He crossed one leg over the other and leaned forward slightly, nodding at my crutches. “So, Gabi, how have things been since last week? Problems?”
I was almost tempted not to tell him about my fall, just in case he refused to fit my new leg because of it. Even if he couldn’t see any damage, he might decide it was better to leave it for another week or two. But I couldn’t risk not telling him. The idea of infection and a new amputation terrified me more than anything else. I also had the crutches with me. It wasn’t that I really needed them to walk, more that I hadn’t wanted to put any unnecessary pressure on my stump without having to resort back to the dreaded wheelchair. I hated that thing.
“It’s not been great,” I admitted. “I had a fall, and the prosthetic felt like it went one way, and my stump the other.”
He winced. “Doesn’t sound good.”
“I got some ice on it right away, and elevated it. I haven’t had any more pain since.”
“You shouldn’t have been wearing your prosthesis at all,” he chided me.
“I know, but it felt okay. If it hadn’t, I wouldn’t have worn it, I promise.”
“Okay. Well, let’s take a look.”
I sat with my remaining foot on the floor to steady myself, and removed my prosthesis. Dr. Merryweather edged closer, frowning slightly as he inspected my stump. My heart lodged in my throat, dreading what he was going to say. To distract myself, I glanced around his office, noting the posters on the walls advertising different prosthetics. In particular, my gaze landed on one which asked if I’d ever served in the United States Army. Just seeing the words made my heart thump, and I averted my eyes. I knew I was lucky my injury was funded from the government, when many others would have to use insurance, or even worse, lose their homes to pay, but I couldn’t stand to even see the poster.
Within a minute, I became aware of the weight of my residual limb pulling me down on one side. When I’d had two legs, I’d never given any thought to how much having two feet came into day to day comforts. Now I couldn’t get away from it.
Dr. Merryweather slid his chair away from me again.
“Looks like you were lucky,” he said. “I can’t see any signs of swelling, and there are no scrapes or grazes, so you got away with it this time.”
I breathed a sigh of relief.
“You must be careful, though, Gabi. You can’t risk having falls. It’s too dangerous for you. You must take care of yourself.”
I wondered what he would say if he knew exactly what I had been doing to cause the fall.
Something must have shown on my face because he frowned in concern. “You’ve still got support in place, haven’t you?”
I nodded.
“Your dad,” he continued. “Is that right?”
I nodded, though my stomach twisted with anxiety. “Yes.”
“Did he come with you today?”
I shook my head, glad I didn’t feel like I was lying this time. “No, a friend brought me.”
“That’s good. While I want you to be independent, it’s still important you remember to ask for help when you need it, understand?”
“Understood.”
“In that case, shall we try your new leg again, and make sure it’s still a good fit?”
I grinned. “That would be wonderful, thank you, Doctor.”
***
Twenty minutes later, I walked out of the hospital with my new leg, feeling like I was walking on air. It was such a relief not to have the awful wetsuit-like material right up my thigh, especially in this heat. It had been almost unbearable. Only my desire not to end up back in a wheelchair had made me put up with it, but now my new, foam lined sleeve only came up just past my knee, and I felt so much more comfortable. I walked with a smile on my face for the first time in a long time, and carried the crutches rather than using them to walk. I still had a slightly awkward gait, but at that point I honestly didn’t care.
Back in the parking lot, I spotted Cole sitting behind the wheel of his car, tapping the fingers of both hands against the steering wheel to music I couldn’t yet hear. As I watched, he lifted his hands and air-drummed to the beat, and I laughed. Teenaged Cole obviously still lay beneath the surface of the hardened, tattooed skin he’d developed.
He turned his head slightly and caught sight of me laughing at him. He grinned in return and my traitorous little heart did a flip.
Cole jumped out of the car to meet me. “Hey, how did it go?” He took the crutches from my hands. “Doesn’t look like you need these anymore.”
“It went well. The new leg is so much better.”
He nodded, though there was no way he could understand. “That’s good.” He paused, “Since you’re mobile and everything, I wondered if you had plans for Thursday yet or not.”
“Thursday?”
“Yeah.” He lifted his eyebrows expectantly and then prompted. “July fourth?”
“Shit, really?” I’d completely lost track of the significance of the date. For me, recently, the only important dates were hospital ones.
“I take it that means you don’t have plans.”
“No, I hadn’t even thought about it.”
“I’d love to take you to the display at the beach.”
In our area it was illegal to let off backyard fireworks. With the weather so hot, and everything so dry, they were a fire hazard.
“I don’t know, Cole. I mean, my dad might want to do something with me.” I almost added, if he’s sober enough, but managed to hold my tongue.
“He can come, too,” Cole added.
“Seriously?”
“At least then you won’t have to worry about me trying to seduce you.” He gave me a wink and my cheeks flushed.
“Okay, but if I bring my dad, it’s definitely not a date.”
He held up his hands. “Just old friends catching up. Definitely not a date.”
But after he drove me home and I checked with my dad, he said would make some plans with some buddies, and that Cole and I should just go together.
