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Apparently not.
“You okay?”
Dev blinked, realizing he’d been staring at the empty water bottle held tight in his hand. As he eased his grip, the plastic crinkled and popped back into place. “Yeah, I’m okay.”
Mac only nodded as he rose and cleaned up his mess. He downed the rest of his water bottle then grabbed two more from the refrigerator, tossing one at Dev. “Not to change the subject, but are you sure you want to sit in on this pincushion session?”
No, he wasn’t, but it was better than heading home and dealing with his brothers and the secret they’d kept from him for the past month. “Sure. Why not? Just don’t expect me to change my mind.”
“About working with Tanya?”
Just the sound of her name lightened Dev’s mood. “Not necessarily.”
Mac shot him a dark look as they headed out the back door and across the yard, following a well-worn path to the cabin. “Why? You’ve already said you’re not interested in any of her methods.”
No, he wasn’t, at least not anything that had to do with needles or munching on foreign plants. He didn’t have any idea what that left in her bag of tricks, other than a massage, of course, but there’d been something about the tone of her voice when she’d spoken of her work.
She believed in what she did.
He used to feel that way about flying. About being a part of the Destiny Fire Department’s volunteer squad. Two pieces of his life that were gone now. The burning aches across his shoulders, hips and down one leg were constant reminders of that fact.
And he had no one to blame but himself, no matter what that damn report said.
Dev could see his friend was waiting for an answer, but they’d arrived at the cabin so he only said, “Let’s just say she intrigues me.”
“Look, seeing how Tanya and I have just started to rebuild our relationship, I don’t have any right to say this...” Mac paused, one foot on the low porch that ran the length of the cabin. He glanced at the closed front door for a moment, then turned to him. “But I’m going to anyway.”
Dev waited, not sure how he’d respond if Mac came right out and asked him to not to spend time with Tanya in any way, shape or form.
Up until this moment, he would’ve done anything his friend asked of him. Except fly.
And now, stay away from Tanya.
He had no idea why someone he’d just met fascinated him so much, but she was the first woman in the past year to make him feel like his old self, and he couldn’t walk away from that.
“Telling you to stay away from my granddaughter would be like telling kids to keep out of the penny candy aisle at Packard’s Store,” Mac continued, his voice low. “But she’s had a rough time of it for the past few months. I don’t know the details, but she’s been pretty down since the holidays. Until she found out about being accepted for this advanced schooling thing.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“I don’t want anything—or anyone—to get in the way of her going to London.”
“Hey, all I said was I’m intrigued. You know, in learning more about her work. Spending time with an interesting lady. That’s it.”
“Don’t break her heart.”
Tanya’s heart was the least of her body parts that interested him. Not that he didn’t care about a lady’s feelings. He’d always made it clear to anyone he got involved with that he was a here-and-now kind of guy, and not someone to get serious with. “Me? I’m a confirmed bachelor. You know that.”
Mac sighed. “As long as you remember that, and the fact I’ll break you in two if you hurt her, we’re good.”
* * *
A confirmed bachelor?
Well, at least that answered the wife and kids question that had been running through her head the entire time she’d showered and changed.
She’d reached the front door in time to catch the end of Mac and Dev’s conversation. Hearing her grandfather’s warning made Tanya smile, but it was unnecessary.
There was no way Devlin would hurt her. After what she’d gone through over the holidays, no one could ever wound her that way again.
Especially since she had no one to blame but herself.
Tanya reached for the old brass knob, but then remembered her hair still hung loose around her shoulders. Ignoring the fact it was still damp, she combed it back into a ponytail and secured it with an elastic band from her wrist, finishing the same moment that Mac knocked.
Tugging the door open, she saw the guilty looks on both men’s faces but said nothing, not letting on that she’d overheard them. “Hey, I just finished dressing and was about to head over to the house to look for you two.”
“Well, here we are.” Mac offered a grin, reaching for the screen door. “Ready whenever you are.”
She stepped back and let them enter, watching Devlin’s face as he took in the cabin’s interior, from the curtains drawn against the afternoon sun to the soothing music and lit candles. The air carried a hint of sandalwood and vanilla, scents that Mac had said he liked the last time she’d worked on him.
