Christyne Butler - Flirting with Destiny

“Yeah, I remember Mac mentioning his daughter living with him for a couple of years, but that’s all.” He pulled in a deep breath and slowly released it, the tension leaving his jaw as that same charming smile she remembered came to his lips. “So you’re here for a visit.”

Her heart started that crazy pounding again.

Setting down her cell phone and grabbing her towel, Tanya held the cotton material to her chest, thankful for the way it draped down the center of her body as she patted at the sweat drying on her skin. “Actually, I came to help Mac.”

“Help, how?”

“I’m assuming you know about the arthritis in his hands?” Devlin nodded, but remained silent so she continued. “Well, I’m a licensed acupuncturist. We did a few sessions during his time in Denver, and it seemed to help with his pain. When the chance came for me to come here and work with him again, I agreed.”

“Did you say acupuncture?” Devlin asked, swearing under his breath. “As in needles?”

“Yes, that’s what she said.”

Tanya turned at the low, gravelly voice of her grandfather.

“Hey, Mac,” she said, using his nickname. Calling him Granddad didn’t feel right, given the fragile state of their renewed relationship.

As she looked at him, she was still amazed at how much the man looked like Jimmy Buffett. She’d told him so when they’d reconnected back in November, surprised to find out her grandfather was as much of a fan of the famed musician as she was. “When did you get here?”

“A few minutes ago and just in time, it seems.” He joined them, stopping to stand between her and Devlin and glancing at the brick-strewn floor of the hangar. “Good to see you, Dev. I tried to tell you about Tanya’s visit, but my phone kept cutting out on me.”

Mac dropped a battered backpack at his feet. He held out his hands, clenching and releasing his fingers. “This damn knuckle-busting arthritis is tough on the flying. I’m sure glad she’s here.”

“Yeah, so I heard,” Dev finally said. “But needles? Really?”

Mac laughed and pushed the brim of his ball cap higher on his forehead. “Yeah, no big surprise I didn’t tell you about that, either. Besides, I didn’t just want Tanya here to help with my aching bones. We’ve been in touch quite a bit thanks to emails and phone calls the last few months, but we’ve still got a lot of catching up to do.”

“After twenty years apart, I’d say so.”

“Twenty-three.”

Mac’s reply overlapped Tanya’s and she laughed, returning Mac’s grin.

“Am I missing the joke?” Devlin asked.

“My mom and Mac had their first disagreement during their reunion over exactly how long it’d been since they’d seen each other,” Tanya explained. “Once they finally agreed on the number of years, it sort of became a running joke.”

“At the least, it’s a tension breaker. Which is a good thing, because I guess I can now admit to having ulterior motives for getting Tanya back to Destiny again,” Mac said.

Tanya saw the craftiness in the old man’s dark brown eyes as he glanced at Devlin. Figuring out what he meant took a matter of seconds. “Oh, no. No way.”

“Tanya, you’re exactly what he needs.”

She shook her head, knowing her instincts about the pain Dev had been trying to hide were right on target. But her own instincts about needing to stay far away from trouble—work trouble and man trouble in particular—were also on the mark.

Devlin Murphy was trouble with a capital T. “Not interested, Mac.”

“You worked wonders for me, in ways that regular medication hasn’t for years. I just want you to do the same for my friend.”

“Friend?” Dev finally spoke up. “Wait a minute, you mean me?”

Tanya ignored him and turned to face her grandfather, still shocked by his suggestion. “You know I have plans to be in London for my advanced studies class in a couple of months. I don’t have time to do a full work-up based on whatever Devlin’s current physical therapy status might be.”

“I’m only suggesting you supplement the therapy Dev is already doing,” Mac pushed. “Lord knows, the man needs all the help he can get.”

Maybe so, but not from me.

“Yes, from you,” Mac continued as if he could read her mind. “No one else in this town does what you do.”

“So he can go to Laramie or Cheyenne.” Tanya spun away, looping the towel over her neck. Grabbing her mat, she quickly rolled it and shoved it into her bag. “There must be someone in either of those places who specializes in my field.”

“Yeah, right.” Mac jerked a thumb in Dev’s direction. “The guy blows off more PT sessions than he makes. There’s no way he’d go for any other type of treatment.”

“So why would you think he’d work with me?”

“Hey, can I get a word in here?” Devlin asked.

“No!”

Again with the simultaneous answer. Tanya shot Mac a dark look and headed across the room to retrieve the yoga bricks she’d thrown at Devlin.

Of all the nerve!

Here she thought she and Mac had become closer over the last couple of months. Growing up with her mother’s stories of her grandfather’s alcoholic outbursts contradicted the memories she’d had of a sweet man who baked cookies, watched old television shows with her and took her for long walks around the farm.

She’d hoped by coming back to Destiny she could recapture the special bond they’d had when she’d been a child. Instead, he wanted her to provide free care to his friends!

Finding out she’d been accepted into the prestigious International Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine in the United Kingdom had been a godsend after leaving the clinic where she’d worked for the last four years. Being told she either had to resign or she would be fired from a job she loved had been a very dark time in her life.

She’d lost more than employment that day, and she was finally seeing the light at the end of a long, gloomy tunnel. When Mac had suggested she spend her last two months in the States with him, she’d been overjoyed. Not that she didn’t love her mom, stepfather and stepsisters, but she’d always felt that she and Mac shared something special and it meant so much that he wanted her in Destiny.

Now she knew why.

Gathering her yoga bricks, she turned and came face to face with the one man in this town she never planned to get her hands on again.

“What exactly is it that you do?” Devlin’s softly spoken question and the sincerity in his gaze doused her indignation, compelling her to answer him.

“Like I already told you, I’m a licensed acupuncturist.” Tanya rattled off her credentials, knowing them by heart, having been asked that question many times before. “I’m also board-certified as a massage therapist—although lately I’ve been working mostly in aquatic therapy—and I’m a Chinese herbalist.”

“Wow. That’s pretty impressive.”

“Thanks. Mac obviously thinks so.” Filling her bag, she ducked around both men and headed for the hangar’s exit, having no idea what she was going to do now. Other than drown her sorrows in a hot shower and a tall glass of wine.

On second thought, scratch the wine. She’d settle for ice-cold lemonade instead.

“Tanya, wait. Please, let me finish,” Mac called out. “I’m sorry I blurted my idea out like that. Being tactful has never been my strong suit.”

Not knowing why, Tanya stopped along the side of the antique plane and turned to look at him. “Yeah, I’m learning that about you.”

“I swear I didn’t bring you here under false pretenses. Remember how we’d talked about you helping me during your stay to bump up your savings for your living expenses overseas?”