“Thanks you’re a lifesaver. I’ll call Loretta and let her know you’re dropping him around.”
“Okay, I’m leaving now. I’ll call you when I get him. Can you let the school know I’m picking him up?”
“Yes.”
“Talk to you soon.”
And that was that.
Dane was about to save my arse—again.
Dane
Fuck! I was going to be late. We had a training session scheduled for this afternoon. I tore into the school grounds and up to administration.
I recognised the girl on reception from last year when I did the talk on bullying. She was a flirty blonde. “Hi there! Dane, isn’t it?” she said recognising me immediately and giving me a huge sexy smile.
“Yes,” I answered flatly. I didn’t have time nor was I interested in flirting with her. “I’m here to pick up Isaac Le Flegg.”
“Oh! I’ll just call Mrs Peterson to let her know.” She threw me another suggestive smile, trying once more. I turned my head and stared at the merit board off to the left.
She got the message and told me Mrs Peterson would be with me momentarily.
I nodded coolly.
A couple of minutes later a well-dressed forty-something woman appeared with Isaac in tow. I wondered if she was new to the school. I hadn’t met her before.
“Mr Roberts?” She cocked her eyebrow at me in question as Isaac rushed over and threw his arms around my waist and, if I wasn’t mistaken, he had a bruise just starting to form on his cheek. That pissed me off.
“Dane you came!” he called and the relief in his little voice was evident.
“Yes that’s me,” I said to Mrs Peterson.
“Ms Le Flegg said you were coming to collect Isaac. Can I see some identification please?”
“Sure.” It was pretty damned obvious who I was based on Isaac’s response, but I was pleased they were taking security seriously. I grabbed my wallet from my back pocket and passed over my driver’s licence. She took a moment to study it and me before passing it back.
“He’s been asking for you.” That surprised me. I would have thought he’d want Arianne.
My curiosity piqued. “What happened? Ari said there’d been some sort of incident in the playground.”
Mrs Peterson suddenly looked a little embarrassed. “Isaac had a bit of a disagreement with a couple of children from the grade above.”
“The boys were being mean to me Dane, like the other day. They called me weirdo then punched me and it really hurt.” I didn’t miss the glare that Mrs Peterson gave him.
“I’m not sure that’s how it happened, Isaac.” And I saw red. I smelt a cover up coming.
“Well, I can’t say I’m surprised.” That sat her back on her heels a little. “Last week when Arianne and I picked up Isaac, he was being hassled by a few of the older boys. I reminded them of the no bullying policy. I teach at the local martial arts dojo and Principal March had me come in last year to give some talks on bullying. Seems a refresher’s needed.”
The frown she threw me would have stripped paint. “I’m not convinced violence is the answer, Mr Roberts.”
I was about done with the anti-violence attitude. “So getting beaten up is just fine? I’m not condoning aggressive actions Mrs Peterson, but a person or child should not be expected to put up with somebody pulling a violent act against them and not defending themselves. That’s not on.”
“Yes but…”
“I’m sorry Mrs Peterson, we really need to head out. I’ll be sure to mention it to Ari. Come on, man.” Isaac remained glued to my side as I headed for the door.
As soon as I had Isaac in my truck I called Ari before heading off. She answered on the first ring and I knew she’d been waiting on my call.
“How is he?”
“He’s going to have a hell of a shiner on his cheek tomorrow by the look of it.”
“What?” she screeched. “How did that happen?”
“He got picked on in the playground again.” The kid needed to know how to look after himself.
“How did that happen?” How did shit ever go down? Most of the time it just happened.
“I’m not exactly sure, but Isaac has a bruise to show for it and Mrs Peterson seems to be in denial.” That was my high-level appraisal of it.
“I’m done. I’m going to have a meeting with the principal.”
“Good idea. So I’m going to head to Loretta’s now, okay?”
She hesitated for a moment and I knew there was a problem. “I can’t get a hold of her. I’m just leaving here now.”
