hedge he'd been trimming. The poor plant was about as neat as it was going to get. He should leave it alone. But if he did, that would mean his chores outside were finished and he wouldn't have an excuse to avoid the house. Lindsay was inside, making lemonade. Maybe he was a coward, but he didn't want to be alone with her. She terrified him.
He put the clippers in the garage, then hesitated by the back door. He was the adult, he reminded himself. He was the one in control of the situation.
'You're scared,' a boy called.
Kyle whipped around toward the sound.
'Am not' came the answer.
He recognized the second voice. It was Blake. A thick hedge and several trees separated Sandy's property from a narrow private road. Kyle pushed through the bushes, ignoring the scratches from the branches, and came out at the top of a slight rise. The grassy slope rolled into the private dirt road. Two boys stood directly in front of him. Three feet away, facing them, was Blake.
Kyle could see he was scared. His eyes were wide behind his glasses, his body stiff. The taller of the other two boys moved closer.
'You're scared, and I'm gonna make you more scared. You can't tell me what to do.'
Kyle recognized the neighborhood bully. 'Gary Warner, stop that right now.'
Blake looked up at him. Gary took advantage of the boy's distraction and hit him right in the mouth.
'Damn little brat,' Kyle muttered. He started toward the trio. The third boy took off running. Gary hesitated, then darted for home. Blake stood there looking stunned. He touched his hand to his mouth. When he drew it away, he saw the blood. Instantly, tears rolled down his cheeks.
Kyle reached his side. The other two boys had disappeared, so he put his arm around Blake. 'He popped you good. Let me see.'
Blake sniffed and raised his chin. He continued to cry. Tears dripped from his eyes, but he didn't make any sound. The silence tore at Kyle's gut. He wanted to catch that little punk and teach him what it felt like to be bullied by someone. Instead, he stared at Blake's mouth. Carefully, he turned down Blake's lower lip.
'You've got a cut here,' he said. 'How do your teeth feel? Are any of them loose?'
Blake closed his mouth and used his tongue to check. He turned away and spat out blood. 'They're okay.'
'Good. Let's get you home and we'll put some ice on your mouth. You're going to swell up like a chipmunk.'
Blake tried to smile, but the movement made him wince. He sniffed. 'It hurts,' he mumbled.
'I know, kid. It happened to me a bunch of times. I never seemed to remember the pain before I got in a fight. It'll get better.' Kyle bent over and picked him up. Blake wrapped his legs around Kyle's waist and buried his head in his shoulder.
Kyle could feel the dampness on his skin. He wasn't sure if it was from the tears or the blood. He didn't much care. Instead, he started back the long way, going to the end of the private road, then turning left and walking until he reached Sandy's driveway. An occasional sob shook Blake's skinny body. He held the boy close, patting his back and murmuring soothingly. Poor kid. If this was his first fight-and from the way he'd reacted, it had been-he was scared, sore and defeated. Hell of a way to spend a summer afternoon.
As he turned down the fork in the driveway toward his house, he saw Lindsay waiting by the back door.
'Where were you?' she asked. 'I finished the lemonade.' She glanced at her brother. 'What happened to him?'
'He got into a fight.'
'Really?' Her eyes widened. 'Mom's gonna kill you, Blake.'
Kyle glared at her. 'He doesn't need to hear that right now. Why don't you go home while I take care of your brother? When your mom gets back, would you please ask her to come see me?'
Lindsay glanced at the boy in his arms and shrugged. 'Sure. I'll be by later to help you with the cooking, Kyle.' She gave him her best smile, then sashayed up the walkway.
Kyle groaned softly.
Inside the house, he set Blake on the counter and examined his mouth more thoroughly. There was only one cut and it had almost stopped bleeding. But his cheek was swelling fast. Kyle grabbed a frozen bag of peas from the freezer and had the kid press it against his face.
Blake touched the bag to his skin, then jumped. 'It's cold.'
'It's supposed to be. It'll help take the pain away and make you look a little more normal so your mom might not kill me along with you.'
Blake held the bag with his left hand and pushed up his glasses with his right. 'It wasn't your fault. Gary is the one who hit me.'
Kyle leaned against the counter at right angles to where Blake was sitting. He folded his arms over his chest. 'I saw that. You want to tell me why?'
The boy lowered his head slightly. 'We were playing ball. I even hit a double.' He looked up and tried to smile. 'That hurts. Anyway, the next guy to hit was Robby. He's nice. He said I could come swimming at his house.'
'So Gary punched you?'
'No.' Blake sighed. 'Robby hit his ball out. Gary was pitching, and he got mad. The next time Robby came up to bat, Gary hit him with the ball. We all knew it was on purpose. But no one would stand up to Gary except for Robby and me. A lot of the boys went home. I guess they were scared.'
Blake looked scared, too, as he told the story. Kyle knew he'd had nothing to do with cultivating the strength of character Blake showed, but he couldn't stop the feeling of pride swelling inside of him. The kid had guts. Standing up to a bully to protect a new friend. Sandy had done a hell of a job with her kids.
'Then what happened?'
'Gary started chasing Robby. I tried to protect him. Gary hit Robby, then he turned on me.' He shrugged. 'You saw that part.' He sighed. 'Lindsay's right. Mom's gonna kill me. She hates fighting.'
Kyle knew it was wrong, but at this moment in time he wanted to get his hands on Gary and shake him until the kid's teeth rattled. He wouldn't, of course, but he would do the next best thing. When he went on duty, he would pay a visit to Gary's parents and have a talk with them. He knew the Warners and suspected they would be as angry as he was at their son's behavior.
'You weren't fighting,' Kyle told him. 'You didn't even raise your hands to defend yourself. Someone hit you. It's not the same thing.'
Blake looked a little brighter. 'Yeah?'
Kyle grinned. 'Yeah.' He moved closer to the boy. 'How's that cheek?'
Blake lowered the bag of frozen peas. 'It doesn't hurt so bad.'
It might not hurt, but it sure looked ugly. A large bruise had formed on the left side of his mouth. The skin was puffy and discolored. At least the bleeding had stopped. Kyle touched the tender area.
'You'll live,' he said, then stared at Blake. 'Did your dad ever teach you how to defend yourself?'
Blake shook his head.
Figures, Kyle thought. He was probably too busy with his own life to notice how he was ignoring his son.
'Do you know why Gary hit you?' he asked.
''Cause I said he'd thrown the ball at Robby.'
'That's only part of the reason. Gary hit you because he thought he could get away with it. Bullies pick on people who let them. If you stand up to a bully, he usually backs off. At heart, they're cowards.'
Blake frowned. 'Gary didn't act like he was scared.'
'He was. Trust me. Did you see how fast he ran off when I showed up? Also, he hit you when you turned toward me. It was a cheap shot, when he knew you couldn't fight back. What you need to do is learn how to defend yourself. I'm not saying you should start a fight, but if one finds you, you have to be able to keep from being taken advantage of. Do you understand?'
'I guess.' Blake looked doubtful.
'It's not that hard. I'll show you.' He took the bag of peas and set them on the counter, then he grabbed Blake under his arms and lowered him to the floor. He heard the sound of a car going past. Sandy was home. Lindsay would tell her what had happened and she would come right over. He couldn't wait to tell her how well her son had behaved. She was going to be proud of the kid for defending another boy.
