Hammer - Galactic Cage Fighters 5

by K. D. Jones

  Twenty minutes later, he entered the little kitchen-dining combo. The kids weren’t there yet, good. He watched Molly silently as she made scrambled eggs and bacon. It smelled delicious. She also had several boxes of cereal out with bowls. She almost dropped her pan of eggs when she turned and saw him standing there. He smiled as she hummed a tune while cooking. He could tell that cooking was something she liked to do.

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, taking a seat at the table. He wasn’t planning to have her wait on him but he didn’t want his height to intimidate her.

  “It’s okay. You move so quietly, I didn’t hear you.” She held up the pan of eggs. “Scrambled eggs okay?”

  “Yes, please, and the bacon. It smells wonderful,” he replied. He stole a lingering look at her snug t-shirt covered chest when she leaned forward to scoop some eggs on his plate. Damn the woman made a t-shirt look good. He heard scraping of chairs, which made him tear his eyes off her quickly.

  “Good morning everyone,” Molly greeted the children with a bright smile.

  “Morning,” they grumbled back when Hammer gave them a look warning them to mind their manners.

  Lauren had brought Kate out and sat her in her toddler chair. The little girl looked at Molly and then gave her a big smile. “Molly!”

  Molly smiled at the little girl. She was just the most adorable little thing. She had reddish brown hair and blue eyes. “What would you like to eat this morning?”

  “Cereal!” Kate yelled out.

  “Of course. What about you two?” Molly asked Lauren and Tomas.

  “I want eggs and bacon,” Lauren responded.

  “Cereal for me,” Tomas told her, shifting in his chair.

  She turned to go get a bowl of cereal. She then made more eggs for Lauren. By the time she had her own breakfast of eggs on her plate, she was starving. She pulled out the chair slowly and almost sat down but stopped just as she heard a distinguishing hiss. She jumped back up to her feet.

  “What the?” She looked down at what looked like a frog. It was blue in color with green spots. Instead of it croaking, it hissed and its tongue was extra-long with a split end like a snake.

  “What did you guys do?” Hammer paled as he leaned over to get the creature. However, Molly got to it first.

  “Well look at you,” she cooed. “I haven’t seen a Plutian Snake Frog in years. I used to have one when I was a kid.”

  “You aren’t scared?” Tomas asked with surprise.

  “Of this little guy? No way, he’s adorable.” The creature hissed and his long split tongue came out and swiped her cheek. Instead of shrieking, she giggled. “I think I’ve made a friend.”

  Tomas looked angry as he stood and stomped toward her. “Give him to me, I’ll put him away.”

  Molly handed the Plutian Snake Frog over to Tomas. “I’ll make sure I get him extra treats for later.”

  Tomas grunted as he walked toward his bedroom. Hammer called after him, “Tomas, we will discuss your punishment later for allowing your pet out of his terrarium.”

  Molly didn’t miss a beat. She got busy preparing everyone’s lunches together, and then she started cleaning up the dishes. The kitchen was spotless by the time Hammer was ready to take the kids to their school.

  Molly went with him as he explained his normal schedule. “I take the kids to school and then I go down for morning training. I have lunch with the other fighters and then we have afternoon training. I leave a little early so I can pick the kids up, but with you helping to pick them up in the afternoons it will be great.”

  “Wow, I didn’t know that Galactic Cage Fighters' Association provided schooling. That’s cool.”

  “Yeah. The Galactic Cage Fighters' Association wanted to make traveling on tour for months at a time more convenient for those fighters with families. They established a small school located on the third level of the ship. It accommodates grades pre-school up to high school,” he explained. Hammer was eternally grateful for the school. It allowed him to be able train during the day.

  *****

  They dropped the kids off at their classrooms. “They go to school five days a week?” Molly asked.

  “Yes, for five hours. You will have some time to yourself in between dropping them off and picking them up.”

  “Great. Is there a library on board?” She needed to find something to do in between and on her off days, whatever they were. “Do I have off days?”

