by LL Muir
Isaac’s pretty-boy face darkened. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Take it however ye will. Just know that I’m surprised even her sister is content with such.”
Isaac’s fists clenched. “If you’re talking about what I think you’re talking about, then Allison is a liar. We never did any of that. She was too much of a prude and insisted on waiting for marriage. So if you’re saying she let you get past third base, you’re full of it, buddy.”
Taunting smile in place, Kenrick leaned forward conspiratorially, his newfound knowledge of baseball serving him well. “Whereas with her sister, I’ve no doubt you’ve gotten to third base and … beyond.”
Isaac’s fist shot out and hit Kenrick in the cheek.
Finally!
Kenrick laughed at the paltry strike and wasted no time battering the man, first with a left to the man’s filthy mouth, and then with a hard right to his nose.
The crunch was most satisfying. If it healed crooked, Kenrick would consider the deed doubly blessed.
Isaac was screaming before he hit the ground.
Kenrick stood above him and rubbed his fist, though it did not hurt as much as he would’ve thought. The man was truly soft all over.
Allison came running and gave him a look of horror. “Why did you do that? You told me you wouldn’t do that! How am I supposed to trust you?” She fell to her knees before the fallen man, and fussed over him.
She didn’t trust him? That hurt. He’d only thought to defend her and to right past wrongs. “’Twas but a paltry quarrel between men. Nothing more.”
“You can’t hurt those weaker than yourself! You just can’t do that, Kenrick!”
Oh. Aye, then. How had he forgotten that Allison patched up animals for a living?
She didn’t like to see the weak get hurt.
And now she didn’t trust him?
Chapter 12
“Seriously, I just can’t believe you hit him!”
Kenrick winced.
Isaac lay moaning on the ground, his hand covering his bleeding nose as he arched his back and rocked back and forth dramatically.
The man should have taken to the stage.
Kenrick wanted to snatch his girl away but Allison hovered her hands over Isaac’s face, as if unsure how to help.
Only time would heal a split lip and broken nose.
He would know.
She turned her head to glare at him and Kenrick found himself glaring down at the injured man in turn. His lip curled in disgust.
“Are you kidding me right now? This is not okay! Why would you do this?”
Kenrick’s chin jutted. “If a man does not wish to fight, he should not be the first to strike.”
He felt a little better when Allison searched his face and no doubt saw the redness there. He didn’t bother to admit he’d goaded the other man to strike him apurpose so he could feel justified in returning the attack.
She didn’t look impressed. “I don’t see any injuries.”
Kenrick rubbed his face, but couldn’t find any soreness. The Toad truly was worthless, wasn’t he?
Allison’s sister arrived, took one look at the man laid out on the ground and gave a little scream. “What have you done to him?”
Isaac glared at Kenrick, petulant. “He hit me. Twice.”
“Isaac hit Kenrick first,” Allison was quick to insert. Kenrick felt tension release from his body. That she would take up for him meant much.
The sister, Linnie, glared at Allison. “He’s not yours anymore, so get away from him.”
Allison stood and stepped back from the man, and that suited Kenrick well.
Linnie glared up at him. “Just so you’re aware, we will be pressing charges.”
Kenrick had no idea what she was talking about, and held his hand out to Allison.
She grasped it and searched his expression. If she was looking for any kind of remorse, she was going to have to search for a very long time. Though he was sorry for distressing her.
He tucked her under his arm and walked away from the two on the ground.
Behind him, he could hear Allison’s parents exclaiming, and a moment later felt a hand on his shoulder stopping him.
He quickly let go of Allison and turned.
It was at Allison’s brother, Nathan. “Sorry bud, but you’re going to have to come with me.”
Allison shoved at her brother’s shoulder. “What are you doing, Nathan?”
“In this city, you can’t go around hitting people whenever you feel like it.”
“Isaac hit him first.”
“I don’t see injuries. Our boy here is military and trained in hand-to-hand combat. Isaac is obviously not. Do you see the difference?”
Allison glanced down. “No, I don’t.”
“I do.” Yancy joined them, looking disappointed.
Kenrick did as well. He tried to dredge some sort of remorse for his actions, but considering the hurt the weaker man had caused Allison, all he found was satisfaction.
Nathan gave him a push toward the cars and Kenrick went with him, not wanting to cause further distress.
“So what? You’re just going to arrest him?”
His heart lightened to hear Allison take up for him once more.
“I’m just takin’ him in until he calms down.”
“He’s calm now.”
“Allison, trust me on this.”
If she wished it, Kenrick knew he could fight her brother off. He watched her glance back at Isaac, and when she looked at him again, could still see disappointment in her face. “All right, just go Kenrick. I’ll see you later.”
He remained motionless, more let down than he cared to acknowledge. “Ye wish me to leave?”
“Maybe it’s for the best. Maybe I shouldn’t have gotten you involved in all of this.”
He swallowed painfully, a despairing sinking of his stomach making him feel sick. He’d heard similar words before, hadn’t he? When he’d left for war, his wife had considered it for the best. She’d wasted no time finding another man. A better man. Is that what Allison wanted? Had he disappointed her so much she wanted to see the last of him before he had to leave?
