"That'll put her at ease seven days a week. Well done."
"The best part is that it's true," Kevin said. "She makes my head swim, Andy. Telling her that I loved her was one of the easiest things I've ever done."
"I'll bet it was. Does your profession of love for a woman who lives in Wallace mean you intend to remain in Wallace?"
Kevin frowned as he thought of how best to answer the question. He still hadn't worked out a timeline to his summer, though he had circled June 22 and July 22 in the calendar he stored in his head. He didn't want to ponder an August wedding or an August anything. The date of the next full moon, August 20, was the date of the fire.
"It means I love her, that's all. I don't know what I'm going to do. I just know that I'm not going anywhere without her. That's why I accepted Morrison's offer. I knew Sarah had already committed to another year and wasn't planning to back out of her commitment."
Andy lifted his glass.
"Here's to contentment," he said. "May we both find it in spades this coming year."
Kevin clinked his glass and downed his drink. The pleasurable moment didn't last long.
"Well isn't this nice," a man with a whiny voice said. "Our brilliant science teacher and ace reporter celebrating contentment."
"What do you want?" Kevin asked as he turned to face Preston Pierce.
The banker stood between his thugs a few feet away. He smiled at Andy and then at Kevin.
"I think I made that clear a few days ago, Mr. Johnson. Imagine my surprise when I learned that you were planning to return to the school next year."
"What's it to you? It's none of your business what I do."
"Oh, but it is. Everything in this town is my business."
Andy stared across the table.
"He's not worth it, Kevin. Let's go."
Kevin looked at Andy, then at Pierce and his hired help, and finally at more than a dozen saloon patrons who had gathered nearby. He could see two of the spectators exchange cash, as if betting on a fight they expected to see and Kevin genuinely hoped to avoid.
"OK."
Kevin watched Andy put a bill on their table, get up from his chair, and head for the door. He followed suit but found his path blocked. Thing One and Thing Two had allowed Andy to pass but closed ranks when the teacher approached.
"Excuse me," Kevin said.
"I don't believe you've been excused," Pierce said.
"I'm warning you, Pierce. Call off your dogs."
"Did you hear that, Benjamin," the banker said to the larger bodyguard. "Mr. Johnson called you a dog. He called you one, too, Sylvester."
"Get out of my way," Kevin said.
He tried to push his way between the thugs but didn't get far. Each grabbed an arm and pushed him back.
Kevin looked over the shoulders of his nearest adversaries and saw Andy nod in the distance. He couldn't read body language as well as high school science papers, but he suspected that his friend had given him the OK to act. He turned to face Benjamin.
"You know something, Benny?"
"What?"
The big guy smiled, revealing years of dental neglect.
"I'll tell you," Kevin said. "School got out on Tuesday. Do you know what that means?"
"Why don't you tell me, smartass?"
"It means that I don't have to be a role model until September."
"Who cares?"
"You should care," Kevin said. "Because if I don't have to be a role model until September, then I can throw the first punch in June."
Kevin didn't wait for Benjamin to do the math. He hammered him in the face and followed with two kicks to the ribs. The second blow sent the big man into an unoccupied stool by the bar.
Sylvester went after Kevin immediately and landed two punishing blows to the stomach. He followed with a punch to the face and another to the neck, but he didn't have the opportunity to put him away. Andy tackled the aggressor from behind just as he moved toward Kevin again. Within seconds the short, stocky reporter had the short, stocky thug in a chokehold.
Suddenly liberated from Thing Two, Kevin returned to Benjamin, who had picked himself up from the floor and now charged at the teacher like a bull. He stepped aside and tripped the big man in full stride, sending him to the floor again. Kevin jumped on him while he lay prostrate on the hardwood. He got in a few hard punches to the back of the neck before Benjamin rolled over and the two commenced a wrestling match that lasted more than a minute.