  “There is a library on the level with the lobby. I also have several bookshelves full of books in my bedroom you are welcome to. Sunday and Monday are your off days. The GCFA usually has matches on Friday and Saturday and sometimes there is a special event in the middle of the week. I take Sunday and Monday off and am able to watch the children then.”

  “Okay.”

  She walked with him as he showed her around the ship. He cleared his throat. “I wanted to apologize to you for Tomas’s behavior and the snake frog.”

  “It’s okay. He’s just rebelling a bit. It’s hard for him to adjust I am sure. No harm done.”

  “I should warn you in all fairness, you are nanny number five. The kids have found ways to get rid of every single one of the previous nannies. The last one ran screaming from the suite I am told.”

  “I am not easily frightened off. I have dealt with children with issues before. They are a lot easier to understand than most adults. But I do think he is expressing his feelings through his pranks.”

  “Well, I would like for him to express himself a little less. At least with the nannies.” Especially with this one. Molly was genuinely caring. He liked that about her.

  Chapter Four

  Hammer tried to keep his eyes off Nanny Molly. The female was beautiful. He wasn’t sure why she captivated him so. Honestly, there were females with more exotic looks that other males found appealing. But to Hammer, Molly was exotic. What most would see as too tall and a plus size, he saw as the perfect height and size in comparison to his own body shape.

  He was huge at seven foot and two hundred fifty pounds. Hammer towered over women and he was always worried he would break the small ones like Taurus’s mate, Maya. He steered clear of females that small. He was still taller and bigger than Molly, but he didn’t feel the difference was monstrous. He imagined they would fit together perfectly, in every way.

  He shook his head trying to clear his thoughts. He couldn’t think that way about Molly…Nanny Molly. Besides it being all kinds of wrong to date the kids’ nanny, the female just got a divorce and was probably going to take a while to recover before she dated again. Until then, he would be able to get to know her better. He was probably just lonely and needed to find some companionship for himself.

  “This is the training facility, in case you need to locate me while I am training for a fight.” Hammer opened the door for her and let her enter first.

  “Wow. This place is huge. Oh…you have a cage too?” Molly tried to ignore the looks she was getting from the fighters that were there practicing. Truth be told, she hadn’t really watched the Galactic Cage Fighters' Association before. She only watched a few times when Maya started working as a ring girl. It all seemed so…violent.

  “Maybe you could come to a match one night.”

  “Who would watch the kids?” she asked with a laugh.

  “I have the occasional babysitter as backup. I could arrange it and then you could come to the after party with me…as my guest.”

  She blushed from the intent look he gave her. “Maybe. I’ve never really seen a fight.”

  “Really?” Hammer was floored. He had never met a person who hadn’t seen a match or two. He was pretty well known with his fight name too, Sledge Hammer. He wanted to ask her more questions but they were interrupted.

  “What do we have here?” Zen asked, sliding up close to Molly.

  Hammer growled a little. Zen quirked up an eyebrow at him. Hammer clenched his teeth to keep him from demanding Zen step away from Molly. “T
his is Molly Maynard, the new nanny.”

  Zen reached out his hand to shake hers. He gave her his sexy smile and hooded eyes. “Nice to meet you, Nanny Molly. I am Zen.” He waited for her reaction to him. There was nothing. “You might have heard me by my fight name, Zen the Sin.” Still nothing. Her reaction wasn’t what he expected at all.

  Molly took Zen’s hand and shook it quickly releasing it. “Nice to meet you, Zen.”

  Zen was shocked. He looked at his empty hand and then back up at the pretty female. What just happened here? “You too, Molly.”

  Molly dismissed Zen and looked at the other men and women who had come to greet her. “Hi, I’m Molly Maynard.”

  Hammer tried to hide his smile. Molly could have cared less who Zen was. He was sure it was a first for Zen. He slapped his friend on the back as he leaned down to whisper, “I think the Zen master has lost his touch.”

  Zen gave him a glare. “I am only getting started.” He walked off with determined strides.

