Working It Out (9 page)

Alec’s jaw stiffened. He sat up straight, looking Grace
in the eye. “You’re one to talk. When was the last time you went out? When was
the last time you did something for the joy of it? You sit here and accuse me
of not living my life, when you’re doing the exact same thing. You come here
then spend your evenings researching new therapy techniques or trying to coerce
me out of my apartment. At least I have a reason for the way I live my life.
What’s yours?”

Grace visibly flinched, but said nothing. Only sat there
in her chair with her lips clamped shut.

Seth’s protective instincts kicked in, and he found
himself taking a step closer.

Alec began rubbing his temples, as though trying to ward
off a headache. “I thought if I came and did this a few times, you’d stop
pressuring me. But I was wrong. You’re worse now than ever before.” He shook
his head and let out a breath. “We both know you moved here because of
me—because you don’t think I can take care of myself. But I’m a big boy, Grace,
and I can. I need you to stop bringing me groceries, stop making me dinner, and
stop pressuring me to come here. I need you to back off.” He paused. “Please.”

Grace’s hand fell from the wheel, and Alec pushed himself
forward, wheeling himself directly past Seth without a second glance. He paused
to hit a small button in a recessed opening on the side of the wall then waited
as the door opened wide and stayed open long enough for him to wheel himself through.
Seth frowned, thinking about how many times he’d struggled to get through that
same door while Grace stood by and watched, probably laughing on the inside.

Seth shook his head and took a step forward, ready to
give her a hard time about it. But when he saw the worry lines creasing her
forehead and the pain in her eyes, the words died in his throat. That guy in
the wheelchair had really done a number on her.

Who was he anyway? An old boyfriend? Or worse—a current
one? Did Grace really move here for him? Seth felt a prick of something that
felt like jealousy. Apparently, she didn’t keep a professional distance from
all her patients. How had Alec managed to sneak past her walls? Or had they
been involved before he became her patient? Seth checked the impulse to follow
the guy and find out. He forced himself to stay put, waiting for Grace to
notice him.

She sat in her chair, leaning forward with her chin
resting on her hands as she gazed out the window. Although Seth could only see
her profile, something in her expression wrenched his heart. He’d seen that
look before. On Lanna, right after the auction and before she’d walked away
from him. It was the same broken expression.

Seth suddenly wanted to pull Grace into a hug and fix
whatever was broken inside her. But that was crazy. He hardly knew her, and the
last thing Seth should want to do was get personal with another girl like
Lanna.

He cleared his throat and moved forward.

As if coming out of a trance, Grace’s head snapped up.
Her eyes widened in surprise, and she quickly stood. “I’m sorry, have you been
standing there long?”

“Long enough to know I’m not being treated nearly as well
as that guy.” Seth hooked a thumb over his shoulder where Alec had just left. “You
forgot to mention that the door opened automatically.”

She let out a half sigh, half strangled chuckle. “Sorry. I,
uh . . . forgot.”

“I bet.” Seth leaned casually against the bench and
folded his arms, glad to see that some of the sadness had disappeared from her
eyes. Maybe some mild goading would make it go away altogether. “Know what else
you forgot to mention?”

“What?”

“That you make dinner for your patients as well. When can
I expect you to drop by my place? Or do you only do that for guys in
wheelchairs?”

Lips no longer twitching, Grace shot him a that’s-none-of-your-business
look. Then she pointed to the exercise bike and said tersely, “Why don’t you
warm up on the bike for ten minutes? After that we can go over some more
strengthening exercises and see how your leg is coming along.”

Seth wanted to kick himself, possibly even duct tape his
mouth closed. When it came to Grace, he didn’t seem to know when to stop. Maybe
he needed therapy on more than just his knee. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“Why do I find that hard to believe?” Grace said. She let
out a breath of frustration then sighed. “For the sake of your knee, I’ll let
it slide for today.”

