Chapter Six
Tara wiped the massage table down with warm, soapy water. Her last client had left about fifteen minutes ago, and she had to meet Royce’s bus. She still needed to disinfect the table and some of the surfaces before she could leave. The day’s used sheets from the five clients she had were in the laundry basket to be brought back to her cottage. If she had more time, she would wash and dry them here, but she had made an agreement with Royce.
She had promised not to be late meeting the bus, and he’d agreed to take it home. She needed the extra time in the afternoon for clients because she was still driving him to school in the mornings.
Being a single mother wasn’t easy, and she wanted to be there for Royce as much as possible. Her ex-husband certainly wasn’t. And never during football season, but she had bills to pay that required her to take on as many clients as possible.
Now that the table had been washed, she grabbed the disinfectant and a cloth. The table would smell clean and fresh when she was done. She took pride in her work. Her job was the one thing that was truly hers. Her ex-husband couldn’t take that away from her.
Football season was the reason why she had picked the fall to move again. Her ex was knee-deep in his new sports-announcer role. He couldn’t be bothered with them. By the time the football season ended, he wouldn’t know where they were. Not that he couldn’t find them. She wasn’t exactly hiding, but she didn’t want him in Backwater. She wished he’d find someone else to pay attention to. She and Royce were better off without him.
She tossed the soiled cloth onto the pile of sheets and grabbed her keys. The chime for the door beeped in the massage room. Someone had come in, probably wanting an afternoon massage. She’d have to schedule them for later in the week.
She stopped short in the entranceway to the waiting area. The open door had brought the scent of the brisk fall air inside along with a few errant yellow and orange leaves dancing on the breeze like children pushing and shoving. She would have to sweep those later. The breeze also brought a menacing-looking man with bulging biceps, hair to his shoulders, and a scruffy beard. She enjoyed the sight of Kace Ryker, shirt on or off, the way she enjoyed the ripples on a lake’s surface. She could sit and watch either all day. She willed herself to pull her act together. She barely knew the man.
“Hey. I was hoping to get a massage. Do you have time today?” The bright white smile eased any thoughts of sending him away, and if it weren’t for Royce, she would probably cave and give him that massage.
“I just cleaned up the massage area. I’m done for the day. I’m sorry. I can squeeze you in tomorrow.” She had searched his career on the internet during her lunch break and found footage of his accident. A few articles had accompanied the video. Kace had been hours away from his big break when he hit the wall.
The smile fell. “Are you sure? It’s only, what, two o’clock? Don’t you work until five or something?”
He must be used to getting his way. And why wouldn’t he? He was an accomplished driver with many wins under his belt. Her ex had been used to getting his way too, and when she started saying no, he’d taken what he wanted.
She straightened her shoulders and tilted her chin. “During the week I only work until two thirty. I have to meet my son’s bus.”
“Jett doesn’t want this place open in the evenings for guests?” He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his defined chest. Her mind tortured her with an image of him shirtless in the main kitchen.
“We aren’t offering night appointments until I can secure proper babysitting, and only one night a week then until I can hire another therapist.” She would be interviewing other therapists for the evening shift as soon as she could. Jett had been more than accommodating. His kindness and the salary had been some of the reasons she took the job. She hoped Kace wouldn’t make her regret it with insistence she accommodate his needs.
“Can’t you meet your son and come back?” His gaze swept the waiting area with its newly sanded and stained floor.
Oversized chairs in white filled the space in front of the windows and the fireplace for guests to wait. The stone around the fireplace had been replaced along with all the lighting.
“My family did a nice job in here.”
That much she could agree to. “Is this the first time you’re seeing it?”
“I’ve been busy.” His lip curled in a snarl, and his eyes filled with a cold emptiness. He paced the small area as if somehow the renovations of the old barn into this lovely spa hit a nerve.
“Let me pull up tomorrow’s schedule.” She needed to move this along if she was going to make the bus. His constant mood swings were none of her concern.
She went to the computer at the reception desk repurposed from old logs.
“Did Lock make this piece?” Kace ran his large hand over the base of the desk. Traces of oil stained his fingers. Noticing the woodwork seemed to shake him from the start of his agitated state. The mood swings were part of a bigger problem. The problem he hadn’t wanted to talk about in the kitchen this morning, and a problem she would not take on.
