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  “How about two caterpillar rolls?” Charlie moaned beside me. “Guess Charlie approves.”

  We sat there for about an hour, enjoying the food and laughing.

  Out of the blue, my dad looked at Charlie. “You promise to take care of my Lily for me?”

  Charlie had a piece of the sushi almost to her lips when my dad asked the question. She set her food back down on the little plate. “Dad, I will never leave Lily’s side. I give you my word.”

  “Good,” he said, grabbing another piece of sushi. “That’s good.”

  I looked over at Charlie and noticed her normal strong features cracking. The corner of her lip was quivering. I reached over and squeezed her thigh. “Dad, guess who we saw on TV the other night?”

  Charlie cleared her throat. “Yeah, really random.”

  “Who? Conor McGregor?”

  That was always his answer when we mentioned something about TV. He knew I was not a huge fan of him. “No,” I rolled my eyes. “Julian Moore.” At the mention of Julian’s name, my dad went still. “Didn’t you say you knew him?”

  “We crossed paths, but nothing extensive.”

  His answer seemed odd, but I didn’t have any reason to doubt him. “He looks yoked up now. It’s crazy how different he looks.”

  “And he’s still dreamy,” Charlie purred.

  I shoved at her shoulders. “Keep it together, girl.”

  My dad cleared his throat. “That gym I was telling you about?” I nodded. “Julian and his brothers run the gym.”

  “Oh, so you know him pretty well?”

  “No, like I said, we’ve crossed paths.”

  Now I knew my dad was hiding something.

  Two days later…

  “I’m sorry to bother you, Miss Adams. You need to come quickly, it’s your father.”

  The nurse on the other end sounded sad. I bolted up from my bed and threw on a pair of leggings sitting in the middle of the floor. I turned around in a circle looking for the nearest shirt. There was one hanging on a rack. After dressing in record time, I stopped and stood there in the middle of the room. I took in a few deep breaths and let myself get mentally prepared for the drive over to the hospital.

  When I left my dad for the evening, he seemed off. His blood pressure was up and down all day. His mood had gone from happy to confused in just a matter of hours. Before I left, I stopped at the nurses’ station and asked about his emotions and if what he was experiencing was normal. Apparently it was all part of the process.

  My hand was wrapped around my phone when it vibrated, startling me. “Yes?”

  “Lils.”

  It was Charlie. “Hey, you coming over to the hospital with me?”

  “I can be there in forty-five minutes.”

  “Okay, hurry.”

  It took me all of five minutes to get to the hospital. When I stepped into his room, the air was sucked out of me. He was hooked up to several machines, and he looked unresponsive. I turned to go find a nurse and collided with one at that moment. “Oh crap, I’m sorry.”

  “Lily, I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Is he awake at all?”

  “Just barely. He keeps asking for you.”

  “Um, okay. Thank you.”

  “If you need anything, let me know.”

  Turning back toward my dad, I took in a deep breath and found a way to put one foot in front of the other. As I stepped up beside him, I felt my body shake. The last several weeks had felt normal. Maybe too normal. I had let myself enjoy that and stay in the house of denial for a while. Tonight, I felt like denial was telling me to grow a pair. I needed to get with the program.

  I sat down on the side of the bed and reached for his hand. “Hi, Daddy.”

  He slowly opened his eyes. You could see the corners of his eyes crease as he squeezed my hand. He mumbled something. I pushed the mask to the side and leaned up next to his mouth. “I love you, baby.”

  His words caught me off guard. I rested my head on his chest and continued to try to be strong. I’m not sure who I was being strong for, me or my dad?

  He tapped my shoulder.

  “Yeah, Dad?”

  “Promise me something.”

  “Anything.”

  “Don’t you stop fighting for what you want.”

  “I won’t, I promise.”

  “Good, that’s good,” he whispered and closed his eyes.

