Page 11 of Scoring the Mountain Man

“He talks to you,” I tell him.

“Barely. He only says a few words. He’s no longer the happy, fun guy he used to be,” he whines to me.

“Give him time. He’s got a lot of work to do to get back to where he was before he was injured. Things will change once he’s able to get back on the ice,” I tell him confidently.

“This is why I suggested you help him with his recovery,” he tells me.

“Hmmm,” is the only response I can give him.

“You know you're the best when it comes to getting people better and back to their old selves,” he says.

“They are never back to their prior selves before they were injured, they just learn to adapt to the new way things are and try not to reinjure themselves,” I tell him, pointing my finger for emphasis.

“I've seen the other athletes that you have worked with and unless you knew the extent of their injuries you would never know,” he tells me.

“That is true, but they have to continuously work on their rehabilitation. It doesn’t just stop once they are able to go back to playing. They have to do it continuously, so as not to reinjure themselves worse than before.”

“All I know is you are a miracle worker and Jaxon needs that right now.”

“I will do the best I can, but he is the one who has to put in the work. I can only tell him what to do. It’s up to him to do it,” I say and watch as he nods his head. “Now, let’s talk about something else, besides work.”

Walking into the cabin today, I could understand a little bit of what Wes was talking about. I wasn’t wrong in what I told Wes. The injured person must be willing to put in the work, otherwise no matter what I tell them to do, they will never get better and I sure hope that isn’t how Jaxon is feeling.

Jax barely says anything to me today, but he is committed to doing the exercises just as I showed him, so that makes me feel better in the sense that he’s not giving up yet.

When I have to touch his knee, I swear I can feel tingles from our contact. My body shudders involuntarily for a second, but I keep my voice neutral and professional.

I can’t help but watch as his muscles tighten up with each exercise, causing my insides to clench with need. I don’t know how much longer I am going to be able to stay here and watch him before giving away my feelings.

Luckily, he calls it a day before I lose my mind. His body is well conditioned, but he’s not used to doing these types of exercises. I can tell he's tired and in pain, so I grab him some ibuprofen and a bag of frozen vegetables to use as an ice pack. I really should remember to bring him an ice pack from the office.

I leave, telling him I’ll be back tomorrow and go back to the office to type up my notes for his file. I also have one of the other therapists help me get the stationary bike into my vehicle so I can take it to Jaxon’s tomorrow.

I head home with images of Jaxon’s body imprinted in my mind.

When I get into my apartment, I can't help but go straight to the refrigerator, pull out my favorite bottle of wine, open it and pour myself a big glass before taking a much needed long sip.

I take my glass to the living room and sink into the couch as I continue to sip and think about Jaxon’s body.

I need to stop drooling over my brother's best friend. He's a patient now and I can't afford any distractions from doing my job.

I grab my glass of wine and decide a hot bath is just what I need.

I set my glass on the side of the tub as I begin to fill it with water and bubbles. Once the tub is filled, I sink in allowing the heat of the water to soak into my bones and calm my mind.

This is exactly what I need as I take a sip of my wine, but it doesn’t get rid of my thoughts or fantasies of Jaxon.

Once the water begins to cool and my wine glass is empty, I get out, dry off, and put on some comfy pajamas. It’s not long before exhaustion takes over me and I climb into bed.

The next morning I get up and begin to get ready for the day. I make my cup of coffee as I need the caffeine. I didn’t sleep much last night as visions of Jaxon kept me tossing and turningwith a burning need. Today I will have him ride the bike and see how he does with that.

I think with a few more sessions, he could do these all on his own without someone physically there. I don’t know how much longer I can be around him before I lose all senses. I know I need to get these feelings under control.

I carry the bike into his cabin, not bothering to knock since this thing is heavy and there is no one around who can help me carry it.

“What are you doing?” I hear Jaxon ask.

“What does it look like I’m doing? I’m carrying a piece of equipment into your place for your therapy,” I huff out as I carry it to the living room and place it in the spot I already set up for it yesterday.

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