Andy had an easier time with Sylvester, turning him around and hitting him twice in the belly and once in the jaw. The latter blow sent the small man flying into a square table, where four miners had just begun to enjoy large mugs of beer. When the table overturned and the glass mugs shattered on the floor, the miners went not after Andy but rather Sylvester.
The reporter turned to help Kevin, who had rolled onto his back and was now on the receiving end of repeated punches to the side of the head. He pushed Pierce hard into another occupied table and jumped on Benjamin. When the big man threw an elbow blindly, Andy caught his arm and wrapped it behind his back. He lifted the arm upward until it cracked above the elbow and Benjamin screamed.
Kevin made the most of the assist and scrambled to his feet. He helped Andy lift Benjamin to his knees and throw him face first into a wall, where he crumpled like a can.
With his adrenaline rushing and his anger out of control, Kevin then turned to the source of his troubles. He grabbed Preston Pierce from the patrons he had crashed into and dragged him by the collar to an eight-by-ten-foot window that offered a view of the street.
"My friend thinks you're not worth it," Kevin said as he lifted the banker to his feet, "but I disagree. I think you're very worth it."
He punched Pierce in the stomach, causing him to double over. When the banker recovered, Kevin grabbed his hair, pushed his head down, and threw him through the thin glass and onto an occupied sidewalk.
Kevin stared at the walk just long enough to see Pierce pass out, two well-dressed men step aside, and a Wallace policeman race toward the scene. It was over in five minutes.
CHAPTER 55: KEVIN
The police detained Kevin and Andy for thirty minutes but needed only twenty to determine that Preston Pierce had caused the fight and that Kevin had thrown the banker out the window in self-defense. Fifteen witnesses, including the bartender, spoke against the banker, who was as popular as tuberculosis in the Shooting Star.
Pierce and his men were charged with assault, disorderly conduct, and vandalism and hauled to the city jail for processing. The ringleader had suffered cuts to his face and hands. He vowed to sue every man in the room for slander. His threat was met with laughter.
Kevin stayed another ten minutes to help clean the mess and pay the bar owner for damages. He said that it was the least he could do for breaking a window, three chairs, a table, and four glass mugs. He gave the bartender a double eagle to reward the witnesses with a few free rounds for telling it as they saw it. He walked out of the saloon at nine fifty with a smile on his face.
"Thanks for helping me out back there," he said to Andy as they headed toward home.
"It was my pleasure."
"Won't you get fired over this?"
"Fired? The publisher will probably give me a raise. He hates Pierce with a passion."
Kevin laughed.
"I feel better already."
"That's good, because you look like bloody hell."
"How's my eye look?"
Kevin stopped under a street light on Bank Street and turned his face toward the light.
"It looks like bloody hell too."
Kevin smiled.
"I appreciate your honesty."
"Who taught you to fight like that?" Andy asked.
Would you believe my sister?
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you used both your fists and your legs."
"Oh, that."
"Yes, that."
"A family member taught me some tricks once. I
used a few," Kevin said. "What about you? You looked more like John L. Sullivan than a mild-mannered reporter."
"I grew up in South Boston, remember?"
Kevin chuckled.
"I remember. I guess that explains everything."
The friends walked the next two blocks in silence, allowing Kevin Johnson, teacher, time traveler, and sister-trained kick-boxer to reflect on an incredible turn of events. He really hadn't wanted to fight Pierce or the Cro-Magnons he had on retainer, but he wasn't at all sorry for putting the hurt on two of the men. They deserved it. They deserved it all.
When they reached King Street and turned toward Maude's, Kevin could think only about how badly he wanted to fall into his bed. He was tired, sore, and mentally spent from a day's worth of train travel, political speeches, whiskey, and fighting.
He wanted relief so badly that he was tempted to run back to 2013 just to grab a barrel-sized bottle of ibuprofen. He knew that option was off the table, of course. When he glanced at the darkening sky, he saw a waxing moon and at least a twelve-day wait before he could consider any jaunt to the future. By that time, his headache, at least this headache, would be long gone.
