Chapter 75
1073 Words
Six weeks later
Jax held the heavy door at Curves for Sarah, watched her carefully as she limped through. The private and intensive physical therapy sessions were doing her a world of good, and here was the result: his girl was walking on her own. Slow, a bit shaky… but on her own two feet.
Aidan saw them come in, and practically leapt over the bar at them. He watched Sarah approach, his eyes glowing at her. “Hey, Red.”
“Hey.” She smiled at him. “How’s it going?”
“Oh, awesome. You know me.”
“Uh-huh.”
He opened his arms to her, and she walked into them. He enfolded her gently, still not totally able to believe that she was here, and warm, and talking. Aidan had always assumed that a coma was a death sentence in slow-motion – that had been his experience, anyway – and the fact that Sarah had returned from that shadow world seemed to him to be nothing less than a miracle.
He held her away from him, really took her in. She looked tired, but tough and focused. Jax said that she was working like hell at her physical therapy, pushing herself almost to the point of collapse some days. Sarah’s determination to walk again – no limp, no weakness – was a driving force in her life. If only she could regain her full memory through the sheer force of her will… but that part was all about time. And luck.
His eyes met Jax’s, and the two men exchanged warm glances. When Jax had told Aidan about his decision to have Tank drop an unharmed Dave at the Denver PD, Aidan had immediately requested to stay at Curves. Jax had been more than happy to agree, and had torn up Aidan's two-word letter of resignation. He’d been amused to notice that the words were not, ‘I Quit’.
“OK, let’s sit down.” Jax put his arm around Sarah. “She’ll be here any minute.”
“Cosmo, hon?” Aidan asked with a wink.
Sarah laughed, and both men loved to hear it. “It’s not even four o’clock.”
“You’ve never had a drink in the afternoon?”
Sarah paused. “I – I’m not sure.”
Aidan bit his lip. Goddammit, I didn’t mean to call attention to the gaps in her memory. f**k, Carter. Nice job.
“Hey…” Jax reached for her hand. “You OK?”
Sarah was thinking. “You know what? I actually… I think that when I came here one time, I wondered what it would be like to drink in the afternoon.”
Jax’s heart jumped. “Yeah?”
“Yeah.” She stared around. “I know! It was the day I came here to accept your offer!”
“What offer?” Aidan asked.
“Never you mind,” Jax huffed at him. “So – you remember that day?”
“I do… now.”
They all smiled at each other, the relief etched clear and bright on their faces.
“OK, then,” Aidan said. “So, I’ll bring you a Cosmo, and you can enjoy your first foray into the wonderful world of afternoon boozing.”
She giggled. “Sounds perfect.”
Without saying a word, Jax led her to the same booth they’d sat in together on their first date. He slid in next to her, just like he'd done that night, and he waited to see if she made a comment. She didn’t say anything, though, and he didn’t push.
Time, man. Just give it time.
The door opened, and they both looked up to see a woman standing there. She was short, and curvy in all the right places under that straight-laced suit. She clutched her cell phone like a lifeline, and right now she looked scared out of her mind. Jax got to his feet, and she blinked at him. He wondered if his bar’s reputation was freaking her out to the point that she was actually going to take to those expensive high heels.
“Naomi?” he said,
She relaxed a bit. “Jax?”
“Yeah.” He extended his hand. “It’s good to meet you.”
“You too.” She took a step forward, and looked at Sarah. “Sarah?”
“Yes.” Sarah smiled. “Hi.”
“Sit down,” Jax invited.
Naomi Abbott sat across from them, and they gazed at her. Her blonde hair was short and chic, bringing out her wide brown eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones. Her lips were generous and lush, but right now, they were being worried between her teeth. She shot a quick look around Curves, and a flash of something resembling fear went across her face.
Aidan came over now, set the drink in front of Sarah. Naomi’s eyes zeroed in on it, then skittered away.
“Hi,” Aidan said, turning on the charm. “What can I get you, hon? You a Cosmo girl, maybe?”
“Oh!” Naomi looked flustered. “Oh, no, thank you. Just coffee, please.”
“You sure now?” Aidan asked.
“Y – yes. I’m sure. I drove here.”
“OK, then.” He gave her a wink, and she stared at him, totally astounded at the blatant flirtation. She didn’t usually get too much of that in business meetings, and she was a bit flummoxed. “One coffee, coming up.” He wandered away, and Naomi found that she rather enjoyed the view.
“Thank you so much for seeing us here,” Jax said. “It’s kind of unusual meeting in a bar, I guess, but all my documents are in my office.”
Naomi laced her fingers together, held on tight. “It’s no problem.” Her words and body language were in direct contradiction with one another, and both Sarah and Jax noticed.
“I’ll just go get the papers.” Jax stood up. “One sec, OK?”
The women nodded.
“So… how are you doing?” Naomi asked Sarah hesitantly, once they were alone. They’d been speaking on the phone for the past two weeks or so, hammering out some details, and Sarah had shared much with her. Naomi knew all about Noah, of course, but she also knew about Sarah’s recovery process.
- Writer
