by Deanna Chase
Chapter 6
Your client is already waiting for you in the rejuvenation room,” Lena said, handing Faith a chart. The young receptionist was staring anxiously at the wall clock, and Faith winced. She’d forgotten Lena had a date.
“Thanks, Lena. I’m sorry if I’ve made you late. You can take off. I’ve got it from here.”
Relief eased Lena’s shoulders as she let out a breath. “I’m not that late yet, but if I hang around here any longer Rhys is probably going to give up on me.” She pulled her bag out of a drawer and rushed to the front door. “Tomorrow morning at eight, right?”
“Tomorrow at eight,” Faith confirmed as she tried to process the information. Lena had a date with Rhys? The same Rhys who was Clay’s assistant at her father’s brewery? She bit down on her bottom lip, wondering when that had happened. And should she tell Hanna? Her best friend had been harboring a crush on Rhys for as long as Faith could remember. Finding out he was dating Lena would likely crush her… at least temporarily. Faith would tell her, but she’d do it in person with wine and cookies.
After Lena rushed out, Faith walked to the front door and flipped the sign to closed. On her way to the rejuvenation room, she glanced down at the chart, looking to find out who her mystery client might be.
Brian Knox. The man she had a date with on Friday night.
“Isn’t that just perfect,” she muttered. Normally she didn’t make a habit of massaging men she was dating. There were just too many landmines considering the dynamics. But she couldn’t back out. According to his intake form, Brian had made a last-minute appointment, apparently after throwing his back out earlier that day. She couldn’t toss him out when she most likely could do something to ease his pain.
When she got to the door of the rejuvenation room, she knocked softly. “Brian, are you ready?”
“Yeah,” she heard him grunt out.
She tentatively opened the door and found him wrapped in one of the spa’s thick robes, leaning against the massage table.
He glanced at her with a pained expression. “I had trouble getting on the table.”
“Oh dear.” She put the chart on the counter lining the wall and walked over to him. “I hear you’re having some back issues.”
He nodded. “I twisted wrong and am pretty sure I pinched a nerve. Now I can barely move.”
She scanned his body. “It appears you managed to get undressed at least. That’s a start.”
Brian let out a huff of humorless laughter. “My clothes are still in a pile on the floor of the men’s locker room. I have no idea how I’m going to get redressed.”
“Don’t worry.” She gave him a reassuring smile as all of her trepidation about massaging her date flew out the window. He was in a lot of pain, and there was no way he’d booked this appointment with any romantic intension. The knowledge relaxed her, and she went straight into therapist mode. “I’ll fix you up.”
“I don’t know how you’re going to manage that if I can’t even lay down on the table,” he said and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Hard to breathe, too, huh?” she asked gently as she pulled him away from the table and then pressed the button that lowered it slightly.
“Sometimes if I move wrong.” His expression was so pathetic she was torn between feeling sorry for him and laughing.
But as he grimaced, her empathy finally took over and she moved behind him, lightly running her hand over his back. Even through the robe it wasn’t hard for her to find the affected muscles. Intense heat radiated from his lower back as if a beacon was calling to her magic.
“Whoa,” she said quietly. “You really did a number on yourself, didn’t you?”
“I was watching Skye for Jacob and Yvette, and when I reached down to pick her up off the floor where she’d been playing, my back seized. The next thing I knew I was on the ground with her as she laughed at me.”
“You forgot to bend your knees,” she said with a gentle smile.
“I’m getting old is the problem. No one tells you that once you turn thirty things start to fall apart.”
She couldn’t help it. She laughed. “Is that it? Over the hill at the ripe age of thirty? We better get you a walker.”
“I’m thirty-five, and right about now a walker sounds like the perfect solution,” he said with a huff.
“Thirty-five, that is old,” she teased. “But let’s not place the order for the walker just yet, okay? Let me see what I can do first.” She lifted the top sheet off the table. “Go ahead and sit if you can. If not, you can use me for support.”
“I can do that much,” he said and winced as he bent his knees just enough so that he was sitting on the edge of the table.
“Good. Can you scoot back a bit?”
He did as she asked, gritting his teeth with the movement.
“Excellent. Now I’m going to help you lie on your shoulder. From there, we’ll get you on your stomach so I can get to work.”
Faith had done this before. And because Brian was determined to have her work on him, he did as she asked without too much resistance. But it didn’t take a witch to understand that he was in a lot of pain. His face was red with the effort, and every muscle was tensed and overcompensating for his back injury. Still, she managed to get him on his stomach and, with a little bit of care, out of his robe. It was all she could do to keep from staring at his perfect butt.
Geez, she thought as she covered him with a sheet and couldn’t help the glimpse of his perfect backside. Gods, he was beautiful. She just couldn’t understand why she couldn’t be more attracted to him instead of Hunter. Maybe she just needed time. Didn’t people say that friends to lovers made the best kinds of lasting relationships? But she and Hunter would be friends to lovers as well.
“Faith?” he asked.
“Huh?” She glanced down at him lying on her table, the sheet covering his lower half. His head was turned in her direction and he was studying her.
