Deleted Scene: BodyWorks

Background: When I published Ian and Lexi’s story back in 2014, this is one scene that didn’t make the final cut. It occurred near the end of the book, once Lexi had agreed to try Michael’s program. Originally, it was Kieran who took Lexi for her first session, not Shane. When I went back, assigned everyone ages, and tightened up the timeline, Kieran still had a few months to go before he was finished with his six-year SEAL commitment. As such, this scene had to go, and Shane was the one who ended up taking Lexi that day.

BodyWorks was around then, co-owned and run by Michael Connelly, until Kieran could return and take over.

Oh, and one more thing you should know—a caveat: this was written years ago, before I knew about the evils of head-hopping and the divinity of professional edits, so forge ahead at your own risk. Just don’t judge me too harshly, please. (* winky face *)

~ Deleted Scene ~

Kieran hadn’t spoken once in the ten-minute drive from the Pub to the gym, which Lexi now could see was called BodyWorks, if the understated sign alongside of the modern-looking building was any indication. It looked beautiful from the outside – dark brick and even darker tinted glass with black trim. She’d passed by it often enough, but had never been inside. She had to admit, she was a little curious, but not enough to give up a nice, warm bed and an even nicer, warmer man to be here.

The facility was still dark when they arrived, which lightened Lexi’s mood for a moment. “Oh, too bad. They’re not open. Let’s go home.”

Kieran shot her a glance out of the corner of his eye. “Nice try. Get out.”

 “You’re being very mean, Kieran,” she pouted. “What did I ever do to you?”

Kieran paused, one hand on the wheel, the other on the shifter of his black Porsche. He stared out through the windshield for several long seconds. When he spoke, his voice was so soft she had to strain to hear it. “You made me watch while you nearly destroyed yourself, not once, but three times.” He took a deep breath and turned to face her, the outline of his profile just barely visible in the glow of the dash lights. “Do you have any idea what that’s like, Lex? To watch someone you love hurting and not be able to do a damn thing about it?”

“Kieran, I—”

“Don’t say it, Lex. Don’t say you’re sorry, because that just isn’t going to cut it this time.”

Lexi closed her mouth. He was right. He’d always been there for her. Protecting her. Supporting her. And when she’d distanced herself from Ian, she’d pulled away from him, too. All of them, really, with the exception of Taryn and Stacey, whom she saw on a regular basis.

“Michael says this program can work,” he continued. “We all want to help you. Everyone. The way I see it you’ve got two choices. You can let us help you so you can be part of our family, or—”  Kieran lowered his head.

“Or what?” Lexi asked quietly, knowing she didn’t want to hear the answer, knowing she needed to hear it all the same.

He shook his head. “I can’t speak for anyone else, but I’ll tell you this. If you don’t at least try, if you don’t swallow some of that stubborn pride and accept the fact that we love you, that you belong here, with us, that you don’t have to do everything on your own, then… then maybe you really should leave. And don’t come back.”

He didn’t miss her gasp, but he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. The silence was overwhelming in the early morning darkness as they sat there together. At least until Lexi closed the space between them and wrapped her arms around him.

“I’ll try, Kier,” she sniffed into his neck. “I promise I’ll try.”

Kieran pulled her close, holding her close as he used to, like he could protect her from everything. “Come on,” he said after several minutes, his own voice choked with emotion. “We’ve got work to do.”

~ * ~

Kieran pulled out a set of keys and opened the first set of dark amber glass doors, then proceeded to punch in a series of numbers on the security keypad. Another set of keys, and they were in main reception area. Banks of soft, recessed lights came up all around them as Kieran went behind the curved desk and opened a hidden panel filled with a multitude of switches. He seemed to know exactly which ones to press.

It looked like something out of the movies. Dark wood. Gleaming polished bronze and glass. Mirrors everywhere. And this was just the lobby. Even in her current early morning grumpy state, Lexi was suitably impressed.

“This place is awesome,” she said as Kieran threw his keys down on the desk inside the main doors and grabbed a bottle of water out of the huge refrigerated case. “Guess you come here pretty often if the owner gives you your own set of keys, huh?”

Kieran smiled as he held out his hand to her. “Yeah, you could say that.” Of course, she couldn’t know the place was his—well, really a joint venture between him and his cousin Michael Connelly. The business itself fell under the Callahan umbrella, but it was Kieran’s baby all the way. She’d discover that soon enough, but for right now, he was content to let her believe whatever she wanted.

He led her through more double glass doors—these nearly clear—into a small café with comfortable looking chairs and small tables. Lexi managed to catch sight of an impressive array of healthy foods and beverages available to members. She wouldn’t have minded taking a look around, but Kieran seemed intent on forging ahead.

Next, they entered into a ten thousand square foot state of the art weight room that smelled of lemons and steel. Machines of every size made use of every available space.

“We’ll have you in here eventually,” Kieran told her as he pulled her through the center, “but we’ll have to work up to that.”

