Romance: Altered Engagement (Wild Hearts, Contemporary Romance Book 1)

by Nancy Adams

  Darren felt his father's restraint, and swallowed his pride and his anger. Ironically, he actually understood exactly what Matthews was saying, and there was a part of him that even approved of the coldness that would set a man like that apart from the rest of the world. If he were forced to walk away from the girl he loved, in order to achieve the goals he had set for himself, it would say something special about his personal character, as well. While he knew Katie Lou would be hurt if he broke it off with her, he also knew that he had an important part to play in the world someday, and that his career would be a critical step in that direction. There were always sacrifices, he knew, and sometimes you just had to make one.

  “I think I understand, Sir,” he said to Matthews. “And if it comes to it, I believe you can count on me to do the right thing.”

  Matthews smiled, then, and Darren thought that his smile was rather like the one on a shark.

  * * * * *

  Dr. Capshaw came back around three to tell them that the spinal tap showed no blood in Katie's spinal fluid, and no abnormal concentrations of white blood cells or other indicators of any problem. “Frankly,” he said, “we're not finding any actual injuries that that we can treat in a medical sense to help you get better, and I think that only time and God are going to be able to tell just how far you come back. Since that's the case, and since you're definitely showing some signs of recovering sensation below the waist, I'm willing to say that as long as there are no complications tonight, then you could go home tomorrow morning, but that's if—and I'm serious, now—if you're willing to accept some limitations, and one of those is necessarily going to be a wheelchair, for now.”

  Katie Lou smiled. “Dr. Capshaw, if it means I can go home, I don’t care if you want me to use a skateboard to get around, and drag myself with my hands. That would be wonderful, and it's not because I don't like your hospital, it's just that I don't want to stay here any longer than I have to!”

  Capshaw laughed. “Katie, trust me, I understand. Frankly, I don't like it here all that much myself, and they pay me to be here! I'll check in on you tomorrow, and talk with Dr. Meeks; if he doesn't have any objection, and he won't, then I'll release you around nine tomorrow morning.” He turned to Allen. “Is it going to be a problem, her using a wheelchair at your home?”

  Allen shook his head. “Not a bit,” he said. “We'd already been talking about how to handle it, and we've got the details worked out. I can set up a ramp in a matter of minutes when we get her there, and we're going to move her to the guest room we've got downstairs...”

  Dr. Capshaw grinned and patted his shoulder. “As long as you're satisfied you can handle it, Mr. Brennan, that's good enough for me. One more thing: Katie, I'm referring you to physical therapy, but I found a place a little closer to home for you. I want you to see him tomorrow, get started with him right away. In most cases, physical therapy seems to play an important role in recovery of function from paralysis, and I want to see you walking again, soon, get that? I'll see you folks tomorrow, okay? I've got a few other patients to see before I leave here today.” He waved and was gone.

  Katie's room was suddenly one of great expectation. Everyone was excited, and couldn't wait for her to get home once more. The entire community had been shocked at the accident that almost claimed her life, and the rumors were running wild. There were stories that she was paralyzed, that she was still in a coma, that she was brain dead and her parents were going to turn off her life support, even that Darren's car had been riddled with bullet holes, or that he had deliberately driven the car into the tree in an attempt to kill her and collect some life insurance money.

  No one who knew either of them actually believed that last one, of course, but it just goes to show how rumors and innuendo can get completely out of hand in very short order. Jay and Sherry warned her about some of the different stories they'd each heard, and Katie Lou was amazed that people could take a simple fact and embellish it into so many different things that had almost no basis in truth at all.

  Evening came, and Katie was brought her dinner at just before five. This time, she got a slice of roast beef with some potatoes and carrots, and dessert was a slice of coconut cream pie that she said was incredibly good.

  Allen took Judy and Kylie down to the cafeteria for dinner, and Jay and Sherry followed. As they ate, they talked about her impending homecoming.

  “What I need to do,” Allen said, “is go on home and get the ramp set up. You girls can bring her home tomorrow. Kylie, a wheelchair should fold up, so surely it'll fit in that ten-body trunk you've got.” He turned to his wife. “You okay with that?”

