Where Nerves End

removed all the needles. Then he said, “Go ahead and lie facedown. Sit up slowly, though, and let me know if you get light-headed.”
I obeyed, mostly because I didnt want to move suddenly and jar my shoulder. Which, I realized as I eased myself upright, didnt hurt much. Still ached, and it was still uncomfortably tight, but the worst was definitely gone. I tilted my head to one side, then the other, then cautiously rolled my shoulder. Yep, tight and aching, but not excruciating.
Then I lay facedown on the table, with my face in the doughnut-shaped cushion.
“Is that comfortable?” he asked. “Doesnt aggravate your neck or shoulder?”
“Its fine.”
“Just let me know if you need to move around.”
Michael pulled a few needles out of a drawer and set the packages on the table between the machine and me. As he positioned the first needle, I suppressed a shiver; men this attractive should not work in hands-on professions. No, scratch that. They should. They should be required to. In fact—
A needle stung more than I expected, and I jumped, cursing through gritted teeth.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yeah. They dont usually hurt like that.”
“If the muscles especially tender, they can,” he said. “How does it feel now?”
“Still aches, but its not too bad.”
“If it gets unbearable, let me know.”
“Will do.”
As he continued working, I gnawed my lower lip and tried to work up the nerve to bring up everything Id thought about while he was out of the room. It was easy to say I could deal with someone living in my house who was this attractive. It was a little more difficult when that someones hands were on my skin and I had to concentrate this hard on playing it cool. For that matter, would the mere suggestion make things awkward?
To hell with it. If it did make things awkward, there were other acupuncturists in Tucker Springs. And I probably couldnt afford them either.
I raised my head just a little and turned so he could hear me better. “Listen, um, I know this is way out of the blue, but…hear me out.”
He said nothing.
I went on, “It sounds like were both struggling like mad to scrape by, and maybe we could both use a little relief in that department.”
“Mm-hmm…” He tapped another needle into place.
I let my head rest on the cushion again. “Would you be willing to consider a roommate arrangement?”
Michaels hands froze. “You…are you serious?”
I nodded as much as I could in this position. “I know it sounds completely unorthodox, especially since were practically strangers, but Seth can vouch for both of us.”
“True.” For a moment, he was silent. I wasnt sure if he was mulling over the idea, or just concentrating on arranging needles. Then, “You do realize I have joint custody of my son, right? So hed be living with me part of the time?”
I nodded again. Just the fact he hadnt shot down the idea gave me an inkling of hope I hadnt had in entirely too long.
“And this doesnt bother you?” he asked.
I glanced over my shoulder at him, careful not to move as he connected a cable to a needle. “Why should it?”
His eyes flicked up and met mine, then shifted back to what he was doing.
After another long, silent moment, he said, “Its an interesting thought. Im not committing either way, but, tell you what. Print up a lease agreement. Lets get together outside the clinic and talk specifics, and…” He tugged gently on a cable, then picked up the machine off the table. “Maybe we can work something out.”

CHAPTER 5
    The following afternoon, I waited for Michael at a table in front of one of the brew houses lining the town square at the southwest corner of the Light District. It was a drive for him from his clinic, but it was close to the house, so if he was interested, we could just go from here and take a look at it.
    I was early, so I sat back with my coffee cup on my knee and let the sun warm my neck and shoulders. My wallet and keys sat on top of a manila file folder, acting as makeshift paperweights so the gentle breeze didnt scatter the lease agreement all over the pavilion. It was unseasonably warm considering spring was still settling in, and there wasnt a cloud in the sky to block my view of the snow-dusted mountains carving a jagged line to the west. Probably a spectacular day to go tearing down a one-track trail in the lower elevations. Maybe someday Id be able to do that again.
    Down here in the Light District, dozens of people took advantage of the