“Shit.” My mind raced with my options. I was already half an hour late for this afternoon’s training session. Reed would kill me, followed closely by Xander. “I’ve got to be somewhere. How about I drop him with mum?”
“I couldn’t impose on your mum like that.”
“You aren’t. I am. Mum loves kids. She’ll be fine with it.”
“I’m not sure, Dane. He can be difficult with new people.”
I leaned over into the back seat, “Hey buddy, are you okay if I drop you around to hang with my mum for a bit? I’ve got a meeting I need to get to.”
He looked at me with those huge eyes so much like his mothers and I nearly crumbled.
“Will you pick me up after your meeting?”
“Sure will, little mate. If you ask really nicely I’m sure my dad will show you through the car workshop. Would you like that?”
“Oh, wow! Can I?
I put my phone back to my ear. “He’s cool with it.”
“I’m really not sure, Dane.”
My temper was beginning to fray. “Look Ari, right about now I’m doing the best I can to make sure he’s okay at short notice. I’ve got stuff to do. He’ll be fine with mum and dad.”
The call went quiet. “Okay,” she said resignedly. “I’ll pick him up from there.”
“Don’t worry about it. Do what you need to. I’ll be a couple of hours then, I’ll grab him and head home.”
“Okay,” she said quietly.
We said some pleasantries that felt anything but pleasant and ended the call. I called my mum as soon as I hung up and let her know what I needed. Exactly as I expected, she was more than happy to help out.
A few minutes later I pulled in and took Isaac inside to my mum.
“Isaac I’m so pleased you can spend the afternoon with me. I love having visitors.” Just as I knew she’d do, mum immediately smothered Isaac in a big hug. “Now I’m guessing a big boy like you would have an appetite by now. Good thing I brought a big container of my special double chocolate cupcakes in today!”
I watched Isaacs eyes grow wide as mum opened the container and offered him one. The kid took one of the gooey cakes out carefully and bit into it. His eyes lit up. Mum’s cakes were the best.
“You’d better grab another one, young man. One is never enough.” Isaac couldn’t easily respond with his mouth stuffed with cake, but his hand shot out and snagged another while mum chuckled knowingly. “I know what men like to eat.” And she gave Isaac a wink. Isaac smiled and sidled up a little closer to her. She put her arm around him like it was the most natural thing in the world to do.
“Right, you get out of here,” she said to me. “Isaac and I will be fine. We’ve got a workshop to run. Isn’t that right?” The kid nodded briskly still unable to speak with his mouth so full of chocolatey goodness. “Want a cupcake for the road?” she asked me.
“Nah, Mum. I’m good.” I patted my belly. “Training!”
“I’ll never understand it,” she grumbled.
“I’ll swing by in a couple of hours to pick him up.”
“Take your time. We’ll be fine.”
“Thanks Mum, You’re the best.” I dropped a kiss to her forehead and bolted for the door.
My mind switched gears as I finally pulled into Onigashima. I was almost an hour late and I hadn’t taken the time to call Reed or Xander. I was really going to get my arse chewed.
This was going to hurt.
I walked through the door and immediately spotted Xander and Reed working with pads. I didn’t bother taking my training duffle to the lockers, instead I dumped it on the bench seat and grabbed my gloves.
“What do you think you’re doing?” Reed bellowed and I winced. I knew it was going to be bad, I just wondered how bad. “You turn up almost an hour late, you don’t answer your phone, you don’t contact me or Xander and then you expect to waltz into this session…” Reed shook his head in disbelief at what I’d pulled with good reason.
“It’s one thing to put your own training in jeopardy and disrespect me; it absolutely sucks to do it to your best mate when he has the fight of his life in just a few weeks.” Reed’s tone would have cut toughened steel.
What the fuck could I say to that? It was all true.
I had to say something, but what?
“Don’t even think about offering an excuse.” Reed cut me off before I had a chance to offer any explanation. Not that I was about to tell the truth anyway. The Arianne and Isaac thing was mine alone. I wasn’t sharing that yet. I didn’t know what it was to discuss anyway.