Seth nodded, still curious about the guy in the
wheelchair, but not enough to risk ticking Grace off again. He swallowed his many
questions and climbed on the bike, starting slowly until his knee got the hang
of it, then building up speed. He’d totally bombed in the personal department, but
at least he could show Grace that he was still a good patient. Seth had worked
hard—both here and at home—and was pleased to notice that his leg muscles were
getting stronger already.

While he rode, Grace tinkered around the room, writing
something down or fiddling with a machine. Seth even caught her staring out the
window at one point with the same sad, broken look in her eyes.

When his ten-minute warm-up finally ended, Seth climbed
off the bike with an incredibly sore knee and wiped the perspiration from his
forehead with a hand towel. “I can’t wait for that not to hurt anymore,” he
said.

Grace’s eyes flickered to his, looking almost haunted. “At
least you’ll recover.”

It took Seth a moment to realize that she was still thinking
of Alec—whoever he was. He studied her for a moment, wanting to know why Grace
seemed to care so much about him and where her sadness came from.

“What happened to him?” The question was out before Seth
could rethink it.

Grace’s gaze moved to the window again. She looked uncharacteristically
vulnerable. ”A skiing accident, same as you,” she said, surprising Seth with an
answer. “Only instead of his ACL, he injured the T-11 segment of his spinal
cord, resulting in permanent paralysis from his waist on down.”

“Oh.” Seth had no idea what else to say. Sorry? That
totally bites? Of all the rotten luck? Everything that came to mind lacked any
sort of substance, so he kept quiet, feeling like a jerk for teasing her
earlier.

“He’s my brother,” she added, almost like an afterthought.

Seth felt a wave of relief pass over him. So Alec wasn’t an
ex-boyfriend or a wannabe boyfriend. Seth almost smiled, but quickly checked
the impulse by reminding himself that it wouldn’t be appropriate.

Outside, Alec was just now getting into his car. Not sure
what had taken him so long, Seth watched as he opened the door, awkwardly scooted
himself inside, then snapped a wheel off his chair and moved it into the car. The
second wheel came next, followed by the rest of his chair. Impressed by the
efficient process, Seth wondered what it would be like to drive with only hand
controls.

“Looking at him, you’d think he had it all figured out,
wouldn’t you?” Grace said.

“What do you mean?”

“That he’s accepted his injury and has learned to deal
with it.”

Seth shot her a sideways look. “He hasn’t?”

She shrugged. “In some ways, yes. He’s learned how to get
around, how to drive a car, how to make the transition from his wheelchair to
his bed or shower or wherever else. But he never goes anywhere. He stays in his
stuffy apartment most of the time with his blinds closed and the world shut
out.”

Seth studied Grace’s profile. He had so many questions—about
her brother, about her, about everything. But he didn’t dare ask any of them for
fear she’d close up again.

Grace nodded toward the parking lot. “It took me three
years to convince him to come work out with me. And now, after only a few tries,
he’s giving up and fleeing back into his protective shell. Why?” She said the
words quietly, as though talking to herself.

Again, Seth felt the urge to pull her into a hug and
offer what comfort he could. But did she even realize she’d lowered her
protective barriers and shared all that with him? Probably not. If he hadn’t
lucked out by coming right after Alec left, Seth probably never would have known
about her paraplegic brother or the real reason Grace had ended up in Seattle.

As Alec’s car finally disappeared from sight, Grace seemed
to snap out of it. Her eyes met Seth’s in an almost startled realization that
she’d just crossed a line she hadn’t meant to cross. “I can’t believe I just
told you all that. You’re practically a stranger.”

Seth nudged her with his arm. “Oh, c’mon. We’ve already
kissed, remember? That’s got to at least get me into the acquaintance
category.”

Grace let out a small snicker and glanced around, as if
suddenly remembering where they were and what she should be doing. “I think
you’re just trying to get out of the rest of your workout.”

“Who, me? Never.”

Her lips twitched. “Well, I hope you can stay a little
late. You’re my last patient today, and we need to get through your entire workout.”

