My Brother's Bodyguard (Hometown Heros #1)

by G. L. Snodgrass

  I didn’t think, I just acted by punching the bigger Frack in the kidney from behind. The guy released Jimmy and dropped to his knees with a hollow, humph sound.

  Okay, I admit it. Not an honorable punch. But then he was holding a boy half his size and threatening to clobber him.

  I’ve got to give his compadre, Frick, credit, he reacted faster than I expected. A full right cross that caught me square on the chin. Caught me enough so that I saw more than a few stars. But then he made his fatal error. He didn’t follow up the punch, he might have been able to get me if he had. Instead, he stepped back, a look of shock on his face when I didn’t go down. Like maybe he was rethinking his entire plan and wondering if he’d just made the biggest mistake of his life.

  “You okay?” I asked Jimmy.

  “Yes,” he said as he nodded.

  His face was whiter than a bag of all-purpose flour and his eyes were as big as baseballs. But it looked like they hadn’t really gotten started on him. Nothing hurt but his pride. I had to smile though, the kid was bouncing back fast.

  “Good,” I said, as I reached out and punched Frick square in the nose with a tight jab. Unlike him, I knew how to punch. Frick dropped to the ground like a lifeless doll. Ending up next to his useless friend.

  “Come on,” I said to Jimmy. “It’s meatloaf Monday and I want to get some before they run out.”

  Jimmy gave me a strange look then glanced down at the two boys moaning on the bathroom floor where they belonged.

  “But, what if they tell?” he asked. It was obvious he was worried about anything that might mess up his chances of getting into Stanford.

  I laughed and shook my head. “No way, they’re not that dumb. Besides, you didn’t do anything.

  He seemed to relax a little

  “And Jimmy,” I added as I held the door open for him. “Let’s not tell Elle about this. She wouldn’t understand.”

  He continued to stare at me for a long moment then smiled. “No, she wouldn’t,” he said.

  We had grabbed our lunch, and yes, I got a double order of meatloaf and were walking across the cafeteria when I told Jimmy to go on. I’d catch up with him later.

  He frowned, but then nodded his head and walked towards our table. I watched him for a second, then made a beeline for Joe McCain and his cronies. The idiot was surrounded by a dozen worshippers. Girl’s that hung on his every word, guys sitting there with him, hoping to scoop up some of those girls from under his nose.

  Placing my tray down next to his, I leaned forward and said, “Next time, send more men.”

  Joe looked back up at me and I could tell right away that he was shocked. The fear dancing behind his eyes was a dead giveaway.

  “Get lost, Clark,” he said, but the tremble in the back of his throat betrayed him.

  “Listen jerk,” I said through gritted teeth. “Just so we both know. If anything happens to the kid. Anytime, anywhere, I’m coming after you. I don’t care if it’s on your orders or not. I’m holding you responsible.”

  The gaggle of sheep around him got very quiet, I don’t think they were used to someone talking to their God that way. One of the boys, Hanks I think his name was, started to get up out of his chair. I shot him a quick look that let him know he was about to ruin his whole day. At least he had the brains to sit back down.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Joe said defensively.

  “I realize you’re not very smart. That’s why I’m cutting you some slack. But this is your official warning. Leave the kid alone!”

  Before he could respond, I turned away and headed for our table. He had his warning. Everything that happened after this point was on him.

  Elle shot me a curious look as I slid in next to Jimmy, across from Jeanna.

  “What happened to you?” she asked. “And why were you talking to Joe McCain.”

  “What? Joe and I, we were discussing the weather, why?”

  “Yeah, right,” she said with a shake of her head. “And the scrape on your chin?” she asked with a curious frown.

  “That, oh, I walked into a door.”

  Jimmy snickered next to me as he desperately tried to hide a laugh. Elle stared at him for a minute then said, “I don’t believe you.”

  I looked at her for a moment then said, “Listen, Elle, just because we went on a date doesn’t mean you get to know everything about me.”

  Elle’s eyes grew very big, very fast, as a look of shock washed across her face.

