“Well, I won’t keep you girls,” Eli said, slapping the palm of his hand against the side panel of Norah’s truck. “Stop by the house for some sweet tea when you’re done.”
With that, the older man shuffled back toward the cute, yellow house—his cane tapping a steady rhythm across the hard ground as Norah and I worked quickly to unload the rest of the feed bags.
I was coming out of the small feed room, having dropped off my last bag with the others, when Norah strode past me in the barn—heading for the stack of hay bales along the far wall and setting her last bag on top of a short stack.
“Perfect,” she said, propping it upright and stepping back as she surveyed her work.
“What are you doing?” I asked, raising an eyebrow because…seriously, what the heck was she doing? I knew I was new to this whole country thing, but the random bag of feed propped up on hay bales made no sense whatsoever.
She turned toward me then and repeated her game show hostess move from earlier. “Meet your new sparring partner.”
What the… I blinked at her, then at the sack.
No. Way.
“I promised you a chance to blow off some steam,” she said, crossing the space between us and maneuvering behind me as her palms gently landed on my shoulders, steering me toward the makeshift fighting dummy. “What better way than taking all of that aggression out on something that won’t fight back?”
“It’s a feed bag,” I deadpanned.
“Yeah, well…small town, small options,” she countered. “Tarnation isn’t exactly overflowing with gym-grade punching bags. This feed bag’s as fancy as it gets.” She stepped away from me and stood near the bag. “Think of it as stress relief with a side of self-defense.”
I eyed her once more, checking for any signs that she was joking, before giving in with a loathsome sigh. “So what, I just…punch it?”
“Not like you’re trying to fluff a pillow,” she said with a laugh. “Like you mean it.” She then demonstrated, driving her palm forward in a quick, solid strike that made the sack shudder. “Start with the heel of your hand and pretend you’re aiming for the nose. Hard and fast.”
I tried to mimic her, but my first hit landed all wrong—way too soft and tentative, and not at all as badass as Norah made it look.
“This feels ridiculous,” I muttered, that first telltale sign of embarrassment creeping in as I stepped back.
“Of course it feels ridiculous.” Norah laughed again and propped her hands on her hips. “You’re punching a feed bag in a barn. Again,” she urged. “Put your weight into it this time.”
I expelled a heavy sigh and tried again. Better, but still weak.
Norah stepped behind me, adjusting my stance. “Feet apart,” she said, kicking her booted foot between mine to widen my legs. “Bend your knees. Remember, you’re not asking the guy to step aside…you’re telling him.”
Something about that clicked. I drove my palm into the sack, harder this time. The thud was satisfying enough to pull a grin out of me.
“There you go! Now, elbow. Short and sharp.” She demonstrated, then had me try.
Before long, she’d walked me through a handful of moves—palm strike, elbow jab, knee to the groin. Little wisps of my hair that had escaped my bun were sticking to my face with sweat, and every time the feed bag bucked under my hands, something inside of me loosened.
First, I pictured Gus and his grabby hands. Then Zane’s stupid scowl. And then…then my brain landed on Heath.
The memory of his voice, low and cold, slithered in without warning…
You really think anyone else would put up with you?
My chest pinched. I hit the sack harder.
You’re nothing without me.
Another hit…so hard my palm stung.
“You okay?” Norah asked, but I barely heard her over the thrum of my own pulse pounding against my eardrums.
I drove my knee up into the sack and shoved it back against the stack of hay bales…breathing hard as rage and something like grief tangled in my throat. When I finally stopped, my arms hung heavy and limp at my sides, and I leaned forward, bracing my palms on my knees as I worked to catch my breath.
Norah eyed me cautiously. “I don’t know who you were picturing just now…but damn, remind me never to piss you off.”
