by Liz Johnson
“Mostly resistance bands and bodyweight moves. Whatever I can do from my bed or a chair.”
She took a long pause, crossing and uncrossing her legs, tapping her foot, running her fingers across her chin. All the while, her gaze never left his face, until he could physically feel her assessment.
The silence built like a concerto, its pressure pounding at his temples until she spoke. “I wish I could help, but I don’t think I’m the right physical therapist for you. But I’ll have Tara give you a list of other qualified, local PTs, who might be a better fit.”
His heart flipped in his chest, disappointment raging through him like a clap of thunder. “I thought this meeting was to help me decide if I wanted to work with you.”
“You thought wrong.”
*
Mandy bit the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling at the confusion splashed across Luke’s boyish features. She felt bad for him. Really. But she was doing him a favor.
He needed someone who could really commit to helping him return to active duty. He might never return to the SEAL teams, but his service as a navy medic didn’t have to be over. He deserved a PT who didn’t require an extra arm’s length between them.
And it had taken her all of five minutes with him to know that she’d have to keep him at least that far away. Farther would be safer. For both of them.
Besides, her future was a little too uncertain at the moment to take on a long-termer like Luke.
“So, you’re what? You’re passing me off?” For someone who hadn’t looked very happy to be in her clinic in the first place, he sure sounded bitter at her rejection.
“It’s best for you to have someone who can give you the time that I just can’t right now.” She tried to give him an encouraging smile, but for some reason it faltered. “If you want your old life back—”
He snorted. “Is that even possible?”
She eyed the brace around his knee, wanting desperately to make him promises. But she just couldn’t do it. “Maybe.”
“And those other physical therapists, are they as good as you are? Are they as likely to get me back out there?” His hand waved toward the beach.
A rubber band around her stomach went taut at the muted hope lacing every one of his words. Mandy opened her mouth to answer with the socially acceptable, politically correct response, but something about Luke’s situation called for her to be honest. “They’re good. And they can help you.”
“Right.” He clambered to his feet, his crutches clanging together as he hopped on his good leg, angling toward the hallway and the exit beyond. “Thanks for your time.”
“Listen, Luke. I’m sorry.”
He paused but didn’t turn back toward her. “Sorry that I’ll never serve on the teams again? Or that you’re sending me to a second-rate PT?”
She crossed her arms, tilted her head back and took a cleansing breath, sending up a silent prayer for patience. “The most important person in your recovery is you.”
She picked up the file his surgeon had sent over and flipped through it. Of course she’d already read it cover to cover—twice. But he didn’t have to know that. For the moment, she just needed something other than his slumped shoulders and haggard features to focus on.
Beneath the prickly shell and tart words was a man in pain.
But she couldn’t help him.
She couldn’t afford to invest in a case like his. In a man like him. Not again.
When Luke reached the entry to the hallway, Mandy called out to him, “I really am sorry. Please ask Tara for some other names.”
He didn’t stop or even indicate that he’d heard her.
Luke was just too much like Gary. Too handsome. Too sharp. Too striking.
The very memory of Gary, who’d been her patient nearly four years before, sent shivers down her arms.
She couldn’t think about him. She didn’t want to. And Luke would be a constant reminder.
Pushing herself up, she marched down the hall and ducked into her office. The tiny room was a lesson in sparseness. The walls were white, save for three framed diplomas over a large wooden desk, which sat opposite two padded chairs. A stack of files in the in-box on the corner of her desk called for her attention, but the enormous bouquet of white roses in the middle of her workspace filled her senses. She pressed her nose into them, inhaling the sweet, clean fragrance. Like a spring rain, they washed away any uncertainty left over from her meeting with Luke.
She’d done right by him, sending him on his way.
“Tara, are you out there? Where did these come from?”
There was no response. Tara must have stepped outside. Digging through the satin-soft petals, Mandy found a card and quickly opened it. Patients often sent thank-you cards but rarely flowers. And who had known that white roses were her favorite?
Tugging the little green card from its envelope, she took another rich breath.
I miss you. I miss us. Gary
Nausea curdled the contents of her stomach, and she doubled over as bile reached the back of her throat. No longer sweet, the roses stank of betrayal and broken hearts and her very worst mistake. With a single sweep of her arm, she sent them flying over the edge of her desk. The glass vase hit the metal trash can with a crack loud enough to reach the parking lot, immediately followed by a shriek and rapid footfalls.
“Mandy?” Tara called before she even appeared in the doorway. “What happened?”
Mandy kept her chin tucked into her chest and her arms crossed. With shaking legs, she turned toward Tara. Her breath hitched as she tried to answer the question still hanging over the room, but there were no words to explain the pounding of her heart.
Tara remained silent for a long moment before finally offering an uneasy chuckle. “Two bouquets in one day. That must be a record.”
Mandy glanced up, not quite meeting her office manager’s gaze over a small bouquet of orange-and-red lilies that she hadn’t even noticed in Tara’s hand. “Another?” Her voice quaked, and she quickly cleared her throat, forcing her shoulders back and her head up.
