Head Over Heels

by Crystal B. Bright

  Kari laughed. “We’re here chaperoning a children’s function. You need to behave yourself.”

  Too bad Thane didn’t want to be a gentleman. Seeing her made his heart pump hard. Although the pains in his stomach hadn’t subsided, he’d forgotten about them as soon as she arrived.

  “By the way, nice shirt. I see you and my son are playing from the same playbook.” She nudged his side with her elbow.

  “Does my shirt match your dress? What a coincidence.” Thane put his hand to his chest and feigned surprise.

  “Yeah, right. I see your brothers are here.” She smiled harder. “That’s good, right?”

  His heart stopped for a moment as soon as she brought up Gunnar and Gideon. “They’re here because Mom would have wanted them to be.” He pointed to the center of his chest. “This has nothing to do with me.”

  She stood in front of him. “They’re trying. You need to do the same.”

  Thane refrained from saying that to try meant that he cared. He’d stopped caring a long time ago.

  “I’m in a great mood. I don’t want to ruin that by talking about them.” He held her hand and strolled with her across the gym.

  The sounds of little feet running over the glossy floor brought him back to a time when he used to scamper around the place. Thane looked up in time to see Michael darting toward him and Kari.

  “The punch worked.” Michael hopped around Thane and Kari.

  “And did you tell her she looked pretty?” Kari asked.

  Michael looked sheepish before he answered. “I said I liked her dress. Is that good enough?”

  “Depends. Did she smile?” Thane held Kari’s hand tighter.

  The child nodded. “She thanked me. That’s good, right?”

  “Very good.” Kari kissed her son’s forehead.

  “Mom. Not here.” He quickly wiped his head and even scanned the area to see if anyone had seen her sweet expression.

  “So what are you doing with us?” Thane pointed to Leona and the group of girls surrounding her. “Shouldn’t you be over there talking to her?”

  “I would but—” Michael glanced behind himself before he continued. “The girls were talking about dancing.”

  Thane waited to hear more but Michael offered nothing else. “And?”

  “I can’t dance.” He shook his head. “She’ll laugh at me.”

  “It’s easy.” He held Kari around her waist to pull her toward the dance floor.

  She remained cemented like a statue. “No way. I already feel overdressed. I’m not going out on the dance floor.”

  “If you don’t, you’re letting Michael know that it’s okay to succumb to his fears.” He held out his hand to the most beautiful woman in the world.

  She hesitated for a moment before she asked Michael to give her purse to Reagan. As soon as she touched his hand, Thane smiled.

  He held her delicate hand and led her to the middle of the room. When Kari faced him and attempted to hold his other hand so that they could dance, he held up his finger to her and jogged away from her to go to the DJ.

  “Play any line-dancing song.” Thane removed his jacket and placed it on a chair next to the DJ table.

  “Anything, man?” The young man hit a couple of buttons on his console.

  “Anything.” Thane went back to a very bewildered-looking Kari, who now had her arms crossed over her chest. “How are you at line dances?”

  “What?” She shook her head.

  A beat to a popular song started.

  “Come on, baby. Wobble with me.” He winked at her as he started to dance.

  From the way Kari stared at him, she looked like she had no idea how to do the dance. Thane thought for sure she would leave him on the dance floor alone. After watching him do one rotation, she joined in and caught on pretty quickly.

  He glanced off to the side when he noticed someone coming toward him. Gideon, moving around a lot better than before, held Janelle’s hand as he made his way to dance area.

  “Even with a bum knee, I’ve always been a better dancer than you.” Gideon beamed as he patted Thane’s shoulder.

  It didn’t take Gideon and Janelle long to fall in line. Thane would have rather seen the kids join him. Each time he turned and caught his brother smiling and laughing, he couldn’t help but join in the revelry.

  He looked across the room and saw Gunnar sulking against the wall. Eboni tugged on his hand to get him to join her, but he shook his head and settled back in his place like a stone gargoyle.

