by M. Malone
If only she could be so sure of other areas of her life.
She shook off her lingering unease. There was no time in her life for negative thoughts. She was exactly where she wanted to be, doing exactly what she was meant to.
That was more than enough.
* * * * *
“ARE YOU KIDDING me?” Matt gripped the steering wheel tighter and slowed down as yet another car cut him off. He didn’t drive to Northern Virginia that often and each time he did, his subconscious mind blocked out all memory of how bad the traffic was until he was knee-deep in it. Naively, he hadn’t thought Wednesday-morning traffic would be this bad.
A mistake he wouldn’t be making again.
He let out a repressed grunt when he was forced to slam on the brakes. Again. He looked to his left and hit his horn as a car next to him tried to get in his lane.
“I’m here. There’s nowhere to go.” He shook his head as the driver gave him the finger.
His cell phone rang and he snatched it up. Normally he wouldn’t answer the phone while driving, but it wasn’t as if he was actually moving.
Over the last thirty minutes he’d managed to crawl no more than a mile on Interstate 95. He was almost to the point of pulling over and walking the rest of the way.
“It would probably be faster,” he mumbled. Then he put his phone to his ear and said, “Hello?”
“Hey, Ace. It’s Shep.”
“Hey, man, how’ve you been doing?”
Shep had been in his old unit. He’d been tight with him and a few other guys. They still kept up through e-mail, but he missed hanging out with them. It had been a hard move when he’d been reassigned to a new unit after his injury. Difficult but necessary. He’d been an expert marksman before, but unless he could get his health handled, there was a chance he’d have to consider changing his specialty.
“We’re going to be in your area soon, possibly. Cora wants to take a trip to see the national monuments, so I asked Tommy and his wife to come along. I’m not sure when we’ll do it, though. Maybe when it’s not so cold.”
“That would be great. You know you’re welcome anytime. Actually, just make sure you let me know first because I’m doing some physical therapy in a different city, so I might not be home.”
“How is that going, by the way? I know you had a rough time last year.”
After the accident, he’d been too delirious to care much about what was happening to him. He’d had the surgery to fix the tear in his shoulder, but he wasn’t sure if there were other things he should have done. He’d been too lost in grief, second-guessing if he could have done more to prevent the way things had turned out. When the pain in his shoulder had started, he’d thought it was just the way it was. It had simply echoed the pain he’d been going through mentally. Pain was all he had known.
Maybe he should have done something else besides the physical therapy. Maybe it was his own fault he wasn’t healed.
“Improving slowly. I’m on my way to a physical-therapy appointment now.”
“Good. Maybe you’ll be back with us soon. I heard we might be deployed again this year. Afghanistan this time. You know there’s no one I’d love to experience the desert with more.”
Matt forced himself to laugh, swallowing the bitter pill of resentment. He’d been through this once already. His old team had been deployed back to Iraq without him. Being left behind had hurt the first time, but he’d believed he’d be healed and ready to go before the next tour. Now the time was almost here, and he was no better off than he was a year ago.
“Bet on it. I’ll call you later.”
After they disconnected, Matt threw his phone on the passenger side seat and looked out at the traffic with disgust. He wished he could turn the car around and go home. He didn’t really want to waste an hour of someone’s time so they could tell him what he already knew.
Matt gritted his teeth and rested his head against the back of his seat. If he hadn’t spent the past six months ignoring the increasing levels of pain, he would have already had the second surgery he needed by now. He’d likely have healed enough to be going with his unit when they deployed next week. He’d be back where he belonged instead of just taking up space.
When the next person cut him off, he leaned out the window and screamed, “Pick a lane, jackass!”
CHAPTER TWO
“SERGEANT SEXY IS here.” Georgia leaned back against the door and fanned herself with her hand.
Penny sat at her desk, peering into a small handheld mirror. Eyedrops couldn’t conceal the effects of exhaustion completely, but it should be enough to keep her from scaring her patients.
“I never knew you had such a fetish for military guys. Does James know about this?”
“I don’t have a fetish. I just have appreciation. Where have you been hiding this one? No wonder you never talk about your friends. You’re keeping them all to yourself.”
Penny put the eyedrops back in her bag and stored it in the drawer of her desk. “What are you talking about? I told you I haven’t seen either of the Simmons twins in a decade, at least.”
“Oh. So you’ve never seen him as an adult?” Georgia touched the tip of her tongue with her finger.
“Uh no. Why?”
“Nothing. I’ll let you see for yourself. It’ll be more fun that way.” With a wiggle of her eyebrows, she was gone.
Penny shook her head hard to clear it of any lingering fog as she walked down the hall from her office and into the waiting room. There was only a smattering of people waiting: an older woman with a lapful of knitting, a pregnant woman, and two older men chatting in the corner. She turned and called out, “Sergeant Simmons?” No one looked up. She let out a breath and then turned again, bumping into an incredibly wide and incredibly hard chest. “Oh, I’m sorry. I’m—”
The man who stood behind her looked about six feet and had dark hair and eyes. She would have known he was military even without the Army hat he was wearing. He stood too straight, his eyes darting around the room as if on alert for disturbances. That wasn’t what made her lose her breath, though.
