Tough Love

by David Horne

  There was a knock at the door shortly after Josie texted him to say they were here, and Jack got up from the couch to answer it. But Christy got there first, and before Jack could tell her to leave it, she had opened the door. Then she stood there staring at Mark leaning on Josie, blood on his face.

  “Oh, my God. Mark!”

  “I’m fine, Christy.” Mark eased off Josie and made his way into the house. He was swaying a little. “It’s okay.”

  Jack couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Mark looked like he had been in a fight. Christy looked like she was about to cry. Squeezing her shoulder, Jack directed Christy back towards the living room.

  “You go and stay with your brother, Christy. I’ll take care of this.”

  A tear trickling down her cheek, Christy went. Then Jack saw Stevie in the living room doorway, staring at Mark with such a white face it was a wonder he was still upright. The poor boy looked frightened. Jack turned to Josie.

  “I’ll take him now, Josie. Thanks for getting him back.”

  “He should be going to a hospital.” Josie scowled at Mark as she stepped back. “He got whacked with a metal pipe. He could have brain damage.”

  “I’m okay. I’ve just got a headache.” Mark stumbled towards the kitchen, pushing past Jack. “I just need to clean myself up.”

  “Like I said,” Josie went on, “he could have brain damage. And I think that’s a distinct possibility.”

  Jack sighed.

  “You know what Mark’s like. I’ll take care of him.”

  “I’m sure you will.” Josie smirked.

  “Josie.”

  “Fine, I’m going.” Josie glanced towards the living room door. “I’m sorry about the kids having to see this. I didn’t want to scare them, but Mark wouldn’t let me clean him up.”

  “You let me worry about him, okay?” Jack kissed Josie’s head. “Thanks for your help.”

  Josie grunted and headed towards the door, shutting the door a little too hard. She was pissed, and you didn’t need to be a psychic to know that. Jack sighed and headed into the kitchen. Mark had got out a first-aid kit from the cupboard and was sitting at the center counter opening up the antiseptic wipes. Jack shook his head and plucked the packet from Mark’s fingers.

  “You needed to go to a hospital, Mark.”

  “I don’t need a hospital. I just need to clean up and I’ll be fine.” Mark scowled. “Stop delaying this, Jack. I want to just wipe this blood off. It’s not that bad.”

  “Not that bad? You scared the kids! You think they wanted to see that?”

  Mark faltered. His head had to be jumbled if he hadn’t thought about that. Jack ripped the packet open and followed where the blood was coming from. The cut was in the back of his head. Mark had to have been unconscious for a while to have it dripping down his face.

  “I passed out in the car again.” Mark wiped at his face with his sleeve. “I didn’t have blood on my face when I got into Josie’s car.”

  “I’m sure Josie will send you the bill for bleeding all over her Boxster.”

  Mark grunted. Then he sat up, almost catching Jack in the face with his head.

  “My laptop! Where is it? I dropped it when I got hit.”

  “Don’t panic, Josie put it inside the door as she left. I’m sure it bounced sufficiently.” Jack gently shoved Mark forward, making him lean over the counter. “Now stay still. I don’t want a headache myself.”

  Mark grumbled, but he stayed quiet as Jack cleaned the wound. It wasn’t too bad a cut, but it had been bleeding quite heavily. Mark was going to feel woozy for a while.

  “Does anything else hurt?”

  “My back.” Mark winced as Jack tugged some matted hair away from the wound. “They walloped me one with something that must’ve been a pipe.”

  “You could have some internal injuries, Mark.”

  “Just a lot of bruising.”

  “More than a lot of bruising.” Jack leaned closer to inspect the wound. “Someone whacked you pretty good. I’m surprised your skull didn’t cave in.”

  “It took me by surprise.” Mark grumbled. He was slumped on the counter. “Didn’t even see it coming.”

  Jack could feel a chill down his back. Another surprise attack in a parking garage. Mark always took precautions, and kept himself safe. Why was this any different? He picked up a big square bandage and pressed it to the back of Mark’s head, using tape to keep it in place.

