Hammered (Blue Bay Crew #3)- Cathryn Fox Page 0,49
off. Liam Becker comes skateboarding down the road, and comes to an abrupt stop when he sees who I’m with. He hops off his board, and stares at Haven, completely starstruck.
“You better close your mouth, Liam. You’re two seconds from eating that fly buzzing around your head.”
Ignoring me, he stares at the beautiful woman beside me. “You’re…you’re…”
“Haven Roberts,” Haven says and reaches out to shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, Liam.”
His eyes go wide. “You know my name?”
She gives him a little wink. “Tyler just called you Liam.”
“Right, shit.” He glances down, his cheeks red from embarrassment.
“Language,” I say and shake my head. Haven grins at me, because yeah, I drop the F-bomb a lot, just not in front of the kids. Or at least I try not to. “Get inside and get warmed up,” I tell him. As the kids all shuffle in, I can still feel Haven’s eyes on me. “What?” I finally ask.
“Coach Owens, it suits you.”
I laugh. “Who would have thought?”
“I would have.”
I nod, and say, “These kids actually mean a lot to me. They’re all good inside, you know?” I put a fist against my chest. “They just need to be molded and shaped by the right person.” I take a breath. “It took a trainer to mold me into the man I am today.” My stomach squeezes, and my throat grows a little raw when I add, “But there’s a part of me that thinks my dad had a part in that, too. I want to think that. I need to think that. He was a hard-ass man and our relationship was fractured, to say the least, but maybe…”
“The way he treated you boys taught you all what you wanted to be and what you didn’t want to be, Tyler. There is always something to take from every relationship, family or not, good or bad.”
“Like I said, beautiful and smart.” I laugh and add, “Your brother always said that about you, do you know that? I love that you could always count on him, Haven. We all need that.”
“I have parents, but he’s the only one I consider family.”
“And mine, remember.” I give her a little nudge. “They’re yours while you’re here.”
She smiles and her knuckles brush mine. It sends a jolt of heat through me. “You do realize you have your own little family right here, don’t you?”
I consider that for a moment. I do spend an awful lot of time with these kids, and try to be a good role model. “In a way, I guess I do.”
She puts her hand on my face. “That’s so nice.”
“Let’s see how nice you think it is after I put you through some moves.” She chuckles as we head toward the door and she glances at the exterior. “What was this place before you turned it into a gym?”
“It’s the old fire station, actually. A new one was built a couple years back, and the town donated this to me to use. It’s mine until someone decides they want it, which is why I am saving to build my own gym and fill it with state-of-the-art equipment. I realize the kids don’t need that, but business is picking up and I’d like to grow, get a cage and maybe even host a few MMA fights in the future. I’m hoping to have a new facility before I lose this one.”
“Nice of the town to let you use the space.”
“Everyone at the town council meeting was in agreement. They want the kids off the street.”
“How did you get into MMA anyway?” she asks as I pull the heavy door open.
“Started in jiu jitsu when I was twelve. Right here in Blue Bay. I had a great coach. Got my black belt when I was twenty.”
“Impressive, and now that you mention it, I remember grappling is what you were good at.”
“What can I say, I like working off my back.” That brings a huge smile to her face.
“You’re quite good at that, in and out of the cage.”
I laugh. “You watched one of my fights?” I ask, my mind oddly going back to my old man. Was Haven right? Would he have been proud of my UFC title? Maybe, but he sure as hell wouldn’t have told me. Then again, did I give him a chance? I only came back after he was gone. I guess I’ll never know.
“I caught a fight or two of yours.” She smiles. “I love what you’re doing here, Ty.”