by Dale Mayer
Until she heard a cough in the doorway. She glanced up and blinked at the man whose broad form filled the frame.
“Levi!” She bounded off her chair, raced to the doorway and flung herself into his arms. The force of her actions sent him backward into the hallway. He laughed, picked her up, and swung her around in a huge hug. When he put her back down, she realized two other people were watching them. She flushed, but with her arm still looped around her best friend from so long ago, she grinned at the stunning Nordic-looking woman in front of her and said, “And you must be Ice.”
The beautiful woman laughed and opened her arms. “Hello, Dani. Nice to finally meet you.” The two women hugged, and Dani instantly felt the connection of a potential new friend. Then her gaze landed on the big man standing behind Ice. Taller and broader than Levi.
She grinned. “Stone.” She opened her arms. “Why the hell didn’t you come here to recuperate? We would have had a blast together.”
The big man gave a shout of laughter and picked her up in a gentle hug. She’d always been amazed that somebody so strong could be so delicate. She leaned her head back and studied his face in surprise. “You look really good.” When the flush rose on his cheeks, she reached out and stroked his neck, saying, “I guess that means you have someone in your life, huh?” Stone put her down, and she stepped back slightly. “I thought you were waiting for me,” she teased.
His grin widened. “No chance to duck. It hit me, and I fell bad.”
“The bigger they are, the harder they fall …” Dani looked over at Ice and grinned. “Isn’t that right, Ice?”
Ice chuckled. “Certainly has been my experience.”
Dani glanced around to see any sign of Aaron, but he wasn’t with them. She motioned the three to follow her back into her office. “How was your reception?”
With the four of them in the room and the door closed, it was definitely crowded. She took a seat behind her desk. “I’m sorry there isn’t a third chair in here.”
“We’re not staying anyway,” Levi said.
“Oh?” She studied his face. “Did he tell you?” She sure hoped so, because she didn’t want to be in the position of betraying him yet again. Some details he needed to share on his own.
“I asked around and got a lot of the details before I showed up. Then got him to confirm them, so we have something to go on.”
She nodded. “Can you do something about this?”
“We’re on it.”
“Good.” Relief flooded her, and she smiled. “Getting to the bottom of this would be a huge comfort to him. The rumors and accusations have been eating away at him.”
“It doesn’t mean that the answers will make him happy. We can look into it, but there’s no guarantee we can change anything,” Ice warned her. “This is a sucky situation, but we’ll do our best.”
“I understand that.” She knew all too well. “Even just that you believed him will mean a lot to him.”
Levi stood. “Let’s hope this has a positive effect on his mental outlook so he can heal.”
Dani turned to look at Stone. “Does he know about your leg?”
Stone shrugged. “No idea.”
“Do you mind if I tell him?” she asked.
“Tell him whatever you want. The sooner he comes to terms with it, the better.” Stone’s grin brightened his face. “It’s not so bad. We’re having a lot of fun with various prototypes.”
“Prototypes?” she asked, fascinated. “I’m scared to ask.”
Ice laughed and also rose, standing beside Levi. “It’s probably a good thing if you don’t. Think blue-steel, weaponized, fancy carving. One leg for Sunday outings, one for grunt work around the place, one for missions …” She shook her head and patted Stone’s arm. “I like his racer-leg the best.”
“Hey, my mission leg is the coolest ever—”
“No, it’s nice all right, but given the carving on the blue-steel one … particularly with the design that Lissa etched—how cool is that, to find a woman who could do such things?”
“She had no idea she could either,” he admitted with a shy grin.
“What’s this?” Dani asked. “Your partner does metal etching?”
“Never has before, but she’s got a definite gift.” He beamed. “There’s also not likely to be any end of raw material for her to work on.”
They had a laugh over that.
“We need to go,” Levi said. “It was wonderful to see you, Dani … and thank you.”
“It’s lovely to see you guys,” she said mistily. “I hope he doesn’t hold it against me.”
“I didn’t tell him anything that would implicate you,” Levi said. “He won’t know from us.”
“No, but like you, he’s very intuitive, and I’m a terrible liar.”
“No lying required.” Ice smiled at her. “Besides, if we can help him, he should be thanking you.”
“As if …” Dani’s lips turned downward. “I just can’t stop feeling guilty.”
The other two walked out into the hallway. Levi stepped forward and lowered his voice. “You don’t still have that same crush on him, do you?” he asked incredulously.
She winced. “Not really. More a case of what attracted me back then is still something that attracts me now. He’s a good man. I guess I like him …” She hated how her face was warm. She could only hope Levi would ignore it.
He lifted his gaze to stare behind them and then focused it on her. “Back then he was wild. He was hurting and lashing out at everyone else. It’s one of the reasons why I tried to keep you away from him.”
She thought about that. “Your reasons were valid. I wasn’t in the best of shape myself.”
“I don’t know who he is now,” Levi said in a low voice. “But what I saw this morning … well, that’s a man I’m proud to call my brother.”
She beamed. “Thank you. That was my impression too.”
