by Amy Vastine
“I can’t lie. I have a good feeling about you two. And you know I’m never wrong.”
Nancy let out a sharp laugh. “Never wrong?”
“What? I have a perfect record of matching people with their perfect mate.” She had called the relationship between Piper Starling and Sawyer Stratton before they made their relationship public. She had guessed Rob from accounting was interested in Julie from marketing. She’d set up their social media expert with her fiancé. It was a gift.
“Says the woman with the worst dating history known to man. How am I supposed to trust you to pick the perfect person for me when you’ve failed so miserably finding the right person for yourself?”
“Hurtful.”
“Don’t deny it. Ben? Liam? Sammy? And don’t make me mention Ian.”
Kelly covered her ears with her hands. “Stop. I get it. I am terrible at choosing a man for myself. I am aware.”
Kelly wasn’t sure why she was so much better at matchmaking for others but only seemed to attract the wrong men over and over.
“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to throw those guys in your face. You’re right, Lyle seems like a good match for me. I’m just not sure I want to put our professional relationship in jeopardy.”
Lyle would be so disappointed, but Kelly could respect Nancy’s feelings and her boundaries. It was a shame, though.
When Kelly finished for the day, she went out to the lobby, where Donovan had stationed himself. Hopefully, he hadn’t been too much of a distraction for Juliette. He had wanted to be where people came in if they were delivering gifts or if they were there to...kidnap her or something.
“How long do you bake it for?” Juliette asked.
Donovan was leaning against the reception desk. “You only need to put it in the oven for ten minutes or until the cheese is melted.”
Juliette wrote that down on the notepad in front of her. “I am making this tonight. My husband loves Mexican food.”
“There are never leftovers at my house when I make those chicken enchiladas,” Donovan said.
Kelly had no doubt that was true. If he cooked Mexican like he did Italian, it would probably rock her world. She wondered what it would take to get invited for dinner two nights in a row.
“Are we doing a recipe swap out here?” Kelly asked.
“Detective Walsh was telling me about the enchiladas he was making for dinner tonight and I had to steal the recipe,” Juliette said with a smile. “He’s been full of great ideas this afternoon.”
Someone had made a friend. “I’m glad he wasn’t in your way out here.”
“In my way?” Juliette placed a hand on her chest. “Not at all! He kept me company on somewhat of a slow day.”
“I appreciate your hospitality. Have a good night, Juliette,” Donovan said. His gaze fell on Kelly. “You ready to go?”
“Ready when you are.” She motioned for him to lead the way to the elevator. When they made it to the parking garage, they passed by the valet. “Have a good one, gentlemen,” Kelly said to the two attendants.
“Good night, Kelly,” Miller said. Carl just waved.
“You know those guys?” Donovan asked.
“I use the valet here and there when I’m running late and don’t want to search the lot for a spot. They’re nice guys. Always pretend fighting about who’s going to get my car for me. They’re funny.”
Donovan nodded and looked back over his shoulder at them. “Barrel of laughs, those two.”
“So when does my self-defense training begin?”
“I don’t know. What were you thinking? I’m not sure where we should go. Do you belong to a gym?”
“I go to the gym in my building, but that consists of a couple cardio machines and a few free weights. It’s not very big.”
“You don’t have any gym mats at your apartment, do you?”
Kelly chuckled. “No, I do not have gym mats in my apartment. Why do we need mats? Am I going to get to body slam you or something?”
Donovan’s turn to laugh. “No, there will not be any body slamming, but I do want to show you a few escape moves and for safety’s sake, it would be good to have some mats. I’ve got some at home. We could go there.”
“Of course you have gym mats.”
“To be fair, Avery has taken them over. She likes to do her ‘gymnastics’ on them,” he said, using air quotes.
Kelly could picture little Avery doing somersaults and cartwheels, believing she was the next gold medal winner. “Oh, Avery. She makes me fall more in love with her every time you bring her up.”
