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Kelsey
Kelsey wiped her freshly washed hands off on a kitchen towel that she had unpacked from her grandmother's things. The white material was dotted with bright red apples and the edges were a little frayed. All the signs of a truly loved item.
She picked up the warm chamomile tea and stirred in a dribble of honey. As she approached her grandmother sitting on the couch in the fully furnished downstairs apartment, Kelsey looked around.
“Isn't it lovely here, Grandma? Are you having fun?” She offered her grandmother the warm tea and cautioned, “It's hot, be careful.”
Her grandmother smiled, fine lines from her lips bleeding lipstick onto her pale skin. Kelsey reached out and touched her grandmother's frail shoulder. She claimed the seat beside the older woman and tucked her feet up on the couch. Just sitting with her grandma reminded Kelsey of her mom. She missed her mom very much. There were things about her grandmother and mother that Kelsey hoped would pass down to her, like their kindness and grace.
Her grandmother sipped her tea and murmured, “Oh, that's good. Good job, Sarah. You always did make a good cup of tea. When will Mother be home?”
Kelsey plastered a happy smile on her face. She pretended to be the long-lost sister of her grandmother, the sister who had died as a nurse in the war. “Mother should be along shortly. I met a guy.”
Grandmother's eyes widened with delight. She smiled and wrapped her other hand around the warm mug. “I want details. Have you kissed him? This is scandalous.”
Kelsey chuckled. “No, he's a client for a little while, but he's very nice. He let us move in here. He’s the reason I might be able to go back to school.” All of her hope and optimism had returned and she owed it all to JT.
“Sarah, you know girls don't go to school, but if that's what you want to do, I will back you on it.” Grandma reached over and patted Kelsey's leg. “And if you like the guy, client or not, real attraction doesn't come along all the time.”
Grandma was right. Her own true love was with her forty-eight years before his passing. Love like that didn’t come along like rain. Yet, a chance at her dream career didn’t either. Now that she had a serious need for enough money to take care of her grandmother, obtaining her upgrade in professionalism was more important than ever.
She couldn't ethically pursue what she wanted while also pursuing the clientele. There were definitely laws about that. If there weren’t, there should be.
***
KELSEY WAITED AT THE counter for JT to join her. She had let him sleep in so he could recover from the exhaustion of the mall the day before. She knew what he put into his recovery, but she also knew a break once in a while could often do more for recovery than fifty exercises.
“There you are.” JT yawned and scratched his stomach through his t-shirt as he limped into the kitchen. “You shouldn’t let me sleep so long. I'm going to get fat and lazy.” A subtle scent of his cologne reached her.
Kelsey laughed. There was nothing fat or lazy about the man. No matter how much he liked to joke about it. “I hope you had fun yesterday. I'm sure you're sore.”
She didn't mention the bathtub or the way his chest looked with water dripping down the plains of his muscles. She'd worked all night on erasing that image from her mind.
“I had a lot of fun. It was good to take a different look at therapy. Along those lines, I was wondering if you would like to go to the local fair. There’ve been some races today and I kinda wanted to see what the town looks like in this area.” He hobbled across the room and claimed a seat, sliding down and sticking his leg out to the side.
“What?! JT, where are your crutches? I just noticed you don’t have them.” Pride and worry warred within her. If something happened, he didn't have anything to lean on.
He grinned sheepishly at her, bending his elbow and resting his arm on the table. “I thought maybe I could try it. Don't worry, I’ll take the crutches with me when we’re at the fair. I just wanted to see if I could do it.”
Kelsey claimed the seat beside him, subtly breathing in his fresh clean scent. “I think it's awesome that you’re trying, but yes. You’re taking your crutches.” She tapped her finger on the counter, lifting her eyebrows as if he would challenge her.
Her job had become both pleasure and pain. She couldn’t pursue anything with him and yet she got to spend time with him. The double-edge didn’t surprise her. She just had to figure out how she was going to survive the following couple weeks.
***
AS THE CAR BOUNCED along the muddy parking lot, Kelsey winced with each bounce. JT wouldn't admit anything, but he had to be feeling the bumps and bruises in his ribs, arm, and leg. Maybe coming to the fair hadn't been such a good idea.
“Are you okay? We can turn back and go around.” She was more worried about his comfort than seeing a few pigs and watching a few races.
He glanced at her in dismay, relaxing his hold on the dash and the car seat. “After all that? Don't deny me my reward. I'm not going through that for nothing.” He grimaced playfully and opened the door after she parked. He bent down and grabbed his crutches, which leaned across the seat, “I'm not sure you can get a smaller car.”
Kelsey didn't acknowledge his remark. Jabs at her car were obviously deflections from the real focus of his pain. Plus, she liked when he teased her. She brushed off her concern as she thought to herself that he wasn't paying her to nag at him. She held a slow pace, so he wouldn't feel rushed. They picked their way across the parking lot.
At the ticket booth a young man, not more than sixteen, carelessly took their money. Until he glanced up and saw JT, that is. He stared open-mouthed for a long moment. “Oh, hell. JT. You’re here. What... How... My buddies won't believe this. Can I take your picture?” The kid dug in his pockets for his phone, fumbling as he searched. He continued to check to make sure JT didn’t leave on him by glancing upward every half-second so that he was watching JT more than he was looking for his phone.
JT shuffled his feet, heat flooding his face. His murmur barely reached the boy. “That's fine, but don't make a big deal of it, please.”
The guy focused his phone on JT and snapped some pictures of JT smiling a PR smile. By that point, a few of the other ticket sellers peered at the group curiously. JT rushed Kelsey through the entrance point and ducked his head.
“I never forget my hat, and I forgot my hat today.”
“He was shorter than you. He would’ve seen you whether you wore a hat or not. True fans always know.” Kelsey walked beside him following his lead across the fairgrounds toward the arena area.
“Arena” was a loose term. It was nothing more than just bleachers set up in a loose oval. The oval was made of mud.
JT carefully made his way up the stairs. Kelsey stood beside him in case he needed more assistance, but he did very well. They claimed the bottom seats. Fatigue pinched the bridge between JT's eyes.
He leaned over, pointing toward the simple starting gate. “This is just a local event, but there should be some fun stuff to see.”
A man with a cowboy hat and brown, beaten up boots approached JT and Kelsey. He pulled off his hat and held it in his hands. “Excuse me, JT? My son is selling tickets and he said you were here. Would it be okay to ask you to award the trophies at the end of the races? I don't want to be an imposition, but it would sure make our riders happy.”
JT smiled kindly and held out his hand to shake. “I would be honored, thank you. Sorry, I can't stand right now. I’m just giving my foot a rest, but I’ll make my way down there around the award time.”
The man's smile broadened as he shook the offered hand. “That would sure be nice of you.” He nodded at Kelsey and released JT’s hand before turning and walking away.
JT avoided Kelsey's gaze, scratching at his knee and looking everywhere but at her. “Sorry, I didn't realize it would be like this.”
“I think it's sweet.” She didn’t say what she wanted to say, that he was a much kinder person than she’d expected.
Kelsey didn't want lose her heart. The way things were going, if the next few weeks didn't hurry up and speed by, she would have to face a very unethical crush on an extremely moral client.
