Living Again (10 page)

He chuckled. “Hey, my name
is
Benjamin, even if I’ve only ever been called that when in trouble,” he reached out to put a piece of her hair behind her ear, and she froze. It was such an intimate but simple gesture. He seemed to realize he might’ve gone too far and he put his hand down in his lap. “Am I in trouble, Kayley?”

You’re trouble
. “I guess that would depend on what you’re doing here, Ben.” She willed her heart to stop pummeling through her chest, but it didn’t listen. She wanted him here but was terrified, all at the same time.

“Well, I do have this pain,” he removed his glasses and hung them from his shirt collar. Kayley was mesmerized by the motion and found herself staring at a small patch of hair sticking up from his collar, wondering if he had more of that. “It’s right here.” He rubbed his hand over his heart. “See, it was broken and as hard as I try, I just can’t fix it.” Even though his voice was light-hearted, she had the feeling it was true.

Kayley swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry. He was being lighthearted and joking with her, but when she looked into his eyes, passion simmered there in the depths of those blue eyes. She cleared her throat and attempted to be lighthearted herself. “I think you’re in the wrong place for that, Dr. Nichols. See, you my friend are the doctor, and I am only a physical therapist. I cannot help with matters of the heart.”

Ben leaned forward until she could smell the mint on his breath. “I think you’re wrong about that, Kayley. I think you’re the perfect person to heal what is broken in me.” She watched his lips as he spoke. Could anyone really fix what was broken in someone? If so, she could definitely use some fixing, and maybe he could, too. He was so close to her, if she leaned forward just slightly her lips would touch his. She found herself breathing in, waiting for him to make contact.

Ben leaned back, breaking the intense moment. “So, are you going to fix me? “

Who
would
say no to him? He’s probably not used to hearing a female tell him no.

Kayley was afraid to answer him. “And how would I do that?” His bright smile was contagious and she found herself smiling back at him.

“I thought you would never ask,” Ben stood, holding his hand out for her to take. “Come with me.”

“Ben-” Kayley started, but he interrupted.

“See, this new client you have, Benjamin? He cleared your schedule for the day because he’s in need of so much therapy, your other patients have been rescheduled.” Kayley stared at him, open mouthed.

“What?” she said, in disbelief. He had called and someone had cleared her schedule for one patient? She was always so booked, that was just not possible. Who in the world would he convince to do such a thing? As soon as the thought came into her head, she knew. “Did a girl named Rachel answer the phone when you called?”

Ben beamed. “Why, yes she did. It seems that she is a great friend of yours and had no problems whatsoever accommodating my needy schedule. She also seemed to know who I was. Hmm, I wonder how she would know that?” Ben looked at her with a playful grin, successfully busting her. She couldn’t tell him that Rachel knew about him from Emily, because then that would mean that Kayley
also
talked to Emily about him. Traitors.

“So no excuses, Kayley. Come with me,” Ben practically begged, holding his hand out to her. She looked at him, then back at her office. Ben knew she was struggling with what she should do, but he was determined to win this one. He let her win the last round.

Kayley sighed. “I need to go get my purse and my phone,” she conceded, already mentally kicking herself for allowing him to convince her. What in the world was she going to do with him? She barely knew the guy. All that she knew was he was a very attractive pediatric doctor who didn’t seem to want to take no for answer and got her friends to help him.
What does he see in me,
she thought to herself,
and why won’t he just leave me alone?
If she was honest with herself, however, it felt good to be pursued by him.

Ben stood outside Kayley’s office, waiting for her to return with her purse. He couldn’t believe his plan actually worked and she was going to go somewhere with him. He thought for sure after she left the hospital she’d forget all about him. The look on her face when he showed up told him otherwise. The fact that she told him where he could find her was a sign he took to be positive, and it seemed he was right. No matter that pushed him away, he knew it was because she was afraid.

He had to admit, what he did with Kayley was way out of his comfort zone. He had never, ever approached a patient or a patient’s mother and tried to get personal with them. But there was something about her, something he couldn’t stop himself from finding out about. She said she was damaged and not able to love anyone again. All he saw was a beautiful, strong woman that had taken the bad hand that life had given her and became an independent, wonderful mother to an adorable little girl.

After seeing Emily that day in the hospital, he had talked to her a few times over text. She had told him that Kayley had mentioned him several times, and that made him hope that it was possible he could convince her to take a step of faith and go out with him.

Ben sat on the bench, a small smile playing on his lips at the tiny victory he was just awarded. It was so great to see Kayley again. Even though it had been two weeks since she left the hospital, it had not been two weeks since Ben had laid eyes on her. He had found himself unable to tear himself away from her, and with Emily’s help, had come across her running in the park one day with every intention to engage her in a conversation, but fate had had other plans for him.

