Sharkbait

The end of the month came up quickly, and Amy and I drove to the airport to pick up our parents and Amy’s brother. Traffic had us running behind, and they called me to say they were waiting at the curb before I made it to the airport. I’d barely stopped the SUV before Susan had the passenger door open and was hugging the hell out of her daughter.

I popped the back hatch and got out, embracing my Mom as Brent and Luke put the luggage in the back. We crammed into my car and got back out on the road, heading south for the Coronado Bay Bridge and our home. “Thank you for coming out,” I told my Mom, who was in the middle of the back seat. Susan was in front, and Amy was clinging to her as her wolf took comfort in her scent.

“I missed you,” Olivia said. “You are looking good, both of you!”

“We’re doing well here,” I said. “We keep busy during the week, and most weekends we get Kai and some of his friends with us.”

“As long as you’re happy,” Brent said.

We headed back across the Coronado Bridge and onto the Strand, stopping at Bluewater Boathouse Seafood Grill for dinner. “Try the grilled swordfish,” I suggested.

“Why don’t we get a few different dishes and share,” Susan said. “We don’t get seafood like THIS back home.” It was a good idea, and with an appetizer sampler and our dinners, we had a great meal. We got home at almost eight at night. Makani and Noelani were there to greet us, and we were up late at night talking and catching up on what was going on back home.

We talked Luke into going running on the beach with us, so our morning run and exercise was a little more fun. He managed to keep up with us, which was more than Hammer expected. When we got home, our Moms had taken over the kitchen and had a big breakfast ready. “We have to leave in fifteen minutes to get to the dojo,” I said. I only had room for two others in the car, though.

“We cooked, so you boys clean up,” Mom said as she put her plate in the sink.

“The hot tub is ready if you want, or just relax,” I said. “We will be back about twelve-thirty.” The four of us changed into yoga pants and sports bras, putting T-shirts over the top and carrying our uniforms. Hammer didn’t believe in belt colors to denote progress; instead, he had ranking boards of all the students on the wall. Beat the man or woman above you in a challenge grapple, and you moved up.

It was a lot like Pack rankings. We were new, but we weren’t at the bottom anymore. There were still a LOT of people above us, though.

We parked in the lot less than five minutes before class started, so we were in a hurry to get in. As we entered the building, Susan suddenly stopped. Since she was leading Amy in, it almost resulted in Amy falling before I caught her. “Are you all right,” I asked.

“Go,” Susan said as she passed Amy to me. “Don’t be late.” The four of us dressed in our training gi and lined up on the mat as we waited for our Sensei to arrive. I heard a door open and a gasp from behind me. “What is going on, Mom?” I didn’t have a link with Susan since I wasn’t their Pack anymore.

“Later,” she said.

I focused on the lesson, as we practiced different arm locks and leg locks on each other for an hour. After a short break, we practiced grappling with our partners for thirty minutes, then sat around the center ring for the challenge fights. Wanting to move up and impress my parents, I called out Alex Thornton, who was six fighters ahead of me. “You’re not ready for me,” he said as he walked to the starting line.

“Game on,” I said as we bowed to each other.

“FIGHT,” Hammer said. Challenge fights were to knockout or submission. Dangerous holds like blocking airways or neck twists were banned. I expected Alex to go for a quick win, so I played defense against his size and reach advantage. He took me to the ground, but I was blocking his moves. For the next three minutes, he tried getting me into a choke, only for me to slip out of it.

Finally, he made a mistake, and I was on it. I got my right leg up between his arm and his shoulder, wrapping it around the back of his head. I rolled him to my left as my right arm pulled his right across his body, and my left leg locked my right leg in place. With one arm, he couldn’t fight me off before the cutoff of blood to his brain would knock him out. After three seconds, he tapped out, and I released him.

I didn’t celebrate; it wasn’t the way here. “Good spar,” I said as I untangled myself from him.

“You’re learning quickly,” he said as he helped me to my feet. Amy fought next, against a woman now ranked just ahead of me. She didn’t win, but she gave her all she could handle. After three more fights, the session was over. Hammer dismissed the class and went over to the wall to update the changes.

“That was AMAZING,” Susan said as we walked over to them at the side of the room. “I can’t believe you can fight like that without seeing her!”

“It’s all in the feel,” Amy said as she hugged her. “The closer I am, the less my vision matters.”