Her portable massage table, draped in a white sheet and a light blanket, was set up in the middle of the room. The best place for it, seeing how the cabin was a wide-open space with a kitchen along the back wall, a distressed table and chairs separating the cooking area from the living room.
His gaze roamed the room, flinching a moment when he noticed the tools of her trade, a hand-carved wooden box, lid open and packaged needles in sight, on the dining table. Then he moved on, pausing for a long moment on the old iron bed in the far corner, half hidden by a set of folding screens.
“Wow, the old cabin sure looks different from the last time I was here.” Dev turned to face her. “I hardly recognize the place.”
“You’ve stayed here before?”
“A time or two over the years.” His mouth hitched into a half grin. “And you’re right about that mattress. It is a bit lumpy.”
Tanya’s cheeks heated for the second time today. A heat that raced the length of her despite the fact she was dressed in simple beige lounge pants, a white tank top and a matching lightweight knit cardigan.
Suddenly she wanted to wrap the sides of the sweater across her chest, but she settled for crossing her arms. “Yes, well, I’m sure I’ll get used to it.”
“You should’ve said something. We can replace it if you want,” Mac said.
“Don’t be silly.” She broke free of Dev’s gaze and walked to the dining table, reaching out to rearrange the supplies that were already in perfect order. “I’m only going to be here for a couple of months.”
“The old couch is pretty comfortable.” Dev headed for the piece of furniture and Tanya turned to watch him, noticing how he favored his right leg even more than before. “But it looks too clean to sit on now.”
“White is Tanya’s favorite color. Once I knew she was coming to visit, I gave the walls and the kitchen cabinets a fresh coat of white paint,” Mac said, walking over to join her. “Ursula helped with the decorating, everything from the white denim slip covers to the dishes.”
“Let me guess. You like vanilla ice cream best?”
She dropped her arms. “Actually, I prefer oatmeal cookie chunk. And fixing this place up for me was totally unnecessary, but much appreciated.”
“Not if you’d seen it in the before state.” Dev’s gaze wandered the length of her body. “Trust me, the after is a step up, even if it’s a bit...unexciting.”
“I prefer peaceful, tranquil.” Tanya pushed the words from her mouth, refusing to believe her sudden breathlessness had anything to do with the interest she saw in Devlin’s blue eyes.
Nerves, it was just nerves about working on Mac again.
She broke free from his gaze and dropped her hands, patting the table. “Mac, why don’t you hop up here and stretch out on your back? Dev, you can grab a seat where you are. Unless you’d like to get a closer view of my work?”
Dev sat stiffly on the edge of the couch, the smile now gone from his face. “This is close enough.”
Crossing to the kitchen sink, Tanya washed her hands again. When she got back to Mac, she found he’d already folded back the legs of his sweatpants before stretching out. Tucking the sheets and blanket around him, she left his lower legs and arms free.
“I’m going to talk as I go like the first time we did this, so Dev can understand what’s going on.” She offered Mac a smile, reaching for a needle packet from the box. “Ready to start?”
Mac flexed his fingers and then relaxed them across his stomach. “Ready.”
She looked up, centering her gaze on Dev. “I have no idea how much you know about acupuncture—”
His brows drew down into a sharp V. “You get stuck with lots of needles.”
“Well, not ‘lots,’ but let me back up a moment. Chinese medicine believes there are opposing forces, known as yin and yang, inside the body. When the forces are balanced, the body and the spirit are healthy. What helps to create this balance is an energy, a life force, called qi, which sounds like chee, but is spelled q-i. Qi flows through the body on a series of paths. When a path is obstructed, and in turn that force is blocked, illness can occur.”
“Is this where I start to call you Obi-Wan?”
Tanya smiled. “The point of acupuncture is that by using pressure on specific points within these paths, it will release any barriers that are hindering the flow of qi, which in turn will allow the body to heal. Make sense?”
He didn’t look convinced. “If you say so.”
“Yeah, I thought it was a bunch of hocus-pocus at first, too.” Mac turned his head and looked at Dev. “Now I’m a believer.”
Tanya saw the doubt in Dev’s eyes but continued, holding up the small packet in her hand. “Inside here is one needle. They are solid, hair thin and individually wrapped for sterilization. They are only used once and then tossed.”
