Melissa: A Hathaway House Heartwarming Romance by Dale Mayer (good book club books txt) 📕

hated that. The human body was supposed to be fluid. It was supposed to be gentle and moving. It was supposed to shift and bounce as needed. But, in her case, it was like everything was locked down.

She smiled up at him and said, “You worried about me already?”

“I was hoping that today wasn’t too hard on you.”

“It wasn’t,” she said, “but I’m definitely feeling it. I can’t imagine what tomorrow’ll be like.”

“How about a hot tub then?”

“But,” she said and looked at him. “I thought I wasn’t allowed to?”

“Bent the rules. I would not like to have you seize up overnight.”

She winced at that. “Me too.”

She slowly sat up, and he watched the movement. “You’re really favoring that left side.”

“Yep,” she said, “but that’s just part and parcel of it. After being T-boned by a military truck, I’m lucky to be alive. Even knowing it wasn’t my fault as he ran a red light doesn’t help.”

“That’s okay,” he said, mentally putting something down in his chart about her. As he walked over, he said, “Sit up straight for me, and, as she sat there, he said, “Okay. I’ll put some pressure on your hips. I want you to see if that makes it easier or worse for straightening up.” And with his gentle hands, he placed them on either side of her lower back and pressed in softly.

She stiffened and straightened up a little bit more. “If I could sit like that,” she said, “I’d feel like I was at least sitting straight up.”

“You’re quite a bit straighter but not straight enough yet,” he said. “We have a lot of work to do.”

“You keep saying that,” she said, “and then, after our first session, you’re already worried and want me to go into a hot tub to stop any reaction.”

“It just means I care,” he said. When an awkward silence followed that, he looked up to see her studying him with a questioning gaze. “Is it wrong to care?”

“No,” she said with a shrug. “Just not something I’m used to.”

He smiled gently. “Not all the world is a cold, empty, dark place.”

Her lips twitched. “Not all of it, no,” she said, “just most of it.”

He chuckled. “We’ll have to work on that belief system of yours too.”

“Maybe,” she said. “But a hot tub would be nice.”

“Did you eat lunch?”

“I did,” she said.

“Good,” he said. “In that case, let’s get you down there.”

“Now?”

“Now,” he said. “Where’s your bathing suit?”

She pointed to the drawer off to the side. He opened it up and pulled out a simple one-piece black suit and said, “You need help getting it on?”

She shook her head. “I can do it.”

“Okay,” he said. “Get it done now, and I’ll take you down myself.”

She slowly made her way to the floor, then into the bathroom. It took her a lot longer to get dressed than she had expected, mostly because she was dealing with a bad case of nerves. Did he care? Or was that just him talking? Because she hadn’t done anything but think about him. She thought it was because of his role in her life, but maybe it was more than that.

She frowned, wondering where all these stupid schoolgirlish butterflies were coming from. It had been a long time since she’d had a crush on a guy, and no point in having one now, not with the shape she was in. Shane could have his pick of women. He didn’t need somebody broken down, like her.

With that thought firmly pushed to the back of her mind, she finished dressing, made her way out to her room again, and said, “Is there a towel or a robe or something?”

“Here,” he said, opening another cupboard.

He pulled out a thick fleece, almost a bathrobe, but she figured it was probably for the pool. She put that on atop her bathing suit and sat back down on the wheelchair. “I’m not sure I’m strong enough to make my way there and back again,” she warned.

“Well, I’ll push you there,” he said. “Then we’ll see how you do afterward.”

“Is this more training?”

“Oh, it’s definitely more physio,” he said, “but an easier kind.”

“If you say so,” she said.

When they got down to the hot tub, he locked the wheels on her chair and gave her a hand up, helped her get to her feet and over to the stairs and a railing. As soon as she sat down on the seat in the warm water, she groaned.

“Are you okay?” he asked, kneeling beside her.

She nodded. “Yes. It feels really good.” She watched as he took off his shoes and socks, then he sat on the edge beside her, his feet in the water.

He said, “I want you to turn so that you’re putting some of those muscles against the jets.”

She shifted where he asked and had her lean forward ever-so-slightly, where he slowly worked the long muscles of her shoulders and across her lower back. He worked quietly, just trying to ease the stiffness.

As soon as he was done, he said, “Lift your arms.” He checked her balance and her stretching to see if the fingertips were even close to matching, then had her do a few more stretches. He asked, “Now how do you feel?”

She gave a little shake, almost like a puppy wiggle, and looked at him and said, “I feel quite a bit better.” She stood up using the handrail and walked across the hot tub, then back toward him again.

He smiled to see her movements much smoother, much less of a crab hobble.

“Things are moving, at least a little bit,” she said.

“Looks like they’re moving a lot,” he said with a gentle smile.

She grinned. “Hey, if I could do this outside of the hot tub, it would be great.”

“That’s the goal,” he said. “Now let’s get you back to your room.”

“Are you sure I can’t stay in here?”

He hesitated, looked at her, and said, “How about for ten minutes, and I’ll come back?”

She nodded and sank back