by Barbara Gee
“That’s going to be kinda hard to do, considering you’re in charge of my training,” he pointed out.
“I don’t mean I’ll keep my distance here at the gym. For a few hours a day I’ll give you my all as your physical therapist, I promise you that. But outside of those sessions, unless we’re part of a group, I don’t want to be with you.” She winced. “No, that’s not true. I want to be with you, but I can’t.”
“Is it that simple?” he asked.
She looked down, scuffing the floor with the toe of her shoe. “I don’t know. This hasn’t happened to me before, so I honestly don’t know what to expect.”
“You’ve never been attracted to a client before?” he asked a little skeptically.
“Nope. I’ve never felt like this with anyone, client or not.”
“And you’re not at all tempted to let it play out?” he wondered. “See where it goes?”
She folded her arms, not bothering to hide her frustration. “Of course I am, but I don’t see it ending well for me. And if that’s going to be the result, it’s better not to let it start.”
“So you’re a big picture kind of girl?”
“I am. I try to base my decisions on the long-term. That works best for me.”
He stood and put on his shoes, propping each foot up on the table in turn to tie the laces. “I’m all for looking at things long-term,” he said when he finished. “I try to do that myself.” He put his hands on his hips and looked down at her, his eyes full of shadows. “But at times that big picture shows more than I want to see. Sometimes decisions are easier if we don’t try to anticipate all the ways they can play out.”
Jolene caught a glimpse of incredible pain before he looked away, and the need to comfort him was overwhelming. “You’re not talking about you and me,” she said quietly.
He closed his eyes briefly and rubbed the back of his neck. “I have so much crap to deal with right now, Jolene. I have some tough decisions to make and I have no idea which way to go. I need to figure it out.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?” she asked softly, the desolate look in his eyes making her heart hurt.
“No. Unfortunately it’s not something I can talk about. But I will tell you this.” His jade gaze locked on hers and he put a finger under her chin, tilting her face up and lowering his head until their lips were mere inches apart. “If I didn’t have all this other stuff going on, I can assure you I’d be doing my best to change your mind about spending time with me.” His eyes dropped to her mouth and she stopped breathing. “I feel the same attraction you do, Jolene.”
His voice was barely above a whisper and her whole body trembled at his words. Slowly, ever so slowly, he lowered his head those last few inches, until his lips just brushed hers. The slightest touch, so brief she wasn’t sure it had even happened, and then he stepped away, his expression growing shuttered.
“You’re probably right,” he said. “All things considered, keeping it professional is for the best. I’ll see you at five.”
And then he was gone.
CHAPTER 11
Jolene was sorely tempted to chicken out of the five o’clock session with Boone. Greg was working a later shift that day, so he’d be there anyway, and she had no doubt he could follow her instructions for Boone quite capably. At one point she even went to the work area to ask if he would do it, but as she walked toward his cubicle, she remembered her promise to give Boone her all during his workouts. And then there was her contract with his team. She turned back around and shut herself in her office to brood.
It remained to be seen whether their short discussion that morning had made things better or worse. She was glad she’d had the courage to let him know where she stood, but his mixed signals were making things harder. From that almost kiss to agreeing that a strictly professional relationship was best—within two seconds of each other. What was she supposed to think? If he was truly on board with her wishes, great. But if that were the case, he’d better not bring that tempting mouth anywhere close to hers again. She couldn’t handle it. She knew her weaknesses all too well, and the gorgeous hockey player had taken his place firmly at the top of that list.
Perhaps she should at least ask Greg to assist with Boone, as Izzy had done that morning. Would that be cowardly, or prudent? She was weighing her options when Greg himself tapped on her door and stuck his head in.
“Hey, Jolene. Lowell just called and said he and Cam are heading down to Fargo for the evening. Do you mind if I take off in fifteen minutes so I can join them?”
Jolene decided ruefully that God must want to test her. “Sure, Greg. You guys have fun. I’ll see you on Monday.”
“I’ll be here. Wouldn’t want to miss the controlled chaos of the Monday registration.”
Jolene chuckled. “Getting a new group settled in has its challenges, for sure. But it’s all good.”
“I agree. This has been the most rewarding job I’ve ever had. If I didn’t have to go back to school in the fall, I’d be begging you to keep me on.”
“You have a few months until then. We’ll make the most of them.”
“Yep. Thanks, boss. Have a great weekend.”
Jolene watched him leave, then checked the clock for the zillionth time. Ninety minutes until Boone showed up. Sighing, she pulled a stack of folders toward her and opened the one on top. If she kept stewing over him at the expense of her work, she’d end up in the office all weekend trying to catch up.
Thankfully the session plans her assistants had completed managed to draw her in, and she worked her way steadily through them, making notes of her suggestions, and putting stars by the things she especially approved of.
Her assistants were a good group, and when they did quality work like this she was incredibly proud. Both Greg and Cam were still in school and they had a lot to learn, but they’d come a long way in the short time they’d been at the ranch. She tended to take extra time giving them suggestions and encouragement. She saw her role as being their mentor as well as their boss, and teaching them as much as she could while she had them was a big part of that.