When Nathan tugged at his shoulder again, this time, he simply turned, a strange, numb feeling invading him.
“Let’s go, buddy.”
Pushing back the hurt, he shrugged the other man’s hand off of his shoulder.
“Fine by me.”
Tara joined her, concern in her expression. “You okay?”
“I guess.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll go after them and make sure it’s all good.”
Allison sighed and handed Tara her keys. “Thanks. Family reunions, huh? What a joke.” Allison watched Nathan haul Kenrick away with an equal measure of relief and worry. Then she glanced at the mess that was her family.
Linnie was crying now. Of course she was.
And accusing Kenrick and Allison of all sorts of conspiracies as their parents tried to console her and clean Isaac up.
Nathan taking Kenrick away from all this was for the best, she assured herself. Certainly less incendiary and less embarrassing for all concerned. Especially her. She didn’t want him thinking poorly of her and her family.
She blew out a breath and walked over to the group and glared down at Isaac.
“What?” He snarled.
“You started this, and you know it.”
The petulant look that was never far from his face sank into deep lines of sulkiness. “He didn’t have to hit me so hard, did he?”
“I don’t think he can help it. He has hard fists.”
Isaac looked down at his own hand, and shook it out. “His face is hard too.”
“So you admit you started it.”
“He wanted me to hit him.”
“But you did, right?”
He glared. “You know, Allison, you have to take the blame for your part in this too.”
“My part?”
“Yes,” Linnie
jumped in. “You’ve just loved everyone in the entire family feeling sorry for you, haven’t you?”
“Now that’s hardly fair.” Her father shook his head.
“No, it is fair. If she ever loved him to begin with, that would be one thing. But how brokenhearted can she be when she immediately picked up another fiancé?”
“Not very.” Isaac actually had the nerve to sound disgruntled.
No matter what she said, she couldn’t win. If she stuck with whirlwind romance, she looked fickle. If she admitted she’d barely met Kenrick and had faked the entire engagement to save face, then she looked pathetic. It irked her that her sister was trying to wiggle out of taking responsibility for stealing her crappy, lame fiancé like it didn’t mean a thing and she was somehow justified.
Had she loved Isaac? She looked at him sitting on the ground, playing the moment for all it was worth, and realized all she felt was relief that he wasn’t her problem.
Linnie could have him, and she meant that with all of her heart.
But she did want Linnie to feel bad for stabbing her in the back.
She looked at her sister, at the emotion in her face, and believed for the first time that maybe her sister really did love The Toad.
“Just admit it, Allison.” Linnie glared.
“If I do, if I let you off the hook for being such a crappy sister, then I’d better not hear any more talk about pressing charges against my fiancé for assault.”
Isaac jumped to his feet and wrapped an arm around Linnie. “Done. If you’ll forgive me, and Linnie, and if you won’t call me The Toad anymore, I won’t press charges against your boyfriend.”
“Fiancé.” Her eyes narrowed. What a toad. She glanced at her hopeful parents, who hated the contention this had caused in the family. “Just so we’re clear, the charges wouldn’t stick anyway. You started it.”
Isaac and Linnie looked hopeful too. They’d certainly wronged her, no matter how they wanted to come out of this smelling like roses. And she knew her sister was worried about her wedding day being ruined.
There was a deep well of resentment over what they’d done. They deserved every bit of the scorn anyone cared to heap upon them.
Still, she didn’t want anyone’s pity and she was ready let go of the anger. “All right, it’s a deal. It turns out you did me a favor anyway,” she stressed.
Their mother gave both girls a hug, and then encouraged everyone to get back to eating. Playing. Activities. Family.
Allison gave Linnie and Isaac a nod, then turned on her toe and walked away.
Really, what else was there to say?
By the time they made it to the police station, Kenrick had regained some of his equilibrium. As he looked around at the hustle and bustle, Nathan was telling him, “I like you, I do.” He was friendly, and perhaps a bit discomfited. At least Kenrick hoped he was. The man deserved to feel sheepish after the way he’d overreacted.
Nathan kept his hand upon Kenrick’s shoulder as he led him past desks surrounded by people in what he’d called, the police station. “And I happen to think you and my sister make a great couple. But the thing is, I know my sister. She’s gonna need a minute to calm down about all of this and think it through. So we’ll just give her a bit of time. Comprende?”
Kenrick grunted. He should never have gone with the man. A few hurt feelings and off he’d sulked like a child.
“You’ll only be here for a couple hours tops. The reunion will be over, and you two can kiss and makeup. How’s that?”
A few hours?
Kenrick looked out a window at the bright, sunny day and it hit him that Soni could show up at any time. A jumble of emotion twisted in his chest. Anger, frustration, fear.
Nathan pushed him through a door and toward a jail cell and he stumbled apurpose, trying to buy more time. To think.
“’Twas but a scuffle and a few tears. Ye’re locking me away for such?”
“Just until you calm down.”
Kenrick frowned. “I am calm.” Even as he said the words, he knew he wasn’t. He’d been in Texas almost two complete days now. Surely the witch would come for him soon? Would Soni think he’d accomplished the task she’d set for him? Had he done his good deed? What if Soni found him in a cell rather than doing his duty? Might she believe he’d done naught?
