Thrown by a Curve Read online

Page 6

  Author: Jaci Burton

  He walked to the coffeemaker and poured two cups. “Maybe you’re the one who needs to go back to bed. You’re cranky. ”

  “You’re right. I am cranky because you’re making light of what I consider serious business, which is your recovery and your career. ”

  “Your cup is on the counter. Cream and sugar are there if you want it. ”

  He leaned against the counter and took a drink. Then another, waiting for the surge of caffeine to give him the jolt he’d need to deal with Alicia this morning.

  Fortunately, she wandered over, picked up the cup, and grabbed some sugar to add to it, then leaned beside him to silently drink.

  Silence. He liked that word. He’d gotten through his first cup and was on his second before she spoke again.

  “You think this is fun for me?”

  He looked down at her, feeling a lot more charitable now that he was fully awake. “Probably not. But you could have just let one day slide. ”

  She sat her cup on the counter and turned to face him. “One day can make all the difference in your recovery. I’ve studied your chart. It’s not just one day, Garrett. You’ve let a lot of days slide since your injury. And the team let you. That’s not going to happen with me. If I have to camp out on your doorstep and drag your lazy ass out of bed every day, then I will. If I have to move in with you and kick you out of bed to get you to cooperate, then that’s what’s going to happen. But one way or the other, you’re going to get the therapy you need to get your arm in shape come game day. ”

  Now that he was sufficiently awake, he was geared up for battle. He turned to her. “I don’t need a goddamn babysitter. ”

  “Then stop behaving like a child and act like an adult. One who takes his responsibilities seriously. ”

  He arched a brow and crossed his arms. “So I sleep in one morning, and I’ve suddenly failed?”

  “You cancelled your therapy sessions thirty-four times before I took over. ”

  He cocked a brow. “You counted?”

  “Yes. And while you think missing one session doesn’t make a difference, blowing off thirty-four sessions does. That’s why you’re not improving. That’s why you’re not on the mound throwing pitches yet. Have you even had a ball in your hand since you’ve been injured?”

  He changed his mind. He didn’t like Alicia after all, and frankly, he hated her ball-busting attitude.

  “Answer me. Have you?”

  “No. ”

  “Then stop blowing me off and start taking this therapy seriously. Maybe then we’ll get somewhere. ”

  Tired of listening to her, he pushed off the counter. “I’m going to take a shower. ”

  She trailed after him.

  He turned to her in the middle of the hallway. “You going to follow me into the shower?”

  That finally got through to her. She stopped. “I’ll wait here. ”

  He looked her up and down. Just the thought of her stripping down to continue their argument in the shower was enough to make his dick twitch to life. He needed to get away from her before he did something really stupid, like suggest they use their energy on something more productive, like sex.

  And then she’d really be pissed off at him.

  He pivoted and headed into the bedroom, stripped off his sweats and turned the shower on, blowing out a frustrated breath as he stepped under the steamy water.

  He’d always hated being told what to do. Being in this business, it was all about the rules, including where you fit in the rotation.

  Hell, at the rate he was going, he’d be lucky to be in the rotation at all. If he didn’t rehab well, he could end up losing his job as a starter, a job he’d worked his ass off to get and to hold on to. Instead, he could wind up as a middle-inning reliever, tossing a few pitches every couple of games when needed. If he pitched at all.

  Or he could end up spending this season rehabbing his arm in the minors.

  He shoved his face under the spray and thought about what that might be like.

  The one thing he knew about the majors was that once you went backward, you very rarely got a shot at coming back up.

  He pulled his head away from the water and scrubbed his hand over his face, turned off the shower, and grabbed a towel. After the steam cleared in the bathroom, he took a look in the mirror.

  Maybe Alicia was right. God, he hated to admit that, but maybe it was time to take this therapy thing more seriously.

  Or at least think about taking it more seriously. He still wasn’t convinced any of this was doing any good. But maybe he should give it more time—give her more time—to make it all work.

  He threw on clean clothes, combed his hair, and came out of his room. Alicia was staring out the back door into his backyard.

  She turned when she heard him come out.

  “Okay, let’s get this therapy thing going. ”

  She walked over to grab her coat. “About damn time. ”

  He smiled as he pulled his jacket off the back of the chair. Yeah, he still liked her sass.

  He followed her to the treatment facility and got out of his car.

  “Wait,” she said as he headed to the door.

  “What?”

  “You didn’t eat. ”

  “No. Didn’t have time. ”

  “You need to fuel up first. ”

  He leaned against his car. “What? And ruin your carefully crafted time line?”

  “Funny. Come on. ”

  They walked across the street to Denny’s. Alicia ordered a cup of coffee and some juice while Garrett ordered the full breakfast.

  “Nothing to eat for you?” he asked.

  “I already ate breakfast. I was on time and waiting for you at the facility two hours ago. ”

  “Okay, I get it. I was an asshole,” he said as he downed a glass of juice.

  She didn’t answer, so obviously, she agreed with him. Then she went quiet. She’d brought her notebook, so he contented himself with playing a game on his phone.