  Thane couldn’t blame him. Gunnar had never been a great dancer despite being a champion fighter.

  Reagan ran toward the group and joined in the line.

  “Great. Almost all the adults are on the floor, but no kids,” Thane said to Kari.

  “Keep smiling and laughing.” Kari beamed and twirled around.

  As Kari had predicted, children started creeping to the dance area, starting with Michael. He planted himself between Thane and Kari and fell in line with the dance. Pretty soon, children filled the dance area. They all laughed as they did the synchronized dance in time with the music.

  As soon as the song ended and went into another popular song, Gideon threw in the towel and left the floor with Janelle. Thane remained in the middle of the group of children. It brought back great memories of him showing off his moves to girls back when his mother chaperoned these events.

  Thane felt a hand on his arm. He turned to see Kari.

  “I’m going to get a drink.” She waved her hand in her face like a fan.

  “Can’t take a little shaking?” Thane winked at her.

  “You move around in four-inch heels.” She laughed as she made her way off the floor.

  To be a gentleman, and because he truly liked watching her in that dress, he followed her over to the refreshments area.

  “You didn’t have to leave because of me.” Kari picked up a cup that Thane quickly took from her hand. “With you looking like that, no way can I leave you alone.” He poured some punch in a cup and handed it to her. “I know this is not what you envisioned for a great night out drinking and dancing, but—”

  “This is perfect.” She got on her tiptoes and kissed Thane on his cheek.

  With her body pressed against his, he couldn’t help but wrap his arm around her waist and hold her closer. “Thank you for doing this.” He glanced at the kids all skipping around and having a great time. “Mom would have loved this.”

  “I didn’t know her that well, but I have a feeling she would have loved you doing this.” Kari exhaled. “You’re a good son.” She looked over his shoulder. “Be a good brother and talk to Gunnar and Gideon. It’s obvious they love and support you no matter what.”

  Thane didn’t want to talk about them, not tonight. “Now is not the time.”

  “If not now then—”

  “Check out of your hotel tonight.” He eased her away from the preteens to have a private conversation with her.

  “You want me to leave?” Kari blinked.

  “Yes, with me. Come down to the Outer Banks tonight.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. “Here’s the address. Follow me down there in your rental.”

  She shook her head. “My family—”

  “Can come with us.”

  She stared at him for a while. “No, I shouldn’t. You’ve been great with Michael, but I don’t want him getting attached to you. ” She crossed her arms. “I came down here for one thing. Going away with you would complicate things.”

  “More than the sex?” He took a step back. “I’ve made you a dress. You’re here with me. You’ve met my family. Are you still trying to get me to sign with you as an agent? None of this means anything to you?”

  Kari remained quiet. The silence between them lasted too long for Thane’s taste. His stomach tightened and continued to a painful extent. He rested his hand on his midsection, something that looked like it caught her att
ention. She glanced down before she regarded him again.

  “Excuse me. I need some air.” Before he could walk away, she grabbed his arm.

  “Thane, are you okay? Wait. Let’s talk.”

  He shrugged out of her grip. “I’ll be back. Enjoy the party.”

  Thane made it across the room to go toward the door closest to the bathroom. He couldn’t believe that after everything they had been through, Kari still had her guard up. She still didn’t get that she’d caused him to open up to her more than he had with anyone.

  Before he could get out of the gym area, a man blocked his path at the doorway. Thane glanced up to see Jarrod Townsend standing in front of him. Ordinarily, seeing this basketball giant would have made him happy. As Jarrod glared at him, Thane knew this wouldn’t be a pleasant exchange.

  “What are you doing here?” Thane put his shoulders back and chest out as far as he could while his stomach compressed even more.

  Chapter 20

  Thane didn’t have time for another confrontation. First his brothers had intruded on this special night. Kari had refused to join him at the house in Outer Banks. Now Jarrod Townsend had showed up looking like he wanted a fight. Thane balled his hands into fists.

