by Jessica Gray
Darn it, how she longed to feel his embrace again, to get lost in the sensations he evoked in her. To dive deep down into his chocolate brown eyes, right into his very soul.
Yes, she’d seen right through his tough guy act. He’d been trying to play things so cool when he’d complimented her, but she could sense it was all an act. Underneath the wall of ice he presented the rest of the world was a huge heart. A heart she wanted to crawl inside and never leave again. But that was not an option.
No matter how wonderful he was, she didn’t have the time or mind capacity for a boyfriend. So why had she been stupid enough to agree to workout with him tomorrow? Self-torture? Just the thought of him flexing his immense muscles brought all her girlie parts to life. You’ve had brighter moments in your life than when you accepted his offer to work out together.
She got ready for bed, trying to convince herself she had nothing to be excited about, even though her body knew better. She’d go run with the guy for a bit and then come home. No harm done. And she needed to work out tomorrow anyway, so it really wasn’t a big deal.
But it was.
***
The next morning, she got up and drove to the hospital in Milwaukee for her checkup. She was hoping to get a green light to up her game and practice seriously again.
Dr. Kane examined her knee carefully and sent her over for another CT scan. She waited with bated breath as he checked the scan an hour later, smiling nervously when he nodded and pronounced her healing right on schedule.
“So does that mean I can begin training again?” she asked.
“I don’t see why not. Now, don’t overdo it. I still don’t think you should compete this coming season, and I don’t want to see you push too hard and end up damaging things again before they can heal all the way.”
Pearl pushed his comments about her season aside. She didn’t want to hear any of that. If there were even the slightest chance to compete, she’d go for it. It was her life.
“Thanks doc. I’ll take it easy.”
He pinned her in place with his penetrating stare. “Like I haven’t heard that a million times before. As soon as you’re out of this door, you’ll ignore my warning.” He sighed. “But it’s your body, you get to decide. So, before I let you go, are there any concerns we haven’t addressed?”
She shifted from one leg to the other. “Well, hm, yes. I’m still not able to straighten my knee all the way out. I can almost get there, but not quite.”
Dr. Kane examined her again and then shook his head. “It’s not going to happen overnight.”
Pearl raised her voice in exasperation. “What can I do to hurry things along? I have to be able to completely straighten my leg. When you do what I do, if there’s even a little give in the tendons, the impact of hitting the water is too strong to withstand.”
She envisioned herself hitting the water feet first and her leg flexing with the impact, coming all the way up to hit her chin, and knocking her out cold. She’d seen other divers do the same thing she was worried about, and the obligatory rescue scuba divers had been forced to save the unconscious diver. Not something you wished for your worst enemy.
“Pearl, we’ve talked about this. You will be able to fully stretch out your knee. But it’s going to take time. Normally, I would say to give it a year, but I know you don’t want to wait that long. You’ve been doing a good job of keeping up with the basic therapy. If you keep on this track, you might get full extension back in two or three months.”
Two or three months? I can’t wait that long. She could feel her blood leaving her face and would have stumbled if she hadn’t already been sitting. No way. I’m not going to give up. I’ll prove it to everyone, including him, that I can do this.
He must have seen her desperation, because he said, “Look, why don’t I give you the name of a terrific physical therapist. I know for a fact she has openings in her schedule and she might start seeing you right away.”
Pearl smiled. “Thanks doc. I appreciate that. I just want to get this behind me and get on with my life.”
He lay a hand on her shoulder as he left the room. “You will, but baby steps before giant leaps. You’ll get there. Now, anything else that’s bothering you?”
She grimaced and pointed to her leg. “What about the scar? Can anything be done to make it less ugly?”
Dr. Kane turned back to look at her. “There are several treatment options available. You should probably talk with our specialist for plastic surgery and scar tissue. Give me a moment and let me see if he’s available.”
He stepped out of the room, and left Pearl alone with her thoughts. She had tried to convince herself after the surgery that the scar wasn’t going to be that bad. But it was. Even though she didn’t consider herself to be vain, the thought of thousands of people seeing her scar as she stood atop the platform made her cringe.
She couldn’t even bear the thought of Chase touching it, how was she going to handle the pitying looks she knew hundreds of people would be sending her way? No way.
Besides, every time she looked at the scar, it reminded her of the truth. The injury wasn’t caused by a training accident.
A few minutes later, Dr. Kane returned with another man who introduced himself as Dr. Barkin.
He looked at the scar and said, “I can definitely work with that. It would be best to start treatment right away, especially since it’s winter right now. You can’t get direct sunshine on this area once treatment has started.”
“What about water?”
The doctor shook his head. “Not for at least three days after each treatment.”
Pearl looked at both physicians, realizing she would have to make a decision.
Treat the scar.
Or train for the season.
There was no way she could do both. She already knew which way she would decide, but she thanked him anyway. “I need to think about it. The season is only three months away…”
“Pearl, I’ve already told you I don’t recommend you compete this season,” Dr. Kane interjected, before he turned to his colleague and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, I have to run, Russell. Keep me updated?”