As he started down the last block, Kevin noticed that King Street seemed unusually dark and quiet. He saw few lights in the houses and even fewer people. Then he glanced at Maude's front porch and saw a person he recognized, a person he didn't expect to see sitting on the swing at ten at night.
"Don't look now, but trouble awaits," Andy said.
Just that fast Kevin's headache got worse. He realized that he'd forgotten Sadie's birthday. He'd forgotten to acknowledge it that morning, forgotten to get her a gift, and forgotten to do the something special he had promised to do. As screw-ups went, this was world class.
"Did you remember her birthday?"
"I certainly did," Andy said.
"Did you get her anything?"
"Oh, Mr. Johnson, you really are in trouble. I gave her a portable chess set this morning, before you got up and we so unceremoniously rushed to catch the train."
"What about Maude?"
"She bought Sadie a dress and gave her the day off."
"Why didn't you remind me?" Kevin asked with an edge in his voice. "I could have bought her something in Spokane."
"It wasn't my job to remind you. What's more, Sadie specifically asked me not to remind you. She wanted to see whether you would remember on your own. Obviously, you didn't."
Kevin grabbed Andy's arm and brought him to a stop as they approached the house next door. He needed serious assistance and needed it fast.
"What should I do? I can't face her now."
Andy looked at Kevin thoughtfully for a moment, as if trying to pick the right words for what was clearly a learning moment. When he was done, he put a hand on Kevin's shoulder.
"You will face her now," he said. "You will apologize for forgetting her birthday and, if you care about her at all, you will think of a creative way to make amends."
"I was afraid you'd say that."
"I'm telling you this as your friend, Kevin. Go talk to her. Do the right thing."
A minute later, the men ascended the steps to the porch. Andy greeted Sadie, wished her a happy birthday for the second time that day, and walked into the house, leaving Kevin to clean up a very big mess.
"Hi, Sadie," he said. "Do you mind if I sit next to you?"
Sadie didn't answer verbally. She instead looked at Kevin with the saddest eyes he had ever seen and extended an arm toward the unoccupied half of the swing.
Kevin took off his hat and placed it on top of the wide railing that formed the perimeter of the porch. He turned to face Sadie, who stared at the street, and sat down next to her.
"Did you have a good time in Spokane?" she asked.
Kevin looked at her unsmiling face and lowered his eyes.
"I did. I had a very good time, if you consider listening to political speeches all day a good time. It was nice to get away for a day."
Sadie glanced at him.
"It looks like you had a little excitement."
Kevin smiled sadly.
"Andy and I had a misunderstanding with Pierce and his boys at the Shooting Star."
"Are you all right?"
"My head's still pounding, from all the excitement, of course, but I'll survive."
"Do you need me to get something for it?"
Kevin sighed. Just when he thought that the needle on his guilt-o-meter couldn't swing any farther to the right, it did. It busted through the stop.
"I think I'm OK."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
Kevin studied the face of the amazing woman next to him. He looked for anger but saw nothing of the sort. He instead saw an expression that looked like a cross between bewilderment and profound disappointment.
"I'm sorry, Sadie. I'm sorry for forgetting your birthday."
"It's all right. I had a good day, believe it or not."
"What did you do?"
"I rode Spirit to the other side of Bad Tom Mountain, to the place we had our picnic."
Kevin grimaced. His dissection had begun.
"Did you have a nice ride?"
"It was OK. I would have preferred company, but I still had a nice ride. I had a chance to see some lupine and foxgloves in bloom and do a lot of thinking."
"What did you think about?"
"I thought about you."