  “What? You think you’re not that hard to find?” Jarrod crossed his arms over his chest. “I see you all over the Internet trying to play daddy to my son. My son.” He pounded his chest. “I knew you were in Virginia Beach. I waited until one of these snot-nosed brats posted a picture of you and your location. Easy.” He moved in closer to Thane. “Now that I’m here, you can stop trying to act like my kid’s father. He has one.”

  “It’s not even like that.” Thane kept his stare on Jarrod’s cold, brown eyes. “It was just a game of catch. Michael loves you.”

  “Don’t tell me about my boy. You don’t know anything about him.” He pointed into the gym. “That’s my kid. You go out and father a kid of your own.”

  “Dad!” Michael ran up to the duo, but Jarrod kept his laser-like focus on Thane.

  Pretty soon, a few more little boys ran up to the trio. They stared at Thane and Jarrod, admiring them like gods. For this exchange, Thane preferred not to have an audience, especially with children. He waited for Jarrod to tell his son to go back into the gym, but he kept his full attention on Thane.

  Thane couldn’t be that uncaring. “Michael, go back to the party and have a good time while your father and I have a talk, please.”

  “Don’t tell him what to do.” Jarrod shoved Thane’s shoulder.

  As Thane started to charge toward Jarrod, a crippling pain stopped him. He bent over and had a coughing fit that didn’t stop even after he spat up some blood.

  “Shit, man. What the hell is wrong with you?” Jarrod jumped back before a mixture of blood and saliva could land on his expensive-looking sneakers.

  Thane crumbled to the floor and curled into a ball as he heard the kids around him gasping.

  Shit, not now.

  “Mr. Wells, what’s wrong?”

  Thane heard Michael’s voice, but he couldn’t answer. He wanted to tell the child to go to Kari, but he couldn’t speak.

  “I think Jarrod Townsend stabbed Thane Wells.”

  Thane glanced up and noticed a boy snapping a picture and typing something on his phone. Great. He didn’t need this getting out now, not with his brothers here and everything going on in his life.

  “You hurt him. I hate you.” Michael stomped his foot, evident from the sound next to Thane’s head.

  Thane growled through the pain. “No.” He turned his head in time to see Jarrod grabbing Michael’s small shoulders and shoving him back hard enough that the child stumbled to the floor.

  Seeing this brought back memories of seeing Queen Elizabeth’s ex-husband doing the same thing to him and his brothers. Fire filled Thane’s chest when he noticed the disappointment in Michael’s eyes.

  “No.” Thane raised himself up enough to get to a kneeling position. “Don’t you touch him like that.”

  By that time, Michael had run away. He disappeared in the mass of moving bodies in the middle of the gym. Thane wished he had enough strength to stand and go after him. This attack had him thankful of the cool floor. So that he didn’t worry anyone, he needed to stand.

  “Thane? Thane!” Kari ran toward him and crouched down next to him. “What did you do to him? What’s all this blood?” She stroked his head.

  “Don’t worry about me. You need to be worried about you. Don’t be bringing no dude around my son.” Jarrod pointed to Kari as he loomed over her. “Especially some sick sucker.”

  Kari looked into the gym. “Help! I need help.” She looked at the boys around them. “Get an adult.”

  Finally, one child ran from the group. Thane couldn’t wait to see who he would get. He hoped the boy would retrieve Drew.

  * * * *

  Kari wished she had her purse so that she could call an ambulance for Thane. To see him with blood trickling out of his mouth scared her. She’d had no idea that Jarrod would make the trip down to Virginia Beach to confront Thane.

  Before she could scream for assistance again, Gunnar ran over to her and Thane with Eboni behind him.

  “What the hell is going on?” Gunnar kneeled down next to Thane. “You okay?”

  Thane took a deep breath before he shook his head. Kari trembled at his response. She hadn’t known him to admit when he needed help. To see him in so much pain rendered her immobile.

  “You son-of-a-bitch.” Gunnar stood. “What the hell did you do to my brother?” He got in Jarrod’s face and refused to back down.