  Hammer felt something he rarely felt toward his friend, jealousy. Zen was everything that women looked for. He was tall, muscular, sexy, and confident. All the things Hammer wished he could be. He sighed. If Zen had set his sights on Molly, it was only a matter of time before she succumbed to his charms. Unless…

  “Are you ready to go?” Hammer asked, pushing Esan and Maxim out of his way. Neither one said a word. Most don’t want to piss off the Biclops.

  Molly smiled at him appreciatively. It was nice meeting the fighters, but it was a bit overwhelming. She had always preferred to be around a handful of friends or remain home. She wasn’t much of a socializer. That had been one of Jerry’s biggest complaints. He claimed she kept him from socializing and making friends. Obviously, he made her friends or made out with most of them anyway.

  “Everything okay?” Hammer asked, noticing her frown.

  “Yes. Well, no. I was thinking about my ex, which is never good,” she tried to reply flippantly but her emotions were still strong.

  He stopped her in the hallway by touching her elbow. An immediate zing went through his whole body at that single touch. He noticed her shiver and suspected she felt it as well. He didn’t remove his hand and she didn’t pull away.

  “I'm sorry about your marriage ending.”

  “I’m not. It’s a relief that it is almost over.”

  “I thought you got your divorce already.” He reluctantly released her elbow.

  Molly immediately missed the warmth of his hand. He sparked something deep within. She wasn’t ready to explore it, but she wasn’t ready for it to be over either. She was so confused.

  “The divorce is final. I'm waiting for the property and financial division of assets. We have a joint share in a condo and until it is sold, I still have to deal with him.”

  He didn’t want to see her sad, he had to change the subject. “Let me show you where the shops and restaurants are before taking you back to the suite. Do you think you will remember where to pick up the kids this afternoon?”

  “Yes, it was only two floors down. You don’t have to show me anything else. Maya showed me some of the shops when I first arrived. You must need to practice. You have a match coming up right?”

  “At the next spaceport we stop at, which will be tomorrow.”

  “Go on, I’ll be fine. Besides, I can call Maya if I get lost.” She shooed him away. Hammer looked her up and down one more time before walking away.

  *****

  She headed toward the shops when her cell phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Molly, where the hell are you?”

  Jerry. Damn, she forgot to check the caller ID before she answered. “What do you want?”

  “We are supposed to be working on selling this condo and you just take off on a vacation!”

  “I am not on vacation. I have a job on board the GCFA ship.”

  “A job doing what?”

  “I’m a nanny for one of the GCFA fighters if you must know. Because of you I lost my other job.”

  “Well get back here and help with this condo,” Jerry demanded.

  “The realtor is handling all of that.”

  “The realtor is trying to rob us blind. She is asking for a third less than what it should sell for.”

  Molly snorted. “Since when do you know anything about real estate? She is asking for a fair market price.”

  “It’s not enough. Why don’t you just sign over your share to me since you could care less.”

  “Not happening, Jerry.”

  “Well the least you could do is tell me where I can find a copy of the tax records and the insurance policies for the condo,” he whined.

  “There is a copy in the safe at the condo. If there is anything else that you want to know you need to go through my lawyer.” Molly hung up on him. She was determined not to let him ruin her day.

  *****

  Molly had a nice stroll through the shops before she went back to pick up the kids in the afternoon. She brought them home and helped them get started on their homework.

  “Say it,” Tomas whispered as he nudged Kate.

  “Don’t want to.” Kate stuck her thumb in her mouth.

  “Come on. Say it just like we practiced.”

  She shook her head no.

  “For a treat?”

  Kate’s eyes lit up. “Chocolate?”

  He nodded his head. “A big whopping bowl of chocolate fudge nuggets. All you have to do is say it.”

  Kate paused as she weighed her choices. Say the words and get the chocolate. Chocolate. Decision made, she turned toward Molly who was putting something in the oven.

  “Molly want a cracker. Molly want a cracker.” Kate used the fake bird voice Tomas had her practice.