“From Gwen.” Tara held out the square vase. A tall plastic stem held a simple card, its looped letters easy to read.
Congratulations on your award! Well done, my friend!
I’ve got a job for you in Miami whenever you want it.
Gwen
“For the philanthropy award.” Mandy spoke as though Tara hadn’t read the card, which she certainly had. “You know. The one for my volunteer work at Pacific Coast House. I don’t know how Gwen heard about it, but it was really sweet of her to send me such pretty flowers, wasn’t it?” Mandy chomped down on her tongue. Why was she rambling as though she had something to hide? She wasn’t a child in trouble. She was a woman capable of making her own decisions.
Tara nodded and raised an eyebrow, but her expression was otherwise blank. “And Miami? Are you thinking about moving?”
“No… Yes… Maybe.” She ran a hand over her face and shrugged.
Tara’s pale eyes turned hard, fearful. She probably thought she was losing her job, and Mandy jumped to clarify.
“Of course, I won’t leave you out on a limb. I’ll let you know as soon as I decide. It’s just an offer. Gwen’s a good friend from school, and she offers me a job in her clinic every year or so. I wasn’t really considering it until…”
She couldn’t find the words tonight. But Tara didn’t really need her to rehash it. Her office manager knew about the identity theft, professional aggravations and general harassment Mandy had endured for almost two years. The cops hadn’t been able to find anyone behind the hassles, but someone was out there. Faceless but intent on making her life miserable.
Maybe what she needed was a fresh start. And that was what Gwen offered.
She’d be a fool not to at least consider it.
And Gary’s sudden return to her life—well, that was just another good reason to pack up and try again. In Miami.
“I promise I’m jus
t thinking about it,” Mandy said. “If I decide to go, you’ll be the first person I tell.”
The corners of Tara’s mouth quirked into a half smile. “Fair enough.” She tipped her head toward the front desk. “I’m going to take off. Need anything else?”
Mandy shook her head. “Have a good night.”
She settled in to do some paperwork as the front door swished open and closed with the racket of the blinds.
Not a minute later, the blinds rattled again. Mandy jumped and then forced herself to laugh. “Tara? Did you forget something?” she called.
Silence was the only response. And it was quickly followed by goose bumps up and down her arms. Mandy stood and walked around her desk, then poked her head into the hallway, her pulse already accelerating. “Tara?”
Still no response.
Not a voice nor even the sound of anyone breathing. The office was deserted except for her. But something was different. Like the weight of a never-shifting gaze pressing against her shoulders. She jerked around, then looked the other way. No one.
Mandy tiptoed toward the front desk, the overhead lights in the reception area shining brightly. “Is someone here?” Her voice cracked as chilled fingers crept down her spine.
Peeking around the corner into the waiting room, she surveyed the space. Nothing out of order.
She shook her shoulders and cleared her throat. She hadn’t really expected to find anyone. But what had shaken the front-door blinds? And why did everything inside her scream she wasn’t alone?
Suddenly a car alarm screeched to life. Mandy jumped and clapped her hands over the scream on her lips.
Lights from the parking lot flashed through the front windows, and she dashed across the room, flicking the shades wide enough apart to peer into the darkness beyond.
The flashing and honking continued as a man on crutches hobbled along the side of the angry car. His back to her, he was bent as far as his supports would allow. But she didn’t need to see his face to recognize him.
After unlocking the front door, she opened it and stepped onto the top step. “Luke? Are you okay?” Even her yell was hard to hear over the blaring horn, but he straightened up and spun to look in her direction. Holding his hand to his ear, he shook his head. He couldn’t hear her.
She dashed across the empty parking lot, only then realizing how dark it had become. The lights in the lot were probably set on a late timer, and the moon wasn’t doing much to break through the cloudy San Diego evening.
“Are you all right?” she asked when she reached his side.
Luke frowned and glared at the fast-food bag clasped against his hand grip. “I just walked over to get some dinner. I’m borrowing my mom’s car—it fits my leg brace—but it’s still not easy to get in and out of. Anyway, I accidentally hit the panic button on the key fob, then dropped the keys under the car.” He rolled his eyes, his mouth pinching tight.
Mandy’s heart gave a tiny hiccup.
Once he would have just crawled under the chassis and picked them up. Now he probably felt…helpless. He wasn’t helpless. But to go from active-duty SEAL to needing help to walk couldn’t be easy on a man, especially one used to patching up his wounded brothers.
Squatting down next to the car and leaning into the earsplitting shriek, she spotted the keys, leaned against the abrasive asphalt and reached all the way under the car to retrieve them. Dropping them into his palm, she dusted off her hands as he pressed a button and the car let out one final honk before falling quiet.
Sweet silence hung in the air for a long moment before Luke cleared his throat. “Thank you.”
She gave him a half smile and a quick nod. “Have a good night.”
He didn’t respond but angled himself toward her as she stepped away. His gaze was heavy on her back, sending even more chills racing down her arms. She picked up her pace, everything inside her suddenly jumping to high alert.
With a quick glance over her shoulder, she checked on Luke, who was still watching her. His features were pulled tight and unreadable.
