Playing With Fire

“Unless you want to flirt with danger, then you need to drop it and stay away from him, period. And maybe what you’ve just said is the biggest reason why you need to tell Nicholas about your history with Wendell. Tell him the truth, and he’ll make sure the two of you stay apart.”

“Don’t misunderstand me,” Zienna said. “I’m just telling you what would be nice—in a perfect world.”

Alexis made a face as she regarded her. “It took you a long time to get over Wendell.”

“And I am. I am over him.” She sighed softly. Alexis knew her too well. “Maybe you’re right. Nothing good will come of me giving him a piece of my mind. In fact, the best revenge will be him seeing that I’m happy. That I’ve moved on. And perhaps the fact that it’s with his best friend is even better.”

Alexis continued to regard her with a narrowed gaze, and Zienna could see the wheels churning in her mind. “What?”

“Just be careful. Come clean with Nicholas, because it’s not like you did anything wrong. But come clean so there’s no issue that can come back to bite you. And unless you still want something with Wendell, I’d stay away from him.”

“You’re right,” Zienna said. At least regarding her advice to stay away from Wendell. But she wasn’t so sure about telling Nicholas that she and his friend had once been lovers.

For the time being, Zienna had done the most important thing, and that was to get this troubling news off her chest. Speaking with Alexis had allowed her to think clearly, and now that she had, she was starting to realize that her past with Wendell would be an issue only if she made it one. Because certainly Wendell wouldn’t say anything to hurt his friend, would he? Not when he knew how much Nicholas liked her.

As she left Alexis’s apartment so that her friend could get another hour of sleep before getting up for work, Zienna felt a lot better. No, she wouldn’t say anything to Nicholas. Their relationship was going well, and she couldn’t see Wendell doing anything to jeopardize that.

So if he wasn’t going to say anything about their past involvement, there was no reason for her to. She had stressed over Wendell’s reappearance for several hours, but it was suddenly apparent that she had done so needlessly.

Because the fact that he was back in town wasn’t going to affect her relationship with Nicholas.

Not at all.

4

Zienna finished reading the medical questionnaire her newest patient, who was sitting on the examining bed, had filled out, describing the pain he was experiencing. Before he’d arrived for his appointment she had studied the files that had come from his physician—over two cups of very strong coffee, since she needed the caffeine to help her stay awake after her largely sleepless night.

“So, let me sum up what I understand from what you’ve told me and what I’ve read in your file,” she said as she placed the clipboard on her desk, then moved to stand in front of him. “You’ve been dealing with pain in your right elbow for nearly two years, which you attribute to your work as a machinist.”

Ed, a heavyset man in his mid-forties, nodded. “Yep.”

“And despite various therapies, you’re still suffering pain.”

“Yeah. And now my doc has suggested surgery, but I don’t want to do that. Not yet, anyway.”

“Which is why you’re here.” Zienna smiled pleasantly. “I’m very glad you contacted our clinic. Even though you had disappointing results with other doctors, you’re going to be quite happy with your decision to put off having surgery.”

“You sound really sure about that.”

“There’s a saying—he who treats the site of pain is lost. So let me ask you, have you ever had any problems with your left knee?”

Ed’s chubby cheeks puckered with his frown. “My left knee?”

“Kinesiologists believe in holistic treatment, which is based on the interconnectedness of the entire body. What I see time and again is that the area where a person suffers pain is often not the source of the pain. It’s something called interlimb neural coupling, which is a fancy way of saying that the limbs are connected in terms of functionality. So hearing your symptoms with your right elbow, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that you’ve had issues with your left knee.”

Zienna regarded Ed, and saw in his eyes when his brain connected the dots. “I did. I injured my left knee years ago when cycling. I still feel pain there from time to time.”

She couldn’t help smiling. “Excellent.”

“Excellent?” he echoed, looking confused.

“Sorry,” she said. “It’s just...well, I love my job, and I especially love when I’m able to help someone who feels all hope is lost. Just last month I had a patient come here with a torn ligament in his shoulder, and he, too, believed he would have to have surgery. Once I was able to diagnose the true source of his shoulder problems—which were actually connected to problems in his opposite ankle—within a couple of sessions he was pain-free.”

Ed looked skeptical.

“It’s the magic of kinesiology.” Zienna had treated patients whose issues were emotional, with their stress manifested as pain in their body. In her practice, she dealt with a person’s physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being as a way to effectively care for their problems.

“I won’t begin treatment until you’ve had all the tests we require here at the clinic, but I feel very confident that I can successfully eliminate the pain in your elbow.”

Now Ed smiled. “If you can save me from surgery, I’ll be forever in your debt.”

At that moment, the wall phone rang. Zienna turned to look at it, knowing that for the receptionist to have put a call through to her in the examining room, it had to be important.

“Excuse me a moment, Ed.”

She crossed the room to the phone and lifted the receiver. “Hello?”

“Hey, babe.”

At the sound of Nicholas’s voice, Zienna frowned slightly. Why was he calling her on this line?

“Hey,” she said in a lowered voice. “What’s up?”

“Just concerned about you. The way you left this morning...it didn’t feel right. I called your cell, but you didn’t answer.”

“Right.”

“You okay?”

“Um-hmm. Yep. But, um, can I call you back in a little bit? I’m with a client right now.”

“Oh, okay. No problem. I just wanted to hear your voice. Make sure you’re all right.”

“Excellent,” she said, hoping for Ed’s sake to sound professional.

“I get it. You can’t talk. But let’s do something tonight.”

“Sure. You’ll give me the details in a bit?”

“Yeah, I’ll call you later.”

Zienna was inwardly beaming as she replaced the receiver. It was a nice feeling, knowing that Nicholas was worried about her. He was a great guy, and for the first time in a long time she was in a happy relationship. She still got butterflies when she talked to him, something that hadn’t lasted with the men she’d dated in the more recent past.

“If you go out to reception, Jamie will take care of booking the tests we require, which are all done in-house. You should be able to see me again by next week.”

“Great. Thanks so much.”

Zienna saw Ed out of the examining room, but her mind was on Nicholas and what she’d discussed with Alexis that morning. Hearing Nicholas’s voice, she felt better about her decision not to tell him of her past with Wendell. Doing so might hurt him, and she didn’t want to jeopardize what they had.