Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

“You’ve got this, Anna,” Lucy encouraged. “Ready? And go!”

The obstacle course was set up in the back of the clinic and included places to jump from pillow to pillow, a tunnel to crawl through, and piles of folded mats to climb over. It was all very low-tech, but a lot of her patients benefited from the challenge. Standing back, she watched as five-year-old Anna slowly made her way through the course. Some kids would have raced through the obstacles, but for Anna—who had mild cerebral palsy—it took more time. It didn’t matter to Lucy how long it took, as long as Anna made it to the end.

Which she was just about to.

“You did it!” Lucy said excitedly, walking over and high-fiving the little girl. “I am so proud of you!” Anna had delayed speech, but she smiled a lot. “How about we go pick a prize from the treasure chest and then get some ice on your legs? Would you like that?”

Nodding, Anna slowly made her way to the treasure chest and Lucy stood by and watched her before leading her back over to their table and helping her up. One of her assistants was already waiting with an ice pack and stayed with her while Lucy made notes in the child’s file on her tablet. It was another twenty minutes before she was done and took a few minutes to herself in the break room.

Taking her phone out, she was planning on just scrolling through social media when she noticed an unread text from Gemma.

Gemma: Hey! Are you free tonight?

Sadly, she was.

It had been two weeks since her trip to Wichita and it didn’t matter how many pep talks she’d given herself, she couldn’t stop thinking about her time with Jax.

All her time with Jax.

Most of her inner dialogues started with, “What the hell was I thinking?” but she knew the answer.

She was thinking that Jax Wylder was freaking sexy as hell, and she needed a little reassurance that she was still capable of attracting a man.

Okay, that was only partly true because once she admitted that, she had to force herself to admit that she’d had a crush on him back when she was a kid. He was always good-looking and friendly, and basically a nice guy. All her friends used to love to come over to her house because she had older brothers and those brothers had friends. It was teenage crush heaven at the Dawson house, but out of all her brothers’ friends, Lucy always thought Jax was the cutest.

Then the accident had happened, shattering all her girlish fantasies because she saw him as the cause of her brother nearly dying. It felt like a personal betrayal.

Apparently, all it took was clearing that bit of misconception up and she was back to crushing on him. It still boggled her mind that the feeling was mutual and that she ended up in his bed.

Twice.

But…that was over. That was her brief break from reality, and now she was back living in the real world.

“The real boring world,” she mumbled, looking at Gemma’s message again.

Lucy: Hey! Yeah, I’m free. What’s up?

Gemma: How would you feel about a blind date?

The groan was out before she could stop it. Blind dates weren’t her thing and even though she knew her bestie was just looking out for her, she was still going to say no.

Lucy: Not a fan, but thank you.

Gemma: Oh, come on! It’s one date! And Mike and I will be with you!

Double dates were even worse than blind dates, in her opinion.

Lucy: Nope. Sorry. I’m just not feeling up to dating yet.

Liar.

If it were someone she saw and knew she was attracted to—or Jax—maybe she’d feel differently, but this little set up definitely wasn’t going to happen. No matter how much her friend begged.

Gemma: Luce, it’s been long enough. You need to get back out there!

Gemma: And Brian is a really nice guy! He and Mike work together!

Gemma: Please! Please say yes! We’re going out for Italian!

That made her think about the night Jax had taken them out for Italian and she’d tried the Osso Buco and spaghetti carbonara. He’d fed her a forkful of each and it hadn’t felt weird at all. Even her brother didn’t seem to mind that he did that. But Lucy remembered looking at Jax and pretending it was an actual date they were on.

“Ugh…I’m doing it again,” she mumbled.

Gemma: I’m not above begging.

Lucy: I’m sorry. Really. But I’m just not ready.

Gemma: Well, damn. I want to push you, but I won’t.

Gemma: Just know when you’re ready, I’ve got a nice guy to set you up with.

Lucy: Thank you.

Putting her phone down, she thought about what she was going to do tonight. If Gemma hadn’t texted about the double date, she probably would have called her to see about getting some takeout and watching The Bachelor or something together.