  Judy smiled. “I think it's a good idea. Katie Lou tends to think you're a bit overbearing, and I think maybe she could do with just me and her sister here for a bit.”

  “Hey, wait a minute,” Sherry said. “Y'all aren't getting rid of me that easily. I'm staying, too.”

  “You can get rid of me,” Jay said. “Mr. Brennan, if you can give me a lift back to Ralston, I'd be glad to help with the ramp. I've got work to do tomorrow, and can't stay up here, but Sherry's my ride.”

  Allen grinned. “Good, I could use a hand. You any good with a power saw?”

  Jay cocked his head. “Is that one of those things with a pull rope, for cutting down trees?”

  Allen shook his head. “All those brains, and he can't use 'em. What a waste. I'll run the power saw; you can hold the boards.”

  He didn't miss Jay winking at the ladies, but pretended not to have seen it. He knew the boy would do whatever he asked of him; he'd known him for as long as Katie had, and often wondered why the two of them didn't end up together—or at least he had until he realized that Jay was into girls who were a lot bigger than Katie Lou. His current girlfriend, Arminta, stood almost six feet tall and weighed about three hundred pounds. She was a nice enough girl, but Allen just couldn't get what it was that skinny, lanky Jay saw in her. He also knew it wasn't any of his business.

  They finished up their dinner and went back up to Katie's room. She was talking with Kathy, who was working a double shift, and Katie looked up with a smile when they came in.

  “Hey, guess what,” Katie Lou said. “Kathy just told me that there's a new physical therapy place in Maxwell, where Dr. Capshaw is sending me.” Maxwell was only ten minutes away from Ralston.

  Allen nodded. “He said it was close to home. That's good.” He leaned down and kissed his daughter's cheek. “Listen, Baby girl, since you're going to be coming home tomorrow, we talked it over, and Jay and I are going to go on home tonight and get things set up for you, put a ramp in and move your bed downstairs, things like that. Your mom and the girls want to stay up here tonight with you, and they'll bring you home tomorrow.”

  Katie nodded, her grin only slightly subdued. “Okay, Daddy,” she said, and then looked at Jay. “Thanks for coming, Geek,” she said, and the skinny guy grinned and chuckled.

  “No problemo, Chica,” he replied, and kissed her cheek himself, as well. “We gotta keep you around, you give us more laughs than almost anyone!”

  Judy gave Allen a kiss, and then she, Kylie and Sherry got hugs from both of the guys before letting them leave. They made their escape a half hour later, and heard the girls begin talking about how they were going to get Katie back on her feet in time for the wedding.

  Allen waited until they'd gotten to the parking garage and into his car before he looked over at Jay. “Okay, Einstein,” he said, referring to the common knowledge that Jay had an extremely high IQ. “What's your take on Katie's injuries?”

  Jay shrugged his shoulders. “The doctors say they can't find any specific injuries, so that means there are no tears or breaks in her spinal cord. That's good news. The bad news is that the spinal cord can be damaged in any number of ways, and some of them might seem completely harmless to us, but still cause paralysis. Bruising on the spinal cord is something that may leave no long-term effects at all, or she may never get any more use of her legs than she ha
s right now; there's no way to predict it. If I had to guess, I'd say she's in for a long go with physical therapy that will eventually have her back on her feet, but it could go either way—she could be up and walking by tomorrow, or she could be in a wheelchair the rest of her life.”

  Allen scowled at him. “Thanks for being so cheerful,” he said, then started the car and backed out of his space. He paid his parking and turned onto the street. “What do you think about this physical therapy idea? Is that really likely to help?”

  “Well,” Jay said, “the theory behind physical therapy in paralysis recovery is that it helps the muscles to remember what they're supposed to do. The exercises they'll have her doing will be designed to cause the nerves to carry messages to the muscles from the brain, so that the muscles do their jobs and make the legs move. Over time, there's been a lot of success with this technique in a general sense, but in specific cases, there's no way to know if it's gonna help or not. I'd say it certainly can't hurt, and there's enough possibility that it'll help that I'd suggest she go with it. If it isn't going to help, they'll know it soon enough.”

