Sparring Partners

by Leigh Morgan

  Sometimes she needed to break out the hardwood and tempered steel and bash.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  The clash of steel against steel rang out, tempered only by the sweating bodies absorbing some of the sound. The air was warm, not quite hot, in the air-conditioned expanse of space that constituted the dojo floor. Even with the fans and the air on, the open room with floor to ceiling mirrors on the length of one long wall and Okinawan symbols on the other seemed stifling. But then, Reed was burning with more than physical exertion, so who was she to judge.

  She hit Shay's left sai with her right trying to land an angle strike to his temple. It was his job to block, which he did, but the effort was starting to cost him. The tendons of his neck and forearms, visible as his gi parted, were clearly strained. Her muscles were burning too, but it felt good, powerful even. The pull and pulse of her muscles as she moved, the extension of the weapon in her hand, like an extension of self, this she could control. At this moment she was master of her fate. Reed reveled in every millisecond.

  And then the gong rang.

  "Line up." And just like that, class was over.

  Shay elbowed her in the ribs as they stood in line listening to Sensei reading the week's announcements. "What's up with the hard-ass routine? Trouble in paradise?"

  Reed's face flamed in irritation. Shay knew her well enough to know exactly what was wrong, and after their tense workout yesterday she didn't need him rubbing her face in her stupidity today. Had it only been a day since the glimmer of hope spontaneously combusted into ash at her feet with Finn's revelation?

  "Dismissed."

  The class echoed, "Thank you, Sensei."

  "Not you, Mohr. I want to see you."

  Reed ignored Shay's slyly whispered, "uh-oh. You're in for it now grasshopper." She couldn't ignore the sudden weight in her stomach bouncing like a beach ball. The rest of class bowed out and cleared the floor in favor of the showers downstairs. Reed waited. Sensei Schwartz disappeared into the back office that contained his personal weapons. The front office only held weapons and other equipment for sale, and was reserved for paying customers and guests. The back office was where Sensei kept his magic hidden from his students.

  He emerged carrying two weapons Reed hadn't seen before. They had an axe handle with a curved wickedly sharp shovel edge on one side about six inches wide and a flat mallet end on the other about three inches in diameter. Sensei handed one to her without a word. Reed reached out with one hand to grab it, noticing Sensei's indulgent smile. When it threatened to take her arm out of its socket, she quickly grabbed it with both hands, understanding his mirth.

  Sensei adjusted her hands on the handle so she was holding it correctly, picked up his weapon, and began to work with it. Reed followed his series of movements without question, as she did whenever Sensei taught her kata. The series of moves, like dance steps with intent to maim, kill or disarm. It didn't require question. It required doing.

  For the next hour she worked the kata with punishing precision. Her shoulders ached and her lats burned. She became acutely aware of the fine muscles in her forearms and around her hips as she moved. Even her shins hurt. The muscles and tendons of her neck were pulsing with life and striving not to shake with the toll of physical exertion this Neanderthal weapon demanded.

  Just when she thought she couldn't lift the damn thing again Sensei stopped her. "Ma-te." He said, meaning stop. It hurt almost as much to stop as it did to continue.

  "Tell me what you've learned."

  "That every muscle in the body really can hurt at the same time."

  Sensei gave a small laugh and a broad smile that came from shared experience. "True. Wait 'till tomorrow when you try to get out of bed."

  Reed already knew no amount of bubble bath was going to wash away her pain. If only it could. Sensei reached to take the mallet/shovel from her and Reed had to force her hands to uncurl from its handle. An hour in the shower should loosen her up enough to get dressed.

  Sensei whirled the weapon around with his right arm, then added his left for momentum. It sang as it rent the air around them. He then switched directions, first mallet side, then shovel side.

  "There are always at least two paths. One is to beat and force your way..." The mallet side swung in a perfectly controlled arc toward the ground. "The other is to dig your way out." The shovel side whirled as it passed Sensei's ankle and came to rest on his shoulder. He wasn't even winded. Not fair, considering he was twenty years older than Reed and was missing half a lung.

