Page 42 of Unbroken

Small Town Moves

Zanesatinhis club chair, Jameson in hand, staring at the city lights from his window. He had picked up a book to read but couldn’t focus. He'd hated to have to leave her after her weekend together. The Shawna situation made him want to wrap Maggie in bubble wrap and lock her in his apartment where nothing could get to her, but maybe she was right. He had always been the one Shawna followed and harassed. He'd casually dated a couple of other women after her and nothing had happened. Maybe all these new and intense feelings he had for Maggie were just making all his protective instincts go into overdrive. Hell, he hadn't even really been aware he had protective instincts before Maggie. He sipped the smooth scotch and tried to convince himself that Maggie was right. She would be fine. He had to make himself believe it. It was the only way he could get anything else done.

He glanced at his watch and saw he had two hours before Maggie would be done with her catering event and he could call her. He was incredibly proud of the way she was growing her business but between the wedding planning for Dani, Common Grounds’ catering and event business getting busier, and his crazy work schedule, they’d not had nearly enough time together. Missing her was becoming a physical ache deep in his chest. He knew he was going to have to make some serious decisions in the near future.

In the moment he discovered Shawna had found out who and where Maggie was, his fear had crystalized in his mind exactly what he wanted for his future. He wanted Maggie. He wanted to wake up to her sweet face in the mornings and wanted her warming his bed every night. He wanted to share her triumphs and comfort her in her losses. Something in her had touched more than just his heart, she’d captured his very soul. This afternoon, he had visited a small store downtown and his purchase was currently in a small black box burning a hole in his pocket.

A knock at his door startled him out of his reverie. He looked at his watch. Very few people ever came to his home, and never at this hour. He opened the door to Dani with a bottle of tequila in hand and a big smile on her face. Levi stood with his arm around her shoulders and an amused look on his face.

“Surprise! We brought you a housewarming present,” she said, grinning broadly and shoving the Cabo Wabo into his hands.

“I’ve lived here for three years,” Zane said perplexed as he stepped back to let them inside.

“Oh, well, better late than never,” Dani said happily. She looked around. “Love what you’ve done with the place.”

“It looks exactly the same as it did the last time you were here when you brought Maggie to get ready for the gala.” Zane wracked his brain trying to figure out what his friend was up to.

Dani drug Levi by the hand into the main sitting area and plopped down on the couch. Levi sat, stretching his arms out across the back of the sofa looking like he was settling in for the long haul. Zane looked at her with amusement. “Can I get you anything? Some wine, Cabo Wabo, the number of a good therapist?” he joked.

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, I know this is weird, but we were in town today picking up some wedding stuff. We just got finished with dinner and I decided, fuck it! I’m going to go talk to him now.”

Levi just shook his head with a wry smile on his face and crossed a leg over his knee. He met Zane's eyes. "You know how she is man. It's easier just to go with it."

Zane did know. She could be impulsive, but she was also incredibly smart and determined when she wanted something. He took a seat across from them. “So, there is a method to your madness. What’s going on?”

“Weellll, I met with Beau yesterday. You remember him? Aunt Lu’s physical therapist?”

“Yeah, I remember meeting him,” Zane agreed. He'd been impressed with Beau's knowledge of what stroke patients needed and his ability to keep them motivated and in a good head space through what could be a very long, hard rehab process. “Good guy. How’s he doing?”

“Doing well. He’s the only game in town so business just keeps expanding but his place is really small. The more the population ages, the less they want to have to travel all the way to Tyler or Corsicana for PT.”

“I can definitely see that.” Zane sipped his drink wondering where this was going.

“The reason I met with him, though, is I’ve been thinking about what to do with myself, professionally that is. The house renovations are pretty much done and, after the wedding, I can see myself getting really bored, really fast.” She gave Levi a lascivious look. “During the day, anyway.”

“Dani,” Levi said trying for a warning tone. He acted like she embarrassed him, but she knew he loved it. She just grinned and gave him a quick kiss before he added, "I tried to get her to come work with the cows with me but, for some reason, she wasn't happy with that plan."

Zane met Levi's slow grin with his own. The thought of Dani out on the farm working with cows was so hilarious he had to cover a bark of laughter with a cough. “So, what are you thinking?”

“Well, I came up with a concept for a specialized clinic – for stroke patients initially. Somewhere the patients can see the doctors, get their prescriptions and get specialized physical therapy all in one location.”

“That sounds really interesting. And Beau was on board with joining you?”

“Yes,” Dani said excitedly. “He said he’d been looking for an opportunity to do more specialized work. Working with stroke patients is close to his heart. His grandmother had a stroke and he learned a lot about stroke care with her. He also said that there’s not a cardiac rehab program closer than an hour away, so that could be another service we offered.”

“Sounds like you’ve got a really great idea,” Zane said truthfully, “but I’m still not sure why you’ve come all the way to Dallas to tell me about it.”

She glanced nervously at Levi, and he gave her a nod of support. “Well, eventually, I want to go back to school and get my nurse practitioner license, but until then, we’d need a doctor to do initial evaluations, prescribe medications and order testing. Be the medical director essentially.” Dani gave him a pointed look. “I was kind of hoping you would consider being that doctor.”

Zane stared at her, stunned. He'd thought about moving to Gladewater often in the last few months but hadn't been able to figure out how to make it work. She hurriedly continued, “You don’t have to say anything now, but I’ve been thinking a lot about it. At first, I thought it was kind of a pipe dream, you know? Then I started putting pen to paper and talking to people, and, well, when I saw that you and Maggie were getting serious, I decided it could really work.”

“It would be a whole new challenge for you, and you’ve told me how much you enjoy the slower pace of Gladewater. Sure, it would be a big responsibility with you being the only physician on staff but, you could get to know your patients long term and, of course, Maggie is there. No more long distance.” Her green eyes sparked with excitement as she waited for his response.

“I’m not sure what to say, Dani,” Zane said, running a hand across his jaw. “This is really out of the blue.”

“I know,” she agreed. “I’m totally aware I just shocked the hell out of you but I hope you’ll give it some thought. Maybe meet up with me and Beau when you’re down next and check out the building we were thinking of.”

When he didn’t immediately respond further, she went on. “I hope I’m not reading the whole you and Maggie thing wrong. I know how she feels about you but you and I haven’t really discussed it. If you’re not looking long term, I get that. I’d have to kick your ass, of course, because I warned you about that, but I’d have to accept it.”