  “You're gonna stick with her and help out, right? You and Sherry? You guys and Darren are what'll get her through this, I think.”

  They talked more as they drove, deciding on some things they thought might be helpful to Katie. Since it was already after six, they would have only a few hours of daylight, so the ramp would come first. After that, they'd set to work making some simple exercise gear for her to use.

  * * * * *

  Back at the medical center, Katie was learning how to use her new wheelchair. It was a lightweight model that weighed only eight pounds, designed so that she could move herself along with her hands, or be pushed by someone behind her. The arms flipped up and out of the way, so that she could slide on and off easily, and Kathy was showing her how to slide onto it from the bed, or to get on and off a toilet seat.

  “Oh, goody,” Katie said sarcastically, “no more bedpans!” She looked at her mother, sister and friend. “There is nothing that takes away your dignity like a bedpan!” she said.

  “Wanna bet?” Kathy asked. “Try diapers. We've got folks here who have to be changed several times a day, just like a baby, and they actually weep as we do it. It's heartbreaking, but what can you do?”

  Katie shook her head. “Okay, I stand corrected, but I still hate bedpans! As long as I can wheel myself into a bathroom, I'll be fine with this for now.” Her grin suddenly vanished. “For now,” she said again, then looked pleadingly at her mother. “Mom, what if it's more than just a 'for now' kind of thing? What if this is the rest of my life?”

  Judy had been waiting for this question, and prepared herself for it. “Then we'll put our trust in God, and He'll show you what he wants for you. You've got to remember, Katie Lou, God is always in control, no matter how it may look to us. No matter how bad the storm looks, or what tragedy comes, God is in control, and if we trust in Him, then the best possible outcome will reveal itself. If He's allowed you to be crippled, then there's a reason, and somewhere down the line you'll come to understand it, or at least see good come from it. That much I'm sure of.”

  Sherry nodded. “She's right, Kates,” she said. “When my brother Bobby drowned back when I was six, we all thought it was the end of the world, but that was what made my dad stop drinking, and we're a much closer and happier family today than we were before. Bobby was the religious one in the family, but now we're all in church and sure that we'll see him again in Heaven, so even though it looked and felt horrible back then, it's made all of us better than we were before. If this is your lot in life, Girl, then trust God to show you what to do with it.”

  Katie snorted. “Yeah, I know,” she said. “When life gives you a lemon, make lemonade, right? I know, I must have said that to other people a million times; I just never thought anyone would have to say it to me!” She sat on the wheelchair, and suddenly the tears were flowing down her cheeks. Judy knelt beside her and put her arms around Katie's shoulders, but Kathy leaned down and looked her in the eye.

  “You know, everybody's talking about how you have to wait and see what's in store for you, and about trusting God, and all of that is wonderful advice,” she said, “but there's one thing nobody's mentioned, and I'm gonna be the party pooper and bring it up. You're still alive, Katie. Do you know how many times I have to tell people that their loved ones didn't survive?”

  “Yeah,” Katie said. “But what kind of life is it, if you can't walk? I love walking, I love to go rollerskating, and ice skating, hiking and biking. I play basketball and softball and football—I'm getting married, for God's sake, and I may not even be able to walk down the aisle to the man I love! Everybody talks about trusting God, and making lemonade, but nobody can show me any fairness in this! I know, I know, I'm lucky I'm not dead, but how lucky can I be if this is my whole life from now on?”

  Judy started to say something, but Kathy interrupted. “Stop that,” she said. “Just stop it, right now! Being in a wheelchair isn't your life, any more than walking was before this. Your life is what you make of it, young lady; it isn't made up of what happens to you, it's made up of the moments you spend doing something with it, and if you have to play a different hand than the one you were originally dealt, so be it. Find the things you can do with it that bring you satisfaction, that bring you fulfillment, the things that make you happy, and then you'll actually be living again. Don't just make lemonade out of your lemons, Katie Lou, make the best damn lemonade anyone ever tasted!”

