Fighting for Keeps

by Jennifer Snow

  “No problem, dear.” Darlene smiled at the girls. “I’ve been spending a lot of time at Victoria’s helping her with Harper.” She lifted Mackenzie from her high chair and set her on her knee. “So, I spoke to Ginger and she said she can deliver to the baked-goods tent by 7:00 a.m. That way Victoria will have plenty of time to get everything unwrapped and displayed on the tables for the sale.” She checked her list. “Moving on to your zone—you have everything under control?”

  “Yes. We’ll use the same tent and demo setup that we used at the May Heart Health Awareness clinic, with the blood-pressure monitoring and the Heart Watch program video.”

  It wasn’t the most exciting booth, but it served as the medic tent and Lost and Found. It was functional, if not fun.

  Lindsay scanned the volunteer sheet. “Who do we have in the tank this year?” The mayor would do his customary dunk, where they would raffle off tickets to decide who had a shot at three attempts. Of course, whether the person hit the bull’s-eye or not, the lever would be tripped and in he’d go.

  “Oh, I forgot to fill in the spaces,” Darlene said, handing Lindsay her pen. “It’s Mark Adams...”

  “Good choice. I wouldn’t mind dunking him repeatedly myself,” she muttered as she wrote his name on the line. “Who else?”

  “Noah Parks.”

  Her eyes widened. “Noah agreed to do this?”

  He was terrified of water. He’d insisted on wearing two life jackets on the boat at Bailey Sheppard’s family picnic at their lake house the year before.

  “Yes, but only when I told him who’d be running the booth.” She eyed her suspiciously. “You wouldn’t know why that is, would you?”

  Lindsay hid a smile as she shrugged. “No idea.”

  * * *

  “THESE LOOK SO GOOD,” Lindsay said, eyeing a tray of chocolate peanut-butter cookies inside the B and B tent. “I’d gain ten pounds if I was stationed in this booth today.”

  “I’m already halfway there.” Victoria held up a chocolate-coconut snowball as she continued to stick prices on the trays of desserts. In her yoga shorts and a flowing white tank top, no one would ever guess the woman had recently had a baby.

  Her luck never seemed to run out, Lindsay mused.

  “Well, Melissa and I thought we’d stop by to see if you needed any help setting up.” She scanned the tent.

  “Actually, somehow I think I managed to get everything done...” Victoria checked her watch. “And early. Where are the other kids?”

  “Ben has them. They went down to the lake to watch the kayak races.”

  “By himself?”

  “Oh, no—do you really think I’d be this calm?” Sure, Ben was proving to be the better of the two of them with the kids, but she wasn’t that confident in his abilities. “Leigh and Logan and their girls are with him.”

  Victoria looked relieved. “Oh, well, as long as Leigh is there, they’re good.” Leigh was a miracle worker with children. She could probably handle all six children herself, which made Lindsay question yet again why her brother and sister-in-law had chosen her for this role.

  “Are you all set up on your side?” Victoria asked.

  “Almost. Tent is up, scary heart-attack video cued and ready to cause panic-induced health kicks for about a week. And the firefighters are here filling the dunk tank. Mark is up first at eight.”

  She checked her watch. In ten minutes.

  “That should be lucrative,” Victoria said, her mouth full of coconut.

  “We’re hoping. Anyway, stay hydrated and out of the sun as much as possible...and make sure to wear sunblock. It’s already a scorcher out there and the day hasn’t even really started.”

  “Thanks for the reminder. I will.” Victoria dropped into the chair behind the front table and reached for her metal cash box.

  “Hey, Mel,” Lindsay said before leaving, “why don’t you stay here and run Aunt Vic’s booth with her?” Last year the little girl had been excited to help her mother and Victoria inside the B and B tent.

  Melissa stared at her feet and mumbled, “I’d rather watch the firefighters.”

  “Really, Lindsay, who wouldn’t?” Victoria waved them off. “Go on, sweetheart. Take pictures, okay?”

