Page 82 of Fierce-Jonah

“Almost seven years,” he said. “I worked for the detention center as a guard first. It wasn’t what I wanted to do even though I went to college for criminal justice.”

“Oh, you went to college?” her mother asked. As if it was a shock or something.

“I did,” he said.

“What made you want to own a gym?” Abby asked. “I mean other than the obvious that you work out a lot.”

He found it funny that Abby’s eyes were glued to his arms. He had a T-shirt on that was fitted like everything else he owned. It was hard to find clothing for him.

“I’ve always been into fitness and sports. I’ve got a few black belts from different martial arts disciplines. I did competitions too. I think it was second nature since I was always training. I never really stopped.”

“You could totally be an MMA fighter,” Tyler said. “I love watching that.”

“You aren’t supposed to be watching it,” Emily said.

“It’s fine,” Tyler said. “It’s all fake anyway.”

“No, it’s not,” Jonah said. He shouldn’t have said that, but he was going to defend his job. “I train MMA fighters. That is part of my business. Trust me when I tell you it’s not fake.”

Sophia had her phone out and in her face. Charlie asked, “Who are some of the guys you train? Maybe I know of them.”

“I doubt it,” he said. “Most are working their way up and not on the pro circuit right now. And there are women too.”

“Is this you?” Sophia asked, her phone turning. “In a fight with someone named Rodney?”

Shit, he’d forgotten about that. That everything was on YouTube. The internet was forever in most cases.

“What?” Megan asked, reaching for Sophia’s phone.

“Don’t watch it, Megan,” he said. “I haven’t and don’t need to.”

Megan sat back down. “I didn’t even think to look.”

“You shouldn’t. Yes,” he said to the room, “I was training to be an MMA fighter years ago. Before I opened my gym. I was knocked out in that fight and sustained a head injury. I gave it up after that. It wasn’t worth it. Not to my body, my head, nor my family’s peace of mind.”

Megan reached her hand over and rubbed his leg. “I don’t think I could handle it either. And when Jonah says he trains, he’s not getting into matches. I know. I’ve watched him. Mom, get that appalled look off your face.”

He turned and looked at Tammy and saw her blush. “I can’t imagine wanting to fight someone else,” she said.

He wasn’t going to defend himself to anyone in this room about his past. No reason to. It’s not something he wished he’d done. “We all do things in our lives that we have to learn from,” he said. “But it’s what made my gym as successful as it is. I know what I’m doing but not everyone fights fair. That fight was an example of it. It could have ruined my life but instead it gave me a purpose.”

“I think that’s wonderful,” Sarah said.

“You do?” Tom said. “It sounds horrific if you ask me.”

“Oh, be quiet, Tom,” Emily said. “You have to get an ice pack if you get a thigh cramp from mowing the lawn.”

He snorted over that and Megan started to laugh only to have Tom give her a dirty look. This family was interesting.

“I try to tell my kids that nothing is perfect in life,” Sarah said. “You have to try things to find what you want or need. Sometimes you need to get knocked down to know. The more painful, the bigger lesson learned.”

“Like getting punched in the face,” Megan asked and burst out laughing.

“Very cute,” he said.

She turned and laid a loud smacking kiss on his lips. “I thought it was.”

The topic of him fighting changed after that to sports. Football, to be exact, and the game was put on. Tom didn’t seem to be too interested in it and was talking to Kevin about stocks. Bill moved over and asked, “What’s the average age at your gym? You said it’s not just fighters, right?”