Maybe it was the muscles stretching the fabric of his cotton tee shirt. It was definitely the eyes, thickly lashed and the color of dark chocolate. Whatever it was, she shivered when his gaze roamed over her lazily. When he got back to her face, his eyes narrowed slightly. Penny shivered when she met his gaze.
He was just so unapologetically masculine.
“Uh, hello. You must be Sergeant Simmons.” Penny automatically held out her hand.
His lips twitched. “You used to scold me for jumping out of the tree in the backyard and scaring my sister. It’s weird for you to call me Sergeant. Please, call me Matt.”
Penny was surprised into laughing. “Of course. Matt.” Saying his name brought a curious tingle to her belly.
He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, and she shivered as his arm made contact with her back. He hadn’t shaved and the slight stubble on his face left a pleasant rasp of sensation against her cheek when she pulled back.
She swallowed and squared her shoulders, trying to get her equilibrium back. “It’s been a long time. How have you been?”
A shadow crossed his face and Penny immediately wanted to kick herself. He’s an injured Army veteran. How do you think he’s been? Real smooth, Penny.
“Let’s go back to my office so we can talk.” She waited until he fell in step next to her. She’d never been quite so aware of her height before but standing next to Matt, she didn’t feel tall and awkward at all. Her height put her at the perfect level to look directly in his eyes. It felt comfortable.
They entered her office and she motioned for him to sit down. He nodded his thanks and sat back.
“So, your sister mentioned on the phone that you’ve been having some problems with your shoulder.”
Penny pulled out her glasses and perched them on the tip of her nose. She flipped open his medical file, which Georgia had gotten faxed from his doctor a few days ago.
“I see you’re recovering from a dislocated shoulder and you underwent a surgical repair to the glenoid labrum. This should have taken, at most, three months to heal.”
“There were complications from the surgery.” Matt lifted his arm about a foot higher than his thigh. Suddenly his face twisted. “This is about as far as I can lift my arm without pain.”
Penny looked down at the file. “That wasn’t documented in the postoperative notes I see here.”
“The problems didn’t show up until later.”
She closed the file. “So, you had more mobility after the surgery and it declined over time.”
Matt looked down. “I did the exercises they gave me at the VA hospital. It just seemed to get more painful. I think it was doing more harm than good. So I just stopped.”
“Your physical therapist should have adjusted your treatment. It looks like you only had a month of PT afterward.”
“I was told that’s all I needed.”
“I disagree.”
He shrugged. “Yeah, but I’m not convinced there’s much to be done. I’m just here so my sister will stop bugging me about it. I don’t think doing a few exercises is going to change much.”
“A few exercises? Is that what you think we do here?” Penny reminded herself not to get angry. Plenty of people had misconceptions about physical therapy. Not that it didn’t rankle to hear her profession dismissed as something no more important than what people did in their living rooms with a workout DVD.
Matt smirked. “No offense or anything. I just need to face reality. My shoulder probably needs more surgery.”
“Oh, and you received your medical degree from what school? Because I’m pretty sure you’re not a doctor.”
The arrogant smile on his face showed he knew he’d gotten on her last nerve. “Right. Look, I’m not trying to put down what you do here. I’m sure this is great for little old ladies recovering from hip replacements, but I need to get back into fighting shape. I can’t do my job if I can’t raise my arm above shoulder level.”
He sat back in his chair, tipping it back until he was balanced on two legs. Part of her hoped he fell. That would wipe the smug smile off his face. Penny pushed his file aside and stood. He let the chair drop back to four legs and stood, too.
“You know, I was completely surprised to hear you’d gone into the Army. You were something of a brat as a kid. I see that hasn’t changed.”
He sighed. “You’re right. That was inexcusable. I got a phone call on the way here that caught me off guard, but I have no right to take it out on you. This whole situation is my fault.”
“You got injured in combat, correct?”
He nodded.
“Then it’s not your fault.”
He looked down at her and Penny felt her resolve weaken. It didn’t help that he was impossibly good-looking. Maybe she was just as weak as Georgia. Completely taken in by a handsome man with bedroom eyes. Except she was well aware that a handsome face could easily disguise a hideous soul. Being handsome didn’t mean that he was a good guy.
“I want to help you, but I can only do that if you’ll let me. I can’t promise you a miracle, but no one else can either. All I can promise is that you’ll leave here better off than when you came in. Most of my patients go on to lead happy, productive lives. You’re young and you were in prime physical condition before your injury. There’s no reason you can’t do the same.”
“Happy? Productive? Tell me this, Penny. These people you’ve helped, could they hold a rifle steady? Could they jump out of a moving aircraft? If I can’t requalify for my unit, then my life won’t be happy or productive.”
“I can’t tell you that you can do those things for sure, Matt. I’m sorry. But I can promise you this. If you don’t let me help you, you definitely won’t get there.”
“You want to help me?” Matt banged his fist on the desk between them. “Then help me get my life back! Can you do that?”
