Page 5 of Big Trouble
“He’ll definitely keep you busy.” Her brow rose. “I’ll be surprised if you aren’t begging to have him reassigned tomorrow.”
“Oh, I doubt it.” I stuck my chin out. I couldn’t help it. I liked a challenge. I was hard-headed and stubborn with my patients. And those were my finer qualities.
“Twenty bucks says you will.” Ciara stuck out a hand and we shook on it. I wasn’t someone to walk away from a bet.
“Who is this guy anyway? You seem to know a lot about him.”
“I grew up with him. He was tight with Wes and Scarlett and their friends.” Ciara brandished her spoon with a flourish.
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Of course she had. She knew everyone in this damn one-horse town. “Was tight? Does that mean he left?”
Ciara nodded. “You may have heard of him. He’s a MotoGP rider, a biker. Had a pretty nasty accident in practice so he’s come home to heal.”
“You know I don’t follow sports. Especially not bikes.” I groaned. The last thing I needed was some arrogant jock thinking he knew better than me when it came to rehab.
“Whatever. His name is Jack Cairney, and he’ll need your A game.” Ciara studied me seriously, obviously watching for my reaction.
I still didn’t have any clue as to who he was. His name meant nothing to me.
“He’s not going to be easy,” she warned. “That’s not his way.”
“Bring it on,” I said. “I can deal with him.”
“If you can reach him though,” said Ciara. “He’s worth it.” Her mouth quirked at one corner.
I narrowed my eyes. “Just how well do you know this Jack?”
Her eyes went a little bit dreamy as her cheeks turned pink. “We dated. Once, maybe twice. He wanted bigger and better things.” She held up her hands. “But he’s too much for this town to hold down. He’s a firecracker, ready to explode.”
My interest piqued. Perhaps Cali Cross was looking up after all.
She glanced at the time and jumped up. “Shit, I’m gonna be late and Desiree will kill me. Here’s your challenge, Lo. Show the boss what you’re made of.” She squeezed my arm as she went past. “I’ll see you at home. Enjoy your afternoon.” She gave me a broad wink which made me wonder what I was getting myself into.
There were still a few minutes left of my lunch break, so I entertained myself looking at my friends’ social media feeds of life back in the big city. My chest tightened as I saw how much fun they seemed to be having. I’d left there thinking the life of a big fish would be better. More worthwhile. And here I was looking at Gordy’s pictures of the gang eating dinner at my favorite steakhouse feeling nostalgic.
I thought back to Ciara’s words about showing the boss I could handle things. Maybe there could be a promotion in my future after all. And if I stuck around long enough, I’d finally be accepted in this small town. I’d be Lo Garcia. Not just Ciara Ash’s friend.
Was it what I wanted? Any of it?
I shut my phone off and gathered up my sandwich wrapper to toss in the trash before filling up my recyclable cup with some more crap coffee. Despite the taste, I sensed I’d need the caffeine to get me through the afternoon’s appointments.
The first hour went quickly, my client, a runner, I’d seen a couple of times before. I’d established she had insufficient strength in certain muscles in her upper legs, as well as some tightness in her lower legs, which caused her kneecaps to pull to one side when they bent. In our last session, I’d given her stretches and strengthening exercises to do. This appointment was to establish how effective they’d been.
“I think they’ve helped.” Polly demonstrated one of the balance exercises I’d suggested, and she certainly appeared a lot steadier than she had last week.
“You’re looking a lot better already.” I asked her to do a couple more, moving around her to assess her range of movement. “I’ll do a little massage, then you’ll be good to go.”
A couple of minutes later, I glanced up at the clock. It wouldn’t be long before the appointment with the infamous Jack Cairney. Seriously, I wondered what all the fuss was about.
Once Polly left, I tidied up and began prepping the area for Jack.
Desiree, the receptionist, stuck her head into the room. “Lo, your new client is here.” Her eyes sparkled and she practically danced into the room. This wasn’t normal Desiree-like behavior at all. Usually she’d bark from the reception area that my next patient was ready.
Jack Cairney clearly deserved special treatment from everyone around Cali Cross.
I’d reserve judgement.
“He’s hella hot!” Desiree fanned herself, giggling.
