Chapter 19
Chapter Nineteen
CAL
C hoke hold, wrist grab, bear hug from behind, hair grab, shirt grab, and headlock. I had never been so excited to be a victim or a creeper. My dad should put that in his smear campaign.
In each of these scenarios, there was a bonus—I got to touch Sabrina. I got to be close and hold her. I got to… Wait. Those felt like the thoughts of a creeper. Sure, I had her consent, but it felt a little pervy to be so excited to fake attack a woman just to get her to touch me.
Dammit, I was just so happy to be around her, and loved seeing her have a good time, and especially loved that I was teaching her a skill that could protect her. Nothing about that was creepy.
The stress of the last few days showed on her face—the dark circles under her eyes, the pinch of worry between her brows—but as she bounced from foot to foot in front of me, her ponytail high and swinging, there was a large, open smile on her face. Smiling was something she hadn’t done since the latest batch of articles had hit.
“Is it wrong that I’m excited to have the chance to knee you in the junk?” She beamed as she bounced from foot to foot.
“I’m sure I deserve it.” I gestured for her to come at me. She did but came in soft. Cute. She was all talk and really didn’t want to hurt me.
“We’re gonna do it again. Come in hard. Don’t be afraid; that’s what this suit is for.” I was dressed in a padded suit that made me look like the Michelin Man and crushing on this woman so hard that I was excited to let her dick-punch me. And in front of a large crowd. The turnout was spectacular, and the participants were engaged.
My family had been in this town for generations, yet I only knew people who worked on the ranch. That fact did not escape me—just more proof that I had closed myself off. Sabrina was a visitor to the town and had a network of friends. She was tight with the sheriff and his wife, Cori; the vet’s wife, Hannah; a park ranger and his wife, Ellie; and of course, Cricket. Where Sabrina went, life happened. Considering how alone she might have felt, she still surrounded herself with people she loved. Even though I had family, for the past ten years, there had been no real life to my life. All I did was work and called it living? I’d closed myself off from any attachments.
“Do I have to put my hands on your shoulders to kick your man parts?” Sabrina asked, bouncing around like a boxer.
“It’s really hard to put some oomph into it if you don’t.” I held up a finger and turned to the crowd. “Listen, this is for everyone but especially women. If the predator thinks he can overpower you, he’s going to put his hands on you, or he’s going to be close enough to put a gun in your face. Do not get moved to another location. It’s okay to fight back. I’m going to come at Reenie from behind, trying to use surprise to get her.”
“Show me what you got,” she challenged, a twinkle in her eyes.
I faced her and signaled for her to turn away and start walking.
The first evolution didn’t go so well for Sabrina. Full understanding dawned across her face, her amusement replaced with determination as she realized just how easily getting overtaken could be. Then she practiced the moves a few more times and started to improve.
At one point, I had my arm around her in a mock choke hold when she tapped me gently on the forearm to get me to pause. “I know this is practice, but even in practice, being grabbed like this is unnerving. I know you. I have known you for years now, and I trust you, and yet I still feel trapped and worried that I won’t be able to get away. It’s very sobering.”
She trusted me. I blew out a breath I didn’t know I’d been holding. Part of her forgiving me would be to trust me again. And we were on that path.
“Imagine if this was real life. We are not educating people enough. I think self-defense should be taught in middle school PE classes. You ready?” I asked.
She straightened up and squared her shoulders, gave a quick nod, then twisted my arm and flipped around when I loosened my hold, ending with a knee to my groin.
Reflexively, I dropped to my knees. The padding was good, more than enough, but my body wanted to close in on itself as I thought about how bad that would have felt.
I stood and gave her a high five. She was beaming and radiant.
“Let’s partner up and practice on each other. Without making actual hits, though. Oh, and one last question; what color was the jacket I was wearing when we first started?”
People shouted out colors. They were just going through the rainbow.
