Read Online Leaving Tracks by Victoria Escobar - Free Book Online

moment. “I think it might snow some tonight.”
    I, a little reluctantly, took his coat off and handed it to him. “I have one here.” I moved to the kitchen stove where Avala had decided to leave a pot of soup on warm. “It’s chicken and dumpling. Would you like some?”
    “No, Wesley’s making pot roast tonight.”
    “Okay, do you mind?”
    “I promised Avala you wouldn’t starve, .” North sat at the bar and watched as I ladled soup into a soup cup.
    “I made those.”
    Startled I looked at him. “What?”
    “The soup cups. One of my first slip casts. The mold still works too.”
    I stared at the simple wide rimmed, emerald, oversized cup. It was pretty and functional. “I like it.” I set the soup on the bar, got out the bread then sat next to him. “Well Hell, forgot a drink.”
    Before I could scoot back up North was up and walking towards the fridge. “No matter what season, there’s always some kind of fresh flavored tea.” He opened the fridge and then came back to the bar with two glasses and a pitcher of dark tea with raspberries and what looked like blueberries floating at the top. “We have berry tea today.” He poured the glasses and returned the pitcher to the fridge.
    “Before we run off on a tangent again,” I spooned up some soup and sighed. The lemon zest was enough tang to make me whimper. I loved lemon in chicken soup. “She put a dash of lemon in it.”
    “Tangent ,” North prompted when I spooned more soup and just savored.
    “Oh , right. Be here, five thirty tomorrow morning, with your skates and music. Short program first. Think of it as an audition. I’ll watch, score, and then deliberate if I want to coach you or if you have the skills worth honing. If you get more than say a fifty on the short, you’ll skate the free program. You’ll get all your scores and their breakdowns before you leave. I’ll let you know Monday, after thorough deliberation and contemplating, if I will coach you.”
    North nearly choked on his tea. I saw it by the way he pounded on his chest. “An audition?”
    “I’ve only ever taught one on one unless it was a class. And when I had more than one person clambering for a coach I held auditions.”
    “Five thirty?”
    “That’s A.M. pal of mine.”
    North sighed. “I was afraid of that.”

North
 
    W hen the alarm went off at five a.m., I could have cried if I hadn’t been concerned with one of my brothers finding out. I might have to mention the ridiculousness of the hour to Hadley.
    I had spent a majority of the night worrying over my routines. The music was set, and I knew, for the most part, what I was going to do. I’d stick to the stuff my mother taught me. I knew that was solid and would probably earn more points with her.
    I rolled out of bed, listened at the door for a moment for my brothers, before dashing across the hall to the bathroom I shared with Rhett. Wesley’s room was at the end of the hall and after our parents died, upon agreement from the others, Thierry had moved his things to the master suite downstairs.
    I wasn’t concerned with Rhett. Rhett had been asleep when I had gotten back from Hadley’s and had only awaken long enough to do his evening chores before going back to sleep. Travel wore hard on my little brother.
    Wesley was another matter. He could , on a whim, be awake whenever he wanted. Often it was early enough for Thierry to eat decently before starting on the work, but sometimes he slept in. Wesley was a wild card I could never predict.
    Thierry , by design, should already be out feeding and checking the other animals before he started with the dairy cows. Getting by Thierry as I crossed the yard would be tricky. But I had a semi-plan and a decent excuse if I got caught.
    I didn’t linger in my shower. I didn’t really have time to if I wanted to be at the rink on time. Since I figured the audition to be the same as an interview, I dressed for my short program and then to ward off the cold threw