Read The Good Girl's Second Chance (The Bravos Of Justice Creek 2) for Free Online

willing.”
    She gave him one of those glowing smiles that could light up the blackest night. “Well, then. Yes. I’m willing, definitely.” She got up. “So, then, I guess I should be...”
    He couldn’t let her go. Not yet. He pushed back his chair. “Now that you’re here, how ’bout I show you around?”
    “The gym, you mean?”
    “That’s right.”
    “Yes. Yes, I would like that.”
    “Well, okay, then. This way...”
    * * *
    Chloe followed Quinn past the reception area, into a series of wood-floored classrooms with mirrored walls and different kinds of equipment stacked in the corners. In one, a fitness ball class was in progress. In another, the participants were paired up for intense stretching. They went upstairs to the second floor and the giant cardio room as well as a room with all kinds of weight machines and one with boxing equipment and two rings.
    He explained that Prime Fitness tried to offer something for everyone. “We have martial arts for all ages, boxing, kickboxing, general fitness and yoga classes...”
    She listened and nodded, just glad to be walking along beside him, glad that he seemed to want to keep her there longer, to be drawing the moments out before she left.
    On the top floor there was a beginning women’s self-defense class in progress. They watched through the observation window as a big guy in a padded suit tried to take down a woman about Chloe’s size. The woman shouted and fought him off violently, kicking and slugging at him, spinning away and sprinting off as soon as she got the guy to let go of her.
    Watching that made Chloe’s mouth go dry and her palms feel clammy. It made her think of Ted and how she ought to be better prepared if anyone ever hit her or threatened her again.
    “What do you think?” Quinn asked.
    She turned to him, met those wonderful, watchful eyes. “I think I might want to take a class like this.”
    There was a bench a few feet away. He backed up and sat down. She left the viewing window and sat beside him.
    He said, “This class is wrapping up. A new one will start next week, and there’s an evening class, too. Starts in two weeks. It’s an eight-week course, one two-hour class per week.”
    “I’ll be fighting off guys in padded suits for eight weeks?”
    He shook his head. “No. Initially there are sessions on staying out of violent confrontations in the first place.”
    “How?”
    He chuckled. “What? You want an outline of the course?”
    “Can you give me one?”
    “You’re serious?”
    “I am, yes.”
    He watched her for a long moment. And then he shrugged. “Well, all right. The class starts with a section on the nature of predators. Basically there are two types. Resource and process. Resource predators want your stuff. Process predators are in it for the power and the thrill. They want to mess you over. They actually enjoy committing crimes. The class shows you how to identify what kind of scumbag you’re faced with and how to deal with him. Next comes a study of avoidance, because the best option is always steering clear of any situation where you could get hurt. After avoidance, there’s a section on deescalating conflict. If you can’t escape trouble before it happens, the second-best option is to diffuse it. And finally you’ll learn how to fight off an attack.”
    “Wow,” she said, and wondered if any guy ever looked as good in shorts and a T-shirt as Quinn did. And he smelled so good, too. Clean. Just sweaty enough to be exciting...
    He grunted. “See? More information than you needed or wanted.”
    She shook her head. “That was exactly what I wanted to know. And how do
you
know all that? Do you teach this kind of class yourself?”
    “No. But I’ve been through every class that we offer here. I run the place. It’s my job to know what I’m selling. I want to franchise this operation. This location will be the model for Prime Sports and Fitness gyms all over the country.”
    “You dream