  "You saw something in the man you married. On some level your soul saw his and without thought you chose to bond with it. You're not a thoughtless person, Reed. You over-analyze every aspect of your life. This time you didn't. Trust your higher self. It's probably the purest decision you've made since you walked away from your job."

  Sensei swung the weapon again. "But what do I know? Sometimes a hammer's just a hammer."

  ...

  The sound of heavy machinery preparing the base for the concrete driveway was driving Jordon mad. Not that he didn't have enough other reasons for his explosive temper that he was barely keeping in check, most of which were easy enough to confront if he looked in the mirror. The glimpse of his scowling mug and red-rimmed eyes in the tiny mirror above the hardwood table in the foyer as Reed left this morning was enough to start the slow agonizing beat of a headache at the base of his skull.

  Finn took one look at him and left. Thank God for small favors. At least he wouldn't have to add family murder to his list of offenses against Reed. What irked him even more than the fact that Finn told Reed the way she did, like it was ludicrous to believe Jordon would willingly marry Reed, was the fact that Finn was right. He should have told Reed from the start what the score was. Life would have been simpler that way.

  Why didn't he? Jordon looked in the mirror again, not liking what he saw there any better now. "Because you're an ass, that's why. An ass who has no reason to hope for more."

  "Wow. I haven't been called that in a long time."

  Jordon whipped his head around and saw Jesse standing on the steps behind him, a small, indulgent teenage smile on his still sleepy face. "I wasn't talking to you."

  Jesse cocked his head at him sending still wet locks of his curling hair down one side of his forehead. He really was a good looking kid, even wet. There was something world-weary yet hopeful about him that made Jordon want to give him a hug and a manly slap on the back at the same time. The kid did a formidable job occupying two disparate worlds at the same time. Jordon envied his adaptability.

  "Who were you talking to?"

  "That jackass in the mirror."

  Jesse nodding understandingly. "Pissed Reed off again, huh?"

  "Yep."

  "She'll get over it. She always does."

  "How long does it usually take?"

  Jesse shrugged and skirted past Jordon. His stomach growled audibly so Jordon guessed the kid was hungry. Jordon was always hungry at Jesse's age. "Depends."

  Jordon followed Jesse to the kitchen and watched him pour himself a bowl of twigs from a recycled cardboard box. "How can you eat that crap?" Jordon asked.

  "You learn to like it." Jesse said shoveling in a big scoop.

  It sounded to Jordon like the kid was chewing gravel. Jordon shook his head and reached for his phone. He sent Henry a quick text and grabbed Jessed by the arm, pulling him toward the back door where he parked his Prius the night before. Jesse stumbled, but managed to put what was left of his bowl of twigs in the sink. Jordon made a sardonic sound in the back of his throat.

  The kid knew enough not to piss off the elf and the pirate.

  If only he'd thought that far ahead.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  "I-Hop is not where I expected to find you." Henry said, sliding into the booth next to Jesse while eyeing the enormous mound of pancakes the kid was attempting to cut through.

  Jordon took a long swallow from his fifth cup of coffee. "The
kid's gotta eat real food sometime."

  Henry shot him a questioning look but didn't say anything. The waitress came and he ordered eggs over easy, wheat toast, hash browns, tomato juice and coffee. "Bring another pot for my friend here. He doesn't look wired enough." Henry said, tossing the waitress his 'James Bond' smile that every female twelve to ninety-nine lapped up like gravy on Thanksgiving.

  Jesse stared open-mouthed at the sensuous sway of the waitress's hips as she sauntered provocatively away. "You've gotta show me how to do that."

  Henry ruffled Jesse's hair, smiling wolfishly. "There'll be time enough for that, puppy. Wait a year."

  "Why?"

  He sounded so forlorn Jordon couldn't help but laugh. The simple act eased some of the tension in his gut. Jordon pushed his coffee cup away and grabbed the water on the table in front of him. Henry was right, he was wired enough.

  "Something tells me we're not at a pancake house to help you become a budding Lothario, sport. One of you want to tell me why we're here?"

