by Barbara Gee
He was going to have to tamp down whatever urge he might feel to be neighborly. Which might not be as easy as he would like to think.
* * *
Izzy was having a hard time concentrating on the registration forms they were sorting for next week’s retreat. The physical therapy staff always went through them together, grouping them according to the physical capabilities of the veterans who would be their guests for the next two weeks.
One of the most successful parts of their daily PT routine was the group exercise sessions. Having their peers present during work-outs was a huge motivating factor for the participants. They worked harder and tried more things, often finding they were able to do more than they ever thought possible.
It was important to group them correctly, though, so no one felt overly intimidated by the more physically adept. The PT staff always attempted to do the grouping based on the detailed forms submitted by each participant prior to arriving. There was usually a little shifting around to do during the first few days, but they got most of them right the first time.
The upcoming retreat had more participants than usual, twenty-eight of whom would be regulars in the PT rooms. To prepare, Izzy, Jolene and Lowell were sitting cross-legged on the floor, twenty-eight registration forms spread out on the floor in the middle of their triangle, waiting to be put into one of five groups.
“Can we fit one more TBI in the first group?” Jolene asked, referring to those with a traumatic brain injury. “That would make four.”
Izzy forced her mind back to the job at hand. “Um, yeah, if we don’t have enough for two TBI groups, that’s probably best. We just need to make sure we’re fully staffed for that first session every day so we can do the one-on-ones. That means don’t schedule any appointments or time off for that time slot unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Make sure you let the new intern know that,” Lowell said.
“Oh gosh,” Izzy said, checking the time. “Thanks for reminding me. He’ll be here in an hour. I’ll meet him at the admin building and take him to the dorm to drop his things. Can you guys meet us for lunch, before I give him the grand tour?”
“Sorry, I have a dentist appointment,” Lowell said.
“And I’m meeting the plumber at my house,” Jolene added. “Leaky sink again.”
Izzy shrugged. “No biggie, I’ll take care of him. Let’s finish this up quick, then we can start on individual session plans this afternoon. The intern can show us his stuff by helping with that.”
Jolene reached over and patted her knee. “You’re going to be a great leader, Iz,” she said.
Izzy grimaced. “That remains to be seen. I’ve only got you two for a little longer. That first retreat without you is going to be scary.”
“Yeah, but Greg will be back before I leave,” Lowell said, referring to the man who had once been an intern himself, at exactly the same time Izzy had been there, two years ago.
She smiled happily. “I’m excited about that. He already knows the ropes here, and he’s also spent a year and a half at another retreat center. I can’t wait to hear what he’s learned.”
“Hard to believe he’s married with a baby on the way,” Jolene said fondly.
“He’s smart to want to settle in Barlow,” Izzy said. “What a great place to raise a family. I hope he stays for a long time.”
“I hope you do,” Jolene said warmly. “Don’t let a guy drag you off, okay?”
“Because you didn’t?” Izzy teased, making them all laugh. “Now come on, let’s get down to business. We only have forty-five minutes left before the intern gets here.”
* * *
Exactly forty-five minutes later, Izzy was on her way to the main lobby in the admin building. She stuck her head into Maddy’s office when she passed by.
“Hey, Maddy. How’s your day going?”
The pretty blonde seated behind a well-organized desk looked up with a wide smile. “Izzy! Get in here, girl. I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages. I was over in the PT department yesterday morning, but you were out.”
“Sorry I missed you. I was just thinking this morning we should meet up for lunch soon. Also, you need to let me babysit again. I need my Caroline time.”
Maddy chuckled. “Wonderful. I’ve been telling Tuck it’s time for a date night.”
“Just let me know when, I’m usually available.” Izzy wrinkled her nose. “As you know, my social life isn’t exactly booming.”
Maddy sat back in her chair and gave her a stern look. “I know good and well that’s by choice. There are at least five guys at church who would love to take you out, and Libby said the last time you two went riding, the ranch hands were falling all over themselves trying to get you to notice them.”