Ben jogged through Lakes Park, looking at each person as he went by. Emily had said she ran here several times a week before work, and that she would have Alexis. He asked Emily if running into her at the park would seem like stalking, but she assured him that she didn’t think of him as a stalker. Ben smiled as he thought, he really was kind of stalking her. His eyes swept the park back and forth, looking for a jogging stroller before looking at the person pushing it.

After a few minutes, he spotted her. She was stretching in front of Alexis’ stroller, leaning over and kissing her nose every time she went to stretch. Alexis grinned, waving her baby arms for her mom to do it again. Ben smiled at their exchange. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind how much Kayley loved that little girl, and vice versa.
It would be nice to be a part of that,
Ben thought, then gasped. He really just thought that he wanted to be part of a family- with a kid. Not that he hadn’t ever thought about having kids before, but to look at her and instantly think that, it was something. Especially after he had sworn off serious relationships.

He continued to watch her as she stretched her long, sculpted legs. She was wearing a pair of jogging shorts, and Ben had to fight himself not to whistle. He had only seen her in jeans at the hospital. Jeans couldn’t hide a great body, but these shorts- wow. The tight tank she wore enhanced her small waist and womanly shape. She turned and walked behind the stroller, now ready to run. Alexis lay back, knowing the routine. Kayley started off at a walk, started jogging, and then really picked up the pace. She could really run! Ben started off behind her, figuring he would keep her ahead of him until she stopped to take a drink and then he would ‘accidentally’ come across her and strike up a conversation. Couldn’t hurt, right?

What he didn’t expect is that she didn’t stop for many miles, and Ben had to leave to get to work. Right on cue, his phone rang in his pocket and he stopped, trying to slow his breathing before answering. “Dr. Nichols.” The nurse on the other line asked for his help, that the chief wanted him to get to the hospital as soon as he could to consult on a case. Ben looked down the path, seeing Kayley’s blonde ponytail swishing as she moved away from him.
Another day,
he thought, disappointed. He ran back the other direction to his car and sped to the hospital.

As he had watched her running, her lithe legs moving easily down the path, he knew he couldn’t just let her walk away and say she was too damaged. He watched her effortlessly move, running easily while pushing a jogging stroller, and he knew that there was something about this girl. That was when he had texted Emily and she had gotten Rachel in on the plan that took a week to get right, but it worked.

He was still shaky from having sat so close to her on this very bench just a few moments ago. It took everything in him to not lean over and kiss her at that moment. He wanted to tell her that while she was the one that said she was damaged, he was just as shattered as she was.

Kayley stomped into Rachel’s office, catching her on the phone. Rachel looked up, grinned at her, and quickly disconnected her phone call. “Hey, where are you going?”

“You
know
where I’m going, Rachel. You and Emily! What am I going to do with you two?” Kayley wanted to be mad at them, but really, she was mad at herself. The first attractive man that comes onto her, and she gives in this easily? What was she doing, going to spend the afternoon with Ben Nichols?

Rachel stood up, her expression changing from amused to serious. “Kayley,” she began, “I’m sorry if I overstepped. I really am. We just want to see you happy. You’re a wonderful friend, an exceptional therapist, and an amazing mom to Alexis. We just want to see that gleam in your eye again. I didn’t know you with Alex, but I know you aren’t happy. We want someone to help you understand that you’re a woman still, and I think Ben Nichols is a great start. It can’t hurt, Kayley. No one is telling you to go marry the guy. Just go talk to him, be his friend, and see what happens. You can’t swear off all men just because you were hurt. You’re still alive- act like you are.”

Kayley opened her mouth, but then shut it again. She had nothing to say to that. It was all true. Just like that, her anger disappeared and she hugged Rachel tightly. “Thank you, Rachel. I’m terrified, but Ben does seem like a nice guy. Maybe I do just need to see what it’s like to have a friend again. He’s outside waiting; I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“You better text me later and not make me wait until tomorrow!” Rachel called out after her. Kayley shook her head in disbelief and walked out the front door to where Ben was still waiting near the bench.

Kayley slid into the soft black leather seats in Ben’s car, feeling awkward not knowing much about him at all but agreeing to go with him on some afternoon date. She looked at her watch and then realized she would need to get Alexis in a few hours so that her mom could go to her weekly ladies game night.

“Ben,” Kayley broke the silence. “I will need to get Alexis after not too long, so I’m not sure what you had planned…” she trailed off, not really knowing how to complete that sentence.

Ben smiled, glancing over at her while still watching the road. “It’s all taken care of.” Kayley looked at him for a moment, not knowing what he meant. His full lips quirked up in a knowing smile, and she found herself staring at him again.