“Thank you,” I said softly.
“It’s okay to ask for help, Nora. There is nothing wrong with it.” Kaleb pulled his shirt up, and I could see a red mark over his abs. “Damn, that might bruise.”
I couldn’t help but smirk. I was a little proud of it. It was the first time I felt like I was actually doing something right.
Brandon smiled. “I do have one question, though.”
“Yeah?”
“When were you going to tell me you adopted a dog?”
My stomach dipped, and I remembered that Mike had threatened to drop Charlie off this morning.
I cringed. “I was going to tell you. Please tell me Mike didn’t drop him off.”
“I will say I didn’t open the door to Mike holding a dog and saying happy adoption day.”
I hung my head and sighed. “Sorry. If you don’t want me to keep him, I can tell Mike.”
Kaleb frowned. “Why would you do that?”
“Because it’s your house and I was going to ask before I made the final decision.”
“Nora, it’s our house, and if you want a dog, you can have a dog. I don’t mind.”
My head snapped up. “Really?”
He nodded, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “Besides, he makes you happy. I couldn’t take that away from you.”
Kaleb helped me train every afternoon for the next few weeks. Kaleb was stricter the more he worked with me. He always corrected me when I made a mistake or offered advice on how to turn the match in my favor.
I was getting faster and managing to hit him with my magic more quickly. I learned how to roll the electricity between my fingers and hold it in my hand. Kaleb helped me learn to read my body and how to push myself. The better I got, the more confident I became. I practice alone in the mornings, working on my form and aim. I used empty cans and hit them. Jade and I practiced together when we had time, but if not, Kaleb was always there as an extra hand that I didn’t know I wanted.
I lay down in the grass, feeling every muscle in my body screaming. “Do you need a minute?” Kaleb asked, standing above me with a smug grin.
I flicked him off. “Give me a moment to catch my breath.”
Kaleb laughed as he rolled his shoulders, looking in his element. I sat up and stared at him. I’d been watching his form every day, taking in each step and movement he took. “You’re very good.”
Kaleb paused, giving me a quizzical expression. “Thanks for the compliment?”
“No, I mean you’re really good. Are you like this because of the training you took for the special ops?”
Kaleb frowned, and I could see something cross his face for a moment. He shook his head. “No. I trained with my dad growing up. He was very strict. Wanted perfect form.”
I frowned. “You don’t train like him, though.” I heard enough about Jade and Brandon’s parents to know what theywere like. Brandon and Kaleb were very different from their dads.
“That’s because I don’t like the way he trains.” Kaleb sat down on the ground. “He would work me into the ground. He woke me up at five in the morning and had me start with a five-mile run. Then we did sparring, where he would beat me until I had no energy left. My muscles ached constantly, and I wanted to quit all the time. As if his training was enough, he would talk about how I needed to be better. How, if I wanted to be worthy, I had to prove it.”
I always knew Dale was an ass, but I never knew just how big of one he was. “He had me doing training mentally as well. He would give me examples of situations and ask how I would handle them. Mothers in a burning building or saving your friend from a killer. Give me budgets and ask me where the money needs to be routed. The answers he wanted were always twisted. He viewed the men above women, and wanted to drill that into me.”
I chewed on my lip, hating the way his face changed when he spoke about his father. You could see there was little love in his eyes. “You’re not your father.”
He didn’t respond right away. He looked across the yard instead. “I have my days, Nora. Brandon has had to correct me plenty of times. When we left, I had a lot of relearning to do.”
I could see the pain in his eyes. “I work hard not to be like my father, but I’ve gone dark places. I’d done things that my father would smile at. Things that stir my stomach. I don’t want to settle down because I don’t want to turn into my father. I do it to protect others from me.”
“Kaleb, you’re not a horrible person.”