  Molly stood back up quickly and turned to look at the three kids sitting at the kitchen table. They were all waiting for her reaction. She gave them one.

  Molly laughed, a full throaty laugh. “That’s a good one, Kate.”

  Kate laughed with her. She said it, now she would get her chocolate and Molly wasn’t mad. She said it again. “Molly want a cracker.”

  Molly laughed even harder. Tomas and Lauren looked at each other in question.

  “Aren’t you mad or hurt or…something?” Lauren asked exasperated. This wasn’t going as planned.

  “Oh no. I have heard that before, but it has been a while. I used to get ‘molly molly oxen free’ and then there was ‘molly holly Christmas goose’ and let’s see…‘molly molly Bo folly molly’. None of that bothered me though. I just smile and keep going. Besides, I know Kate and the rest of you would never say or do anything to hurt me on purpose. Your uncle Hammer told me how wonderful you all were and how proud he was of all of you.” She gave them a big smile and went back to getting their dinner ready. She fibbed a little but a little fib and a little guilt might help the kids straighten out a bit.

  “Oh, Tomas, Lauren. When you are done with your own homework, you both will work with Kate teaching her ABCs. Since you both love teaching her to say things.” Molly turned so they couldn’t see her smirk.

  *****

  Hammer was paired off for his practice match with Torch, the Voltan halfsie. The male was about the size of Rage so he was a decent match up. Zen stood right outside the cage watching and irritating him.

  “The new nanny is hot,” Zen commented.

  Hammer grunted as he took an impact from Torch. “Wasn’t paying attention.”

  Zen gave him a smug look. “So you’re not interested?”

  “No.” He barely sidestepped Torch as he lunged after him.

  “Are you sure?” Zen questioned.

  “She’s the nanny, that’s all.”

  “So if someone else was interested, you’d be okay with it?”

  Zen’s question made him lookup and Hammer caught a left hook directly to his face. Fuck! That was going to bruise for a few hours. He glared at Zen.

  “Are you saying that you’re interested?” Hammer asked with a sen
se of foreboding.

  “Maybe I am. I can just picture those long legs of hers wrapped around me…” Zen didn’t finish with his musings because Hammer rammed against the cage glaring at him.

  “You will watch how you talk about her,” Hammer ordered. If the bars had not been there Zen would be in a world of hurt.

  Zen held up his hands and backed away. “Easy, big guy. I was just admiring the lady’s assets.”

  “She is OFF LIMITS!” Hammer yelled.

  “I think that is up to the lady to decide.” Zen turned and walked away. He had a smile on his face. His friend was definitely interested in the curvy nanny. He noticed how the female watched him. She didn’t seem to mind Hammer’s size. There was a definite chemistry between the two. They just needed a little help from the Zen master.

  *****

  The door slammed waking Molly from the nap she took on the sofa. She tried to sit up but there was a weight on her legs. Little Kate had climbed up on top of her and fallen asleep too. The other two kids were already in bed. She motioned for Hammer to be quiet as she lifted Kate into her arms.

  “Sorry,” Hammer whispered. He went to take Kate from Molly. “I’ll put her to bed.”

  Molly nodded her head. She stood and went to the kitchen. She opened the oven door and pulled out a covered plate. It was still warm. She sat it on the table and went to fetch a beer from the refrigerator.

  Hammer stood frozen watching Molly. She looked like she belonged there, in his kitchen, getting him his meal. Images of his mother burning one meal after another making his father laugh ran across his mind. His mother had been a horrible cook. Though his sister, Hanna, had turned out pretty good. The smell of the delicious food reached him and his stomach growled.

  Molly looked up and felt a little embarrassed that he was watching while she was unaware. He had such an intensity to his green eyes. She didn’t know what he was thinking.

  “How was training?”

  Hammer made his feet move so he could go to the table and sit down. “It was fine. I practiced with Torch.” At her frown of non-recognition, he explained, “He’s a Voltan halfsie. He came after you left.”