Chapters (56)
- Cover
- Dedication
- 1.1 [close to the bone]
- 1.2 [and introducing...]
- 1.3 [half-split]
- 1.4 [the Semple challenge]
- 1.5 [Brickpower]
- 2.1 [shaker up]
- 2.2 [heavyweight]
- 2.3 [♀]
- 2.4 [hired hand]
- 3.1 [wheels and deals]
- 3.2 [don’t cry over spilled ...]
- 3.3 [three’s a crowd]
- 3.4 [“If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)” or “Night of the Long Knives,” take your pick]
- 4.1 [all the comforts of home]
- 4.2 [white knight]
- 4.3 [pay dirt]
- 4.4 [book learning]
- 5.1 [AQ]
- 5.2 [kihon, kata, kumite]
- 5.3 [pride and prejudice]
- 5.4 [hurt and humiliation]
- 5.5 [“King of the Road”]
- 6.1 [“Father and Son”]
- 6.2 [nothing succeeds like success]
- 6.3 [naked]
- 6.4 [nakeder (I know, there’s no such word)]
- 7.1 [42 km/hr]
- 7.2 [first aid]
- 7.3 [interest is mounting daily]
- 8.1 [kiai]
- 8.2 [kumite (sparring)]
- 8.3 [white knight II]
- 8.4 [Hope is the thing with feathers—that perches in the soul ... Emily Dickinson. American poet, 1830–86. I’m showing off.]
- 9.1 [white knight III]
- 9.2 [“Dead Man Walking”]
- 9.3 [tattletale]
- 9.4 [scat]
- 9.5 [painstaking]
- 10.1 [buzzed]
- 10.2 [amethyst: spiritual calm and healing]
- 10.3 [self-defense]
- 10.4 [self-disclosure]
- 11.1 [self-respect]
- 11.2 [guerrilla warfare]
- 11.3 [Sensei (teacher)]
- 11.4 [“The Razor’s Edge”]
- 12.1 [man to man]
- 12.2 [Tully]
- 12.3 [Hockey Night in Hilchey Bay]
- 12.4 [“If You Want Blood (You’ve Got It)”]
- 12.5 [rerun]
- 12.6 [“the end is the beginning ...” Japanese koan composed by Brickson MacAvoy]
- [author’s note]
- [acknowledgements]
Rolf says, “After I got home from work yesterday, Tully sat me and Marigold down. Said we had to trust her and not ask questions. Said we’d been misjudging you. That you really have quit bullying. That you never bullied Cassie. Never have, never will. That you never touched drugs or had dealings with Snyder and his gang.”
He labors on. “Tully—that girl has a good head on her shoulders. Talks a lot of sense, and she’s honest as the day is long. So Marigold and me, we hashed it over before we went to bed. The reason we jumped on you so hard was because of Buddy, the guy she used to live with. Tully’s father. He broke Marigold’s jaw once.” His big hands curl into fists. “He’d best stay out of my way, that’s all I can say.”
“Tully told me about him.”
“She did?” Rolf gives me a considering look. “She doesn’t talk about him much. She must like you.”
I don’t know what to say to this, so I don’t say anything.
“Snyder and his crew beat you up bad—your face looked like you’d walked into a light pole,” Rolf says. “That why Docker’s teaching you karate?”
I dig at the plastic table with my fingernail. I wish I had the nerve to tell him about Floyd. But if I do, he’ll go straight to the cops. “Docker’s great,” I say.
“Your dad no help? He used to box, didn’t he?”
“Not anymore.”
“I’m sorry I came down on you so hard, Brick. Real sorry. So’s Marigold—but she’ll tell you that herself. And if there’s anything I can do to help, you just let me know ... I could teach you a trick or two about down-and-dirty fighting.”
Fourteen-year-old guys don’t cry in public. I dig my nails into my palm instead of the table.
“We want you to know you’re welcome at our place anytime. Day or night.” He tugs his ear. “Cassie will like it when the baby arrives.”
An image whips through my brain of Cassie living with Marigold and Rolf ... safe, happy, loved. How good would that be?
It’ll never happen. Still, we have another place to go and decent people to go to.
Finally, I look up. When I do, Rolf smiles at me. A real smile, eyes and all.
He says gruffly, “I gotta job for you if you’re interested. Marigold and me bought a bunch of secondhand furniture at an auction. It all needs refinishing. Finicky work, takes time and patience. Can’t pay much, but I can teach you a bit about woodworking as we go.”
I clear my throat. “It’s a deal.”