The McCallans

by Hadley Quinn

  The clever little shit left before Sarah could even object. Clever, sexy, voice-she-could-listen-to-all-day-with-panty-melting-eyes, little shit.

  “Oh my gosh,” Sarah quietly groaned to herself.

  This was such a torturous hassle that she really didn’t need in her life right now. She just needed to find her doctor she would someday marry and stay away from these actors and musicians.

  Tyse was going to test every bit of her resolve, she was so sure of it.

  “Okay, let’s go.”

  His voice shot straight to her heart. She knew about this type of thing—where just the thought of someone, or the way they looked at you, or even just the sound of their voice—could do strange, unexplainable things to you.

  She also knew she needed to put a stop to it.

  “So my brother is going to propose to his girlfriend,” Tyse began as he held the door for Sarah to exit the building. “You know…Melanie,” he pointed through the windows as they passed by. “My brother’s girlfriend.”

  Just the smirk on his face was both sexy and infuriating at the same time, but Sarah chose not to respond.

  “So I was thinking it’d be fun to throw them a little engagement party,” he continued. “Nothing fancy, just simple, but flowers might be nice. For her, at least. Melanie loves flowers.”

  “He hasn’t even asked her yet and you’re ready to plan the party? What if she says no?”

  Tyse looked at her for several seconds as they walked, and then burst out laughing. “What if she says no? Oh, no way is she saying no.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Sarah eyed him peripherally. “Have they pretty much already decided on the whole marriage thing and it’s not even a surprise?”

  “Yeah, pretty much. I mean she’ll be surprised by how he proposes, but not really because it’s Jay we’re talking about here. If that makes sense.”

  Did it make sense? Sarah wasn’t sure.

  “Anyway,” Tyse continued. “What do you think? Some simple arrangements to make it a pretty party?”

  “A pretty party?” Sarah lightly laughed. “Um, sure. When are you thinking?”

  “I’ll let you know after I pin down a date with my brother. I just wanted to make sure you’d do the flowers, because if you wouldn’t, I wasn’t going to throw them a party. That would really suck for them and it’d be all your fault.”

  She looked at him as they stopped in front of her shop. “Oh, you were going to blame it on me?”

  “Uh huh,” he smiled.

  “Ha, that’s really funny,” she said as she entered the shop. “And here I was, thinking you weren’t trying to set me up to ruin lives.”

  “Nope, didn’t even cross my mind because I knew you’d say yes.”

  “Hm, well maybe so, but Rayne will be doing the delivery.”

  “Perfect. Then you can be my date.”

  Sarah faced him directly to make sure he was serious. He was grinning like a five-year-old boy that just got a puppy for Christmas.

  “Are you joking?” she chuckled as she turned for the counter.

  Jenny was smiling as usual, seeming enthralled with their conversation. She was particularly staring at Tyse. But Sarah wasn’t quite sure how much of this conversation she should be hearing.

  “I never joke about a date,” Tyse informed her. “Hello,” he said, smiling at Jenny from across the shop.

  “Hi!” she greeted enthusiastically with a wave. “How are you today?” she asked politely, still with a huge smile on her face.

  “I’m doing excellent,” he answered. “How are you?”

  “Great!” she replied.

  “That’s good to hear,” he nodded.

  Before Tyse left, he smiled at Sarah and said, “Bye, Sarah. Like always, thank you for the beautiful flowers.”

  She watched him walk down the sidewalk until she couldn’t see him anymore. Because of her heart pounding in her ears, she barely heard Jenny’s question about an order that had been called in…

  Chapter Seven

  “You’re trying too hard,” Jay stated matter-of-factly.

  He slid a stool over to the current project in his car shop at home. It was a Harley that Tyse had picked up and they’d been working on it a few hours a week—usually after a dinner that Melanie had invited him to.

  “Trying too hard?” Tyse scoffed. “I’ve barely spent ten minutes with her.”