Lowell had received his license a few months ago, and Izzy would soon be taking her exam. Jolene was more than satisfied with their work. If she had to guess about their futures, she was pretty sure Lowell was at the ranch for the long run, whereas Izzy was padding her resume and would likely end up in a big, busy city within the year. Jolene didn’t have a problem with that. She’d done some resume padding herself when she was fresh out of school. Sometimes it was hard to know the kind of setting you wanted to work in, and some job hopping was inevitable.
She finished going through all the folders for Cam and Greg, and opened the first one of Lowell’s. Her attention was immediately caught by a highlighted section where he was proposing an addition to the circuit they rotated participants through during their group workouts. Jolene tapped her pencil against the desktop as she read, weighing the pros and cons of the idea. When she finished reading, she sat back in her chair to ponder it for a while, then jumped when she realized Boone was leaning against the door frame, watching her.
“Oh, Boone! Is it five? I’m so sorry.” Jolene got up quickly and closed the folder. “For a big man, you move very quietly. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“You were deep in thought and I couldn’t bring myself to interrupt.”
She smiled nervously. “I get that way sometimes. You ready to start?” She grabbed her clipboard and left the office.
* * *
He followed her into the PT room, sensing her discomfort and regretting anew that the easy rapport they’d shared the previous evening seemed to be gone.
As usual, she started him on the elliptical to warm up. After ten minutes she took him to the weight room, concentrating on his core and upper body, since his legs had gotten such a big workout that morning.
The room was warm and he pulled his shirt off before lying back for bench presses. If that bothered her, too bad. Jole
ne started off spotting him, but since the weights she allowed him were almost ridiculously light, a spotter was unnecessary. She knelt beside him, watching the play of muscles across his chest and arms. That was okay—she’d already explained her fascination with the human body at work. But when she splayed a hand across his stomach, running her fingers across the ridges of his abs, he quickly returned the barbells to the stand and grabbed her wrist.
“I know you don’t mean anything by it, Jolene, but it’s a little hard for me to concentrate when you’re running your hands all over me.”
He watched as her expression went from confusion to mortification.
“Oh, Boone, I didn’t even realize—I’m so sorry.”
He grinned, letting her off the hook. “I know you didn’t. It’s okay.”
Her cheeks were pink. “It’s not a good excuse, but do you want to know what I was thinking just now, when I was touching your stomach?”
“Love to,” he said, relaxing on the bench, his head turned toward where she still knelt at his side.
“Okay, so a few years ago I had a guy come into my practice for some rehab on his knee, and he was a plastic surgery buff. It was really extreme. His face was so tight he looked scared to death all the time, you know? But the craziest thing was that he’d had implants to make it look like he had a six pack. And he had pectoral implants, too. From a distance he might have been able to fool people, but up close it was so obvious that he had no muscle tone. He was all plastic. Or silicone, or whatever they use for that. So when I was touching you, I was thinking how ridiculous it is for people to think they can fake something that’s so awesome in its real form.” She flushed again. “I guess I got lost in my thoughts. I really am sorry.”
“If you hadn’t made that rule about keeping things strictly professional between us, I’d assure you it’s not a problem,” he teased. “But since it’s your rule to start with, I’m going to have to insist you stop feeling me up when I’m trying to work.”
Her jaw dropped and she gave his arm a light punch. “That’s not what I was doing!” she protested.
He gave an exaggerated sigh. “It’s not easy being perfect, you know. It gets old being treated like an object.”
She laughed. “Okay, okay. I get your point. I’ll keep my hands to myself from now on. But don’t think my lapse is going to get you out of your last ten bench presses. Crank ’em out, Boone. I’ll go get you some water.”
He watched her go, wondering if she knew how perfect she was herself. He obediently gripped the bar and easily completed the last ten presses. Truth was he could have handled twice as much weight, but he understood her reluctance to let him exert himself too much. He was content to do it her way for now, but if his headaches stayed at bay, like they had the last two days, he would make a case for increasing his level of activity sooner rather than later.
He lowered the bar into its stand and sat up, accepting the bottle of water she held out to him. Next she moved him through the training circuit they used for the vets at the retreats, and to finish off she asked him to try a series of core strengthening exercises using a big earth ball. She told him one of her assistants had proposed adding the series to their circuit, and she wanted to watch him do it to get an idea of how stable the ball would be.
When she was satisfied with his efforts, she put him on the elliptical for five minutes, then took his pulse and blood pressure one final time.
“So you didn’t feel any throbbing during any of the things we just did? And you’re still at a headache level of one or two?”
“No throbbing, and yes, level is the same. But it’s going to go up if I don’t get something to eat pretty soon.”
Jolene smiled and held up her hands. “I hereby release you. Go fill the bottomless pit.”
He wiped his face with a towel. “Are you eating here? Or going home.”
“I need to finish up a few things here, then I’ll head home.”
