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“Won’t that create a bigger problem?”
My boss smiles. “Sure will, but it will also tie up some of his stock in a legal battle.” He claps his hands and rubs them together. “If he wants to pick on someone, he can come after me.”
I stand there for a minute, trying to comprehend everything and imagining what my future will hold because of this. Owen is willing to stand up to the monster, but will anyone else? Not likely, and that makes moving more appealing. With the file in my hand, I go to one of the free desks in the office and get to work. I keep telling myself that I’m only doing what my boss is telling me to do, but part of me feels like we’re poking a grizzly bear out of hibernation.
Nine
Hawk
My physical therapist is the spawn of the Satan. She’s an unruly woman named Emma with crooked teeth, a wart on her nose, and her skin is green. She hides her horns with two the buns she has on top of her head, but I know they’re there.
Okay, I may be over exaggerating. She’s not the spawn of Satan, but some other evil being who disguises itself as a beautiful woman meant to cause pain in the form of torture to unsuspecting men. “You’re being a baby,” the young, brunette spitfire says without making eye contact. “How do you expect to be back on the mound if you’re unwilling to rotate your shoulder.”
“Is this a trick question?” I lean slightly, hoping to make her smile but my wit and charming good looks mean nothing to her.
“It’s my job to make sure you’re healing.”
“I’m healed.”
Finally, she smiles. “Good, then lift your arm above your head and bend your elbow.”
I do as she says, thinking I’m cool as shit, until she starts pushing on my arm. I scream out and the sadist laughs. “I think I hate you.”
“You’re not the first athlete to tell me that.”
“Do you enjoy hurting people?”
“Not all at. I enjoy helping them recover so they can get back to what they love.”
“You’re mean,” I tell her, proving how childish I am.
She giggles. “And oddly enough, I’m okay with that. Treadmill time, let’s go.”
She walks away, leaving me on the table. I’m slightly confused as to why I need to get on the treadmill and remain seated until she hollers for me. I walk to the other side of the room and stand in the doorway, looking at every piece of gym equipment you can think of. This facility is a trainer’s heaven. Sure, we have state of the art equipment in Boston, but this place is a mecca of machines for exercise and rehab. When I told the BoRe’s that I was going to come back to Montana, the training staff there went to work to find me the best physical therapist possible. The only downfall is it’s an hour away from my parents and I have to be here three days a week.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I had surgery on my arm.” I make my way over to the treadmills where she’s standing, poised to press the buttons that will project me into the depths of hell. I hate running. I loathe it. I will always find a way to get out of it if I can.
Emma smiles softly. “Tell you what . . . how about you don’t question my job and I won’t question why you waited months to tell your trainer that you were experiencing numbness in your fingertips?”
I glare at her. She shrugs.
“Had you said something earlier, there’s a chance you could’ve avoided surgery.”
“Doubt it. There’s nerve damage.”
“There are new ways, new procedures.”
“I don’t like new age medicine.” I step onto the treadmill and sure enough, she presses some buttons to get the belt moving. Thankfully, I’m only walking, but know she’s going to press that button so many times it’ll soon be like I’m competing for the Boston Marathon . . . all by myself.
“It’s not new age. What I’m talking about has been around for centuries.” She presses the button, increasing my speed. “Does your arm hurt?”
“No,” I tell her as I jog along.
“Anyway, we send a lot of our patients to a chiropractor who specializes on your vertebrae with the torque release technique.”
“Arm hurts and I don’t need my back cracked.”
Emma decreases the speed but doesn’t allow me to stop. “This technique allows for the chiropractor to correct subluxation or spinal misalignments in a non-invasive way. What I’m saying is, had you mentioned the numbness right away, a chiropractor practicing TRT might have been able to help. Honestly, I’m surprised you don’t have a chiro on staff doing this for you.”
