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“No, sir, I really don’t want to do that the rest of my life. It was good to get through college. I have one fight left, the big one for the championship and then I’m finished. It helped with all of the expenses for school and I set up a college fund for my sister as well.”

  “That’s great, sounds like your sister has a pretty good brother. And how is school going?”

  “It’s going great, sir…um, sorry, Ed. It’s going great. I graduate this year and I have a 4.0.”

  “Well, that’s impressive,” Emmi’s dad said. “I struggled for a 3.0. You must be a smart guy.”

  “Thanks, I love computer stuff so it all comes kind of easy to me.”

  “Yeah, but I know there’s a lot more to it than just your primary classes. Give yourself credit where it’s due.” It was no wonder that Emmi was so well-adjusted. Ed barely knew me and he was already trying to be supportive. “I’m sure my daughter appreciates a boyfriend who can hold an intelligent conversation,” he went on to say. “Unfortunately, her last one was a bit lacking in that department.”

  I wanted to laugh, knowing the punk he was talking about. But, I held it inside and said, “Mr…Um, Ed…”

  “Now it’s Mr. Ed? I sound like the talking horse.”

  “What horse is that, sir?” I asked him.

  He laughed and said, “Never mind, Braxton. I’m showing my age. It was way before your time. Before mine too, but I caught the reruns.”

  “Oh, okay.” I had no idea what he was talking about. “I was wondering if you and I could maybe have lunch sometime?”

  “I’m free now,” he said.

  “Oh, um…yeah, sure. Are you here in town?”

  “No, but I’m close. I was just finishing up my errands and thinking about getting some lunch anyways. How about I meet you at Buffalo Wild Wings out just off the highway? That’s about halfway for us both, right?”

  “Yeah, that’s perfect, thanks.”

  “Looking forward to talking to you, Braxton.”

  “I’m looking forward to it too, sir…Ed, thank you.”

  I hung up the call with a few less knots in my stomach. He was really nice…or he was pretending to be so he can get me alone way out on the edge of town and kill me.

  CHAPTER THREE

  EMMI

  After Zoe and I had breakfast, I went to the University Newspaper office. I was a little nervous about seeing Sarah, since she had been snippety with me lately over Braxton, but I had photos that I needed to turn in to her. I still had the ones of the fight and the ones I’d taken of Braxton, and the ones of him and me. I didn’t know what Sarah was going to think, nor if she’d even publish the ones of me and Braxton, but I still had my job to do.

  I made my way through the offices and the printing room in search of Sarah. I finally found her in the conference room where we had our staff meetings. She looked up when I came in and she actually looked happy to see me.

  “Hey, Sarah, are you busy?” I asked. She had a pile of paperwork in front of her, it looked like job applications.

  “Hi, Emmi. I’m not too bad. I was going to call you today; actually, I’m glad you came by.”

  “I’m sorry, I should have brought these photos in yesterday but I just got a little overwhelmed and…” My stomach suddenly felt sick. Was her animosity going to affect my job?

  “It’s okay, Emmi. Sit down, today is fine for the photos. I wanted to talk to you about something else.”

  I sat down, but I made sure to pick a chair out of striking distance. Not that I thought she would strike me, but you can never be too careful. I really hated thinking that way about her. I liked Sarah before all the jealousy nonsense started.

  “I’m going to graduate at the end of this semester and that means my job here as head photography editor is going to be open. They’ve left it to me to assign my own replacement and I can’t think of anyone more qualified than you.”

  I was staring at her as she talked, but I wasn’t sure I was really processing her words. I was literally stunned. I think my mouth probably hung open for a full minute before I realized how stupid I must look and closed it.

  “Me? Really?”

  Sarah smiled. “Yes, Emmi. I know you’re probably suspicious of my intentions since I’ve been anything but cordial lately. I owe you an apology. I knew that Braxton and I weren’t going anywhere a long time before you came into the picture. It just took me a minute to get my head back on straight when I realized that he had actually met someone he was willing to settle down for. I honestly thought it would never happen and I just had to sort through some feelings about that. None of that should have been directed at you though and I’m truly sorry that it was.”