  “Will do, Auntie Vic. I’ll post them to Facebook so you can see.”

  “Facebook? I thought your dad canceled your page,” Lindsay said, knowing she hadn’t reactivated it.

  Melissa shrugged. “He’s not here anymore, is he?”

  Victoria’s eyes widened.

  Lindsay’s stomach tightened. “Okay, we’ll talk about that later.”

  At her tent she was relieved to see the dunk tank was full. The ice-cold water would heat in no time with the sun beating down on it. Mark Adams was pulling up in his convertible.

  “You’re actually on time,” she said, checking her watch—8:01 a.m.—close enough, anyway. Unlike any date they’d gone on in the past.

  “Anything for charity,” he said, his charming grin too perfect for so early in the morning.

  “Any excuse to show off your body, you mean.”

  “Hey, this doesn’t just happen overnight, you know,” he said, flexing his chest muscles as he approached the tank, his bleached-blond hair reflecting the sun. He eyed the glass tank. “How cold is the water?”

  “Cold,” she said.

  “Hey, Mark,” Melissa said shyly next to her.

  He bent and slid his glasses to the top of his head. “Hey, Mel. How are you?”

  The girl actually swooned and Lindsay had to take her by the hand. “Come on, I’ll give you something to do.”

  This one was going to be trouble.

  * * *

  “HOW’S IT GOING?” Noah asked Melanie as he watched his buddy and fellow firefighter take a dunk into the tank at noon that day, an hour before his own shift was scheduled to begin.

  The park was packed with people enjoying the rides and carnival snacks, and the fund-raising booths were just as busy.

  He was happy to see that inside the medical tent no one was being treated for heat stroke yet.

  One small boy sat in the Lost and Found, but he didn’t seem worried as he ate a Popsicle and colored with Melissa.

  “Great! Because of Mark’s reputation around town, we’ve already raised over a thousand dollars. We’re thinking about leaving him in there all day,” Melanie said with a laugh.

  “Forget that.” Mark climbed back up onto his perch. “I warmed the water up for you, Noah.”

  “You better not have peed in there, man,” he said.

  Melissa giggled. “You’re funny.”

  “Do me a favor and tell your aunt that, okay?”

  “Mel, Aunt Vic texted and said they’re really busy over at her tent and she could use your help. Can you head over there now, please?” Lindsay asked.

  The girl looked ready to protest, but Noah said, “I’ll walk you.” He tucked his motorcycle helmet under the desk in the tent and took off his leather jacket.

  Three females took in his chest and biceps visible through the sweat-drenched shirt clinging to him. Wow, he really must be eye candy if they couldn’t take their eyes off someone as sweaty as he was.

  As long as Lindsay liked what she saw, he was okay with that.

  “She’s okay to walk over by herself. It’s not far,” Lindsay said, earning her a scowl from Melissa.

  “Shh, Aunt Lindsay. No I’m not,” she told Noah.

  Lindsay shook her head as the girl tucked her tiny hand in his.

  “I’ll be right back,” Noah said with a wink.

  “I don’t understand why Aunt Lindsay doesn’t like you,” Melissa said as they made their way toward the B and B tent near the kid’s splash park and trampoline zone.

 
Oh, she liked him. He knew that for sure, but he played along. “Me, either, kiddo.”

  “I mean you’re cute and funny...I like boys who are cute and funny.”

  He frowned. “What boys? You’re eight.”

  “Almost nine. And I’ve had a boyfriend since kindergarten,” she said, tossing her tangled blond ponytail over her shoulder.

  He prayed that if he ever had children, he didn’t have a girl. “Well, your aunt doesn’t approve of my career choice.”

  “Fighting, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It does kind of suck. I mean you’d never hit someone on the street, right?”

  “No, of course not...never... I mean unless they were hurting a child or animal or something.”

  “Naturally,” she said with a nod, and he laughed. But his smile faded as she added, “So why is it okay to hit someone in the ring?”

