Project Detour (Castle View Book 3) (6 page)

“Yes, you can.” She locked the brakes on his chair. “If at any time you are in pain, we’ll cut this short and get you right back in bed.”

“You’re kidding, right?” He shook his head. “I’ve been dying for a shower for weeks. I’m not letting a little pain stop me from this nirvana.”

“Your idea of heaven and mine are a little different.” She tested the water again. “Okay, if you’re ready, it’s go time.”

“Seriously, you need to work on your foreplay skills.” Brad put his arms around her neck and let her lift him.

They turned toward the shower. “Now, hold on to the wall while I get the rest of your clothes off.”

Brad did what he was told, but then started humming the stripper song.

She stood back up, looking him in the eye. “Stop, you’re making me laugh.”

“That’s not the reaction I was looking for with this type of activity.” He let her lean him back onto the stool, then waited as she took off his basketball shorts. “Let the games begin.”

She turned the water up to the shower nozzle and handed him the soap.  “You wash while I do your hair. We need to be quick about this.”

“Wham, bam, thank you ma’am fast?”

“Yes.” She lifted the hand-held nozzle to his head, gently running water over his blonde hair.

He closed his eyes and groaned. “That feels amazing.”

She poked him. “Wash. I don’t want to be standing here forever with your naked body.”

“So many ways I could respond to that.” He opened his eyes and caught her gaze. “Were you just peeking downward?”

“No.” But she had been. Brad was well-endowed. One more thing she shouldn’t know about her patient.

But she was glad she did. She poured shampoo into her hands and started washing his hair. This was such a bad idea. Which is probably why it felt so good.

Brad woke the next morning feeling almost normal. Yes, he still felt the pain, reminding him it was time for his pills, but he felt more alive and, crap, happy, than he had for weeks. He grabbed the thriller he’d been reading and settled in for some quiet time before breakfast. Then his phone rang.

“Brad Castle.” He didn’t stop reading.

“Boss? This is Jose. We have a problem.” His general manager seemed out of breath, the words spilling out as fast as he could say them.

Brad set the book down. “What’s going on?”

“The shipment to the wine tasting didn’t get there. I’ve been on the phone with the shipping company and they say they delivered it yesterday, but the event says no. What should I do?”

Brad tried to think. The event was Saturday and this was what, Friday? He could have someone drive another batch up to Spokane, but where was the first delivery? “Have you tried to call Maggie or Mark?”

“Mark is in Seattle with his family. They were taking the little girl to see her papa. Maggie doesn’t answer.” Jose took a deep breath. “I wouldn’t have called you, but when they called this morning, they threatened to take us out of the event. I sent the wine, I promise.”

“I know you did.” Brad eyed his wheelchair. He couldn’t drive, but Jose could come get him. His company truck was a full size Sierra. “Look come by the house. You can drive me to the winery and we’ll figure this out together.”

A pause held so long on the other end of the line that Brad thought they’d been disconnected. Finally, Jose answered. “I don’t know, Boss. You were pretty banged up when I last saw you.”

“Well, I’m better now.  Besides, we need to get this handled quickly. Apparently, you can’t get it done on your own. You’ll have me back at home before my breakfast is ready.” And before Destiny finds out I left, he hoped. He glanced at the clock, just after six. Destiny typically brought his coffee in at seven. He had an entire hour. And besides, he rationalized, she told him he could work for an hour a day.  “Meet me outside in ten minutes.”

Brad ended the call before Jose could point out that with a broken leg and foot, and being stuck in a wheelchair, getting into Brad’s office would be tricky.  However getting into the winery warehouse would be impossible. He’d been approached about adding a handicap accessible ramp, but since no one but the workers entered the warehouse, he hadn’t seen the need. Now he was the one cut off from being able to access all of the property.

No matter, he mused. He could get done what Jose needed in no time. Destiny might not even know he had left the house. Besides, this was his life. She wasn’t his jailer, just someone who was here to help him navigate for the next few weeks. That’s all.