And in Pearl’s direction, he said, “I’ll see you next week for another checkup, okay?”
She nodded absentmindedly. Tears filled her eyes and she bit her lip in an effort to hold back her emotions. She must have been visibly upset, because Dr. Barkin lowered his voice as if he was talking to a small child. “Look, why don’t you sleep on it and talk the choices over with your friends.”
At the mention of friends, she winced.
The doctor kindly asked, “Do you have any friends in Sandy Beach you can discuss this with?”
“Not really.” Why in the world did she have to start sobbing now? She was a brave and tough woman, for god’s sake. She could do this.
To her mortification, the friendly doctor seemed to believe she couldn’t cope on her own. “I’m sorry, I have to be in surgery in five minutes, but you look like you need a friend. My fiancé and I live in Sandy Beach, and you are invited to our home for dinner this evening. Allison is a superb cook, and I don’t know if you like babies or not, but we have one of those as well.”
Pearl opened her eyes wide at his invitation, but she was fragile enough to readily accept his unusual offer. “Are you sure she won’t mind?”
He smiled at her. “Not at all. We can talk more about your future, and that will give you a chance to think things through this afternoon. No pressure, but I strongly suggest you discuss such an important decision with someone.”
She agreed and left the hospital. While she normally prided herself on being in charge of her own destiny, she was actually glad to be able to discuss said destiny with some other people. Hopefully, by the time dinner was over, she would have a better idea of the road she should take.
On the drive back to Sandy Beach, she put in a CD with her favorite rock band Electric Flow and listened to its stellar song “Get Me Some
More” at full volume.
Everything would be all right.
Chapter 11
Chase got to the beach with plenty of time to spare, and kept glancing at his watch, wondering why Pearl didn’t show up. A half hour after their arranged time, there still wasn’t any sign of her and he decided to leave.
She’d stood him up. This wasn’t going anywhere and his jaw tightened as he turned to head up to the house, but then he saw her coming towards him. In a split second, his mood changed from furious to turned on.
The already familiar heat whenever he caught a glimpse of her rushed through his veins, shoving his anger aside. When she was near enough to distinguish her features, he noticed she’d been crying.
His first impulse was to hug her and ask what happened, but he bit his tongue and shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his soft-shell jacket. By now, he knew her well enough to picture her tight-lipped response to his question. Better to let her offer him information first.
“Hi Pearl. You’re late,” he called to her.
A slight blush settled on her cheeks when she saw him still waiting for her. “You’re still here?”
His heart ached for her and he longed to take her pain away, but the best he could do for the moment was to take her mind off things. He flashed her a provoking grin. “I didn’t forget we had a work out date. Let’s see how fit you are.”
She observed him for a moment and then her expression changed. With a slight nod, she accepted his challenge. And he’d be damned if he didn’t recognize the competitive spark in her eyes.
“Sorry to keep you waiting. Let’s go.” She turned around and took off, running full out. Chase ran every single day and assumed it’d be child’s play to keep up with her. Or so he thought.
Far from a leisurely jog, he had to push himself hard to catch up with her. When he finally fell in place beside her, she further increased her tempo. She definitely is more than a diving coach.
He glanced at her and saw the firm set to her jaw. She was running furiously, as if she were trying to escape something or someone. He knew firsthand how that felt and wondered what had happened this morning to upset her.
After a few miles, she finally slowed down. Thank god. This woman must have superhero powers. Both of them were panting, but she wouldn’t allow them to stop and catch their breath. Chase ran silently at her side about half way back to where they’d started, before his curiosity got the better of him.
“So, what happened?”
“Nothing.” She turned her head to him, her eyes spitting mad. Rather than answer his question, she stopped running and dropped to the ground, doing pushups like a maniac.
He couldn’t hold back a smile. If she wanted to work herself into absolute exhaustion, he’d happily assist.
Chase sensed her desperation and understood what she was trying to do. He’d done the same thing many times in his life when he’d needed an outlet for his fear, anger, or whatever other emotion that was too strong to carry around.
He decided the only thing he could do for her at the moment was to be with her and follow suit. Whatever exercise or stretch she did, he imitated.
And it was an amazingly challenging workout. Completed with the woman who had crawled into every crevice of his existence without even trying.
When he offered to do some partner exercises with her, she nodded and he rejoiced at having his hands on her once again. Being so near to her stirred up all his conflicting emotions and he asked again, “What really happened this morning, Pearl?”
She was lying on the sand, pushing with her bent legs against his body weight, and he observed the fury fill her face again. Moments later, she extended her legs with full force, almost knocking him over.
Chase was done watching her silently fight him and used all his strength to push against her feet and bend her legs again. This was about much more than her simply refusing to tell the truth.
“Shit! Get off me!” She continued to curse at him, gritting her teeth as she attempted to push him away.
Chase held tight for a few moments longer, but then let her struggle him off. He twisted his body and fell to the ground beside her, and rolled them over until she was lying on top of him.