A band clenched her middle, demanding she go back and talk to him. Go back and explain why she’d had to turn him down.
Halfway to the front steps, she turned around and called his name. “I really am—”
Squealing tires cut her off, and she jerked around to face the brilliant headlights of another car. It barreled down on her, picking up speed and stealing her every thought.
She tried to scream, but nothing came out.
The car was gaining ground, nearly to her. The driver had to see her. She was the only target in the vehicle’s lights. And it didn’t slow down. In fact, it was gaining speed.
Mandy managed a stumbled step as the car came faster and faster. Without a doubt she was about to die.
Suddenly an arm clamped her around the waist. It scooped her off her feet and sent her sailing out of the path of the car just as it careened by.
Mandy’s wildly beating heart was firmly lodged beneath her larynx, which accounted for the lack of sound coming out of her mouth, even as she tried to scream. At some point in the previous half second, she’d clenched her arms around Luke’s shoulders. And she had no intention of letting go.
“It’s okay. You’re all right.” Luke’s chest rumbled against her side as he spoke into her ear, the even rise and fall of his shoulders in stark contrast to her erratic panting. “It’s gone. It didn’t hit you.”
Her breath caught on a hitch. “Or—or you?”
“I’m fine.” His voice didn’t even wobble.
How could he possibly be so calm when someone had just tried to run her over?
Someone had tried to kill her.
TWO
Luke blinked against the surge of adrenaline rushing through him. It was a familiar—welcome—feeling. It felt like all of his training. All of his missions. All of his past.
Pulling Mandy closer to his side, he eyed the single crutch he’d lost to the speeding car. One second slower, and it would have been his leg. Two seconds slower, and they would both be dead.
Clearly this was a new emotion for Mandy, who shivered against his side, her eyes blinking, unseeing. He patted her back awkwardly and cleared his throat. “You’re good. No one was hurt.”
He thought he was being reassuring, but when her eyes swung in his direction, they were filled with terror. “You’re sure? You’re not injured?”
Meeting her gaze, his lips twisted into a hint of a smile. “No more than I was an hour ago, Dr. Berg.”
She gave him an obligatory chuckle, but the storm inside her danced across her face. “You just saved my life.” It was almost a question, as though she needed confirmation.
He nodded. “A little bit.”
That made her chuckle for real, and the fear he’d read in her eyes began to ease. “Look at me. You’re practically carrying me.” She untangled her arms from around his shoulders, her fingers from the spot where they’d burrowed beneath the collar of his shirt. Her warmth replaced by the cool breeze.
Luke dropped his arm, too, suddenly off-balance, and wavered dangerously. She flung a hand around his back and leaned a shoulder into his side as she eyed the mangled silver support left in the car’s wake. The trashed remains of his dinner like a comet’s tail.
“We came pretty close, didn’t we?”
He didn’t have to ask her for clarification. She could see only one thing, her focus entirely on what might have been. Instead of answering her question, he glanced over her head toward the office door. “Do you have an extra set of crutches in there?”
Her gaze dragged from the top of his head to the sole of his shoe. “Nothing that would be tall enough for you. But I do have a wheelchair.”
Just the word made him cringe, but he finally nodded. “All right.”
Leaning him against the railing, she said, “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Luke bit back the retort on the tip of his tongue. Where could he go?
But s
he didn’t need a sarcastic comment after an ordeal like that. What she needed was to sit down for a little while to let the adrenaline subside and the trembling stop. And she probably didn’t need to do that by herself.
The door opened with a bang, followed by the squeaking wheel of the chair she’d promised. She angled it down the steps, skipping the ramp altogether, and slid it to his side. “Have you been in one of these?”
“For a week or so. After the…” Man, it was still hard to say the word.
“Bombing?” she filled in.
He nodded and lowered himself into the chair, and Mandy adjusted the footrest so his leg was propped out directly in front of him.
Patting his foot, she said, “There you go.”
“Thanks. I’ll get it back to you when I can get another crutch.” He glanced toward his mom’s car, and her eyes followed. Tight lines formed around her mouth as she bit her bottom lip until it was nearly invisible. “Are you going to be okay?”
She nodded, then her eyes grew wide. “But your supper is ruined. Let me buy you another hamburger. I’ll even throw in a shake.”
Luke squinted up at her, trying to assess how much of her offer stemmed from guilt and how much was from just not wanting to be alone. He almost asked her if there was anyone waiting at home, but even he knew better than to broach such a personal topic on their first meeting, no matter how close he’d been holding her just a minute before.
The flickering smile on her face dimmed for a split second, and he caught a glimmer of the terror she still battled. He’d faced down his share of angry terrorists—or tangos, as his team called them—and sharpshooters over three tours in the Middle East, and it never got easier. Mandy was a first-timer. Actually, she was holding it together pretty well, all things considered.
But she couldn’t fully mask the fear. Her hands wringing and eyelid twitching, she maintained eye contact, but her smile never quite reached her eyes.
“It’s the least I can do,” she said.
Something in his gut promised his life would be easier if he just walked away. But he’d never walked away from hard before.
“All right. I’ll let you buy me a double-double.”