  “You went on a date?” Jeanna exclaimed. “And you didn’t tell me.”

  “Um… well … it wasn’t that big a deal,” she said as she desperately tried to come up with an explanation.

  “Thanks,” I said. “That wasn’t what you said after we kissed.”

  “You guy’s kissed …” Jeanna said, her mouth open like a landed fish.

  “Twice,” I added as I took a bite of food. I shot Elle a quick grin to let her know how much I was enjoying her discomfort.

  Jeanna grabbed her friend’s arm and pulled her around to stare at her in disbelief.

  “Give,” she demanded.

  “Hey, not here,” Jimmy said. “I’m her brother, there are some things I do not want to hear.”

  “I don’t care,” Jeanna said. “I’m her best friend and she doesn’t tell me she goes on a date.

  “We went to dinner, then played putt-putt golf,” Elle said, obviously hoping that by giving a few details she could satisfy Jeanna’s demand for information.

  “And, I might add.” Elle said with a broad smile, “I beat Nate at golf.”

  I could tell she was trying to get back at me by attacking my manhood.

  “Yes, she did,” I admitted. “Something about those tight jeans she was wearing. Just threw me off my game.”

  Her face went milk white then immediately back to full-on cardinal red. Sometimes it was fun being me.

  “Hey,” Jimmy interjected. “Not in front of the little brother, remember.”

  Elle swallowed hard, then told Jeanna, “I’ll tell you later.”

  Jeanna scowled and said, “You’re darn right you will.”

  I smiled to myself. Another crisis averted, Elle was no longer thinking about the scrape on my chin or why I was talking to Joe McCain.

  Or at least I thought so.

  “That still doesn’t explain why you were talking to Joe McCain,” Elle said with a deep frown. The girl was like a terrier with a rat. Relentless.

  Jimmy suddenly said, “So, do you think Susan Milner, would go out with me?”

  Elle almost choked on her salad. Jeanna dropped her fork and looked at Jimmy as if he’d just announced he running for President.

  All I could do was shake my head. The kid was quick. I had to give him that.

  “What?” Elle asked very slowly.

  “Are you crazy,” Jeanna spouted out. “She’s like the prettiest girl in school.”

  “I know,” Jimmy said with a lost stare.

  “She’s also dating a guy in college,” Elle added.

  “And, she’s like a bazillion years older than you,” Jeanna added.

  I shot Elle a quick glance. I could tell she was thinking back to our conversation about thirteen-year-old boys.

  “And I might add,” Jeanna continued. “She’s Susan Milner. Why would she ever go out with you? She could have her pick of almost any guy. Correction, not almost, every guy.”

  “Not every guy,” I mumbled to myself.

  Jimmy just shrugged his shoulders. “I didn’t know she was dating a guy. It wouldn’t be right to ask her out, I guess. Not if she already has a boyfriend.

  I tried not to laugh. “No, probably not,”

  “Jimmy,” Elle asked with a maternal stare, “you will not ask Susan Milner out.”

  I quickly reached out to touch Elle’s arm and shake my head. Big mistake I said silently.

  Jimmy frowned and said, “we’ll see.”

  Elle sat back as she tried to understan
d what was going on. I could tell this was going to become a big issue and I hated seeing the guy get shot down.

  “I was talking to her sister, Sara, in our art class. She said that Susan really likes smart guys,” Jimmy added. Refusing to let the matter drop.

  “Ha,” Jeanna said as she rolled her eyes. “Of course she did, no girl is going to say she likes dumb guys. But that doesn’t matter.”

  “You know,” I said, trying to draw him away from the cliff. “Well, the smarter play would be to ask out the little sister,” I said quickly. “She’s closer to your age, and in a few years, she’s going to be as hot as her big sister. Get in on the ground floor.”

  “I hear she’s pretty cool, not stuck up,” Jeanna said. That was the thing about Jeanna, she knew everyone and their status.

  “Hey, this isn’t the stock market,” Elle exclaimed. “This is a young girl, we’re talking about.”

