CHAPTER SIX - TARA

Yet another headache hit me on Tuesday morning. I woke up and immediately rushed to the bathroom, in so much pain that I heaved into the toilet before I even had a chance to eat breakfast. My day wasn’t going to be fun, so I called work, asking Joan to cover my sessions and look in on my patients. She agreed with an eagerness I knew had everything to do with Caleb. It annoyed me, but the pain in my head left me unable to focus on anything.

I spent the day in bed, not eating and leaving the blinds closed. When I wasn’t asleep, I was holding my temples and trying to breathe through the pain. These headaches were only getting worse, and there wasn’t anything I could do to ease them. I needed to make an appointment, but between work and the sudden arrival of Caleb back in my life, I hadn’t been able to find the time.

The next day, I felt better. My headache was gone, leaving me exhausted but ready for the day. I showered slowly, taking my time getting dressed and eating a light breakfast. The last thing I needed was to make myself sick again. I hadn’t yet figured out what was causing my headaches, so I didn’t know how to prevent them. I simply tried to move gingerly and protect myself from yet another debilitating attack.

“Good morning!” Joan chimed when I walked through the door. I sat behind my desk and tried to smile at her. “You feeling better?”

“Yeah.” I nodded. “Just a little weak.”

“Food poisoning?” Joan asked.

I shook my head. “Anything happen yesterday?”

“No.” Joan shrugged. “Typical day. Nothing exciting.”

“Did you check in on Caleb Lewis?”

Immediately, Joan’s face lit up. I tried to bite back my annoyance, but I knew I couldn’t keep it down for long.

“Oh, I checked on him,” Joan said. “A few times.”

“Joan,” I said, a warning in my voice.

“Relax,” Joan said. “I treated him like every other patient.”

“I’m sure.” I sighed.

“I’m happy to handle his sessions,” Joan said quickly. “I know how busy you are.”

“I can do it,” I snapped.

Joan nodded and went back to work. I calmed myself as I realized Joan’s offer might not have been such a bad idea. After Caleb’s comment on Monday, putting some distance between us might have been smart. Still, the idea of Joan hitting on Caleb while stretching out his leg was enough to make me nauseous again.

After my morning sessions were complete, I grabbed my clipboard and went into the main hospital to make my rounds, reassessing the patients who needed it and discharging the ones who were done with me. Though I mostly saw the patients when they had been released from the hospital, I took a handful of inpatient cases as well to keep all my clinical skills up. I hit every single one of my other patients before I ventured toward Caleb’s room. I wasn’t ready to see him again, not after the things he said to me on Monday.

Just thinking about our last conversation filled me with a renewed sense of rage. Who the hell did he think he was? Hitting on me after all these years? I was merely doing my fucking job when he insinuated I wanted to screw him. It was repulsive and not at all true, right?

I had to shake myself as I remembered my dream. I’d been fantasizing about Caleb on and off since I was a teenager, but that dream felt more real than anything else ever had. I could practically feel him inside me. When I woke up, I was so shaken that it stayed with me for hours afterward. Then, when Caleb looked at me that way on Monday, I felt my panties flood with a desire I’d been trying to repress.

I didn’t want to feel this way. I hated my body for betraying me. I couldn’t be around Caleb without wanting to strip down and ride him until we were both exhausted and covered in sweat. It was primal, instinctual, animalistic. But it could never happen.

My heart still ached when I thought about what he did to me. He abandoned me when I thought he was the only man I would ever love. Our connection was instant, and it hadn’t yet faded. Just seeing his face was enough to remind me of the way we once felt. Still, I knew I had to fight it. The best way to do that was to push through and do my job. So, with determination in my gut and a professional smile on my face, I pushed Caleb’s door open and stepped inside.

He was sitting up in his bed and looked even better than yesterday. His complexion was returning to normal, and his stubble was even darker today. I swallowed hard and pushed forward.

“Tara,” he said, sounding surprised to see me.

“How are you feeling today?” I asked.

