"Sell your lies to someone dumb enough to buy them."
My entire body is too exhausted from physical exertion to laugh, but I manage to nod my head. "Again."
Leon readies himself, lifting his pad-covered hands. "So what is it?" he asks the first time I hit him.
"I told you I'm fine."
He makes a face. "You're not yourself today."
"I'm struggling," I admit.Jab, jab.
"What’s going on?”
I'm confused as hell, not that I'm going to tell Leon. At this point I’m certain I’m falling in love with Jessie. She rules my thoughts. My choices. I fall asleep every night with her in my arms. The two of us together feels like the most obvious pairing in the world. My attraction to her is a wildfire, unconfined and uncontrolled.
It’s not a bad thing, not at all. But it’s forcing me into an uncomfortable place. I have to examine what I’m doing with my life, and where it’s going to go from here. I froze over when Brea died, and now I’m thawing, and it’s making a huge mess.
"There's just a lot of shit for me to wade through, Leon."
"Then you've come to the right place, my friend." He pulls off his pads, tossing them onto a nearby bench. "I'll be right back," he says, and when he returns, he's wearing his boxing gloves. "Let's spar."
I clear my throat and shake my shoulders, trying to keep them loose. I've never sparred before, and he knows it. I don't ask him to take it easy though. This is probably the best thing for me right now.
Leon calls out pointers as we go.
Widen your stance.
Keep your weight on your front foot.
Follow through.
Then he gets me right on the cheek. I swallow the pain and keep going.
A minute later, we call it. Leon pats me on the back with his gloved hand. "You did good for your first time. Sorry about your cheek," he says. "Bleeding just a little."
"All good."
Two guys walk in, dressed to exercise and carrying gym bags. I recognize one from some work he's done on Wildflower. He must recognize me too, because his eyes light up. "Wildflower Ranch, right?" he asks, approaching with an extended hand. "Connor Vale. I did a bunch of work out there before your opening."
I nod. "I thought that's where I knew you from. I'm Sawyer Bennett."
He snaps his fingers. "Sawyer, that's right." He thumbs toward his friend. "This is Finn Jeffries."
Leon comes up behind them and puts his hands on their shoulders. "Maybe you two can get him to tell you what his problem is. He wouldn't tell me a thing, but I'm pretty sure it has to do with a woman."
"Thanks, Leon," I deadpan.
Connor and Finn laugh. "Been there," Finn says knowingly.
"Uh, yeah," Connor agrees. "Anything worth having is worth working hard for, and that includes a woman. That's what my dad always said." A flicker of pain crosses his face, and I get the feeling talking about his dad in past tense is a recent development.
"Thanks, guys." I nod at Finn. "It was nice to meet you. I'll let you get to your workout."
After I've showered and stopped in Sugar Creek for those to-die-for blueberry muffins, I'm on my way back to Sierra Grande. I don't feel all that much better after boxing, but I feel lighter. Light enough to turn on The Rolling Stones and tap my thumb to the beat on the steering wheel.
Out of nowhere, there's a thump. A bump. A grinding cough from my car.
"Fuck," I groan, taking my foot off the accelerator and braking carefully. My car hobbles off the road and comes to a stop.
