Only Her

“He wasn’t happy in Haley Cove, Ava.”

“Why not? He had you.”

“It wasn’t that simple. He wanted more for himself. He wanted to be more. He didn’t want to be like Poppy.”

“I thought Poppy was nice.” She seemed confused.

“Poppy was nice to me and my sisters but he wasn’t always nice to your Daddy and his brothers or even Grammy. Farming is hard work Ava. It leaves an impression on people’s lives that is heavy and burdensome. Poppy felt that plus he was raised by a man that wasn’t always nice to him. Luka didn’t want to be like that so he left town to become something more.”

“I googled him,” Ava admitted to Skylar.

“You did.” Skylar was surprised by this. She trained her eyes on Ava waiting to see what else she wanted to say.

“He’s pretty famous.”

“I didn’t know,” Skylar replied honestly.

She had avoided his career in fighting. Not really wanting to see or know too much about him. Not wanting to see what he looked like now or how life had changed him. Brett had mentioned his cage fighting a few times so she had known what he was doing but Skylar hadn’t asked any questions.

“There are YouTube videos of some of his matches online.”

Skylar stopped brushing Majestic. She peered over his broad back at Ava. “I’m not sure that you should be watching his matches on YouTube baby.” She didn’t know a lot about MMA fighting but she thought they could be pretty brutal. “Did he win?” Skylar asked.

Ava laughed at her mother. “He did almost every single time but it was scary to watch.”

Skylar finished with Majestic and patted his rump before she walked out of the stall and closed the door behind her. She latched it tight then mother and daughter walked down the length of the barn past the other stalls to the open door. They stepped through and Skylar closed the barn door after them.

“Why was it scary?” She asked.

“He’s mean in the cage. I mean like really scary mean. He doesn’t look like the same person. Not at all like what I’ve seen. A couple of those men had to be carried out.”

Skylar gazed down on her daughter before they started walking towards the house. Both of them had their heads down. “Luka has always had a hellacious temper,” she realized what she said when Ava looked up at her with a little confusion or fear. “He wouldn’t hurt me or you Ava. Not ever. He isn’t like that but I can see him taking out his aggression on somebody in a cage fight. That is probably what made him so good. He had a lot of aggression from dealing with your Poppy for years.”

They were about to approach the front porch when she looked up. “What are you two talking about?” Luka asked. He was sitting on the porch steps with Brett and heard part of the conversation.

“Ava has been googling you,” Skylar replied.

“Why?” He was horrified by that idea. Maybe she should google him too.

“She wanted to see your fights. She watched them on YouTube.”

Brett looked at Luka who gave him a quick glance. “I don’t think that is a good idea that Ava watch those fights.”

“Too late,” Skylar replied. “The power of the internet, Luka.”

He glanced between Skylar and Ava. “Ava, come here.”

She walked over and slipped into Luka’s arms. “The man in the cage isn’t the man that you know,” he told his daughter. “I wouldn’t hurt you or your mom.”

“That is what Momma just said. She said you have aggression from dealing with Poppy and you take it out on the men in the cage.”

He glanced up at Skylar. Unsure that she should have revealed so much to Ava about Jacob Shaw. “I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to say. I said that is what made you so good in the cage. I do think it’s better that she understood why you left and why you did what you did than to have questions. I guess I should have talked to you first.” He nodded in agreement.

“He was a hard man Ava. I didn’t want to be like him so I left. I had every intention of coming back for your Momma and I did just a lot later than I had planned.”

Skylar watched her daughter squeeze Luka’s neck. “I just wanted you here. I wanted a daddy like everyone else.”

“I’m sorry baby girl. So sorry.” He patted her back, comforting her.