Project Detour (Castle View Book 3)

by Lynn Cahoon

  She laughed. He liked the way it sounded. Not delicate like some women laugh, but a full-throated sound. “Believe me, I’m stronger than I look.”

  When he got seated, she unlocked the wheels and started to push the chair. “Let me. He growled. He went into the bathroom to find the place had been turned into a handicapped equipped mecca. His toothbrush and paste were on a table just near the sink where he could reach. And a hand-held urinal sat on the toilet seat. He thought about just knocking it over and standing up like a guy to pee, but he didn’t have the energy.

  Ten minutes later, clean from the washcloth bath he’d given himself, and in a cheerier mood, he opened the door and wheeled himself back into the makeshift bedroom. Destiny sat on the recliner, the first Wheel of Time book in her hands. She held it up and smiled. “I haven’t read these forever. Do you mind?”

  “Of course not.” He motioned to the shelves. “I’ve got an excellent selection of fantasy, lots of mystery and horror, and a passible number of thrillers. No romance. If you want that, you’ll have to talk to Maggie. I think both of us have quite a library collection. Books were the one thing that Mom would let us buy, no questions asked.”

  She rose from the chair and as he positioned himself near the bed, she adjusted the chair and put on the parking brakes. “Now, we’ll do the same thing in reverse. Let me lift you, we’ll pivot and then back to bed. I’ll help you swing your legs upward.”

  After he got settled, she handed him the tray, pouring his coffee. She set a small dish with his morning pills on the tray as well. “You want some juice? Your sister stocked the fridge so we have orange, grape, tomato, apple, and even cranberry.”

  “Orange will be fine.” He grinned and flipped her hair back from her face. “You’re pretty fit. Maybe after I’m out of the cast we could do some other types of therapy.”

  She pulled away from him. “You are my patient, not my boyfriend. Got it? We are going to be seeing way too much of each other to muddy the water.”

  Brad saw the fire in her eyes. He’d hit a nerve. He held up the pill container. “I apologize. The comment was out of line and inappropriate. I would never consider hitting on you. Can I blame these things?”

  “Drugs do have a way of making you say the wrong thing.” She looked a bit put out by his answer. “I’ll be right back with your juice so you can take those.”

  He looked into the container, at the pills. “I’m not in a lot of pain now. Maybe I don’t need these.”

  “You need them.” She nodded. “A few of them are vitamins, but there’s a delayed reaction pain killer in there that you’ll be on for a few weeks. Then we’ll wean you off of it. Right now, the doctor wants you comfortable but not high. It’s considered pain therapy. The meds will keep your muscles relaxed and healing. Pain makes them seize up.”

  “Okay, but I’m warning you, you’re going to have to read again. Once I take these, I may not be able to hold up the book.” He threw the pills in his mouth and then took a long sip of water. Then he broke open a muffin. “Aren’t you hungry?”

  “I ate earlier.” She looked at her watch. “I was up at six. It’s almost nine.”

  “Seriously, it’s that late?” He glanced at the digital clock on the desk in the corner. “I better call the winery.”

  “Why?”

  He turned toward Destiny. “I always call in the morning. I need to know what’s going on.”

  “You are out on medical leave,” she responded, moving his phone out of reach. “If you want to go back in six weeks like we’ve planned, you need to focus on getting stronger, not running your winery.”

  “I can do both.” He held his hand out for the phone.

  She just shook her head. “I have the rule from your family. No business. You can read, watch television, or sleep. I even play a mean game of gin, but no business. Besides, we’re going to start working your arms out today. I don’t think you’ll be able to pick up your phone when we’re done.”

  “Now, that’s a strong claim.” He let his arm drop. Let her think she won. He’d call later when she was out of the room. Except she didn’t leave for long. She took the breakfast tray back to the kitchen, then immediately returned with two resistance bands. He couldn’t believe how difficult he found the simple movements. When he was about to drop, she stopped the workout and then read until he fell asleep. When he woke up, lunch waited for him.

