Читать книгу Flirting with Destiny - Christyne Butler, Christyne Butler - Страница 10

Chapter Two

“Your turn.”

Tanya blinked, chasing away memories of bright lights, crowded casinos and dark nightclubs where the same strong arms of the man in front of her had once held her close. “Huh?”

“It’s only fair that you tell me your name now.”

She wondered for a moment if he’d remember her. Until Devlin had said his name, she hadn’t realized who he was, but she blamed that on turning in the middle of a side stretch and finding a total stranger watching her.

No, not a total stranger.

Yes, actually he was.

Ten years was a long time, and just because they’d spent one night together didn’t mean they knew each other.

Of course, she’d known in a town the size of Destiny chances were good she’d run into him during her stay. Who would’ve thought it’d happen on her first day back?

“Tanya,” she finally answered him, lowering her voice when the music shut off. “Tanya Reeves.”

She watched his eyes. His face. Not a hint of recognition flickered there. Okay, that stung, but she shouldn’t be surprised. He’d been partying pretty heavily the night they’d met. A party that had continued until the wee hours of the next morning before they’d ended up back in his fancy hotel room....

“Pleased to meet you, Tanya.” His words cut into her thoughts. “Now, can I ask how you got in here?”

She dropped her hands to her hips, the need to call for help forgotten. “How I— How did you get in here?”

“I have a key. One I didn’t have to use because the door was open.”

No, that wasn’t right. She’d made sure she closed it behind her.

“You have to jiggle the handle to make sure the latch catches,” he continued, as if he’d read her mind. “Otherwise, you never know who might walk in.”

Tanya crossed her arms, suddenly conscious of her lack of clothing. Why it bothered her now when she practically lived in yoga wear she didn’t want to think about.

Heck, the night she’d met Devlin Murphy she hadn’t been wearing much more than feathers and sequins. A lot of sequins.

“Thanks for the tip. I’ll keep it in mind for the future.”

“So, you plan to do...” His voice trailed off as he waved a hand in the air. “Whatever that was you were doing again?”

“Daily.”

His mouth pressed into a hard line and he gripped the edge of the desk. Did the idea of her working out here bother him that much? Why should he care?

“And what I was doing is called yoga. Anusara yoga, to be exact,” she added. “It’s not as demanding as other forms, but after sleeping last night on that lumpy mattress in the cabin— Hey, are you okay?”

He released his tight hold on the desk, but Tanya saw the fine sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“Yes, I’m fine.”

She’d heard about the horrific accident he’d been in last summer—it had even made the papers in Denver, the well-known names of the victims jarring her memory. Once he and his brother had been found safe, the story had disappeared from the news, but the last reports had said that Devlin would be hospitalized for months.

“I asked because you look like you’re in pain.”

His jaw tightened further. “I’m not. Did you just say you slept in the cabin?”

Tanya nodded, not believing his denial for a moment. “Mac offered me one of the spare bedrooms in the farmhouse, but I’m used to having my own space. He also told me the second key on the key ring was to this place and I was free to—”

“Wait a minute, you have—” Surprise registered over his handsome features. “Why would Mac give you a key to the hangar?”

“Why would he give you one?” she shot back.

“Because we’re friends.”

“Well, we’re family.”

Devlin’s mouth literally dropped open. “You’re what?”

“Steve Mackenzie is my grandfather.” The shock on his face had Tanya wondering if Devlin and Mac were as good friends as he claimed. “Didn’t you know he had a family?”

“A daughter, yes, but they haven’t been in touch— I mean, they were— They’d just started to...”

“Work things out?” she offered when he stumbled over his words. “That’s true. There were a lot of years he and my mother didn’t talk, didn’t have anything to do with each other actually, but that changed last fall. Mac came to visit just after Thanksgiving, and of course, my mom wanted me there, too. She thought it was time we got to know each other again.”

“Again?”

This time, Tanya smiled and took pity on him. “My mom and I lived here in Destiny with Mac until my eighth birthday.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

A fact she’d never shared with him that night ten years ago after he’d told her who he was and where he was from. Not that it would’ve helped her earn a spot in his memory.

“Yeah, I remember Mac mentioning his daughter living with him for a couple of years, but that’s all.” He pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it, the tension leaving his jaw as that same charming smile she remembered came to his lips. “So you’re here for a visit.”

Her heart started that crazy pounding again.

Setting down her cell phone and grabbing her towel, Tanya held the cotton material to her chest, thankful for the way it draped down the center of her body as she patted at the sweat drying on her skin. “Actually, I came to help Mac.”

