The Sunstone Brooch : Time Travel Romance by Katherine Logan (comprehension books .TXT) 📗

“He’s over there with David,” Amber said.

Ensley glanced over at the fireplace where the men were standing watching TV, and she remembered Daniel as soon as she saw him. “Two handsome Scotsmen.”

“Yes, they are,” Kenzie said.

“Amber, I love your outie braid, by the way. But I’ve never figured out how to do them.”

“I’ll teach you. My daughter Heather is eight, and she braids her hair beautifully every day.”

“That’s encouraging. If an eight-year-old can do it, surely I can.”

Kenzie patted the stool next to her, and Ensley sat down. “Love the dress and shoes. They didn’t come out of the women’s closet. So feel free to leave them behind.”

“But only Sophia and JL are small enough to wear them,” Amber said.

“I can’t leave this dress behind. Austin rented a car at the airport so we could stop at the mall on the way back. He wasn’t happy about it, but I wanted something special for tonight. If I leave it here, it’ll make him think I didn’t appreciate the effort he made.”

“You hit your mark. You look incredible, and I agree with you. Our men go out of their way to make us happy, and sometimes we don’t thank them enough.” Kenzie swiveled around on her barstool and grinned at Austin. “I bet he thinks you look hot.”

Ensley smiled at him, too. “Yeah, he does.”

Kenzie turned Ensley’s stool back around. “I got a brief update about JC from Elliott, but I know he didn’t tell me everything. How do you think he is?”

“Elliott or JC?”

“Start with JC, then you can tell me about Elliott. He looks worse than I’ve ever seen him, and that includes after his mini-stroke.”

Ensley knew Elliott looked tired but hadn’t realized he looked that bad. “JC is in a great deal of emotional pain and doesn’t know why. It’s going to take him a while to recover.”

“How long is a while?” Amber asked. “Six months? A year? Five years?”

“Hard to tell, but I wouldn’t expect him back for at least a year, if not longer.”

Penny pointed toward the river. “Look who’s here. Are they eating with us?”

“I don’t know,” Kenzie said.

Two attractive, physically fit, and seemingly ageless men walked up to join the party. They kissed the women and fist-bumped the men. And then one of them said, “You’re Ensley. I’ve heard all about you. I’m Ted Jenkins, but everybody calls me Trainer Ted.”

Ensley smiled. “Your reputation precedes you.”

“I’m glad. That means when we meet at seven in the morning, I won’t have to introduce myself and explain what I do for the family.”

“And I’m Laurence,” the other man said. “I’m Ted’s husband, and you and I have an appointment after Ted puts you through your paces in the morning.”

“Huh? Seven o’clock? In the morning? Not going to happen. I plan to sleep in and then spend the rest of the day by the pool doing nothing but eating and sunning myself.”

Trainer Ted shook his head. “I’ll expect you in the gym by seven. We know your hip hurts, so we’re going to work on that, plus build your upper body strength. I heard there’s a ten-pound battle-ax you want to swing effectively, and that’s not going to happen overnight.” He rubbed her upper arm and shoulder. Then he turned to look at his partner. “She needs a deep-tissue massage. Her arms and shoulders are so tight they might snap.”

Ensley’s jaw dropped at Ted’s inappropriate touching. “Seriously? Who the hell are you?”

“He’s God!” Kenzie, Amber, and Penny exclaimed in unison.

“You can’t escape him or ignore him,” Amber said. “He’ll find you wherever you are.”

Ensley put her hands on her hips. “Look, you might have them fooled, but you’re not the boss of me.”

Austin came over and kissed the top of her head. “He’s the boss of all of us. Elliott has given him godlike status in the family. He has everyone on fitness and diet plans, so we’re always ready for whatever comes along.”

She looked up at Austin. “Even you?”

“Even me. Ted and Laurence work directly with my trainer, coach, massage therapist, physical therapist, and nutritionist, except for the past six months. I cut them off when everyone started bugging me.”

“So, how do you keep up with everybody?” she asked the two men, swinging her attention from one to the other.

Laurence put his arm around Ted’s shoulder. “Doesn’t matter where you are. We can schedule Zoom sessions.”

These two fitness gurus were putting a damper on her evening. “Here’s the deal. I need at least a day to let my body recover. It’s been stretched on the rack, and I have to rest.”

Ted shook his head. “Sorry. Here’s the deal. I won’t push you too hard. We’ll do yoga, get you loosened up, and then you’ll finish with a massage.”

“Just yoga? No cardio?”

“Not tomorrow. We’ll give you a break,” Ted said. “But if there’s a group run, you’ll feel guilty if you don’t go.”

“Trust me. I won’t feel guilty. I’ll wave goodbye and go back to sleep or float in the pool. But I’ll agree to yoga and a massage, but not until after nine o’clock.”

Ted glanced at Laurence, and they had some kind of silent communication going on between them. “We can make some adjustments to the schedule and work you in at eight thirty. How’s that sound?”

“Horrible.” Ensley glanced up at Austin again. “Can I have a beer? This is stressing me out.”

“Hey, Ted,” Remy said. “Are you and Laurence staying for dinner? I’ll throw on a couple more steaks.”

“No, thanks, Remy. We have dinner plans—”

“—with friends—” Laurence said.

“—across town,” Ted added. “We just wanted to stop by—”

“—and meet Ensley.”

“Right,” Ted said.

Ted and Laurence were funny the way they completed each other’s sentences.

“Well, it would have been nice if you’d waited another day, but I’ll be there in the morning.” Then it occurred to her that they would report directly to Elliott about her overall physical condition. If they gave him a negative report, he would use it as an excuse to leave her behind when