Heart Untouched

by Andrew Grey

  Table of Contents

  Blurb

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Epilogue

  More from Andrew Grey

  Readers love the Hearts Entwined series by Andrew Grey

  About the Author

  By Andrew Grey

  Visit Dreamspinner Press

  Copyright

  Heart Untouched

  By Andrew Grey

  A Hearts Entwined Novel

  An accident crushed Duncan’s Olympic dreams and landed him in a chair, but he knows it’s time to get his life back on track—and he has a plan in mind. Working with his friend Todd, an Olympic skeleton racer, on a promotional campaign will not only help Duncan regain some direction, but it’ll give Todd the financial boost he desperately needs. The sport Todd loves is draining his resources—so much so that he’s thinking of giving up racing just to make ends meet.

  As the two men work together, their friendship blossoms into much more, and suddenly the future is looking brighter than it has in a long time. But just when love, happiness, and success seem within their grasp, the USOC steps in with plans to stop their campaign. That’ll mean an end not just to Duncan’s business, but to Todd’s dreams… and Duncan isn’t about to let that happen to the man who means everything to him.

  To all US Olympians who pursue their sport for the love of it, regardless of how little support they receive from the USOC.

  Chapter 1

  DUNCAN MASTERS was bored out of his mind and going stir-crazy.

  “Mom,” he called again, then waited, hoping she heard him this time.

  Helpless. Everything else paled in comparison to being totally helpless and completely useless to anyone and everyone, including himself.

  “Mom!” he yelled at the top of his lungs.

  A door closed outside his room and she came in, a slip of toilet paper under her shoe. “What is it, honey?” she asked, ignoring the fact that Duncan had just yelled at her while she was in the bathroom taking a few minutes for herself. Once again, a wave of total helplessness washed over him.

  “I need help getting in the chair so I can go.” Somehow the chair had gotten moved away from the bed overnight, and that meant he was stuck where he was until someone came to help him get out of bed before he wet himself.

  “I’m sorry. I came in during the night because you were talking in your sleep again and I wanted to make sure you were okay.” She went to the chair, brought it back, and locked it next to the bed. “I must have forgotten to move it back.”

  Duncan sat up and worked his legs off the bed, using his arms and the bar overhead to maneuver into the chair. His mother itched to help, he could tell, but he had to learn to do things like this for himself.

  With a sigh, he settled into his chair and wheeled himself out of the room and toward the bathroom. His chair barely fit through the door, but he had learned to maneuver it. His mother was already talking about remodeling the house for him, but Duncan knew that was a pipe dream. She didn’t have the funds for that, and Duncan wasn’t going to be making money anytime soon. His dreams had been dashed all to hell, and so had his chances of rising to the top and standing on that podium in front of the world with a gold medal around his neck. But he still had all the debt that came with the pursuit of that dream, and he’d spent a lot of long nights staring at the ceiling—first in the hospital, then at the rehab center, and now in his old bedroom—wondering how he was ever going to be able to make things right.

  He managed to make it onto the toilet and was able to relieve himself. What once had been so simple…. Guys could pee anywhere. Not him, not anymore. Now even going to the bathroom was a huge production. His mom kept a bottle for him in his room, but using that only made him feel even more self-conscious and like an invalid.

  He got back into the chair, flushed the toilet, and washed his hands before turning in the limited space and exiting the bathroom.

  “You’re doing so well,” his mother said when he came out. She pushed him down the hall and into the kitchen, right to the table.

  “Mom, I can do it myself.” He knew she was trying to help, but her pushing him when she hadn’t asked if it was all right was her way of taking control and getting him exactly where she wanted him, which only added to his sense of uselessness.

  “I know you can.” She brought over his laptop for him, and Duncan shifted it into position. At least through the computer he could pretend he had some semblance of his own life.

  He opened his email and answered the ones that were new. He checked a few news sites and then Facebook, where he stared openmouthed. “Did you know about this?” he asked, turning the computer so his mom could see it. “Todd created a GoFundMe campaign for me.”

  “What’s that?” she asked.

  “Basically he’s asking people to donate money to help me with medical bills and other expenses.” Duncan wasn’t sure if he was insulted or not.

  “Is that what has been donated?” his mother asked, leaning over his shoulder, pointing to the screen. The campaign said it had a goal of ten thousand dollars, and now the goal read fifty thousand, with almost forty thousand pledged in just a week. Duncan was floored.

  Olympic skeleton racer Duncan Masters was injured just three months ago while on a training run. We are all hopeful that Duncan will eventually be able to walk again, but with hospital stays and months of rehabilitation ahead, he needs everyone’s help. Duncan gave everything he had to the sport so he could represent our country in the Olympics. We miss our friend out on the runs just as much as we’re sure he misses us. Please donate to someone who has already given so much to fulfill the dream of representing our country.

  There was a picture of him with his skeleton at the top of a run, taken a short time before the fateful run that had left him in a chair.