“You did well,” Mom told me. “I think we need to incorporate that into some of our training back home. It seems like a good way to defuse situations without having to injure someone.” I had to agree; it was fun to learn new disciplines, and no Mixed Martial Artist was without at least a passing ability at grappling. “I’d like to meet your instructor.”

“Of course,” I said. I walked over to ask Hammer to join us.

“My mom wants to invite him for dinner tonight,” Amy sent me. “She’s acting weird.”

“We’ll have plenty of food, but I don’t know if he will accept. We can ask.” Hammer smiled at our Moms as he walked back with me. “Hammer, this is my mother, Olivia, and Amy’s mother, Susan.”

“A pleasure to meet you. Your daughters are excellent…” He had shaken Olivia’s hand, but when he touched Susan, it was like a shock went through them both. He recovered quickly. “Students. I wish all of my students had their conditioning and desire to learn.”

“I’m glad to find she is continuing to learn and grow now that she’s on her own,” Liv said.

“And I’m thrilled to see how well Amy is doing after her injury,” Susan said. “Have you ever taught a student with vision issues?”

“I had a student who lost his left eye, but nothing like this,” Hammer said. “She’s inspirational, she doesn’t let it stop her, and she makes no excuses. It’s great for me because I can point to her and show how a physical problem doesn’t stop her from being a good fighter.”

I could tell he was getting ready to leave, but Susan was almost shaking; could he be? I looked at Amy. “I think he’s Mom’s second chance,” she told me.

“I know you’re busy, but we girls are making a big dinner tonight now that our families are here. Would you like to join us? I’m sure the guys would like to meet you.” I prayed he would say yes, or Susan might take it as a rejection, like when Leo dismissed Adrienne after they first met.

“It won’t be a problem?”

“Are you kidding? We’ll have more than enough,” I promised. “It would mean a lot to us if you came. Six o’clock?”

He looked at his calendar. “Man, I’ll have to give up take-out chicken and baseball on television,” he complained.

“We’re having pulled pork, ribs, cornbread, waffle fries, and coleslaw,” I countered. “Plus, you can see the television from the hot tub if you bring your suit.”

He turned back to Susan, reaching out his hand for hers. “If you don’t mind? I don’t want to take away from your family time.”

She smiled widely at him. “I’d like to talk to you about your experiences in the SEALs, it’s fascinating,” she said.

“Fine. I’ll see you there, and I’ll bring some local beer for the adults,” he said. “Gotta go.” He walked back towards the office as Susan watched his every move.

“We should get home,” I said as I pulled my gi off and folded it up, pulling the T-shirt over my head. “We have a LOT to talk about.”

No one said anything until we left the parking lot. “Is Hammer?”

“My mate?” Susan asked. “My wolf said so.”

“WOOHOO,” Amy said as she pulled her tight. “It’s about time!”

“I’m forty-four years old, baby, and widowed for thirteen years,” Susan said dejectedly. “Hell, I stopped going to the Summits when I turned forty because I didn’t think Luna would give me another. I’ve not given a man a second glance since Todd died, and I don’t know what to think now. I wasn’t expecting a human male.”

“He’s pretty hot, isn’t he,” Mom teased. “I bet you could still bounce a quarter on that ass of his.”

It was funny watching Susan get all flustered about it. “Did you pack a swimsuit,” I asked her.

“The green one-piece,” she said.

“Oh, HELL no,” Amy said. “No granny suits for you! Vicki, you’ve got to help pick out a nice bikini for Mom’s hot tub time. Something guaranteed to get a strike when it goes in the water.”

I laughed at that. “Susan still has the body of a much younger woman. Put those curves into the yellow bikini? Hammer will bite into that, develop lockjaw, and get dragged to death.” I snuck a glance at Susan and saw her jaw drop.

“She’s right,” Mom said. “You are only here for a week, and the mate bond doesn’t work with him the way it does for our kind. Trust me, I know. It took a lot of persistence for Brent to get me to fall in love with him.” She leaned forward and put her hand on her friend’s shoulder. “We all want you to be happy, Susan. If you don’t want him, just say so.”

“I want him,” she whispered.

Amy smiled and turned around. “Good. Makani, I need you to take my Mom to the spa this afternoon. The rest of us will get everything ready for dinner.” She turned back towards her mom. “Operation Hunky Stepdad has begun.”