Page 3 of Tame the Player

I lean forward. “You said—and I quote—'he was cut wide open, and his intestines were hanging out. I had to shove them back in and just hold them there until the doctor got there.’ That’s quite a bit of detail… and I’m eating spaghetti, no less.”

Bethany just laughs again. “Fine. I’m done. What about you? How was your morning?”

Since I can no longer stomach the noodles, I move them around on my plate. “Well, let’s see, Cole had workouts this morning and had to be at the school gym at six, so I dropped him off.”

Bethany holds her hands up. “Wait. He has workouts before school? He’s thirteen.”

I snort because I think I said the same thing when Cole told me he was going to start having two practices a day. “Yeah, they’re called two-a-days. They do weights in the morning before school and then after school, they have baseball practice…. Anyway, so I dropped him off and met Jeremy for breakfast—”

Bethany starts hopping up and down in her seat and wiggling her eyebrows at me. “Ooooh, yeah, get to the good part. Did he jelly your toast? Put syrup on your—”

“Shhhh!” I whisper to her. “Geez, Bethany, really?”

She sits up a little straighter and doesn’t even try to hide the disappointment on her face. “You’re right. I’ve met Jeremy. I don’t even need to ask because I know he didn’t do anything to your lady bits.”

I push my plate away and pick up my water instead. “We’ve only been dating two months.”

“Two months, seven dates, and you’ve kissed. You have to be the most boring couple—”

Thankfully, Bethany stops talking when our friend Chrissy sets her tray down next to us. She sits down with a look at Bethany. “I hear you had your hands in guts this morning.”

“Geez, you two should come with a warning label. Can’t we just have a normal lunch without talking about internal organs and all that?”

Chrissy and Bethany both laugh, and I know they do it because they think it’s hilarious that I can’t stomach their job. Yeah, even though I once wanted to be a nurse, it was smart of me to go the physical therapy direction instead. I may have to deal with some gross feet sometimes, but at least I don’t have to worry about organs falling out of bodies.

Chrissy looks remorseful. “You’re right, Catherine. That was wrong of me, especially since I know you have a sensitive stomach.” She looks down at my plate. “Uh, spaghetti probably wasn’t the best choice for today.”

I’m about to grab my tray and leave whenChrissy stops me. “I’m sorry, okay? Seriously, though, I need to talk to you about something.”

I can only imagine what’s about to come out of her mouth. “What do you need to talk to me about? And please, don’t make it gory.”

Chrissy nods, and with a serious expression, she pulls out a file that was under her tray. “I need a favor, and I know when I say it, you’re going to say no, but I need you to hear me out.”

Intrigued, I look between her and the file she’s gripping tightly in her hands. I can’t read the name on it from where I’m sitting. “Tell me about this favor.”

Her eyes light up with hope. “Okay, it’s my brother, Holden, the baseball player. He has a rotator cuff strain, and he needs a physical therapist for the next two months.”

I’m not sure what the problem is. “Well, have him make an appointment. You know the hospital will fit him in.”

She points at me. “But I want you… I want him to be seen by you.”

“Chrissy, you’re an employee, they’d pull strings for you. Plus, he’s a professional baseball player. The hospital will eat it up and love the publicity around it.”

She fidgets in her seat and scrunches her nose up. “That’s the thing. In order for him to get back in the game in two months, the therapy will need to be intense. We need someone that can come to him.” Before I can object, she holds her hand up. “His house has everything you’d need. He has a whole weight room, therapy table, bands, ice bath, hot tub, the works.”

I can see how desperate she feels about this. I’ve known Chrissy for a little over a year now, and even though I don’t know her whole story, I do know that she loves her foster brothers and would do anything for them. “Look, I get it, I do. But I have a case load right now, and there’s no way I can do it and drive back and forth to—where does he live?”

“Whiskey Run. He lives in Whiskey Run.”

I’m startled because I live in Whiskey Run and had no idea that Holden Gray from the Jasper Bears lives there. If Cole knew, he’d flip. Heck, he’d also flip if he knew I was turning down an opportunity to heal one of his favorite big league players. “Right, I can’t drive back and forth to Whiskey Run.”

Chrissy’s face is set in determination. “But that’s the thing, you wouldn’t have to drive back andforth. You could stay with him. He has four guestrooms.”

I sit back in my seat, and my mouth drops. If she was making this offer to any of my colleagues, they would drop everything to do it. I mean, what woman is going to say no to staying at the home of the Holden Gray? Ugh, me, that’s who. “I can’t stay at his house. I have Cole… and Jeremy.”

Bethany lets out a snort. “Yeah, like Jeremy’s going to care. He’s gotta put some work in before he can have a say in where you spend your time, Catherine.”

I stick my tongue out at her. It’s not very ladylike, but it’s all I’ve got. It’s not like I can flip her off in the middle of the cafeteria. But the sentiment is the same because I know she’s right. Quite honestly, Jeremy probably wouldn’t care if I stayed at Holden Gray’s house. He would find some way to compute the overtime and how it’s good for my business or something.

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