  When Jesse determined he wasn't going to get any lessons in the fine art of male flirting, he directed his attention to the remainder of his mountain of syrup laden breakfast, shoveling in enormous bite after bite as if he'd never eaten useless calories covered in sugar before. He doused the last fork-full with an extra dose of syrup and spoke through a mouthful of goo.

  "Jordon's bribing me with pancakes so I'll spill all of Reed's secrets."

  "Is it working?" Henry asked.

  "Not so far." Jordon said, irritated with how quickly the kid saw through him.

  Henry elbowed Jesse in the ribs playfully. "Ever since he met Reed he's been off his game."

  Jesse wiped his mouth with his napkin and downed half of his water in one long swallow. When his eyes met Jordon's, they were open and honest. "I'll tell you what you want to know so long as it doesn't hurt Reed. But no secrets."

  Jordon nodded. "Agreed."

  "But..." The devilish look in Jesse's eye told Jordon he wasn't getting away with three dollars worth of pancakes. "Henry shows me how to do that thing with the waitress first."

  The sparkle in Jesse's eyes and the small teasing smile curving his mouth full of perfect teeth made Jordon smile. The kid really had no conception of just how attractive he was going to be to the opposite sex.

  "You already have all the raw elements. All you need is the confidence to pull it off. That can't be taught, kid. It takes time and experience."

  Jesse seemed to accept that as answer enough. "What do you want to know?"

  "Let's start with how long Reed's going to stay mad at me. Then we can move on to how I can speed up the healing process."

  "I don't know that I can tell you that."

  "Why? That can't possibly be a secret."

  "No, it's not a secret. It's just that Reed's never been really pissed at me. Not like what you said she is at you."

  Jordon narrowed his eyes, stopping himself from grinding his teeth. His jaw hurt enough already, so did most of his teeth. Gnawing on a fistful of aspirin hadn't helped the pain. "Are you telling me Reed's never been mad at you?"

  "Mad, yeah. Really pissed, no."

  Jordon closed his eyes and rubbed his brow, trying to dam up the sound of water in his ears before it became a roar he couldn't control. Henry must have felt Jordon's frustration, because he touched Jordon's arm briefly.

  Then the food arrived on three separate plates. Jordon opened his eyes in time to see Jesse flash the young waitress his imitation of Henry's smile. The kid was good. The waitress actually winked back at him as she took his empty plate. "Quite an appetite you've got there, sweetie."

  Jesse's smile widened to an all out grin. "You've got no idea."

  Henry cuffed him on the back of the head as the waitress walked away with another wink. "You're a quick study, kid. Dangerously quick. Now tell the man what he needs to know before that hole in his stomach starts to bleed and I have to take him to the emergency room."

  Henry pushed the plates of food the waitress set in front of him across the table to Jordon. "I already had breakfast. Eat."

  Jordon started to object, then his stomach rumbled. Still he hesitated.

  "Don't make me pull out my gun."

  Jordon wasn't all that hungry, but he took a bite. Then another. That must have satisfied Henry because he redirected his attention to Jesse. "Spill it kid."

  Jordon continued to eat as Jesse described how he met Reed.

  "I met her at court the first time. I wouldn't talk to her. I wouldn't talk to anyone, really." Jesse's voice cracked and he took a sip from his water before he continued. Jordon watched him carefully, noticing the slight shake of his hand as Jesse set his glass back down.

  "Didn't talk to her at the first foster home they put me in either. Or the one after that. She wouldn't give up though. Reed just kept coming. She'd sit with me for an hour just staring at the wall with me." Jesse looked at Jordon, and the bleakness in his eyes held another emotion Jordon couldn't quite define. Awe, maybe. Or respect.

  "Do you know how hard it is to get a lawyer to sit with a kid for an hour?"

  Jordon nodded. He did know and he paid an exorbitant amount every six minutes he needed B.H.'s lawyers. Rarely did he need a full hour.

