Minutes later, she placed a loaded plate in front of me, followed by two more full plates, before she sat down with one for herself. Before I could ask, a door opened, and Judge entered the room with another man at his side. A big man. A big, scary man. I briefly wondered if I was to be his snack instead of the food on the table.
Both men took a seat at the table while I continued to stare, frozen in shock. Leigh cleared her throat, “Kayla, I’m not sure if you were formally introduced yesterday. This is my son, Judge. And this big beast might as well be my son. He goes by Batta. Boys, this is Kayla, Copper’s friend.”
Judge nodded in my direction, “Morning, Kayla.”
Batta, who was sitting beside me, held out his hand, “Nice to meet you, Kayla.” When my only response was to swallow audibly, he chuckled. “I’m really not that scary, am I?” he asked with feigned surprise.
A laugh burst from my lips before I could stop it, followed by verbal diarrhea. “Hell, yes, you are. You’re freaking huge. I mean, really, I didn’t know humans came in that size. Were you the size of a toddler when you were born? Oh, your poor mother. Did she survive the birth? Let me see your hand. I bet it’s at least half the size of my arm. Oh my gosh, are you like one of those guys on TV that can squat cars and stuff? I can’t remember what—”
Batta interrupted me, “Slow down, Speedy, and let me answer one question before you ask another.”
I instantly felt my cheeks flame with embarrassment. “I’m so sorry. Sometimes I ramble when I’m nervous. If you’ll excuse me, I’ll just head upstairs and leave you to finish your breakfast.”
His giant hand gently landed on my forearm. “It’s fine, sweetheart. Sit and finish your meal. I will say, I’ve gotten a variety of responses when meeting new people over the years, but yours was by far the best,” he said with a twinkle in his eye and laughter in his voice.
I picked up my fork and started eating my breakfast, at a loss for words after my outburst.
Batta, however, was not at a loss for words. “To answer your questions: No, I was not the size of a toddler when I was born. Believe it or not, I was born premature, weighing only three pounds. My mother did survive childbirth and even my teenage years. No, I cannot squat a car, though I can lift the front end of one. And, I believe you were referring to the strongest man competitions. No, I’m not one of those guys,” he said, with a cheeky grin.
“You can pick up a car?” I asked incredulously.
“The front end of a car, not a car,” he corrected.
“Still, that’s impressive. Did you use steroids to get so big?”
He threw his head back and guffawed. “Shit, she’s making my eyes water. Leigh, how long is she staying?”
“I don’t know, dear. Copper didn’t specify when he asked,” she replied.
Batta turned his attention back to me, “No steroids. I have a naturally large frame, and I work out regularly. So, how long are you going to be hanging around?”
I tried to mask my panic when I answered, “I’m not sure. I guess until Copper says I can go home.”
Batta studied my face and asked, “Why does Copper have any say in when you can go home?”
I dropped my eyes to the plate of food in front of me. “It’s a long story, but the short version is, he’s helping me with something.”
Batta nodded, “I see. Anything I can do to help?”
And just like that, another person had me wanting to stay when I knew I couldn’t. I smiled softly, “Thank you for the offer, but unless you can speed up time, there’s nothing you can do.” His eyebrows crinkled in confusion, so I continued, “I was injured while hiking, and Copper found me. He helped me get the medical attention I needed and has been helping me take care of my leg while it’s healing.”
“Sounds like Copper,” he chuckled. “What happened to your leg?”
“Uh, like I said, I was hiking, and I stumbled upon two wild boars. They charged. I ran. One got the back of my calf before I could get away.”
“No shit,” he said and gave a low whistle. “That had to hurt.”
“Actually, I didn’t notice it until after Copper found me. I climbed on top of a large boulder to get away. I figured the boars would eventually get bored and leave, allowing me to get away. Wrong. I was stuck on that rock for a long time before Copper happened to come along. He shot the boars and helped me down. I didn’t feel anything until Copper pointed out the blood.”
He raised his eyebrows, “Adrenaline can do some crazy things. I hope this doesn’t offend you, but can I see it, the wound that is?”
I scrunched my nose, “Yeah, but fair warning, it’s nasty.” I scooted my chair away from the table and rolled up the leg of my yoga pants to reveal the covered wound. “It’s time for me to change the bandage anyway,” I said before removing the dressing.
“That little fucker got you good. How many stitches you got in there?”
I shrugged, “I have no idea. I was out when it was sewn up and never bothered to ask.”
He nodded, “It looks like it’s healing well. How long has it been since it happened?”