  A small part of Kari wanted Thane’s brother to punch Jarrod’s lights out for whatever he’d done to Thane. Violence at this event wouldn’t be good.

  “I didn’t do shit to him.” Jarrod’s raised voice rumbled the floor. “We were talking and he started spitting up blood.”

  “I’m calling 9-1-1 now.” Eboni had her phone pressed to her ear.

  “What happened?” Gideon came over to the group.

  Kari kept her concentration on Thane. Although she wanted to question why Gideon had his shirt out of his pants and looked out of breath, she figured he had gone back on the dance floor. When he glanced down at Thane, he immediately glared at Jarrod.

  “What did you do to my brother?” Gideon rolled up his sleeves.

  “Pump your breaks, man. Don’t make me fuck up that other leg.” Jarrod pointed down at Gideon’s knee.

  “Please stop this.” Kari volleyed her attention between Jarrod, Gunnar, and Gideon. “Think about where we are and what we’re doing here.”

  Thane squeezed Kari’s hand and put his full focus on her. “Michael. Get Michael.”

  She glanced over her shoulder. When she saw Reagan running in the opposite direction, Kari bolted to her feet and chased after her.

  She hated leaving Thane, but she had a child here. If Reagan looked worried, Kari knew she should be concerned. Plus, she didn’t want Michael seeing Thane in his condition or his father in such a rage.

  “Reagan. Where’s Michael?” Kari managed to catch up to her friend, a feat considering her heels.

  “I saw him crying and running this way. What’s going on with Thane? Was he on the floor? Did I see Jarrod Townsend here?” Reagan spoke in between panting breaths.

  Kari didn’t have time to answer or sort out the whole situation. She saw her world falling apart in front of her.

  When she hit the back hallway, she heard a slam at the far end. She moved so fast to get to the location that she overshot her destination and had to double-back to get to the door.

  “Michael, honey, are you in there?” She pressed her hand against the wood as she waited for his answer. As soon as she heard quiet sobs from in the room, her heart accelerated. “Open the door, baby.”

  “He-he pushed me,” Michael said from inside the locked room.

  “Who? Thane?” She couldn’t imag
ine him putting his hands on her child in anger, especially since he’d implored her to go after him and not concern herself with his wellbeing.

  “Dad. Never seen him so angry.” Michael cried harder.

  Kari had seen Jarrod in a worse mood. She’d never known him to be physical outside of a basketball court. With all the hurtful things he’d said to her, he’d never put his hands on her out of anger.

  She took a deep breath. “I need you to be a big boy and come out of the room. I can’t help you if you keep yourself locked up.” She looked over her shoulder and wondered if Thane had gotten some help by now. “Thane needs me, needs us.”

  She didn’t know if her statement held any merit. He had his family around him, defending him fiercely. When she saw him on the floor at Jarrod’s feet, her protective nature had kicked in.

  When Michael didn’t answer, she continued her plea. “He’s hurt and they’re going to take him to the hospital.”

  “I don’t want to see Dad ever again.” Anger filled each word. “Don’t make me see him. Please.”

  Kari longed to make that wish happen. She hated the reasoning though. It took all of her willpower not to go back into the gym, go to Jarrod, and kick him squarely in his nonexistent balls.

  “I’ll sing to you, baby, if that will help.” As the silence lingered, Kari started to open her mouth to sing his favorite baseball-themed song when the door finally opened.

  Michael peered up at Kari as he stepped out of what looked to be the janitor’s closet. “I don’t need you to sing to me.” He shook his head. “Sorry for making you worry.”

  “You apologize. You’re never sorry.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him close to her chest. Then she pulled back from him, held his shoulders, and crouched down to face level. “Are you hurt?” She did a quick scan of his body to look for scrapes or blood.

  Michael’s lips started to tremble, but he firmed them up to a tight line. “I’m okay.”

  “I’ll talk to your father. He should have never touched you like that.” She embraced him again. “I should have been there for you to keep that from happening.”