“Fine,” he said with a nod. “Pain is better.”

“That’s great.” I nodded and pulled up a chair. “It looks like you’ll be discharged soon, which means you can start physical therapy.”

Caleb nodded. “What do you have in store for me?”

“Well,” I began, glancing down at my chart. “As I said before, we’ll start you on some mild stretches a few times a week. Nothing too strenuous because we don’t want to risk re-injuring that leg. The scar tissue can be substantial and extremely problematic. If we don’t do things the right way, you may never get your full range of motion back.”

“I’ll do whatever you say,” Caleb said, his voice serious. “I want to get back on the job as soon as possible.”

The determination in his voice softened my resolve to remain professional. Caleb’s strength had always been his most attractive quality. It drew me to him and turned me on. Our eyes met, and I felt like that same young girl who was laying eyes on this boy for the first time.

“Will you still be the one taking care of my therapy?” Caleb asked.

I blinked. Joan’s offer echoed in my mind, and I paused. It wasn’t such a bad idea to think about someone else handling his treatment. If I couldn’t even sit beside him without feeling a flush of desire grace my cheeks, how the hell was I supposed to deal with weeks of touching him?

“I’ll probably hand your case off to a colleague,” I said, keeping the emotion out of my voice.

“Tara,” Caleb said. “I’m sorry about the other day, okay? What I said. I was an ass.”

“Yeah, you were,” I said bluntly.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t work together,” Caleb said quickly. “You’re great at your job.”

“How would you know?” I scoffed. “You didn’t even know I was a physical therapist until a few days ago.”

“My mom keeps me pretty well informed,” Caleb said.

“You seemed surprised to see me,” I said, confused. “If you knew, why were you so shocked?”

“Are you kidding?” Caleb laughed. “We hadn’t seen each other in ten years, Tara. Of course I was fucking surprised. I thought you hated my guts.”

I chose to ignore that. “Well, I don’t know,” I said. “Joan is a really great therapist.”

“Joan?” Caleb asked. “That flighty little brunette who was in here yesterday? Dear God, don’t leave me with her. She’s an idiot.”

“She’s actually brilliant,” I said.

“Then she should act like it instead of throwing her tits in her patient’s face,” Caleb said.

Anger welled inside my chest, but I fought it back. My eyes found Caleb’s again, and I sighed. He was right. There was no way I could leave all his sessions to Joan, but I also couldn’t take them on entirely by myself.

“I guess I can make room in my schedule,” I said. “You’re so kind,” Caleb said sarcastically.

I glared at him, and he laughed. I smiled weakly, unable to resist. He reached his hand toward me, but I moved away. I wasn’t ready to touch him.

“I’ve missed you,” he said.

His words hit my ears and made me forget how to breathe. I didn’t know how to respond, but thankfully, I didn’t have to. Cathy and my dad walked in the room and saved me from myself. I saw my dad shoot me a dirty look out of the corner of my eye while Cathy moved toward her son.

I filled them in on Caleb’s case and then made my exit, hurrying into the hallway with my father at my heels.

“This isn’t a good idea,” he said, his voice low and stern.

“What are you talking about?”

“You and Caleb,” he snapped. “This little flirtation you two have going on, it’s inappropriate, and there’s no place for it here.”

“I’m an adult, Dad,” I said. “There isn’t much you can say about the way I live my life anymore. And in case you’ve forgotten, I’m a physical therapist. This is my job. Caleb is my patient.”

“He doesn’t have to be,” Dad said. “Hand him off to someone else.”

“He doesn’t want that,” I said. “He asked for me.”

“Of course he did,” Dad said. “This isn’t right, Tara. You’re jeopardizing your career for Caleb.”

“He’s family, isn’t he?” I asked, eyebrows raised. “Aren’t we supposed to take care of family?”

“It’s not appropriate,” Dad hissed again. “And not just because of your job.”

He stared into my eyes, anger boiling beneath the surface. I couldn’t stand his judgment for another second. Without a word, I spun on my heel and marched down the hall.