Dev went visibly pale when she ripped open the sealed paper around the needle.
Dropping her hands to Mac’s lower leg, she held the needle between her index finger and thumb, out of Dev’s sight, while using her other hand to locate the first puncture location below his knee.
“Okay, here we go.” She looked at Mac. “Take a breath in...”
He did as instructed and after a quick tap on the end of the needle, it was in place.
“I thought this was to help Mac with the arthritis in his hands,” Dev said, his voice a bit rough. “Why are you sticking him in his legs?”
“There are almost two thousand acupuncture points on the human body and each one has a different effect on the qi. I’ve already mapped out the specific positions needed to help Mac find relief and yes, there are quite a few located in each hand as well as other areas of his body.”
“How long does he have to lie there like a human pincushion?”
“We did twenty minutes the past couple of times, but since it’s been a while I think we’ll go with a half hour today.” She had another needle and location ready on the same leg. “Another breath in, Mac.”
A quick glance up told her Dev was still watching, but his coloring had gone an even whiter shade of pale. “You okay over there?”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”
“You might feel better if you stretched out on the couch—”
“I said I’m fine.”
He wasn’t. Tanya could see that plainly, from his coloring to the way he sat hunched forward, his hands clasped tightly between his knees, but she continued to work.
Keeping her tone light and even, she explained each step while keeping her attention on Mac, making sure her grandfather knew when she was going to insert each needle until he had a total of eight, two in each leg and two in each hand.
“Okay, now we move onto what is known as ‘Eight Ghosts,’ which is the web area between each finger. Very helpful for those who suffer from pain and numbness in the fingers.” Tanya completed one hand, then reached for the last set of needles. “Mac, maybe you can explain to Dev what sensations you are feeling as I finish up?”
“I would, but he’s disappeared.”
Tanya’s head jerked up. Her gaze shot to the empty couch and then to Mac. “What? Where is he? What happened?”
“He was messing with his phone a moment ago, but as soon as you mentioned the between-the-fingers thing, he headed for the door.”
Surprised that she hadn’t heard him leave, Tanya tried to see if Dev was really gone or just outside on the porch getting some fresh air.
“Go.”
She looked back at Mac. “What?”
“Go check on him. I’ll be fine here.”
“Not until your treatment is complete.” She concentrated on inserting the final needles and then made sure Mac was comfortable. “Are you going to be okay?”
“I’ve got no plans to move an inch until you tell me I can.” Mac grinned. “You better hightail it after him. He’s moving slow, but he could be in his Jeep and halfway home by now.”
Tanya crossed the room, slipped on a pair of wedge flip-flops and headed for the door. She left, leaving the inside door open in case her grandfather called out. She spotted Dev in a red Jeep parked at the hangar, the engine coming to life just as she made it to the passenger-side window.
“I understand, sweetie. I’ll be there in a few minutes.” Dev spoke into his phone. “Have I ever let you down? Hey, stop laughing.”
She should step away and let him continue his conversation with his lady friend in private, but the moment Tanya moved he looked her way, doing a classic double take when he saw her.
“Gotta go, Abby. Driving and talking on a cell phone isn’t a good thing. Especially when driving a stick.” Dev ended the call, dropping his phone into the cup holder between the seats.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Tanya noticed his skin tone was back to normal, even though she could still see discomfort radiating from the deep creases around his eyes. “Mac noticed you left the cabin pretty fast toward the end. He wanted me to check on you.”
“No need. I’m fi—”
“Fine. Yeah, you’ve said that already.” Not that she believed him. “So, I take it you’ve decided that you’re not interested in acupuncture.”
“Guess I’m not brave or crazy.” He grabbed the cowboy hat from the passenger seat and settled it on his head. “At least not enough to let you stick me.”
She should be happy he was turning her down. Getting involved with Devlin during her stay in Destiny would be a crazy decision on her part, but the healer in her wanted desperately to ease the pain he wore like a heavy overcoat. “Does that mean you aren’t interested in my help?”
“Oh, I’m interested.” He flashed her that same wide smile that had called her to his side at the roulette wheel ten years ago. “I’m very interested.”
Chapter Four
“For someone who said last week he was interested in my help, you don’t seem to be trying very hard.”
