Page 90 of The I Do Over

“That all sounds good and we’re happy for you,” Daniel said. “But…what does this all mean for you and for the business?”

He sighed. “I guess what I need to talk to you guys about more than anything is the calendar. I know Maddie doesn’t need me sitting here hovering over her. She has an appointment with the ob-gyn tomorrow. We lucked out because there was a cancelation. I know I’ll breathe a little easier once she gets totally checked out.”

Daniel chuckled. “It’s not easy, trust me. Every time Josie had a weird pain or didn’t feel well, I swear to you I felt it too.”

“Shit,” Xander grumbled. “The two of you are going to be the death of me. All I’m going to be hearing is pregnancy stories.” Throwing his head back, he groaned loudly.

“It’ll be your turn soon enough,” Daniel assured him before looking at Knox again. “Calendar-wise? I think we are going to have to seriously start looking to hire a few extra guys. We can handle the expense of at least two employees and really, I don’t know if they’d need to be full-time to start.”

Xander straightened. “I mean, we were already talking about this and had modified our weekend stuff, but…what are you looking for, Knox?”

“That’s just it. I’m not sure. Maddie needs to sell her house and the clinic, so we have no idea how long that’s going to take.” Raking a hand through his hair, he sighed. “If the clinic sold first, that would be ideal because she wouldn’t have to be here to sell the house.”

“Any idea what’s involved in selling a physical therapy clinic?” Daniel asked.

“I have no freaking clue. Maddie doesn’t seem worried about it, but she’s talking to her staff right now. They’re having a meeting in the other room and I’m dying to know how it’s going.”

“Okay, let’s just say that it could take a couple of months before she’s fully moved in with you,” Xander commented. “What do think those months are going to look like? Are you saying you need to take some extended time off? Work shorter weeks? I realize you don’t have it all worked out yet, but we have to start somewhere.”

Knox knew he was right, but the thought of being three hours away from Maddie—especially now—just didn’t sit right with him.

“Why don’t you tell me when I’m needed and we’ll go from there?” he suggested and for the next several minutes, they hammered out a schedule that wasn’t great, but he’d get to spend more time with Maddie and work remotely.

“Hopefully it won’t be like this for long,” he told them. “With any luck, the sales will go quickly and she’ll find a clinic to work for in Raleigh.”

“We could hire her,” Daniel slowly stated. “I mean…we do some intensive training sessions and it might not be a bad thing to have a physical therapist on staff.” He shrugged. “It wouldn’t be full-time, but if she needs something in the interim…”

“I’ll mention it to her, but…”

Before he could say anything else, Maddie breezed into the room with a big smile on her face. “You are not going to believe what just happened!”

“Um…”

Walking around the desk, she waved to Daniel and Xander. “Hey! How are you guys doing?”

“We’re good, Maddie,” Daniel said with a smile. “And congratulations! Knox told us the good news!”

They hadn’t talked about sharing the news with other people, so Knox held his breath while he made sure she wasn’t upset.

Sitting down in his lap, she beamed. “Thank you! It’s very exciting. I think we’re both starting to get used to the idea and trying to get our lives in order. It’s a crazy time!”

“Listen, it sounds like you had news to share with Knox, so we’ll let you go,” Daniel said.

“Oh, you guys might want to hear this too,” she told them. “I mean…let’s face it, we’re all kind of like family, so…” she looked at Knox. “Do you mind if the guys listen in?”

“Not at all! I’m curious as hell too.”

She let out a breath and shifted on his lap. “Well, I just told the girls what was going on and I was really nervous and praying that no one was going to get upset. But they were very supportive and excited for us and…Babette came to the rescue.”

“Babette?” Knox repeated. “How?”

“She’s going to buy the clinic! Can you believe it?” she said giddily.

“But…how? She’s not a therapist, is she?”

Shaking her head, Maddie explained. “She doesn’t have to be. What she wants to do is own the practice and employ the therapists. She loves what she does, she’s got great management skills, and she’s freakishly smart. I’ve always said she was the brains of this operation and now it’ll all be hers!”

“That’s amazing, Maddie!” Xander said. “And how great that you don’t have to look outside the business to sell!”

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