looking up at Ryan with a shocked expression.
He smiled. “I told you I wouldn’t give up.”
Her face flashed red, and I waited for her to send Ryan flying across the room again. But the flush of her cheeks returned to a warm tone, and her eyes softened. A slow, small smile turned up the corners of her mouth. Ryan, without caution, kneeled beside her. His eyes left hers, and then transfixed onto her lips. He leaned in closer. I waited for Claire to grab him by the throat, or kick him in his nether region, but she slowly closed her eyes.
“What in the hell happened in here?” Cynthia shrieked, slamming the door behind her.
My mother’s surprise entrance took my attention away for only a moment, and when I looked back, I could see a familiar frustration in Ryan’s eyes.
I smiled.
“Someone had better answer me,” Cynthia said.
Realization fluttered in Claire’s eyes, and she glanced in my direction.
“Karma,” I said with a knowing grin. She had made a hobby of interrupting Jared and I when we were falling in love. It was refreshing to see her reaction when the same happened to her.
“Oh, shut up,” she said, pushing herself to her feet. She grabbed Ryan’s hand and helped him to stand. “I apologize, Mrs. Grey.”
“You did this,” Cynthia said. Her words were more an accusation than a question. “I expect everything to be in order by tomorrow morning.” With that, she left for her bedroom.
Claire surveyed the destruction. “It’s going to be a long night.”
“I’ll help you,” Ryan said.
Claire left for the kitchen, and returned holding a large garbage can. She carried it in one hand, picking up the splinters of wood that covered the floor with the other.
“Have fun with that,” Jared smiled, taking my hand. “We’ll be at the oak tree at first light.”
“Oh?” I said with a smile.
Jared glanced at his little brother. “You’re coming, too.”
“I am?” Bex said.
A wary frown touched Bex’s face as his eyes darted between Jared and me. I could tell that he was hesitant to be excited. “Why? Isn’t that, like, your breeding ground?”
Jared rolled his eyes. “I want to see what Nina is capable of.”
“Sweet!” Bex said, clapping his hands together once. “You ready to spar, Sis?” His hands rubbed together.
A broad smile widened my face. “Oh. It’s on.”
Chapter Ten
Matches
Jared and I walked upstairs. I went through the motions of my nightly routine in a daze, trying to concede to this new reality. Knowing I had a lot to prove in the morning, it was difficult to sleep. Finally I forced my mind to slow down, and managed to close my eyes for a few hours before the sun breeched the horizon.
Once my eyes fluttered, there would be no falling back asleep; no sleeping in. I was wide awake, and my body screamed to get out of bed and get to the oak tree. I didn’t bother with a shower, knowing I would be sweaty and covered in dust and dirt within the hour. An oversized t-shirt of Jared’s barely stretched over my belly, but it would suffice. I was really showing now, and the thought crossed my mind at how ridiculous I would look, swollen and awkward, while Bex attacked me with gorgeous precision from every angle.
Jared and I met downstairs, where the others were still cleaning. The only person not smiling and joking about the night before was Ryan.
“What?” Jared said, smug. “You don’t think Nina can take Bex?”
Ryan pointed at me, but looked at Jared. “She’s still pregnant.”
Bex laughed once. “Don’t worry. Bean’s tougher than I am.”
Claire thought I should start with Ryan, however. Ryan held out his hands. “What the hell is this? Beat The Shit Out Of Ryan Week?”
“I didn’t think you’d mind, since you’re always insisting upon getting yourself hospitalized,” Claire said.
Ryan’s face screwed into disgust. “That was uncalled for.”
“The truth hurts, baby.”
He smiled. “If you’re going to talk to me like that, you can insult me all day long.”
Claire pulled her car keys from her pocket, and then pulled on Ryan’s hand. “I meant that you’re a baby. It wasn’t a term of endearment.”
“Yeah, right.”
Jared squeezed my hand. “The oak tree it is. Are you sure you’re okay with this?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes. I would like to see what you can do, though, don’t you?”
I thought for a moment. I had always admired the abilities of the Ryels, but having my own never occurred to me. My damsel in distress days could be over, and I liked that.
“Do I get a shot at you if I beat Claire?”
Jared shrugged. “Sure, but—”
“Then yes.”
Jared pretended to be offended. “That wasn’t very nice, honey. Not nice at all.”
I hooked my arm around his and nuzzled against him as we walked to the Escalade. “A little exploratory domestic violence doesn’t mean I love you any less.”
The Escalade jostled with the uneven ground of the trail that led to our oak tree. Bex and Claire would be careful not to land a direct hit to my stomach, but my motherly instincts were kicking in, and so were my nerves. I kept telling myself I had already done this: Bex and I had sparred many times, and I got the best of him several times. At the time I thought he was taking it down a thousand notches so that I knew I was improving, but now I knew differently.
Ryan, sporting a standard-issue police T-shirt and a PPD ball cap, took position across from me.
“Until I figure out what I can do,” I told him, “try very, very hard not to go anywhere near Bean.”
Ryan frowned. “For the record, I feel like I’m having an out-of-body experience, and the rational me is screaming to kidnap you away from this craziness before you get hurt.”
“We’ll just start slow, and see what happens.”
Ryan winced. “I’m about to fight a pregnant woman. This is wrong on so many levels.”
“C’mon you weenies!” Claire yelled. “We haven’t got all day!”
“I’m not a weenie,” Ryan said under his breath.
“You are if you’re afraid of a girl!”
Ryan glanced at her with annoyance, and I smiled. “You’ll learn whispering doesn’t help.”
“Okay, let’s do this before my girlfriend thinks worse of me.”
“Still not your girlfriend!” Claire yelled.
I bit my lip. “Let’s try this,” I said, shoving Ryan. I used enough strength to push him a few feet away, but instead he flew back, twisted in the air, and then fell, rolling across the ground.
He looked up at me in surprise. “That’s cheating!”
“I barely touched you.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Ryan pushed himself to his feet, and then jogged back to me, a bit shaken. “I can’t let two girls kick my ass in one twelve-hour period.”
“Bring it,” I said, crouched and ready.
Ryan swung and missed a dozen times before I tried punching him. My fist caught him in the gut, and he landed nearly in the same place as before. He stood up, but then doubled over, trying to catch his breath. He took a
