Page 8 of Small-Town Secrets
Jake laughed. "Of course she is. Being home is always best, isn't it? I'm glad to be home too."
"Yeah, I bet. Rough shift?"
"Nah." Jake petted Sarge, who was trying to get in on the hug, and then he stood. "Fairly uneventful, really."
"Happy to hear it." My friend was a paramedic, so the less work he had, the better, really. It meant no one in town had struggled with a heart attack or broken bones or gotten into car accidents.
"You wanna go grab a drink?" Jake asked.
"I'm actually working this evening."
"Working? With the dogs?"
"No." I grimaced. "I'm... instructing a karate class."
"Really? I didn't know you did that!"
I gave my friend a shrug. "It's my niece's class. My brother asked me to jump in. Couldn't really say no. I should be done by seven, though, if you want to head to the bar after."
"Sure, I don't see why not. Gives me a few hours to get some sleep between now and then."
"That's probably not a bad idea."
Jake waved me off. "You don't have to tell me that I look like shit. I already know."
"Well, as long as you know." I grinned at him. My friend didn't lookthatbad, really. He had some bags under his eyes, but who wouldn't? Working the hours he did.
"Hey, at least I'm not teaching a bunch of little kids how to beat each other up."
"That's not what karate is about."
"Yeah, whatever you say."
I shook my head at Jake. "No one's getting beat up on my watch, you'll see."
"Okay, okay, see you later. Bailey and I will have a nap. Don't let the kids run all over you."
"Not gonna happen," I said, stepping away from Jake's porch. The idea alone was ridiculous. I was an excellent trainer. If I could keep a pack of dogs under control, how bad could a few young children be?
* * *
The answerto my earlier question was: very bad.
These children hadno disciplineat all. Class had started five minutes ago and they werestillrunning all over the gym. At least the ones who weren't still trying to change into their gym clothes were.
Standing in the back of the gym, arms crossed in front of my chest, I did a mental count of the little rascals, if only to distract myself from regretting all my life's decisions that had led me to this moment.
There were seven children running around the gym and three still stuck in the changing room, from what I'd been told by a very excited young girl who was chattering at me even now.
"I'm Lydia! Lydia with a Y!" she told me. "Where's Mr. Henderson? Will you always teach us now? Are you good at karate? When are we starting? Should I tell everyone that we're starting?"
I hadtriedto tell everyone that we were starting five minutes ago. I didn't get the impression that anyone had listened, though.
Before I could respond to Lydia with a Y, my niece came running up to me. Apparently she had been one of the kids stuck in the changing room. "Uncle Aaron!" she yelled, flying at me to give me a hug. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Maddie," I said, quickly returning her hug and releasing her. When I did, I noticed all the other children looking our way. Well, at least I had their attention now. I cleared my throat and stood straight, scanning the children in front of me. "Hello, class," I started—somewhat awkwardly, I had to admit. I knew how to talk to dogs, but how did you talk to a group of children staring at you as if they couldn't decide whether you were their new best friend or their next mortal enemy? "I'm Mr. Davis," I continued as the children gathered in front of me. "Since your sensei can't be here right now, I'll be instructing you for the next several weeks. Any questions?"
Lydia's hand shot up into the air almost immediately. She didn't wait for permission to speak either. "Can you teach us how to punch bullies? Sensei Henderson always said not to, but some of the older kids are really mean and they take my lunch money and I don't think that's fair."
