He wiggles his dark eyebrows.“To Phoebe?”
No reason to respond—the flush flooding my face says it all.
We have an optional practice tomorrow to start preparing for our upcoming series.The first game will be here in Atlantic City, and then the second game will be in New York City.My stuff should arrive this week.Things will be busy for me.
I order some sandwiches from room service as I walk back to my room.As nice as it is to have housekeeping and room service, I can’t wait to be in a space with my stuff.And Phoebe.
5
PHOEBE
It’schilly on this mid-February morning in the Village, but my long-sleeved T-shirt is keeping me warm enough as I help unload the truck with this morning’s delivery for Half-Cocked Bake Shop, where I’ve been a pastry chef since I returned from Paris last summer.The Village is full of relocated historic buildings that were originally from around Shifting Pines and southern New Jersey.They were turned into quaint shops and restaurants for tourists and locals to enjoy.While I learned a lot about the art of pastry and baking during my time at school in Paris, I’ve learned even more working here at the Half-Cocked Bake Shop with my rooster shifter boss.
I can’t wait to take all this knowledge and compete in the Pastry Pro Championships with Andie.We submitted our application and audition tape and are waiting to hear if we’re one of the chosen teams.They are announcing the contestants any day now, and I think we have a good chance at being included.
“Do anything fun last night?”Andie asks.
“Cleaned out my second bedroom for my new roommate.”
“Who’s your roommate?Anyone I know?”she asks.
“Ollie.”
The shock on her face makes me laugh.
“Your brother-in-law?You lucky bitch!He’s gorgeous.So tall, and those soulful brown eyes.Why didn’t you tell me?”She smirks.“With the way he was looking at you at the game the other night, I really don’t think you need that second bedroom.You’d be fine with the one.”
Andie takes the bulk bag of chocolate chips from my arms.
“Maybe we’ll hear from the Pastry Pro folks today telling us we’re in.”Not a smooth subject change as I step backward toward the open door to grab the next load of supplies…but I’m desperate.
“Hope so, the suspense is killing me,” Andie says.
I nod.“I hate being in limbo.I either want to be planning or focusing on something else.Until it’s settled, I feel like we’re stuck.”
As I cross the threshold, I turn around, but it’s too late.I’m already falling over the huge wild turkey that decided to lie in wait for me.My hand hits the ground, and pain shoots up my wrist.The demonic gobbling of the turkey echoes in my ears as it saunters away, fanned-out tail feathers swaying like a big oldscrew you.
* * *
Andie drives me to the emergency room in my car.I’m not sure if my wrist is broken or sprained, but whatever it is, it hurts.I’ll get the X-ray to confirm, but I’m really hoping it’s simply a sprain.I don’t have time for a break to heal and the inconvenience of a cast.Thankfully they aren’t busy, so we’re in one of the bays waiting for them to take me back for the X-ray without too much of a delay.I’m trying to use my phone left-handed, since it’s my right wrist that’s injured, but I’m clumsy.Andie takes pity on me and holds it up to my face to unlock and calls up my contacts.I hit the one I need and listen to it ring before it switches over to voicemail.
“Hey, it’s Phoebe.Call me back as soon as you get this, please.”
I end the call, and we sit in silence for a moment.
“So, are we going to make up a better story for what happened?”Andie asks.“Tripped over your shoelace, hit a patch of ice, bad karate chop?”
I giggle—because it was ridiculous—but then gasp in pain when I accidentally tweak my wrist.
“Well, that’s a welcome sound in here,” says a husky voice as the curtain is pushed aside to admit a doctor.“It’s usually crying and cursing.”She looks at my chart and confirms my name and date of birth before asking, “What brings you in today?”Her white coat says Dr.Chaudhury, and she’s gorgeous.Her dark brown hair has stunning streaks of silver running through it, and her brown eyes sparkle with both intelligence and humor.I like her on sight.
“I fell and hurt my right wrist,” I tell her.“It hurts if I try to move it or my fingers.”
“How did you fall?”
“I work at the Half-Cocked Bake Shop and was helping unload the truck with the day’s deliveries.I was walking backward to the door and turned around right as I was going outside and tripped over a turkey.”
The doctor has been examining my wrist but stops when I get to the part about the turkey.“A turkey?Like a frozen turkey on the ground?”
