by M. Malone
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the Alexanders super-fans!
I couldn't do this without you.
You are all honorary cousins now :)
Andre—thank you, as always, for holding
things down while I’m off in la-la-land.
HE'S THE MAN
Matt Simmons is over Army doctors poking him. But when his sister won’t stop nagging him to see their old babysitter, now a sought-after physical therapist, he gives in just to get some peace.
Penny is finally putting down roots after a lifetime of moving around. She’s got everything she wants, except the settled suburban life she longs for. All she needs is the perfect guy, which means NO military men.
When Matt realizes that his old babysitter is h-o-t, he’s suddenly seeing the benefits of therapy. But Penny still sees him as the bratty kid she used to babysit.
Suddenly he has a new mission in life…
AUTHOR'S NOTE
When writing about Matt Simmons, a much-beloved character since Teasing Trent, I was faced with a quandary. I could do a safe, sanitized happy ending or I could tell his real story. I have such huge respect and appreciation for the members of our armed forces that I decided to write this story the way I truly see it. Your stories are not safe and sanitized, but they deserve to be told. To all who have served and the families that support them, thank you for your bravery. Thank you for your service. Thank you for your stories.
I wish I could give you all a happy ending in real life, but all I can do is hope to convey your struggles, fears, and triumphs as compassionately as possible. All I can do is hope to get it right.
Yours,
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CHAPTER ONE
THERE WAS NOTHING in the world Matt Simmons hated more than nagging. Which was unfortunate since his twin sister had lately turned nagging into a full-time occupation.
“No more doctors, Mara. I’m done.”
He stood in the kitchen of his sister’s town house and stared aimlessly out the window at the sparse patch of grass masquerading as a backyard. Not that he was particularly interested in the yard work waiting for him. It was just better than facing his sister when she was nagging him about something.
“This is important. This is your health.” Mara tugged on his arm until he turned around. “I’m worried about you.”
Her brown eyes were soft as she looked him over from head to toe. Despite his annoyance, he felt his resistance crumbling. His first conscious memory was of looking into Mara’s eyes, so they were pretty much impossible to ignore.
“Man, you’re good but you forgot to widen your eyes and look pitiful,” he joked. He tugged on the ends of her long, curly dark hair. “It also worked better when you were in pigtails.”
She slapped his hand away. “I’m serious. Your shoulder is still bothering you and it’s been months. Months, Matthew. It’s getting worse every day.”
“Ugh, don’t call me Matthew. You sound just like Mom.” He covered his ears with his hands playfully.
Mara stopped in her tracks. “Okay, that was just mean.”
He laughed until his sides hurt and eventually Mara joined in. Their mother was notoriously self-absorbed and critical. Usually any comparison to Carolina Simmons was enough to earn him either the silent treatment or a smack on the head.
“That probably was a little below the belt, but I have to work with what I’ve got over here. You’re trying to force me to let a bunch of sadists poke and prod me again. There has to be something besides surgery. No more needles, thanks.”
“I understand. I don’t want you to go back to the hospital.”
“Well, where do you want me to go then?” Matt asked.
“A physical therapist.” Mara smiled triumphantly. “There’s no needles involved.”
“That’s the same damn thing and you know it.”
“No, it’s really not. Plus, you know her. Remember our babysitter who used to live three streets over when we lived in Vienna?”
“What? The pudgy girl with the glasses? Are you kidding?”
Mara made a face at him. “Be nice. She’s a physical therapist in Northern Virginia now. Anyway, she promised to work you in on Wednesday. I’ve heard she’s some kind of miracle worker.” She turned and dug through her purse until she found her phone. “I know I put the time in my calendar.”
“You actually made an appointment?” Matt shouldn’t be surprised. Mara had a personality like a freight train. In her excitement to take you where she wanted you to go, she was just as likely to run you over.
Mara held up her hands. “What is the big deal? If it’s really just your shoulder, why won’t you go and deal with it?” She stopped suddenly, her hand suspended in midair. “It is just your shoulder, right?”
Matt pushed away from the counter and walked to the back door.
“Hey, where are you going?” she called.
He pushed his feet into the old pair of sneakers he always wore when he cut the grass. “To chop wood. You’re almost out.”
“You don’t have to do that. Trent can do it—”
“I can do it,” he snapped. “I might have a bum shoulder, but that doesn’t make me an invalid.” Then he slammed the door behind him.
He jogged down the back steps and across the grass to the small woodpile next to the storage shed. The crisp, cold air stung his nostrils with every breath. If he wanted a little peace and quiet, this was the only way he’d get it. Mara hated being cold, so as determined as she was, he doubted she’d come out to bug him while he was splitting logs.
He grabbed the small axe he’d left next to the woodpile. It shouldn’t be that hard since his injury was in his left shoulder and he was right-handed. It was mainly momentum anyway. If he aimed true, gravity would drop the axe with enough force to split the log. When he was ready to start, he took a deep breath and hoisted the axe over his right shoulder. It slipped and he instinctively reached up with his left hand to steady it. Pain lanced up his arm, radiating through his left shoulder and down his back.