Maybe…

Picking the phone back up, she quickly sent off another text.

Lucy: Any chance you’re up for Chinese food and The Bachelor? Or the housewives?

Gemma: Let me text Mike. We were really set on going for Italian tonight.

Now she felt bad.

Lucy: Don’t cancel with him. I’ll see if maybe Wyatt or Tyler wants to hang out. No worries!

Gemma: Are you sure?

Lucy: I am. Talk to you tomorrow?

Gemma: How about lunch at the pub?

Lucy: You’re on! See you at noon!

Now the question was, did she actually call her brothers and see if they were busy, or did she just pick up her own takeout on the way home—and maybe some ice cream—and enjoy a quiet night by herself?

“Who am I kidding? Every night is a night by myself.” With another groan, she lowered her head to the table and sighed.

Only allowing herself a minute of self-pity, Lucy pulled herself together and decided to check her email. There was one from her boss that she figured she should read first.

“Hey, Lucy! Thanks for sending those reports yesterday. I appreciate you taking the time to help Trish out. I know you’re busy, but it means a lot that you’re always willing to lend a hand.”

“Aww…thanks,” she murmured.

“Would you happen to have some time to hop on the phone one night this week? I’m thinking about some expansion projects and I think our pediatric audience requires some serious growth and attention. Would love to get your thoughts on this and maybe brainstorm a bit. Let me know if there’s a night that works best for you! Thanks!”

Lucy didn’t even need to look at her calendar to know that any night would work. It wasn’t like she had an exciting social life. As for brainstorming, that really piqued her attention. The clinic needed some serious upgrades and as much as she usually kept her opinions to herself, maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing to share with Maddie exactly what she felt was important.

“Okay. I’m doing this.” And before she could change her mind, she quickly typed up a response telling her boss she was available every night, even right now.

Less than five minutes later, her phone rang.

“Hey, Maddie,” she said with a smile.

“Hey! Thanks for being willing to chat with me! I know it’s the end of your shift, so I appreciate the time.”

“No worries.” Getting comfortable in her seat in the break room, she wondered if she was supposed to start or…

“I want to expand,” Maddie stated. “The clinic here in Raleigh is huge and it’s thriving. My team is truly amazing and I believe we’ve got a great system in place that doesn’t need any help.”

“Well that’s good.”

“We’ve got your clinic in South Creek, one in Burlington, one in Winston-Salem, and one in Wilmington. I like all the locations and they’re all very successful—which tells me our strategy was correct—but…” She sighed. “It still feels like we’re missing something.”

“O-kay…do you mean that we need to upgrade our equipment or services?”

“Those are always options, but…” Another sigh. “I can’t really put my finger on it, Lucy. In my heart, I just feel like there’s something more we can be involved in, but I don’t know what it is! Obviously I’ve networked with the orthopedic doctors and hospitals, we’ve reached out to the local schools and their athletic departments, but…I see what you’re doing with the clinic for the kids, and I want to grow that.”

“You could open more clinics like this or expand on your existing ones so they have a dedicated pediatric department.”

“Hmm…maybe.”

“Or…” Okay, this is my chance! “Or, you can invest in a larger space and offer more to our clients—like aqua therapy. You know it’s one of the most beneficial forms of therapy and most physical therapy practices don’t offer it. We all tell our patients the benefits of the pool, but then we leave them to navigate it on their own. If we had a pool on site…”

“I get what you’re saying,” Maddie gently interrupted. “But that brings us into an entirely different…well…everything. I imagine it would require different permits and insurance and…I don’t know if I’m willing to take that risk and have it not pay off. Unfortunately, it’s not like we can find an existing building with a pool already there that we can lease.”

“And renting pool space at the YMCA, or maybe a wellness center, would mean obtaining all kinds of liability forms and asking our patients to go to two different locations based on whatever therapy we were going to do during that visit.”

“Exactly. It wouldn’t be practical. One of my husband’s friends is in real estate. I might have to ask him if he can find something—you know, just in the off-chance that there is a building out there that miraculously meets our needs.”