“Where did you go? Seems like you were miles away there for a second.”
She swallowed a nervous laugh. She could hardly tell him she’d been wishing that he turned her on. “I was just working out the best way to ease your pain.”
Total lie. She already knew what to do.
“You think you can do it?” he asked.
“Absolutely.” She grabbed a bottle of the healing lotion her sister Abby had brewed for her and squeezed a dollop into her hand. “I’ve been told my hands are magic.”
“So I’ve heard. When I called the healers here in town, Gerry told me my best bet was to come see you. She said most likely she’d just refer me to you anyway. She said we’d talk about pain management only if you couldn’t help.”
Gerry Whipple and her husband Martin were the town healers. And like most witches, they preferred their clients try holistic remedies before they prescribed any kind of pain medication. “I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the time we’re done here. Now just relax while I get to work. Let me know if you need me to adjust the pressure at any time.”
“Okay. Try not to hurt me.”
Faith chuckled. “I’ll do my best.”
When she’d been younger, Faith had always thought herself a somewhat mediocre witch. Her three sisters had come into their powers fairly easily and wielded their elements with ease. But Faith, the water witch of the family, hadn’t ever been super comfortable wielding water. She could do it, but the element rarely did exactly what she asked it to. She could manipulate water, but getting her spells to last any length of time was futile. It wasn’t until she studied to be a massage therapist that she’d come into her own.
Something had happened the first time she’d laid her hands on one of her school mates. As she was working her muscles, she realized she had a sense of what the body needed to heal. It wasn’t that she could manipulate the body’s fluids, it was just that she could see in her mind what the issues were, and it allowed her to find and work through the problem areas with great effectiveness.
Faith took her time running her hands over Brian’s back, starting with his upper back and moving downward. He’d definitely aggravated a muscle and pinched a nerve, but it wasn’t just his lower back. The guy was tight everywhere, which likely contributed to his injury.
“Brian,” she said softly, “you have a lot of tension. Is this new?”
“No, but it’s worse than usual.” He let out a small grunt as she kneaded the muscles around his shoulder blades.
“Have you changed your routine? Doing something different?” Pressing both hands flat on his back, she used her weight to apply pressure and slid her hands slowly down to his lower back, just trying to help him relax before she really got to work.
“You could say that. I’m building a house not too far from Jacob’s.”
“Oh, wow. That would do it. Okay then, looks like I have some work to do.” She reached over and hit the play button on her music dock. The calming music filled the room as Faith’s magic tingled at her fingertips. Then she got lost in her work as she homed in on the irritated muscle that was the source of Brian’s problem.
An hour later, her arms and fingers fatigued from a job well done, she pulled the sheet over Brian and said, “I left you some water on the counter. Take your time getting up, and when you’re ready, I’ll meet you out front.”
“Gods, Faith, you’re a lifesaver,” Brian said with a contented sigh. “You saved me from a sleepless night of self-medicating. Thank you.”
She smiled down at him. “Any time, Brian. Glad I could help.”
Fifteen minutes later, Brian strolled out of the back room, a look of complete bliss on his face.
“Hello there,” she said. “You look a thousand times better than you did when I found you leaning against the massage table.”
“I am a thousand times better, thanks to you.” He pulled out some bills and pushed them across the front desk. “You’re pure magic, Faith Townsend.”
She eyed the bills without picking them up. “That’s way too much, Brian. It’s double the price of the service.”
“You deserve it,” he said as he shoved his wallet in his back pocket. “You saved my ass, literally.”
She picked up the bills and pushed a few of them back toward him. “It’s what you pay for. Take that and get yourself some dinner or something.”
He eyed the bills, frowning. “Only if you come with me.”
She glanced at the clock. It was already past seven and she needed to be in the office early in the morning. Plus, she’d just spent the last eighty minutes touching his naked body. Going on a sort-of date didn’t seem like the most responsible move. She gave him a half-hearted smile and said, “I can’t tonight. But thanks for the offer. Besides, you should go rest your back and rehydrate. You don’t want to reinjure yourself.”
“We both have to eat,” he pressed. “Come on, Faith. I’m going to the Cozy Cave either way.”
Right then her stomach growled, and her cheeks heated with embarrassment.
“Ah, see! You are hungry. Come on, Faith. You need food.”
“Oh, all right. But just dinner, then I have to get home.” She stuffed his bills into the register, grabbed her coat, and met him at the front door.
“Are you implying my intensions are less than honorable?” he asked.
“Brian, you asked if I wanted to share the massage table with you right after I finished your massage. You’re not an innocent.” She held the door open for him and then followed him out into the street.
“Hey, it was comfortable,” he said with mock chasteness.
“I bet.” She snorted and pulled her keys out of her jacket pocket.
As she was locking the door, Brian bent down and picked something up. “Hey, Faith, you dropped this.”
She turned and spotted the letter she’d shoved in her pocket the night before. The one that didn’t have a return address. “Thanks. I forgot all about that.” She took it and tore it open, thinking it was probably an advertisement or a charity asking for a donation. But when she pulled it out, she scanned the handwritten letter and then let out a gasp when she saw the signature.