“Aw, hell.” He bit his lip and turned away from the house in case Mara was watching. He moved his shoulder experimentally, almost losing his breath as the pain rolled through him on a wave of nausea. The axe fell to the ground behind him with a dull thud.
It was a minor miracle that he managed to stay upright. He tried to do the breathing exercises he’d learned in the hospital. Breathe. Just breathe. Then he thought to hell with it and bent at the knees. Breathing could only do so much.
“When Mara told me I needed to talk to you, I thought she was just being her usual overprotective self.”
Matt looked up to see his friend Trent Townsend standing a few feet away. Trent’s blond hair had grown out some since the summer and he looked more like the surfer dude he used to be.
Matt chuckled halfheartedly. If Mara couldn’t nag him herself, it didn’t mean she’d given up. She’d just gotten someone else to do it for her.
Especially now that she and Trent were together.
The thought of his best friend and his sister still gave him a strange pang in his chest. He’d known how they felt about each other for years and he’d even asked Trent to watch over Mara while he was deployed in Iraq last year. In his heart, he’d known what would happen and had even been hoping for it. Trent was a good guy, one of the best he’d ever known.
It was just that the thought of his baby sister loving someone—hell, one day soon marrying someone—made him feel old as hell.
And alone.
“I should have known she’d tell you.” Matt stood up, stretching
carefully. The nausea seemed to have passed.
“I’m glad she did. You look like shit, amigo.”
Matt barked out a laugh. One of the best things about having true friends was knowing they would always tell you the truth. “I look a damn sight better than I feel, I’ve got to tell you.” He took a deep breath. Mara was right.
It was getting worse, not better.
“I’m not going to ask you what’s wrong. I’m sure Mara’s been doing enough of that. I just hope you know that you can ask me for anything. Anything at all.”
Matt nodded. “Yeah, I do know that. You’re a great friend. The best a guy could ask for.”
Trent cracked his knuckles. “Okay, so I’ve been sent to tell you the appointment is on Wednesday. Also, to remind you we’re having dinner at the Alexanders’ on Friday.”
“Not on Sunday?”
“They moved dinner to Friday because Nick and Raina will find out what they’re having that afternoon. Mara’s betting on a little girl. She says that would be karma getting Nick back.”
Matt grinned. Their good friend, Nick Alexander, had been a legendary player until hooking up with his wife. He was now totally and completely whipped. He was also totally and completely happy. It was a nice thing to see.
“Karma would be if they had twin girls that were just as gorgeous as Ridley and Raina. Then Nick could spend the next thirty years aiming a shotgun at their boyfriends.”
“Even karma wouldn’t be that cruel.” Without another word, Trent walked over to the fallen axe and picked it up. He split a few logs and gathered them in his arms.
“I’ll see you later,” Trent yelled over his shoulder as he walked away. Matt raised his chin in acknowledgment and then went back to trying not to throw up.
* * * * *
PENELOPE LEWIS RUSHED from treatment room 1 at the Northern Virginia Rehabilitation Center. Her day had started off at full throttle and hadn’t let up since. She glanced at the clock mounted on the wall of the center’s waiting room and groaned under her breath when she saw it was almost noon.
It wasn’t even lunchtime and she was already running behind.
She glanced over at her assistant, Georgia Thorne. “Were you able to reschedule my Wednesday afternoon appointments?”
Georgia had been working at the center longer than she had. She was a pretty, petite brunette who kept Penelope’s schedule running like clockwork and was pretty much her polar opposite. Despite the fact that she made Penny feel like a galumphing Amazon most days, they had somehow become good friends.
“Yes, I did.” Georgia smiled slyly. “Someone canceled that afternoon anyway, so I rearranged a few appointments to give you the entire afternoon. Who is this guy anyway? I’ve never known you to rearrange your schedule for anyone before. You never talk about your friends or anything other than work, actually.”
“Are you trying to say I have no life?” It was hard for Penny to work up any outrage. The truth was, she didn’t have much of a life outside work. Something that hadn’t really bothered her until recently.
“We’ve been working together for two years and you know everything about me. My failed attempt to be an actress, you listen to me blabbing about the latest thing my kids are up to, and I’m sure you’ve gotten an earful many times when James and I are fighting.”
Penny conceded the point with a nod. Georgia and her husband were the parents of three precocious little girls and with little time for romance, their marriage had definitely felt the blow. She had been more than happy to lend a sympathetic ear but hadn’t wanted to share any details of her own life. What could she say? She’d feel ridiculous talking about her relatively peaceful life while her friend was dealing with so much.
“There’s nothing to tell. I’m just… normal, I guess. I work. I sleep. Scott and I order Chinese and watch pay-per-view movies. Occasionally I manage to stay awake until the end. God, that sounds pathetic when I say it out loud.”
