Below, on the large open field was Mike, looking so very handsome in his kilt and voluminous shirt. He was holding what Sara knew was a broadsword, a heavy weapon that weighed about thirty-five pounds. From the way he was letting the tip of it lie in the dirt, it seemed to be almost too much for him.
Circling him, and wearing kilts that Sara had made for them last year, were three of the giant Fraziers. Sara knew that the idea was to re-create some battle where the single, lone soldier had given up his life for his clan, but right now she didn’t like that story. Every year the Fraziers participated in this, and she knew that they loved the boos and hisses aimed at them. This afternoon they’d redeem themselves as they played valiant warriors who won against the enemy, but this game was meant to put tears in people’s eyes, to remind them of what the Scots had gone through in their history.
Luke got the ladies to scoot over so he could sit by Sara. “Scared?” he asked as he stuck his hand in her popcorn. “They won’t hurt him.”
Ariel heard what Luke said and turned to look up at Sara. “He’ll be fine. My brothers decided that Pere and Lanny will back away and let Colin have him alone. I made Colin promise to be gentle.” She was acting as though she was telling this in confidence to Sara, but Ariel’s voice could be heard six benches away.
“My hope is that Mike doesn’t hurt your brothers,” Sara said just as loudly as she stuffed her mouth with popcorn.
Around them was muffled laughter from the townspeople, who were well aware of the lifelong animosity between the two young women.
If there was one thing the Fraziers had in common, it was that when they raised their voices, they could be heard, and that was demonstrated on the field.
“So you’re our cousin,” Colin bellowed, his voice sounding menacing. “You don’t look like us.”
“The angels must have liked my mother,” Mike said back. His voice wasn’t as loud as theirs, but the natural throatiness of it made the hairs on the back of Sara’s neck stand up—and it made her remember last night when he’d awakened her with kisses. Unfortunately, Mike’s deep voice seemed to have had the same effect on other females, as some teenage girls started squealing.
“I do believe he has a smart mouth on him,” Pere said. He was a year younger than Colin’s thirty, and as handsome as his brothers.
“Smart anything must mean I’m not related to the Fraziers.” Mike’s words made the crowd cheer. For the townspeople, it was great to hear someone challenge that rich family.
The circle of big men was drawing in closer around Mike.
“Should we call our young brother Shamus for this job?” Lanny shouted. “Methinks this old man but needs a boy to take him down.”
Lanny made a halfhearted strike at Mike with his sword, teasing him, but Mike reacted in an instant. He lifted the heavy blade as
though it weighed nothing and swung it in a circle above his head. Lanny and Pere stepped back, but Colin went forward. In one move, Mike blocked Colin’s sword hand with his left forearm and hit the other two weapons with his so that they flew down the field.
When the motion stopped, Colin was left standing holding his sword, while his younger brothers were empty-handed.
The crowd was stunned into silence. They froze in place, hands on the way to their mouths, drinks poised midair. Mothers stopped warning their children; men stopped watching the girls; and the kids just stared. Sara was the first to recover. She stood up and began clapping. When the slight sound didn’t rouse the crowd, she started cheering. Luke stood up beside her and added his voice to hers. An instant later, the people reacted with a roar as they came to their feet.
In the center of the field, Mike didn’t show that he’d heard a sound. His eyes were on Colin, and he backed up to keep the younger men in his side view. When the crowd calmed and sat down, the two younger men stepped closer as they attempted to pick up their swords, but Mike grabbed one and threw it. It arced to the right, over the top of a tall stack of barrels to land on the other side, the blade going so deep into the earth that it gave a loud thwang sound.
This time, Sara didn’t need to lead the cheering as people again came to their feet and started shouting.
Mike had two of the heavy swords and he moved in a circle, both of them raised above his head.
When Pere stepped closer, Mike lunged and came so close to slashing him about the neck, that the crowd drew in its breath. From the other side of the fair, people heard the shouts and started running. The roustabout who ran the Tilt-A-Whirl put the handbrake on and left the long line of waiting customers. When they protested, he yelled, “Follow me.” He passed a bunch of teenage boys and shouted, “Cage fight.” They nearly trampled people as they started running.
On the field, Pere threw up his hands in surrender, then bowed to Mike. If he said anything, no one heard it over the noise of the crowd.
Lanny waited, then turned and also bowed to the audience in surrender. He was booed and hissed at loudly.
Only Mike and Colin were left, and neither of them looked as though he was going to give up. Mike had the two swords, but when the crowd calmed down, he smiled at Colin. “I wouldn’t want to beat you unfairly, cousin,” he said loudly as he threw the sword across the barrels where it landed within inches of the other one. The cheer that went up could be heard a mile away.
“Isn’t he wonderful?” Sara breathed to Luke as she held on to his arm.
He clasped her hand and smiled down at her fondly. “Mike is quite the hero, so cool he sweats ice cubes. But remember that Colin is no wimp. Mike’ll have to work to beat him.”
The men bent and began circling each other. Colin was the first to make a move as he pushed his sword forward, as though to stab Mike in the chest. But Mike made a leap and hit Colin in the chest with his foot, stunning the larger man so that he staggered backward. Mike landed on his feet, then circled around, sword raised.
After taking a moment to get his breath back, Colin stood up straight and said, “You’re no more bother than a mosquito.” At that a bunch of boys at the far end of the bleachers took Colin’s side and started cheering, “Frazier! Frazier!”
Sara started a chant of “Mike! Mike!” and her side of the bleachers took it up. Except for Ariel and Shamus, of course, who stayed seated, but when people blocked their view, Shamus stood up and tapped the man in front of him on the shoulder. The man, an outsider, looked at the sheer size of Shamus, and sat down. Soon there was a path of seated people that allowed Ariel and Shamus to see the field while retaining their seats.
When Colin made a lunge at Mike, he twisted out of the way, but the sleeve of Mike’s shirt caught on the sword, tearing it from shoulder to wrist. Big pieces of fabric dangled dangerously. Without losing concentration, Mike grabbed the hanging cloth and pulled. It ripped to the waist and he slipped what was left of it over his head.