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He tried to channel his fighting days from high school as Chalmer faked a jab with his left before powering forward with his right hand.
That time, Travis was ready, or maybe Chalmer’s aim was a little bit off, because the blow glanced off his shoulder, and he was able to get in a blow of his own, hitting Chalmer in the jaw with a satisfying thud that jerked his head around. It also sent sharp arrows of pain from his knuckles up his arm and out his shoulder. He had forgotten that punching someone hurt that bad. It almost felt like he hit a tooth.
Chalmer recovered much faster than Travis and came back, this time with a fake right and a hook with his left, while he threw a leg out to kick, aiming for Travis’s groin, probably just for good measure.
It was more than Travis could fend off, but considering that he already felt dizzy and a little confused, the blows didn’t have quite the same effect the first one did. The left hook caught him in the stomach, but not a solid blow, and Chalmer’s foot hit him in the thigh, rather than its intended target.
He was able to get two good hits in on Chalmer’s face and one in his stomach as he vaguely realized that someone was screaming and someone else was shouting. Women, it sounded like, although he didn’t stop to try to figure out what they were saying. Instead, he hit Chalmer again, and that time, the man dropped to the pavement, groaning.
“That’s enough, Travis,” Ellen said, walking toward him and touching his forearm lightly with her fingers.
“Sorry,” he said. Not sure what he was apologizing for, but feeling like he needed to do it anyway. Maybe it was the look on her face. Did she look disappointed?
“What was going on?” he said, wiping the back of his hand across his face and seeing blood come off on his wrist.
“It’s a long story, but he bought me at the auction. I was supposed to spend the evening with him, and give him five days this week. Not for anything inappropriate, just...work or company or something like that.”
“He wasn’t to grab a hold of you.”
“No.”
“Come on. We’re going in to lodge a complaint, and I’ll buy him out.”
“Travis. I’m not a possession.”
“I know.” He stopped moving and focused his eyes on her. Of course he knew. How could she think otherwise? Their eyes met, and the fun and camaraderie that normally lay between them wasn’t there. Something else seemed to shimmer in the air instead. Something a lot more serious. Something that reminded him of the night that he left ten years ago, when they’d been in the barn together.
It felt warm and dangerous and he had to shake his head, because this was not the time or the place. Behind him, Shanna said something, although she had to repeat herself before he heard it.
“Where are you going? We’re supposed to be eating together. Did you forget about me, hello?!”
Chalmer groaned, and Travis looked at him on the blacktop. He didn’t want to hurt the man. But Chalmer had thrown the first punch. Surely that would count for something, although he had to admit he was definitely out of practice when it came to knowing what the law said about fistfights anymore.
“I think he’s going to be okay,” Ellen said softly, looking from Chalmer to Travis and lifting her hand to touch his face with the tips of her fingers. “I suppose you will be too, but I think it’s gonna look worse before it looks better.” Her hand seemed to linger for a moment, and Travis held his breath, content to allow her soft touch, not wanting anything else more than he wanted Ellen, whatever he could get from her.
“Let’s go get this taken care of,” he said softly, not wanting to move but not able to stand the idea of Ellen being in Chalmer’s “possession” for another minute.
“Travis.”
He stared down at her. “Please.”
At that word, he could see her resolve melt away. It almost made him smile the way she capitulated. Her shoulders lowered and her head nodded, even though her lips were flat.
“What about me?” Shanna said from his other side.
“I’ll be back in a minute. Walk over to the swing set where your kids are.”
“You promise?” she asked, and while her voice was shrill and almost shrew-like, he detected a note of insecurity underneath it. He figured that all along Shanna had been insecure, and here he thought he had been that one. But sometimes people covered their insecurities with a lot of bluster and bluff.
Very seldom, at least what he had found, was that people were rotten to the core. There was almost always good mixed in with the bad, some kind of redeeming features. After all, humans were created in God’s image. God loved them, so there had to be something there to love.
It wasn’t his job to figure Shanna out though. His concern was for his friend, and he looked back at Ellen.
She still had her lips pulled back, but she fell into step beside him as he started toward the door. He opened it, and she walked through. The bright light gave him an almost instant headache, but no one looked in their direction as he strode in. It hadn’t been that long since he walked out; Mr. Higginbotham and the lady at the table who had taken the money were still conferring together. Probably totaling up the amounts.
He walked straight to the table.
“I’d like to pay for Ellen. Whatever Chalmer paid for her, I’ll double it.”
