Chapter 9
Ty’s stomach growled as she cleaned up her station. Two ninety-minute massages down, two more to go. After a nice lunch, that is. She was looking forward to that part. The Homestead Inn had a well-earned reputation for having some of the finest dining around.
Her mind drifted back to her dinner date with Memphis. Her parents’ unexpected appearance had nearly ruined things. In truth, Ty spent a good portion of her morning working past the guilt she felt for shooing them out of there as she’d done. But the better part of her knew that her parents would have avoided the whole thing had they just called to let her know they were coming.
But the shock on her mother’s face when she laid eyes on him. Scrutinizing eyes. A smile spread over Ty’s lips as she wiped her massage table down with disinfectant wipes. She knew her mom well enough—heck, she knewhumanswell enough—to know that Memphis was undeniably attractive. He had nearly every masculine quality women admired. Broad shoulders and a muscular build. That incredibly defined jaw, handsome smile, and eyes that rivaled the deepest ocean at sunrise.
Ty secured the fresh bedding from the nearby armoire and proceeded to prepare for her next appointment. Only now, her thoughts weren’t on her parents anymore. They were fixed solely on Memphis. He had a way about him. It wasn’t often she came across people who knew how to sit still and just be. So often she’d see people drag their phone from their pockets and purse, only to put their focus on that instead of the person in their company. Even among nature, it felt like a crime for one’s face to be fixed on a screen instead of the beauty around them.
But Memphis, so far anyway, didn’t seem to have that compulsion. He was engaging, attentive, and…mysterious too. Last night, he’d been quick to breeze past the topic of his parents, which she assumed was a defense mechanism. But he didn’t offer a whole lot about his past. Beyond that, she couldn’t help but worry that her role as a single mother might scare him away. He hadn’t made so much as a romantic gesture beyond the flowers. Sure, there’d been a lot of flirting, but perhaps, by the time she’d walked him to the door, Memphis had decided that he didn’t want to get involved in a potentially messy situation.
“I really need to see Ty,” a voice boomed from down the hall, interrupting her musings. It was a man, and he sounded frantic.
Ty hurried through the open door of her room and moved toward the front.
“I’ll give her a quick buzz,” she heard Jackie saying.
“There’s no need.” Ty could already see that it was Maverick standing there. He had a hand on the back of his neck and a pained look on his face. A look that shifted into a grin the second he saw her.
“I have a kinked neck,” he explained. “Do you think you could try and smooth it out real quick?” Maverick shot a questioning look at Jackie as if she could help give Ty a yay or nay.
“Okay,” Ty said. “I have a chair that I think would work better than the table though. Let me see if I can get it set up.”
“Wait,” Maverick blurted as she spun on one heel. “I was just joshing you. I wouldn’t expect you to work through your lunch. Actually, I brought you a little something to say thanks for doing such a great job on me while I’m all banged up and rehabilitating.”
She moved a glance down the length of him to see that he hadn’t brought his walking aid. Or anything else for that matter.
“It’s outside. Please…” He motioned for her to follow him. “Come with me. It’s just out here.”
A layer of dread settled over Ty as she followed him toward the door. “I’ll be back in time for my next appointment,” she said to Jackie. She snatched the iPad on her way out, knowing that, once the next client had filled out the medical sheet and checked in, she’d be able to look over it.
Beyond the doors, on a wide stretch of green grass, a picnic basket rested atop a blanket. Ty stopped walking.
“A token of my gratitude,” Maverick said.
Or, in other words, a lunch date that you can’t say no to. “Thank you,” she said. “You really didn’t need to do that.”
Maverick started toward the spot with carefully measured steps. “I wanted to,” he said through a grunt.
“Are you sure it’s okay for you to be walking without assistance?” Ty couldn’t help but ask.
Maverick shook his head. “It’s fine. I’ve got to push myself a little each day.” Another grunt.
Once they were there, Maverick used the nearby tree to brace himself as he got down to his knees.
“Are you sure you don’t want a little help?” she offered as he struggled with the task.
“No, no. I’m fine.” Yet just as he said it, Maverick’s hand slipped, and his face smacked the side of the trunk. He cursed under his breath, and Ty forced herself to look away.
“You’re going to be surprised when you see me back to my true form,” he said once he finally got situated on the blanket. One leg straight, the other bent, and a hand draped over his knee.
Ty doubted she’d be too surprised, but she didn’t bother saying so. “So tell me how you got hurt?”
Maverick was digging into the picnic basket, but at her question, he shot her a look. “Memphis hasn’t told you yet? Or Andie?”
Ty shook her head. “I never asked.”
He flinched back from the comment. “Ouch. So you haven’t beenasking aroundabout me?”