  “You get that this is all for your benefit, right?”

  He waited to answer her while the waitress delivered his food. “Part of me does. The other part of me just wanted to sleep in this morning. ”

  “That other part of you needed a wake-up call. ”

  He dug into his eggs. “Yeah, well, that part of me doesn’t like you very much. ” He swallowed. “Sorry. ”

  “I don’t need you to like me, Garrett. I just need you to follow the plan. ”

  “And just what is the plan for today? More of the same?”

  She smiled. “No. I have something fun in mind for today’s therapy. ”

  Fun, huh? Nothing about therapy was fun.

  After he finished eating, they headed back to the facility. Alicia stopped at her car. “Get in. ”

  “We’re not going to train in there?”

  “Not today. ”

  He climbed into her car and put on his seat belt. “So, where are we going?”

  She pulled out of the parking lot, keeping her gaze straight ahead. “Not far. ”

  He had a chance to watch her as she drove. Carefully. With both hands on the wheel, and never once taking her attention off the road.

  He also noticed she didn’t have her uniform on today, something he hadn’t paid much attention to when she’d shown up at his house.

  “No team uniform today?”

  “Nope. ” She pulled off the highway and pulled into what at first looked like a gym.

  Then he realized it wasn’t a gym at all.

  “Seriously?” he asked as she parked. “A rock climbing facility?”

  She finally turned to him. “It’ll be great therapy. Plus, tons of fun. ”

  Nothing that had “therapy” in it was ever fun. But he got out and slid into step next to her.

  “Ever rock climbed before?” she asked
as they headed inside.

  He didn’t know what he expected, but tons of walls with different-sized colorful rocks wasn’t it. “Uh, no. You?”

  She grabbed a clipboard from the front desk. “As a matter of fact, I have. It’s a tremendous form of exercise for your entire body, especially for your shoulders. ”

  “Hey, Alicia. ”

  Garrett looked over as a muscular guy came to the desk. Alicia smiled at him.

  “Hi, Dave. ”

  “I have everything set up for you and Garrett. Hi, I’m Dave. ”

  “Nice to meet you, Dave. ” Garrett shook his hand.

  “I’m a big fan of the Rivers. I understand you’re doing some shoulder therapy. I hope it gets you back on the mound soon. ”

  “Me, too. ”

  He was handed a clipboard and a form that basically said if he fell to his death, it wasn’t their fault, along with some other information about safety. He filled it out and signed it.

  “Right this way,” Dave said.

  Garrett walked behind as Alicia and Dave stayed close together talking. Or rather—Dave talked. Alicia tilted her head back and laughed. And Garrett felt like a third wheel, though he had no idea why. It wasn’t like Dave and Alicia were on some kind of date.

  As far as he knew, anyway. He didn’t know anything about her personal life. Dave could be her boyfriend, and he was helping her with Garrett’s therapy.

  Lucky guy if that was the case. Out of those loose-fitting team uniforms, she had one hell of a body. Tight workout pants and a tank top hugged her body in a way the team uniforms never had.

  She was slender but not skinny. The woman had muscle tone like she worked out and curves in all the right places.

  “Okay, Garrett, let’s get you in a harness,” Dave said, and proceeded to hook him up. Alicia seemed to know what she was doing as she climbed into the gear herself then headed over to him.

  “You’re climbing with me?” Garrett asked.

  Alicia grinned. “Of course. I’ll be right next to you the entire time. I need to watch your form and make sure you don’t injure your shoulder. ”

  She led him to one of the walls and leaned against it, raising her arms. “We’ll stretch out first. ”

  After they stretched, she put her foot on one of the rocks. “Just follow along next to me. We’ll go easy at first. ”

  He tilted his head back and stared up at the top of the wall, his shoulder aching at the thought of how much work it was going to take to get there.

  Alicia laid her hand on his shoulder. “We’ll only go as far as you think you can handle—and as far as I think you can take—no farther, okay?”

  He studied the top, then slipped on his gloves and grabbed the rope. “Don’t sweat it. I can handle this. ”

  The first ten feet or so were pretty easy, a stretch that felt pretty good to his shoulder. And he had to admit this was much more fun than doing repetitive exercises at the training facility. By the time they were halfway up the wall, though, he was drenched in sweat, and his shoulder felt like it was about to pop right out of the socket.

  Alicia, on the other hand, sailed up the wall like a spider on the run. She made it look easy and wasn’t even winded. Right now she was above him, dangling by holding on to a rock one-handed as she looked down at him.

  “How’s it going?” she asked.

  He gritted his teeth. “Great. ”

  “Any pain?”

  He swiped at his brow with the back of his arm. “I’m fine. ”

  She climbed down until she was level with him. “Garrett. If you’re in pain, I need to know. We’re not doing this for fun, you know. ”

  “Really? I thought we were doing this for fun. ”

  She cocked her head to the side. “Seriously. How do you feel?”

  “My shoulder hurts. ”

  She frowned. “Hurts really bad, hurts a little, or something in between?”

  “It’s tolerable. Not that bad. ”