He’d figured as much. “Does the dining hall allow meals to go?” he wondered, not looking forward to a repeat of lunch, when a half dozen staff members, including Izzy, had followed him to his table and proceeded to chatter non-stop while he tried to eat.
Jolene raised her brows. “Not feeling sociable this evening?”
“I paid my social dues at lunch. If you won’t eat with me, a solitary dinner sounds like the next best thing.”
She frowned. “Is the staff bothering you, Boone? Because they’ve been given strict instructions to give you some space.”
He shrugged. “It wasn’t so bad. Just a lot of people talking at once.”
“They sat with you?”
“I guess they thought I looked lonely,” he quipped.
“I’m sorry. They’re supposed to let you be the one to initiate any socializing.”
“It’s okay. It’s not like I’m entirely anti-social, but once a day is enough. For now, at least.”
“Well to answer your question, yes, there are to-go boxes in the cafeteria. They’re on the shelf directly under the trays.”
“Got it.” He threw the towel in the bin and put on his shirt. “I might need two boxes.”
“You can eat as much as you want, whenever you want. This weekend there won’t be as many choices of food, because on our off weekends a lot of the staff members spend time off campus. But come Monday, you’ll have more options than you know what to do with.”
“All right. Speaking of weekends, do you want me to come in on Saturday and Sunday, or should I just do my own thing? I can just skate laps and drills, if you want the days off.”
She thought about it for a moment. “How about you skate in the morning tomorrow, and we go for a bike ride in the afternoon? I emailed your doc and got permission for you to do that. He apparently believes the chances of you crashing are pretty slim. You’ll have to wear a helmet, of course, but otherwise he doesn’t have a problem with it.”
“A ride sounds good, and it’s not like I’m a stranger to helmets,” he pointed out.
“Ah, I guess that’s true.” They walked across the room together, stopping when they reached her office door. She looked up at him, biting the corner of her lip. “Would you mind if I asked Tuck and Maddy to go along?”
He chuckled. “Not at all. I need someone to protect me from your wandering hands.”
“Oh my word, Boone. You’re never going to let me forget that, are you?”
“Not a chance. See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I’ll text you after I talk to Maddy.”
He walked toward the door to the gym, which offered a short cut to the dining hall.
“Hey, Boone?”
He stopped and looked back. She was standing in the doorway of her office, her hands planted on either side of the door frame. “If you walk around campus dressed like that, the crowds at your lunch table aren’t going to diminish anytime soon.” She grinned. “Just sayin’.”
He looked down at his workout tank and shorts, then gave her a nod. “Thanks for the tip.”
“Any time.”
Boone watched her enter her office, then pushed through the gym door. As he walked to his golf cart to get a jacket he’d stowed there that morning, he was aware of two things.
One, with everything he had going on, keeping things platonic with Jolene Tolley, as she wanted him to do, was indeed the best course. Not the easiest, but the best. And two, regardless of what was best, if she ever changed her mind about that, he’d be powerless to resist.
CHAPTER 12
Maddy and Tuck were all in for the bike ride, and the four of them strapped their helmets on in high spirits. The weather was absolutely beautiful, the spring sun bright and warm. They rode out the long lane of the ranch and in the opposite direction from town, choosing some less travelled roads to avoid having to worry much about vehicles going around them.
Boone and Tuck became engrossed in conversation almost immediately, and the girls were content to hang a ways behind them, hearing only the murmu
r of the deep male voices drifting back to them as the guys talked and occasionally laughed.
“Boone seems great,” Maddy observed. “Who would have thought he’d be so personable? I expected much more of a diva personality, or whatever the male equivalent is, but he’s not like that at all. He’s a good man.”
“He is,” Jolene agreed.
“So, Libby told me he was over at your place watching the game last night. How’d that go?”
“It was fun. I never dreamed in a million years I’d be watching a game in my living room with Boone Kendall on the couch beside me.”
“You two seem to get along well.”
“Oh, yeah, I suppose we do. Like you said, he’s a good guy.”
Maddy grinned. “There’s another game tonight. Will he be making a repeat appearance?”
Jolene winced. “I was actually hoping you and Tuck would offer to host him tonight.”
“You’re not going to be around?” Maddy asked, obviously surprised. “But you never miss a Wild game!”
“I’ll be around,” Jolene admitted, knowing that her friend was going to need an explanation.
“So, what’s the deal? You had fun with him, but you don’t want him to come back?”
“Yep. Exactly.”
Maddy reached up to push her helmet further back on her head, giving Jolene a hard glance as she did so. “Keep talking, girlfriend. You know I’m going to need more than that.”
Jolene looked up the road to where the men were riding, her eyes drawn to Boone. He and Tuck were pretty much the same height, and Tuck was strong and athletic as well, it’s just that Boone took it to a whole new level. His shoulders and back were so broad, his torso so lean and ripped, and those legs. The sheer power of them was daunting. He rode the bike like it took no more energy than a leisurely stroll around the block.
She decided to level with Maddy. “I like him a lot. A whole lot more than I should. I kinda wish he had turned out to be a wretched diva. Then he wouldn’t mess with my head so much.”