“My brother works in real estate a bit too. I’ll ask him to…” She gasped because she already knew Tyler had the perfect solution for her.

“Lucy? Are you okay?”

For a moment, she was almost too excited to reply. So many thoughts raced through her head that she wasn’t even sure where to begin. It wasn’t her place to tell anyone about Jax’s camp, so she couldn’t share any details with Maddie.

Yet.

“I remember my brother telling me about a project he was working on that might meet our criteria. I can’t really talk about it, but…give me a week to work out some logistics and then I promise to get back to you. Will that work?”

Laughing, Maddie asked, “Are you kidding me? If you have a potential solution or an idea to launch us in a new direction, I’m all for it! Talk to your brother or whoever you need to talk to and let me know what happens.”

“I will, Maddie! And thank you for including me in this. I kind of love brainstorming about this sort of thing. Even if this doesn’t work out—the project with my brother—I know we’ll figure something out.”

“That’s why you’re the best, Lucy. Thank you! We’ll talk soon! Bye!”

“Bye!”

As soon as she hung up, she reached out to Tyler, but he was busy. They made plans to hang out over the weekend, but she quickly told him what she was thinking and he promised to give it some thought. It was all she could ask for, but secretly she wanted to start making plans now.

“Who says I can’t?” she mumbled as she got her purse and keys and headed toward the front desk and wished Trish a good night.

On the way home, she stopped and picked up some Chinese food and by the time she got home, she already had a proposal ready in her mind. Once she was in the door and had her dinner set up, she grabbed her laptop and began typing. If they could incorporate a state-of-the-art clinic somewhere in Jax’s camp—something that would be open year-round, not only during camp season—Maddie’s company could lease the space and run it. Naturally, Lucy would manage it and be the head therapist, so it was pretty much a win-win situation.

She just hoped Jax would agree to it.

That entire weekend she was in Wichita, they didn’t really finalize anything. He said he hoped she’d consider working with him and his team and she said she was interested, but nothing was written in stone.

Yet.

First, however, she needed to talk to Ty and get his input. Once he was on board—which she knew he would be—they’d both reach out to Jax via a video call to discuss it. In the meantime, she wanted to have everything laid out and planned out, so everyone knew she was serious. And for the first time in a long time, she was actually excited about life.

Warrior stadium roared with anticipation as the last seconds ticked away on the game clock. The score was tied, and the outcome of the game hinged on this last play. Jax scanned the field, his eyes locking onto Declan as he raced down the sideline. With a determined grip on the football, he took the snap and dropped back, feeling the pressure of Dallas’s defense closing in.

As the teams surged forward, Jax launched a perfect spiral through the air, arcing towards the end zone like a guided missile, even as someone hit him hard from behind, causing him to land heavily on his shoulder. As he fell in what felt like slow motion, he kept watching Declan, covered tightly by Travis, as he adjusted his route, his eyes never leaving the ball. In a heart-stopping moment, Declan leaped into the air, his arms stretching upward to catch the ball. The crowd seemed to hold its breath as the ball appeared to hang in midair. And then, with a triumphant roar, Declan’s hands closed around it, securing it against his chest as he crashed to the ground.

Jax’s vision blurred as someone tripped over him and the pain grew more intense, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. Time seemed to stand still as the referee's arms shot into the air, signaling the touchdown that would clinch the game. The stadium erupted into a deafening roar of cheers and applause as his teammates swarmed Declan, celebrating their victory. As much as he wanted to join in the celebration, he looked up and found a team of medics huddling around him.

Within minutes, he was on his feet and getting loaded onto a waiting injury cart and taken to the team’s emergency room down by the locker room. For the next hour he was examined, x-rayed, and asked about a thousand questions. He was given a shot for the pain, an ice pack was taped to his shoulder, and people were talking around him but not to him until his coach came storming in.

“What happened?”

“That last throw,” Jax told him, holding the pack in place. “I don’t know, I threw and then…I don’t know who tackled me, but it felt like a brick wall and then I landed right on my shoulder. It hurt like a son of a bitch.”