  By the time he had a minute alone where he could call the winery, it was after five and the phones would have been shut off. Tomorrow. Tomorrow he’d call.

  But the next day went as fast as this one had. The resistance band workout didn’t wear him out quite as quickly, but when she sat down to read, he found himself watching her rather than getting lost in the story. Soon, his eyelids drooped and he lost the war against sleep.

  It was Wednesday before he heard from Jose, his manager. The phone rang waking him from his morning nap. He glanced around. No Destiny. He figured she took advantage of his naps to get a few things done since she seemed to be in his face and his room every time he woke. “What’s going on?”

  “The order for the Spokane wine fest? They called yesterday to confirm that we’re participating since they haven’t received your confirmation and list. You didn’t finish the amounts. Do you want me to send two of each of the whites and reds?”

  Brad thought about the list he’d been agonizing over before the accident. His plan had been to finish the list and send it off the next morning. Of course, the next morning never came. Or to be more precise, he never made it to the winery that morning. “No. List off what I have. I want us to only take our best to the tasting. A lot of local critics will be attending.” He looked at his shorts-clad body and then at the wheelchair. The Wine Fest was in four weeks. There was no way he’d be able to represent Castle View Winery that day. Not looking like a cripple.

  He wrote a reminder on the notebook he’d started to gather all the random thoughts he was having about the winery. He’d have to call Maggie and get her to go. It wouldn’t be perfect, but the guys would love her and she could muddle through a presentation. If he coached her.

  As Jose listed off the wines they had in stock, Brad wrote down the ones he wanted to spotlight. A few award winners, a couple of new ones, and a couple of old standards. He told Jose to have Tina fax him a copy of the final proposal for his approval and hung up the phone.

  He grabbed his laptop from the bedside table and ignoring the twinge in his back, signed into his email to wait. While he was there, he whittled the unread list down to under two hundred. He shot off quick answers to the ones he could, made a list on his notebook on things he’d have to ask Tina to look up so he could answer several. The email from Tina arrived with a slew of new emails listing off questions she needed help with. He’d just finished the first response when Destiny walked into the room.

  “What are you doing?” She looked at the laptop like it was a snake and Brad was talking in tongues.

  He didn’t look up at her. “I’m running my business before it falls apart. Do you mind?”

  She lowered his bed. “You are supposed to be resting, not working.”

  “Look, I have to finish a couple of things.” He reached to the controls and moved the bed back to a sitting position.

  When she reached for the control again, he shook his head. “Stop. You aren’t my mother. You can’t tell me what to do.”

  “I can call your mother if I need to.” Destiny picked up her phone. “Are you going to make me use my trump card?”

  “Can we just compromise here? I’ve got a couple things I have to review and answer, but then I’ll shut the computer down for the day. And tomorrow, I’ll only work for two hours.”

  “One hour a day max this week. Like it or not, your body is healing. And you’re on major pain meds. Making business decisions is not a great idea right now.”

  She had a point there. He was already feeling fuzzy after just fifteen minutes of the pile of work that waite
d for him. “Give me a minute to approve this proposal and I’ll shut down for the day. After telling Tina if she needs me to put an URGENT in the subject line.”

  “Tm not happy with the idea, but I guess I can live with it.” Destiny nodded at the bed. “But ten minutes and that puppy goes back down to flat.

  His eyes narrowed and he swallowed back the first response on his lips. Instead, he turned his attention back to the screen and said a quick, “Yes, ma’am.”

  CHAPTER 4

  Destiny already had Brad’s doctor’s office on the phone before she reached the kitchen. After being placed on hold, she picked up a cookie, but the nurse came on the line faster than she’d ever experienced. Must be the power of the Castle name. Swallowing the bite of cookie, she explained Brad’s actions to the nurse who assured her that a little elevation wouldn’t strain the back, as long as he stayed laying down for most of the day. “I’m sure he’s bored out of his mind. Let him work as long as it’s just answering emails.”

