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She’d lost more than employment that day, and she was finally seeing the light at the end of a long, gloomy tunnel. When Mac had suggested she spend her last two months in the States with him, she’d been overjoyed. Not that she didn’t love her mom, stepfather and stepsisters, but she’d always felt that she and Mac shared something special and it meant so much that he wanted her in Destiny.
Now she knew why.
Gathering her yoga bricks, she turned and came face to face with the one man in this town she never planned to get her hands on again.
“What exactly is it that you do?” Devlin’s softly spoken question and the sincerity in his gaze doused her indignation, compelling her to answer him.
“Like I already told you, I’m a licensed acupuncturist.” Tanya rattled off her credentials, knowing them by heart, having been asked that question many times before. “I’m also board-certified as a massage therapist—although lately I’ve been working mostly in aquatic therapy—and I’m a Chinese herbalist.”
“Wow. That’s pretty impressive.”
“Thanks. Mac obviously thinks so.” Filling her bag, she ducked around both men and headed for the hangar’s exit, having no idea what she was going to do now. Other than drown her sorrows in a hot shower and a tall glass of wine.
On second thought, scratch the wine. She’d settle for ice-cold lemonade instead.
“Tanya, wait. Please, let me finish,” Mac called out. “I’m sorry I blurted my idea out like that. Being tactful has never been my strong suit.”
Not knowing why, Tanya stopped along the side of the antique plane and turned to look at him. “Yeah, I’m learning that about you.”
“I swear I didn’t bring you here under false pretenses. Remember how we’d talked about you helping me during your stay to bump up your savings for your living expenses overseas?”
Tanya nodded and bit hard at her bottom lip. Damn, he got her right where it hurt the most. Her wallet. She’d finally paid off the last of her student loans a year ago, but losing her job had hurt her savings in more ways than she’d ever planned.
A satisfying kind of hurt, but painful nonetheless.
Even giving up her apartment and storing her stuff at her mom’s place meant things were going to be tight for the next six months.
“When I got the idea of you helping Dev, which honestly only came to me a few nights ago,” Mac went on, taking a few steps toward her, “I fully intended to pay for any work you do with him, in addition to my own treatments.”
Well, he had her there. The extra money would mean she could experience life outside of her schooling during her time in Europe. There were so many amazing places she’d only read about or researched online that she wanted to visit.
“Like hell you will.” Dev joined them, the hitch in his step visible to her trained eye. “I pay my own way.”
“This was my idea,” Mac protested. “I’ll pay.”
“Forget it, old man. If I end up going for any of that stuff, I’ll cough up the cash. Besides, she doesn’t sound too thrilled about taking on an extra patient.”
“What stuff?” Tanya challenged. Not that she had agreed to take him on. Yet. However, helping non-believers understand the benefits of her work was her favorite part of the job. “You practically keeled over when I said the word acupuncture.”
“Yeah, well, needles aren’t my thing.” He squared his shoulders, placing his weight mainly on his left leg. “And you can forget about any herbs, Chinese or otherwise.”
Oh, yes, this man was hurting all over. He was doing his best to hide that fact and he probably succeeded with those with an untrained eye, but she could almost feel the pain radiating from him.
The need to ease that hurt quickly outweighed any of the reasons why she should or shouldn’t do this. “You’re not leaving me with much to work with.”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Dev said, his voice suddenly shifting into a more relaxed tone. Then came that familiar grin. “A massage is always welcomed.”
Hmm. The desire to show off her roundhouse kick came back to her from earlier. “Yeah, like that’s the first time I’ve ever heard that.”
Thankful for the shadows that hid the heated flush on her cheeks, Tanya cursed herself for blushing. She never had in the past when other men had been foolish enough to say the same thing to her.
She’d easily put professional athletes and ski-bum millionaires in their place when they’d tried to flirt their way through her sessions. Getting involved with a patient was a major no-no.
Not that Devlin would technically be her patient. Even if she did agree to this crazy idea...
She returned his stare, fighting the memories from the night they’d shared, a night that felt like it had happened a lifetime ago.
Because it had.
She had no idea how much Devlin had changed over the years. He could be married with three kids by now. But she was also far removed from the girl she’d been back then, too.
Could she do it?
Could she possibly work with—?