  The little girl and her aunt really knew how to make him squirm.

  “Well, it’s a sport. It’s a competition of athletics really. We don’t just hit—we kick or submit with choke holds or arm bars...”

  That didn’t sound much better, he realized.

  She wrinkled her nose in disgust as she shook her head. “I think I agree with Aunt Lindsay on this one. Sorry, Noah.”

  They’d reached the B and B tent and Melissa hurried inside when she saw that the line to buy baked goods extended far past the shade of the canopy.

  Well, enlisting the help of the girl to get her aunt’s attention was obviously out of the question.

  * * *

  AS HIS BODY hit the cool water below him, Noah waved his arms frantically. The water wasn’t deep, but it was over his head and the surge to the top took a little longer than he’d expected.

  Sputtering, he wiped his eyes as he climbed back onto the perch.

  Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lindsay watching him. “Nothing to it,” he said through the glass.

  She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to the line of people waiting to pay for the opportunity to dunk him. He scanned the long line. He didn’t know he’d alienated so many people in Brookhollow.

  By the time his first ten-minute break arrived, he’d lost count of how many times he’d hit the water. A lot of people had fantastic aim.

  Brookhollow should really consider starting its own baseball team.

  Climbing out of the tank, he accepted a towel from Lindsay. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you. So far we’ve raised another thousand dollars. Keep this up and you’ll raise more than Mark.”

  “I thought people around here liked me better than him,” he said, only half teasing. He hadn’t dated any of the women in town since moving to Brookhollow from Beach Haven the year before, yet there were far too many women lining up for the opportunity to dunk his butt.

  “They do. They like looking at you better, as well,” she said before clamping her lips tightly together.

  She handed him a bottle of water but he shook his head. “No, thank you, I’m surprised there’s any water left in that tank, I’ve swallowed so much of it.” He sat on a bench in the shade of the tent.

  “Hey, Noah, great news,” Brandon said, walking toward them. “I think we may have another sponsor for your fight next weekend.”

  “Really?” Excitement rose in his chest. “That’s awesome.” So far, his only real sponsor was Extreme Athletics and they paid him in free training. The extra payday from sponsors could double his take home from the fight. Right now the money would certainly be appreciated—his bank account was quickly depleting and that month’s rent would once again be late. Luckily his coach believed in him enough to know that once he made it to the UFC, money would come.

  Next to him, Lindsay’s face clouded and she busied herself with the DVD player, restarting the disgusting what-clogged-arteries-look-like video.

  His excitement faded. Any mention of fighting around her and she closed off. He stood and moved closer to his coach to continue the conversation away from her.

  “Who is it?”

  Brandon hesitated. “Um, why don’t we meet at the pool hall later and I’ll bring the sponsorship clothes they provided.”

  Clothes? Wow, that was top-of-the-line sponsorship. Usually beginning fighters had to settle for water bottles or towels that would make an appearance on the PPV a couple of times throughout the fight. Clothing sponsors usually held out for the big-name fighters, who would be covered in logos throughout the fight. “Sure... Hey, what are you doing?”

  Brandon handed Melanie several bills. “Paying to dunk you.”

  “Break time’s up,” Lindsay said, taking the towel from him. “Get back in.”

  Clearly, she was still annoyed about the sponsorship.

  Noah took her by the arm as she moved away. “I tell you what. I’ll climb back in there, and you get one shot. If you miss, you go out with me tonight.”

  “And if you go in, what do I get?”

  It was nearly impossible not to kiss her. Wipe that perturbed expression from her face.

  “You get to go out with me tonight,” he said, trying to pull her toward his still-wet body.

  She resisted with a laugh. “Nice try. How about, if you go in, you help me take all of this stuff back to the clinic later today.”

  He nodded. “Okay, deal.” The way he saw it, either way he’d get a chance to spend time with her.

