by Dale Mayer
“And I’m halfway there,” Finn said. “I’m not all the way, but I’m getting there.” He motioned at Fiona. “Of course, she’s a wonderful help in the healing department.”
Dennis chuckled. “Any time your heart is touched, it’s a help. But, in a place like this, it’s always very special.” Just then he laughed and pointed and said, “Look at who’s here.” He gave a slight whistle.
Finn turned to see a large three-legged dog with a prosthetic on her fourth leg, walking toward him. The great big massive black Newfoundlander, her tail wagging, came over to greet Dennis.
“Now does she love you,” Finn asked, “because it’s you, or does she love you because she knows you’re connected to food?”
Dennis bent down, gave her a huge hug, scratched behind her ears and buried his face in her neck. When he lifted his face, he said, “I hope the first, but I know for sure the second is at least part of it. This is Helga,” he said.
Finn reached out to greet Helga and laughed when he saw the drool coming off the side of her face. “Wow, look at that,” he said.
“She’s a bit of a spitter,” Dennis said, “but we love her anyway.”
“Look at her stump too,” Finn said. “She handles that prosthetic really well.”
“She does, and, when she doesn’t have it, she doesn’t seem to care either,” Dennis said. He gave her a couple good scratches and stood and said, “And I’m back to work.” He disappeared.
Fiona sat up to give Helga a big cuddle, and then Helga laid down right beside her—and half on her. She gave a shriek of laughter.
“Is the dog allowed in the pool?” Finn asked.
“I am not exactly sure about that,” she said, tilting her head to the side. “It would probably be really good for her.”
“She’s probably not welcome in the pool,” Stan said, coming up behind them. “She does have access to the creek down there on the property, and, as soon as we take her, the first thing she does is jump into the middle of the water.”
“I don’t blame her,” Finn said. “On a hot day …”
Helga laid here, panting in the heat, as Fiona gently rubbed her ribs. Stan looked down at the coffee and the cinnamon bun and said, “You guys will ruin your dinner.”
“We were just thinking that,” Finn said, taking a bite anyway. “I told Dennis that we probably didn’t need anything, but he suggested we have this now and then dinner at six.”
“You guys do that,” Stan said, laughing. “I’m heading up to get real food.”
“It’s early yet, isn’t it?” Fiona asked.
“It is,” Stan said, “but I figured, if I could get my dinner now, I could go back down to the puppies.”
“How’s the mom doing?” Finn asked, hating that he’d forgotten about her.
“She’s pulled through,” he said, “and she’s doing just fine. The babies are with her all the time, and she has milk.”
Finn looked over at Fiona. “Do you want to get dressed and get food, or are you content?”
She grabbed his hand, lacing her fingers with his, and whispered, “I’m very content.” Then she stretched out again, Helga still laying across her middle.
He had to admit he hadn’t had a day like this in months and months. As he looked back on his years of naval service, and then the accident as a defining moment in his world, and all the surgeries and recuperation and hell since then, like her, he realized that this was a special moment.
Chapter 12
Lying here under the afternoon sun, resting beside the pool with Finn by her side and Helga across her lap … was utterly perfect. She didn’t want to move. Just to hear that the lawsuit had been dropped was magic to her ears and, indeed, lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. She hadn’t even realized how much of a weight it had become. It hadn’t been there for long but long enough to destroy her good mood. She was so grateful that the lawsuit wasn’t going ahead and that the patient could move on. It let her move on too.
She didn’t see Finn in the same light. Finn was independent, strong mentally, very capable and emotionally balanced. The fact that he was out here at the pool, even with his colostomy bag on display, was a massive shift. He was stretched out beside her, patting Helga, enjoying the sun. It was also good for his body.
He whispered, “Don’t fall asleep like this, or you’ll likely burn.”
“I know,” she murmured, “but it’s so damn nice.”
“Good for the stress relief, isn’t it?”
“Swimming has always been like that for me,” she said. “Floating in the water, I feel everything drain away. It’s absolutely the best feeling.”
“Agreed,” he said with a heavy sigh and stretched out.
Long moments later, a breeze came up. “We need to get changed soon.”
“Soon, but not yet.”
She chuckled in complete agreement. “Any word on the prosthetic?”
“Two days,” he said. “It’s coming in two days.”
“Perfect,” she said, “and, if you don’t wear it too long right off the bat, to avoid soring up the stump at all, you should be good to go.”
He chuckled. “Yes, Doctor.”
She flushed. “I didn’t mean it that way.”
He squeezed her fingers. “And I didn’t take it that way. It’s what I did last time, so I’m certainly aware that that was a big mistake to avoid this time.”
“Good,” she said. “I know that you’ll find your mobility so much more improved when you have it back again.”
“I’ve become accustomed to the wheelchair,” he said. “The crutches still sore up my back sometimes, but that’s been coming along a lot better too.”
“How is the structural-integrity work going?”
“Amazingly well,” he said with surprise. “My shoulders are moving back into the proper posture. I’m holding my head straighter over my spine instead of pushed forward. Shane wants me to get my prosthetic too because having that balance will help me to keep my hips properly positioned over my heels, and everything else will fall into place much easier.”
