JT
Four-thirty AM and JT's alarm dinged hard, but he slammed the snooze button and rolled over. He hurt. The pain was so real he couldn’t even moan.
Two days of working with Kelsey and he could honestly say he’d never met a more demanding coach. Even his dad – when he’d deigned to coach JT – hadn’t been such a task master. Mike suddenly looked good in the coaching department.
JT rubbed his eyes. His legs felt stronger, and while his sprained ankle wasn’t one-hundred percent, it wasn’t as unstable. He could move the fingers on the hand with the damaged wrist, which was saying a lot. His eyes drifted shut and, before he knew it, a knock on the door pulled him from his slumber.
Jerking upright, JT stared blearily at the clock. Hadn’t he hit snooze? The dang thing should’ve only given him another fifteen minutes. Not thirty or forty. He glared at the clock, the red digits spelled out 5:30 AM. Wow, it gave him an hour. He must've turned it off on accident.
The knock came again with a sharper edge to it.
JT sighed. “Yeah, I'm coming.” He knew Kelsey was just trying to help him, but with his quads and back as sore as they were? His cranky side was showing.
He pushed himself up with his good arm and swung his legs to the side. JT slept in boxer briefs and nothing else. His pants or socks would hinder him as he tried to move. When he stood, he grabbed the edge of the bed for support until he had his balance, making sure his ankle could tolerate a slight amount of pressure. Certain he wasn’t going to fall over, he stretched his arms up and yawned loudly. The muscles in his torso pulled, muscles he didn’t know he had.
The door opened.
“JT, I was thinking we could go into town today.” Kelsey stopped, putting her hand over her eyes and spinning around. “Oh! I'm sorry. I thought you said come in. I-I'm not sure. I don't know... maybe... uh.”
Chuckling, JT reached for the shirt draped on his nightstand. “Kelsey, it's no big deal. You see me in less working out.” He glanced down at his black briefs. Morning breath and the mess he was were not the best ways to convince her to always stay with him. “Okay, maybe not less. Let me get some clothes on, and we can talk about what torture you have planned for me today.”
She nodded, turning back toward the stairs, the orange glow from the kitchen highlighting the pink of her cheeks. JT wanted to throw his arms around her and kiss her. She was so dang cute and determined. He couldn't stop thinking about her.
He pulled on his favorite Fox shirt and black LBZ pants and grabbed his crutches. He could do short distances with only one walking aid, as long as he was certain of the terrain, but Kelsey had mentioned going for a walk that day. He would do whatever she wanted. Just so long as he met his goals and he got to spend time with her.
Following her to the kitchen, he accepted the black mug of coffee she held out to him. “Thank you.” He sipped the dark brew, reveling in the heady aroma. The shot of caffeine zapped the rest of the sleepy fog from his mind. “I'm sorry I slept in, soreness from the last few days is getting to me.” He drank half the cup and then trained his gaze on her. “Where do you want to go today?”
Kelsey braced her arms on the counter and studied him with wide open eyes. “I was thinking we could try out the mall. I know it's a little far away, but with the different levels we could practice being on the escalator for stability, and we could walk on that flat tile and see how you do with the crutch for further distances. I can't have you go too far in this grass because there might be holes or something and the grass may be slippery. We shouldn’t have any issues at the mall.”
The mall. He didn't really care what she suggested. She smiled at him and wanted to go somewhere, anywhere, with him. As far as he was concerned that was the true reward.
Kelsey checked on the part-time nurse and her grandmother before they left, smiling as she led JT to her car.
“Oh, no. I’ll never fit in that.” JT groaned, but laughed at the same time. The miniature vehicle in his driveway spoke of days past where free love and cruises down the coast were commonplace. Tall guys were not.
“Come on, just climb in. I can help you, even if I have to fold you in.” She giggled at him and rolled her eyes.
The curve of her lips distracted him for a moment. He was too tired to keep his head straight. He blinked hard to break his stare. He didn’t fight her much as he bent himself down and climbed in, ignoring the sting in his ribs and the sudden shortness of breath from the exertion. Getting out was going to be a chore.
Once in the car, the drive was smooth and short with the mall only ten minutes from his place. Kelsey parked the Bug and helped JT out of the vehicle. He gritted his teeth against the pain, dealing with it just to be around her. His tall, lanky height made getting out of the small car even more difficult. She handed him the crutches and slowed her pace to match his. Once inside, they circled the tiled flooring. They passed stores, vendors, and booths like an indoor fair.