  “I’m just saying,” I began, shooting Elle a look that begged her to go along. “That because Susan already has a boyfriend, maybe Jimmy should focus on Sara.”

  “Jimmy’s only thirteen,” Elle said. “He’s too young to date. This is ridiculous.”

  Jimmy put his fork down and stared at his sister. “Listen Elle, next year, at this time, I will be at Stanford. …”

  “If Mom lets you,” Elle said defensively.

  “She will, unless you ruin it for me,” he snapped back as he gave her a look that let her know how serious it could be if she screwed him over.

  “Well, that’s next year. This year, no way are you asking Susan Milner out on a date.”

  “Okay, then maybe I’ll focus on Sara,” he said with a smile.

  Elle just sat there with her mouth open.

  “Who are you?” she asked, unable to believe what she was hearing.

  Jimmy smiled and shrugged his shoulders then shot me a quick look.

  The boy was a genius. His sister had completely forgotten about my discussion with Joe McCain and the scrape on my chin. Like I said, a genius.

  Chapter Nine

  Elle

  I no longer knew if I liked my life or not. See this is what happens when you are cursed with a little brother that completely turns your world upside down.

  First, Jeanna was mad at me for about a dozen different things. The whole failing to tell her immediately about the date, being on top of the list. She’d forgiven me, but I knew Jeanna, she’d carry a grudge for a few days. Second, I could not get my head wrapped around the whole Nate issue. What did he think about me? I mean, was that date just for show. And that kiss? Was it special or was I just another girl on a long list of girls?

  But worst of all, what happened from here on out. How was I supposed to act around him? Would he ask me out again? What if he didn’t? Did that mean I was that bad a date? Or because we had satisfied Jimmy’s curiosity, we didn’t need to go out?

  Maybe I shouldn’t have beaten him at mini-golf. Of course, my mom would have freaked out at the thought of changing myself to please some guy. But what did she know? Her experience with men seemed to be limited to test tubes and spreadsheets.

  These and a thousand other questions were dancing through my mind the entire week.

  What made it worse was I didn’t even have his phone number so I couldn’t accidentally call him. The boy didn’t even have a Facebook presence for me to stalk. Nothing. How did someone in today's world exist without one?

  Sighing heavily, I rolled out of bed on Saturday morning to get ready for Jeanna. She was picking me up and we’d spend the day at the library. Not that we really needed to, but it was an excuse for her to get out of the house and not get stuck babysitting her kid sisters. She’d told her parents that we were working on a critical project and it could only be done at the library. Of course, everything we needed was online, but they didn’t think that way. All they knew was that they’d used a library in school. So it made perfect sense that we did.

  As I got dressed, I wondered what Nate was doing. Did he ever even think about me? If so, what?

  Hearing a noise out back, I pulled the curtains back and saw Jimmy down on the patio jumping rope. Just like he did every day. He was almost good at it. Almost. He still screwed up every sixth or seventh jump. But it was way better than when he started.

  Where did this sudden interest in athletics come from? I wondered. Nate of course, I answered myself. It appeared that Jimmy had a bit of hero worship going on.

  For the thousandth time in my life, I wished I had a father to talk to. Not about Jimmy. But about Nate. I just couldn’t figure him out. I needed someone who could give me some insight. Mom was useless. She’d tell me not to focus on some boy but focus on my school work. Jimmy? Nope, not going to happen. Nana? Maybe? But anything I told her would get back to Mom. Besides, she was so old, guys had changed a lot since she was my age.

  Jeanna was all smiles when she picked me up in her mom’s car. Like I said, her grudges never lasted long.

  “I’ve got to be home by two,” she said as she pulled out of the driveway. “Jamie has a soccer game and I’ve got to watch Janet,”

  “Sure, no problem,” I said as I let the conversation stall. Once again, my mind was wandering, trying to come up with some idea of what had happened to my world.

  Jeanna glanced over at me and slowly shook her head. “Boy, do you have it bad.”

  “What do you mean?” I asked as my stomach sank. Was it that obvious?

  “Nate,” she said shaking her head. “You are a complete goner.”