“The human body is a marvel,” she whispered, feeling sleep trying to drag her under. “Are you tired right now?”
“Tired but not sleepy.”
“If I drift off for a few minutes, can you make sure it’s just a few minutes?”
“Sure,” he said. “How about ten tops?”
She smiled and let her stress drop down yet another notch. She didn’t really fall asleep; she just lay here in her deep state, letting everything wash over her. “Have you seen Lovely lately?” she murmured sleepily.
He chuckled. “I thought you were supposed to be sleeping.”
“I’m just drifting. But Lovely is adorable.”
“I haven’t seen her for a few days now,” he said, “or the puppies.”
“If they’re back with Mom, they’ll be good for a while,” she said. “Once they start walking and waddling around, they’re beyond adorable.”
“Right.” He said, “I love animals of all kinds.” He straightened and looked up toward the deck on the main floor. “I think I hear a louder crowd up top.” He smiled and said, “I gather that means it’s dinnertime.”
Fiona opened her eyes more and said, “It sounds like it.”
Then Helga’s head popped up. She stood the rest of the way up, stepping on Fiona’s stomach, and then the huge dog clambered up the stairway to join everyone gathering in the dining area.
Fiona and Finn laughed at her antics to get more loving and to get more food.
Fiona sighed. “We want to wait for the rush to go by anyway.”
“Absolutely.” He sat up slowly and said, “Not to mention the fact that it’ll take me a bit of time to get back to my room and to get changed.”
“Right, me too,” she said. She glanced over at him. “Meet back up there in what, thirty minutes?”
He looked at his wheelchair, considered the time frame and said, “Make it forty, maybe fort
y-five,” he said, “and I’ll have a shower too.”
“Done,” she said. She watched as he hopped along the edge of the pool to his wheelchair and made his way into the seat. When he released the brake and turned himself around, she slid back into the water and did another ten laps. Feeling better and a little more tired, she pulled out at the shallow end and grabbed her towel. She wrapped it around her and headed for her own place.
There, she quickly had a shower and decided to wear one of her flowing dresses again. There was just something so very feminine about wearing these. They felt good for her soul. Dressed again, she quickly rebraided her hair and walked up early, hoping to meet him at his room.
He was just coming out as she walked down the hallway. He looked up at her and smiled. “Fancy meeting you here.”
She glanced in at his room and his sketchbooks on the bed. “Do you want to stay and sketch?” she asked.
“No,” he said. “I’ll come back and sketch again later.”
He closed the door firmly, and the two of them headed down for dinner. As soon as they entered the dining room, several people called to them. She looked over and said, “Where do you want to sit?”
“Actually, I wouldn’t mind spending time with Elliot. Are you up for that?”
She smiled, delighted to be invited. “Absolutely. Let’s get food first.”
Finn shouted back at Elliot, then directed them toward the food. “Unless you want to go someplace with your other friends,” he said.
“No,” she said, “I’m happy to be with you and yours.”
It almost felt like a date again but more comfortable and cozier. Special maybe. In a way, something was so natural about being with Fiona that Finn knew it probably was obvious to everybody around them—and he didn’t care one bit. When he approached to see Dennis standing behind the counter again, Finn grinned. “So what’s on tap tonight?”
Dennis reeled off the huge menu, leaving Finn wondering what to choose. But he watched as Fiona picked up several pieces of fried chicken and coleslaw. “Oh, man,” he said, “I haven’t had good fried chicken in forever.”
“My favorite recipe,” Dennis said, leaning forward. “And it’s really mine and my grandmother’s.”
“That’s an easy choice then,” Finn said, holding out his plate.
Dennis took four pieces and then grabbed biscuits and filled the rest of his plate with coleslaw.
“You can fill my plate like this anytime,” Finn said, grinning widely. He kept on going but didn’t really need any of the other food—and there were plenty more choices. They always had lots of food here. He didn’t know whether the staff in the back of the counter got to come in and eat as they wanted to afterward or what the deal was, but Finn was delighted. Finally, with everything collected, they rolled over toward where Elliot sat. He had saved them one space but not two. Finn glanced at him. “Can we get an extra seat?”
Elliot immediately stood, grabbed another table and tucked it up to the side. “There is now,” he said. “The day I don’t find a space for a pretty lady to join us,” he said, “is the day I’m dead.”
Fiona laughed and placed her tray down. “You always did have a sweet-talking way with words.”
“Hey, I’m not so bad,” he said.
“Or so good,” she said, waggling her eyebrows.
At that, the table burst out laughing. He loved the way that Fiona settled in nicely with anybody. She wasn’t stuck up; she didn’t care who was there, and, as long as people were friendly and nice, she was happy to be a part of it. It said a lot about who she was and what she was after in life. And what she’d been through.
Elliot took one look at Finn’s plate and said, “Wow, man, can you eat all that?”