Outside the gear shop, Kelsey stopped and pointed at a poster in the window. “Is that you?”
JT glanced up, tilting his head back further than normal because of the hat pulled low over his face to cover his identity. He laughed. “Yeah, that's me. Blake is on the yellow bike before he switched to Yamaha and Mac there is on his KTM. I always ride red.”
Mud splattered the camera lens, making for pretty great action shots as they had all jumped over the tabletop, a flat-topped jump that was longer than a standard jump. “That was a fun time. I can't even remember the drink we were advertising. Which one is it?” With all the other posters layered amongst his, the logo they had been marketing had been covered.
His face was clear, though, as was his smile. It was one of the few times when his dad hadn't been there, spoiling his fun. Freedom from the contract with his father was so close. He couldn't focus on it too much, or he would get short-timer syndrome. He could also potentially do something that would trip himself up and get him locked in longer.
Kelsey spun on her heel in front of him and walked backwards as they talked. “Do you like hot dogs? One of my favorite places is here and I thought it would be fun to eat out. Plus, I can see how you do holding with your hand.”
He gripped the handles of his crutches tighter. “I love hotdogs. I'll do whatever you need me to do.”
Anything at all.
***
JT SANK FURTHER INTO the water of the hot bath Kelsey had helped him draw. He hadn't wanted to complain to Kelsey, but the day at the mall had sapped his strength. Every ounce of pain rippled through him. Under the guise of wanting to clean up, he had talked Kelsey into helping him draw a bath. Truth was, he didn't even want to bend over. Breathing too deeply hurt his ribs. He wanted to soak and try to ease some of the pain. Erase some of his fatigue.
Kelsey drew him a bath and tossed in an ounce of Epsom salts. “That'll help you. It draws out the pain.” She winked and carefully tapped his shoulder before leaving. “I know you're hurting. It's okay to tell me. I won't think less of you; I promise.”
He must've fallen asleep because by the time he opened his eyes the water was tepid and the sunlight had dimmed considerably. He grabbed the assistance bar on the side of the tub and tried to pull himself up. The water pulled at him, making it difficult to fight its weight. He yanked out the plug to make things easier for himself. After the water drained more than three-quarters, he tried to pull himself out again with one arm, but he couldn't get his leg under him. With his fatigue and soreness, it didn't look like it was going to happen.
Everything in him wanted to just make it happen. He wanted to force himself to stand, but the part of him that wanted to dirt bike, the part that wanted to be free of his father and the manipulating management, made JT reconsider. What would be safest?
He called out to Kelsey. “Kelsey, can you help me?”
She might have left. Would she hear him?
“Yeah, I'll grab a towel.” She was professional at her job. If nothing else, he could trust her with this.
JT pulled his legs up and tried to grab the towel hanging just out of reach. He didn’t need her thinking he’d planned something sordid.
She walked through the door, averting her gaze from his form. She had two towels in her arms and draped the smaller one out to him. “Here, cover yourself, then I'll help you stand. We'll wrap you in the bigger one once you're out.”
He gratefully accepted the towel and laid it across his lap as he sat in the now empty bathtub. She hung the oversized bath towel on the heating bars and knelt into a squatting position.
She smiled as she met his gaze. “Okay, I'm going to put my arm here and you're going to use that arm and we’re going to push you up together, okay?” She nodded her head and they pushed.
Kelsey was stronger than her slight frame made her look. She did most of the lifting with her legs. As heavy as JT was, inasmuch as he tried, he knew she put considerable effort into helping him stand. She steadied him as he stepped from the tub, keeping her warm grasp on his upper body and one stabilizing him. He reached for the towel and wrapped it around his waist, allowing the smaller towel to fall to the ground.
Kelsey held the crutch out to him and glanced up into his eyes. “Are you okay now? Do think you can do it?”
Even when he was weak, she made him feel strong. She didn't try to make him feel inadequate or inept because he wasn't able to do something by himself. Instead, she empowered and encouraged him. How had he gone through his life without her?
“I'm good now, thanks.” He swallowed at the emotions raging through him. He was good then, but only because she was there.
How did he tell her he was falling for her? What would she do when their time was up? Surely, she would want to leave. She wouldn’t want to be stuck with him. He’d hired her and put them in the awkward position of patient and caregiver. As soon as she wasn’t in charge of his care, he planned to remedy that immediately.
If she planned on leaving right away, he’d have to stop her. Even if that meant stopping his therapy. He certainly didn't want her to leave. No matter what.