Page 16 of Light on Love
“Hello,” he teases.
“Don’t flatter yourself cowboy, I was looking at your horse,” Laurel scoffs, reaching a hand up to Maverick’s snout as he presses into it, their typical greeting to one another.
Brett lets out a single deep laugh in response. “I was just getting him back in. Are you ready to train?”
She nods as she moves over to give Dune some love on her way out. The sandy horse neighs at her when she starts to leave him, though.
“You and Dune, huh,” Brett observes form the doorway.
Laurel turns to him, a question in her eyes. “Is that surprising?”
Brett nods, offering her one of the two coffee tumblers he collects from the tack room. Through the metal, she can feel the heat of the drink inside, he must have made this fresh for them recently. But with him waking up with the sun, did he go back in before training to make sure he had coffee for her?
When they reach the training barn, Brett is already shaking off his own jacket and reaching for hers. The barn is pleasantly heated and she’s thankful that she doesn’t have to learn these maneuvers in heavy layers. “I think you’re doing well with the defensive skills,” he starts as she takes a sip from her mug. “How do you feel about moving to the hand-to-hand training, getting on the offense a bit?”
She brings the coffee down from her lips, an eager look dancing in her eyes. “I thought you’d never ask.”
Brett walks Laurel through stretching and a defensive warmup, and soon they are standing in the center of the mat ready for her to learn how to fight back.“We’re going to go over punches and stomps, you’ll throw some elbows and then someknees,” he explains. “Honestly, some of it’s going to feel like you’re fighting dirty. But this isn’t some competition of skill in a ring, it’s your life. So you’re going to go for the knee to the groin and a good throat punch.”
“This may be a silly question. But if they do come for me, wouldn’t it be with guns? Would I really get close enough to them for this?” she asks, not sure she wants the answer.
Brett sighs heavily before responding. “Here’s the thing, I’m not going to let them get to you to begin with. But their goal would probably be to take you with them. Alive.”
Yep, didn’t want to know the answer, she thinks, the sound of her heart pounding drowning everything else out.
“Hey, come back, honey.”
Laurel lifts her gaze to him, surprised by his words. Stepping closer, Brett reaches out for her. He cups her face in his hands, his touch creating an instant calming effect. “They will not achieve their goal.” He says this with such certainty, Laurel finds herself nodding.
“Okay, but let’s make sure I know how to throat punch them.”
—
Thwack.
“Ouch!”
Laurel looks up at Brett, a combination of frustration and amazement on her face. “What are you made of? Steel?”
He grabs her hand and holds it up to examine. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he says, flashing her a grin. “Your hand looks alright, but we can be done for the day.”
“No way, I’m ending on a high note.”
Brett steps back with his head cocked to one side. “Okay,” he says spreading his arms open wide, “let me have it.
Instead of coming straight at him, Laurel side steps a few paces. Brett easily matches this, and they start to move in a circle. She steps right, then right again before quickly jumping to her left and throwing a jab. She doesn’t wait before following this with an uppercut to his chest. But Brett is faster. He catches her extended arm, pulling her in against his chest.
“One more time. If you can’t immobilize me like this, then I get to leave the compound boundary and see another part of the ranch,” she proposes in a rush. His eyes darken as he looks down at her, and she can feel him tense at this suggestion.
“If I agree to this, I have final say on where and when, and you’re not going without me.”
“Fair,” she gives a quick nod.
Brett tenses his jaw and then nods in return, releasing her and stepping back. “Okay, let’s go again.”
Taking a deep breath, she squares her shoulders to him.I need to do something that would surprise him, she tells herself, raising her hands as they begin to move around one another. He had only taught her a few punches so far, but she figured jabbing your knee into someone was self-explanatory. Laurel reaches out with her right arm to fake him out before bringing her left knee up to his stomach.
Brett doesn’t fall for it. And he doesn’t miss a beat in grabbing her knee and stepping into her space. He keeps her there, with her leg still bent and raised in a striking position. Except he’s pinned the inside of her knee against his hip, his hand cupping around the outside and underneath it.Brett’s other hand comes around and she can feel him spread his fingers across her back.