  “It’s okay, Daddy. Just let go. Mom’s waiting for you.” The words fell from my lips, but I struggled to believe them. His warm hand was holding mine tightly. Then I realized I was the only one keeping our hands clasped together.

  The room began to spin, and my mind became clouded with memories from my childhood. When my dad would lift me high up in the air so I could soar like an airplane. Or the first time he took me to the gym because school had let out early, and the babysitter was not available.

  I looked at his now still face and wondered how I could do this all on my own. How I was supposed to hold my promise to go pro without him by my side.

  There was a click and then the door to the hospital room slowly opened. The nurse stepped in and gave me a small smile. “Lily, is it okay to come in?”

  “Um, yeah,” I said, unsure of anything at the moment. Taking in a deep breath, I stood and bent down to kiss my dad’s cheek. “I love you so much.”

  My dad loved the San Francisco 49ers football team. He had season tickets and never missed a game. Before leaving the room, I grabbed his lucky 49ers baseball cap and held it close to my chest. If I couldn’t have him, at least I had something that could bring me luck.

  Luck. That seemed funny to me at the moment. Luck didn’t keep my mom alive so many years ago, and luck sure as hell didn’t keep my dad alive.

  The moment I stepped out of the hospital room, it felt like my body was working on its own. I was unable to process what had happened. More like, I didn’t want to process it. Just then warm arms wrapped around me. Charlie.

  “Oh, sweetie, I’m here.”

  “Charlie. I—”

  “Lils, it’s okay, I have you.”

  5

  Three months later…

  “Hey, did you wrap those plates like I said?” I yelled over to Charlie.

  “Yeah, two pieces of newspaper each.”

  “Why don’t I believe you?” I stood and placed my hands on my hips.

  She plopped down on the floor and crossed her legs in front of her. “I give up. You’re impossible to move with.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Dramatic much?” I sat down in front of her. “You sure you’re ready to move?”

  She lifted her head so fast. “What? Fuck yeah. We’re moving to Vegas together if I have to carry you all the way there.”

  “Well, it’s nice to know I don’t have to worry about a carrier service for this trip.” I tried to control my laughter. “I’m sorry.” I reached for her hand.

  “You know I would never let anything happen to your family’s heirlooms.”

  “I know.”

  “Then what’s up?”

  I struggled getting the words out. “I’m trying to imagine my life in Vegas away from all this.”

  “Can’t see it?”

  “Not even a little bit.”

  “Well, good thing I’ll be there to help.” Charlie stood back up. “Hey, did you find any connections between your dad and Julian Moore?”

  “Nothing. If there was anything, they kept it under lock and key.”

  “Weird,” she said and reached for another newspaper. “I find it funny he suggested the gym, but yet went all cryptic on you.”

  “Yeah, which makes me want to avoid going to the gym.”

  “Really?” She rolled her eyes.

  “No, I am so damn curious.”

  “That’s my girl,” Charlie teased and reached for a vase.

  “Hey,” I started to say.

  “Don’t say it. Just get back to what you were doing. I can handle this area of the house.”<
br />
  I threw my hands up. “Yes, ma’am.” As I walked into the living room, my cellphone rang. “Hello.”

  “Miss Waters.”

  “Yes.”

  “This is Angela from AFC. Do you have a moment to talk?”

  I stopped dead in my tracks. Someone from American Fighting Championship was calling me? This couldn’t be happening. With the woman still on the line, I ran back into the kitchen and mouthed quickly who was on the phone.

  Charlie’s eyes went wide. Then she whispered, “Well then, talk to her.”

  I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah, yeah I do.”

  “Good. We have been watching your fights and would be interested in talking with you further about setting up a fight with AFC.”

  “Me?”

  I heard the woman chuckle. “Yes. You seem so surprised.”

  “Well, I guess because I lost my last fight.”

  “But your technique impressed us.”

  Charlie had her ear next to mine, trying to catch what the woman was saying. I reached for her hand and squeezed. “Wow, I guess I don’t know what to say.”