“Lock? The one who runs around naked?”
He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, him. Have you met him yet?”
“He was at dinner the other night. Thankfully, fully dressed. What’s it like to have three brothers?” She tapped at the keys on the computer and kept her gaze on the screen, but her inquiring mind couldn’t be staved off. Asking clients questions was second nature. If she could make them relax, the massage went better.
“Four.” His tone stung like a towel snapped against her skin.
“Excuse me?” She dragged her gaze back to him.
“You asked me about my three brothers. I have four brothers. My youngest brother died sixteen years ago, but you don’t know that because there isn’t a trace of Ajay anywhere on this ranch. Jett made sure to remove him as if he didn’t exist.” He pounded the desk with his fist.
He was a big man with plenty of strength. His hands could fit around her neck without any effort. As a race-car driver, he was probably an adrenaline junkie and needed power as much as he needed air. Her insides shook. She tried to summon a deep breath. Kace wasn’t her ex, Drew. She was safe.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you lost your brother.” Her heart ached for his unimaginable loss. Ajay would’ve been very young if her quick math proved right. That didn’t change what seemed to be happening with Kace’s moods. “I understand you aren’t feeling well, and this is probably the source of your reactions, but you need to stop biting my head off.”
He stepped back. “I wasn’t doing that.”
“I don’t have time to argue with you. I have ten minutes to get to my son’s bus. I need you to go so I can lock up.” She swallowed against the heart racing in her throat. She walked a fine line between pissing off her boss and demanding to be treated with respect.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell or bang my fist. I can’t help myself sometimes. It’s like I don’t have control of my brain since the accident.”
“The concussion.” She softened to his plight. “How about if I fit you in for a thirty-minute massage tonight? I can let Royce wait out here while I work.” She usually tried to spend her evenings with Royce, but he wouldn’t mind a night with a few video games.
“Is that going to be a problem? I don’t want Jett mad at me.”
“It’s fine. You’re the boss. I can make arrangements for my boss.” She could use a lavender oil on him to help him relax. If she had to guess, he probably didn’t sleep well.
“Whoa. I am not the boss.” He held his hands up. “Sometimes I help out when Jett is short-handed, and these days when I feel up to it, but I drive.”
“The website said all the brothers owned the ranch.” She would be back tonight no matter what to help him. His hunched shoulders said his muscles were tighter than a spring and needed some relief. The massage would also help with the random bouts of anger.
“We do own the ranch. The family angle is great for business, and most of the time Gage and I are around, so it seems like we run the place too. But I’m not in charge of anything here. This place isn’t in my blood. Race cars are all I care about.” He followed her to the door and stood close while she activated the alarm. Heat rolled off him and made her tremble, but not with fear this time. All those muscles and his dark skin gave him a sexy air, but Kace Ryker wasn’t the man for her. He was committed to his sport. The next time she allowed herself to fall for a man, she wanted him to be committed to her.
She stole a glance at her watch. “Oh, crap. I’m late. I have to run. I’ll see you tonight at seven.”
He placed a hand on her shoulder. “Let me drive you.”
“I don’t think so. I have my car anyway.” She scoured her purse for her keys, making her even later. Royce would never forgive her for breaking her promise.
“It’s my fault you’re late. I know where the bus stop is. It was mine once.” His bright smile returned and flickered in his eyes. “Please, Tara. It’s the least I can do for being a pushy pain in the ass.” He held up his own keys.
A small smile toyed with her lips. She would serve herself well to stay focused on her clients, launching her lotions, and her son. Kace and his charm needed to stay off-limits. “Okay, since I don’t have time to argue.” And since she couldn’t seem to find her keys…
He was only offering a ride to make up for his behavior. Even if they could never be together romantically, he could be a friend. They were going to be spending time together, and she needed some new friends.
“Friends?” he said as if he’d read her mind. He stuck out his hand.
Her small smile turned into a laugh. “Friends.” She slid her hand into his strong grip and ignored the warmth filling her chest.
She would need friends in Backwater if Drew showed up and blew open her life again. She only wished this new friend wasn’t so damn sexy.