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“Yes.”
They drove past the police station, town hall, and the best and only pizza place in town, A Slice of Independence. “Are you hungry? I can stop if you want to pick something up.”
“No thank you. I can walk into town later, once I’m settled at the hotel,” she said.
“It’s a bit of a hike. Are you sure you don’t want to rent a car? Or you could borrow one of our trucks. Josh has only driven his once since he moved back home. I’d like to keep it that way for a while longer.”
She shook her head. “I have my license, but it’s been a year or two since I was behind the wheel. Much longer since I drove a stick. Most of the time, I use a car service when visiting patients.”
“Independence Falls doesn’t have a taxi company. But between myself and my brother and sister, we can get you where you need to go.”
“Thank you. If it is OK with you, I’d like to meet Josh before we stop at the hotel.”
“Good. He’s eager to get started. And if it is all right with you, we all want to be there for the first meeting.”
“Of course. I want you and your siblings involved from the start. I only have two weeks to work with him and his caregivers before I return to Manhattan.”
One more item for the list of reasons he couldn’t touch her. She was already counting down the days unti
l she returned to New York City.
Chapter 7
KAT SAT AT the Summers family kitchen table, a piece of furniture Brody had handcrafted using downed trees on the property. Two of the Summers siblings had offered that fact when she’d run her hand over the smooth surface, admiring the woodwork. Josh sat at the far end, armed with a notebook and pen, flanked by his siblings.
“We’ll begin with a series of information processing tests,” Kat explained, focusing on her patient. She glanced down at the chart in front of her. “Your records show that you have already begun taking the antidepressant, and we’ll continue with the medication.”
“Even if it’s not working?” Chad asked. He might have looked like his big brother, Brody, but Chad’s default expression was warm and charming.
“Josh, do you feel it is helping?” she asked. She’d agreed to let the family sit in while she discussed her plans because she needed their help executing aspects of Josh’s treatment. But at the end of the day, she was here for Josh.
Brody shifted in his chair. “I believe last night was a clear signal the drug isn’t doing enough.”
Josh glanced down at his notebook and then up at Brody. “Do you only get laid when you’re feeling down, bro? That sure explains a lot.”
Like last night, she thought. At the hotel.
Tension radiated off the man sitting next to her. “This isn’t about me.”
“The medication can only do so much on its own,” Kat said, seeking to regain control of the conversation before her mind wandered into the why-did-Brody-take-me-to-his-room last night territory. She had a feeling the answer to that question was simple: sometimes a person simply wanted.
And sometimes the wanting didn’t fade in the light of day. She’d expected it to dissipate when they hit the Independence Falls town line. This place didn’t exactly inspire happy thoughts. But Brody and the memory of how he’d looked at her last night, like he wanted to possess every inch of her . . . that image took happy thoughts to a sinfully delicious new level.
And an entirely inappropriate place for her first meeting with Josh.
She drew a deep breath and continued. “While Josh and I work on exercises designed to improve his memory recall—”
“How is your trial different from the things they did at the hospital?” Katie Summers, the fiery redhead, stepped in, her expression wary. “And at the rehab facility? The last doctor we brought in had him playing all kinds of memory games.”
“My colleague and I developed a course of treatment that takes everyday tasks, things that involve completing steps in a particular sequence, actions that take stimuli from the external environment, and process that stimuli into coherent thought,” she explained. “Baking is one activity that is working well for us.”
“Doc, you think that if I make a cake my memory will come back?” Josh said, in a tone that clearly labeled her as crazy.
“Not at first, but over time it is one of the things that might help.” She glanced around the table. “Keeping a consistent environment is also important.”
“So Brody can’t fire Megan, huh?” Josh said.
“I think you might need to discuss your relationship with your caregiver. If she becomes more of a girlfriend, you may want to hire someone else. I’m not saying she can’t fulfill both roles, but it presents a conflict.”