  “After what happened to Judge Harvey at the courthouse, do you think it was a good idea to go out into a parking garage alone?”

  “Jack, it wasn’t the same garage and it wasn’t the same person.”

  “You still got attacked.” Jack jerked back as Mark flinched again. “For God’s sake, stop being such a baby.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not good when people prod at the injured bits.”

  Jack didn’t respond to that. He stepped around and began to gather the supplies, putting it back into the first-aid kit. Mark straightened up, grimacing as he started to shrug out of his jacket. Jack gave him a sidelong glance.

  “Do you need any help?”

  “No, I’m fine.” Mark stopped for a moment, took a deep breath, and then slid the jacket down his arms. “It’s probably a disgruntled parent pissed off at CPS and I was an unlucky target.”

  “Disgruntled parents go after you?”

  “Wouldn’t be the first time.”

  Now Jack felt even colder. Mark had never mentioned this to him before. He took a breath and let it out slowly. It was either that or lose his temper at Mark for treating this so lightly.

  “Are you calling the cops?”

  “I’ve called Rusty. He’s going to come here to take my statement.” Mark slid off the stool and moved gingerly into the hall. “I’ve got it under control, and Rusty is reliable.”

  Jack knew about that. But Mark’s brother was a homicide cop and Mark was very much alive. Aside from taking a statement, he couldn’t do much except pass it to those who dealt with these types of crimes. Mark hung up his jacket behind the door of his office and slumped into his chair with a heavy sigh. Jack stood in the door and watched him. Mark looked exhausted. It was a wonder he hadn’t keeled over yet.

  “You should’ve told me that people come after you.”

  Mark snorted.

  “For you to do what? Stand there and stare at them? That’s all you need to do sometimes.”

  “I can be scary when I need to be.” Jack said sharply. “And you need to be more careful.”

  “So I should hide behind you if I get hurt again?” Mark sneered.

  Jack bristled.

  “That’s not what I meant. But it’s best that you don’t go out alone. You don’t carry a gun or any type of self-defense weapon.”

  “I have a baseball bat in the car.”

  “How’s that supposed to help when you’re not anywhere near the car? You can’t exactly carry that around, can you?”

  Mark glared at him. Then he turned away and glowered at the blank computer screen. Goddammit, Jack wanted to shake him. His ego was bruised from the attack, but Jack would rather have his ego bruised than have his skull completely split open.

  Leaving the office room, Jack went over to the living room and went in. Stevie and Christy were sitting on the couch, the game they had been playing up on the screen. But nobody was playing, the controllers on the coffee table. Stevie was sat hunched over, elbows on his knees as he glared at the floor. Christy was curled up beside her brother, arms wrapped around her middle as she sank against the cushions. She looked up as Jack came in and sat up.

  “Is Mark okay?”

  “He’ll be fine. I think he’s more wound up that he got jumped.”

  “It couldn’t be Dad, could it?” Stevie asked, lifting his head. “He’s not out and coming after us, is he?”

  Jack blinked.

  “No, it wouldn’t be your dad. He’s not given any possibility of parole.”

  “But he could have
escaped.” Stevie insisted.

  “You would’ve been notified if that was the case. Chances are it’s someone else Mark’s inadvertently pissed off.” Jack looked from Stevie to Christy. “If I call Amber, do you want to spend the weekend at her place if she says yes?”

  “I would, but…” Christy bit her lip. Her eyes were shining with tears again. “I’m not sure if I want to leave Mark.”

  Jack’s heart melted. She was far too young to be worrying about so much.

  “He’ll be fine, Christy. But he might have a concussion, and it’s not fair on you two to keep an eye on him. Mark needs rest himself.”

  “We can take care of ourselves.” Stevie said. “I’m thirteen, so I can do that.”

  Jack smiled.

  “I remember the last time you were at home on your own. I don’t think Mark would appreciate having to deal with that mess right now.”