“What is it?” Brian asked. “Bad news?”
She glanced up at him, pure shock rooting her in place. “No. It’s from my mother.”
Chapter 7
“Uncle Hunter, Uncle Hunter,” Zoey called as she ran through the house. “Mommy made us breakfast.”
Hunter sat at his desk that he’d relocated to the living room when he’d moved Vivian and Zoey in. He’d gotten up early and had started working on designs for Faith’s outdoor sanctuary. He sat back as the little girl came running around the corner, her dark hair flying behind her. Joy swelled his heart as she jumped into his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck.
“She made waffles,” Zoey said, beaming up at him. Her dark eyes sparkled with happiness, something he hadn’t seen much of since Craig had passed.
“It looks like you’re excited about that,” he said, wrapping her in his arms as he stood and carried her into the kitchen.
Vivian, who was dressed up in a fashionable tailored suit, was wearing an apron and standing at the table, filling two coffee cups. The table was set, and each plate had a waffle already placed in the middle. She’d also made bacon, scrambled eggs, and toast.
Hunter placed Zoey in a chair and stared at Vivian in surprise. “You cooked up a storm.”
“Of course I did. Zoey needs fuel before school, so I made enough for everyone.” She smiled serenely and sat next to her daughter.
Hunter glanced around at the elaborate spread, wondering if she’d cooked like this before Craig’s accident. He’d stayed with them for five months in Las Vegas and hadn’t seen her do more than make grilled cheese. Hunter had been the one who’d cooked for them. It had been the least he could do while she dealt with the loss of her husband.
“Thanks.” He sat and tucked in, eating a double helping of everything. Construction burned a lot of calories, and he had room to spare. After he decimated everything on his plate, he leaned back in his chair and sipped at his coffee. “This was great. Thanks, Viv.”
“You’re very welcome.” She leaned over to Zoey and said, “Go get your backpack, sweetie. It’s almost time to leave for school.”
Zoey slid out of her chair and ran into the bedroom she shared with her mother.
Vivian smoothed her dark hair back and sent Hunter a contented smile. “It feels good to be cooking for my family again. I haven’t felt this normal in months.”
“That’s… good.” He hadn’t missed her words, my family. She was including him in that tidy little picture, not just Zoey, and he wasn’t sure what to do with that. He was well aware that she’d like to start a relationship with him and have him step right into Craig’s shoes, but while Hunter was more than willing to do whatever it took to care for them, he was never going to hook up with Vivian again. A romantic relationship was the last thing he wanted with her. There was a reason they’d broken up all those years ago. He chose to ignore her insinuation and said, “You look nice. Are you job hunting today?”
She set her cup on the table and nodded. “I feel overdressed, but it’s either this or a skirt, and there’s snow in the forecast. I don’t want to get caught walking around town with bare legs.”
“Snow?” he asked, already turning to glance out the window. The day was drizzly and gray with just a peek of the sun spilling over his immaculate lawn.
“Just a dusting, but still. I didn’t want to risk it.” She stood up and started to clear the table.
He reached over and lightly grabbed her hand, stopping her. “Relax. I’ve got cleanup. It’s the least I can do.”
Her expression mellowed, and he was reminded of why he’d been attracted to her all those years ago. There was a softness she kept hidden underneath her tough shell that only a select few ever got to see. When she revealed it, she had the ability to make a man feel like he was her world. Only he also remembered that she’d
used that ability to manipulate him into doing things he didn’t want to do. She’d wanted him to go to work for a corporation and invest in her father’s business. She’d had no respect for his desire to be a self-employed general contractor. In fact, he’d always gotten the impression she thought his job was beneath her.
Craig Chambers had been the perfect husband for her. He’d gone to work in her father’s software company as an account manager in sales. By all accounts, he’d been good at it, but then her father’s company ran into trouble, and he’d had to sell. Craig was laid off in the process, and ten months later he was gone due to the accident.
It had been a rough time for their family, and between living off their savings and the hospital bills after Craig died, Vivian had been left with nothing but the equity in their house. It wasn’t a lot, but it was enough to start over. He just hoped she’d be ready to move on sooner rather than later.
Because whatever she thought she wanted with him, what she had to offer wasn’t the kind of relationship he wanted. He wanted a partner who accepted him as he was and supported his dreams without judgement. Vivian wasn’t that woman. She’d always long for more, even if she convinced herself she was happy with a simple life. He just hoped when she moved on that she’d stay close by so he could be in Zoey’s life.
“Thank you,” she said softly. “See, we make a good team.”
He let go of her hand and without saying a word and went to work on the dishes.
“Uncle Hunter,” Zoey said, tugging on his hand. “You have to come in and see my new class. It’s amazing!”
Hunter chuckled and let the little girl drag him into the school. It was Zoey’s second day, and she loved it. It was different than her Las Vegas school, since the one in Keating Hollow also had a curriculum for learning how to control one’s magic. That wasn’t the case in most places, but since Keating Hollow was a town that was settled by witches over a hundred years ago, it was a tradition that hadn’t been phased out by budget cuts or politics.