When she opened her mouth to berate him, he swooped in and covered her lips with his own. The sexual tension between them exploded and she ravished his mouth with the same force she’d tried to push him away earlier.
They kissed again and again, and he felt her desire rising as she pressed her curves into his hot and aching body.
Until she suddenly stopped, shoving at him frantically, while she rolled off him.
He quickly got back up to his feet, and offered her a hand up, but she shrank away from him. Once to her feet, she shot daggers at him and reminded him with a bone-chilling voice, “No touching. No kissing. I’m out.”
She turned and stomped off, leaving a very confused, very frustrated man behind. She’d shot him down for the second time. This time, rather than getting angry at himself or at her, he let the challenge fuel his determination.
She had wanted that kiss as much as he had. He hadn’t mistaken the signals her body was putting out. He had felt how hot she was for him. So why had she turned it off like that?
His eyes followed her until she disappeared from view, before he headed home. He wondered if he’d ever see her again and cursed himself for being so stupid. She’d made her rules known, and he should have played by them for a bit longer, rather than trying to overwhelm her with desire.
He’d screwed up. Again.
On his way back he found a couple of beer cans hiding in the bushes and took his frustration out on them, kicking them ahead all the way home. At the very least, it helped get rid of some pent up energy.
The phone rang as he entered the back door and he answered it, “Hello?”
“Hey, Chase. Just the man I was hoping to talk to.”
Chase cradled the phone between ear and shoulder to take off his shoes. “Hey Russell. What’s up?”
“Wondering if you’re free tonight?”
“Sure.”
“Good. I have this patient who is struggling with some decisions. She’s a competitive diver, who’s had a major training injury a while back. Anyway, she needs to make some major decisions about her career, but she doesn’t have anyone to talk this type of thing over with so I invited her to the house for dinner tonight.”
“You what? Since when do you invite patients home?” Chase asked, surprised that his future brother-in-law had done such a thing.
“She’s such a nice girl and it broke my heart to see her so desperate. I wanted to help her out. Anyway, I can give her advice from a doctor’s point of view, but I’m not a professional athlete. So I was hoping maybe you could listen to her problems from your point of view.”
“Sure. If I ever get over the fact that you invited a patient home.” He scrubbed his jawline.
“You know me. I’m not your normal doctor.”
Chase chuckled and agreed to come over later for dinner. It wouldn’t be a hardship at all, because Allison was cooking. And he’d get a chance to hold his nephew again. It was a win-win for him all the way around.
Chapter 12
Chase couldn’t wait to get to Russell and Allison’s home. At least playing with his nephew for a while would take his mind off Pearl.
While he crawled on the floor with little Jackson, Russell filled him in a little more about the decision his patient had to make.
He was sitting on the floor of the living room when the doorbell rang. When he turned to inspect the visitor, his eyes widened in shock. Pearl? What is she doing here?
Russell escorted her into the living room as Chase stumbled to his feet. “Chase, this is Pearl. Pearl, this is my future brother-in-law Chase. He’s a professional kitesurfer and I was hoping he could help give you a different perspective…”
HIs voice trailed off as he realized the two people in front of him were staring at each oth
er as if they’d seen a ghost.
“Do you know each other?”
“Yes.” Pearl pressed out her answer, the paleness in her face intensifying.
“Yeah, we know each other,” Chase said, offering no other explanation.
The tension was palpable and even Russell seemed to feel awkward, because he quickly changed the subject before he hurried out of the room and into the kitchen. “Well, Allison just put the rolls in the oven and dinner will be ready to eat as soon as they come out. Why don’t you two have a seat and I’ll go check on how long that will be.”
Chase wanted to follow him and hide somewhere, but unfortunately, that wasn’t an option. Pearl slowly made her way into the room, carefully avoiding eye contact with him.
His nephew was on all fours, trying to get the crawling thing down and Chase noticed how she used the little man as a welcome distraction from having to deal with him.
She kneeled down and said, “Hey there, cutie.”
“This is the nephew I told you about,” he offered, trying to dispel the awkwardness of her arrival.
“He’s almost got it. Don’t you?” Pearl cooed to the baby, not even looking in Chase’s direction.
Russell came back in and announced it was time to eat. Chase waited until Pearl left the living room, and then swooped his nephew up and put him in his mother’s arms.
“Thanks, Chase. Pearl, I’m so glad you could join us this evening,” Allison offered warmly.
“Thanks for having me on such short notice.”
The meal was wonderful, as was everything Allison cooked and Chase almost forgot why he was here, and why Pearl was here. The shock still sat deep, but as time passed, he was actually thankful for the coincidence. At least they were in the same room again.
Pearl complimented Allison for her cooking and both men nodded their approval. Russell smiled from ear to ear as if Pearl had complimented him and not his fiancé. Chase noticed an uncomfortable sensation of – envy? – creep up his spine at the obvious love his sister and Russell had for each other. It confused the heck out of him. He wasn’t made for living monogamous. At least he’d thought so until now.