“Why didn’t you immediately come off the field?” Coach demanded.

“It was only a matter of seconds,” he reasoned. “I wanted to make sure Declan caught the ball. I needed to know we won.”

Raking a hand through his hair, Coach Floyd let out a huff of frustration before rounding on the doctor. “What do the x-rays show?”

“We’ll need to do an MRI tomorrow to be safe, but for right now, it looks like an AC joint separation.” The doctor looked at him grimly. “If it doesn’t require surgery, you’re still looking at a two to twelve week recovery. Which means…”

“I’m possibly out for the season,” he murmured. “Shit.”

After that, it all became a blur. Declan and Travis and a handful of his teammates came down, half the coaching staff walked in, along with the medical staff. Everyone was talking, but Jax wasn’t registering anything anyone was saying.

I’m possibly out for the season.

I’m possibly out for the season.

I’m possibly out for the season.

How many times did he talk about making this season his last, but…not like this. He didn’t want to go out like this. Right now, the pain was barely tolerable, and all he wanted was to shower, change, and go home.

He just had no idea how to do all of that with his arm in its current condition.

“Jax, what do you need?” Travis asked from right beside him. “This is a damn circus in here.”

“I know. I just want to go home. Grab the doctor and let’s get this show on the road. Find out what I need so I can leave.”

“I’m on it!”

It took another fifteen minutes, but the room cleared out so it was just Coach Floyd, Travis, Declan, and just a handful of the medical team. “A sling,” the doctor said, holding one up. “This needs to stay on at all times. Even when you’re sleeping. The only time it comes off is when you shower or while you’re getting dressed. That’s it. It’s important to keep the shoulder completely immobilized. Ice, rest, and we’ll call in the morning with an appointment for you to come in for the MRI just to make sure there isn’t any other damage.”

“Great. Something to look forward to,” he mumbled.

“You can take over-the-counter painkillers to help and we’ll talk about pain management after we assess everything tomorrow.”

He nodded. “Can I go?”

“Wylder,” his coach chided. “There’s no need to be surly. Adjust that attitude by tomorrow. Understand?”

It was pointless to argue, so he simply nodded as he climbed down from the exam table. The ice pack came off and one of the medical assistants helped him into the sling. His buddies flanked him and together they went to the locker room.

“We should probably thank you,” Declan said.

“For what?”

“We were all spared having to sit through the post-game play-by-play,” Declan said with a laugh. “So…thanks.”

It hurt to laugh, but he still did. “No problem. It was all part of my plan.”

In the locker room, he contemplated showering, but opted to do it at home. That is until he thought about the logistics. “Okay, I hate to say this, but…I’m gonna need a little help getting out of this gear, showering, and getting the sling back on.”

His friends truly were the best because they joked around as they helped him and it made it all a little less humiliating. Getting dressed was a colossal pain in the ass, but luckily he had clean shorts and a t-shirt in his bag so he didn’t have to mess with pants and button-down shirts and dress shoes. It was a blessed relief when he got the sling back on.

“I’ll drive you home,” Travis said as they got ready to go. “We’ll leave your truck here and one of us will get you to the doctor tomorrow and get your truck to you.”

“What’s the point? I’m not gonna be driving for a while, probably.”

“It’s your left shoulder and you’re right-handed,” Declan reminded him. “Ask the doctor tomorrow if you’re allowed to drive. I wouldn’t recommend it tonight or tomorrow, but maybe in a week you will.”

“Maybe.”

They carried his duffel bag and they made their way out of the stadium and to the parking lot. He had just gotten settled in the passenger seat when his phone rang. Groaning, he pulled it out of his pocket with his good arm and groaned when he saw who it was.

Travis climbed in and looked at him oddly. “You gonna answer that?”

“It’s my father. I’m not really in the mood.”

“Want me to do it? I’ll tell him you can’t talk.”

It was tempting, but…he wasn’t a coward. “Thanks, but…I’ll deal with it.” And after letting out a long breath, he tapped the phone. “Hey, Dad.”

“Jax! Holy shit! I saw the game! No one’s saying what happened! Are you okay?”