  “That’s so kind,” his mother whispered, and Duncan knew she was near tears. Hell, Duncan was as well. “There’s another note. ‘The US Olympic Committee has agreed that for every dollar contributed, they will match it, up to fifty thousand dollars.’” Duncan huffed. Now they decide to help him out, once he couldn’t race any longer. They sure as hell didn’t do much to help the athletes who competed to represent the country on the world stage. “That’s very good of them.” He kept his opinion to himself. There was no need to go over what was already a very sore subject.

  “Yes, it is.” She turned to look at the clock, wiping her eyes. “I’m going to make some breakfast, and you need to get dressed and cleaned up properly.”

  “Why?” Duncan humphed. He didn’t leave the house much, so who cared what he looked like? And he certainly wasn’t in the mood to go out and meet people. God, that thought sent a chill running through him.

  Two weeks ago, he’d let his mother take him to the grocery store. He felt like everyone was looking at him the entire time. And to top it off, one lady who’d stopped to talk to his mother didn’t bother to speak to him, or even acknowledge him, until she was getting ready to leave. Then she’d turned to Duncan, and the look in her eyes… nothing but pity. Duncan had wanted to get the hell out of there as fast as he could, so he’d wheeled himself to the front of the store, but he knew that lady—Margie something—probably talked to his mom about how sorry she was for her…. He knew people felt sorry for his mom. Duncan heard them talking at church.

  “I’m taking you.” She smiled, went over to the stove, and cracked the eggs sitting there in a bowl.

  “I don’t think so.” Yeah, he was bored, but he could
spend the rest of his life staying away. “I’m going to watch a movie. You go on out and do something. I’ll be fine on my own.”

  “Nope,” his mother said in her usual gentle voice that held a rod of steel. “You and I are going out for a while. The doctors said that you need to go out, and so did Pastor Greg when I talked to him last Sunday.” His mom turned away, probably to hide the blush in her cheeks. His mother had a thing with one of the men at church. It was cute, in an almost sitcom sort of way.

  Duncan sighed. “Great. You’re taking me to church.” He closed the laptop and set it aside. “Wonderful. Maybe Henrietta Blodgett will be there, and she can tell everyone again what a shame it is that I got hurt and how you got stuck caring for me.” The old lady had been running her mouth in the community center kitchen when Duncan had gone out there to use the restroom because it was bigger and easier for him to get into.

  His mother whirled around, her hands coming to her hips. “First thing, that woman is a menace and an old battle-ax. She can go to church all she wants, but her gossiping is going to send her straight to hell. And no matter what happens, you can’t let people like her get to you. There will always be folks who talk and give you the ‘poor little thing’ face. You think I haven’t seen it a million times since your father died?” She plated the eggs, set them in front of him, sat down, and patted his hand. “No matter what, you have to go on.”

  Duncan took a bite and set his fork down. “If we aren’t going to church, then what are we doing?” It was Wednesday, and his mom usually had her ladies circle prayer group at lunch. She’d gone for years.

  “Just finish your breakfast and clean up. Shave too. You’re all scruffy, and that isn’t a good look for you.”

  She went about straightening up the kitchen as Duncan ate slowly. His appetite had been hit or miss for weeks, and it looked like today was one of those days where nothing seemed to taste very good. Not that he said anything to his mom. The eggs she made were good usually, but just not right now, not to him. Still, he finished them and put his plate on his lap to carry it over to the sink.

  “Thanks, Mom.” He rolled out of the room and back to the bathroom. In the mirror, he saw he did look awful, his spotty red beard only adding to the disappointment in his eyes and demonstrating the fact that he didn’t really care about anything.

  Ten minutes later, after washing up and brushing his teeth, he wheeled himself to his room and went about the daunting task of getting dressed. He was determined to do it on his own, dammit, and he did it. Granted, it was only sweatpants and a T-shirt, but they were on correctly. Duncan even managed shoes and socks, though that took a little more doing. Finally ready to go, he glided back into the living room, where his mother was dusting. “Let’s get this over with.”

  His mom ignored the comment and picked up her purse.

  Duncan left the house, rolling down the ramp and out to the car. He would have liked to be able to get a van that was equipped with a lift so he could get into the car and drive it himself, but that was way outside their budget. His mom had put in for one, but it was taking a lot of time to get approved. There were grants and things that would help with the cost, but they hadn’t come through yet.

  He got into the passenger seat with help from his mom, and she put the chair in the back. Then she climbed in and pulled away from their small ranch-style house in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, heading out toward the main road.

  “Mom, what’s the big secret?” he asked, turning toward her.

  “No secret. I thought you could use some time to visit some friends.” She slowed as they approached a light and then turned into the drive of an auto repair garage.

  Todd stepped out of one of the bays, smiling brightly.

  As soon as she came to a stop, he hurried to his side of the car and pulled open the door. Todd leaned right in, hugging Duncan tightly even with the odd angles. “I came to see you after you were hurt, but they wouldn’t let me in. And then I had to go out on tour and to competitions and….”

  Duncan returned the embrace, inhaling deeply as Todd’s rich scent, tinged with work and a touch of grease, filled his nose. Heat washed through him, and Duncan’s breath hitched for a second. He almost didn’t know what to make of his reaction. They stayed that way for longer than was necessary before Todd pulled back.