  “Yeah, and she obviously has a big stick up her ass and wants nothing to do with you. You can’t dwell on that. People will either love you or hate you for your last name. Be wary of both. I’ve told you this.”

  “And I understand. But she didn’t know who I was at first and—”

  “And then she found out and went all bitch-mode on you,” Jay interrupted, turning to face him. “Either she’s dated a McCallan and it went to hell, a McCallan screwed her over business-wise, or she’s just the ‘you people think you’re so much better than us’ kind of girl. And God help you if it’s all three. Then you’re totally fucked.”

  “Knowing my luck, it would be,” Tyse replied with a groan. He moved a second stool to the other side of the bike and could see Jay over the seat. “But I guess you’re right. I mean I tried to get to know her—she knows I’m interested in her. I’m not really the pursuant type when it comes to women, either.”

  A smug smile spread over Jay’s face. “See, we’re more alike than we thought.”

  “Hey, it’s not because of my ego,” Tyse corrected him. “I just can’t waste my time on someone that isn’t willing to give me the time of day.”

  “It isn’t ego, bro. It’s called self-respect.”

  “So…how would you compare it to the time Melanie spent on you and you told her to take a hike?”

  Jay gave him a level gaze over the bike. “That was different. And yes I did reciprocate her interest and she knew it. When I pushed her away, it was because I felt it was better for her. I couldn’t deal with what happened to Beck and didn’t want her to...see me like that, I guess. But back to the real topic, which is you and this flower girl. You just met her, so there’s nothing to lose. Save your dignity and move on.”

  Tyse didn’t respond to that, or couldn’t, and the two moved into a natural flow as they worked on the bike for a couple hours that night. He thought about Sarah a lot, and even though he agreed with Jay about maintaining his self-respect, he still wasn’t sure if he’d given his last shot. He could tell that she liked him just by the way she looked at him.

  Her physical appearance was what first hooked him—he wasn’t going to deny that—but it was her smile that did him in. Her smile somehow connected to her beautiful blue eyes, like a beacon that reached his soul. It was like the only light in the world at the moment, and it was impossible to look away because there was nothing else he could see. He wasn’t able to disregard that kind of connection. He’d been zapped with something, and he knew that she had felt it too.

  Well, it was too early to tell one way or another. He’d give Sarah her space, remain the friendly business neighbor he initially intended to be, and go on with his own life. There was too much going on as it was with having two jobs—one being more difficult because he was starting it from the ground up—and family he was trying to develop relationships with first. So far each compartment of his life was fairly organized and running smoothly.

  There was no need to create chaos.

  But then again, if Sarah changed her mind…

  ***

  “I have a special client for you, Tyse, starting today,” Dr. Michaels informed him Wednesday afternoon as he arrived.

  The sports rehab facility Tyse spent forty hours a week in was located only ten minutes from the music studio, so whether he was coming or going from one business to the other, it was generally a quick commute.

  “You mean ‘special’ as in a handful-pain-in-the-ass?”

  Zane Michaels chuckled and shook his head. He was a bigger guy with a little too much chub around the midsectio
n, early fifties, had a good sense of humor, and was probably the smartest guy Tyse had ever met. But most importantly, he was a good boss and Tyse enjoyed working for him. It was why he couldn’t just give up doing physical therapy so easily to run a music studio full time. He had a great thing going in this place.

  “No. At least…not for you,” Dr. Michaels smiled at him. “Follow me into my office,” he motioned.

  Tyse did as he was instructed, and as soon as he passed by the window of the office, he could already see the blonde sitting in a chair facing the desk. With her was a stuffy, rigid-looking older man and it looked like they were whisper-arguing with one another. As Tyse entered the office behind Zane, he could tell they had the same large brown eyes and dimpled chins.

  Her father.

  “Mr. Evans, Ms. Evans,” Dr. Michaels spoke with a pleasant smile. But neither one of them was looking his direction; they were both staring at Tyse. “I’d like you to meet Tyse. He’ll be overseeing Ms. Evans’ sessions from now on.”