Donovan’s expression turned grim as he checked his watch. “Maybe we can get everything done before Avery gets home from school.” He unlocked the truck. “Let’s get you home so you can change clothes.”
As much as Kelly wanted to prove to her uncle and her mom that she would be able to take care of herself, she felt the nerves creep in at the thought of going back to her apartment. “Do you think it’s safe for me to be home tonight?”
Donovan shrugged. “As long as I do a sweep of the place before I leave, I think you’ll be fine. Your uncle has someone patrolling your neighborhood all night long.”
Knowing that would allow her to rest easier. Accepting help was her new thing.
* * *
DONOVAN KNEW HE needed to be more cautious about letting Kelly too close, but he still couldn’t stop his mouth from inviting her over. Graham was home when they got there, but in his room. That was for the best. He figured he had about an hour before Avery would be dropped off.
“This is quite the workout area. I see how you stay so fit.” Kelly picked up one of his hand weights and did a couple of bicep curls.
His home gym was in the basement, complete with free weights, a punching bag, treadmill and power cage for bench pressing, squatting and deadlifting. Donovan used to work out every day when he was in the military. When he’d returned to civilian life, he needed to keep himself active.
“We’re only going to do a couple things today. First, I want you to remember that the last thing you want to do is get into a physical altercation with someone. If you can get away, always do that instead. Be smart when you’re out in public and do what you can to keep yourself out of harm’s way.”
“So the best self-defense is not having to use self-defense?”
“Correct.”
“What are you guys doing down here?” Graham appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
“Hey, Graham. How’s it going?” Kelly asked.
“I’ve been better. I’ve been worse. What are you two doing? Working out?”
Donovan was about to tell him it was none of his business, but Kelly answered. “Your uncle is teaching me some self-defense moves so he doesn’t have to be my bodyguard forever.”
“Self-defense? You’re going to teach her how to fight?”
“Hopefully she learns how not to have to fight.”
“But you have to show her some moves, right?”
It was unclear where this sudden interest was coming from. Usually, Graham couldn’t care less what Donovan was doing. “I plan to show her a few escape moves. A way to use her body to get an attacker off balance so she can get away.”
“Can I watch?”
“Sure,” Kelly said at the same time Donovan said no.
“I mean, I don’t mind if he’s down here. Unless you don’t want him to stay. He’s your nephew. You decide,” she said.
Now he wasn’t sure what to say. “Don’t you have teenager stuff to take care of?”
“Nope.” Graham sat down on the workout bench.
Donovan hadn’t been expecting to do this with an audience, but it didn’t seem like he’d be able to persuade Graham to leave. “Like I was saying, the first thing to remember is prevention is the best self-defense.”
�
��Yeah, but if someone is after her, trying to kill her, she really can’t do that,” Graham interjected.
“No one is trying to kill her,” Donovan said sternly.
“Sorry we were vague yesterday,” Kelly said. “We didn’t want to talk about it in front of your sister, but I have an obsessed fan who thinks he’s in love with me and wants me to be in love with him. I’m more afraid of him trying to kidnap me than kill me.”
Graham sat forward with his elbows rested on his knees. “So he thinks he’s in love with you because he heard you on the radio?”
Kelly shrugged. “I guess. I don’t know who he is. Maybe I’ve met him, maybe he’s only heard me on the radio. It’s pretty strange.”
“Well, I apologize on behalf of the men in the world. A real man doesn’t make a woman feel unsafe,” Graham said much to Donovan’s surprise. Those were mature sentiments he wasn’t used to hearing from the troubled teen.
“That’s very sweet, buddy.” Kelly seemed genuinely touched. “Thanks.”
“Let’s get started. Shall we?” Donovan asked, wanting to be done before Avery got home and came running down here. No doubt she’d invite Kelly for dinner again and Donovan would be left in that uncomfortable spot once more.
Kelly clapped her hands together. “Let’s go.”
