Page 14 of Chasing Smoke

I squirt some of the massage oil in my hands and rub them together before placing them on his back. I’m gentle at first, wanting to work up to more pressure.

When I first saw Ansel’s name, I thought it would be awkward or weird having my hands on Caleb’s best friend, but it feels like I’m working on any other client.

Ansel is quiet, only speaking when I check in with him on pressure and touch points.

I always take my cues from my client as to whether they want to chat or just relax, so I don’t try to draw Ansel into a conversation.

Everything seems okay with his back as far as I can tell. Nothing is especially tight, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t experiencing discomfort. The equipment he carries at the firehouse weighs a ton.

“So, what did you do for the holidays? Anything exciting?” Ansel breaks the silence.

He doesn’t know it, but he’s the one pressing on a tender spot.

“I didn’t do much actually. Just holed up at home.”

His muscles stiffen under my hands. “You didn’t go home to visit your parents?”

“Didn’t see the point since I had to be back at work right after the holidays.”

Ansel is nice enough not to ask the obvious question—why didn’t they fly out to see me?

Surely Caleb told him I’m not close with my parents. They came for the funeral, stayed two days, and left. They’ve never felt the need to coddle me.

“How come you didn’t go hang with Nina?”

“She went out of town to her sister’s.” I lean my weight into my work when I find a small knot near Ansel’s shoulder. “What did you do?” Let’s just steer this conversation away from me.

“Elliott and Emelia hosted this year.”

“Is that a first for Elliott now that he has a woman in his life?” I chuckle.

Ansel laughs, and I take the time to put more oil on my hands. “You mean you can’t picture Elliott hosting a holiday dinner on his own?”

“No more than I can picture you doing it.”

We both laugh.

“Emelia did most of the work for sure. Sorry, Emelia and Baylor. She’s her little helper now.”

I smile although he can’t see me, running my hands up and down his back. “It’s obvious how much Baylor loves her, and vice versa, when I see them around town.”

“Yeah. Elliott really lucked out finding her.”

“Was Sutton able to come home?”

“Nah, she had some big client who wanted to get married on Christmas Eve, so she was stuck in Nashville.”

“Sounds like business is going well for her, though.”

“Very. She’s a hard woman to get a hold of these days.”

I’ve only met Sutton a few times over the years since she had already moved to Nashville when I moved here. She was always welcoming, but it was clear to me that she’s a driven person and Echo Lake might be a little too small for her.

I work on Ansel’s legs. It’s not until I inch the towel up his thighs that I feel the weirdness I expected, but I push through, acting as if nothing is amiss. We fall back into a comfortable silence while I work the muscles in his legs. By the time I’m done and walk up the table toward his head, I’m unsure whether he’s even awake.

“Ansel, time to roll over.”

“Mmm, okay.”