He kissed her cheek. “Later.”
When warm-ups were finished, they stayed and watched the game. She kept her eye on Garrett to see how he reacted to being relegated to watching rather than playing. Fortunately, as a pitcher, he wasn’t always in the rotation. He seemed to handle it fine, cheering on the players as the Rivers beat Atlanta, three to two.
He did great, even making his way down to the bullpen to rally the relief pitchers in the later innings while she stayed in the dugout.
While the crowds filed out and the team headed to the locker room, Alicia spent some time with the other sports-medicine folks, catching up on what had been going on. Annamarie was there, the only other female sports-medicine therapist. Alicia and Annamarie had been hired around the same time and had bonded as females in a sea of testosterone. Annamarie was tough and capable and also fairly gorgeous, Alicia had always thought. She had a saucy attitude to go with her Italian/Mexican/German heritage. While Alicia’s hair was sort of the same color, the two of them could never be confused. Annamarie’s hair was thick as hell, and she often braided it to keep it out of her way. Plus, she had gorgeous olive skin and beautiful eyes and the kind of lush body that couldn’t be hidden under the team’s hideous medical uniforms. She and Annamarie had become fast friends and would always commiserate about their bottom-of-the-totem-pole status.
“I’ve missed you,” Annamarie said, sitting next to Alicia in the dugout. “We haven’t had a chance to get caught up since you got assigned to Garrett. Lucky you. He’s a hot one.”
Alicia laughed. “Yeah. It’s been an interesting case.”
“How’s he coming along?”
“He’s doing well.”
“And you get all this one-on-one time with him as his specialist. What a great career move for you. It puts you front and center in the eyes of the team. I’m kind of jealous.”
“Yes. It also puts me front and center in the eyes of the team, if you know what I mean.”
Annamarie cocked her head and frowned, then said, “Oh. Right. You’re like a giant target.”
“Exactly. If I don’t get him up on the mound and pitching, it’s not going to look good for me.”
Annamarie half turned on the bench to face her. “Quit worrying. I’ve seen you work with the guys, Alicia. You’re very good. You have this almost sixth sense about therapy and rehab, and your outcomes are in the highest percentiles. Do you have any doubts that you’ll have Garrett pitching this season?”
That day in St. Louis when Garrett had asked her what her opinion was, she knew with certainty that she could fix him. She still felt that way. “No. None at all.”
“See, that’s where you and a lot of therapists differ, where you and I differ. I know there’s still so much I have to learn, but you’ve always had this ballsy confidence. You plunge headlong into whatever you’re doing with this uncanny conviction that the outcome is going to be a one hundred percent rehabilitated player.”
Alicia looked at Annamarie. “I’d never thought about it like that. I must be out of my freakin’ mind. There are no certainties like that, especially in this field, because there are so many variables, including the players themselves. You know as well as I do that their level of cooperation is paramount in their recovery.”
Annamarie laughed. “Of course I do, which is why I’m not as confident as you are. But I think your confidence stems from your ability to sweet-talk them into cooperating. Look how well it’s working with Garrett. You’ve made amazing strides with him so far, haven’t you?”
“I suppose I have.” She had. A lot of that had to do with Garrett’s willingness to cooperate and the way he approached his therapy. She’d been tough on him, but he’d been equally hard on himself.
“Then don’t change anything you’re doing. It’s working.”
She squeezed Annamarie’s hand. “Thank you. I needed this. It’s been a real confidence booster.”
Annamarie laughed. “That’s what friends and colleagues are for. Call me anytime. And when this crunch is over, we need to have lunch together. I’ve missed you.”
“I’ve missed you, too.”
After Annamarie left, Alicia thought about what her friend had said. It made a lot of sense, but it also freaked her out. Was she really that fearless in her treatment plans and the way she handled players?
She had been with Garrett. And so far it was working, so maybe she shouldn’t overthink it.
She looked around. Where was Garrett anyway? She realized she’d been talking to Annamarie so long that the stadium had cleared out.
“We’re about to shut out the lights, miss. You coming?”
She looked up to see one of the stadium crew members.
“Actually, I’m waiting for one of the players. I think he’s still out in the bullpen. Garrett Scott. He might be out there with one of the coaches.”