She slumped back on the couch, knowing she needed to do a few things before bed, but having no energy whatsoever to tackle anything.
At one point in her life, evenings had been a time she enjoyed. Training was done for the day, so she could retreat to her room and unwind.
Even if she’d had a tough day training, she’d still had enough energy to shower and do some final stretches before going to bed at a reasonable time so she could be up early the next morning.
Now, it seemed that no matter how early she went to bed, it was a struggle to get up in the morning. That was why she was so grateful that the position at the church allowed her to work part-time in the afternoon.
Amelia sat for several more minutes in the quiet of her apartment. She tried to organize in her mind what she needed to do before she fell into bed, but her thoughts kept going to Ben and the time they’d spent together.
Would he ask her to have dinner with him again? And if he did, what would she say?
The next day, Ben was already in the gym when she arrived at the table. He must have been watching out for her though, because she’d no sooner set her things down on the table when he appeared.
"Hey," Ben said, smiling at her. "How are you doing today?"
"I'm fine." Amelia busied herself arranging her laptop and the folder on the table as she gave voice to the lie.
She'd woken with a familiar ache in her body that had gotten a bit worse throughout the morning. Still, at that moment, it was manageable, and she was grateful.
"Would you be interested in joining me for dinner again tonight?" Ben asked, leaning against the edge of the table.
Amelia noticed the casual way he stood, arms crossed, weight shifted to one leg. “You want to have dinner together again?”
Ben nodded. “And maybe afterwards we can talk to Julian about your situation. He knows more about the medical research that’s being done in the company than I do.”
Amelia rubbed her arms, not sure if she was ready to reveal her issues to someone else. Especially someone like Julian.
The man always came across as stern and aloof. Kiara, his wife, was pretty much the opposite, and their kids were great. But Julian?
Ben must have picked up on her reluctance about confiding in his brother. “He’s really caring.”
“You used to hate him.”
“Hate’s a strong word,” Ben said with a laugh. “But I didn’t like him much, that’s true.”
“Apparently that’s changed.”
“It has,” Ben agreed. “I can’t say it happened right away. But once Julian got sober and became a Christian, things got better. And yeah, he’s more serious than I’ve ever been, but he’s got a good heart, and he really does care.”
“So you’re getting along better now?”
“Definitely,” Ben said with a nod. “And his son, TJ, is great. He reminds me a bit of your brothers when they were that age. How’re they doing these days?”
“They’re both off at college,” Amelia said. “Seem to be enjoying themselves. A bit too much if you ask my dad.”
“And Shiloh?”
“She’s doing well. Enjoying life in Seattle.”
Amelia hated to admit she wasn’t all that close to her younger siblings. So much of her teen and early adult years had been focused on her skating that she hadn’t spent much time with them. And over the past couple of years, her health had dominated her life.
Layla was the only one she was close to because they’d been close even before she’d gotten involved with skating. And for a bit, they’d both been taking skating lessons from Lexi. But then, Layla had decided skating wasn’t for her, while Amelia had discovered her life’s passion.
“It’s hard to believe they’re all grown up,” Ben mused. “Time flies.”
“It does indeed,” Amelia agreed.
Kids began arriving for the clinic, drawing Amelia’s attention from Ben. From the corner of her eye, she saw him turn and head for the gym.
