Chapter 2
Mark put the truck in park in front of the school. He put his foot on the brakes, then shut the ignition off.
"Alright, little lady," Mark said unbuckling his seat belt. "Ready for another day of learning?"
"Yep," Kaia said undoing her seatbelt.
Mark exited the truck and walked over to help his daughter out of the passengers' seat. He grabbed her WWE backpack out of the backseat before shutting the door. Hand in hand, they walked into the school. Mark found her 1st and 2nd grade classroom, then stopped before entering. Inside, the kids were playing, reading and laughing. Mark stood inside the doorway and removed his black cowboy hat. He knelt beside Kaia.
"Okay, now. You have a great day and be good."
"I will, Daddy."
"Learn lots. You have mine and mom's phone numbers in case of an emergency. We'll be right here if you ever need us."
"Got it."
Kaia wrapped her arms around her father's neck. Mark placed a gentle kiss on her left cheek before standing upright. Kaia ran into the classroom to greet her friends and her teacher. Mark placed his hat back atop his head, then walked down the hall towards the front door of the school, to his truck to go to work.
-Calaway Motors. Their specialty; motorcycle repairs. Mark opened this workshop after hanging up his wrestling boots and his gloves. He'd wanted to open his own motorbike repair shop after leaving WWE. He brought in some mechanics and his shop had become a big success. He also specialized in kids bike repairs. He loved kids and knew that they loved bikes so he offers services to fix kid bicycles free of charge. Whether it was a flat tire or broken chain or a new paint job, didn't matter.
"Mr. Calaway, how do the flames look against the black on this Harley Davidson?"
Mark looked down at the motorbike one of his mechanics was working on.
"Nice work there, Jeremy. You're a natural. By the way, when's that new baby of yours due?"
"Any day now, sir."
"Winifred excited about the new arrival?"
"Yes. And very nervous too."
"That's to be expected."
Jeremy's phone in his back pocket buzzed. He took it out and pressed a button a text popped up. He read the message on his screen and gasped. He rose to his feet.
"Oh man."
"What's up?"
"The message is from my mom. Winifred's water broke and she's on the way to the hospital right now."
"Well hurry up and get out of here, man. I'll have one of the guys finish up for you."
"Oh, thank you, Mark," Jeremy said as her turned to leave the building.
"Congratulations!" Mark hollered.
-"That's right, Michelle. Jeremy's a father again to a little boy. Luke Potter was born 6lbs. 8 oz."
"Next time you see him, tell him I said congrats."
"I will."
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Sorry, honey. I have to go now. Don't forget, I'm picking up Kaia from school."
"Okay. Love you."
"Love you too, babe."
Mark ended the call on his cellphone, then sat it on his desk.
"Come on in."
The door opened to reveal a dark-haired Caucasian male in his 30's with a moustache. He stood 6'5", muscular and big brown eyes.
"You wanted to see me, sir?"
"Yes, Chris. Have a seat."
Chris took a seat on the other side of Mark's desk.
"I just wanted to say that I'm very impressed with your work here at the shop. You've done pretty well."
"Oh. Thank you, Mark. I mean Mr. Calaway."
Mark sat in his chair across from Chris. "You been working here for what? Two weeks now?"
"Week and a half actually."
"Feels like two weeks. I've been wanting to ask you. What brought you to Houston from Tampa?"
"Had to get away. For my sake and my daughter's sake."
"Oh. I didn't know you had a daughter. What's her name?"
"Alyssa. Alyssa Scott."
"How old is she?"
"7."
"Nice. I have a daughter almost her age. You said get away for yours and Alyssa's sake."
"Her mother was abusive. Of course, I had no idea this was going on. Alyssa told me one Saturday afternoon when Jamie, that was her name, was out with the girls. She told me how she had hit her. All of this happened while I was at work. If I had only known…"
Chris hung his head low with a heavy sigh. Mark rose from his chair and approached Chris. He sat on the edge of his desk.
"You did the right thing, Chris. Because of you, Alyssa, will never feel pain again. You saved her life."
"But, if only Alyssa had come to me sooner."
"Maybe she was scared." Chris nodded. "You can't do anything about what happened in the past. But, you did something to keep the pain from happening any further. You prevented the hurt from progressing. That's what a father does for their child. They protect them. Now, why don't you show me that engine you're working. I'll give you a hand."
Chris rose from the chair and extended his hand towards Mark. "Thanks, Mr. Calaway. You're a swell guy."
Mark shook Chris' hand. "No problem."