She stood in the doorway and watched as they left. She was sad to see them go. They’d been great friends once, but their lives had split and gone in different directions. Nice to know they still liked each other as adults. She was so happy Levi had found Ice. They were perfect. They looked like an all-powerful Viking couple from days gone by.
She turned in the direction of Aaron’s room. Should she find him or wait? Knowing it was cowardly, she stepped back into her office. She would see him eventually. Now, with a happy heart, she finally dove into the work awaiting her.
Had his brother only left two hours ago? His physio had been absolutely bone-chilling, as if he’d been worked to exhaustion and then tossed into the river to fend for himself. Every muscle ached—his body was soaked in sweat, and he was so damned hot he didn’t know what to do. Shane, his physiotherapist, said, “Pool, then a massage.”
“Pool?” Good Lord, he hadn’t seen anything close to that here. He brightened at the thought. He was so damned hot he wanted to fall in right now.
Shane laughed. “Absolutely. Let’s go.” He motioned at the wheelchair, and Aaron collapsed into it gratefully. Shane grabbed towels from a nearby shelf, dumping them in Aaron’s lap, and then wheeled Aaron into the hall and then the elevator.
“Is the pool inside or outside?”
“Both.”
Aaron raised an eyebrow at that, but he was delighted to hear it. He’d been a huge swimmer years ago. In the military, he’d always excelled at all water activities. That was one of the reasons he’d become a SEAL. It was just his thing.
They traveled down to the level below the veterinarian clinic. Shane opened the double doors to a massive walkout basement, where a large portion of the pool was inside and huge doors opened up to the outside.
“Jesus, this is incredible.”
“A lot of money has been spent in making this the best place it can be,” Shane said quietly. “This pool alone was a huge chunk of change.” He wheeled Aaron to the men’s changing room and opened the door, calling out as he went in, but it was empty. He push
ed him in farther and dumped the towels to the side. He walked over to another rack, picked up a couple pairs of swim trunks and brought them over to Aaron.
“Put on the one that suits you the best, and that’ll be yours to wear while here, so it goes back to your room with you. Get changed and come out on your own.” Then he walked out, but just before he closed the door behind him, he said, “I’ll be waiting here for you.”
Still hot, but knowing that the cool, refreshing water was waiting for him, Aaron struggled into the pair he hoped would fit. He tied up the decorative front laces and then wheeled himself to the door. The double doors opened automatically, making it that much easier for him.
He found Shane already in the water. He swam over to the side and said, “Can you get in on your own?” After the morning he’d run him through, Aaron wasn’t sure he could do anything. His leg felt more like butter than a body part. It was a challenge, but he was damned if he would give in that easy.
“As long as I don’t have to do anything with style, I can get in.” He locked the wheels of the wheelchair right beside the railing, put down his good leg and stood. Two hops and he was in the pool. As the cool water closed over his head, he almost moaned with joy. No matter what they had put him through this morning, this was worth it. Maybe this wouldn’t be such a bad place to stay after all.
Chapter 8
When she couldn’t stand it any longer, Dani finally forced herself from her office and made her way to Aaron’s bedroom, only to stare at the empty space. She shook her head. After spending the whole morning avoiding rushing to see how he was, now that she finally got up the courage, he wasn’t even here. She’d consulted his timetable, but someone had made a change. As was their right, depending on what they were working on. Sometimes the patients just needed to get out of their rooms for a change of scenery.
She headed to the cafeteria. It was a bit early, but there was a chance he’d gone to eat.
Appetites ran the length of the spectrum with their patients. Sometimes they couldn’t get full, and sometimes they couldn’t even eat.
No sign of him. She made her way to the big deck but again nothing. The pool was on the other side. She didn’t think he’d be ready for that yet, but she heard voices coming from that direction.
She snagged a coffee and then carried it to the far side of the deck where it overlooked the pool and the patio below. There he was in the water, kicking out strongly, with a bit of rock ’n’ roll movement to his body. He was having a little trouble staying in a straight line, but he was doing fine. She walked down the stairs and sat down on the patio. She might as well enjoy being outside. She hadn’t been in the pool herself for weeks, and that was sad.
She watched as he did several laps. When he finally stopped, he stood and brushed the water back from his head, and she could tell how happy he was. He turned his face to the sun, letting the rays beat down on his dripping features. Now that was the Aaron she used to know. Fun-loving, happy-go-lucky, flirty. Even with his eyes closed, he was a hell of a man. Then he opened them and gazed straight at her. She jumped. When she got ahold of herself again, she said, “How’s the water feel?”
“Gorgeous. You should come in.”
Not a hint of anger or annoyance in his tone. So he wasn’t angry with her? That was a good sign. “Can’t today—too much work for me to do.”
He scoffed. “You can come in anytime you want to.”
In truth, she could, but she rarely did. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the water, but it wasn’t her first instinct when shaking loose the stress and turmoil of her day. She’d head to the horses every time.
He swam to the side of the pool near where she sat and folded his arms atop the tiled deck.
She picked up her cup and said, “If I’d known you were down here, I would have brought coffee.”
“I would’ve enjoyed it,” he said with a smile. A companionable silence hung around for a moment, until he said, “Did you phone Levi?”