Izzy leaned against the door frame, not sure how to respond. It was true she could probably get some decent dates if she wanted to, but she wasn’t sure dating was in her best interest right now. Before accepting Christ and making huge changes in her life, she’d been the very definition of boy-crazy. All her free time had been spent searching for a man who could hold her attention for more than a few weeks. She’d been the life of the party, a staple on the club scene in whatever place she was living, seeming to thrive in the noise and the flashing lights and the dirty dancing. Getting dates was never a problem, indeed most of her girlfriends longed to be her, because she could usually take her pick.
If those “friends” had only known how miserable she was deep inside, constantly chasing after what she thought would make her happy, with nothing to show for it. A three-month relationship had been her record, and even that had lasted way too long. It’s just that she had so badly wanted it to be right.
Looking back, she was incredibly grateful she hadn’t made the mistake of settling for a man she couldn’t love and honor for the rest of her life. She liked to think God had been looking out for her even then, before she’d given Him much more than a passing thought.
It had taken a pretty big wake-up call for Him to finally get her attention, but eighteen months ago, she’d asked Him into her heart. Now she had God, good friends, and renewed focus on a job that meant the world to her. She was more fulfilled than she’d ever been, and even though she joked about God hurrying up and finding her a good man, if she were brutally honest, she was more than a little afraid to introduce a man into this new life. She didn’t want to screw up the balance she’d found.
“I don’t know, Maddy, I think I might be better off without a man right now,” she said honestly. “But if I change my mind, I’ll let you know. Maybe Tuck can introduce me to some of his friends,” she teased.
Maddy raised her brows. “Come to think of it, one of his friends just got here a few days ago. He’s going to be volunteering for a while. Working with the horses.”
Izzy nodded slowly, trying to read her friend’s expression. “I’ve met him. Seems he’s my new neighbor.”
“Oh, yeah, I was going to let you know about that,” Maddy said, looking a little too innocent. Which confirmed Izzy’s suspicions that the other woman might be attempting a bit of match-making.
“Whatever, Maddy,” Izzy said, folding her arms. She didn’t tell her friend she was already very interested in the mysterious Tanner James, just not in the way Maddy was hoping.
“So, what do you think of him?” Maddy asked, trying to act like she didn’t care. “He seems nice.”
Izzy snorted. “Nice? That wouldn’t be the first adjective I’d use. Actually, it wouldn’t be one I’d use at all. He’s a little on the nasty side, to tell you the truth.”
Now Maddy looked concerned. “Seriously, Izzy? I haven’t seen that side of him—do I need to move him?”
“No, definitely not.” Izzy looked down and scuffed her shoe on the carpet. “It’s, um, kinda my fault,” she admitted. “He wants to be left alone, and I don’t seem to be able to do that.”
Maddy grimaced. “So shall I be expecting a request from him to move back to the dorms?”
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“I don’t think so. I’ll try not to become that much of a nuisance. It’s just that he’s all bottled up, and that’s not good for a person. I’m determined to help him come out of his shell, but he’s being a little resistant.” Izzy suddenly wondered what things would have been like had Tanner greeted her with a smile instead of a glare that first day. Would she have felt the attraction her friends all seemed to have expected?
Maddy looked at her thoughtfully, biting her bottom lip as she pondered Izzy’s admission that she was trying to get Tanner to open up. “He’s a complicated man, Iz. I don’t know a lot about him, and what I do know I’m not at liberty to share. Tuck and Ryan think the world of him though, and they’re not easily impressed.”
Izzy frowned, her curiosity stronger than ever. “I keep hearing that. Does he work for the FBI? Is that how they know him?”
“Uh, they met on the job a few years ago, I know that. I don’t know what his status is now, though. Tuck hasn’t said, and I can tell when I’m not supposed to ask.”
