Fighting For Grace: Worth The Fight Read online

  Fighting For Grace

  Worth The Fight

  Hope Ford

  Fighting For Grace © 2020 by Hope Ford

  Editor: Kasi Alexander

  Cover Design: Pop Kitty

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  www.authorhopeford.com

  Contents

  1. Evan

  2. Evan

  3. Gracie

  4. Gracie

  5. Evan

  6. Gracie

  7. Evan

  8. Gracie

  9. Gracie

  10. Gracie

  Epilogue

  Epilogue 2

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  About the Author

  1

  Evan

  I lift the heavy weights off my chest with a grunt. God, it feels good to be back in the gym. Breathing in, I lower the weight. Breathing out, I push the weight. Repetitive, but something I yearn for. Each pull of my muscle as I work puts new life into me. I live for this. When it was taken away from me, well, I didn’t know who I was anymore. I feel good with the sweat pouring down my face and back. I drop the weight onto the bar over my head and sit up. Looking at the mirror in front of me, I can’t help but appreciate how far I’ve come. The veins are bulging in my neck and arms. I feel alive for the first time in a long time. Then I swing my leg over and stand up and my knee about buckles at the unexpected weight. FUCK! I grunt. My euphoria from only moments ago is now a distant memory, because even though my upper body is in tip top shape, my lower body, specifically my right knee, is still not back where it was.

  I see the pitying looks of the guys around me. Most of them are my friends, even though I’ve been a dick to them the last several months. I can’t blame them if they hate me. But I can be pissed that they pity me.

  And they all do. Well, except for Teddy. And I realize I’m in for it as I see him working his way over to me. He doesn’t have pity on his face… he has disgust. “Evan, let’s go. You ain’t going to get any better if you stand around daydreaming all day. You’re past the easy part. Surgery’s over. No more crutches, you can walk on it. No, now’s the hard part. Now you got to go to work and build muscle again. It may be a while before you’re back in the ring, but you ain’t going to get there if you stand here pissing and moaning.”

  I stare back at him and want to argue. But I don’t. Actually, I don’t think I’ve ever met a man stupid enough to argue with Teddy. He and his wife own the Alpha Dominant Gym. They’ve been here for over thirty years and I thank my good fortune that I met them ten years ago. My life was falling apart fast and Teddy helped me get back on the right track. He also made me a fighter. I had hoped to compete in the Ground and Pound Championship this year, but it isn’t in my favor. I’ll be lucky to compete in the underground matches as it is.

  I nod my head at him and walk over to the empty mat, pick up a medicine ball and start doing carefully calculated squats. I do my best to not favor my right knee, but I still haven’t learned to fully trust the repair at this point. I see Teddy staring at me in the mirror, and I force myself to put more effort into it and squat lower. With a grunt of approval, Teddy walks away. I watch as Maria stands up from her desk and looks from me to Teddy. She smiles at me in the mirror before leaning in to peck Teddy on the cheek with a kiss. I look away then. They’ve been married for forty years now and could teach all of us something about marriage and relationships. Teddy is an ass most of the time. He’s always complaining about “generation pussy” and “people not having work ethic,” but as soon as Maria gets around, he goes all soft.

  Shaking my head from my thoughts, I look in the mirror and watch my form as I squat. Each movement is controlled and takes more energy since I’m injured. But I’m determined to get better and to get back into the ring.

  * * *

  Gracie

  I stand outside the gym and look up at the sign on the window. Alpha Dominant Gym. Obviously, this place is not for me. I actually try to avoid all men, especially fighters, which by looking inside, that’s what this gym is all about. And alpha men, well, that doesn’t make me feel very comforted either. But it’s the only gym within walking distance of my new apartment. I look through the window and see men working out on varying machines. A big ring is in the middle and two men are fighting. Even from outside, I grunt and jerk with every punch the man gives the other. Sick to my stomach, I turn to walk away. Taking a few steps, I force myself to stop and turn around. You can do this, Gracie, I think, trying to make myself believe it.

  I walk back toward the door and before I can talk myself out of it, I pull it open. The door jingles and a woman pulls out of an embrace from a man she’s standing with. “Hey there. Welcome!”

  She gestures for me to come closer. The man eyes me curiously and I shift my gaze back to the woman.

  I walk tentatively to the desk, ignoring the stares I know I’m getting from the men in the room.

  “Hi. I’m here to check on self defense lessons,” I almost whisper to the woman.

  She tilts her head to the side, looking at me.

  The man next to her says, “Sorry, honey, our trainer is on…”

  He stops abruptly when the woman grabs his hand and squeezes it. She tells him something with her eyes and the man raises his hands up and walks to the edge of the counter, looking out at the gym.

  The woman holds her hand out to me. “I’m Maria. And that is my husband, Teddy. We own the gym and what my husband was going to tell you was that our regular trainer is on vacation but we have someone else that can fill in for him.”

