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ten
Rhett took a few deep breaths and stretched his legs. He was not going to let stress ruin how good his quads still felt. Part of it was due to the weather, he knew. In typical Virginia style, Saturday’s ice storm was nothing but a memory by Monday morning. Temperatures had risen twenty degrees and he needed nothing but a light jacket when he took off for the gym.
But there was no denying the magic Stanzi had worked on him. He had spent Sunday pain-free, even if he hated the quiet diligence of that day, the gym closed and the focus on paperwork, advertising and other things that required sitting still. Not Rhett’s strong point. He hadn’t even gone for his usual run because he’d wanted to milk the effects of Stanzi’s massage for as long as possible.
By Monday morning, he was always antsy, and today was worse. Still, he pushed it all to the back of his mind as he arrived at the gym and drew in the scents of orange cleaner and cold steel. Connor had just finished mopping. He gave Rhett a salute as he dumped the bucket of dirty water out the back bay door.
As soon as Rhett got the morning classes rolling, his insides started to come unstuck, which was the closest he could come to describing what it felt like to live in the normal. The doldrums of everyday life were like flatlining; the intensity of gym life, with its loud music, clanging barbells, jacked heart rates and brisk pace was just enough to loosen the glue and keep his head above water. If he thought about it, he could compare what Stanzi’s massage had done for his leg to what coaching and intense exercise did for his soul.
Rhett was just starting to think he’d been wrong about her, and about how much she’d enjoyed the powerlifting, when, right at ten, she walked through the front door, out of breath. “Just in time,” he murmured to himself. He’d been thinking about slipping her in with an experienced bunch—a close-knit group of cops and firefighters and a few other professions that had shift work and a load of testosterone. Not the place he’d put any newbie. But the perfect place for Stanzi.
“Stanzi.” Rhett watched her strip off her coat, a much lighter version of what she’d been wearing on Saturday. “I’m glad you’re not late. That would piss me off.”
She tilted up her chin to fix her gaze into his. “Late?” she said. “How’d you even know I was coming?”
Rhett shrugged. “I just knew.”
Her eyes were fearless. “How’s your leg?”
Rhett’s hand went instinctively to his right thigh. “Not horrible. Thank you again.”
“You’re welcome.”
Rhett almost smiled, but held it in. Instead, he checked out her outfit, just in case unicorns were back on the menu. Today, she sported a pair of black leggings and a raggedy green T-shirt that read The Hick from French Lick.
That did make him smile. More of Dad’s old wardrobe, maybe? “Go warm up, Larry Bird,” Rhett ordered. “James, Doug, Duke and Benita will get you going.” He nodded to the cop, firefighter, Secret Service agent, and mother of three small children, respectively, one tall and lanky, the other short and stocky, Duke both tall and stocky and Benita small but all muscle, and strong as an ox. “This is Stanzi. Warm her up.”
She cast him one flash of helplessness before she sucked that weakness right back in, then turned up her chin and joined the others.
Rhett watched from a short distance, curious how his experiment would hold up. Within minutes, Stanzi was doing the stretches and drills with ease. Her no-bullshit personality fit in well with the seasoned group, and they were more than happy to have a woman with a determined spirit join their circle. Especially when they thought she was a basketball fan, and they turned out to be right. Rhett could hear her rattling off some Celtics stats with Duke as they lunged across the floor.
“What’s this about?” Zoe came up beside him and flashed a curious grin. She watched Stanzi grimace through her air squats, obviously still sore from Saturday.
“She’s new.” Rhett felt stupid, stating the obvious. “I’m trying something out.”
“What? You don’t trust me with her?” Zoe elbowed him in the ribs. “You just put a newbie into your strongest group.”
“I want to see who she is.” The words slipped out before he could stop them. Stanzi was most certainly a newbie, especially today. They were going to focus on upper body and he’d bet his month’s salary she wouldn’t be able to bench-press much more than the barbell. But there was something seasoned about her, too. He sensed a fighter beneath all those baggy clothes. “So I threw her in a snake pit.”
Zoe watched a little while. James had Stanzi doing overhead squats with the PVC, against the rig. Stanzi lowered herself methodically, the struggle to keep the PVC against the rig and keep her weight in her heels a challenge. “Cute,” Zoe said. “Certainly has potential. I worked with her Friday. Not a quitter. I like that.”
“Me, too.”
Zoe elbowed him in the ribs. “What’re you in such a good mood about?”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“You’ve been supernice to everyone all morning. You didn’t even make the latecomers do burpees.”
“Eh.” Rhett tried to think quickly of an excuse. “Guess I slept good.”
It wasn’t a lie.
“Uh-huh.”
“I’m going to throw her in your eleven o’clock for some cardio,” Rhett said. “My focus with her will be strength but I want her to get her conditioning back, too. Slowly.”
Zoe clucked her tongue. “Whatever you say, boss.”
