Page 5 of Spar
Checking her schedule for the day, she noted that one of her favorite clients, Autumn, was coming in first thing this morning. Tori had trained and worked as an occupational therapist before working at Fit Club. While she had traded working solely with OT clients at her last job for primarily organizing and leading group training classes at the gym, she had maintained a small list of local clients who needed occupational therapy that wasn’t available nearby. Autumn was one of those clients.
A first grader at Sweetbriar Elementary School, Autumn was one of the spunkiest and most kindhearted people Tori had ever met. Diagnosed with autism and sensory processing disorder when she was five, the little girl had started seeing Tori soon after for sensory integration therapy. Autumn struggled with loud noises, body control, and social skills, all of which they worked on weekly in their sessions. The therapy was hard to find outside of the larger cities, and Tori found working with clients like Autumn to be one of the most rewarding parts of her job.
Five minutes before their appointment, Tori headed down the stairs to wait for her young client. Every week, she met Autumn and her mother at the front desk where Tori would get two high-fives before Autumn made a beeline for the elevator.
“Miss Tori! Miss Tori!” Autumn came tumbling into the gym, her long, brown hair in braided pigtails that whipped around her head with each bound forward.
“Hi, Autumn. How are you?” Tori said, holding up her hand as Autumn smacked it twice with her own.
Susan and Dax, Autumn’s parents, held back as they always did, giving Autumn space to practice her conversation skills and manners.
“Guess what! Guess what!”
“Autumn, Tori asked you a question,” Susan gently reminded her.
Tori prompted her again. “How are you?”
“I’m very good. How are you?” Autumn recited, swaying from side to side.
“I’m good. Are you ready to have some fun?”
“Yeah!” the little girl yelled as she skipped to the elevator.
“Autumn, wait by the elevator. Don’t press any buttons yet,” Susan said sternly before turning to Tori. “Dax and I need to talk with you about Autumn’s sessions.”
“Of course. Is everything okay?”
Susan wrung her hands as she looked to Dax. He stepped forward and placed an arm around Susan. “I’m afraid our insurance won’t pay for the therapy anymore.”
Tori looked from Susan to Dax, hoping there was abutcoming.
When neither Susan or Dax continued, Tori forced herself to remain professional. “I’m so sorry. I could try and call the insurance and see if that helps. Autumn is doing well with the therapy. I think she’d benefit from continuing at least for another six months.”
Susan shook her head with a defeated look. “I’ve been on the phone with them and the pediatrician all week. They won’t budge. This is her last session. I’m sorry. You’ve been such a blessing for her. We can’t thank you enough.”
Tori nodded, afraid if she spoke, her voice would tremble with the anger and sadness she felt for Autumn and her family. She watched Susan and Dax walk away then turned to the elevator and Autumn and forced a smile on her lips.
CHAPTER THREE
Chris stepped offthe treadmill drenched in sweat. He had been pushing himself hard in the gym for the last couple months, but today had been a special kind of torture. The kind that could only be induced by the adrenaline of a near-death experience. Although in this case, it wasn’t he who had nearly died. His chest still ached at the thought of what could have happened to Tori. The whole damn building could have gone up in flames while she slept none the wiser. Since he couldn’t talk to her about it, or anyone else for that matter, he’d spent this morning exercising until the ache in his muscles matched the ache in his chest. An hour boxing with Ryan, another hour lifting weights and running, and he still felt completely helpless. He hadn’t worked out this hard since he was a kid trying to make it to the Junior World Boxing Championships.
Ambling over to the water fountain near the group training classrooms, he watched as Tori finished up a spin class. Between clients and classes, she’d been surrounded by people all morning, and he hadn’t been able to find a moment to catch her alone. A great instructor — tough and likable — she was in demand. Blond hair pulled into a high ponytail, Tori basically sparkled with exertion and excitement.
Chris grinned at her music selection as he caught the end of the same AC/DC track he had on his early morning workout playlist.
The class began filtering out of the room, and he hung around until the only person left was Tori.
“Good turnout for a Monday morning class.”
He stayed in the doorway, giving her space. She continued working around the room, cleaning bikes, turning off the stereo equipment, and ignoring his presence. She only met his gaze when she had finished and walked toward him. Although taller than the average girl, she still had to tip her chin up to look him in the eye.
“Excuse me.”
Chris didn’t budge. Instead, he crossed his arms over his chest and stepped forward, causing her to gasp as she backed away. She narrowed her eyes, clearly waiting for an explanation for being cornered. Searching for any reason to be there other than the burning desire to make sure she was okay, he settled on a plan — the first thing that came to mind.
“We need to talk.” Chris closed the door behind them.
“No, we don’t.” Tori stepped around him, but he reached out and grabbed her elbow gently — halting her instantly. His fingers tingled at the touch of her soft and warm skin, but the contact was gone too quickly as she ripped her arm from his grasp.