  She thanked the nurse, then re-read the chart she’d been provided. She didn’t totally agree with either his nurse or Brad’s own summary of his abilities. She’d let him have the hour, but no longer. And just like therapy, he’d have a mandatory rest period afterward. The guy was banged up pretty bad. He needed to remember that instead of thinking he’d be able to return to his normal life, just because he’d returned home.

  Destiny finished her cookie. If she didn’t watch it, she was going to have to diet after leaving this assignment. Maggie was sending over lunch, dinner, and items for breakfast and snacks. The kitchen held enough food to feed a family, especially since she sent several choices in case Brad wasn’t feeling up to eating a full meal. Destiny had already frozen several quarts of soup for him to defrost and warm up later, after she moved on.

  The kitchen sometimes confused her. Destiny didn’t know how to do much more than boil water but she craved a room like this. Someday she’d have the kitchen and the time to learn to cook. Grammy Nelson had left her a family cookbook when she’d passed. Destiny had it on her kitchen shelf, more as a decoration than anything else. Not for the first time since she’d moved to St. Joseph’s, she wished her life could be different.

  “If wishes were horses, all beggars would ride” had been one of Grammy’s favorite sayings. And Destiny knew it was appropriate here. If she wanted a different life, she was going to have to work for it not just wish it into being.

  Her phone rang, startling her. It was probably Brad with one request or another. She didn’t look at Caller ID when she answered. “What can I help you with?”

  “Destiny Brooks?” The male voice on the other end was certainly not Brad.

  She wasn’t expecting a call, and as far as she remembered, she wasn’t late on any bills. What could this be regarding. “Yes, this is she.”

  “I was wondering if we could meet over lunch tomorrow. I have a stopover in Coeur d’Alene on a trip to Seattle and I wanted to talk to you about joining my team. I understand you may be looking for work soon?”

  “May I ask who this is?”

  He chuckled. “I’m always handing these calls wrong. That’s why my assistant does most of these set up calls. I’m Martin Landue, the CEO of Landue Health Care. We have our headquarters out of Boise, but I’m looking to open a satellite office in Spokane. You seem to have the skills I’m looking for in an office manager.”

  “If you mean opening and losing St. Joseph’s Physical Therapy, I guess you’re right.” She might as well get that resume killer out into the open before she invested time the guy.

  “Do you know how many small businesses close within the first five years? You’re not alone in your situation. The fact you even tried makes you a strong candidate for my position. Come talk to me tomorrow for lunch. We’ll have a good meal, then, if you don’t think you’d like me as your boss, you can tell me no. The worse you’ll lose is an afternoon.”

  She needed a job. And she hadn’t gotten any responses from the resumes she’d sent out last week. “Sure. Give me your number in case I can’t find a substitute to cover me at my current position but I believe I should be able to be there. Where are we meeting?”

  He gave her his cell along with a time and the name of the restaurant which seemed to be at the exclusive country club on Lake Coeur d’Alene. Destiny didn’t know if the town had been named for the lake or the lake for the town, but either way, the area had become a mecca for yuppies moving out of the California rat race and bringing all their favorite fast food joints and spas along with them. As she hung up, she glanced at her watch. Brad had already exceeded his promised ten minutes but Destiny had one more call to make before she went back in to enforce his laptop shut down.

  She dialed the number and waited for it to be answered. “Sandy, I need a favor.”

  ***

  Brad woke from his morning nap stiff and grumpy. Destiny had been brutal in that day’s exercise session and he felt beat up and worn out, even with a nap. He needed food. The smell of mushroom chicken filled the room and he smiled. Turning his head, he breathed deeply. “I love that dish, I always have.”

  “I know dear.” His mother turned around with a tray in her hand. She sat the tray on Brad’s bedside table and then tried to wrestle the table closer to him.

  “I’ll get it.” He found the lever which lifted it upward and over his body. He adjusted the bed as his mom uncovered the plate and poured him a glass of ice water.

  “Do you want juice or milk?” His mother picked up empty glasses from the table to take back into the kitchen with her.