  “Would you be available to fly over to Las Vegas for a meeting?”

  “Better yet, I will be there next week. I’m in the process of moving there.”

  “You are? We would be really interested in talking to you and your manager as soon as you get settled.”

  We talked for a few more minutes, and then I hit end on the phone and turned toward Charlie. At the same time we both started screaming and jumping up and down like school girls who just kissed a boy on the playground.

  “Do you know what this means?” Charlie said, running to the refrigerator.

  “That I need to find a manager and fast.” I followed behind her. “Maybe I was too quick to fire Jake?”

  She handed me a sparkling water and sat down on a box. “Nope, this is new beginnings, remember.”

  “Yeah, but how am I going to find a manager in less than two weeks?”

  “The gym, Fight It Out.”

  “We don’t know if that’s what they do. For all we know they only work with male fighters.”

  “Nah, I have a good feeling about this.”

  I shoved at her side. “You and your feelings.”

  “What, have they ever been wrong?”

  “Well, there was that one time you insisted we buy a five-man tent because we may take a trip. Or that time we needed an exercise bike, but it ended up being a better clothes rack.”

  She waved off my words. “Oh, those things don’t count.”

  “How so?”

  “They are just things. I’m talking about the woo in me when it comes to men.”

  “Like, Julian?”

  “Oh yeah.”

  “You know he is like ten years older than me?”

  “So, and that’s going to stop you from pursuing him?”

  I didn’t know what to say. Like, sure the man was gorgeous, but he didn’t know me from Joe Blow. “Sweetie, why are we discussing Julian and me?”

  “Why not? Wouldn’t that be amazing if you two hooked up?”

  I drank the last few gulps out of my sparkling water and stood up. “Sure, okay. whatever you say, C.”

  “Hey, you brush it off now, but just wait. I’m right about this one. I can feel it.”

  I patted her on the head and started packing up the last box in the kitchen. “Hey, did I tell you AFC just called my damn phone?”

  She burst out laughing. “The subject may have come up.”

  “You may need to pinch me. This doesn’t feel real.”

  “Oh, it’s real and your time has arrived, Lily Bug.”

  “That one.” I threw my hand in front of Charlie’s face and pointed at a two-story house. “I can’t believe we’re renting a house.”

  “Why not? We need the space, and we have the stuff to fill it up.”

  I ended up putting most of my dad’s stuff in storage; I wasn’t ready to part with it all just yet. My dad’s house was in a prime location. The realtor mentioned it would probably sell quickly. Thank goodness Dad had paid it off several years ago, so the money I would get from the sale would be put into the move to Vegas. In Dad’s will, he specified that Charlie and I share the earnings from the sale. He really did love her like a daughter.

  Charlie insisted we rent a house for six months first to see if we wanted to settle in Las Vegas. The idea of calling sin city home seemed odd, but if it meant getting to be a part of AFC, I was so on board.

  “Let’s see how far away the gym is from here.”

  “Oh, you want to go to the gym first? Ooh la la.”

  “Shut up and drive.”

  Fight It Out ended up being about a mile away. We tried to ensure wherever we rented was within walking distance from the gym. I just didn’t expect it to be that close.

  “Wow.”

  “Yeah, I guess the realtor listened.”

  “Should we go in?” I felt nervous for some reason.

  Charlie parked the car and walked around to my side to pull me out. “Come on, Lils. It’s now or never.”

  The moment I opened the door, the smell of sweat and men’s aftershave bombarded my nose. There were several heavy bags lined up on one side of the room. Weight machines against another wall. A large mat took up a good portion of the room for grappling and practicing. The ring was in the center of the space. Two men were currently fighting. One looked spent, while the other one kept saying encouraging words to keep the tired guy motivated.

  “Break,” someone yelled from behind me. I turned at the sound and almost ran into him. The guy placed his hand on my shoulder. “Oh, sorry. Excuse me.”

  My mouth almost fell open. It was Julian Moore.

  Charlie nudged me and whispered, “Say something.”

