“Exactly. We’ve all been trouble in one way or another. And sure, there’s a market. How many times do you get asked to train someone? Every Saturday at the fights, someone is approaching you about it. And not just the human fighters, but spectators as well. Offer lessons when you open and you’ll be a big hit. And you know me, Seth, and Jax would help train, too.”
“You make a convincing argument,” he conceded.
“It’s convincing because I’m right, as usual.”
Throwing his head back with a laugh, he nodded. Opening his mouth to reply, he paused when the front door opened and Shelby stepped out. “Hey sweets. Finished with your homework?”
“Yeah.” She took a seat between him and Cammie. “I overheard what Cammie was saying, and she’s right. You should totally do this, Dad.”
Reaching over, he ruffled her hair. “Yeah, maybe I should.”
“Can you teach me?”
“Teach you what?”
“How to fight,” she replied, glancing over at him. Catching a glimpse of his brow furrowing, she added, “Not to fight just because. But to defend myself.”
“What did we talk about earlier, Shel? Violence isn’t the answer to someone hurting your feelings.”
“I know. And that’s not why I want to learn. I just want to know what to do if something happens.”
Ian hesitated. Shelby rarely asked for anything, and he hated to tell her no, but… “I don’t know, sweets. Holly—I mean, Mrs. White doesn’t think it’s a good idea to teach you stuff like that, and I think she might be right.”
“Holly?” Shelby asked, eyes forming full moons. “Why are you calling my teacher by her first name? Do you like her or something?”
“What? No,” he sputtered, catching a glimpse of Cammie sitting up in her chair and looking at him in interest. “Just a slip of the tongue is all.”
Shelby said, “You know, I’m a shifter, too, and I can hear lies just as well as any shifter. She is awfully pretty, isn’t she? I think this is great.”
“Shelby, no. Don’t go getting any ideas in your head. Yes, she’s pretty, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested,” he replied, trying to convince himself of that. “Besides, even if I was, she’s married. That makes her off limits, hard stop.”
Shelby nodded slowly. “And if she wasn’t married? Would you be interested then?”
“That’s a moot question. She is married, so this discussion needs to end here.”
“But if she wasn’t, would you be?” she persisted.
Knowing she’d hear the lie in his voice if he denied it, Ian reluctantly told the truth and acknowledged it to himself for the first time. “Maybe. Okay, probably. Happy now? This is pointless, but yes, I most likely would be.”
A slow smile curled Shelby’s lips. “That’s very good to know. And luckily for you, she’s not married. Not anymore. She’s a widow, and I noticed today that she finally took her ring off. Mrs. White is great. Now, I need to get in the shower. See y’all later.”
Shelby walked back in the house, pausing when Cammie held out her fist, bumping it with a giggle. The screen door banged shut and Ian sat in silence, unable to find his voice.
“Damn, she’s gotten sassy,” Cammie said with a laugh. “It does my heart good. She expertly set you up with that, and it was perfect. You should see your face right now, Ian.”
“Yeah, well.” He cleared his throat. “I wasn’t expecting that. She’s a little too smart for her own good.”
Bringing her leg up, Cammie turned to face him. “So this Holly… you like her, huh?”
Ian squirmed in his chair, he said, “I don’t like her like her. She’s a good teacher, is all.”
Shooting him a look, she replied, “Like Shelby said, I can hear lies. Truth, please.”
“Okay. She’s beautiful, there’s no denying that. But I’m not going there, Cammie.”
She frowned. “Why not? She sounds like a good woman, and you’re attracted to her. I don’t see the problem.”
“We clashed pretty hard at first. She was going on about how I don’t know what I’m doing and I was teaching Shelby bad stuff. We’re probably not compatible.”