Looked like it was going to be a date after all.
Chapter Seventeen
Gabi - Eleven Years Earlier
Saturday morning for me always consisted of hanging out on the couch, in my pajamas, reading, or watching crap television. This morning was no different. My dad had gone to work, so I’d made myself a stack of pancakes, which I’d devoured, and then settled on the couch. I’d just started to become immersed in my latest book when the doorbell sounded.
I sat up, looking in the direction of the door, as though I might be able to work out my visitor’s identity by psychic abilities alone. I wasn’t expecting anyone.
A delivery man, perhaps?
The bell rang again and I dropped the paperback I was reading onto the coffee table and got to my feet. I hurried over to the living room window and peered out, my cheek pressed against the cool glass, to catch a glimpse of my visitor.
My jaw dropped.
Cole stood on my doorstep, the truck he’d been driving the other night sitting in the place of my dad’s car in the driveway.
Oh shit.
What the hell was he doing here?
I suddenly became aware of the mess I was in, my hair scraped back into a ponytail, and wearing my baggiest, holey pajamas. I couldn’t answer the door to him like this.
Shit, shit, shit.
I raced to the mirror hanging above the living room fireplace and yanked my hair out of the band, hastily dragging my fingers through my curls. I used a lick of spit on my finger to scrub away any traces of yesterday’s mascara from under my eyes.
I would have loved to run upstairs and get changed, but I was worried he’d decide I wasn’t in and leave. The only other option was to strip down to my underwear and meet him at the door like that, but I didn’t think our relationship had quite reached that point yet.
My line of thought made me realize two things. One, I didn’t want Cole to leave, and two, I was starting to think of not
only being naked around him, but about us actually having some kind of relationship.
He might think differently when he saw me in my PJs though.
The doorbell rang again and I ran to the front door. Positioning my body behind the door, so he couldn’t see what I was wearing, I managed to open it with only my head poking out.
“Cole!” I said, giving him a wide smile, and then remembering I hadn’t brushed my teeth yet, and clamping my mouth shut again.
His eyes narrowed quizzically at my strange positioning, but he didn’t mention it. “Hey, Gabi. I hope you don’t have any plans for today.”
“Umm, no, not really. Why, what’s up?”
He grinned and pushed a hand through his blond hair. “I’m taking you on a date. With me,” he clarified. “Our first date.”
A bubble of happiness rose inside me, but with it came uncertainty. “You are?” Taylor still wasn’t speaking to me, and I was worried that by accepting I would only widen the void between us. But at the same time, nothing had ever happened between him and Taylor, and I felt like she was being unreasonable by acting in such a way. I had to admit that, despite the annoying, cocky attitude he’d first presented me with, Cole had gradually been growing on me.
“Yes, I am,” he replied, and then hesitated uncertainly. “So … are you coming?”
“Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise.”
My lips twisted. “I’m not so good with surprises.”
“You’ll like this one, I promise.”
I decided I wasn’t going to say no. “Okay, but I need to get changed. Can you give me ten minutes?”
A cheeky grin cracked across his face “You mean I don’t get to take you out in your pajamas?”
Damn, he had noticed.
I stuck my tongue out at him. “Ten minutes!”
I partially closed the door so he wouldn’t see my flannel-clad backside running up the stairs, and then turned and raced to my bedroom. I’d never been one to care much about my clothes, but all of a sudden what I wore seemed vitally important. Damn, I should have asked him where we were going. The beach? A movie? Fancy restaurant? They each required a different outfit.
A sudden noise came from downstairs, something thumping. I paused, listening. Was that Cole? I thought he’d have waited in his truck. The horrific thought that my dad might be home early went through my head. I’d die if he found Cole waiting for me and decided to have one of his fatherly talks. I would literally die of embarrassment.
But everything remained quiet.
Knowing I didn’t have much time, and not wanting Cole to think I was the kind of girl who spent ages picking out an outfit, I opened for a pair of skinny jeans, a looser, floral top, and a pair of sandals. I quickly scrubbed my teeth, and applied a little mascara and lip gloss. My heart was pattering, my hands shaking with excitement. I needed to chill out and calm down, or Cole was going to think I was way too eager.
I liked him, I realized, I actually, really liked him. And if he was turning up on my doorstep taking me out on surprise dates, I was pretty sure that meant he liked me, too.
I guessed Taylor had been right all along.
With an extra bounce in my step, I hurried down the stairs, grabbed my purse and keys, and left the house, locking the door behind me.
Cole was waiting beside the truck. He opened the passenger door for me, and I hopped in, and he slammed it shut. He walked around the vehicle and climbed behind the wheel.
We grinned at each other, warmth and excitement blooming inside me. Had I ever felt this way before—suddenly so alive?
“So, are you going to tell me where we’re going?” I asked.
He shook his head and slung his arm behind my head, across the back of the passenger seat, as he backed the truck out of the drive. “Now where would the fun be in that?”
“Did I mention I hate surprises?”
