Hard Love (Wild Hearts, Contemporary Romance Book 3)

by Nancy Adams

  Robbie washed quickly, making sure to wash his hair as well. Mostly, he was just sweaty from the workout, so it didn't take long for him to get clean. He was out of the shower 15 minutes later, and was already dressed by the time Julie knocked on his bedroom door.

  “Hey, you ready?” Julie asked.

  “Yeah, come on in,” he called out. “It's okay, I'm dressed.”

  Julie opened the door and peeked in, then pushed it open further and stepped inside. Robbie did a double take, because she was wearing a very pretty dress. He almost always saw her in blue jeans and T-shirts, because they were so much easier when she was working with the girls. This outfit was lovely, and definitely got his attention.

  “Okay, that's not fair,” he said. “How am I supposed to pay attention to anyone or anything else, when you're dressed like that?”

  Julie giggled. “Well, this is supposed to be a bit of a surprise for you,” she said, “so I wanted to get kind of dressed up for you, too. I'm not going to tell you what the surprise is, you've got to wait and find out, but I promise you're going to like it.”

  Robbie grinned. “I'm liking it already,” he said, as he reached down to pull his right foot up onto his left knee. He put on a sock and a shoe, then let that foot down and grabbed the other, repeating the process. When he was finished, he spread his arms as if in triumph and smiled. “Ta-da! I'm all set!”

  He followed Julie out of his room, and she held the front door open as he wheeled himself through. He rolled down the ramp, barely holding onto his wheels, just enough to provide steering control, whipping himself around into the driveway and sliding to a stop beside her car. She caught up to him and opened the door, and he climbed in.

  Julie got behind the wheel, started the car and backed out into the street. A moment later, she turned onto the main drag in town, and headed for the restaurant.

  “So, come on, give me a hint,” Robbie said, but she only grinned and shook her head.

  “No way, Buddy,” she replied. “This is something I know you're gonna like, and I'm not ruining the surprise for you. You can just be patient.”

  Robbie lowered his eyebrows so that he seemed to be glaring at her. “Patience, despite what everyone says, is not a virtue. It is the uninterested acceptance of the effects of fortune.”

  Julie looked over at him, her eyes wide. “Where on earth did that come from?”

  Robbie grinned and shrugged. “I don't know,” he said, “I think I got it off a cartoon, somewhere. If I'm not mistaken, it was a mutated rat speaking to some mutated turtles.”

  Julie grinned. “Off,” she said, “Master Splinter, right? He must have been trying to get Donatello to stop being so lazy.” She winked at the surprise on his face. “What? You think girls didn't watch Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, too?”

  8

  They pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant, and Robbie's impatience got the better of him. Rather than waiting for Julie to get his wheelchair out of the trunk, he opened his door and stood on wobbly legs, leaning against the car as he made his way toward its rear. Julie got there first, so she had the wheelchair out by the time he made it, and he sat down in it gratefully.

  “I love the fact that I'm getting some control, but I sure will be glad when these stupid legs are acting the way they used to.”

  Julie smiled and touched his cheek. “You'll get there, Robbie,” she said. “You'll get there, and I don't think it will be that long.”

  He wheeled up to the door, and Julie opened it for him, so he rolled on inside. The steakhouse was one of his favorite places to eat, and it only took him a second to spot Aunt Kay, Anna and Linda back at their favorite table. Linda spotted him first, and jumped up to wave and get his attention.

  Robbie remembered how she had embarrassed him, the first few times she had done things like that when they went out around town. It was hard for him, even then, to accept that there wasn't some part of his mother still inside there, and that the Linda he knew now was actually an entirely different person, just in the same body. Once he finally got that through his head, he stopped being embarrassed and began to love her for who she was, rather than who she once had been.

  The staff at the restaurant had gotten to know her quite well over the last year and a half, too, and actually seemed to enjoy having her come in. In fact, when a rude patron had once made a nasty comment about how strange she seemed, one of the waitresses had tried to explain. When the patron made it clear that he didn't care, the manager came out and asked the patron to leave. An apology had smoothed things over that evening, for which Robbie had been glad, but it had been talked about around town for some time, and there had not been a repeat of the incident.

  Robbie wheeled up to the table, sliding into the spot where a chair had been removed to make it easy for him. Julie took the chair beside him, like she usually did, which put her between him and Linda. He had Anna on his left at the big round table, and Aunt Kay was sitting just on the other side of her.

  “Okay, Aunt Kay,” Robbie began, “so what's this all about? All Julie said was that you want us to come here and meet you for dinner.”

  His aunt was smiling. “You'll know shortly,” she said. “Let's order our dinner first, and then we can talk about things.”

  Robbie grunted and frustration, but picked up his menu. He knew how stubborn his aunt could be, so there was no point in trying to argue. He decided on what he wanted, which was a New York strip steak, and they ordered a few moments later when the waitress came by. He waited patiently until their drinks were brought to them, but that was about as long as he could take it.

  “Okay, come on. What's going on?”