“I’ll eat all this and go for seconds,” Finn promised. “You know me and fried chicken. It’s soul food. Nothing like it.” He listened to the conversation, but his focus was on his food, and, at his first bite, he almost moaned in delight. When he opened his eyes, Dennis stood off to the side, pointing at him. He lifted his thumb and forefinger in a circle to say, Awesome, and then he resumed eating. When he was done with his plate, he settled back to relax. He really wanted more chicken, except he was pretty full.
Just then Dennis appeared by his side with a platter in front of him. “Take a piece or two,” he said, handing him the tongs. “You can’t be done yet.”
There was a perfect drumstick right in front, so he snagged that and then a wing. And then he held up his hand to say no more and added, “But you can put a half-dozen pieces away for me for later, at least for lunch tomorrow.”
“Done,” Dennis said. “Anytime you want food saved for you, we handle it.” He looked over at Fiona and asked, “What about you? Should we pack up a picnic for two?”
“That’s not a bad idea,” she said in surprise.
“Isn’t it your day off tomorrow?” Finn asked.
“It is,” she said, “but I’m not going to town. I’m staying around here, so, if you want, we can take lunch out to the horses and see Lovely again.”
“You know something?” he said with a gentle smile. “That would be lovely.”
At that, everybody else teased the two of them, while Elliot gave Finn a knowing look. But Dennis, with a big smile of satisfaction, disappeared. Finn had to wonder if Dennis hadn’t set that up on purpose. Finn leaned over to Fiona and said, “I think Dennis is a bit of a matchmaker.”
“Actually, he’s a big matchmaker,” she said, chuckling. “But it comes from the heart.”
She kept working on her plate. It had been half the size of his, and he’d scarfed his so fast that she was still working on her first plate. He finished his last two pieces of chicken and pushed himself slightly back from the table. “That was fantastic.”
Elliot grinned at him. “Aren’t you glad I told you to get your ass over here?”
Finn nodded. “Absolutely. Should have listened to Dani from the first.”
“You should have,” Elliot said. “The minute you knew this place was up and running, and you had a way to get in, you should have been here.”
“I was still recovering from my last surgery,” Finn said. “At least, that’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it.”
Elliot reached out and gave him a light smack on the shoulder. “Damn, it’s nice to have you here.”
“I hear you,” he said. “What about the other friends you made?”
“They’ve gone home,” Elliot said. “Although home is not very far away. They’re settling in Houston, and we’ll stay in touch, probably go into business together. I got about another month here, and then I’ll be good to go too.”
“That is awesome,” Finn exclaimed. “Time just flew by. I hadn’t even realized.”
“Yep, that’s time here,” Elliot said, “and I’m almost done. My team thought I was doing pretty well but then not quite so well.”
“Well, you’re probably better off to stay as long as you need,” Finn said. “At least until you’re a hundred percent. It’s a big, bad world out there and very unforgiving.”
It wasn’t long before Elliot and his friends at the table got up and left. When they said their goodbyes, Elliot winked at Finn and said, “Time for you two to sit on the deck over on the far side there,” he said, “a perfect spot for a couple. Take a coffee, maybe something a little bit stronger, and enjoy.” And he disappeared.
Finn looked over at Fiona. “Something a little stronger?”
She laughed. “You’re not cleared for alcohol. Every once in a while, a bottle of bubbly comes out, if somebody’s got something major to celebrate. But not very often. Aaron and Dani’s engagement celebration, yes. As a regular occasion, no.”
“So what’s this spot for two?” he asked. “Do you know what they’re talking about?”
She nodded. “I do, indeed.”
Instant jealousy ripped through him.
She looked at him in surprise. “No, not from personal experience.”
She smiled and said, “Ditto.”
And that’s just the way life was between them. As far as he was concerned, that made it perfect.
Chapter 13
After dinner, Fiona went back to the office to check in on something that she’d forgotten about during the day. She said goodbye to Finn as he headed to his room. As she got to the office, Anna sat there, frowning at folders. “Did I mess up?” she asked lightly.
Anna shook her head. “Not really,” she said, “just Finn’s folder is missing a bunch of information.”
“Then it wasn’t me,” Fiona said. “I have deliberately kept my hands off that just because of our developing relationship.”
Anna chuckled. “I can see why,” she said. “That former patient really messed you up, didn’t he?”
“I just have to be sure that whatever is going on between Finn and me is real,” she said, “so I don’t want to even know all the details about his condition.”
“Well, his condition is fine, just a bunch of stuff hasn’t been printed off properly, and some of these consent forms weren’t signed.”
“Like what?”
“Like the pool, for one,” she said.
Immediately Fiona held out her hand. “Give it to me. Plus anything else. I’ll take it to him right now. I just left him at his room as it is.”
“Hang on a sec. Let me grab it.” She quickly printed off the three forms that she needed, handed her a clipboard and said, “If you can bring them back to me tonight, that’d be great.”
Fiona smiled and nodded and immediately headed back to Finn’s room. The door wasn’t quite closed. She knocked lightly and pushed it open. “Finn, you here?”
The bed was empty. Sketchbooks were on it; he called from the bathroom. “I’m in here,” he said. “I’ll be a little bit.”
“Not a problem,” she said. “I have some consent forms for you to sign.”
