Louis was still spewing obscenities when the bell rang again. Charlie threw a punch but missed, and Breanna reckoned it had something to do with him not being able to see very well. When he swung a second time and missed, Louis took advantage of the opportunity and punched him in his ribs. Charlie bent over trying to catch his breath, and Louis hit him again in the same spot.
Charlie fell to the ground with a thud. Breanna thought for sure that was all the man would be able to take, but he scrambled to get up again. However, before his feet could gain purchase, Louis kicked him in the ribs.
“That’s dirty!” Dawson shouted, pointing his finger and grabbing the rope. He would have climbed back in the ring if Ames hadn’t caught him and pushed him back. By this time, half the audience was shouting so loudly in protest that she couldn’t hear the count.
Breanna knew they had reached 30 when Louis stumbled over to his corner and grabbed his shirt. Charlie was still lying on the floor, and Clarice was at his side trying to help him up. Everyone was shouting, and there was great confusion. She looked to Dawson for an explanation, but he had climbed into the ring and was shouting at the referee.
“Double or nothing!” he parlayed as he pulled his suspenders off his shoulders and began unbuttoning his shirt. “Let me fight him,” Dawson haggled.
More shouting followed, and Breanna watched in horror as Dawson removed his shirt and stepped up to the line.
“What is happening?” she cried to no one in particular, but a woman standing next to her with a long cigarette hanging out of her mouth said, “Honey, it looks like your man is about to fight King Louis.”
When others started realizing there would be another fight, they began passing money back and forth, and everyone placed their bets. Clarice helped Charlie to the side of the ring, but he could barely stand.
“Oh, Charlie, I am really sorry. Will ye be needing a doctor?”
Charlie didn’t answer for a moment. When he had finally caught his breath, he said, “I can’t leave now. Dawson is going to fight.”
“But why? I don’t understand what is happening.”
“I’d venture to say, he bet money on my fight. It must have been a pretty penny for him to go after Louis like that.”
Breanna gasped in disbelief. “His boat money.”
Charlie looked at her through his one good eye and shrugged. She felt tears stinging her eyes as she turned back to the ring.
Suddenly, Dawson was there in front of her. He grabbed her by her upper arms and pulled her toward him. Placing a quick kiss on her lips, he shouted, “Wish me luck.”
Breanna reeled from the contact. Rocking back on her heels, she steadied herself with the ropes that squared off the fighting ring. She watched as Dawson stepped up to the line again, stretching and flexing his arms to loosen up. That is when she finally noticed him.
She had never seen Dawson without his shirt on. In all the weeks that she had lived in his house and worked alongside him on his boat, he had always been fully clothed. His chest and arms were just as big as Charlie’s, but instead of the thick patch of ginger-colored hair on his chest, Dawson’s hair was dark, matching that on his head. He sported two tattoos, one on each side of his chest, but they were obscured by his suspenders, and she couldn’t make out what they were. She stared in fascination.
When the bell rang, it was obvious that Dawson had a clear advantage. Louis was tired, and Breanna was surprised that he had even agreed to this second fight. Yet, he still put up a good fight, and by the time it was over, Dawson had a split brow, two broken ribs, and his money back. Louis went home with a broken nose and humiliation.
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