Rodrigo: I need you to sign some papers.
Her chest tightened back up, and she tried the exercise again. Didn’t help this time.
Sabrina: Why?
Rodrigo: Aunt Rosa is making noises about the inheritance shit.
She huffed at the words on the screen. Funerals could bring out the worst in families, and apparently, hers was no exception. The day of Ernie’s funeral, she and her brother had gotten into a huge fight. He ended up with the family behind him, and she was out on her own.
Sabrina: What does that have to do with me? You said to get the fuck out and not come back.
Rodrigo: I made a mistake.
Made a mistake, eh? Must have been a big one for you to break down and contact me.
Her stomach churned with several emotions. Mostly anxiety with a bit of righteousness, as she’d stated many times before she left Florida that there was more to be done for their father’s estate, but no one wanted to listen.
Sabrina: Send them to me via Google Docs and I’ll read them when I get a chance.
Rodrigo: I’m not sending shit over the internet. You gotta come here to do it.
Anger replaced her anxiety as her thumbs flew over the screen.
Sabrina: I don’t have to do squat for you. You need papers signed, you can bring them to me.
Rodrigo: You always were a fucking cunt.
Sabrina: And you were always a fucking asshole. I guess things haven’t changed much.
She closed the messaging app before she could read another text from him and powered down the phone. Her hands shook from excess adrenaline, as they always did when dealing with her stepbrother. The decades-long rivalry had ramped up to epic proportions after their father’s death. Apparently, that was still going on.
“Hey, Sabrina! Your client is here,” Stephan called back.
She took several more deep, healing breaths to regulate herself and get her focus back. It was damn near impossible, but she had a workday to get through.
The man lumbered in, tall and burly. He was slightly larger than a dad bod, but that didn’t matter, as he was clearly as strong as an ox. And he had a healthy ego to match if the smirk on his face was any indication. “Hello, little lady. I’m Frank. You think you can take me on?”
Sabrina ignored the innuendo. This wasn’t her first rodeo with ambitious men. “No prob. What are we working on today? Back and shoulders, right?”
“I’ll let you work on anything you want.”
Obvious much?She faked a big smile while cussing him under her breath. “You listed your back on the intake form, so let’s start there. I’ll step out for a minute while you get changed. Face down on the table. I’ll be right back.”
Sabrina exited, closed the door, and leaned back against the wall outside the room. Some female massage therapists only wanted to work on women. She understood why, as it wasexhausting to deal with these types of men, but she was new in the area and needed to take whoever came to her room.
It’s temporary, girl. If you can handle those redneck dock workers in Sarasota, you can handle this guy.
But how temporary would it be? She was here to find answers, but so far, Scrap refused to do anything. She had no family or friends, but then again, she had no one back in Florida either, except for Amelia. Her limbo state had been annoying at first, but it was taking a real toll now. It was hard to keep a positive outlook when everything around her had turned to shit.
Cam came to her mind, along with the tattoo on his back. The crossed hammers and the broken clock were simple, but the time it showed still held her curiosity. His chosen phrase also had some meaning to him: “Forget the past. Start over. Every day.”
It must have something to do with the scars she’d felt under her fingers that day.
Sabrina believed he’d been through some serious shit in his life to put that saying on his body. She could definitely relate, and a part of her wanted to hear his story. Perhaps he would share it with her one day. So far, their encounters had been friendly and even a bit flirtatious on her side. He was a good-looking man, and when he was on her table, she’d noticed his body’s reaction to her touch. The boner he sported was impressive, but he didn’t try to mess with her over it. He did the gentlemanly thing and ignored it until it subsided. Even though he wore an Iron City Knights cut, he was in her corner.
Her instincts told her Frank wasn’t going to be that noble.
She shook her head to get back to the task at hand. She rapped her knuckles against the door and entered when Frank called out. It didn’t take her very long to see the man was totally naked under the blanket. Sabrina gritted her teeth, but she didmost of her work covered, so if this guy wanted to go commando, no harm. Yet.