“Yeah, messed up my shoulder pretty good, though. Won’t know anything definitive until tomorrow.”

“You’d think with all that fancy medical equipment that you’d know right now,” Greg said. “How are you feeling?”

“I’ve been better. I’m just eager to get home and relax in the quiet. I feel like the last hour or so was just way too chaotic.”

“Oh. So…would you like some company? I could fly in tomorrow and…”

“No!” he said quickly. “That’s nice of you to offer, but…I’m good. Really.”

“Look, maybe this isn’t the best time, but there never seems to be one. I really need to talk to you and your brothers. You see, a couple of years ago, I…”

“Dad, I hate to interrupt, but this definitely isn’t a good time. I’m in pain and I’m actually in a buddy’s truck, so…can this wait?”

There was silence for several long moments. “You’re right. Sure. Sorry. I don’t know what I was thinking. I’ll call and check on you in a couple of days so you can relax a bit. Take care, Jax.”

“Thanks.” He hung up and sighed with relief.

“You okay?”

“Yeah. He wanted to fly here to see me, but I shut that down quick.”

“Good for you.”

He’d shrug but it would hurt too damn much. When the hell was that shot going to kick in? For the rest of the drive, Travis talked about the game and some of his own highlights, and for once Jax was happy to let him brag. It was an excellent distraction because otherwise he’d be freaking out about what the doctors were going to tell him tomorrow.

Maybe I’ll wake up and realize this was all just a shitty dream…

Pulling up to his house, Travis asked, “Are you going to be okay here alone tonight? Do you want me to stay? I don’t mind crashing in one of the guest rooms.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I think I’m just gonna crash and hope someone calls me early tomorrow to get in for the MRI.”

Beside him, his friend nodded. “Text me as soon as you know and I’ll take you.”

“Thanks.”

Travis walked him into the house and asked him at least another dozen times if he was okay. Then he made him a sandwich and got him some snacks and a drink. If he wasn’t so miserable, he’d find it all amusing. But when he finally convinced him he was fine and Travis walked out the door, Jax almost sagged to the floor with relief. The pain in his shoulder was just a dull ache now and even though there wasn’t anything for him to do, there was no way he was going to be able to sleep.

With a weary sigh, he grabbed his phone and trudged to his bedroom. With any luck, he could stack some pillows up behind him and get comfortable in the bed. Maybe he’d watch some TV to pass the time or possibly call one of his brothers. Or Tyler. Or…someone. As much as he wanted to be alone, there was a part of him that still wanted someone to talk to.

Lucy’s face immediately came to mind, but he pushed it aside. They had their weekend and that was it. It was a fling that had been flung. Calling her would be wildly inappropriate and potentially awkward, so…not Lucy.

Slowly, he kicked his sneakers off and yanked the blankets back with his good arm. He arranged the pillows and by the time he crawled onto the bed, he was exhausted. It took longer than he thought possible to get comfortable, and just when he thought he might fall asleep, his phone rang.

Awkwardly, he swiped the screen and relaxed against the pillows. “Hey, Noah.”

“Hey, I’m just checking on you. I wasn’t watching the game, but Lily saw you trending all over social media. What happened?”

Jax gave him the rundown on everything. “Basically, I won’t know anything definitive until tomorrow. I guess it’s a good thing we’re working on this camp project. This could mean I’m retiring sooner rather than later.”

And yeah, it sounded awful saying that out loud.

“Okay, don’t lose hope yet. This could be something that just requires a few weeks of rest. Don’t get too ahead of yourself,” his brother told him. “Is anyone there with you? I can fly out tomorrow and stay for a few days. You know, go with you to the doctor's appointments.”

Noah was always the one looking out for everyone and right now, just knowing that he was still doing that made Jax feel a bit emotional. Swallowing hard, he shook his head. “I appreciate the offer, but Travis is going to go with me and…I just have to wait and see what they find. But thanks, man. I…I’d hate to make you take time off of work. I know how important your job is to you.”

“Not as important as family,” Noah corrected. “And I’m serious. You just say the word and I’m there.”