  Aunt Kay looked at him for a moment, and then leaned forward and clasped her hands together in front of her. “Robbie, there comes a time in every young man's life when he makes a transition towards being the man he'll become as an adult. That time often hits somewhere around his 16th birthday, and as you know, yours is only a few months away. You're due to start driver's education in a couple of weeks, right?”

  “Yes, Ma'am,” Robbie said. “They said I can go ahead and take it, since the doctor says my legs work well enough for driving.”

  His aunt smiled. “Robbie, you know that my husband Johnny and I never had any kids of our own. Well, if he were still alive, I'm pretty sure he'd think you are about the finest boy he could ever know, so I don't think he would hesitate to adopt you as his own, sort of the same way I've done.” She took a deep breath before continuing. “Robbie, Johnny loved cars. It seemed like he always had one in our garage, tearing it apart and putting it back together, and as soon as he'd get one finished, why, then he'd decide that it was time to get rid of that one, and start on another. Well, when he took sick, he had just gotten one finished, but he never got around to selling it. When he passed away, I just couldn't bring myself to get rid of it at the time, so I put it away in storage.”

  Robbie's eyes were getting pretty big, as he began to guess what it was she was trying to say. “Aunt Kay,” he said. “I don't think…”

  “You just hush,” Aunt Kay said. “I've been building up to this for a couple of weeks now, and you're not going to cheat me out of it. What I'm trying to say is that I think it's time for you to have a car of your own, for when you get your driver’s license in a few months, and I think that Johnny would love it if you had the car that was the last one he built. I had someone get it out of storage a couple weeks ago, get it all tuned up and running and make sure the brakes work and all that stuff. It's been sitting for about 10 years, but I had it put away right, so they said all it took was just a little maintenance to get it back up and ready for the road.” She picked up an envelope off her lap and passed it across the table to him. “We'll take care of all the legal stuff later,” she said, “to put it in your name and everything, but for now, I just had license plates and insurance put on so it can be driven.”

  Robbie took the envelope and stared at it for a few minutes without moving o
r saying a word. At last, he looked up at her with his eyes moist. “Aunt Kay,” he said, “I don't know what to say.” He opened the envelope and looked inside, and then emptied its contents onto the table in front of him. There was a set of keys, a certificate of title, and a photograph. He picked up the snapshot and looked closely at it, and realized that it was a picture of his late uncle Johnny with a 1966 Pontiac GTO. His uncle looked thin in the picture, and he realized that it was probably one of the last photos ever taken of him, taken with the last car he ever built.

  A glance at the title confirmed what Robbie was thinking. He held in his hands the title to that same Pontiac GTO, a car that, today, was very rare. Just about any of his buddies would have gone nuts to own such a car.

  Robbie looked up at his aunt, and the moisture in his eyes overflowed into tears. The thought crossed his mind that he was one of the luckiest young men alive. In his short life, Robbie had had two of the best families you could ever have dreamed of.

  Dinner conversation consisted of a lot of talk about the car, and about Uncle Johnny. Robbie heard all about the long hours Johnny spent putting the car together, hunting for parts and sometimes even having them custom-made. “Johnny was a hot rodder,” Aunt Kay said. “He liked a car that could go fast, but he didn't go plum crazy over it. The cars he built looked like they had just rolled off the showroom floor, but they always had a little something extra. I think you'll be sensible with this car, or I wouldn't give it to you.”

  And then dinner was over, and they were leaving the restaurant. Aunt Kay and the girls were in her car, rather than the van, so it was easier for Robbie to ride with Julie again. They were told to follow, and Robbie was bouncing in his seat, the excitement almost too much for him. Julie followed Aunt Kay out of town, and over to the next town down the road, which was Ralston.

  They pulled into an auto repair shop, one with a big sign overhead that read, “Allen's Auto Repair.” The lights were on, and they all got out of the cars, entering the building once Robbie had his wheelchair. A tall man waited inside, and turned to smile at them as they entered.

  “Well, Kay,” the man said, “is this the young fellow you've been talking about for the last two weeks?”

  Aunt Kay nodded and smiled. “It is, indeed. Allen Brennan, I'd like you to meet my nephew, Robert Christopher.”

  Mr. Brennan held out a hand, and Robbie shook with him. A sound in the garage made all of them look around, and they spotted two young girls who were taking turns spinning on a desk chair. Mr. Brennan grinned, and nodded toward them. “Those would be my daughters,” he said. “The little one on the chair is Kylie, and the bigger one who's spinning her around and trying to make her sick, that's Katie Lou.” He turned back to Robbie. “Well, Robert, I'm delighted to meet you. I knew your Uncle Johnny for many years; he and I built a few cars together, back in the day. From everything your aunt has told me, I think he'd be delighted to know that you are going to have his GTO.”

  They all followed Mr. Brennan into the shop, and there it sat. The car was gold, with a black vinyl top, and it really did look like it was brand new. Robbie rolled up close to it, but then he couldn't take it anymore. He stopped the wheelchair a few feet away, locked his brakes and stood up.

  Mr. Brennan and Julie stepped up beside him, and helped him walk over to the car. He reached out and opened the door, then climbed inside. The interior was as perfect as the exterior, with the black leather bucket seats, the console between them with the shifter sticking up from it, and shiny chrome just about everywhere. Robbie sat in the car, shaking his head in amazement.