Anyway, he didn’t want to go. He needed to see Allison again. He couldn’t let Nathan lock him in.
Nathan’s hand at his back urged him toward an empty cell, but Kenrick balked. “I can’t let ye lock me in here.” He tried to move around the man.
Nathan, all traces of apology erased from his face, blocked his path. “And I can’t let you leave.”
Kenrick pushed past and only made it a few feet when Nathan grabbed him from behind by the shoulders and pulled. Kenrick stumbled back. He twisted his body to get away from Nathan until the two men were facing each other. “Apologies, Nathan, but ye’ll not be locking me away, after all.”
A scuffle ensued, and Kenrick considered breaking the other man’s arm, his knee, or even his nose, but wasn’t willing to seriously hurt Allison’s brother. If she was upset by The Toad’s injuries, he could only imagine how she’d feel if her beloved brother were harmed.
Kenrick shoved off the other man and backed a pace. “Ye doonae understand, I cannae be locked away here. I doonae have much time left.”
Nathan was breathing hard. “Buddy, from where I’m standing, you have all the time in the world. Like I said. You need to calm down. Regardless of your attempted escape, you’ll still only be in here for a short time. But you will be here.”
“Two hours is too long! It took less than an hour for me to go to my death the last time, and I’ll not have it happen again while wasting my time behind bars!” Kenrick grabbed the man by his shirt and pulled.
Nathan tried to shove him away. “You’re being ridiculous. Nobody’s going to kill you in here, I can promise you that. You’ve been watching too much TV, man.”
The door to the jail swung open and Tara stood there. “Hey guys, what’s going on?”
They both froze in a grappling position, Nathan grasping Kenrick shirt, and Kenrick shoving against Nathan shoulder.
Tara arched brow. “You just never know what you might find when you open a door these days, do you? Shall I tell Allison about this? Or do you think we should keep it between ourselves?”
Kenrick let out a harsh breath. “I’m verra relieved to see ye, lass.”
She grinned. “It’s always nice to be appreciated.”
Nathan snorted. “Tara, What you doing here? You’re not allowed to be here, and you know it.”
“What is that supposed to mean? You’re acting like I’m in here every other day, and that I know my way around the place or something. Is there a list of rules posted that I was supposed to read?”
Nathan shook his head. “You and your smart mouth.”
“Whatever. I’m just here to talk to the dangerous criminal. You know, the one who was defending his fiancé, your sister?”
Nathan scowled at her but let loose of Kenrick. “Don’t give me any grief.”
“Why? You don’t want to hear that you overreacted? Couldn’t you have just taken the guy for a plate of food or something?”
Kenrick straightened, dropping his grip on Nathan. “Can ye get me out of here, lass?”
Nathan shot him a dirty look. “No, she can’t.”
“I’ll hear the words from the witch herself. Can ye help me, lass?”
“The witch?” Nathan’s tone was scathing. “Is that a joke?”
Kenrick was surprised at the man’s bravery. He would never naysay a witch to her face. Not even Soni, though everyone knew she was sweet of temper. The thought of Soni made him tense again. He needed to see Allison again before he left. What if Soni arrived before he had the chance to explain his actions? He needed to sooth Allison’s anger, and make her understand he’d only wanted to avenge her, to give her back a bit of her pride.
Had he left anything undone? Had he accomplished the task set before him? In truth, he felt he’d not done much since he arrived but enjoy himself.
Would Soni grant him extra time? Or would she simply be ashamed of his lack of progress?
“Tara, lass. Doonae listen to the man. I know ye can free me if ye wish it.”
Tara glanced at Nathan, and then back to him again. Her shoulders straightened, and she cracked the knuckles of one hand. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Chapter 13
Feeling bereft, Allison turned away from her family to search the car park.
Tara had gone after Nathan and Kenrick.
She should have gone too. Had she been too harsh? Kenrick had defended her and that wasn’t a bad thing, was it? Wasn’t it sort of what she’d wished for?
She started to walk away from her family.
Her mother watched her with concern. “Allison? Where are you goin’, honey?”
That brought her father’s head up. “She’s not going anywhere, is she? I don’t know who that guy thinks he is, but I don’t condone non-military violence, and if that’s all he has to offer this family, he can just move on.”
Allison frowned. “You know he didn’t start it.”
Her father threw some bloody tissues in the garbage. “But he sure finished it, didn’t he?”
She didn’t have time for this. “You know what? We’ll talk about this later. I’m headed to the jail.”
“You know your brother was simply doing his duty, right?” Her mother sounded worried.
Her father crossed his arms. “And protecting his family from a lunatic.”
“Daddy, that’s enough. Don’t act like you haven’t gotten in your own fights before in this very town. With non-military personnel.”
Her father opened his mouth to retort, then closed it again.
“That’s right. Don’t be a hypocrite.”
“Now, Allison,” her mother began.
Allison threw up a hand and started to walk toward her truck. “I don’t have time for this. I’ve got to go get Kenrick.”
“Allison are you sure?”