  Stevie pouted.

  “It was just a one-off.”

  “Until then, you let Mark decide when he can trust you to not blow something up.”

  Stevie didn’t like that. Jack could understand. If he were thirteen and told he couldn’t stay home alone, he wouldn’t have been happy. But he had already been close to six feet at that age and was on the wrestling team. Stevie was half his size and skinny. The kid was going to shoot up eventually, but he did not look thirteen. Give him six months, and that would change, but he had made some daft decisions in just a few hours, and Mark wanted to wait until he was at least fourteen before he tried again.

  Stevie clearly wanted something else, but he wasn’t going to get it. Mark was the parent, and Jack was going to respect that.

  “Just humor me, Stevie, will you? Your foster dad’s not going to be much fun, anyway.”

  “Hey!”

  Jack turned. Mark was in the doorway to his office glaring at him. Sighing, Jack looked at Christy.

  “Call Amber, will you, Christy?” As Christy got off the couch and went to the cordless phone in the corner, Jack turned back to Mark. “You know I’m right, Mark. You can’t look after the kids when you’re injured. What if I need to take you to the hospital?”

  “They’re ten and thirteen. They can take care of themselves.”

  “Thank you!” Stevie declared. “At least, someone remembers!”

  “Stevie.” Jack focused on Mark. “This is serious, Mark. You could’ve had your skull split open, and it’s not fair on children to see you end up in a coma because you’re not taking care of yourself. You need to focus on you, not put it on your kids.”

  Mark looked like he wanted to argue, his scowl still there. Then he looked away. Jack waited. They could argue about this all night, but Jack wasn’t about to leave Mark here on his own with the children. And if someone had attacked Mark and came back again, Jack didn’t want Stevie and Christy anywhere near it. Mark had to know if repercussions happened, the children would be caught in the middle.

  Finally, Mark’s shoulders slumped and he looked away with a scowl.

  “Just make sure Stevie and Christy are safe first, okay?”

  Jack relaxed a little. He could do that.

  Chapter Five

  Stevie and Christy still weren’t happy, but they packed a few things and were ready by the time Amber arrived. Christy clung onto Mark like she didn’t want to let go, her face buried into his shirt. Stevie just stood by looking sullen. Mark felt awful for both of them, but Jack was right. If whoever attacked him in the parking garage came after him and knew where he lived, they would be caught in the crossfire. And with Mark the way he was, he wouldn’t be able to protect them.

  He hated feeling weak and useless. They deserved better.

  Amber got there pretty quickly and the kids got into the car. Christy huddled up against her brother. Mark tried not to look. The two of them had never seen him like this before, and their homelife had been relatively calm aside from a few fights on Stevie’s side. This had to shake them up. He didn’t want to think what was going through their heads right now.

  His mother squeezed Mark’s arm.

  “They’ll be okay with me. I can take them to school on Monday, if you want.”

  “I’m sure I’ll be fine by Sunday, Mom.” Mark hugged the older woman. “It’s just for tonight, unless Jack starts being regimental about it.”

  “All right.” Amber drew back and glanced towards the car. “Christy’s scared. They both are.”

  “I know. I’ll call them later.”

  Amber nodded. She had sounded horrified when Mark told her what happened. It had been a few years since Mark had been attacked, but it hadn’t been as bad as this. Amber still worried over her eldest son, even though Mark could easily look after himself. But now he was beginning to realize that it didn’t matter how old the child was, the mother would always worry.

  “You’ve done a good job with them, Mark.”

  “Why are you saying that, Mom?”

  “Because I can see the cogs whirling. You’re worried you’re doing something wrong.”

  Mark sighed.

  “I hate that you know what I’m thinking sometimes, Mom.”

  “I know.” Amber cupped his jaw. “They’ll be okay, just as long as they know you’re going to be there for them. They’ve been through a lot and you’re a steady influence.”

  “I know. And I will be.”