  Katie stared at the nurse for a moment, and then they all saw her taking control of herself. After a moment, the tears stopped falling and she began to smile.

  “You're right,” she said, “and I know it, so I'm gonna leave my little pity party behind. No matter what else happens, I've got way too much to live for to spend time moping around and feeling sorry for myself, right? I've got a man who loves me, a new life and a new house waiting for me, and I've seen too many other people in worse shape than this making a life for themselves.” She smiled up at the nurse. “Thanks, Kathy. I needed a dose of reality.”

  Kathy chuckled. “Well, you can always count on me for that! Anyway, you're all set with the PT Clinic. The physical therapist there is Rob Christopher; he's pretty good. I've known a few of his patients from when he was working up here, and everyone was really impressed with him. When you see him, you tell him Kathy Gamble says hello, okay?” She waved and left the room, heading down the hall to see more of the patients she cared for every day.

  Kylie sat down on Katie's bed and looked at her sister. “So, can you pop wheelies on that thing?”

  Katie spun her head around and stared at her. “Wheelies? I just got this thing, how could I know how to do stunts with it already?”

  Kylie shrugged. “Just askin'. I know a guy at college who can go up and down stairs in a wheelchair, and he does all kinds of stunts with it.”

  “And how long has he been in it?” Katie asked.

  “Oh, I dunno,” Kylie said. “A few years, anyway.”

  Katie glared. “Well, I hope I'm not in this one long enough to learn how to do any of them! Sheesh, with a sister like you, who needs any enemies?”

  Sherry laughed. “Hey, I'm glad it's her who asked that first, because I was thinkin' it.”

  Katie's mouth fell open in shock. “Sherry!” she exclaimed. “Come on, you're supposed to be on my side!”

  “Oh, I am,” Sherry said. “I just figured, y'know, sooner or later you'll be doing something stupid in it, so I wanna make sure I'm there when it happens.”

  “I am not gonna do anything stupid in this wheelchair,” Katie said, “because I do not plan to be in this wheelchair! I plan to be walking within the next two-and-a-half weeks, so that I can get married on my own two feet, you got that? All of you got that?”

  “Hey, I didn't ask any stupid questions,” Judy said, “so why are you including me in this fit? I want you walking just as bad as you do
!”

  “Of course she does,” Kylie said sweetly. “Soon as you're up and about, you can go on and get married, and then Mom can rent out your room.”

  “Kylie!”

  “Oh, I'm sorry, Mom, was that still a secret?”

  * * * * *

  Darren called Katie at eight, and she was so happy to hear from him that she almost cried with joy.

  “Hey, Baby,” she said. “Wanna hear some good news?”

  Darren sounded like he could use some. “Sure, Honey, what is it?” he asked, but he didn't sound as enthusiastic as she had hoped.

  “Dr. Capshaw says I can come home tomorrow,” Katie said. “He's sending me to a physical therapist who can help me get back to walking.”

  Suddenly, Darren sounded more like himself again. “Really? Tomorrow? Baby, that's terrific news! Have you made any more improvements? Are your legs moving?”

  Katie sighed. “No, not yet,” she admitted. “But that's why he's sending me to physical therapy, because it can help me get all that back. Maybe I can be walking by the time we get married, and you won't have to lean down so far to kiss the bride.” She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood a bit more.

  Darren didn't say anything for a moment, but then he let out a long, loud sigh of his own. “Baby, I want you to walk down the aisle, and I know you want to—so maybe, depending on what the doctors say, maybe we should postpone the wedding a few weeks, so you can.”

  Katie Lou was shocked by his words; why, until this moment, she would have sworn that he wanted the wedding even more than she did, but he was talking about putting it off. Just a few hours before, he'd reassured her that he'd still love her, no matter what. What had changed?

  “Well—I guess, if you think we should, but—Baby, I want to be your wife, walking or not.”

  Darren smiled into the phone, and she could hear it, but something seemed off. “Babe, I want that too,” he said. “But let's take it a day at a time, and not put you through too much stress, okay? Let's see what your physical therapist has to say, and go from there.”