“It’s not pathetic. To a working mom of three what you just described sounds like paradise. James and I used to order Chinese and eat it without interruptions,” she said wistfully. “Anyway, tell me about this Army Sergeant VIP we’ve got scheduled for Wednesday. Is he hot?”
“Um, ew? I used to babysit him, Georgia.”
“So what? He could have grown up into G. I. frickin’ Joe. I hope he’s one of those buff, rugged-looking guys from the Army commercials.”
“I seriously doubt it. I’m actually surprised he joined the military. He was a scrawny kid and kind of a brat. He didn’t seem to have much respect for authority. Although to be fair, I doubt most nine-year-olds do.”
“Sorry to be so nosy. I’m just trying to find out more about you. If Scott didn’t drop by to see you, I probably wouldn’t even know he existed.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll be sure to tell you the next time we argue about which restaurant to choose.”
“Hah hah. Very funny. Well, whatever. I just want you to know you can talk to me about stuff if you need to.”
Heat rose along the back of Penny’s neck. It was only recently she’d started having doubts about her relationship. The uncertainty had been the cause of many a sleepless night lately. Scott was well educated, patient, and understanding of her crazy schedule. He didn’t expect her to whimper or flip her hair and act like a debutante. He respected her. Which was worlds above most of the other guys she’d dated. Their relationship was exactly what she’d always wanted.
Except for the fact that she wasn’t sure if she loved him.
She wondered sometimes about why Scott was so understanding of her schedule. Shouldn’t he want to see more of her? Couples who were in love wanted to spend lots of time together. They felt deprived when they were separated too long, right? Only she was pretty sure Scott didn’t feel desperate to see her or neglected when she worked late.
She figured that was the case because she didn’t feel that way either.
Georgia was still watching her, so she shrugged. “Scott and I aren’t the most exciting people, so there’s really nothing to report. But I promise you’ll be the first to know if anything interesting happens.”
Georgia handed her a patient file and then backed away. “Okay. I’m holding you to that. I’ll order you some lunch.”
Penny turned to go to her office and almost smacked into her boss, Charles Winston. She dropped the file she was holding. Several sheets of loose paper slid out as it fell and fluttered to the ground.
“Penelope. Sorry about that.”
She tried to mask her annoyance as she knelt and scooped up the papers, placing them carefully back into the folder. Charles didn’t even attempt to kneel and assist, just stood over her with his usual pinched look.
Thanks so much for helping, Penny thought irritably.
“I’ve been looking for you,” he said. He had a way of making it sound as if that was her fault.
“Well, you’ve found me.” She held the file close to her chest and started walking toward her office. Charles was forced to follow.
“I was expecting an update on Chris Walters yesterday evening. When I came looking for you, you were already gone.”
Penny thought of her appointment the previous day with the star of the area’s pro basketball team. He’d hurt his knee at a critical point in the basketball season and many fans thought his team couldn’t win the championship without him. So when he’d chosen the Northern Virginia Rehabilitation Center for his physical therapy, it had brought a lot of attention to the center.
It wasn’t the first time a high-profile athlete had sought her out, either. It was all about the patient’s recovery for Penny but she couldn’t deny it brought her an incredible sense of pride that her unconventional methods had gotten the attention of the bigwigs in sports medicine. Enough for her to be specifically sought out by many professional athletes.
“Chris and I worked until about seven p.m. If you missed us, then you must have come pretty late.”
Charles sniffed. “I do keep a late schedule. I’m fully committed to being there for all our patients. Not just the high-profile ones.”
Penny whirled around. “I already sent out the e-mail update about Chris to the team. Did you need something else?” The saccharine-sweet tone of her voice must have alerted him that she was on edge. Or maybe it was the steam coming from her ears. Either way, he smiled, or as close to smiling as Charles ever got, and then inclined his head.
“No, Penelope. Nothing else.”
Penny walked into her office and closed the door behind her. After several deep breaths, she sat down behind her desk. The nerve of him suggesting that she only cared about the high-profile clients. She was the one constantly campaigning for the center to treat more patients pro bono. Charles hadn’t been in favor of the idea until he’d seen how much publicity and attention they’d received as a result. Watching him smile pretty for the cameras now was borderline nauseating.
She flipped open the file for her next appointment. Her next patient had a spinal injury. These were always the trickiest and the ones with the lowest success rates. They were also some of the most determined patients she’d ever had. The ones with the most hope that they could one day walk again.
Most of the patients she treated were coming to her as a last resort. They’d already been through surgery and sometimes multiple rounds of physical therapy. These were patients who wanted more. Her patients weren’t happy with just relearning how to walk. They wanted to run. They’d been told “no” over and over by doctors, physical therapists and even their own hearts in some cases. They came to her when they weren’t sure who else would take them.
Penny was the person willing to take a chance and say “yes.” She worked to push her patients past their limits. She thrived on tackling the impossible. In her opinion there was no hard-and-fast point of no return. It was just about how far you were willing to dangle over the edge before you fell.
