“You can have a seat on a table and I’ll let Flora know you’re here,” she’d been told.
Cass scrambled up on the table with more effort than she liked.
A leggy, dark-haired woman wearing what looked like the latest fashion in exercise clothes soon joined her. Dressed in a hot pink jacket over a black top and leggings that came to mid-calf she made Cass feel extra-frumpy in her outfit. The woman even wore makeup.
She offered her hand, “Hi, I’m Flora McNeith. It’s nice to meet you, Cass. I apologize that I wasn’t here to meet you yesterday. I’m sure Lyle took good care of you.”
“Who? Oh, yeah, the doctor.”
She chuckled. “Most woman consider him more memorable than that. We should get started on your therapy.”
Over the next hour Cass showed Flora the range of motion in her leg and arm. For the first thirty minutes they concentrated on her leg and the last half-hour on her arm. Flora applied a cold compress before working with either part of her body, then a warm one after.
When they were through Flora said, “I’m sending you to the whirlpool for half an hour. After lunch someone will show you to your afternoon therapy at the canine therapy center.”
She didn’t give Cass time to respond before she turned to another patient who had entered the room. Cass had no intention of going to the canine therapy center. She wasn’t ready to be involved with a dog again, any dog. Wasn’t sure she’d ever be ready. Why had her doctors in Germany insisted on sending her to this clinic when they knew her background? Maybe they had thought it would be what she needed since she had been a dog handler, but she wasn’t emotionally ready. She would just make it clear, without explanation, that she wouldn’t be going to the canine therapy center.
As she walked toward the door marked “Whirlpool” Cass groaned. She almost cried with pleasure as she slipped into the hot swirling water. Today she had taken the first step towards her complete discharge and regaining her life. The one that didn’t include Rufus.
After her trip to PT she’d stopped by the dining room long enough to grab a sandwich, leaving the soup behind. With food eaten, a warm shower taken and clean clothes on, Cass now had a nap on her agenda. She would be perfectly happy spending the rest of the day in her room.
She woke with a start when there was a sharp knock on her door. “Coming.” Cass opened it to find a staff member there. This time it was a young man.
“I’m here to show you the way to the canine therapy center.”
“I’m sorry but I don’t feel like going.” What she really meant was she wasn’t going.
The man studied her a moment as if he expected her to say more, then nodded. “I understand.”
Cass settled back in the chair and looked into the fire. She knew her abilities and strengths. The wound of losing Rufus was too raw. Her emotions in general were stretched to snapping point. She couldn’t cope with the thought of interacting with a dog even if it was supposed to speed up her recovery.
She loved her job, but could she ever return to it, ever get so involved with another animal that she risked reliving this almost unbearable suffering? What if it wasn’t a dog? Could she ever open up enough to anyone again to take the chance of losing her heart?
Copyright © 2019 by Susan Carlisle
ISBN-13: 9781488048371
Unwrapping the Neurosurgeon’s Heart
First North American Publication 2019
Copyright © 2019 by Charlotte Hawkes
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