He thought about the way she’d gently washed his hair last night, then after they were done, she’d wrapped him in a big towel, sat him on another stool, and took off the plastic trash bags covering his foot and leg. The duct tape she’d used had ripped hair out of his leg causing him to yelp in pain.

He remembered the fear on her face when she’d looked up and asked what was wrong. She’d thought the shower had messed with something. She’d probably been told it was too early, yet she’d done it anyway. It was one thing he loved about her, she didn’t follow the rules. Loved? His emotional side quaked at the word. “Don’t get all mushy. It’s only a word.”

He pulled on clean basketball shorts and a sleeveless tank. Jose had never seen him in athletic wear, but putting on the suit or even a pair of Dockers was out of the question right now. He ran his hand through his hair, took care of his bathroom requirements, and had the wheelchair out on the driveway in fifteen minutes.

Jose was already waiting there and his face went pale when he saw his boss. “I don’t know, maybe this is a bad idea.”

“Just help me into the truck. Is that seat kicked all the way back?” He jerked open the passenger door and peered into the opening. The truck sat high, which gave tall people like Jose and Brad plenty of room. But he wasn’t sure how he’d be able to navigate into the seat from the level of the chair.

He directed Jose, the same way Destiny had directed him. He was standing up, leaning on Jose, when the trouble started. Jose didn’t know to turn him backwards and tried to lift Brad into the truck sideways. Brad’s head hit on the top of the cab and he involuntarily lifted his hands to his head. “Shit.”

“Boss, what happened?” Jose let go, not realizing Brad was using him to stand.  Brad slowly slipped to the floorboard of the truck, catching his butt on the edge of the doorway. The jolt reverberated through his entire spine.

“What in the world are you doing?” Destiny rushed to his side. She took stock of what had happened, and then focused on Brad’s face. “Never mind, I don’t want to know. Are you in pain?”

Brad nodded, unable to lie. He hadn’t taken a pain killer since before he went to bed and now, in addition to the throb in his leg and foot, his back was shooting pain through his body every time he moved.

“You’re going back to bed.” Destiny looked at Jose. “And you’re helping me get him there. Move the wheelchair closer.”

As she directed, Brad found himself back into the chair and then back into his bed. He took the offered pill with no hesitation but when Jose tried to excuse himself, he shook his head. “We need to figure out what happened to this shipment.”

Destiny’s eyes narrowed. “You have ten minutes before that pill is going to knock you out. If you want to spend it talking about work, be my guest. I’m calling the doctor and getting him out here to check what damage you’ve caused by your foolishness.”

“It wasn’t foolishness,” he called after her but she didn’t respond except for a wave of the hand which he took to mean,
I don’t buy it
.

Jose stood watching, his hat clasped tightly in his hands. “I’m sorry, boss. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Brad waved away his concerns. He scribbled a list onto a sheet of paper. “Okay, so this is what you’re going to do. You drive this up to Spokane yourself. Tell the crew at the warehouse you’ll be out of the area for a while. You have someone you trust you can leave behind, right?”

“Yes, boss.”

Brad handed him the list. “And take an extra bottle of the 2016 Sweet for Sara at the event for letting us know there was a problem. Tell her I owe her dinner.”

Jose stared at the list. “What do I do about the missing delivery?”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll have Maggie check into that. We just need to make sure we have wine to pour at the event. Maggie is handling the booth so she’ll deal with staffing and tying up the loose ends. She’s probably already in Spokane and that’s why you couldn’t reach her.”

“Okay, I will do this.” Jose held up the list. “And I am sorry if you are in pain due to my actions.”

“He isn’t in pain because of you. He’s in pain because of his own stupid choices.” Destiny stood in the doorway. She looked pissed. “Ten minutes are up. I hope you got done what you needed to because Jose has to leave now.”

Anger flashed in his brain, but before Brad could respond, the pain killer dulled the sensation. He watched as Jose left the room and then he looked at the woman who was running his life with an iron fist. “You didn’t have to be rude.”