Seth couldn’t help the silly grin that came to his face. Who
knew his plan to schedule the last appointment of the day would turn out so
well? “I’ll gladly stay as late as you want. And just so you know, if you’re
ever interested in moving me out of that acquaintance category and into
something more along the lines of kissing friends, my lips could use a workout
as well.”

She rolled her eyes. “And here I was beginning to think
you could act your age.”

Seth laughed. “Where’s the fun in that?”

Shaking her head, Grace looked away, but not before Seth
saw the corners of her mouth twitch once again. Someday he would get her to full-on
smile, or better yet—laugh. Wouldn’t that be something.

“Up you go.” Grace patted the table.

As Seth allowed Grace to check on his progress, his mind
started churning. He thought of Grace’s brother and how quickly Alec had gotten
into his car—about what life would be like for Seth if he’d done more damage
than tear his ACL. Would Seth be the type to shut out the world, or would he embrace
his new life and seek out the possibilities? He wanted to believe the latter, but
who knew for sure? Hadn’t he moped around his apartment just the other day
because all he could do was play video games?

Just then, an idea struck. A brilliant idea. Seth could
rent a bunch of wheelchairs, take them to the gym where he and his friends met
to play basketball, and get his friends to play wheelchair ball. It was the
perfect solution. Why hadn’t Seth thought of it before? Maybe Alec would want to
join in as well.

Grace had Seth stand to do some calf raises, and as he
lifted his body up and down, he said, “Hey, you think your brother might be
interested in playing wheelchair basketball with me and some of my friends?”

Grace’s eyebrow raised. “Are you serious?”

Seth shrugged. “Why not? It’s a Paralympic sport, isn’t
it?”

“But you’re not a paraplegic.”

“No, but according to you, I’m not allowed to play
regular basketball yet, so why not wheelchair ball? Unless, of course, you
won’t let me do that, either.”

Grace’s expression turned thoughtful. She raised her arm
and rested it on the exercise bike next to him. “So what, you’re just going to
rent a bunch of wheelchairs?”

“That’s the plan, yes.”

“And your friends are on board with this?”

“Yeah. They think it’s going to be a riot.” At least they
would once Seth told them about it.

Grace drew her lower lip into her mouth and worked it
back and forth before releasing it. “You sure you have room for one more?”

“There’s always room for one more.”

Grace smiled—actually smiled. It lightened her eyes the
way Seth knew it would and made her that much more beautiful. Seth wanted to
fist pump the air. Evidently today was a day for miracles.

“I’ll see if I can get Alec to come,” she said. “When are
you meeting and where?”

Oh, um . . .
Hopefully the gym at the junior high
where they usually met, but he’d have to call a friend to make sure. Then there
were the wheelchairs to procure. “If you give me your cell number, I’ll text
you the details once I get them nailed down.”

She hesitated a moment, then scribbled something on a pad
of paper and held it just out of reach from him. “I only want one text from
you, okay?”

“But what if plans change?” Seth asked innocently. ”How
will you know if I’m not allowed to text you again?”

She rolled her eyes. “Okay, fine. I only want to be
texted about basketball, and that’s it. No saying things like your lips need a
workout or anything like that. Got it?”

Seth suppressed a smile, or at least tried to. “Fine. Basketball
talk and that’s it. Promise.”

She hesitated a moment longer before handing over her
number. Seth examined her tiny scrawl, thinking that he might have to frame it
and put it on display as a sort of hard-earned trophy. Then he stuffed it into
the pocket of his hoodie and grinned. “Do you typically give your number out to
patients, or am I just special?”

Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze dropped to where his hand
was clamped over the pocket.

Seth laughed. “Don’t worry. I always keep my promises.
Basketball talk only.” Little did she know that basketball could be applied to
pretty much everything.

“Somehow, I’m not feeling very reassured.”

Seth laughed again. How well she knew him already.