d never pried into it. Andrei was so delighted to be rid of the competition, that he let the matter lie. As for Dominic, he�d married his longtime girlfriend, Maija Helenskia in the summer of 2004. The two had moved back to Europe and very little had been heard of them in the last 9 years. At least, no one had told me anything. I was jerked back to the present when Dominic cleared his throat. He didn�t look that different from the pictures I�d seen. There were a few more lines around his eyes but that sweet, confused, slightly sad smile remained as unchanging as the tides. �Is your mother home?� he asked politely in a voice delicately flavoured with a European accent. I finally gathered my flittering thoughts enough to answer. �Not yet. She and my father will be getting home from the rink in a little over an hour.� �In that case,� he mused, �You�ll just have to entertain me until then. Maybe you could tell me a little about yourself? I could certainly use a head�s up on any recent family developments to avoid being shocked later.� �Alright. My name is Ekaterina Morgan Peretkova. I was born on June 8th 2004,� I recited as if from a stats sheet. I had been asked the same question many times. �My mom, Allison Monroe, was the 2003 World Ice Dance Champion. I have one older sister, Annabella. Oh, and I skate.� �You don�t sound too thrilled about that.� �I�m not,� I responded. Suddenly I felt myself spilling my heart to a man I�d met 20 minutes ago. �I never got to choose what I wanted to do with my spare time the way most kids do. I�ve been skating since I could walk. Even before I could my parents would tie blades to my booties and put my walker on the ice.� �If you�d had the choice, what would you have done instead?� A dreamy smile crossed my face, �Swim. Either racing, diving, or synchronized.� �Why don�t you just explain to your mom?� �I have. Every time I convince her to let me drop the skating and take up swimming, dad comes home and says no. There is no room for argument. He refuses to dole out the money for pool time when I could be on the ice for so much less. He just can�t seem to understand that someone who is even somewhat talented would chose to change sports before going as far as possible with the skating. Dominic was still trying to formulate a response when our green van pulled up to the curb. Nick waited until dad had finished parking before he unfolded his lanky body from the grass in a surprisingly graceful manner. I clambered to my own feet and moved to where I�d have the best view. If Dominic felt at all nervous to be seeing mom again after all this time, he certainly didn�t show it as he approached the car. He calmly swung her door open and extended a hand to help her out. Conflicting emotions danced across mom�s face but she took the offered hand, almost instinctively, and stepped out next to Dominic. All the doubt from seconds earlier drained off the second their hands clasped. A familiar smile spread across her face and her eyes sparkled. I had never seen her looking as happy as she did in that moment, except in pictures. She�d really missed him. Suddenly, the silence was broken as mom let forth a silvery peal of laughter and threw her arms around her ex-partners neck. Dominic lifted her and twirled her around. Dad, who had seemingly regained his composure, stepped up to the curb and cleared his throat. Dominic stopped, mid-twirl and carefully set mom down again. �It�s nice to see you again Riefen,� Dad said in a tone so icy that I actually shivered, �How is your lovely wife?� �Likewise Andrei. However, I regret to say that Maija and I have gone our separate ways. Dominic�s voice, unlike dad�s, had remained friendly although it was tinged with some other emotion. Jealousy perhaps? �How long are you going to be in Newington for Nick?� Mom asked, hopefully. �Indefinitely,� he replied in a way that made me think he was quoting something. I glanced at dad, who clearly didn�t understand anymore than I did. However, comprehension and sheer unadulterated joy were written in Allison Monroe�s dancing brown eyes.