  “Please call me Anna,” the blonde stated bluntly, now smiling just a little bit.

  But Tyse couldn’t tell if it was a defiant smirk or a pleased smile. She seemed young, which was maybe why her father was with her, but Tyse couldn’t tell. She was about five-six, slim, but her tanned legs spanned from a pair of shorts and they looked fit. He noticed the telltale sign of ACL surgery on her left knee.

  Mr. Evans stood and said, “Dr. Michaels, I need to be going, so if there’s anything further…?”

  The two men spoke their goodbyes after Dr. Michaels informed him there was nothing else. The guy seemed kind of pissed but was trying to be courteous, which made him appear awkward and uptight. He gave Tyse a nod on his way out, to which Tyse could swear he heard “good luck” muttered along with it.

  Amused, Tyse turned his attention back to Anna, apparently his newest patient. Dr. Michaels was already instructing her to warm up on the recumbent bike next door in the private gym. She stood and passed Tyse at the doorway, giving him a pretty smile on her way by.

  The second she was out of ear shot Tyse complained, “This is not cool at all.”

  “It’s not what you think,” Dr. Michaels replied, motioning for him to have a seat. He sat behind his desk at the same time and added, “I wanted to talk to you before they got here but they arrived a few minutes early. That is Anna Evans. Heard of her?”

  Tyse took a moment to think. The name might have sounded familiar, but he wasn’t sure. “Maybe, maybe not.”

  “She’s last year’s ASP World Champion. The Anna Evans.”

  Tyse cocked an eyebrow. “Surfing? Okay, so she’s a major athlete that would normally work with you directly. Why am I being put in charge of her rehab?”

  Dr. Michaels leaned forward and smiled kindly, but what he said was, “Because she’s the biggest pain in the ass I’ve ever worked with in my entire life. And we’ve only had two sessions together.”

  Tyse just stared at him until a thought could completely develop. “So now I get to experience that as well?”

  “You get to kick her ass and knock that chip off her shoulder. I’ve worked with a lot of people, Tyse, and not only do I have a doctorate in this field, but I think I’ve earned my psych degree along with it. I believe you can make a difference more than I can, and her father is about to shit bricks any time she ever opens her mouth in front of him. Let’s just say she thinks she can recoup just fine on her own; he disagrees. They are a fun pair to listen to, I tell ya,” he finished sarcastically.

  “Why do I feel like I fail either way,” Tyse said, but he basically laughed at himself. He’d had difficult patients before, but this one seemed like its own game. The combination of arrogant teenaged girl, professional athlete, and stubborn rehab patient was going to be a lethal mix.

  “Here’s her file.” Dr. Michaels slid it across the desk.

  “If she’s so top-notch, why doesn’t her father hook her up with the people in her own industry?”

  Leaning back against the chair, the doctor sighed. “She’s set to compete in the next world tour. As far as the surfing world goes, she’s fine and dandy and just recovering from a minor injury.”

  Tyse tipped his head with understanding. “They don’t know she completely blew her ACL?”

  Dr. Michaels shook his head. “Nope. Of course we’re entirely confidential here, but it’s none of my business what all the gossip is or isn’t. Because of your family, you know how that works by now, right? People have the right to privacy, and in this situation, if the Evans family feels they can overcome an obstacle and Anna will still maintain her sponsorships… Then I have nothing to say about it. I’ll just try to help an athlete recover.”

  “And if she’s stubborn as hell and refuses to do what will help her?”

  Dr. Michaels shrugged. “Then they might go somewhere else, I’m not sure. I’ve known a few members of the Evans’ family most of my life. It’s why they sent her to me. But…I see the factors we’re dealing with here and just feel you may be a better match for her than I could be.”

  Tyse let out a heavy sigh and stood as he picked up the file from the desk. He really didn’t know what all the ‘factors’ were or why he was a good match for the patient, but he was kind of afraid to ask. “I’ll do what I can,” he said as he headed for the door.