  “Wow, um…thank you, Sarah. It’s okay, really. I know that a lot of people are probably shocked about me and Braxton. I do appreciate the apology though. As far as the job…I’m ready to dance naked on the rooftops right now! It would be a dream come true for me. The advantage this would give me when I start looking for a job will be tremendous. I truly cannot believe it.”

  Sarah laughed. “Well, pinch yourself, you’re not dreaming. This has nothing to do with me being regretful about my behavior either. The job is seriously about your talents. I recognized your talents right away and you’re a hard worker on top of it. I know you can do this or I would never recommend you.”

  Her praise meant a lot to me and I almost felt misty-eyed as I told her, “I’m sure you know what a great opportunity you’re lying at my feet here. I am just so thankful and happy; I don’t even know what to say. Thank you, Sarah, so much.”

  “You’re welcome. We have a staff meeting this afternoon and I’ll let them know that I’ve chosen you and you’re willing to take the position. Then the editor will be contacting you from there with the details.”

  I squealed, I knew it wasn’t professional, but I couldn’t help it. Then I jumped up and hugged her. I couldn’t help that either. She only laughed at me; I think she got how exciting it was for me. I couldn’t wait to tell Braxton and Zoe.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  BRAXTON

  Even before a big fight I didn’t get as nervous as I was on my way to meet Emmi’s dad. I hadn’t really thought this through. What if he said no? Do I just say, “Oh well, I tried,” and walk away? I couldn’t see that happening. I’d already made up my mind that Emmi was who I wanted to spend my life with. So, what if asking him did more harm than good? What if he says no and she says yes and then he and I have to look at each other across the table at Thanksgivings or Christmases when he has the turkey carving knife in his hand? Yep, I really should have given this more thought.

  It was too late though. I was driving into the parking lot of the Buffalo Wild Wings. I didn’t know what he drove or even what he looked like. What an idiot, I didn’t even think about how I would find him once I got there. He was going to see me looking lost and he was going to think that I’m way too stupid to marry his smart, beautiful daughter. God, I was a mess. I pulled open the heavy double doors and as soon as I stepped inside I saw him. I guess I have him to thank for Emmi’s gorgeous blue eyes. There was no way that this man was not her father and if he wasn’t, I’d probably never see this guy again so I said, “Hi, Mr. Sadler? I’m Braxton.”

  “Hey, Braxton,” he said with a smile and a hearty handshake. He had her smile too or more aptly, she had his. “I hate to admit this but once I got here I wondered how I was going to recognize you.”

  I laughed. It was nice to know that I wasn’t quite as big of a dork as I thought I was, or at least Emmi’s dad was too.

  “I had the same thought,” I told him. “But you look just like Emmi.”

  Her dad made a face and said, “You’re not starting off so good here.” I suddenly had a dragon in my gut wondering what it was that I said wrong.

  “I’m sorry, sir,” I said, still unsure of what I was sorry for.

  “You’re insulting my daughter right off the bat, saying she looks like this ugly old man?”

  I
laughed nervously and he threw his head back and laughed heartily. He clapped me on the shoulder and said, “I couldn’t bring my gun in; I have to give you at least a little hard time. Let’s go get a seat, I’m starving.”

  My stomach was still churning when the waitress took our order. I ordered the original Buffalo wings, which come in a huge basket with a ton of fries. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to eat any of it.

  “So, Braxton, what do you major in at school?”

  “Computer science,” I told him.

  “So you want to do something in computers…obviously…?”

  “Yeah, I’m thinking computer networking, setting up internet cafés and things like that.”

  “That’s good; you must be a pretty smart guy. I hate to admit it, but I have a love/hate relationship with my computer at work. It’s made a lot of things easier, but a lot of times, I miss the old-fashioned way we did things.”

  “What do you do, sir?”