  There was no way in hell that he was going anywhere. Mark stepped back as Amber got behind the wheel and backed her car down his driveway. He was glad to have a mother close by who would drop everything for him, within reason. It wasn’t just him that was a steady influence in Stevie and Christy’s lives.

  And Amber wasn’t likely to get walloped over the head.

  Mark watched the car disappear around the corner before going inside. He double locked the door and put the outside alarm on. Even then, he didn’t feel entirely safe, but the knowledge his foster kids were out of a potentially bad situation did make him feel a little better.

  Which was more than could be said for his head. That still hurt like hell.

  Pushing off the door, Mark went into the living room. Jack was drawing the curtains, switching on the standing lamp in the corner. He looked like he had been working hard all day, his t-shirt and jeans sweaty and covered in dust. Mark hadn’t noticed that when he first came in.

  “What have you been doing all day?”

  “Sorting out the back yard with Stevie. Ended up being a bit more work than I expected.” Jack crossed the room. “Did they go okay?”

  “Just about.” Mark went to rub the back of his head to ease the itching, but then remembered he couldn’t. “Christy’s crying, and Stevie is angry.”

  “That’s understandable. They’ve had stability for the last two years with you and that’s gotten shaken for them. They’re just nervous.”

  “We’re cool. I’m not going anywhere.”

  Jack’s expression softened.

  “I know that.” He squeezed Mark’s shoulder. “I saw you do a lot of good stuff, Mark. They’re good kids, and a credit to you.”

  “I’m glad.” That did make Mark feel a little better. “I’m glad I took the chance to foster them.”

  And it felt good having Jack touch him like this. Mark could feel the need building to have Jack touching him everywhere, not just his shoulder. But he had just been attacked and his head was pounding. How could he think about sex or anything intimate right now? Mark moved away and slumped onto the couch, leaning his head gingerly onto the cushions. It hurt for a moment but then it became a gentle, comfortable throbbing. God, his head was going to be more than a bit sore in the morning.

  “Can I ask you something, Mark?”

  “Depends what you want to ask.” Mark arched an eyebrow at Jack. “Is it a dirty question?”

  Jack blinked.

  “Should you even be thinking about dirty stuff right now?”

  “My mind’s all scrambled. I think you could ask me anything and I would answer it without any filt
er.”

  “I’ll remember that.” Jack folded his arms. “Why did you take those two on? What was so special about them?”

  Mark frowned.

  “I’m still not sure, even now. Their case...it kind of hit me in the gut. There was a connection there, and I didn’t want to see them separated. They needed to be together. All they had after their parents were arrested and their grandparents refused to take them in was each other. I didn’t want to see them split up.”

  “You think they would have been split up?”

  Mark nodded. He had seen it far too many times.

  “Believe it or not, while there are a lot of foster parents, there are quite a few who are very picky with what they want in terms of children. They want babies or they want only little girls or teenagers, they won’t take siblings if they are different genders…”

  “Are you kidding me on that one?”

  “Sadly, no. Christy might have gotten a home, but Stevie wouldn’t. That’s not fair to him. I wanted them to be together, and when no one would take them both, not even their grandparents, I said I would.”

  Mark wasn’t registered as a foster parent when he said he wanted to take them in, but he got the paperwork pushed through and pulled a few strings. Less than a week later, Stevie and Christy were leaving the group home they had been temporarily put in and were in his house. That first week had been difficult with everyone sizing each other up, but three years on and Mark didn’t regret it. He would do it all again.

  He just hoped he didn’t lose them after all this. There was a chance he could, and Mark didn’t want to go there.

  Jack was silent for a moment. Then he went over to the mantelpiece. Mark had stuck up their most recent school pictures, which had Stevie actually smiling in a photograph when he was normally scowling. Jack stared at them.

  “I don’t know why Stevie wouldn’t get taken in. He’s a great kid. I like him.”

  “He likes you, too.” Mark grunted. “More than me, I think.”

  “You’re their foster parent, Mark.” Jack turned. “He’s always going to like you first.”