  “I never told them your last name,” Dr. Michaels said from behind him.

  Tyse slowed as he considered that, an answer to his silent inquiry, but continued to the hall. That was at least one thing he was pleased about.

  When he entered the private gym, Anna was sitting on the recumbent bike, but her legs weren’t moving. Her thumbs were, though, as she furiously texted on her smart phone.

  “You’re gonna put yourself behind on time,” Tyse stated.

  “I already did it,” she claimed as he approached. She slid her phone into the strap of her sports bra and smiled at him.

  “Hmm, the most you could have done was three minutes without me.” He punched in a couple of buttons on the electronic pad to pull up the previous workouts’ numbers. 15:22—definitely someone else’s progress. He pressed ‘reset’ and put five minutes on the clock. “You’re already a couple minutes behind. Do five minutes. Go.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I have to leave right at ten so—”

  “You’ve already put yourself behind pace, so I suggest you just get started, okay?”

  He sat down on a yoga ball ten feet away from her and opened her file. All he knew was if she didn’t start pedaling that damn bike—

  Finally her legs started to move. Slowly, probably as slow as the pedals could pedal and still be moving, but she was at least warming up her legs. And he could also feel her death glare bearing down on him.

  “So what exactly am I supposed to be learning from all of this?” she finally asked.

  Tyse looked up at her and paused. “What do you mean? You’re supposed to be getting that ACL back to shape so it’s better than new. That’s what you’re here for. What do you think you’re here for?”

  He waited for her reply, but all she did was stare at him for a few seconds. Then she looked away, but he could tell her pedaling had almost doubled in speed.

  He continued to read over her file the entire time she was on the bike. She’d apparently torn her ACL in a surfing competition. Thinking it was only a minor strain, she continued on like normal until she blew it out completely during a training session. Only a few people were there that day—her parents and a coach—so it was probably easy for her family to keep it quiet. She had surgery less than a month ago and it seems she’d been fighting the therapy exercises ever since.

  Ha, and she was twenty-one years old. He would have never guessed that.

  When Anna was done on the bike, Tyse moved her to one of the padded tables. He instructed her to sit with her legs out and just take turns lifting them one at a time, only a few inches off the table. Her right leg did it just fine; the left one couldn�
�t do it at all. People that had this particular type of surgery were always amazed that they couldn’t do this simple exercise.

  “See where this leg is?” he asked as he held her right leg five inches off the table. “We need to get the other leg to this point, okay?” He set her leg down and picked up the one that had been repaired. “I’m going to hold it here for a few seconds and gradually let go. Do what you can to keep it from touching the table, okay?”

  She only nodded, staring straight down at her legs. He couldn’t read her mind, but she wasn’t resisting. That was a good sign.

  “Okay,” Tyse said, lifting the left leg up under her calf. He raised it five inches from the table and said, “Try holding it there.”

  She tried. He could tell. He slowly lowered her leg while she tried to keep it up, but she just couldn’t do it. When her leg was on the table again, she took in a deep breath of air and blew it out. Tyse could recognize the frustration instantly.

  “It’s not supposed to happen the first time,” he told her. “Or the second or third time. Or many times after that.”

  “Thanks for making me feel like a failure.”

  “It’s to show you your progress for when you’re fully back to shape,” he smiled. “It’ll take a few weeks, but you need to trust me. Over to the yoga balls,” he instructed her, and he headed that direction before she could argue. He was thinking that was the best method for her; move along without a choice.

  They each sat on a ball and Tyse faced her. “Sit straight, feet on the floor in front about a foot apart.”

  She mirrored his position.

  “Okay, your butt isn’t going to leave the ball,” he continued. “But I just want you to pretend like you’re going to stand.”

  He showed her what he meant and she copied, only he could tell how painful it was.

  “That’s good,” he nodded. “Just put some pressure and…barely lift up a little. Try to do eight more.”