little ears.
“Either quiet down or leave.” Kai wasn’t going to back down. He wasn’t the kind of man who went looking for a fight, but he’d been pushed into plenty of corners by surfers defending turf on various beaches all over the world. Bullies were the same, no matter their age or nationality: you either stood up to them, or you let them walk over you. And Kai had never backed down from a bully, not once in his life.
“I’m not going to have my afternoon ruined by some stupid fuckin’ kid!” he roared, pointing at the little boy, whose bottom lip quivered as his eyes filled with tears threatening to spill.
“Hey!” Jun’s voice was like steel, her eyes glinting fiercely. “You do not talk about my son that way.” Despite her small frame, she’d stalked right up to the angry man, fearless. She was an angry mama bear, protecting her cub. “And watch your language!”
Instantly, the man seemed cowed. There was something in her voice that said she wasn’t messing around. Kai admired her in that moment. What a little firecracker. Here he’d thought she’d needed rescuing, but he had a sneaking suspicion she could’ve handled this man all on her own.
“You have two choices, Mr. Hiram. You can stay in this class and behave. Or you can leave.”
“I—I...” Mr. Hiram sputtered, temporarily taken aback by Jun. “But that stupid kid!”
“You’ve made your choice. Time for you to go,” Jun said, and Kai tightened his grip on the man.
“You can’t kick me out. I paid for this class!” the man sputtered.
Kai dug his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out a hundred-dollar bill. He tucked the money in the man’s shirt pocket.
“Consider it refunded.”
“But...” If he was hoping for a reprieve from Jun, he wouldn’t get one.
Jun just pointed her finger to the parking lot and gave Mr. Hiram a look that would melt a weaker man. “Let’s go.” Kai swept his hands forward.
Mr. Hiram looked as though he was going to dig in his heels.
“Stupid bitch,” he muttered under his breath.
“What did you say?” Jun was livid now. So was Kai. She stepped over, as if she planned to do something about it, but Kai wasn’t going to let that happen. He was filled with a protective kind of fury. “That’s it.” Kai grabbed the man’s arm and with one quick move twisted it up behind his back.
“Ow,” he cried. Kai steadily marched the man, arm still behind his back, up the beach and to the parking lot.
Once near the asphalt, Kai stopped. “You can go home either with or without a broken arm.” He twisted the man’s arm harder and Hiram squealed. “Which one is it going to be?”
“Without,” he ground out.
Kai released him with a shove, and the man stumbled into the parking lot, holding his arm. Eyes full of fear, he glanced back at Kai. He scampered to his car, a rental, and got in. Kai watched while he backed up and drove away.
The class broke out in spontaneous applause as Kai made his way back to them. Apparently, he wasn’t the only one who felt that the man needed to be shown out. Jun, her arm around a now-grinning Po, nodded once at him. Kai just shrugged—no big deal. And anyway, she’d had it covered even without his help. He had to admire her grit, especially for a woman so...seemingly delicate. But, he realized, there wasn’t anything delicate about her.
“Thank you,” she whispered to him as she squeezed his arm.
“It’s nothing,” he said. Po threw his tiny arms around Kai’s legs, his silent hug saying more than Jun ever could.
“Come on, now, sweetie,” she said, pulling Po back. “Time we finish the class.” Po went back to his bucket and shovel, happily digging in the sand, and Jun moved to the front of the class.
“Well, I’m sorry for that, everyone,” she said, addressing the others. “I guess Mr. Hiram kind of missed the point of using Tai Chi to calm his Chi.”
A murmur of laughter rippled through the class.
“Okay, let’s start again with Moving the Water,” Jun said as she swept her arms forward as if pushing air.
* * *
FORTY MINUTES LATER, after a cooldown session, as the class dispersed, gathering their towels and bags and heading back to their cars, Jun saw that Kai had stuck around. He was kneeling next to Po, helping him add another turret to his sand castle. They had their heads together. Kai talked softly to the boy, the conversation not carrying over the wind. For a second, she just stood by, watching them. Kai showed him the trick to getting the wet sand out of the bucket without crumbling the top: three hard taps to the flat side of the bucket before gently lifting. Po listened and watched carefully and then repeated everything he’d just learned. Jun marveled at her son’s attention. He rarely sat still long enough to learn tips from her, and yet here he was, soaking up Kai’s every word.
Maybe Po could use another adult in his life, someone else to help him learn about the world. Someone other than his mother or aunt. Yet as soon as the thought entered her mind, defensively, she pushed it out.
No, they were just fine on their own. Her and Po against the world. Always had been. Always would be.
Kai wasn’t someone you could depend on, she reasoned. Jun remembered the two tourists at his house and the empty beer bottles on his floor. He might have done us a favor today, but he’s not the fathering type.
“Hey, Po, time to pack up, buddy,” she said, interrupting the scene.
“Aw, Mom.” Po looked up, disappointed. “Do I have to?”
“Yes, young man. You know the rule.” She prayed he wouldn’t test her on it. Not today. Not in front of Kai.
“When you say it’s time to go, it’s time to go.” Po hung his head in defeat and shuffled his feet in the sand.
“Sandals on. Go on.” Po reluctantly went to fetch his sandals, which he’d flung off earlier near a palm tree.
“He’s a good kid,” Kai said as the two watched him sit in the sand and put his shoes on.
“Yeah, he is.” Jun knew that in her heart to be true. The biting just wasn’t him at all. He really was a sweet kid, and he minded her so well, most of the time. “Listen, thanks for what you did. With Mr. Hiram. I don’t know what made him go off like that...”
“Who knows? But it wasn’t anything. Bullies are the same wherever they are.” Kai smiled, and the air between them got suddenly heavy. Jun was aware of how close Kai was standing, his dark hair ruffled by the sea breeze, his deep eyes like a warm, familiar place that she’d visited before.
He flashed a dazzling smile and Jun felt her heart shift just a little bit. She liked it when he smiled. She liked it a little too much.
Kai cleared his throat. “Your class was...really good.” He sounded surprised, but Jun tried not to take that personally. A lot of people had misconceptions about Tai Chi, and few realized how relaxing it could be when you really put yourself into it. It could have the same centering effects of yoga, she thought, but without all the contortion.
“Listen, this may sound crazy, but I recently lost my personal trainer. I looked you up. You’ve got all kinds of classes at Island Fit. I know you know your way around weights and training, because I called the gym and checked up on you. How much would it take for you to come work for me...full-time?”
JUN STOOD FROZEN to the spot. Work for Kai Brady, full-time? She stared at his warm brown puppy-dog eyes and right at that moment she almost blurted out “Yes!”