Her eyes widened. “Seriously? You thought I was rude? You tried to ride in a truck where you would have had to leave the door open to let your leg hang out because you wouldn’t fit any other way. And then, you jarred your back. You realize that one of the reasons you are on bedrest is to help the bruise on your spine heal so that you can walk again.”

He wanted to respond but more importantly, he wanted to sleep. And sleep won out.

Doctor Roberts arrived a few hours later at the same time that Maggie’s delivery boy came with lunch. He sniffed the air. “Smells like lasagna. I do love Maggie’s food.”

“You can stay for lunch. They always send too much food.” Destiny held the door open and then took the bags from the young kid. “Thank you.”

He grinned and barely tilted his head in acknowledgement. Then he jogged back to the sub compact he’d arrived in twice a day since she’d arrived.

Destiny nodded toward the retreating kid. “He doesn’t say much, but he’s consistent and has a great smile.”

“That’s Tom Martin’s kid, Kyle. He’s a junior this year over at the high school. Pretty good linebacker. It might just get him a scholarship.” The doctor wandered into the foyer. “Before I go in and see our boy, I wanted to tell you how sad I was that you weren’t able to make a go of your business here. I should have been referring people to you all along. I know there’s a lot of clients who could use your service, but people are stubborn.”

“Well, I may be able to stay in the area, at least.” She told him about the meeting she’d had that week and the new office opening in Spokane. “Wrong time, wrong location. No matter which one it was, it just means I’ll be moving on.”

“We will miss you.” He nodded to the doorway to the den and Brad’s makeshift bedroom. “So he tried to escape.”

“You could say that.” She smiled. Brad would definitely say it that way.

“The boy has always been a handful.” He walked toward the door. “You go eat. I’ll handle him for a while.”

“Should I dish you up a plate?”

The doctor shook his head. “Thank you, but I have no time. I’ve got patients waiting for me at the office.”

Destiny carried the food into the kitchen, wondering if she should join the men in Brad’s room. But Doctor Roberts had clearly wanted to be alone with Brad, probably in order to read him the riot act about not moving around so much. She pulled the dishes out of the bags and opened one of the containers. Baked pasta with a red sauce, a green salad, garlic bread, and a half gallon of ice cream for dessert. Maggie intended on fattening her brother up during his recuperation. The only problem was it would probably be Destiny who put on a few pounds. She dished out her lunch, then put the hot foods in the microwave to keep them warm. The oven was available, but she found that the microwave, due to its smaller size, kept the food warmer. She poured herself a glass of iced tea and sat, evaluating the morning. Ten more minutes and Brad would have been gone, stuck in the truck like some oversize piece of lumber. What had he been thinking?

She could have lost her job today. She didn’t know what idea made her more anxious. Losing the one paying gig she had for the next few weeks would have caused her to have to close down the PT shop early. Doing that would put Jonny out of work a month early. On the other hand, Brad could have really been hurt if he’d fallen the entire way to the ground. And that would have been on her watch. She’d have to set some kind of alarm system to alert her when he got out of bed.

Or maybe she’d just have to sleep on the couch outside his room. That way, he couldn’t sneak by her. Not again. Of course, it also meant she could never be in the kitchen, the bathroom, or anywhere out of sight of Brad’s room.

On the other hand, she knew how hard it was to leave the business you’d grown from nothing. It must be killing him to let someone else make the decisions, pull the strings, and ultimately run his company.              

She took a bite and almost groaned at the taste. Having Maggie deliver food from the restaurant for lunch was the one and only perk of the job. There was no way she’d list working with Brad as a perk. Even if the guy was not too shabby in the looks department. Jonny would want the full report when they talked, but Destiny couldn’t see herself telling anyone about the impromptu shower last night.  At least not until the idea of seeing Brad Castle naked except for the black trash bags didn’t make her blush or laugh. And right now, every time she remembered last night, that was all she wanted to do.

Right now, she needed to eat while she waited for the doctor’s report. She prayed that Brad’s healing hadn’t been set back. He wouldn’t survive much longer stuck in his bed. The guy had a strong need to be up and doing something. Anything.

Which was another reason Destiny had to get him well. It was for both their sakes.