Page 57 of The Heart Shot
I cleared my throat. “Do you like being a physical therapist?”
He nodded. “I do. I enjoy seeing the progress of my patients as they recover from whatever brought them to me.”
Picturing him helping the elderly gain more mobility, recover from surgery, or even a little kid trying to strengthen their body after breaking bones…I hated what it did to my insides—how my stomach fluttered.
I needed to get a grip.
“What made you decide on that career path?” I asked after swallowing an enormous piece of bread.
“My mom,” he answered after taking a sip of water. “When she got sick, all the doctors said she wouldn’t make it. She lost a ton of weight and nearly all her strength. Eventually, she started going to a physical therapist, and when I saw her getting stronger with each visit, I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”
“Wow.” It was the only word my brain would come up with. “What about your dad?” The words slipped out and based on the way his face fell, I knew I made a mistake.
Jameson’s answer was soft as he cut a piece of chicken. “He died when I was a kid.”
Maya’s brief mention at Chick-Fil-A about his dad dying replayed in my mind. How had I forgotten that? “I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered, but he waved me off.
“It was a long time ago. I barely remember him.”
I couldn’t imagine how hard that must have been, watching his mother die a little more each day, and having to step up and be the primary caregiver, a job that would have gone to his father.
“I’m just grateful my mom is in remission and doing well, and my sister, Emma, is off at college now, living her dream,” Jameson said, trying hard to put a smile on his face. I couldn’t imagine facing all he went through, sacrificing so much, then turning it around and doing something good with it. Something that helped people.
Jameson was areallygood guy.
Crap.
“Are you close with your sister?” I asked, suddenly wanting to know everything there was to know about Jameson Beck.
“Yeah, we had to lean on each other a lot through the years. Maya and Aunt Jo helped when they could, but we both had to put our dreams on hold to take care of Mom. She’s at Iowa State now, finishing her meteorology degree.”
“Meteorology?” I hadn’t expected that.
Jameson huffed a laugh. “Emma has always been fascinated by the weather, especially growing up in Tornado Alley. When we were kids and there was bad weather, I always had to drag her back inside to safety. She wanted nothing more than to stand on the front porch, watching the lightning fork through the sky, and the clouds twist overhead.” He shrugged. “I never understood her love of weather, but it makes her happy, and that’s all I want for her.”
A tornado twisted through my mind, obliterating my reservations about Jameson. I had never met a man that was not only thoughtful but genuinely wanted others to be happy.
“What about you?” he asked, interrupting my thoughts. “Do you have any siblings?”
“No, I’m an only child. My parents—”
At the mere mention of my parents, an alarm went off in my head, and my mouth slammed closed, teeth clacking together. I had almost shared the one thing I hated discussing more than anything else.
“No,” I repeated, sitting back in my chair. “It’s just me.”
Jameson studied me for a moment, clearly noticing my odd behavior, but instead of pushing me to talk about it, he stood and nodded at my empty plate.
“Ready for dessert?”
Though I was stuffed, I would never turn down chocolate.
At my smile and nod, he went into the kitchen, returning a minute later with gargantuan pieces of chocolate cheesecake with white chocolate drizzle on top. My eyes bulged when he set it in front of me.
“I wish I could take credit for this, but baking is the one thing I could never do well. So, this is courtesy of Mabel’s Cakes.”
I couldn’t help but smile at his honesty as I picked up my fork, excited to dig in. Mabel’s Cakes was the best dessert shop in town.
“Thank you,” I said, before popping a bite into my mouth.