Arianne and I weren’t really dating—we weren’t even fucking, but I felt like they were mine to take care of. How could I discuss something when I couldn’t figure it out myself?
“Xan take a break and rest up. Dane can hit pads for a bit” Reed had an evil glint in his eye and I couldn’t help but flinch.
Reed was an evil bastard at the best of times when it came to training. Today was going to hurt in the worse sort of way. Didn’t matter. I’d take whatever he had to dish out.
Making sure Isaac was okay was more important to me than whatever pain Reed was going to dish out. I moved a little closer to Xander and Reed, waiting to see what my first instruction was going to be. I wasn’t going to open my mouth any more than I had too.
“Once we’re done here, we’ll get that sparring done,” Reed said to Xander. “Dane should be nice and warm by then.” That was my cue to move off and warm-up.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Reed turn back to Xander. “Right. Let’s keep going for another five minutes while he warms up,” he barked out.
Great! There was no changing that mood today. I was going to be in a world of pain when I finally walked out of here.
Xan threw me a sympathetic look and I knew he wanted an explanation. Well, he wasn’t getting one just yet. For all I knew there may not be anything to talk about.
Chapter 11
Arianne
After my frantic call to Dane I tried to get back into the groove of the game, but it was pointless. I lost three hands straight. My mind was elsewhere. To be successful and go undetected I needed to have my mind firmly focused on what was happening on the table.
My luck had left along with that phone call.
An hour and a half later I walked in my front door and locked it behind me. I quickly changed into some jeans and a T-shirt, then felt at a loss as to what to do. I rarely had spare time, however it was the fact that Dane had stepped up and helped out with Isaac that had my mind spinning wildly. I didn’t have a clue how I felt about it.
My phone rang and I pounced to answer it. “Hello.” I hadn’t even bothered to check who the caller was.
“Hello dear, this is Cathy Roberts, Dane’s mother.” She hardly needed to explain. “I just got a message from Dane. He’s going to be held up at training. Gary and I will be heading home soon. We’ll take Isaac with us. Why don’t you make your way over to our place in about an hour? I’m going to do dinner. Dane will be along when he finishes up.”
Cathy made it sound as if it was the most normal thing in the world for them to have my son and for us to be joining them for dinner. I didn’t know these people at all.
Just their son.
I had no point of reference for how I should feel about this. It was all foreign to me. A streak of annoyance whipped through me as well. Dane should have spoken to me first. Here he was organising my child and I seemed to be the last to know what was happening.
Finally, I managed to find my voice. “Is Isaac okay?” He’d never really been with anyone but Loretta and myself up here, or his teachers, of course.
“He’s having a lovely time. Right now he’s got his head buried in an engine right beside Gary. When I stepped into the office to call you Gary was explaining the finer points of how a petrol four stroke engine worked.” Cathy sounded as if she wasn’t the least bit surprised.
“Ah…I hope he hasn’t made a nuisance of himself.”
“No, dear. He’s been very well behaved. So I’ll expect you in about an hour.”
It wasn’t a question it was statement. My manners returned. “That would be lovely, Cathy. Can I bring something?”
“No. Just you will be fine. I’ve got things all taken care of.” Her tone was so confident that I couldn’t help but be impressed. The woman seemed to work full-time but also had no trouble coming home and putting a meal together for her family and a couple of ring ins.
“Well, I’ll see you in about an hour.” She gave me the address and I hurried off to have a shower and change into something a little better.
I grabbed a change of clothes for Isaac as well. He’d still be in his school uniform and I figured he appreciate the opportunity to change.
The address Cathy gave me was only a few minutes away. The house was a typical 80’s style two storey brick and tile home. The garden was very neat and cheery perennials lined the front path up to the porch. It looked like someone enjoyed gardening.