  “Will you stop calling me sir? It makes me feel like an old geezer.” We both chuckled. “Anyways, I sell medical equipment. I’ve been doing it for twenty years and when I first started we had one computer in the office. Now we have about ten in the office and we each have one of them hand-held gizmos too. I used to keep a logbook when I made my deliveries, but now I have to log it all into the computer. That’s fine on the days when my computer is in the mood to cooperate.”

  I laughed. “Yeah, they can be fickle sometimes. If it ever happens again, you could always call me. I might even be able to talk you through it on the phone.”

  “Fickle, like women,” he said with a laugh. “If I have a problem with my woman could you talk me through that as well?”

  “No, sir, I’m afraid you’d be on your own there.”

  He threw his head back and laughed again. It made me wish that my father laughed occasionally. Our food came and I realized that my stomach had finally calmed down enough that I could eat.

  As we chowed on our wings, Emmi’s dad said, “So how did you get into underground fighting?”

  I wasn’t sure where to start. Did I tell the father of the woman I loved that I got into it because I was tired of women not paying any attention to me?

  Finally, I said, “When I was in high school, I was kind of the nerdy smart guy. When I came here to go to school I didn’t really know anyone and I thought of it as a chance to change a few things I didn’t like about myself. So, I started working out at this private gym over the summer before school started. I met this guy, my trainer now, Sam. He told me that he saw potential and asked if I would be interested. I figured what the heck and here we are.”

  “About to take the title, I hear.”

  I grinned. “Yeah, I hope so. Did Emmi tell you that?”

  “She did, she actually talks to me quite a bit about what’s going on in her life.”

  I didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. “Oh, that’s good.”

  “It makes me happy and it makes me feel safer with her living away from home that I usually know what’s going on in her life and who her friends are. Do you have a close relationship with your parents?” he asked.

  I wiped barbecue sauce off my lips and responded, “My mom died a while back, when I was in high school. Before that, I had a good relationship with them, a great one with her. My dad…he kind of fell apart after she died. He drank a lot and he wasn’t around as much as he should have been…so, our relationship these days is on shaky ground. At least that’s the nice way to put it.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that,” he said. He looked genuinely sorry. “How many siblings do you have?”

  “Just my one sister, Callie. She’s still in high school. She’s a good kid and she really likes Emmi.”

  “Sometimes I wish Emmi’s mother and I would have had at least one more. Being an only child forces you to grow up a little faster than most, I think. Emmi’s almost as perfect as I can imagine any daughter being, but for her own sake I’d wish she was a little less serious about life at her age. She has a little trouble just cutting loose and having fun.”

  Shit. If he was worried that she was acting older than her age, he wouldn’t like the idea of her getting married any time soon. I think he was reading my mind as I had that thought, either that or it showed on my face, because he suddenly asked, “So, Braxton, what did you really want to see me about today?”

  It was do or die time. I tried to put myself in the mindset of getting in the octagon on fight night, but this was scarier.

  “I, um…” Shit! “I was thinking about asking Emmi to marry me,” I blurted out. “I love her, sir…Ed.”

  Emmi’s dad looked like he was trying not to smile or laugh. Finally he said, “You were thinking about it or you’re planning on it?”

  “I was planning on it, but I was hoping to get your blessing first.” Ed smiled.

  “That’s commendable of you, Braxton. You don’t see that often these days. I asked my wife’s father for her hand. He said yes grudgingly, I think.” He chuckled and then said, “So, you love her, a lot?”

  “I love her so much, sir, that I can’t imagine my life without her.”

  He grinned again. “Good answer. Emmi tells me that she feels the same way about you. I wouldn’t presume to stand in the way of love like that. You have my blessing, thank you for asking for it. But don’t hurt my daughter.”

  “I won’t, sir, at least never on purpose…I mean…”

  He laughed and said, “I know what you mean. Sometimes, with sensitive women like my daughter it’s hard to get it just right. But as long as you’re trying and not doing anything that you know up front will hurt her, I won’t kill you.”

