“So, how did the hijackers know where you were at the time? Was Jenny in contact with her uncle?”
Again, the same non-response from Hugh and Jenny, only more determined.
“Then why …?” She was going to ask another question
“OK, we’re out of here,” Hugh said. He motioned for Jenny to rise from her seat.
“It’s been interesting, but you want to go places in this interview where we don’t want to go. So, we’re done.”
Hugh and Jenny said quick goodbyes, and they were gone.
Chapter Four
Hugh brought a roundhouse punch swinging in all the way from out in the right outfield that clipped Jenny on the left side of her head. A pulled punch, of course. Jenny stepped back out of reach of Hugh’s planned follow-up left.
This fight was taking place in Jenny’s bedroom.
Jenny came right back in, feigned a kick to Hugh’s groin, and in the split second his mind was distracted with protecting his “boys,” she came in close and hard and sudden, and delivered a brutal left-right combination uppercut to Hugh’s chin.
Dazed for the moment by Jenny’s tactic, Hugh was too slow to counter her next move. Jenny jumped onto the bed, and with the extra height advantage launched herself at Hugh. She scissored his head with her powerful swim-strengthened legs, and threw her weight to one side. This knocked them both off balance and sent them crashing to the floor. She finished the maneuver by chopping down at Hugh’s throat, but stopped a millimeter short of leaving him with a crushed larynx.
An observer would have been forgiven for thinking the end result of this fight should have been decided differently, given that one of the combatants was big Hugh, and the other was little Jenny. But, then again, Jenny had the agility of a monkey, and she had no regard whatsoever for rules or for being fair in a fight.
“OK guys. Knock it off up there,” Martha yelled from the bottom of the stairs. “Dinner’s ready.”
“Coming, Mom,” Hugh yelled back.
Jenny disentangled herself from Hugh, and they sat on the floor to remove the gloves, mouthpieces and headgear they had used to protect themselves during this sparring session.
“That was a good workout,” Hugh said. “It felt especially good after the stress of meeting the reporter this morning.”
They had gone to their sparring immediately after returning to the ranch from their drive down to Coeur d’Alene, and the disastrous meeting with the reporter.
“Yeah. Definitely felt good. I’m glad that interview nonsense is over with,” Jenny said.
“How is the self-defense training going with you two?” Martha asked, as Hugh and Jenny came down the stairs.
“Well, I’ve got to tell you, Mom, I’m getting tired of getting beat up,” Hugh said, as he rubbed his chin.
“Jenny’s doing OK?”
“She’s doing better than OK. No surprise she’s a quick study. Fighting her is like trying to grapple with a bag of Jello, and trying to hit a column of smoke.”
“Are you saying, mister, I’m built like a bag of Jello?” Jenny said, sounding faux angry.
“No comment. I’ll quit while I’m ahead.”
“I’m glad you’re giving her that training, son,” Martha said. “After what you guys went through during those hijackings it doesn’t hurt to have some extra self-protection skills under your belt.”
“Agreed. I’m real confident she could take care of herself in a bad situation,” Hugh said.
Martha busied herself serving up dinner while Jenny set the table.
Loud footsteps clomping on the front porch heralded the Mann men, father and son, and Jenny’s little brother Jimmy, returning from working around the Northern Idaho combination horse and cattle ranch.
Looking at the three men together left no doubt Hugh senior had passed on his good looks and manly stature to his two sons. Hugh’s younger brother, Roly, could have been mistaken for a younger Hugh. Maybe even more handsome than his older brother.
The father and two sons together represented a big chunk of healthy, strapping Idaho manhood.
Jimmy, who was seventeen years old, had been living with the Manns and helping out around the ranch ever since Jenny had become his legal guardian with the passing of their uncle, who was previously Jimmy’s guardian.
Hugh’s dad, noticing both Hugh and Jenny were red-faced and perspiring, said in a teasing way, “What have you guys been up to?”
Jenny, embarrassed, answered, “We were in my bedroom …”
Hearing that, Hugh senior winked at Roly.
“Sparring!” Hugh said, saving Jenny from further embarrassment. Jenny had been at the Mann’s ranch for several weeks, but she was still naïve and vulnerable to teasing from the Mann men, who were prone to tease with the least provocation.
Last to come to dinner was Hugh’s little sister Mary. At eighteen years old, Mary hadn’t been born when Hugh had left the ranch to join the Marines. But older brother and baby sister had a warm relationship and enjoyed each other’s company on Hugh’s visits to the ranch.
On the road for several months at a time, he took only the mandatory breaks and time off required by law, either at truck stops, or at resorts that allowed truck parking. WestAm Trucking favored drivers who didn’t need much home time, so granted him a lot of leeway and privileges.
He would come home a couple of times a year when he needed time off from driving. He always found time to do something together with Mary.
“Hey, big sister,” Mary said as she greeted Jenny. “Sister” was a reference that Jenny was going to be Mary’s sister-in-law someday.
“Hey, kiddo,” Jenny replied with warmth in her voice.
The two had hit it off right away when Hugh had first brought Jenny to the ranch. In between Mary’s studying to finish her college degree, and doing other chores, Mary and Jenny enjoyed riding horses and
