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Massages were typically the big test because they are much more involved and specialized. Some therapists are great with Swedish relaxation massages where others excel in deep tissue. Most clients prefer one over the other and it’s important for the spa owner to know who the right therapist is for each client.
Savannah never had any complaints from her previous clients and knew she did both types of massages well. She tended to go after any knots she felt and sometimes that was not what the client wanted—especially if they booked a relaxation massage. So, it was a fine line to walk.
When she was done, Parker sat up and stretched. “Damn, girl. That was even more relaxing than any of the full-body massages I’ve had! Your hands are like magic!”
She felt herself blush. “Thank you.”
“I want to be bummed that I chose this over testing your massage skills, but this was freaking glorious!” She climbed from the chair and stretched again. “Okay, I want you to do what you need to do with all the equipment and get the room set up for the next client. I’m going to go out front and see how everything else is going and when we have someone come in for a massage, you’re it!”
“I’m looking forward to it,” she told her and immediately went to work cleaning up the room and disinfecting all the tools. It was a process and definitely took her longer than it should have, mainly because she was unfamiliar with where everything went.
When she finally stepped out of the room and knew it was set up to use again, Savannah walked into the breakroom to get herself a bottle of water and to check her phone—just in case Cash had tried to get in touch with her.
“Hey,” Parker said, popping her head into the room. “I’m just going to run down the block to pick up some brochures from the printer. I’ll be back in a few minutes. Do you need anything?”
“Nope, I’m good!”
“See you in a few!”
Once Parker was gone, Savannah figured she could call Cash and check on him.
“Hey, Savi,” he said. “How goes the first day?”
“So far, so good. I’m just on a break and figured I’d see how your day was going.”
“On a break already? You’ve only been there for like…two or three hours.”
Rolling her eyes, she explained to him how the morning had gone and why she was in the breakroom.
“Seems weird to me,” he murmured.
“Yeah, well…it’s weird to me that you haven’t called your sons yet and we’ve been here for almost two weeks.”
“Cheap shot, Savannah.”
“Well, someone’s got to nudge you and obviously I drew the short straw so…” She sighed. “What are you waiting for?”
“They hate me. Do you have any idea how hard it is to work up the enthusiasm to approach an angry mob?”
With a soft laugh, she sat down. “No. But you won’t be doing it alone and since I’m the reason you took off the last time…”
“We’ve been over this. You’re not to blame. I could have handled things differently. Ishouldhave handled things differently. And in all the time that’s passed, I could have reached out and explained myself. I should have called Grace and paved the way for things with the boys, but…too many things were going on. Between you and my crappy diagnosis…I don’t know. I guess I thought I wouldn’t be around long enough to make amends.”
“I’m not saying you have to do it today, but I think it needs to happen. Soon. Georgia and Parker know you’re here and there’s a good possibility they’ve told the rest of your family. I know you don’t want to approach the angry mob, but it will be worse if they hunt you down.”
He laughed. “Yeah. I guess I hadn’t thought about it like that.”
“We can talk about this tonight over dinner and we’ll come up with a plan, okay? I’d really like for you to be a little more settled with your sons before this spa opens so that you won’t be sitting home alone all day.”
“What makes you so sure any of them will come and sit with me? Garrett’s busy with the veterinary clinic I was supposed to give him the money for, Austin’s got his business and…shit…he and Mia have a baby on the way, and Jackson’s still deployed somewhere, I think.”
“And Grace?” she asked carefully, remembering how Cash agonized over his ex-wife for weeks after he came back to Seattle.
“Grace is involved with someone. When I came home last time, I messed that up. And with the way things are…” He paused and Savannah heard the quiver in his voice. “She doesn’t need to put any of her attention on me. It wouldn’t do any good. I’ll be out of the picture permanently and she…she deserves to be happy.”
Tears stung her eyes. She hated when the conversation turned maudlin like this. It was a reality that would be here soon enough. But while he was still here, she wanted things to stay the same. She wanted the snarky and fun-loving Cash.
“What should I bring home for dinner?” she asked, swiftly changing the subject. “Would you like some pizza? Or chicken, or…oh! Why don’t I pick up more burgers from the pub that I was telling you about? They were crazy good!”
