Shelby brought the axe down with authority. The two split sections of the log flew apart and joined the growing pile of firewood. The axe head stuck into the old tree stump that served as a chopping clock, and Shelby left it there. He straightened and then leaned backward, bracing his hands on his lower back. He rolled his broad shoulders and twisted his neck first one way and then the other. Finally, he interlaced his fingers and, rotating his hands, pushed outward to stretch his forearms. His finger joints protested a little, but not as much as he’d expected from a long session of wood splitting.
His thoughts still whirled from the events of yesterday, even though he’d hoped a good night’s sleep would set his mind at ease. If anything, it had made things worse, because the “good night’s sleep” had been anything but. Katherine had finally forced him out to the couch, thanks to his tossing and turning, and they’d had a mild spat in the morning. Now he was out here taking out his frustrations on an innocent cord of firewood.
He flexed his fingers again. Apparently, despite his skepticism, the physical therapy enforced by his doctor was helping slow the advance of the arthritis. The pain was still present, but Shelby had noticed improvement in both that and his overall dexterity.
He felt a twinge of chagrin as he realized he’d have to admit to Katherine that she’d been right—as she usually was—about his consulting a physician. In typical masculine behavior, Shelby avoided the doctor’s office whenever possible, preferring to deal with sub-optimal conditions rather than risk hearing bad news, even if the bad news was only that he needed to take better care of himself.
“Structured physical therapy and exercise,” this new doctor, an attractive young woman, had told him. “That’s what will help you. Taking it easy doesn’t mean sitting around in a rocking chair waiting to get old. A man like you will do better with physical activity, given that it’s done in a healthy and constructive manner.”
Shelby hadn’t been exactly sure what “healthy and constructive” meant but was fairly certain the doctor hadn’t been talking about dodging bullets or slugging it out with underworld characters. When the doctor prescribed a regimen of meditation and daily hand exercises, and yoga, along with a limited amount of cardio, his suspicions were confirmed.
In deference to Katherine, Shelby had gone along with the program, although he considered yoga and meditation to be highly suspect.
“Since when do actual doctors recommend that stuff?” he’d asked. “When I was younger, that’s the sort of advice you got from the weird stoner down the street.”
“Dr. Naveed is a holistic doctor. Western medicine is beginning to realize that alternative medicine can be applied to complement our own techniques.”
“Okay, but if she wants me to attach a bunch of leeches to my genitals, that’s where I draw the line.”
Katherine had laughed. “Pretty sure that’s not a recommended treatment.”
“Just putting it out there.”
“Noted. Release the previously collected leeches.”
Shelby began stacking the split wood against the side of the cabin. The winter thus far had been colder than usual, and if it continued this way, it was entirely possible he’d run short on firewood before spring was in full force. Today was balmy by comparison, so he’d taken the opportunity to stock up while he could do so without risking instant frostbite. As it was, he’d had to resist the temptation to remove his tan, thermal-lined Carhartt jacket.
As he stacked the last two pieces of wood, his phone let out a string of charming little dings. He pulled it from his jacket pocket and raised an eyebrow.
It was Carly Gilmour.
The thirty-something-year-old woman had been his main squeeze after he’d first moved back to Serenity, but they’d parted ways when Carly had chased her dreams of fashion design all the way to New York City. Since then they’d grown apart, operating on the mostly-unspoken understanding that they’d both be seeing other people, and that the realistic future of their relationship had already been tenuous.
Shelby, surprised at feeling a small twinge of nerves, pressed the “Accept” button on the screen and then held the phone to his ear.
“Hello?”
“Shel? Is that you?”
“Hey, there!”
“What are you up to?”
“I was outside splitting a few dozen cords of wood.”
“Impressive.”
“I may be exaggerating slightly.”
“I’ll bet you could do it though,” Carly said.
The soft, natural purr of her voice reminded Shelby of why he’d been so attracted to her in the first place. Then he remembered her scrumptious body ... and then he forced himself to focus, although not without difficulty.
“Well, natch. What’s up?”
“Oh, I was just checking in,” Carly said. It was an obvious lie. They’d stopped “just checking in” months ago.
Shelby chose not to call her on it. “It’s great to hear from you,” he said.
Now it was his turn to lie; while the physical attraction to Carly was still a powerful force, he now felt uncomfortable talking to her. It wasn’t only about his relationship with Katherine, although that was part of it, but time was causing the natural rift that occurs between former lovers who part ways. They always promise to stay in touch and maintain the friendship—often while fully intending to do so—but life rolls on, new relationships are created, unshared experiences occur, and suddenly the couple has less in common than ever. Soon it becomes awkward to communicate, and the time between visits increases, before finally stopping altogether.
“How are things in Serenity?”
“Actually serene as of late, if you can believe that,” Shelby said, choosing to avoid any details of recent creepy events. “I haven’t punched anyone in weeks.”
“That is hard to believe. How are you handling that?”
“My knuckles are getting itchy.”
Carly laughed, another sound that both aroused Shelby and made him uncomfortable. “Keep it together, okay? I’d like to see you when I get to town.”
Shelby, who had turned to walk back inside the cabin, noticed his footsteps falter. “Get to town?”
“I’ll be up later today. I’m already on my way.”
“What’s the occasion?”
“No occasion. I just have a free weekend and thought it would be nice to catch up with everyone.”
“A free weekend, eh? The boss getting soft? I remember you telling me she’s a real ballbuster.”
“She is, but I don’t have balls. And I think she’s really beginning to think of me as an asset.”
“That’s great, Carly. I knew you’d make out in the big city.”
A soft chuckle, then, “It’s been good, overall. But New York City fashion is a fickle bitch. One minute you think you’ve got wings, and the next minute you’re falling back to earth with a Daedalus splat.”
“That won’t be you, but you get bonus points for the messy Greek mythology reference.”
“If I save up enough points can I turn them in for a visit when I get to town?”
“Save your points,” Shelby said, feeling a twinge of uncertainty and nerves. “You get a freebie.”
“It’s a date then.”
“A date.”
“I gotta go, Shel, but thanks for answering, and I’ll see you this weekend.”
“See you then.”
Shelby disconnected and dropped the phone in his pocket, while at the same time emitting an audible groan. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to see Carly—he still harbored a good deal of fondness for her, not to mention many pleasant memories—but he also knew how things changed between people, especially those who used to be close, when meeting again after an extended period of time. He dreaded the awkwardness. Added to that was the very real issue of Katherine. He didn’t imagine she would feel great about a former flame, especially one like Carly, suddenly showing back up in Shelby’s life. And he had no desire to either hurt Katherine’s feelings or give her any reason to doubt their relationship. As he had mentioned to Mack, his only real issue with what he had with Katherine was that there weren’t real issues. It was as close to a perfect relationship as he thought he’d ever have. Even their spat this morning was mild and completely normal; it was nothing that changed anything about how they felt about one another.
Of course, Shelby thought, perhaps he was giving himself far too much credit as to assume Katherine would feel jealousy over him. But he’d known enough women to suspect that would likely be an issue. Even women—and certainly men as well—secure in their relationships could experience a sudden onset of jealous insecurity under similar circumstances, even if they’d been previously unaware of the depth of their own attachment, like not knowing what one had until feeling at risk of losing it.
There was a honk behind him, and he turned to see Mack pulling into the yard.