Nope. Nothing to do with him at all.
Mr. Newman occupied my mind on the short drive to Oak & Sage. He might have a worn-down body, but at least he could hold up his end of a conversation. At least he smiled. At least he tried. If Cade would only try, I knew he would surprise himself. I’d worked with guys who were missing limbs, people with permanent injuries who couldn’t physically move. Some of them suffered setbacks, but at least they tried.
I parked in the lot at Oak & Sage and walked in feeling fluttery and excited, and not only because of my news. I’d already pictured Cade inside, whisking by with a plastic tub, a scowl on his staggeringly handsome face.
It wasn’t like I had a crush on Cade, but it felt like I was coming here to see him. And I wasn’t. I took a deep breath and pulled the front door open, nodding at the hostess and then passing her by on my way to the bar.
Totally not here to see Cade.
Rena spotted me and waved. She finished pulling a beer and set the glass in front of a man at the bar. Then she crossed to the side where I was pulling out a stool for myself.
“Hey! This is a nice surprise.”
“I have news.”
Rena’s eyes rounded in interest. She rested a hand on the bar and waited for me to continue.
“The rehabilitation center offered to hire me on permanently and I accepted!” I couldn’t help it. Rena and I let out a pair of happy shrieks. Best friends were the best, weren’t they?
“That’s amazing!” she said. Then she turned and showcased the wall of liquor behind her with a sweep of her arm. “Pick your poison. Your drink’s on me.”
“Would it be weird to ask for sparkling wine?”
“Not weird at all.” Rena moved to the wine cooler. She pulled out a tiny, single-serving bottle of champagne and made quick work of cracking the plastic.
“No cork, then?”
“Sorry.” She screwed her lips to the side and read the label. “Not on the individual serving size. I promise when we can properly celebrate, I’ll buy you a bottle with a cork.”
She served my sparkly wine in a tall flute, then filled one with Sprite for herself and held her glass aloft. “To your new permanent gig as a therapist.”
“It kicks in after I graduate.” I worried my lip. “You don’t think I’m jinxing it, do you?”
“Absolutely not. You’re graduating, Tasha. And you’re going to pass your boards. And you’re going to be the best PTA in the state.”
I loved her.
“Thanks, Reen.” We tapped glasses and drank, and I made a face. “Ugh.”
“I know. It looks so much yummier than it tastes, doesn’t it?”
I nodded my agreement but took another sip anyway. I was celebrating. I was drinking the damn champagne no matter what it tasted like.
“You came in at a good time. Things are pretty slow for the moment. So tell me. How excited are you?”
“I’m so excited. Relieved, actually. I never dreamed they’d offer me a position. No one ever hinted they’d need more than temporary help. I enjoy the work too. I have a lot of fantastic patients.”
Rena raised one eyebrow. “And one really uncooperative one?”
We both knew she meant Cade.
“Oh, well”—I hesitated, staring at the bubbles sticking to the side of my glass—“you know. Some things take a while to change.”
Since a man with a tall beer was her only guest, Rena leaned on the bar in front of me and made herself comfortable. “Yeah, Devlin said he’s being less of a pain in the ass than before, that he’s trying. I hear he moved into a room over the garage?”
I nodded, remembering how it felt up there. Like Cade was a different guy than the one sulking in his former bedroom. “He is trying. He has a car he’s fixing up as well.”
And he smells good even dirty.