“Help, how?”

“I’m assuming you know about the arthritis in his hands?” Devlin nodded, but remained silent so she continued. “Well, I’m a licensed acupuncturist. We did a few sessions during his time in Denver, and it seemed to help with his pain. When the chance came for me to come here and work with him again, I agreed.”

“Did you say acupuncture?” Devlin asked, swearing under his breath. “As in needles?”

“Yes, that’s what she said.”

Tanya turned at the low, gravelly voice of her grandfather.

“Hey, Mac,” she said, using his nickname. Calling him Granddad didn’t feel right, given the fragile state of their renewed relationship.

As she looked at him, she was still amazed at how much the man looked like Jimmy Buffett. She’d told him so when they’d reconnected back in November, surprised to find out her grandfather was as much of a fan of the famed musician as she was. “When did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago and just in time, it seems.” He joined them, stopping to stand between her and Devlin and glancing at the brick-strewn floor of the hangar. “Good to see you, Dev. I tried to tell you about Tanya’s visit, but my phone kept cutting out on me.”

Mac dropped a battered backpack at his feet. He held out his hands, clenching and releasing his fingers. “This damn knuckle-busting arthritis is tough on the flying. I’m sure glad she’s here.”

“Yeah, so I heard,” Dev finally said. “But needles? Really?”

Mac laughed and pushed the brim of his ball cap higher on his forehead. “Yeah, no big surprise I didn’t tell you about that, either. Besides, I didn’t just want Tanya here to help with my aching bones. We’ve been in touch quite a bit thanks to emails and phone calls the last few months, but we’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.”

“After twenty years apart, I’d say so.”

“Twenty-three.”

Mac’s reply overlapped Tanya’s and she laughed, returning Mac’s grin.

“Am I missing the joke?” Devlin asked.

“My mom and Mac had their first disagreement during their reunion over exactly how long it’d been since they’d seen each other,” Tanya explained. “Once they finally agreed on the number of years, it sort of became a running joke.”

“At the least, it’s a tension breaker. Which is a good thing, because I guess I can now admit to having ulterior motives for getting Tanya back to Destiny again,” Mac said.

Tanya saw the craftiness in the old man’s dark brown eyes as he glanced at Devlin. Figuring out what he meant took a matter of seconds. “Oh, no. No way.”

“Tanya, you’re exactly what he needs.”

She shook her head, knowing her instincts about the pain Dev had been trying to hide were right on target. But her own instincts about needing to stay far away from trouble—work trouble and man trouble in particular—were also on the mark.

Devlin Murphy was trouble with a capital T. “Not interested, Mac.”

“You worked wonders for me, in ways that regular medication hasn’t for years. I just want you to do the same for my friend.”

“Friend?” Dev finally spoke up. “Wait a minute, you mean me?”

Tanya ignored him and turned to face her grandfather, still shocked by his suggestion. “You know I have plans to be in London for my advanced studies class in a couple of months. I don’t have time to do a full work-up based on whatever Devlin’s current physical therapy status might be.”

“I’m only suggesting you supplement the therapy Dev is already doing,” Mac pushed. “Lord knows, the man needs all the help he can get.”

Maybe so, but not from me.

“Yes, from you,” Mac continued as if he could read her mind. “No one else in this town does what you do.”

“So he can go to Laramie or Cheyenne.” Tanya spun away, looping the towel over her neck. Grabbing her mat, she quickly rolled it and shoved it into her bag. “There must be someone in either of those places who specializes in my field.”

“Yeah, right.” Mac jerked a thumb in Dev’s direction. “The guy blows off more PT sessions than he makes. There’s no way he’d go for any other type of treatment.”

“So why would you think he’d work with me?”

“Hey, can I get a word in here?” Devlin asked.

“No!”

Again with the simultaneous answer. Tanya shot Mac a dark look and headed across the room to retrieve the yoga bricks she’d thrown at Devlin.

Of all the nerve!

Here she thought she and Mac had become closer over the last couple of months. Growing up with her mother’s stories of her grandfather’s alcoholic outbursts contradicted the memories she’d had of a sweet man who baked cookies, watched old television shows with her and took her for long walks around the farm.

She’d hoped by coming back to Destiny she could recapture the special bond they’d had when she’d been a child. Instead, he wanted her to provide free care to his friends!

Finding out she’d been accepted into the prestigious International Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the United Kingdom had been a godsend after leaving the clinic where she’d worked for the last four years. Being told she either had to resign or she would be fired from a job she loved had been a very dark time in her life.

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.”