LITMIR.BIZ

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to see that it didn’t seem to be bothering him. Brian was obviously well adjusted to his new situation. Gideon had met Cam that morning over the eventful breakfast at the Barn. He’d seemed like a good guy. They all had.

      He held his hand out to the boy. “Hi, Brian. I’m Gideon.”

      Brian shook his hand and smiled. “You know judo,” he announced with enthusiasm. “Uncle Hank said! Can you throw me?”

      “Sure.” Gideon stood, and without giving the boy a moment, he tossed him spectacularly over his right hip, protecting the boy’s landing with a firm grip on him. Then he pulled him up.

      “Wow!” Brian was flushed with excitement.

      The girls were all on their feet. “Do me!” Rachel demanded. Gideon complied. Squeals of hilarity reigned as he swung the other two girls to the floor.

      Hank pushed his way into the lobby just in time to catch Brian pleading to be thrown a second time.

      “Daddy!” Rachel ran to him, caught his hand and pulled him toward the laughing group of children, talking all the time. “He can do judo!” she exclaimed. “And he made Brian fly through the air, then he did it to me, then he did everybody!”

      “And he’s gonna do me again!” Brian shouted. “Go ahead, Gideon.”

      Gideon looked at Hank in question. He nodded his approval. Brian went over with a giggling cry.

      “Whoa.” Hank came closer, smiling. “You’re going to have to teach me to do that.” He frowned teasingly at the kids. “And when I take the trouble to pick you up, it would be nice if you didn’t race off and leave me behind the minute the car stops.”

      “Sorry, Dad,” Erica said, then without drawing a breath asked Gideon, “Can you throw Daddy?”

      Gideon shook his head. “Space is too small. And I’m sure your dad’s had a busy day and the last thing he wants to do right now is go flying through the air.”

      Hank studied him with new interest. “Do you think you could?” he asked.

      “Could what?” He couldn’t mean what Gideon thought he was asking. “Take you down?”

      “Yeah. If you had the room.”

      “Sure.”

      Hank raised an eyebrow in challenge. “We’re about the same size.”

      Gideon nodded. “It’s not about size.”

      “Okay. Follow me.”

      The children jumped along beside them like little pistons, squealing as Hank led the way to a big empty room in the back.

      “Jackie uses this room for banquets,” he explained, “but it’s empty at the moment because housekeeping just shampooed the carpet. This do?”

      “Very well.” Gideon pulled off his shoes and advised Hank to do the same. They pushed the eager children toward the wall.

      “You stay back there,” Hank told them firmly. “You don’t want to get hit when Gideon comes flying at you.” He grinned at Gideon. The children cheered.

      It took just a few seconds. Gideon grabbed Hank, and when Hank tipped his weight, thinking Gideon intended to push in that direction, Gideon reversed and dropped him by hooking his foot with his own.

      Hank went down with a thud and a shout and lay there for a moment, the breath knocked out of him. Gideon offered him his hand.

      Hank took it, surprise in his eyes. He grinned again and flexed his shoulders. “Okay, I wasn’t expecting that.”

      Gideon brushed off the shoulder of Hank’s chambray shirt. “Assailants don’t usually count to three,” he said.

      “True.” Hank conceded. “Okay, let’s go again.”

      “Come on, Daddy!” Erica shouted.

      Brian called, “Go, Gideon!”

      Hank, busy assuming a prepared stance, stopped to frown with teasing ferocity at the boy. “Whose side are you on, Brian?”

      Brian smiled winningly. “Well, Gideon doesn’t have anybody to cheer for him.”

      That was certainly true on more than one level.

      Prepared, Hank was a stronger opponent, but knowledge won out over strength. Gideon grabbed him and, using the man’s own strength, tossed him over his hip. Hank landed hard.

      The children gasped.

      Gideon would have worried about embarrassing Hank in front of the children if Hank had seemed worried about it, but he didn’t. Hank propped himself up on his elbows and asked, “Can you do two men at a time?”

      Gideon nodded, then looked around. “But you’re the only man here. You’re seeing double. That’ll be gone in a minute.”

      “Funny man.” Hank sat up. “Erica, can I have your cell phone?”

      The girl dug in her backpack and handed it to him. He dialed. “Good,” he said after a moment. “You’re still there. Can you come down to the banquet room for a few minutes? Doesn’t matter what for, you’ll have a good time.”

      He winked at the children, who laughed. He tossed the phone back at Erica and got to his feet, flexing his left arm and groaning.

      “What’re you doing for dinner?” he asked. “Jackie told me your trip to Alaska fell through, at least for the moment, and you’ve booked an extra day.”

      Gideon nodded. “I thought a drive through the Berkshires would be good for my disposition.”

      “I’m sure that’s true,” Hank said. “Jackie makes a mean enchilada casserole. Want to join us?”

      Gideon was a little surprised by the offer. It wasn’t as though he knew him that well, and it was a curious suggestion in light of the fact that he’d just taken him down twice.

      “Ah…that’d be nice,” he said. “Thank you.”

      A man in paint-smeared coveralls walked into the room. Brian ran to him.

      “Uncle Evan!” he said. “Gideon’s going to throw you around!”

      Gideon remembered the man from the breakfast table at the Barn.

      “Gideon, you remember Evan Braga? Evan, Gideon Hale.”

      “Right.” Gideon shook hands and said with a note of apology, “I just want to make it clear up-front that this is Hank’s idea and not mine.”

      Evan looked doubtful. “Okay.”

      “He’s a martial arts expert,” Hank told Evan. “He’s going to throw us.”

      “Throw us,” Evan repeated blankly.

      “Yeah.”

      “Is this in my job description?”

      “No, but job description is what this is all about.”

      “Ohhh,” Evan said as though that clarified things. Gideon was confused.

      But not about what he knew. Hank and Evan backed away from him, each at an angle, then came toward him. Hank was easily dispensed with, but Evan had had some training. Gideon struggled with him for a moment, then finally overbalanced him, hooked his left leg and used the weight of his own body to drive Evan’s shoulders to the floor. Gideon leaped up again, ready for a counterattack.

      Hank and Evan, both supine, looked at one another.

      “What do you think?” Hank asked him.

      Evan, breathless from their brief but fierce struggle, nodded. “Yes. But if you tell anybody he took both of us, I’ll hurt you!” He frowned at the children. “And that goes for you guys, too.”

      The

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