  After a moment, he remembered that he had the keys in his pocket, and reached in to pull them out. He looked up at Mr. Brennan for permission, and when the mechanic nodded, Robbie put the key in the ignition and turned it.

  The engine roared to life, not excessively loud, but with a sense of power that could be felt in the air around the car. Mr. Brennan leaned in through the window.

  “That's a 389 Tri-Power set up,” he said. “It's all original, even down to the original three carburetors. Your uncle Johnny rebuilt them when he did the car, and I just rebuilt them again because they've been sitting so long that all the gaskets dried out. Everything about this car is just like brand new, and some of it is even better. He added high-performance brakes and other components, to make sure the car was not only fast and powerful, but safe to drive.”

  Robbie smiled up at him. “This is so awesome,” he said. “I just can't thank you enough.” He shut off the engine, and got out of the car. Julie brought his wheelchair closer so that he could sit down in it.

  “I'll load the car up on the trailer and bring it over tomorrow, sometime,” said Mr. Brennan. Aunt Kay thanked him for everything, and then it was time for them to go. Robbie wheeled himself out, and waved at the two little girls as they left the building.

  * * * * *

  Robbie opened his eyes and saw Anna staring down at his face. “Robbie?” Anna asked. “You awake yet?”

  For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was or what was going on, but then it dawned on him. He must be just waking from surgery, again. He remembered Aunt Kay saying that Dr. Marshall was going to let the whole family come into his recovery room, this time, because for whatever reason, this operation didn't run as much risk of infection. He smiled up at his little sister, and nodded. “Yep. I'm awake.”

  Robbie had been doing a lot better the last few months, and had given up the wheelchair for good almost three months earlier. He'd been walking with a cane, since then, but this final surgery, the doctors all said, should relieve the final stress that was keeping his right hip from functioning normally. Robbie knew they would have him up and walking around later in the day, and his physical therapist, Dr. Lindstrom, said that he should be back to normal very soon.

  The last couple of years had seen a lot of changes. After a total of eight different operations, he should now be on the verge of walking normally once again, even being able to run the way he used to. Those things had him excited, but the most exciting part would be the day that he walked across the stage at school during graduation, to receive his diploma. His family would be there to see him: Aunt Kay, Anna and Linda, and of course, Julie would be there with her new husband, Jerry. She still worked for Aunt Kay, helping with Linda, but she had finally gotten on with her own life, as well.

  Robbie was ready to move on with his. He would be graduating in less than a month, and he already had college arranged. He was pursuing his dream of becoming a physical therapist, himself. That was the goal he had set for himself, because he believed that everything in your life happened for a reason. Because of his experiences, he would be eminently qualified to help other people overcome similar difficulties. There was very little in life that he wanted more than that.

  “Well, Robbie,” Dr. Marshall said as he entered the room. “Once again, I have to say that everything went even better than we could've imagined. You are an amazing patient, young man, and while I'm glad to say that we are probably done cutting on you, I can't say I'm going to be glad to say goodbye. How are you feeling? Any pain?”

  Robbie grinned. “Doc, right at this moment I don't think I could feel any pain if you hit me with a sledgehammer.” The doctor chuckled at this, but Robbie went on. “No, really, I'm not feeling any pain. I feel a little dopey, but then, I usually do after you get done with me.”

  The doctor laughed again. “Yes, that's fairly normal,” he said. “All right, well, your family wants to visit with you, so I'm going to get out of the way. I'll be back to check on you in just a while. If you need anything, you know how to let the nurses know.”

  The doctor left the room, and Anna smiled down into his face. He realized that she had climbed up on the side rails of his bed. “Anna, get down from there before you fall.”

  “I'm not gonna fall,” she said. “Your eyes look funny.”

  “That's because he just woke up, honey,” Aunt Kay said. “The doctor gave him s
ome medicine to make him sleep while they operated on him, and he's just waking up. That's the medicine that makes his eyes look funny.”

  “No, the medicine is what makes me dopey,” Robbie said. “Being dopey is what makes me look funny.”

  Robbie pushed the button to raise the bed a bit, and looked around. “Hey, where's Linda?”

  “Julie's got her for the day,” Aunt Kay said. “She knows how restless and rambunctious Linda can get up here at the hospital, so she volunteered to take her to the park for a while. It's just me and Anna, for now.”

  They visited for a little while, and then Robbie drifted off to sleep again. He dreamed about his car and how great it would be when he drove it off to college the next fall.

  The next few months were hectic, as he made it through graduation—walking across the stage without a cane or any other support—and started getting ready to go off to college. Educational expenses had been part of the settlement that the insurance company had negotiated with the trucking company, so all of his expenses were covered for as long as he stayed in school. The same would be true for Anna, when she graduated high school and went on to college.

  And then the time came. The car was loaded, he had everything he needed, and it was time to make the trip to Fort Wayne, Indiana. That was where he would be going to college, at Purdue University, and he was excited about being off on his own. Having plenty of money, he had elected to get an apartment off campus, a place of his own where he wouldn't have to put up with the antics of other students, and he had already made arrangements for one through a real estate company there.