I knocked on the door and a few moments later, it was opened by a man who had to be Dane’s father. He was tall and broad just like his son, and his eyes were almost identical in colour. Like Dane, he had that easy smile which seemed to make you feel instantly relaxed.
“Hey there, little lady. You must be Arianne. I’m Gary, Dane’s father.”
“Pleased to meet you Mr Roberts.” I held out my hand to shake his.
He took my hand. “Gary please. We don’t stand on formality around here. Make yourself at home.”
Gary ushered me into the small foyer that led to a lounge room and probably back to a kitchen. There was a set of stairs off the foyer as well.
“Cath’s just through in the kitchen, working on dinner.”
I followed him through to the kitchen and up at the bench was Isaac on one of the stools. In front of him were three huge pizzas. Isaac was carefully layering rounds of salami onto the tomato sauce covered bases. I immediately saw the forming bruise on his face.
The mother in me wanted to look and offer him sympathy and hugs. It didn’t seem to be bothering him at the moment, so I wasn’t about to bring more attention to it just at the moment.
Cathy looked up from where she was cutting more vegetables.
“Oh there you are.” Without hesitating she pulled me into a tight hug. “Good to see you, Arianne. Isaac is just helping me out with dinner. Come on in and make yourself at home. I only have one rule here.” Cathy looked at me seriously and I held my breath. “That rule is simple—if you want something, help yourself. I don’t wait on anyone. If it’s here, you’re welcome to it. If it’s not, bad luck!” I had to laugh at that, I was also sure that wasn’t quite true. Cathy struck me as the sort of woman that loved to fuss and spoil her family.
“Look Mum. I’m making pizza!” The excitement was evident on his face. “See how neat I’ve got it?” He was very proud of his handy work.
“Wow, Isaac, top job.”
I moved over to behind the bench top and took the stool behind Isaac. “Is there anything I can help with Cathy?”
“Not just at the moment. Gary, be a dear and get Ari a glass of wine please.” Cathy called.
Gary lifted his head from the fridge. “Already on it, Cookie.”
“Well then, I could certainly use a refill.” Gary patted Cathy on her backside, and she shot him a saucy look.
“Your w
ish is my command.” The effortless love and affection was blatantly obvious between the two of them. Gary passed her the refilled glass and pulled her in tight to his body for a quick kiss on the lips. It was an easy move that they’d clearly done millions of times over the years.
Just then a tall young woman walked in. She appeared to be in her early twenties, but there was no doubt she was a Roberts.
“Geez, you pair are worse than teenagers. God knows what you get up to when we’re not around.”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Cathy teased.
The young woman shook her head before dropping a “Not really. Definitely TMI,” to her mother. Then she turned to me. “You must be Arianne. I heard Dane had a new woman in his life. I’m his sister, Macey.”
Her labelling me as Dane’s new woman, set me back a bit. I wasn’t sure how to deal with that because, I wasn’t convinced it was true. I felt more like his project in some ways.
“I’m Arianne and this is my son Isaac.”
“I’m decorating the pizza,” he told Macey as he meticulously placed olives in a pattern on the pizza.
“Doing a top job there too, buddy, by the looks of it. Thanks for picking up the slack. That’s normally my job. I’m happy to take the night off. I’ve had a big day,” she playfully added for Isaac’s benefit.
“That’d be right, slacking it again,” Dane called out as he walked in with a duffle bag slung over his shoulder.
He looked exhausted. The singlet top he wore was wet through with sweat and clinging to him, as he took a long drink from the sports bottle he held in his hand.
Regardless there was no denying how sexy he looked with his hair plastered to his face. It was the first time I’d seen his shoulders and arms uncovered.
Dane was seriously built!
His shoulders were rounded with muscle and his arms looked so strong and well, delicious. Dane moved over towards me and I suddenly felt flustered. I had no idea how I should act in front of his family.
I didn’t know my role.
It didn’t help that I was lusting after him either and I was running the serious risk of being sprung drooling over him.
Believe Page 15