She started. “Levi called me.” That, at least, was the truth.
Aaron stared at the tiles and brooded.
“How did the visit go?” she asked quietly.
He shrugged. “Levi’s different.”
“It’s been ten years. We’re all different,” she said drily.
He looked up at her and nodded. “I definitely am.”
“Maybe that’s a good thing. Maybe everybody can get along now.”
He raised an eyebrow at that but didn’t say anything. “It’s just that the timing is odd.”
Her heart sank. She wouldn’t be able to get away from this. “Odd, how?” she asked in a cool voice. She picked up her cup of coffee and took a sip, staring out at the fields of green grass and white fences. This area was particularly lush-looking, and she appreciated the beauty of it.
“I tell you about my problems, and the next thing I know, big brother’s racing in to help.”
She froze. Then she swiveled her gaze to stare right at him. “Levi came to help?” She placed her cup down and leaned forward eagerly. “Is there anything he can do?”
“I don’t know. He’s making some inquiries for me.” Just then Shane called from behind Aaron.
Feeling like she’d been given a reprieve, Dani picked up her now-empty cup and said, “Well, coffee break’s over. I’m heading back up. It looks like you have more work to do.” At his groan, she forced a light laugh and said, “You know you love this.”
“Certainly more here than I did before.” He dove under the water and headed toward Shane.
She watched his powerful muscles bunching naturally in the water. He had an affinity for swimming—she could tell. The rest of his body was lean, and that was what counted. Scars covered his back, and she could see where some of the muscles had atrophied. She knew swimming would help strengthen his whole body. As she watched from the stairs, Shane went over some stroke techniques to work Aaron’s back. She almost felt sorry for him. He would be sore tonight. Then again, if what he said was true, he would welcome it. Most of the injured military guys who came here, needing help, were grateful at the end of a workout. If nothing else, it gave them an outlet for all the stress and frustration they had gone through. A whole lot of things were worse than that.
Happier now that he didn’t appear to hold a grudge against her, she headed back to work. He wasn’t the only one needing help.
She had several other patients coming in for various issues over the next couple of months. Of course she was expecting dozens all the time. But she had no set schedule months out. Too much depended on the patients’ conditions.
She was looking forward to having these three men as they could be great cheerleaders for each other. Three men—good friends—had been injured in Afghanistan—Brock Gorman, Cole Muster and Denton Hamilton and Elliot Carver was a part of the same group but wouldn’t be ready to come to her center for months. They’d all known each other, but they’d been over there at different times. One had coverage but would need a boost, one had zero coverage, and she was trying to find some grant money for him. And for the third, she’d been approached by somebody else to pay for his stay. She still had a lot of work to do before it was possible to bring in the men. She idly wondered if Aaron knew any of the three. It might make him feel better to know he had friends here, all struggling to get back to their former physical selves.
Sometimes friends helped each other, but there were also times when a patient wanted to suffer alone so no one would see them—so they wouldn’t appear weak. At times though, there was just no hiding it. For some, it was important to keep that strong-man image. Sometimes having friends around bolstered that desire to stay strong while the injured man tried to hide from his friends how much he was suffering.
She pulled out their files and took a closer look. She had a couple people she could call on to see if anybody wanted to make a charitable donation. Brock looked to be the closest fit, as he already had some coverage. She picked up the phone and called Mor
gan Hennessy. In his eighties, Morgan had always helped out in the past. That didn’t mean he would this time, but he’d been injured himself in the military, and nobody had helped him back then. He was now a wealthy philanthropist, and he was a godsend when she was in need. She smiled as he answered the phone and said in a warm voice, “Hi, Morgan. It’s Dani …”
Instead of tiring him out, the swimming invigorated him. Aaron’s back muscles were responding even better than expected. It had taken a lot to press them into service, but now, even though he was shaky at the edge of the pool, he felt damned good.
Staring down at his stump as it hung over the edge, he realized he had so much to be grateful for. For some reason, that deadly cycle of his big ball of anger and self-pity over the last few months was easing.
He was glad those two emotions were not who he was. He wasn’t sure what was different now, but something had shifted. Then he realized it wasn’t about who he wanted to be but was about his brother—seeing his brother and realizing Levi had believed his story. That Levi would make some inquiries on Aaron’s behalf made all the difference. As if Aaron could stand taller, stand straighter, as if finally his words were deemed the truth by somebody whose voice counted.
He stared across the beautiful pool, wondering when he’d realized Levi meant that much to him. Aaron should have reached out himself. Typical though, Levi had connected instead. Aaron idly wondered again if Dani had something to do with bringing Levi to the center today. As Aaron stared at his surroundings, feeling a sense of hope inside for the first time, well, he felt so damned good right now it would be hard to be upset.
Maybe he didn’t need to pressure Dani about Levi. She’d seemed fairly natural in her responses. At times he was still surprised to see that she lived, worked and spent her spare hours here. Amazing how time had moved on, and she’d found what appeared to be her calling. Aaron had also seen her father running around at various times, now a beaming benevolent man. Aaron remembered hearing from others at the center about her father’s history and how he’d started this place, so Aaron could imagine Dani had been involved from the ground up.