He cast a glance over at me as he drove. “You won’t hate this one.”
I was excited, and my excitement grew as he took the road heading out of town and got onto the freeway. “Can you at least tell me how long it’ll take us to get there?”
He shrugged. “Couple of hours.”
My mouth dropped. “A couple of hours?”
For the first time, he lost the cocky attitude. “Yeah, that isn’t a problem, is it? I mean, you don’t have to be back for your dad or anything?”
“No, he’s working until late. He won’t even know I’m gone.”
“Do you like having your freedom?”
“Do you?” I threw the question back at him. “Your foster parents have been good about lending you their truck.”
“Yeah, they’re all right. My foster dad, Stephen, taught me to drive, too. They’ve done everything they can to make sure I’m able to be independent when I leave them.”
I noticed the drop in his tone. “Is that soon?”
“Yeah, in a few months. I stay with them until after I graduate, and then I’m free, baby.” He gave me a wide grin, but I felt like something was hiding behind the smile.
“Free? Wow. What are you going to do?”
“Get a job and a place of my own, I guess. What about you? What are you going to do after graduation?”
“College.”
I realized that would mean we’d be separating before we’d barely gotten started. I pushed the thought away. I seriously shouldn’t be worrying about stuff like that. We hadn’t so much as kissed, apart from my peck on his cheek, which didn’t really count.
“You’ve been accepted?”
“Yeah, acceptances from all three I’ve applied to.”
He smiled at me, and my heart flipped. “Congrats.”
“Thanks. I’ve just got to graduate now.”
“You must have it in the bag.”
“As long as I don’t do anything to royally screw up, I hope so.”
“You won’t. You’re the sensible type.”
I bristled. “I’m not that sensible!”
He cocked an eyebrow. “No?”
“No!”
Cole didn’t look convinced. “Anyway, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. You’re going to have a great future, Gabi. I can tell.”
My cheeks flamed. “Thanks.”
We settled into the drive, chatting about school, music, what foods we enjoyed, and places we liked to go. When he drove, studying the road, it gave me the opportunity to snatch glances at his profile. He seemed so much older to me than his almost eighteen years. Perhaps it was because of everything he’d been through in his life that he seemed more mature. I didn’t know, but I knew just the sight of him caused butterflies to dance around my stomach. The defined jaw, the full mouth, the long blond hair and piercing blue eyes. He was a teenage girl’s wet dream. I could understand why Taylor was jealous, though I still didn’t understand why he’d chosen me over her. I was tempted to ask him, but I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the answer.
Less than two hours had passed when Cole signaled to take the next exit. I sat up in my seat, interested in where we were headed.
The town was only a little larger than our own, and didn’t appear to be anything special. As we drove through the wide, quiet streets, I wondered what we’d driven two hours to get here for. I couldn’t see anything unique about the place.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going yet?” I asked.
“We’re going here, a little town called Livingstone.”
“Any reason why?”
“Yep. I’m taking you to a bookstore.”
“A bookstore?” I was pleased, but I still didn’t understand. “You know we have one of those back in Willowbrook, right?”
He chuckled. “Sure, but there’s something special going down in this one.”
“But you’re not going to tell me what?”
“Not a chance.”
We drove through town, and Cole found a place to park. “It’s over there.”
I looked in the direc
tion he’d nodded. A line of people had gathered in the street. What was going on?
“You’re going to need this,” he said, and handed me a book.
I glanced down to find the same novel I’d been reading in the park the first day he’d spoken to me. “How did you get this?” I exclaimed.
“I came into your house when you were getting changed.”
“You did what?”
“Yeah, I was hoping I’d find it.”
“What if it had been in my bedroom?”
He gave me a wink. “Then I guess I would have figured out a way to get into your bedroom.” A little thrill went through me, but Cole gave a laugh. “No, seriously, I would have just bought you a new copy here, but I thought it was better for you to have your own book.”
“Why do I need my own book?”
“How about you stop asking questions, and go check it out for yourself.”
My curiosity was at an all time high. I gave him an excited, hyped-up grin, and then hopped out of the car and hurried over to join the people outside the bookstore. In the shop window, numerous posters were inside the glass, the display filled with the same book I held in my hands.
Realization dawned. “Oh, my God.”
Cole had followed me. “The author is doing a signing today.”
I spun to face him. “I could actually kiss you right now!” The words were out of my mouth before I’d had a chance to think about them.
He grinned, his cheeks heating with pleasure. “I won’t stop you.”
Acting impulsively, I stood on tiptoes and planted a kiss against his soft lips. It was quick, fleeting, but it was enough to get my heart racing even more than it already was. This was quite possibly the most exciting day of my life.
We joined the line, and within a few minutes, they started letting people into the store.
I thought of something. “It’s a good thing I liked the book,” I said, teasing him.
“I knew you were enjoying it.”
“How?”
“That day I first spoke to you, I’d been watching you for about fifteen minutes before I came over. You didn’t look up once.”
No Second Chances Page 10