“Prevention means being aware of your surroundings, staying in well-lit areas. If you are confronted, you should try to de-escalate the situation. Try to talk the guy down. In your situation, you want to remind this guy that he doesn’t want to hurt you.”
“I am a good talker. I’ll definitely try to talk him down.”
“If you have to really defend yourself, then you need to know the most sensitive parts of the body. The eyes, nose, ears, neck, groin, knee and legs are the most vulnerable spots on anybody. But don’t forget what I told you yesterday about an attacker being fueled by a lot of adrenaline and maybe drugs or alcohol. He might not feel pain the way an average person would. Hitting him might just make him mad.”
Kelly frowned with her hands on her hips. “You’re not making me feel very confident about fighting someone off.”
“Don’t think about it like fighting someone off. The key is getting away. Escape. You just need to give yourself a chance to put space between you and him.”
“What if there’s more than one person?” Graham asked.
Both Donovan and Kelly turned their heads in his direction. “That’s a good question,” Donovan said. “I guess I’m assuming we’re only dealing with one person in this case.”
“Let’s hope so,” Kelly said, looking a little uneasy at the thought of anything else.
“I’m going to focus on one attacker for right now, okay?”
Kelly nodded. “Can we walk through what a confrontation might look like? You can tell me to strike him where it hurts, but how to do I know what to do when?”
“Hitting is the last option. Don’t forget that.” He needed to let her practice a few escapes. He grabbed her by the wrist, startling her. “I imagine he’s going to do something like this.”
“Hit him in the nose,” Graham suggested.
“What part of ‘hitting is the last option’ did you miss?” Donovan looked at Graham before he tightened his grip on Kelly. “Escape is always your goal. If he grabs you like this, first, I need you to be loud. Back off! Let go of me! Be as loud as you can. You want to get other people’s attention.”
“I can be loud. But how am I supposed to get away when you’re so much stronger than me?” She tried unsuccessfully to pull her arm away.
He tugged her close to him and she lost her balance, falling into him. She placed a hand on his chest to steady herself. Those crystal-blue eyes stared up at him and he lost his train of thought for a moment. It was a good thing he wasn’t driving. He was even more under their spell when she was real versus a photo on a billboard.
He gathered his wits about him and took a step back. “Even though I’m stronger than you, there are weak spots you need to be aware of.” He showed her his grip. “You want to focus on where my thumb is. Instead of pulling back, lean forward and rotate your wrist toward my thumb. See how my grip loosens? Jerk your wrist out right here.”
Kelly did as he directed and was able break free. Her stunned expression was priceless. “I can’t believe that worked!”
Graham was on his feet. “Can I try? Grab my wrist.” He held out his arm. Donovan hadn’t been planning on this being a group lesson, but he didn’t think there was any harm is letting Graham try.
Donovan grabbed Graham’s wrist and talked him through the escape. Even though he usually acted as if following directions would cause him to break out into hives, he did as he was told and was able to get loose.
“I don’t get how that works,” Graham said, staring down as his arm. “You are so much stronger than us.”
Donovan did his best to explain how it worked and showed them two other hold escapes before he heard the sound of the front door slamming. He checked his watch. Somehow he had completely lost track of time.
“Graham? Uncle Donovan?”
“We’re down here, Avery!” Graham shouted.
Seconds later, she was skipping down the stairs. “Kelly! You’re back!”
Donovan could almost hear his sister laughing at him up in heaven. He had done exactly what he’d sworn he wouldn’t do. He felt this enormous pressure to keep the kids happy but protect them from being hurt at the same time. If Graham and Avery didn’t like Kelly so much, things would be easier, but that was clearly never going to be the case.