Mac loudly cleared his throat, forcing her attention back to her grandfather. “Of course, I don’t want you to do anything that would make you uncomfortable,” he said. “Maybe we should just forget the whole thing. I can double my payments for the work you do with me.”
“Clients are often the ones who are uncomfortable, at least until they understand what I’m accomplishing and they see the benefits of the treatments.” Tanya kept her tone cool and professional as her gaze slid between the two men. “I think Devlin should observe an acupuncture session before either of us makes up our minds.”
“Sure, but I won’t change my mind on that.” Dev rocked back on his heels for a moment, then caught himself. “But you can have Mac give me a call when you get it scheduled.”
“Oh, there’s no need for that. I have the cabin all set up. We’re ready to go.”
The smile slipped from his face. “You mean, like now?”
“That’s why I was doing my yoga workout here. I don’t know if you’re aware of how small the cabin is and I wanted Mac to be able to have his first session in a calm place.”
“Right.” Dev swallowed hard. “Calm.”
“So why don’t I head there and take a much-needed shower?” Tanya smiled at the both of them as she backed away. “I’m sure you two can find something to talk about for the next half hour.”
Mac, who stood as tall as Devlin, eyed his friend. “Yeah, I’m sure we can.”
“Oh, and, Mac, you should get yourself a light meal and slip into something looser, like sweats. It’s been a while since you’ve done this and remember what happened that first time.”
He nodded. “I remember.”
Dev’s eyes grew wide. “What happened?”
“I tossed my cookies.” Mac barked out a gruff laugh. “And that was after I fell flat on my face while getting off the damn table.”
“And you want to do this again?” Dev’s tone was incredulous.
Tanya’s laughter joined her grandfather’s as she reached the door. “That’s what I said, too, but he was brave enough to agree to a second session just a few days later. He came through that one with flying colors.”
Dev looked from Mac to her, crossing his arms over his chest again. She couldn’t see his eyes from this far away, but she could guess at the emotion in their icy blue depths.
“Brave or just crazy?”
“Well, some say there’s a fine line between the two,” she replied. “I guess it depends which side you’re standing on.”
Chapter Three
“I can’t believe you never told me about your granddaughter.” Dev stood next to Mac, waiting while his friend locked up the hangar.
“I can’t believe how hard it is for you to keep your eyes off my granddaughter’s ass.”
Having no idea how to respond to that, Dev kept his mouth shut. He glanced across the yard toward the cabin, glad that Tanya had already disappeared inside and hadn’t heard Mac’s comment.
Silently, he admitted his disappointment that he hadn’t been able to watch her walk away, because she did have a damn fine backside.
Mac headed for the farmhouse and Dev fell into step next to him, noticing how the man slowed his pace to match his own awkward stride. The thought of stopping by the Jeep for his cane crossed his mind, but Dev decided he could make the short distance across the yard without it.
Besides, if he got it now he’d have no reason not to take it over to the cottage. The last thing he wanted was for Tanya to see him hobbling around like an old man.
“Still not using the cane, huh?”
“I use it.” A zing of fire licked across Dev’s right hip and down his thigh. “Sometimes.”
Mac just shook his head and went inside, leaving the door open for Dev to follow. His friend headed upstairs and Dev went into the kitchen, choosing to lean against the counter instead of taking a seat at the table.
If he sat down, he probably wouldn’t be able to stand again.
Still, it felt good to take the weight off his legs, even just a little bit. Not that having Tanya see him with a cane mattered. She’d obviously figured out he was injured. The gleam in her intelligent brown eyes and her direct questions had told him that long before Mac had come out with his crazy idea of her helping him.
Needles? No way in hell.
There’d also been something else in the way she’d looked at him, something that didn’t have anything to do with their being a potential client and caregiver and everything to do with being a man and a woman.
It hadn’t lasted long. She’d managed to erase the gleam seconds after the interest lit up her eyes, but for the briefest of moments...
He glanced out the large window over the sink, his eyes following the direct sightline to the cabin. It wasn’t hard to imagine Tanya’s toned muscles slick with soap as she stood beneath the hot spray of the cabin’s shower—
“What are you grinning at?” Mac walked into the kitchen, having switched out his jeans for sweatpants, but still wearing the same T-shirt that boasted he was a founding member of the Mile-High Club—Huey Style in faded lettering across an image of a helicopter. “Or do I want to know?”
