Christyne Butler - Flirting with Destiny

“But why?”

Dev was glad they had scored one of the booths in the far corner of the diner. Not that it had prevented a few people from stopping by to say hello, lie to him that he looked good and force him to introduce Tanya.

Now he was glad for another reason, even though what he was about to say was certainly no secret in town.

“Because I’m an alcoholic.”

Her eyebrows rose even higher until they disappeared beneath the fringe of bangs, her doubtful expression replaced with a look of pure surprise.

She didn’t know.

He hadn’t been sure if Mac had told her how the two of them had met and become friends since Dev had run out on the old man’s pincushion session last Wednesday.

“I was twenty-seven when I finally got sick and tired of being a highly functioning drunk and joined AA,” he continued. “Eight years ago this summer.”

“Is that where you met Mac?”

“At the very first meeting. Of course, it took me almost a year of still being stupid and denying I actually had a drinking problem before I finally got with the program. Mac was always there for me. Still is.”

Tanya’s gaze dropped to her plate. She suddenly seemed very interested in her ketchup-laden fries. “It took Mac...my grandfather years to admit he had a problem.”

“Didn’t you say you once lived with him?”

“I was just a baby when my father took off and my mom and I had to move in with Mac. They used to have some real knock-down, drag-out fights about his drinking.”

Trying to imagine a child living in that type of environment had Dev reaching for his ice water, his throat suddenly tight. “Is that why you moved when you were eight?”

She jerked her head up.

“Yeah, I’ve got a pretty good memory.”

Tanya stared at him for a moment, and then gave in with a soft humph and looked away. Before he could ask her about it, she shook her head.

“One night my mom just threw everything we had into a couple of suitcases and we took off. I guess she couldn’t take it anymore. I remember her saying Mac probably wouldn’t even notice we were gone for at least a week.”

“And you stayed gone for twenty-three years.”

Tanya pulled in a deep breath then slowly released it. “Yes, we did. Thankfully, Mac finally got the help he needed, even though it took him another ten years. He found my mom not long after that—something to do with making amends—but it wasn’t until last year we reconnected as a family.”

“I think Mac’s pretty happy about that and the fact you’re here,” Dev said, then grinned. “And not just so you can practice your voodoo magic on him.”

“Ah, which brings us back to working together and my original question about why you aren’t taking any pain medication during your recovery.”

She was a smart woman. At least he’d thought so. “Isn’t it obvious?”

Tanya stared at him for a moment, tilting her head to one side. The action caused her straight, shiny hair, pulled back into a high ponytail, to slide over one shoulder. Damn, that was sexy. “You were afraid of your addiction finding a new vice.”

Like he thought, smart. “Scared more of that than the possibility of losing a limb. Although that idea scared the crap out of me at the time, as well.”

“When did you make this decision? If you don’t mind me asking.”

He didn’t mind. Why should he? Lord knew, he’d been asked that question many times. “I don’t remember being rescued. Okay, that’s not exactly true. I do remember when the search team found me and my brother. Lucid moments were few and far between for me during the time we were lost, but I knew I’d been busted up pretty bad.”

This was where the memories collided with reality.

“I thought... I could’ve sworn I told the EMTs I didn’t want to be drugged, but I learned later I’d been in and out of consciousness most of that day. The next thing I knew I woke up in a hospital and had already had the first surgery to repair my leg. It was then I made it clear I wanted nothing that would take away the pain. The nurses thought I was nuts.”

“I can imagine.”

“I think I yanked out my IV tubing a few times...every time I started feeling numb...lost in la-la land.” Dev paused when the waitress stopped by and cleared away their dishes, waiting until she was gone before he went on. “It wasn’t until my folks came in... Well, they knew I was serious. Then we got the doctors onboard.”

“The pain must’ve been excruciating.”

“It was a rough road. I had three more surgeries to deal with my two broken arms and a bad infection that developed in my leg. That kept me in the hospital for a long time. After a lot of discussions, I ended up taking mostly NSAIDs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, but even those I weaned myself off as soon as I could. Hell, I rarely take anything even for a headache.”

She looked at him for a long moment and Dev felt his skin grow hot under her scrutiny. Outside of his family, medical team and Mac, Tanya was the first person he’d talked to about this part of his recovery.

“Is this refusal to take pain medication the reason you’ve been slack on your physical therapy?”

“Well, it sure hurts like hell afterwards.” Dev held up his hands, unable to truly spread his arms wide. “Usually I just ‘Duke’ it out.”

“I’m sorry, what does that mean?”

“You know, the Duke? John Wayne? Take it like a man?” Dev laughed and dropped his hands back to the table when she rolled her eyes at him. “Hey, I’m doing okay. Might not be a hundred percent, but considering where I started...”

“And no one ever offered alternative methods for dealing with the pain?”

“You mean like yours?”

“Yes. There’s quite a variety of disciplines out there. Acupuncture being one, of course, but there’s also self-hypnosis, Reiki, meditation, aromatherapy or even electrical nerve stimulation.”

“Well, some of those were talked about, but—”

“You’re not a fan of unconventional medicine.” Tanya crossed her arms, propping them on the edge of the table. “So tell me again why you want to work with me?”

Now it was Dev’s turn to stare as silence stretched between them.

Damn, she was pretty. Dressed in cream-colored slacks and a simple white cotton sweater, she looked very professional.

He guessed that was the point of today’s appointment, but he missed the revealing, body hugging outfits he’d seen her in last week.

He took in her peaches-and-cream skin, beautiful eyes with long, dark lashes and mouth that begged to be kissed.

His body responded to where his thoughts were headed, and why not, when the rest of him was tight and hurting.

“I’m not really sure,” he finally answered, deciding to keep his thoughts to himself. “You’re obviously skilled in your chosen profession and you believe in what you do. You already know needles are out, but you must have some other tricks up your sleeve. Besides, I trust you.”

An easy smile came to her lips. “You say that like it’s a surprise.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it is, although I don’t really know why I trust you. Who knows? Maybe this whole thing between us was meant to be. I just can’t get over how you seem very familiar.”

“Do I?”

Two simple words, but Dev had noticed how her smile changed. Still there, but it wasn’t as easy and relaxed as before. “I know it sounds strange, but it’s almost as if we’ve met before. In a previous life, maybe?”

* * *

Before Tanya could respond, their waitress appeared again with their bill and flashed her pretty green eyes at Dev despite the fact she looked like she was barely out of high school.

Thankful for the timely interruption, Tanya took a moment to do her own relaxation technique. A few deep breaths and a mental image of a field of wildflowers slowed her heart from the frantic pounding that had started the moment Dev had fallen silent when she’d pushed for an answer about why he wanted to work with her.