  “Something.”

  She rolled her eyes and stepped closer to the ring.

  “Excuse me, you need to step back please,” Julian said in a directive tone.

  “What? Oh, sorry.” Charlie turned and stood next to me.

  “Are you both new here?” He turned to face us, crossing his arms over his chest.

  Charlie shoved her elbow into my side, causing me to yelp. I cleared my throat. “Um, yeah.”

  He held out his hand. “I’m Julian. Are you looking for a place to train?”

  “Uh, yeah. I, uh, I’m a fighter but just arrived in town.” I grabbed Charlie’s arm. “We both are fighters.”

  “Who’s this?” a guy asked, walking up beside Julian.

  “Lily, Lily A…Waters.”

  Julian scowled at me. “Wait, you just had a fight recently?”

  “Yeah, in St. Louis.”

  “So, what are you looking for from the gym?”

  “Looking for?” I didn’t mean to sound confused, but the man was causing me to lose my train of thought.

  “Right, the gym has openings to manage and train fighters. Or if you are just looking for a place to train with your team, you can rent the space.” He turned and waved his hand for me to follow. “Let me show you a few things.”

  The guy that had walked up cleared his throat. “Wait, what’s your name?” He was asking Charlie who at the time was holding my arm. She squeezed my arm even tighter. “Julian forgot his manners and didn’t ask your name.”

  “Me? Oh, Charlie Hill.”

  I gave her side a little nudge. She reached out her hand.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Charlie.” He winked. “I’m Brooks.”

  A man in the ring yelled, “Hey, Hollywood, do you plan to finish the round or chat it up with the pretty lady?”

  I almost burst out laughing. Charlie on the other hand was on the verge of fainting. I nodded at the guy and pulled her in the direction Julian was walking. “Come on, sunshine.”

  “Was that the Brooks Moore who just won the Middleweight title?” she said, looking a little star struck.

  Julian was standing in the doorway of what looked like an office. The place wa
s a mess with boxes and papers scattered everywhere. “The very one. He’s also my brother and one of the owners of the gym.”

  “Oh, sweet Jesus.” Charlie murmured.

  Just then I noticed a hint of a smile on Julian’s stoic face. He pulled two chairs out from under the mess. “Here.”

  We’d planned to just stop in. This meeting was completely unexpected. “If you’re busy, we can come back another time.” I felt I needed to say something. “We just arrived in town today.”

  “Oh, where from?”

  “San Francisco.”

  “Why Vegas?”

  “Why not?” Charlie said, shrugging her shoulders.

  “Fair enough. Do you both currently fight?”

  Charlie placed her hand on her chest. “I’m working on getting my first fight ticket.”

  “I have four fights under my belt, but none of them are wins.” I hated admitting that. “I let my manager go, and we packed up.”

  “She did just get a call from AFC.”

  “Charlie,” I said a little too loudly.

  “Is that true?” Julian said, sounding curious.

  “Yeah, it is.” I glared at my friend. “They want to talk to me. Although I really don’t understand why.”

  “Why would you say that?” Julian sat down in an office chair positioned behind his desk. “Because you have no wins?”

  “Well, yeah.”

  “They don’t just look at your wins and losses. There is so much more to evaluate.”

  “Yeah, but the triangle choke in the last round looked awful.”

  “Is that your weak position?”

  “Yeah.”

  Julian moved a few files and several loose pieces of paper away. He tapped a few times on the keyboard. “Let me look at the schedule here real quick.”

  “Would you have time to be Lily’s manager?” Charlie blurted out.

  “Charlie! What the hell?” I wanted to put her in a choke hold right there on the spot.

  “What? You need a manager like ASAP,” she said, winking.

  “Why do you need one so soon?” Julian said, leaning back in his chair.

  I rolled my eyes at Charlie. Basically giving her a silent message she was toast later. “Well, AFC mentioned a meeting, and the woman also said she looked forward to meeting my manager.”