  She waited for him to climb back into the tank. Before he’d barely gotten comfortable she took aim and his butt hit the water.

  Dammit.

  He wiped his face as he came to the surface. She stood smiling at him.

  “I have to catch up with Ben and the kids. I’ll be back at five to start packing up,” she said with a wink.

  He watched as she skipped off toward the fairgrounds.

  Climbing back onto the seat for the millionth time, he sighed when he saw his coach was next.

  “Don’t get too comfy,” Brandon said, releasing the ball.

  * * *

  “HEY, GUYS. HOW are the fairgrounds?” Lindsay asked. Ben was pushing the twin’s double stroller; the boys, shooting each other with water guns, in tow. She’d been relieved when they’d been excited about going that morning and it eased her stress a little to see them laughing and having fun.

  “Great,” he said, but he sounded exhausted. Three hours alone at the fair with four children would be a challenge for anyone. “The kids were getting hungry, so we were heading toward the food carts. Do you have time to eat?”

  “Yeah,” she said, taking Jacob and Caleb’s hands as they made their way to the concession stands. “Are you guys having fun?”

  Jacob nodded, leaning around her to shoot a stream of water at his brother. “Ben bought us these awesome water guns.”

  “Bought them? I thought you had to win them at the games?”

  “Usually you do,” Caleb said. “But the man behind the booth said Ben had spent so much money trying to win them he could have bought eight, so he gave us two.”

  “Thanks, guys,” Ben said.

  “Not such a great aim?” Lindsay asked, trying not to laugh.

  “Well, those hit-the-target games aren’t really designed to win anyway,” he said defensively.

  “I bet Aunt Lindsay could do it,” Noah said from behind them.

  She turned. “What are you doing out of the dunk tank?”

  He smiled. “Fate must have been smiling on me...Brandon broke the lever.”

  “What? Seriously?” Brandon and his stupid big muscles.

  “Afraid so.”

  “That’s fantastic,” she grumbled. Losing the dunk tank profits halfway through the afternoon wasn’t ideal.

  “Don’t worry. Brandon and Extreme Athletics offer
ed to pay to fix it and they donated a thousand dollars to the clinic to make up for any funds lost.”

  She sighed and eased the tension out of her shoulders. “Where is he? I should go thank him. Even with you in there we’d never have raised that much this afternoon.”

  “He left. But we’re meeting tonight at the pool hall if you want to join us.”

  She glanced at Ben who was watching the boys chase each other around the babies’ stroller. She knew he was listening and waiting to hear her answer.

  “I can’t tonight. I’ll send him a thank-you card from the clinic. But when you see him, let him know I appreciate the donation.”

  “Will do.” Noah glanced between her and Ben and the kids, and the silence grew awkward until he finally said, “Well, I’ll see you at the booth at five to help take it down.”

  * * *

  “WHERE SHOULD I put this stuff?” Noah asked as they struggled to carry their armloads in through the back door of the clinic.

  Lindsay hesitated. How on earth had all of this stuff been packed in here the day before? It seemed impossible the tent and all of the exhibit stuff had been stored in this tiny room. “Um...”

  “Don’t rush. It’s not heavy,” Noah said, groaning behind her.

  She turned, her hands on her hips. “I thought you were supposed to be strong or something?”

  “My muscles are still frozen from that 30-degree water you insisted on dunking me in, remember?”

  How could she forget? Noah’s shirtless body on the dunk-tank platform had made it impossible to focus on running the health-clinic booth. Luckily there hadn’t been any heat-stroke patients.

  “Sorry, let me quickly move a few things...” She put her own load down then rearranged several boxes on the storage shelves, before turning to take one of the boxes from him.

  Her arms dipped and she struggled to catch the thirty-pound box before it slipped out of her hands. And he was carrying three of these? She set it aside and reached for another one.

  He shook his head. “Move aside. I’ll stack them.”

  She moved past him back out into the hall. When he came out to join her, she closed the door and locked it.