Page 86 of Chasing Shelter

Kye strode up, his worn Haven tee pulling taut across broad shoulders. “If you spent half as much time working on that slip and duck as you do hitting on my family, you’d have it down by now.”

“Brutal, bro. Brutal,” Mateo muttered, heading toward Evan.

“I don’t hear you saying it’s a lie,” Kye called back.

“I’m getting the sense this place is like its own sort of family?” I said, but it was more of a question.

“A shit-talking, would-bury-a-dead-body-for-you family,” Kye agreed.

I laughed. “I can appreciate that.”

“Until they won’t stop giving you shit for getting engaged,” Arden mumbled.

“Just wait till they find out you’re knocked up,” Kye said, dropping his voice to a whisper.

“Bite your tongue, Kyler.”

“Uh-oh,” I muttered. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard one of your siblings call you Kyler.”

Something flashed across his expression, but he quickly covered it with a shake of his head. “Only when I’m in trouble. Come on. Let’s get you started with a warm-up.”

Kye took me through a jump rope warm-up that ignited my lungs and had me questioning my sanity. And then we headed for a practice ring.

“If you get into MMA on the whole, or jujitsu like Arden practices, we’ll get you kitted out with sparring gloves, maybe even some boxing gloves for heavy-bag work, a practice gi. But for now, we’ll work on self-defense.” Kye met my gaze before dropping his voice. “If anything is too much, just say the word, and it stops instantly. There anywhere you don’t want to be touched or an approach I shouldn’t make?”

A memory flashed in my mind, Bradley’s face contorting in rage,his hand rising, the stinging blow that had me staggering back a few steps. I blinked a few times, shoving that down and focusing on Kye.

The way he had asked the question and how he’d empowered me to take control of the lesson told me he’d worked with people with triggers before. He wasn’t overly gentle in a way that suggested I was weak, but hewasthoughtful.

“I’m good with whatever we need to do. I’ll let you know if something’s too much,” I said.

Kye studied me for a minute longer and then nodded. “First thing is something you might expect.”

“Okay…” I said, curiosity taking hold.

“Avoidance. Run, scream, do anything to bring attention to yourself and your attacker. Many times, the assailant will be startled and take off. That’s the best-case scenario.”

It made sense, and I would never be mad that I didn’t have to punch someone in the face. “I’ve got a pretty good screaming voice.”

One corner of Kye’s mouth pulled up. “That’s good. If you can’t avoid it, the next step is to guard your face. Someone gets off a bad punch to your head, and it’s game over.”

I lifted my hand to mirror how Kye had his.

“You want to keep your feet a little wider apart, one in front of the other. That’ll give you a strong base and make it harder to knock you to the ground. Do everything you can to keep that from happening.”

I swallowed, my mouth suddenly dry, but I copied Kye’s stance. “I feel that. It’s more stable.”

“Exactly. Next thing you need to know is your opponent’s weakest spots. It’s always eyes, nose, throat, groin, and knees.” Kye pointed to each place as he spoke. “I’m going to show you which one to target based on how you’re attacked.”

I straightened my shoulders and nodded. “Let’s do this.”

Kye began walking me through different approaches. If I was grabbed from behind or the side. If someone tried to choke me. He showed me how to use my keys as a weapon and told me to alwayswalk to my car with one threaded through my fingers if I was alone at night.

It didn’t take long for my heart rate to rise, and a thin sheen of sweat to cover my body. I grabbed a sip from the water bottle Arden had handed me. “I am so out of shape,” I wheezed.

Kye chuckled. “It’s a different set of muscles. But I can give you a circuit workout to improve muscle strength, too, if you want.”

“I do,” I said quickly. There was just something about the promise of feeling stronger. I wanted it more than anything else.

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