He probably didn’t, so Dev settled for a noncommittal shrug instead.
Opening the refrigerator, Mac grabbed a package of sandwich meat, cheese, mustard and a couple of water bottles. He shut the door with one hip, tossed a bottle at Dev and sat at the table. “Pass me that loaf of bread behind you.”
Dev did as requested.
Mac pulled out two slices and squirted a healthy amount of the yellow condiment on both. “You want one of these?”
“No, thanks. I grabbed a burger at the Blue Creek a little while ago.”
Mac stopped spreading the mustard and looked at him. “You went to the Creek for lunch?”
“Yeah.” His mouth suddenly dry, Dev cranked open the water bottle and took a sip. “So?”
“Your first time back in town in months and you go to a bar?” Mac’s surprised tone turned flat. “Alone?”
Dev returned his friend’s stare. “Yes, alone. I did fine.”
This time Mac only offered a raised eyebrow and went back to sandwich making.
“I did,” Dev pushed, wondering why he felt the need to defend himself. No, that wasn’t true. He knew why. He and Mac had had too many conversations like this in the past. Conversations where Mac had seen him in much worse condition than he was now. “I’m not saying it was easy. Hell, it was way harder than I’d thought it’d be. Racy stepped in, but I was...tempted.”
Silence filled the air for a long moment as Mac sliced his sandwich from corner to corner into two perfect triangles. “Well, we all get tempted,” he finally said.
Dev thought back to the sight and smell of that tall frosty beer. Swiping his tongue across his lips, he swore he could almost taste the forbidden liquid there. “But I got through it. I ate my burger and fries, washing it down with bland, boring ice water.” He took another sip of the same. “Then I got out of there.”
“Is that why you called me?”
There was no reason to lie. “Actually it was the idea of paying a visit to White’s Liquors across the street after I left the bar that made me call.”
Mac took a bite of his sandwich, chewed and swallowed before he spoke. “Yeah, I used to avoid that side of town like the plague. Still do at times. If you were interested in eating out, you should’ve come to the coffee shop at the airstrip. Everyone’s been asking about you.”
Dev’s fingers tightened, the plastic bottle crinkling in his grip. “I already told you I have no plans to get back in the air again.”
“I know you did, but that was when you were still in the hospital. I figured once you got some distance from the accident, you might’ve changed your mind.”
“I haven’t.”
“I read the report. It wasn’t your fault.”
Mechanical failure due to electrical wiring defect. Yeah, Dev had read the report, too. Actually, he’d listened as Adam sat beside his hospital bed and read it to him a few months after the accident.
Final determination: pilot not at fault. Commended for landing disabled aircraft resulting in no loss of life. License to fly fully reinstated.
No, thanks.
Dev took another long swallow of water. “Like I said, I’m done flying.”
Mac opened his own water bottle and did the same. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing Liam and Bryant started lessons last month. From what I’ve heard they’re both doing pretty well. Should be certified in the next few weeks.”
A buzzing filled his ears. Swallowing hard only expanded the noise until his head throbbed. “My broth— my brothers are taking flying lessons?”
“You didn’t know?” Mac looked at him, the last bite of his sandwich frozen halfway to his mouth. “Forget I asked.” He dropped his hand to the table, regret in his voice. “I can tell from your face. Sorry, man. I thought they told you.”
“Flying helos?” The question sounded stupid, but he blamed it on the still faint ringing. “They’re learning to fly helicopters?”
Mac nodded. “When they and your father came by looking for information on replacing the bird, I figured Liam and Bryant were backups for you. Isn’t that what you always planned once it was decided having the helo was helping the family business?”
Yeah, the few months they’d had the helicopter before the crash had proved the benefit of seeing their various work sites from the air. Not to mention the ease and speed in getting to jobs located outside of Destiny.
Dev searched his brain, trying to remember if anyone in his family had talked about buying a new helicopter, much less flying the damn thing.
Faint memories of his parents weighing the needs of the business vs. the safety of their sons while sitting at his hospital bedside came back to him, but once he’d made it clear to everyone he had no intention of getting behind the controls again, he’d thought the subject was dropped.