Penny froze. He looked down at the overturned items on her desk.
“I think we’re done here.” Penny took a step back when he moved closer. “Please leave or I’m calling security.”
After a tense moment when Penny wasn’t sure if he was going to leave, he spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m so incredibly sorry. It seems like that’s all I feel lately.”
Then he left.
Penny stood perfectly still for a moment, then collapsed into her desk chair. Her breath came in short pants until she finally felt her heartbeat begin to settle.
“Well, all right then. Great seeing you again, as well.”
* * * * *
MATT STALKED ACROSS the parking lot and stabbed the button on his keychain to unlock his truck. He swung up into the driver’s seat and slammed the door, then rummaged in the pocket of his jeans until he found the pack of gum he always carried. It was stupid but the repetitive motion of chewing was strangely calming. He unwrapped a stick and popped it in his mouth. Then he dropped his head to the steering wheel with a groan.
There were a lot of things he resented about his situation. He resented being left behind while his unit was out there doing what needed to be done. He resented his own body for betraying him and not healing properly. But most of all he resented the person he’d become lately. He wasn’t the guy who took his shit out on other people. Especially not people who’d gone out of their way to help him.
This is not who I am.
He raised his head and would have screamed like a girl at the face pressed against his driver-side window if his mouth wasn’t full. As it was, he almost swallowed his gum.
The brunette who’d checked him in for his appointment stood next to the door, hands on her hips. After his heart settled back down in his chest, he hit the button to lower the window.
“Can I help you?”
She glared at him until he shrank back in his seat. “Come with me. There’s something you need to see before you go.”
“Okay.” Matt got out and followed her as she led them back to the center. They reentered the waiting room and then crossed to a door on the other side of the room.
“So, what’s your name?” Matt wasn’t sure how to make conversation with a woman who looked like a pissed off pixie.
“I’m Georgia. I’m Penny’s assistant.” She held up a security badge to the gateway to the left of the door. It emitted a series of clicks before the light flashed green.
“Oh. Okay. I’m Matt—”
“I know who you are.” She held the door open, her face still stony. “After you, Sergeant.”
Was it his imagination or did she put extra emphasis on his title? Or maybe that was just his guilty conscience. He wasn’t representing his fellow soldiers well today, he knew.
They walked down a long hallway and stopped next to a door. Matt had to grab the wall to keep from slamming into her back.
“This is Mrs. Wright.” Georgia gestured toward the porthole window in the door. Matt peered through it. A middle-aged woman was using a set of metal bars to help her walk between them. When he looked again, he saw that one of her legs was shorter than the other.
“She was told that amputation was her best option after a serious skiing accident. Her right leg was completely crushed. No one believed it could be saved, but she refused to amputate. When all the other physical therapists told her a wheelchair was the best she’d ever be able to do, she came to Penny for help. She took her first steps last week.”
She allowed him a few moments to observe and then started walking again. They stopped next to another door. He looked through the glass window to see a young girl, no older than nine or ten, lifting a blue ball.
“That’s Daisy. She was born with cerebral palsy. It affects her ability to do all the things most children take for granted. Standing, walking, even swallowing. Her insurance only covers a certain amount of therapy. Her mom couldn’t afford the additional physical therapy she needed, so Penny convinced our boss to allow the center to provide her therapy pro bono.”
>
Matt watched, enraptured, as the little girl raised the ball slightly higher with the encouragement of the therapist who was helping her. She dropped it, but instead of getting upset, she laughed. Her eyes met his through the window and he pressed a hand against the glass. She raised a hand to wave back and then grinned, revealing a space where one of her front teeth was missing.
Matt looked back at Georgia. “Does she ever turn anyone away?”
“Of course. They call her a miracle worker, but she doesn’t have a God complex. She knows that there truly are some people who can’t be helped, but she’s the only one willing to give people a chance even if the odds are long. Penny likes taking those cases that have a million-in-one chance of success and then making the impossible happen.”
Matt followed behind her as she led him down the hall to another room. They entered a small gym area outfitted with blue floor mats, mirrored walls, and various equipment. There was a man in the corner using a machine that required him to lift and lower a weight with his leg. When he flexed his knee, he looked up.
“Is that Chris Walters? The point guard for Washington?”
Georgia folded her arms and glared at him. “He’s just one of the athletes Penny has helped over the years. She’s pioneered quite a few methods to help players rebound faster after knee surgery. He’s recovered so fast he might even be able to play again before the season is over.”
Matt glanced at Georgia from the corner of his eye. He knew what she was doing, but that didn’t mean it was any less effective. He was suddenly even more ashamed he’d dismissed their work as just helping little old ladies.
“I won’t ask how you know that we argued, but I am sorry. I was an idiot.”
Georgia whirled around, her eyes furious. “Damn straight you were. She could have been at home relaxing today, but she rearranged her schedule to accommodate you.”
“I want to apologize, but I’m sure she doesn’t want to see me.”
Georgia didn’t look entirely mollified, but at least she didn’t look like she was going to hit him anymore.