  “I know. But you called, and that meant a lot.”

  His mom, who had already opened her door and gotten out, came around the car and pulled Duncan’s chair out.

  “What’s the deal?” Duncan asked.

  “You remember when you and I used to work together on those old cars I brought home in high school? Well, I still work on them, you know that, and I was hoping you’d help me.”

  Duncan looked around. “But isn’t this where you work?”

  “Yeah. Brent, my boss, is really cool, and he’s pretty keen to meet you. So get in your seat, and I’ll take you inside so you can meet the rest of the guys.” He grinned excitedly and helped him into the chair. Then Todd took control, and Duncan turned in time to see his mom drive away. “Don’t worry. She’ll be back in a few hours.” Todd rolled him inside, and the familiar scent of grease and men washed over him.

  “So how long have you and Mom been conspiring?”

  Todd stopped the forward motion and walked over where Duncan could see him. “When she brought her car in last week, I asked about you. She said you needed to get out of the house, and I asked Brent if you could spend a few hours here. You know your way around a car, and your mom thought it would be good for you to get out, so here you are.” Todd stepped back as an older man, handsome, in jeans and a button-down shirt, hurried over. “This is my boss, Brent.”

  “It’s good to meet you,” Brent said, shaking his hand firmly. “Todd said that you were really good with cars.”

  “I was. He and I used to tinker a lot back in the day. I haven’t worked on any in a while, with school and then training and trying to pay my way. Though I’m not going to be training anymore, unless I decide to take part in the Paralympics.” He wasn’t so sure that he was ready for that, at least not now.

  “Well, we have some cars that we’re working on. So Todd is going to show you around, and if you want, you can help him out for a few hours. We’ve been really busy lately, and next week the construction starts on our expansion, so everything has to be done before then.”

  “That’s awesome,” Duncan said as he looked around. The garage was exceedingly clean and seemed organized, if somewhat cramped.

  A man came over to stand next to Brent and signed to him.

  “This is Scott,” Brent said with a smile, and signed back to him.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Duncan,” Scott said, extending his hand.

  Duncan took it and nodded as he smiled.

  “Scott is Brent’s partner. He isn’t able to hear.” Todd pointed to a man who stood next to a car, his hands flat on the fender. “That’s Lee. He works with Scott. Lee isn’t able to see.” Todd gestured, and Duncan wheeled over. “Lee, this is Duncan. He and I were on the Olympic skeleton team together.”

  Lee extended his hand to where Duncan would be if he were standing. Duncan reached up and took Lee’s hand.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were in a chair.” Lee’s expression remained a little blank even as his voice conveyed sincerity. “Are you going to work here?”

  “Duncan went to college for marketing and promotion, and I’m hoping I can get the owner to talk to him. Trevor needs some help with advertising for the overall business.” Todd placed his hand on Duncan’s shoulder, heating the skin beneath his shirt.

  Todd looked toward him and their eyes locked for just a second, sending an unexpected zing through Duncan. He turned away in surprise, giving himself a chance to think. Duncan looked back at Todd, and damn if he wasn’t watching him still. They’d been friends for quite a while, training and traveling together. But there hadn’t been heat between them. Hell, this was probably h
is imagination. He stilled his breathing and willed his heart to settle down. It was likely that his reaction was just because he hadn’t been touched in anything but a medical way by anyone in months.

  “That would be nice.” Lee didn’t move until Scott came over and wrapped an arm around his waist. No words were spoken and ASL was out for obvious reasons, but Scott gently guided Lee back under the hood of the car, the two of them in constant contact.

  “How do they do that?” Duncan asked, watching them.

  “They have their own language of touch.” Todd motioned to another work area, and Duncan rolled over behind him. “I used to think there was something going on between them, but Scott and Brent are amazing together. Scott and Lee have this work connection, though, that’s uncanny. Lee is Scott’s ears, and Scott is Lee’s eyes. They constantly touch each other.” Todd leaned close. “You know, it’s almost sexy to watch them together, and yet it isn’t like that at all because they’re just working and best friends.”

  “Is Lee dating anyone?” Duncan asked.

  “No. Though there is a friend of Trevor and Brent’s who comes in here sometimes. His name’s Dean, and whenever he’s here, he watches every move Lee makes.” Todd kept his voice to a whisper. “I don’t think Lee knows, and Dean is a little older than him and hasn’t made a move. I heard Dean tell Brent once that he thinks Lee is too young for him.” Todd shrugged.

  “You don’t think so?” Duncan asked.

  “Lee is a young guy with an old soul. He’s seen a lot of hurt in his life, and he’s learned to deal with it and move on.” Todd popped the hood on the Cutlass in the service bay and propped it up. “I think he understands things most of us don’t yet.”

  Duncan wheeled himself up to the car. “What do you want me to do?” He could just see over the fender and into the engine.

  “Listen to this,” Todd said. He walked around and leaned into the car to start the engine. “It’s just not quite right.” He turned it over, and Duncan heard what Todd was talking about. He motioned to Todd, who turned off the engine. “What do you think?”