Kevin brought his hand to his forehead and rubbed his brow. He tried to find words that might ease her pain, and perhaps his own, but the words simply wouldn't come. He concluded that this was one of those awkward moments in life that wouldn't end on a graceful note. When his angst reached an unbearable level, he put his hand on Sadie's and looked into her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Sadie. I'm sorry for letting you down. I'm sorry for everything. I promise I will make this up to you. If you want to do something special tomorrow, we'll do it. If you want to go on another ride or another picnic, just say so. You name it and we'll do it. I promise."
Sadie squeezed his hand.
"I don't want to go on a ride or go on a picnic. I don't want promises either," she said as she met his eyes. "All I want is a kiss."
Kevin took a breath as he contemplated her words. He couldn't believe that Sadie would let him off so cheaply. He had misread her from the start. She didn't want a pound of flesh. She wanted only an ounce of affection.
"That's fair," he said.
He pulled his hand out of hers, extended his arm across the back of the swing, and leaned her way. He kissed her softly on the lips for several seconds. When he pulled back, he saw a soft smile. The bewilderment and profound disappointment had apparently gone into hibernation.
"That was nice," she said.
Sadie retrieved the hand that was now draped over her shoulder, settled into Kevin's side, and turned her attention to the street, which had grown even darker with the loss of two more house lights. A moment later, she cocked her head and gave him a sidelong glance.
"Two would be nicer."
Kevin laughed to himself. He should have seen this coming as he walked up the steps. If there was one thing he had learned about this resourceful woman, it's that she never passed up an opportunity to turn lemons into lemonade.
"OK. Two it is."
He leaned to his side and kissed her again. This time he wrapped her in both arms, a gesture that brought a bigger smile to her face and resulted in a reciprocal embrace. When he was finished he withdrew his arm and sat up straight in the swing.
"We should probably go in. We don't want to scare the neighbors."
"I guess you're right," Sadie said with a manufactured frown. "It's just that . . ."
"It's just that what?"
Sadie lowered her eyes and shuffled her feet.
"It's just that three is my favorite number."
Kevin took another breath and returned a hand to his forehead. He wanted to play along and make amends, but he knew there was a
line he shouldn't cross. He was dating someone special, and that someone wasn't sitting beside him on a moonlit porch.
"All right, Sadie. I'll kiss you one more time, but that's it. I have to think about Sarah and propriety and a million other probably important things. Do you understand?"
Sadie nodded.
Satisfied that Sadie meant it, Kevin threw his arms around her a third time and kissed her longer and harder. He didn't want to send mixed messages, but he decided that the last birthday kiss of the night should at least be a good one.
"Happy birthday, Sadie," Kevin said. "You can consider this a down payment of sorts on my limitless debt. If you want to do something tomorrow, we'll do something tomorrow. I'll even take you on another horse ride, but right now I think we should call it a night."
Kevin leaned forward and picked up his hat, which had fallen off the railing and rolled to a spot near his feet. He knew he should have limited his amends to a chicken peck and perhaps a picnic in the park, but he was satisfied with how things had turned out. He had handled a delicate situation masterfully.
When he got up and turned to Sadie, he expected to see an equally satisfied birthday girl. He instead saw a brown-eyed beauty in full come-hither mode.
"Don't go," Sadie said. "I know we should turn in, but I don't want to. I've waited twenty years for a night like this. I want it to last a little longer."
Kevin frowned and then chuckled as he thought about broken promises and slippery slopes.
"Let me guess," Kevin said. "Four is really your favorite number."
"No."
"No?"
"No," Sadie repeated. "It's not five either."
She smiled sweetly.
"It's a hundred and six."
CHAPTER 56: KEVIN
Saturday, June 11, 1910
"It's no big deal, Andy. I gave her a few kisses, that's all."
Andy O'Connell roared with laughter as he stood on Maude's front porch.
"You did more than give her a few kisses. You sucked on her face for three hours. I'd say you made up for forgetting her birthday."
Kevin glared at the reporter in residence.
"If you mention a word of this to Sarah, I'll light your bed on fire with you in it."
The Fire (Northwest Passage Book 4) Page 25
