Page 6 of Blake
“Love you, too,” she says, “baby girl.”
6
Duke
First, I see his reflection in the tractor I’m cleaning. Walking towards me. His fists all bunched up at his sides. I can see the scowl on his face even in the blurry picture on the green paint.
When I turn around, I recognize the man walking towards me. It’s the guy from the first day I checked in. The guy who stormed past me. The guy I heard bullying Daisy in her office.
“You have some explaining to do, Mr!” he says, stomping the final few yards towards me. “Moving in here like you own the place. What gives you the right? You’re just a no-good out-of-towner, and it’s time someone taught you a lesson.”
I look around, pretending to search for someone else who clearly isn’t there. “And who’s that?” I ask. “You don’t mean you, do you? A snot-nosed little punk. A scumbag more used to bullying women than fighting men. Give me a break. Go home, before you get yourself hurt.”
“Daisy’s mine,” he growls. “And it ain’t gonna be me who gets hurt.” He makes a sound like a baboon trying to sing opera. I presume it’s meant to be a laugh. “I hear you’re a doctor! Well, that’s lucky, because you’re gonna need one after I’m through with you. Yeah, that’s right. I’m gonna bust your stupid, smug face all the way back to the city you came from. You’re gonna wish you never set eyes on me. Gonna wish you stayed at home, I tell ya!”
“Last chance, boy. Turn around or leave here on a stretcher.”
His face is a distortion of anger and pain and confusion. I can practically see his brain ticking over. He’s scared. He’s smaller than me. But he’s come here to give me an ass-whooping, and he’s building himself up to it. Lying to himself. Convincing himself that I'm just some stupid city boy, twenty years his senior, who probably can’t fight to save his life. But little does he know, I’ve been training at boxing gyms since I was in med school. It’s been like therapy to me. Punching the bag. Sparring in the ring. Taking out all my frustration and pain and anger, so I have a clear head when it comes to being the best doctor I can possibly be.
I see the first punch coming a mile off. He pulls his arm back all the way to Mexico and attempts a giant right hook to my face. All I have to do is step back. The thing swings by me. An inch from my nose. I can feel the breeze it creates against my skin. But I’m never in any danger.
The energy he put into it takes him off balance. He stumbles forward. I show him mercy. A quick jab to the side of the head. A punch to the kidneys. Perfectly placed. Warning shots. Enough to tell him he’s bitten off more than he can chew, and I’ll still let him walk away if he has the brains to do so.
But, he doesn’t.
He spins around, using all his natural-born athleticism and the rigors of youth to launch another attack. A furious, undisciplined flurry of punches, none of which come anywhere near hitting me.
I duck. I weave. I counter punch. The anger inside me builds greater and greater with each contact. The memory of hearing him talk down to Daisy fueling my rage like an industrial size can of gasoline on a fire. I start to feel like I’m not only defining myself against this maniac, but I’m defending Daisy, too.
Whack!
An uppercut to his ribs. Seventy percent power. He stumbles back, but I keep on him.
Whack! Bam!
A quick left-right combo. One to the stomach and the other to his face. His nose explodes. Blood everywhere. He lifts his hands, trying to cover up. But it’s too late.
I feint another jab to his ribs. He lowers his hands. I spin step to the left and deliver a devastating spinning back fist right to the temple. His body collapses on the floor. Lights out. Game over. Good riddance.
My knuckles are red roar. I turn around and see Daisy running across the field towards me. She jumps in my arms. I spin her around, kissing her neck and her cheek and then finally her lips.
“I can’t believe you just did that,” she says.
I look down at the man by our feet. “He deserved it.” I put her back down on the ground. Holding her hand, I look into her eyes. “I didn’t wanna say anything, but I heard the way he was talking to you that first day I arrived here. I didn’t hear it all. But I heard enough to know what kind of man he is. He had this coming. Whether it was me, or someone else.”
“You heard that?” she says, looking away.
I take her cheek between my fingers. My hands are trembling. The adrenaline still coursing through my veins. “You don’t have anything to be ashamed about. He was in the wrong. Not you. But it’s okay,” I pull her to me and take a long deep breath, “I’m never gonna let anything like that happen to you again. Not ever.”
She bites her lip and stands up on her tiptoes. I bend my neck down and kiss her softly on the lips. Closing my eyes. Happier than I’ve ever been.
When we break apart I notice someone’s clapping. Daisy’s dad is leaning against the door to his house. A huge smile on his face. “Well done, City Boy,” he calls over to me. “Should have done that myself a long time ago. That boy's been hovering around here like a fly on shit. Why don’t you come on in and get yourself cleaned up? There's a beer in the fridge with your name on it, and it won't be long 'till dinner's ready. Might as well join us, seeing how it looks like your part of the family now.”
Daisy squeezes my hand and smiles at me. “Part of the family?” I ask. “You think he likes me now?”
“Not as much as I do,” she says. “Now come one, before he changes his mind.”
7