  “Good to know, sir,” I told him with a grin and then said, “Ed.”

  He snickered. “When are you planning to ask her?”

  “I was thinking about doing it after my last fight, which brings me to another thing I wanted to ask you. Would you and your wife be interested in coming?”

  “Emmi’s mother is not big on the whole fight thing, but if it’s okay if I tell her about the proposal—”

  “Yes, of course,” I told him.

  “—then I think she’ll agree to come. Me, I enjoy watching a good fight.”

  “I’ll do my best to give you one, sir,” I told him.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  EMMI

  I was excited. Braxton and I were having a picnic at the lake and I was packing us a lunch to take. He had just asked me out of the blue if I’d like to go. Neither of us had classes so I figured, why not? I hadn’t told him about the job yet. I wanted to wait until we were by the lake. It sounds silly, but it was such an exciting thing to me that I wanted to savor it a bit and not just blurt it out and suddenly it was over with.

  “Hey, are you almost ready?” he asked as he walked into the kitchen.

  Remembering the last time we’d gone to that lake with a tickle in my belly and a grin, I said, “Yep, I’ve got my swimsuit, do you have yours?”

  He grabbed a string cheese out of the basket and in spite of my smacking his hand, he peeled it open and took a bite. “You didn’t like my skin suit?”

  “I’m not going to answer that on the grounds that I may incriminate myself. But it’s broad daylight this time, so bring your suit.”

  “Okay, spoilsport, don’t get your bikini bottoms in a bunch. I’ve got it on under my jeans.”

  “Good,” I told him. I definitely liked his skin suit, but we needed to leave that for when we’re at home, or at least alone in the dark.

  We loaded up the truck and headed for the lake. It was a beautiful day. I was happy to be with Braxton, I almost couldn’t believe how much I loved him sometimes. I was happy about my new job, I couldn’t wait to start, and I had to tell Braxton or I would burst. I hadn’t told anyone yet, not Zoe or my parents. I wanted Braxton to know first and I didn’t doubt that he would be proud of me. I glanced over at him. Most of his face was covered by his sunglasses and it was too bad, because I
loved his face.

  I got a chill when I thought about him having one last fight. I was glad it would be his last one, but it nearly killed me sometimes to think about someone pounding him in his pretty face. I remembered what he looked like that night in the bathroom. The first night he told me that he loved me. I made myself shake off those thoughts. Today was about fun and exciting new jobs.

  It was the middle of the week so the lake wasn’t too crowded. We found a nice spot under a tree to leave our stuff. Braxton had brought his silly little chair with the umbrella and I did my best to refrain from making fun of him. I knew he had his biggest fight ever coming up and he couldn’t have his energy “zapped.” I didn’t laugh at him, but I definitely smiled a lot and he shook his head at me because he knew what I was amused about.

  Braxton started stripping off his jeans and I was glad to see that he really had worn his suit.

  “Are you coming in?”

  “Yeah, I’ll be right there,” I told him. I pulled off my T-shirt and shorts as I watched him run down to the water. Just looking at him made my heart swell. It was still surreal to think that he was mine. When I got down to my suit and close to the edge of the water I told him, “Let me ease in, okay? No splashing or dunking.”

  “Sure,” he said with an evil grin. I knew he was lying as I inched in…toe, foot, calf…That was as far as he let me get, before I could react, he was on top of me and dunking me under. I screamed and he tickled and dunked me under again.

  When I came up I said, “This isn’t fair you know.”

  “What’s not fair about it?” he asked.

  “You’re a lot stronger than me and you outweigh me by quite a bit.”

  “It’s all muscle,” he said.

  “Of course it is,” I told him. “But I wasn’t finished.”

  “Sorry, finish.”

  “You use your incredible strength and weight…all muscle of course…to toss me around like a rag doll. It’s almost like being a bully.”

  “So what do you suggest?”

  “Just to make it fair, you need to go all ragdoll for a minute and let me torture you.”