up on sleep after a rough labor, pretending all the while that the protective, paternal feelings clamoring in his chest were solely connected to fulfilling his promises.
Hell, Sam had begged him to watch over Cadie.
But he had to draw the line at having her massage his aching muscles. And having her as his physiotherapist would require just that. Yeah, he had no doubt Cadie would be the utmost professional during treatment. But he’d had his therapist’s thumbs pressing into his ass muscles more than once. And he didn’t want to know what his body would do if Cadie touched him likewise.
“We’re friends. It would be weird,” he hedged.
“But I’ve worked with friends before—” She took a deep breath. “Okay. You’re resistant to letting me help you. But how about the other way around?”
“Huh?”
“If you signed on as a client and my ideas work, you could talk us up to some of your friends in the ski world. Or even just locally. Since you moved here, you’ve wrapped most of Sutter Creek around your pinky in less time than it used to take you to rotate through the air eight times.”
“Three times,” he said with a smirk.
“What?”
“I only did 1080s.”
She let out a single ha. “Whatever. Point being, your fan club will listen to you.”
Rocking forward onto his crutches, he stared at the ground. Fan club. Not quite. But he’d done what he could to fit in—he didn’t see Cadie leaving any time soon, so neither would he.
“I’ll talk Evolve up no matter what,” he promised.
“I need more than that, Zach.” Vulnerability cracked through her matter-of-fact expression and the breach ripped straight to his core. “I need you to be my client. And if you want to be ready to shoot that video come the fall, you need me, too.”
I need you to take care of them, Zach.
The words weren’t so different. Memories slammed into him, raising bumps on his skin. Echoes of biting wind and blisters stinging his palms and his exhausted arms shaking under the weight of Sam’s broken body. And returning to Colorado and holding Cadie instead. She, at least, had given him something to focus on instead of his grief.
But as always, he’d focused on her a little too much.
Zach swallowed against the fist of guilt clamped around his windpipe.
The fact he’d been falling for Cadence since the day he and Sam met her in a Steamboat Springs bar was moot. She’d only ever had eyes for Sam. That made it a hell of a lot easier for him to keep his second promise to Sam: not to let Cadie or Ben forget Sam. Which meant getting that video done and memorializing Sam on film. And since switching to Cadie’s care would accomplish that... Damn it.
He’d have thrown up his hands if it weren’t for his crutches. “I give in. I’ll call my current therapist tomorrow, tell him I’m switching into your care to start dry needling.”
Her jaw dropped for a second. Then a brilliant smile spread across her face, lightening her blue eyes so that they resembled a clear winter sky. “Seriously?”
His brisk nod failed to shake out the dread building in his stomach. “You know me, and you’ve watched me ski enough to know my body. This is the right change to make.”
She paused for a second, seeming to puzzle how to get around his crutches, before going on her toes and flinging her arms around his neck. “We’ll start right away. Meet me in the pool at one tomorrow.”
He gripped the handle of his left crutch and let go of his right to give her a cursory pat on the back. Just like his sisters.
As if.
Hugging his sisters was nothing like hugging Cadie. Hugging Cadie was all about her soft breasts pressing into his chest and the smell of cherries he always caught whenever he was within a few inches of her hair. The sense that this woman’s arms held the secrets to happiness.
Not for you, idiot.
Steeling his body, he took hold of his right crutch again. And, thank God, she backed away, too.
“I really think this is best for you.” The brightness in her eyes faded a fraction. “But before I take you on, you need to promise me something.”
He dragged a hand through his hair. What was one more promise to tangle in all those he’d made to Sam already? “What’s that?”
“I’ll do everything I can to get you healthy in time to go on your filming trip. But if you’re not ready, you can’t go.”
He inhaled sharply as his gut clenched. “Deal.”
She’d better get him rehabbed in time. Because no matter how ready—or not ready—he was, when the helicopter lifted off to take the filming crew into the backcountry, he’d be on it.
Meet me in the pool at one tomorrow.
Cadie cringed as yesterday’s instructions to Zach echoed in her head. What had she been thinking? She floated in the shallow end of the public aquatic center and watched him amble along the pool deck toward her, supported by his crutches. Shirtless. Showing off a perfect sprinkling of trimmed hair leading down abs that could grace a fitness magazine. Her skin tingled and not from the water kissing her limbs. Yeah, the pool had been a brilliant move. If only she could change history, go back to when she was three and not learn how to swim. Then she could throw herself in the deep end and be done with it. Drowning sounded way smarter than taking him on as a client.
Nice choice of words, Cadence.
Her mental sarcasm landed like a boulder in her stomach. For one, this was her choice, and a necessary one. She could truly help Zach and, in doing so, could boost Evolve’s reputation. And she needed to start doing all that without thinking of crappy death comparisons. Sorry, Sam.
Lacquering on a smile, she waved at Zach, who slid into the water and crossed the pool with long, muscled strokes. He stopped a yard or so away, close enough that she had to tilt her chin a little to keep her attention on his face. He was a good six inches taller than her own five-seven. The height difference held so many possibilities. If he were healthy he’d be able to pick her up and—
She pinched her thigh under the water. He’s your client. Your best friend. Do not screw that up. “Ready to work?”
He nodded curtly.
“We’ll start with walking back and forth across the shallow end and work up to a jog.” The pool wasn’t too crowded—a parent-and-tot class occupied the splash pool and a dozen-odd people were swimming laps in the deep end.
“Uh, sure.” Following his gaze was a challenge. It seemed to land on her tank swimsuit for a second and then everywhere but, darting from