There must have been something weird in that shot, because he almost felt like he was going to cry. “I’ll keep you posted.” Pausing, he changed the subject. “How’s Lily? Anything new and exciting with you guys?”

“Lily’s doing great and things are relatively boring here. Do you want me to call Mom and let her know what’s going on? You know she probably won’t see or read anything until tomorrow, but maybe…”

“Dad called me,” he blurted out.

“What? Really?”

“Yeah, he was watching the game and wanted to see how I was.” The yawn was out before he could stop it. “He even asked if I wanted him to come and visit.”

Noah groaned but didn’t say anything.

“Then he started up with that whole needing to talk to the three of us again. I wasn’t in any mood to listen and there’s no way I’m even going to bring it up to Simon.”

“Good call.” He sighed loudly. “Why the hell did he think tonight was a good time to bring that up with you?”

“Who knows? Maybe he thought I needed a distraction,” he murmured.

“It was just another selfish move on his part.”

Jax was about to say more when someone beeped in. Looking at the phone, he saw Tyler’s name.

“Listen, bro, I hate to be rude, but I’ve got another call coming in. I’ll talk to you tomorrow after I see the doctor.”

“Sounds good, Jax. Try to get some rest.”

“I will. Thanks.” Then he hung up with Noah and transferred over to his friend. “Hey.”

“Holy shit, Jax! Are you okay? There is all sorts of speculation going around. What the hell happened?”

So, again, he explained everything that had happened.

“Damn, I’m so sorry. How are you feeling?”

“Right now? Shitty. The shot they gave me finally kicked in, but I know it’s going to hurt like wild in a few hours.”

“It will, but be thankful it’s your left arm. It’ll make things so much easier with your dominant arm being okay.”

“Yeah, yay me.”

He heard Ty chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Because I remember hating everyone who tried to say anything to cheer me up after the accident. I was pissed off and in pain and I just wanted everyone to shut the hell up and leave me alone.”

“Nailed it,” he mumbled.

“Fine. I promise not to point out anymore silver linings, okay? I’ll gladly sit here and listen to you rant and rave and carry on as much as you need. How about that?”

Now he was the one to chuckle. “Honestly, Ty, I don’t even have it in me. My head’s a little fuzzy and I’m in bed and…maybe I just need to sleep while I can.”

“That’s probably a good idea. Do you need anything?”

“The full use of my left arm would be nice.”

“Dude…”

He yawned and winced a bit when he moved the wrong way. “Clearly I’m not good company. Sorry.”

“Nothing to apologize for. You know I understand what you’re feeling, so…don’t give it another thought. Call me tomorrow if you’re up to it. We can talk about the camp stuff or something.”

“Is there anything new with the camp stuff? Did the zoning reports come back?”

“No, but we all know they’re just a technicality. I know the laws around here. Lucy and I were talking the other night and she came up with some ideas that I wanted to discuss with you. But not tonight. Obviously.”

Now he was curious, but his eyes felt heavy and maybe it would be best to wait until he was in a better frame of mind.

“I’ll call you tomorrow night, Ty. And thanks.”

“For what?”

“For not pushing.”

“Like I said, I get it. Now try to sleep and good luck tomorrow.”

Jax hung up and put the phone to the side before grabbing the remote and turning the TV on low. He didn’t dare go to ESPN or even the local news. Streaming was the better way to go right now and he opted to just put on season one, episode one of Frasier for some background noise.

Carefully, he slid lower under the blankets and was about to shut his eyes when his phone dinged with an incoming text. Reaching for it, he stared at the screen and wondered if he was hallucinating.

Lucy.

Lucy: Hey. Just wanted to say that I hope you’re alright.

Lucy: I saw the game and I hated that none of the reporters knew what happened.

Lucy: Anyway, just…thinking of you and hope you’re okay.

A small smile tugged at his lips. Right now, he wasn’t coordinated or awake enough to type a response with one hand, but it lifted his spirits just knowing that she was thinking about him.

The last text from her was a heart, and Jax placed the phone on his chest and held it there with his good hand as he dozed off.