  “Neither. Mom, where’s Destiny?” His breath caught. Had his complaining in the beginning caused his family to fire her?

  “You’re getting milk if you don’t make a choice. Your bones probably need the calcium.” She smoothed his comforter. “Destiny had an errand to run, so I said I’d step in. I thought you’d be happy to see me.”

  “I am happy to see you. I was just surprised for a minute.” He picked up his fork and took a bite of the chicken. Perfectly cooked, juicy, and filled with flavor, the dish was one of the best things on Maggie’s menu. “So what’s going on in the real world?”

  “Hold on, I’ll be right back.” His mother disappeared from the room. Destiny hadn’t said a word about leaving today. She’d brought him breakfast, they’d joked about taking a walk around the Castle View compound, and then she’d worked him out during his physical therapy session. Not one word about having to run an errand, which was odd since the girl liked to talk about everything. Maybe Mom knew more than she was saying.

  When his mother returned, she had a large glass of milk and her own plate of food from Maggie’s. Apparently, this visit had been planned for a while. He focused on eating. “What’s going on?”

  His mother chatted about the new house Mark and Abigail, the newlyweds, were finally moving into next week. “That cottage is just way too small for three people. Especially with as active as that Becca is. She can wear me out. I know I shouldn’t complain since she’s my only grandchild. Especially since you and your sister haven’t seen willing to get married and provide me with babies.”

  “Mom, I’m a little beat up to be hitting the single bars just to find the one to birth your grandbabies.” He looked down at his legs. “Besides, there’s no way I could two-step and you know that’s my best move. Women love my mad dancing skills.”

  She patted him on the arm. “I’m being insensitive. I’m sorry. But your sister, she’s already in a relationship. I don’t know why they don’t just get married and stop this courting stuff.”

  “Maggie and Josh have been a couple for less than six months. You need to have some patience. Seriously, you never pushed any of us into settling down. What’s the hurry now?”

  “Sure, throw my own words back at me. I just didn’t want you to marry the first girl you thought you were in love with. Is it so bad for a woman to want grandbabies?” His mother bit into her fish sandwich and groaned. “B
esides, Josh is an amazing chef. She needs to seal the deal on this guy before he gets a better offer.”

  Josh Reyes was so deep in love with Maggie, Brad thought the guy might just walk on hot coals to prove his feelings. “The guy loves her. Why? I have no idea. Maggie’s always been a little bit of a diva.”

  “She is not. She’s just the only girl. You and your brother had each other, but Maggie didn’t have a sister to lean on.” She narrowed her eyes. “Are you teasing me?”

  “Nope, I was just proving my point. Maggie always was and continues to be your favorite child. Mark was Dad’s favorite. And I just got scraps from both of you.” He smiled to take the edge out of the words, but he’d always felt like the extra. First born, Mark did everything right, from being the earliest kid in his scout troop to earn his Eagle rank to being not only captain of the football team and school council president his senior year. Brad had earned better grades, but that didn’t attract admiring glances from the girls or made a kid popular with his classmates. He shook the thoughts away. The drugs must be making him melancholy.

  “Both your dad and I loved all of you kids the same. You are all just so different. Mark’s the natural leader, Maggie loves people and food, and you are the perceptive businessman. Very suave and charming. I’m surprised you didn’t leave Castle View for a larger city. I always saw you as the Seattle type.”

  “You wanted me to leave?” He set his fork down and drank the glass of milk in one motion. The lump in his throat didn’t ease. “I guess I’ll make plans when I’m finally able to leave my bed.”

  “That’s not what I said or meant, Bradley James. I just see you as more cosmopolitan than your siblings. I didn’t think St. Joseph’s would be big enough.” She set her empty plate on the side table. “Are you feeling all right? You seem to be grumpy. Do you need a pill? Destiny said you’ve been taking a painkiller after your lunch.” When he didn’t respond, she added, “Is she pushing you too hard in your therapy? I could talk to her.”