  "Well, Reed sat with me in court and at five different foster homes. Just sat. When I didn't answer her questions she'd take out a cross-word puzzle and sit beside me. She always left the puzzles. A new book every time. It got to the point where she'd start a puzzle and I'd finish it and leave it open for her next visit. I'd get transferred to a new foster family and I'd think 'she'll give up this time'. But she never did."

  "Eventually you had to talk to her." Henry said.

  Jesse shook his head in wonder. "Yea. I had to make her go away sometime. I knew sooner or later she'd leave, and I wanted it to be on my terms."

  "So what did you do?"

  "I tried to make her mad. So mad she'd leave, or think I was a lost cause, and leave me alone."

  "It didn't work?" Henry said, stating the obvious.

  Jesse smiled warmly, the love he felt for Reed obvious in every line of his face. "No. It didn't work. I told you she's never been really mad at me. The closest she comes is when I don't eat enough organic protein."

  Jordon was willing to eat a case full of organic soy-goo if she'd never look at him again with that empty look that chilled his heart and threatened to shatter his bones. Jordon shook himself and pushed the plates away, noticing for the first time he'd eaten everything Henry ordered. None of it organic.

  "Spill the rest of it, kid. Jordon wants to know everything, and he doesn't look up to prodding it out of you." Henry glanced at Jordon while refilling his water glass from the pitcher the waitress left on the table. "So what did you do to piss off Reed that backfired so badly she quit her job to adopt you?"

  Jesse turned to Henry. "How do you know that?"

  Henry lifted his shoulders and turned over his left palm. A full shrug would have jostled the table. "It's my job."

  "If you already know, why ask me?"

  Jordon spoke. "I don't know what happened between you and Reed. I don't know enough about her, and I'd like to. Know her that is. I'd like to know what worked for you so I can see if it'll work for me." Surprisingly enough that was all true. Jordon wanted to know all there was to know about his wife.

  "I managed to piss her off without trying. You tried and she took you home. See how that's not meshing? What did you do?" Jordon didn't add, 'to get her to love you', but it echoed through his heart none the less.

  "I told her the truth."

  Jordon didn't say anything, but his expression willed Jesse to continue.

  "That last foster home was hell. Reed could see it and she wanted me out, but the judge wouldn't sign an order for a new foster family." Jesse looked down. "I'd already been kicked out of so many homes the County was running out of places to put me."

  Jesse took another sip of water and looked first at Henry, a
nd then at Jordon. "Reed went ballistic. She saw my black eye, it was nothing really, no big deal, but she wouldn't let it go, she started railing on my foster-father who was at least a foot taller and a hundred pounds of fat heavier, about how she was going to have his meal-ticket pulled and see his ass in jail. She was really something."

  "What did you do?" Henry asked.

  "I went up to her and touched her shoulder. That was all. I touched her shoulder and she calmed down. She made me talk to her though. She threatened to call the cops if I didn't."

  "So you told her the truth?" Jordon said.

  "I did." Jesse looked at Henry, his tone accusatory for the first time. "If you know the facts about me and Reed, then you know how I got into the system in the first place, right?"

  Henry nodded.

  "Did they tell you I was there when it happened?"

  "No."

  "Well, I saw the whole thing. My mother was in and out of consciousness, begging him to do it. I saw that look on his face and I knew he was going to kill her if he gave her any more. He knew it too. I saw it in his eyes. He looked right at me while he did it. I only left for a second. I had to go to the bathroom. I couldn't hold it anymore."

  "It's okay, kid. That's enough." Jordon held out his hand toward Jesse, but the kid ignored him.

  "The needle was already in her arm. When his thumb hit the plunger I ran toward them, but I was too late. That poison was already pumping through her veins. I yanked it out and ran for the phone." All the emotion emptied from Jesse's voice. It was as if he were recalling a movie he'd watched, not his own personal hell.

  "I called 911, picked up my baseball bat from the kitchen, and went back to find my father. He was already dead. He shot up right after he killed my mother."

  "You told Reed all that?" Henry asked.

  "No. She already knew. She heard the 911 tape. She had photos of our house. She didn't need me to tell her the facts."

  "Then what truth did you tell her that night in the foster home?"