  I shake her hand and try not to notice that Teddy has turned around to look at us again. He’s menacing to look at, but seems to have a soft spot for his wife. He just shakes his head and looks away.

  I look back at Maria, and she’s still smiling at me. “Okay. Can you tell me how much the lessons are?”

  “We actually have a special right now. Ten dollars a lesson.”

  “What?” Teddy asks her before throwing his hands up and walking away.

  I scrunch my nose up. That sounds pretty cheap and I tell her so.

  “No, it’s just our way to give back to the community.” She picks up a clipboard and hands it to me. “Here you go. Fill this out. The first lesson is free. When do you want to start?”

  I take the clipboard and start filling it out. “Anytime in the evenings is fine.”

  She looks at her watch. “Okay, is an hour from now okay?”

  Surprised, I look up at her. She just smiles. “We have an opening then.”

  Thinking about it, I know I need to take it. If I schedule it another day, I’ll just talk myself out of it. Nodding, I hand her back the signed forms. “Okay. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  “Okay.” She looks down at the clipboard and then back up to me. “Gracie. We’ll see you then.”

  2

  Evan

  I can tell when I see Maria walking toward me with a plate of her cookies that she wants something. I swear, if I didn’t watch it, I would have gained forty pounds while I was on crutches for all the cookies she brought to me.

  She’s smiling sweetly and I lay the weights down on the ground. I can tell this is going to be a good one.

  She stops in front of me and holds the plate out. “Hey, Evan, do you have any plans this evening?”

  I take a cookie. Even though I don’t need it. But there’s no way I would ever turn her down and hurt her feel
ings. She and Teddy have been too good to me. If it means I have to run, well, jog on the treadmill a little longer today, so be it. “No, Maria. What can I do for you?”

  I look over her head and see Teddy standing at the desk smirking at me. That should have been my first indication that something was off.

  When I look back at her, she looks a little anxious, which is surprising for her. “I need you to do some self defense lessons tonight. And maybe a few more this week and next. Just until Rae gets back.”

  Instantly, I put my hands up. “Oh no, no way, Maria. You know I’m not an instructor.”

  She shrugs her shoulders and I can see the hurt on her face. I know then that I’ll give in even before she starts muttering to me. “Not an instructor? You’re licensed to do it. And this girl needs help. I can feel it in my bones, Evan. We can’t just turn her away.”

  “Awww, Maria.” I moan, knowing she’s right. She’s good about knowing things. She’s also good about getting us fighters to bend to her will.

  She’s looking at me with so much hope in her eyes, there’s no way I can tell her no.

  “Fine. Okay. When is she coming?”

  The door jingles and a woman with wide eyes walks in. She’s looking nervously around the room, and Maria raises her hand and waves her over. “That’s her now.” Maria pats me on the stomach. “Thank you, boy. I owe you one.” She winks at me.

  I just smile at her and focus my attention back on the woman walking toward us. Her blond hair is pulled back in a ponytail. She has on black leggings and an oversize, shapeless sweatshirt that hangs off of her. But the thing that stands out the most are her bright blue eyes. It’s almost like you can read every thought in her head through them. And right now, the woman is scared half out of her mind.

  I try to soften my stance and appear smaller, less rough, but that’s hard to do when you are six foot four and almost three hundred pounds. She’s probably a foot shorter than me.

  Her eyes go back and forth between Maria and me. “Hi Maria. I just, uh, came back to tell you that I changed my mind. I don’t need a class. I’m fine.”

  She starts to turn around. I should let her go. I don’t want to take the time away from training to teach self-defense classes, but something tells me that I need to.

  “Wait.” I almost reach out to her but stop myself. Instead, I stride in front of her and stop so she can’t keep walking. She doesn’t seem like the type that wants to be touched. At least not with that look on her face.

  She steps back from me and the fear heightens in her face. Maria’s right. We can’t turn her away.

  Maria walks up to her and puts her arm around her. “Gracie, this is Evan. He’s a trainer here. He’s going to be working with you. I know you say you don’t need a class, but I think you do, don’t you honey?”

  She takes her eyes off me and looks at Maria. They stare silently at each other and I feel like something else, something important is happening right now. Something I know nothing about. Gracie takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. She still won’t look at me, but she at least agrees with Maria and tells her “Okay” in a soft whisper.

  I release the breath I didn’t know I was holding. Maria steps back from Gracie and tells her, “I trust Evan. You have nothing to worry about with him. He will teach you everything you need to know.”

  Gracie looks up at me then and even though it’s obvious she doesn’t completely trust me, she is at least willing to go along with this.

  Maria pats me on the stomach. “Okay, Evan. Teddy and I are leaving. Lock up on your way out.”

  I nod my head at her and she turns around. “Let’s go, Teddy Bear.”

  I watch as they walk out the door and then turn back to Gracie.

  “Okay, so why do you want to take self defense classes?” I ask her and immediately I realize that I’ve asked the wrong question.