More food for thought. Izzy sighed. “Maybe I shouldn’t push it, but there’s just something about him that calls out to me. He seems so empty, like he’s going through the motions, but there’s no joy in it, you know? I was there myself for a lot of years, and I don’t like to see others trapped in that cycle.”
“I think he’s been through a lot,” Maddy said, “so don’t take it personally if he doesn’t respond. I know your intentions are good, but maybe he’s not ready. Or willing.”
“I’ll definitely keep praying about it,” Izzy promised. “Right now I feel strongly that he needs a new friend, but if I start feeling I need to back off, I will.”
Maddy’s blue eyes were concerned. “I don’t like the idea of him being mean to you.”
Izzy chuckled. “It’s just his defense mechanism. God willing I’ll get through it. If not, well, at least I tried. Who knows, maybe my job is to just chip out a little bit of the wall, to make it easier for the next person to break all the way through.”
“I’ll pray about it, too.” Maddy smiled warmly at her. “I love that you care about people so much. It’s why you’re so good at your job.”
Izzy waved a hand self-consciously. “We’ll see how good I am when Jolene and Lowell leave. I’ll have big shoes to fill, that’s for sure.”
“We have full faith in you, and we’ll make sure you have the staff you need.”
“Which reminds me,” Izzy said, getting back on task. “My new intern will be here any minute, if he’s not already. Do you have time to meet with him and give him your human resources spiel?”
“I sure do. One more thing, before I forget. Jolene wants to get a group together to celebrate Virgil’s birthday tomorrow night. It’s going to be at our place, since her house is too small. We’d love for you to come.”
“Aw, I’d love to help Virgil celebrate. He’s one of my favorite people.”
“And you’re one of his. We’ll see you at seven.”
“Can I bring anything?”
Maddy laughed. “How about you bring your new neighbor,” she teased. “I’m sure he’ll be much nicer with the guys around. Might help you see a different side of him.”
“Um, yeah, that’s probably not going to happen. If I invited him to a party he’d look at me like I had two heads.” As she spoke, Izzy heard the tinkle of the bell from the front door out in the lobby. “Sounds like my guy is here. I’ll grab him and be right back.”
Izzy walked out to the lobby to rescue her intern from the volunteer receptionist, Betty, an eighty-year-old from the local community. Their Betty was very sweet, but also a very talkative lady. More than a minute or two in her company was enough to make your head spin.
“Hello,” Izzy said, putting her hand out and smiling as she approached the young man. “Spencer, right? I’m Izzy Harding, the one who’s been flooding your inbox with emails the last few days. Glad you made it. Did the trip up from Wichita go smoothly?”
“Yes ma’am, it sure did,” Spencer said politely, seeming pleased she remembered where he was from. “This sure is a beautiful place. The pictures online don’t do it justice.”
“I can’t wait to give you a tour. We’re very proud of both our facility and our mission. You’re going to have a life-changing six months, I can assure you.”
“That’s what I came for,” he said eagerly.
Izzy nodded approvingly. “First stop, human resources. Then we’ll get you settled in the dorm and go get lunch.”
* * *
Tanner checked his watch and frowned. He was running late. His boss, Molly, had asked him to meet with her to talk about Comet, the horse who had balked several times last week when going around the cone course. Thankfully, spotters had been in place and no one had fallen off, but if Comet continued that behavior, he’d have to be replaced.
Talking about horses with Molly was no problem for Tanner, but after that discussion she’d wasted time with small talk, and now he was late getting to the cafeteria. He’d be right in the middle of the lunch crowd, but he was too hungry to wait until later. For that, he blamed Izzy Harding. After the surprise meeting with her on his front porch that morning, he’d completely forgotten to go get breakfast.
He entered the cafeteria, groaning quietly at the noise level. Three days out from the start of the next retreat, there was definitely energy in the air. Anticipation. Which, although the noise was annoying to him, spoke well of Maddy Simon and Libby Anderson. They’d obviously done a good job of hiring people who truly loved what they were doing, who got excited about a new retreat starting rather than dreading the bigger workload they were about to have thrust upon them.