I held up a hand to get their attention. “Not knowing is a clear example of the white level: oblivious to your surroundings. If you said blue, come stand by me.” A handful of people, a mix of ages and genders, moved to stand next to me. “You all are at the yellow level,” I told them. “Calm but alert. Aware. Congrats.” I turned back to the crowd. “This is where you want to be at all times. Slow down and stop to take a moment to survey your surroundings when you are out. That will pay off in dividends.”
For the rest of the afternoon, people practiced, and I moved around, showing them how to perfect the move. At dinnertime, as the group dispersed, some lingering, an older woman about my mom’s age approached me. She was worrying her hands, her expression tight.
“Excuse me. I have a question. What do you do if someone won’t leave you alone?” Her eyes darted over her shoulder, and I followed her gaze to a young woman in scrubs talking to Hannah, the veterinarian’s wife.
“Can you explain what you mean by not leaving you alone?” I gestured for her to take a seat, which she did. She rubbed her hands down her legs nervously.
“It’s my daughter. All I know is that she went on one date with a guy, and he shows up at her place at all hours, won’t leave her alone. Calls her incessantly with no concern for time. She said he’s also been showing up when she goes out with her friends.”
“Does your daughter live here in town?”
She nodded.
I made eye contact with Fort, the sheriff, and with a quirk of the head, told him to come over. “Let’s get your daughter over here so we can all talk.”
The woman shook her head. “She thinks she’s got it all under control. But I’m scared. I was reading up on stuff online and…” She pressed a hand to her mouth.
Fort took a seat on the other side of the woman. “What’s going on, Sally?”
Sally shook her head, so I brought him up to speed.
The sheriff gave a heavy sigh. “Is it one of the hired hands that have come in with the Nickelson ranch?”
“I think so,” said Sally.
Fort explained that one of the locals had sold out to a billionaire looking for a pet project, and the staff he’d brought in had had a tough time learning about what they were and weren’t entitled to. He signaled for the daughter to join them. She came over and stood in front of her mother, with her hands on her hips. Sabrina joined them and took a seat by my side.
“What did you tell them, Ma?” The daughter was clearly irritated.
“Casey,” Fort said. “I’m curious why your mom seems worried about this guy and you don’t.”
“It’s so embarrassing,” Casey said.
I stood and offered Casey my seat. “That’s exactly what he’s using to manipulate you. Your embarrassment, being self-conscious. I bet he even says things that hint to your being bitchy. Things like ‘I’m just being nice’ and ‘I’m sorry if you are misunderstanding me.’”
She nodded.
“When people get scammed out of money online, who do they tell? Usually no one because they are embarrassed. But did you know you can report the scammer to the FTC, your local police, and even your bank? That’s the same thing in your case. There are steps to take and acts to put into place to protect you and stand up to him.”
“File a report with me, and I’ll ride out myself and have a talk with him,” Fort said.
“Which could escalate him. Before Fort does that, make sure you’re secure. Take a picture of him to your work, and tell them he is not allowed near you. Let’s talk about your routine and home security.”
Casey nodded and took her mom’s hand.
They went over everything. I even offered to drive to her apartment, check it out, and install the motion detector and cameras, but the woman said some family would help. I hoped they wouldn’t waste a moment. But this right here was why I wanted this app to be successful. With the app, people too afraid to ask for help could get solid information about what to do without stumbling across the misinformation the internet was wont to offer.
Fort said he’d drive by and check things out, as well, and to call if they had any issues. He would drive to the ranch in two days’ time.
I caught Sabrina’s eye. Her face showed her pride and admiration, and I knew that, yeah, I’d gone into personal safety because I’d liked it but also because I’d felt useless when it came to protecting her, my mother, and my sister from my father, so I’d set out to protect everyone else. But this look Sabrina was giving me—it was everything. It was better than money, time on a morning TV show, or a book deal. The ease on Sally’s face when they started talking strategy was the reward too.
Dammit all. This was what life was all about, helping people and getting an adoring look from the woman I loved and had never stopped loving. My company be damned. I was going to fight for Sabrina. There was no use pretending that I didn’t want a life with her.