CHAPTER NINE
“LAST NIGHT, I had the best chicken enchiladas I have ever tasted in my life,” Kelly said into the microphone. “One reason they were so good was I had nothing to do with cooking them. The second reason they were so delicious was they were made with organic ingredients. And do you know where you can get some of the best organic food in Nashville? The Nashville Farmers Market. The Nashville Farmers Market is the perfect place to pick up fresh produce to make dinner tonight. If you aren’t in the mood to cook or maybe aren’t very good at it, like me, there are plenty of restaurants and ready-to-eat goodies. Not hungry? There’s still plenty to do. You can shop or watch a demo or stop by and see yours truly. I’ll be there tonight from four until six, giving away tons of stuff including tickets to the Grace Note Records Concert for the Kids. You know who’s going to be at that show? This lovely lady—” Kelly cued the music “—is Piper Starling.”
Kelly pressed the button to play Piper’s new song and slipped her headphones off, letting them hang around her neck. She wondered if Donovan was listening to her show in the lobby. She knew they piped the music in there, but that didn’t mean he was paying attention.
Hopefully, he wasn’t annoyed if he was listening. She had only told him how good his food was about a hundred times last night because it had seemed like Donovan wasn’t thrilled about her staying even though he had said it was fine. After dinner, he took her back to her apartment, made sure no one was hiding in there and left with nothing more than a Good night, see you tomorrow.
She couldn’t help but be a bit paranoid about what she had done to make Donovan so standoffish, as her uncle would say. After the ups and downs of their first day together, she thought they had bonded yesterday. It was the perfect example of why she was terrible at finding the right man. She was terrible at reading the signs when it came to her own relationships.
Nancy came into the studio. “Are you going to have enough time to grab lunch with me or are you going to head straight over to the farmers market when you get off-air?”
“I was thinking about getting food at the farmers market. Do you want to come with me?” she offered, part of her hoping Nancy would say no so things wouldn’t be more awkward with Donovan there.
“I have to meet with Stan after lunch to go over a few things. W
e’ll go out on Monday. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Nancy left with a smile and a wave. Relieved, Kelly put her headphones back on. Lyle, from the control room, spoke to her through them. “I don’t mean to be a pest, but have you spoken to her yet? I’m starting to lose my nerve. Should I lose my nerve?”
The last thing she wanted to do was break Lyle’s heart. On the other hand, if she didn’t tell him the truth, Nancy would break his heart a lot worse.
She made eye contact with him and gave him a sad smile. “I’m not sure she’s over her ex. I can try to talk to her again, but I got the impression she thinks it’s too soon for her to date.”
“I never liked that Harrison guy,” Lyle said. The disappointment was all over his face. “Did you ever notice how one of his eyebrows was crooked? That bugged me so much.”
“Yes! Thank you! It’s totally crooked.” It felt good to have someone agree with her for once but bad to be right about how Nancy’s disinterest would hurt Lyle. “I’m sorry the timing isn’t right, buddy.”
Lyle shrugged it off. “Thanks for feeling her out. Saves me a face-to-face rejection.”
He pulled at her heartstrings. Nancy was missing out by not giving Lyle a chance. There was nothing worse than having unrequited feelings for someone.
Trish, the station’s intern, was the only one joining Kelly at the farmers market today. Since they weren’t broadcasting from there, Lyle wasn’t needed. It was awkward explaining who Donovan was and why he was hovering by their booth.
“I’m going to grab something to eat before we set up. Do you want to come with me?” Kelly asked Trish.
“I ate at the station. I can start putting things together for you while you go eat.” Trish was young and very motivated. She had boundless energy, reminding Kelly of a puppy with two modes—asleep and full-speed. Kelly couldn’t have stopped her from doing everything on her own if she tried.
Nashville Farmers Market had two open-air sheds, a greenhouse, an enormous garden center and at least two dozen restaurants and shops. The market attracted local ranchers, dairy farmers and crafters. People sold their cheeses, baked goods and other farm-direct goodies like honey and jams. The fruit and vegetable stands were overflowing with produce. There was also an excellent deli in the Market House, along with a creperie that made chocolate hazelnut crepes that were pure heaven. Kelly had her heart set on one thing, though, a grilled cheese masterpiece from the Grilled Cheese People food truck.