It would be interesting to see how a retreat actually worked. Tanner wasn’t at all afraid of hard work and long hours, but it would take him a little while to learn the routine. He needed to make sure there would be a detailed daily schedule showing him when each of the horses would be used so he could have them ready. Molly had also hinted this morning that she might want to use him in the riding rings on occasion, primarily as a spotter, which would be another thing for him to learn.
The work at the Full Heart Ranch might still feel unfamiliar, but Tanner was surprisingly content here. By now he would’ve expected to be missing FBI life and feeling like he was wasting his time, but working with the horses was turning out to be peaceful and restorative for him. And nothing about this ranch was a waste of time.
That thought gave Tanner pause. Was he actually enjoying life here, or just experiencing enough new things to keep his interest piqued? He suspected it was a combination. One thing was for sure, he’d slept better the last few nights than he had in years. He put that down to being weary from good, hard, old-fashioned, physical work—and also not having to worry about doing or saying something that could get him killed or maimed. It was quite a nice change.
The food line moved quickly in spite of the crowd. Tanner shook off his introspective mood and filled his plate. Two giggling young women in front of him kept sneaking looks over their shoulders, then had trouble deciding what they wanted from the dessert bar. If Tanner wouldn’t have had his eye on a big piece of cherry pie, he’d have skipped that part, but that pie and the soft-serve ice cream machine were calling his name.
The two girls finally made their choices and moved off to the side, allowing Tanner to get his pie and top it with vanilla ice cream. He picked up his tray and turned, almost bumping into the girls who had moved in behind him, smiling widely.
“Hey. I’m Miranda,” the brunette said. “And this is Emily. You’re new here, right?”
Tanner nodded. “Been here a few days.” He went to move around them, but the red-head, Emily, skillfully blocked his path.
“Wanna eat lunch with us?” she asked. “We’ve been here a few months. We can, like, answer any questions you might have.”
“Thanks, but I’m in a hurry. I have to eat and run.” This time Emily stayed put when he side-stepped her. Tan
ner eyed a small table in the corner and made his way there, relieved when he arrived with no more unwelcome encounters. He was half-way through his chicken and broccoli when his eyes fell on a table in another corner, in front of a window. Sunlight shone through the spotless glass onto the bright blonde hair of a woman sitting there, talking a mile a minute to the dark-haired young man across from her.
Tanner’s eyes narrowed as he watched Izzy Harding laugh with her table-mate, who appeared to be hanging on her every word. Tanner kept on eating as he observed, trying to figure out why the scene bothered him. He was three bites into his pie before he reluctantly settled on an answer.
Izzy looked just like she did when she spoke to him. Cheerful, animated, warm, welcoming. It looked like she’d found herself a new “cause.” He knew he should be relieved about that, because he’d had no intention of letting her wear him down, no matter how many bars she baked him.
But he wasn’t relieved, and that’s what was bothering him. Was it possible that deep down, he had kinda liked being her cause for the short time it had lasted? It had been a long time since he’d interacted with a beautiful woman in anything other than a professional capacity, and although he hated to admit it, maybe Izzy had made him realize what he was missing out on.
He finished his pie and took his tray to the dish conveyor, not looking in her direction as he exited the cafeteria.
It was good she had a new cause. Better for him, and for Izzy, too, whether she knew it or not. People in his line of work had no business making pretty new friends.
CHAPTER 6
Spencer was going to work out well, Izzy decided. His excitement during the tour of the campus had been obvious, and the questions he’d asked were intelligent and showed an impressive degree of training. She’d also found out he had a cousin who’d lost a leg in Afghanistan, so their mission was personal to him. Maybe he’d be like Lowell, Greg and herself, and come back to work permanently after he’d earned his license.
