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Rushing to the front door, she yanked it open.
“Alexis?” Her heart pounded wildly.
“In here.” Her sister’s voice was muffled in the kitchen.
Keely didn’t even remove her boots as she charged through the foyer. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
Crouched low in front of the refrigerator to peer into the vegetable crisper, her sister glanced up, her brow furrowed. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m fine.” Blue eyes scanned Keely, before falling to her feet. “You’re tracking dirt in like mad.”
Relief all but took her knees out from under her. “Thank God.”
“You’re not going to say that when you see the floor behind you.” Alexis moved toward the sink and unspooled a paper towel from a wooden holder. “What have you been doing? The dirt is literally falling off you.”
Flipping on the faucet, Alexis dampened the paper towel then moved toward her to swipe over the hardwood.
“Cultivating.” Recovering herself, Keely tried to slide off her boots without making any more of a mess. “I’d hug you, but I’d probably get you all filthy.”
“Don’t be silly.” Standing, Alexis took Keely’s boots from her and set them on the back doormat before returning to wrap her sister in a one-armed hug. “I’ve missed you.”
Keely hugged her back, feeling the mix of pride and amazement that she always took from being around her smart, kind sibling. “I miss you always.”
Alexis stepped back first. “You’re a hot mess, though.”
“I did warn you. Growing flowers isn’t all bridal bouquets and tying nosegays with girly ribbons, you know,” she reminded herself, moving toward a cabinet to retrieve a glass. “But tell me what you’re doing here. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw your car.”
Alexis swiped up a few more spots on the floor before tossing the paper towel in a basket at the end of the butcher-block counter. “Because of that bad habit of yours to always assume the worst?”
Keely filled her glass with water from the tap. “I had flashbacks to the hang-gliding accident—”
“Oh please,” Alexis scoffed, retrieving a mug near the coffeepot on the kitchen counter and taking a sip from her own drink. “That was once in my life. I’m entitled to live it down.”
Keely knew better than to belabor it and tick off her sister, but the fears from those few hours where she thought Alexis might not recover still gave her nightmares sometimes. Today had been no different.
What upset her most was knowing that Alexis had done it for the thrill of it. As if the two of them hadn’t seen enough negative consequences from risky behavior. But according to Alexis, that accident had only doubled her commitment to Al-Anon and healing herself of the family dysfunction.
“I know.” Keely strove to keep her tone light as she grabbed ice cubes from the freezer to top off her drink. “But Mom’s gone and Dad isn’t well. I need my only sibling to remain whole and happy, okay? Humor me with that much.”
Dressed in a slouchy pink tee and capri-length yoga pants, Alexis folded one knee under her before taking a seat at the kitchen table where a copy ofThe Defender, the local newspaper, was spread out around an empty cereal bowl. She slid away the stoneware bowl and put her stoneware coffee mug in its place.
“You really want me to be happy?” Alexis arched an eyebrow at her as she folded her arms, elbows on the table.
“Why does that sound confrontational?” Keely retorted. “Of course, I do. I’ve always wanted that.”
She sat down across from her sister, the dark iron ceiling fan spinning lazily overhead. But as she settled her water glass on the table, a headline from the sports page caught her eye.
Nate Ramsey Offers Baseball Camp.
Not that it should surprise her. He’d told her that he was trying to coordinate it. But she hadn’t known that he’d already put the wheels in motion to make it happen.
Distracted by the news, and what that might mean for Nate, Keely glanced up at Alexis. Only to remember Emma’s comment about the camp at the Daughters of Last Stand meeting, when she’d said that if the Stars took ownership of the program they might send team staff to work there.
“You’re not home because of the baseball camp, are you?” Keely had barely recovered from her fear that Alexis had been hurt again. She gripped her water glass so hard the ice rattled against the side.
“No,” Alexis said, lifting her coffee mug and taking another sip. “At least, not yet.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Keely stilled.
“It means I got permission from my facility to do some freelance work this weekend for a player who needs therapy on the road.” Alexis’s voice had an odd note, but Keely couldn’t tell if it was because she felt defensive or because of something else. “It’s convoluted and has more to do with how the team’s insurance covers therapy, but technically, I’m not working for the team this week. I’m using some vacation time to come home, and while I’m here, I’ll continue to work as Ty Lambert’s physical therapist.”