  Her eyes wince and her whole body freezes. I stutter at her reaction, “Uh, I mean, what are you wanting to get out of the class?”

  Visibly, it’s obvious she’s not comfortable with all of this. I walk away from her, doing my best not to limp, and go toward the treadmill. “Okay, well, let’s just get started. Let’s get you warmed up.”

  I stand back and let her get on the treadmill.

  “Uhm, I’m not really in shape,” she says. “I know I need to be, but really I just need to know how to defend myself. You know, in case I ever have to.”

  She’s self conscious and scared. Anger fills me. I know she’s been hurt. Hell, I’ve only been around her for five minutes and I can see it. It makes me want to find whoever did this to her and take care of it for her. Being scared and self conscious - those are the two things I’m going to break her from.

  “This is just to warm you up. And it will help you defend yourself if you’re in shape.” Her face turns blood red and I know I’ve embarrassed her. “I’m not talking about your weight. I mean, I think you look great. I mean…. Look, getting in some cardio and some weights is only going to help you defend yourself. I’m not trying to change anything about you.”

  I turn away from her then, because I know I’ve made things a hundred times worse. She already doesn’t want to be here and now she thinks I’m talking about her curvy body. I look at her in the mirror and she’s walking, her long ponytail swaying side to side. She pushes the button and starts walking faster. Smiling, I turn away before she sees me staring at her. I put back the weights I had out earlier and lay out some mats for us to work on, all the time looking at her out of the corner of my eye, trying to figure her out.

  3

  Gracie

  I don’t need a man. I don’t need a man, I tell myself over and over. And honestly, for how big he is, he reminds me of my ex, Buck. I shouldn’t even be thinking about Evan that way. I shake my head as if I’m trying to talk sense into myself. Get it together, Gracie.

  I push the button on the treadmill and make myself push harder. I know Evan wasn’t making fun of my weight, but it’s a sensitive subject with me. Buck always got onto me for being a bigger girl and I stupidly put up with it. I always worked hard trying to lose it, but I never could. Ironically, it wasn’t until I left him that the pounds started coming off.

  I watch Evan move around the room. He has a limp and it makes me wonder what’s happened to him. He’s big. And built. He has on black shorts and a purple T-shirt with the gym’s name across it. His muscles flex as he picks up mats and moves them around. I know this is a gym for fighters. Does he fight? If so, that’s definitely another reason I should stop daydreaming about him. I’ve gone the fighter route. And with all the drama and testosterone, well, let’s just say I definitely don’t want to get caught up in that life again.

  Nope, I’m finally getting my life back together. I may have a shitty job waiting tables, but it pays for my room in the three-bedroom apartment with three other women. I was lucky they were willing to take me in on such short notice. Luck was definitely on my side.

  Evan comes over and stands next to the treadmill. “Good job. You ready to get started?”

  Nodding my head, I hit the stop button and step off the machine.

  I follow him over to the mat and he leads me through some stretches.

  I can’t take my eyes off him as he does the stretches with me. When he lifts his arms up over his head, his shirt raises up and I can see his six pack abs. I have to drag my eyes away from him while I wipe the sweat from my temple. Damn, is it hot in here? I obviously should have asked for an ugly trainer because I can barely concentrate right now.

  Right when he’s about to show me a hold, my phone rings. I look over at my bag and nervousness rolls through me.

  I apologize as I walk over to my bag and pull my phone out. “I’m sorry, Evan. No one has my new number except for my roommates and they wouldn’t call me unless they needed something.”

  He just shrugs his shoulders. “No worries.”

  “Hello,” I say.

  Instantly, Beth, one o
f my roommates, starts yelling into the phone. “Gracie, it’s me. Our apartment has been ransacked. Everything is a mess and they left a note for you. You should have told us that you were bringing problems with you when you moved in.”

  I freeze at her words and my eyes go to the big open window that I’m standing in front of. I walk quickly to the side and stand behind a door. “I know, Beth. I’m sorry. I just had to get away, but I shouldn’t have brought you into this. I’m on my way.”

  “You’ll have to move out, you know that, right?”

  Fuck, I think. There’s no way I’ll be able to find a sweet deal like this again. That fucking Buck is still ruining my life. “Okay, yeah, I know. I’ll help you clean up and then pack my stuff.”

  Then the phone goes dead. Guilt fills me. I should have told them. I realize that now, but I never would have thought Buck would find me, at least not that quickly.

  “What’s wrong?” Evan asks me.

  “Shoot, I’m sorry I’ve wasted your time. I have to go.”

  I sling my purse over my shoulder and start to walk toward the door. I try not to show it, but I’m freaking out right now.

  * * *

  Evan

  “Gracie. Stop. Take a breath. It’s okay. I heard your friend screaming in the phone. Who broke into your house?”

  Her eyes are wide and filled with fear. I can visibly see her body trembling. She is hugging herself as if she’s trying to stop it.

  I take a step toward her and put my hands on her shoulders. She doesn’t back away and that’s a good sign.