  “Oh don’t be ridiculous. I told you, it’s all for show. To keep Jimmy from freaking out. Besides, I didn’t say anything about Nate.”

  “You don’t have to. That thousand-yard stare of yours is a dead giveaway.”

  “You’re crazy,” I said as I turned to look out the window. And there, as if by some minor miracle was Nate’s truck parked outside a storefront that said, “Jake’s Gym”. It had to be him.

  “Stop,” I yelled as I twisted around to keep the truck in sight.

  “What? Why?” Jeanna screamed as she frantically looked for the pending disaster.

  “That’s Nate’s truck,” I said as if that explained everything. “Stop.”

  “Jesus girl, you scared me half to death. So, it’s Nate’s truck. How do you know? Or do you have the plates memorized?”

  “Jeanna, please stop.”

  “What are you going to do? Dump me for the day so you can go hang out with your fake boyfriend. Did it ever occur to you how screwed up that sounds?”

  “No, no, of course not. I wasn’t going to talk to him, I just wanted to get the address.”

  “Why?” she asked. “So you can send him a thank you card?”

  She was right, what was I thinking? Sighing, I slumped down into my seat and tried to forget about how foolish I was being. I’d reacted without thinking. That wasn’t like me. What was going on?

  Jeanna glanced over at me and slowly shook her head. “Yep, you’ve got it bad.”

  I didn’t respond as I came to the realization that she was probably right.

  At the library, we worked together. Discussing ideas about the project in AP History. Grabbing books and checking stuff on the net. I made a point to be bubbly and totally there for her. She made a point of shooting me weird looks every so often. As if she was having a problem believing my act.

  Of course, the entire time all I could think about was that red truck sitting outside the boxing gym. What was he doing? Could I go inside a place like that? That and a dozen other thoughts kept me distracted most of the day but I’m pretty sure Jeanna didn’t pick up on it. If she had, I’d have heard it.

  On the way home, my stomach tightened up into a knot the closer we got. When Jeanna turned onto Seventh, I thought for sure I’d never make it home in one piece.

  There it was, Nate’s truck, just where it had been parked earlier that morning.

  “Pull over,” I said to Jeanna before I could stop myself. I had to do thi
s. It was the only way I was going to survive.

  “Are you crazy?” she asked with disbelief.

  “Pull over, I just want to talk to him.”

  “So you are dumping me for a pretend boyfriend.”

  “Don’t be silly. You were going to drop me off in five minutes anyway. Please!”

  She sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at me. But, she pulled over. Like I’ve said, she’s a good friend.

  “You’re making a big mistake,” she said. “You don’t even know if he’s there. And I can’t wait. I’ve got to get home. How will you get back to your house?

  “I’ll walk. It’s not that far,” I said as I quickly mapped out the route in my head.

  She scowled at me and shook her head. “You are crazy.”

  “Thanks, Jeanna,” I said as I got out of the car.

  “You better call me tonight and tell me what happened. No excuses this time.”

  “I promise,” I said as I stared at the gym across the street. Suddenly this seemed like the stupidest idea I had ever had.

  Jeanna continued to shake her head as she pulled back into traffic. Suddenly. A lonely, empty feeling washed over me. What was I doing? This could go so wrong in so many ways.

  Get a grip girl, I told myself. I just want to talk to him for a minute. He could spare me a few seconds of his day.

  Pulling myself together, I crossed the street and hesitated outside the gym. Both doors were open, leading to a wide staircase that led up to the second floor. The tang of heavy metal hitting metal and the faint sound of men talking rolled out of the place like a mysterious wave of the unknown.

  I took a deep breath and started up the stairs only to be hit with a sharp aroma of a used gym sock. The place stank, no wonder they kept the front doors open. Swallowing hard, and breathing through my mouth, I stepped up into the gym.

  The place fit every stereotype I’d ever seen. Men bobbing around, punching bags. Men lifting weights, grunting and yelling as they strained. It even had a woman with boxing gloves punching a speed bag. Her hair pulled back and more muscles than most of the boys at my school.