Off to the left, Lexi saw another room, identical to the weight room, but filled with stadium-style layers of cardio equipment. Treadmills, elliptical, steppers, arc trainers, rowers, bikes— ready and waiting for use.

They passed through a hallway with smaller rooms on either side. Judging by the framed flyers she managed to catch, they were special instruction rooms for everything from spinning to yoga to belly dancing and Zumba.

“This place is huge,” she said in awe as the place lit up with their progression.

Kieran chuckled. “Yeah. And this is only the first floor. Don’t worry. You’re going to know every inch of this place by the end of your first three months,” he told her. “But today, we’re going to start…. here.” Kieran unlocked another set of heavier doors, and Lexi was immediately hit with the comforting smell of water and chlorine. With a few flicks, a huge Olympic-sized swimming pool was revealed.

“Kieran!” Lexi exclaimed. “It’s beautiful!”

“Yeah, thought you might like it,” he said, pride filling his voice. “Here.” He pulled a one-piece with the BodyWorks logo out of his bag and handed it to her. “Women’s locker room is over there. Go ahead and suit up. I’ve got to take care of a few things, but I expect you to be warming up by the time I get back.”

~ * ~

After an hour Lexi didn’t want to get out of the pool. Slipping into the water had been like coming home again. Immediately she felt stronger, more alive, taking both energy and solace from the heated water. She would be sore tomorrow, but it was totally worth it.

“Feeling better?” Kieran asked, crouched by the edge with a big, fluffy towel.

Lexi’s eyes sparkled. “This is amazing!” she said, reaching for the hand he offered her. “Thank you for bringing me here.” Instead of pulling herself out of the water, however, she anchored her feet along the side and put one hand behind Kieran’s neck. With one swift, sudden yank she pulled him down into the pool along with her, clothes and all.

His eyes were blazing when he surfaced, and Lexi swam fast for the far end of the pool. She was fast, but with Kieran’s much greater strength and extended reach he caught up to her before she could pull herself out. With one large hand wrapped around her ankle, he brought her back into the water with a huge splash.

Kieran reached for her ankles, only to have Lexi scale his back and spring off his shoulders. The resulting laughter from the balcony caught his attention, and Kieran turned his death stare on his employees, who, even though they were on another floor and well out of reach, involuntarily took a step back.

~ * ~

Lexi was keenly aware of the attention she and Kieran were getting as they made their way through the complex. It was noticeably more crowded now, with staff members milling about in their black and silver BodyWorks polos and plenty of members getting in an early workout. Hard rock and heavy metal blasted through the weight room as they entered, though the sound proofed rooms kept it from spilling to other areas.

“Are you sure you won’t get into trouble for this?” she asked nervously. “I mean, I’m not a member or anything.”

“I’m sure,” he assured her. Lexi couldn’t help noticing that people tended to get out of his way as they approached. “And you are.”

Lexi frowned. “But Kieran, that must cost a fortune. Until the new restaurant opens, I need to be careful with money.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

Lexi stopped dead in her tracks. Kieran walked several more steps before he realized she wasn’t right behind him. He shot quelling glances toward anyone brazen enough to show an interest as he made his way back toward her.

“Come on, Lex. You’re in the 6:30 yoga class.”

“I don’t think so.”

Kieran towered over her, hands on hips. His hair was still wet from her little prank in the pool, but he’d changed into dry clothes. “Excuse me?”

“Look. I said I would try, and I will. But I’m not going to let you pay for a membership here. Judging by the looks of this place, it’s expensive as hell, and as beautiful as it is, it’s not the only option. I can swim at the community pool. And I can get a yoga DVD or something and do it at home. I’ll accept your help, but not your charity.” Arms crossed, she looked at him defiantly.

“I’m not paying for your membership, Lex,” he said, keeping his voice low. “Can we move on now?”

“Is Ian paying for this?”

“No, he’s not.”

“Oh.” She bit her lip for a moment, but made no move to follow him. “Do you know the owner then? Is this like a special favor kind of thing? Because I don’t want his charity either.”

 The corner of Kieran’s mouth twitched a little. This was the girl he remembered. Stubborn, proud, and obstinate as hell. “There’s no charity involved. The owner was actually interested in a kind of barter arrangement.”

Lexi’s eyes narrowed. “Such as?”

“He wanted your help in expanding the café to include a wider range of healthy food choices. He was going to speak to Aidan about it first, present it as a mutually beneficial business agreement. It would spotlight the Celtic Goddess name, of course.”

“Oh.” Her eyes cleared considerably, and Kieran breathed a sigh of relief when she started walking again. “I guess that sounds reasonable. And it sounds like it might be fun.”

“Yeah. Can we go now, please?” Kieran placed his hand along her lower back and steered her toward the classrooms, well aware of the curious looks he was receiving from his personal trainers. Judging by the smirks on their faces, word had spread fast over the incident at the pool. But even he had to admit it had been fun. He’d just have to put the fear of God back into them later.