Aaron

by Dale Mayer

  She raised her eyebrows. “It would be a nice thing for you to do, but maybe you should ask him about it first. Because if it’s something he’s only considering but isn’t serious about, then there’s no point putting in the effort.”

  Stan stood and said, “I was hoping you’d bring it up with him and see what he says. Because what he tells me might be something different than what he tells you.”

  She considered that. People often did just as Stan had described. Sometimes they were just making conversation and didn’t understand how somebody else perceived their words. She nodded. “Okay, I can do that.”

  Stan’s expression became one of relief. “Thanks. Of course I can’t guarantee he’ll get in. But if you would agree to let him do volunteer work here, then it would help his chances. Like you said, there are ways to make it happen, but I don’t want to be pushing myself in where I am not wanted.”

  She agreed with that part. The only person who could answer these questions was Aaron himself. It wasn’t a light undertaking to go to veterinary school, involving years of dedicated hard work and effort. So it had to be something he hadn’t just casually tossed up in haste. He needed to commit himself to a major undertaking. She agreed with Stan in the sense that, if Aaron wanted this, there were ways and means to make it happen.

  Of course she also had to pick the right time to discuss it with him. She wasn’t sure that was right now. She knew today was a positive step forward after hearing Levi’s news, but she could understand how it would bring up a ton of negative emotions for Aaron. She stared down at her coffee cup and wondered if she should check in on him. It was almost four o’clock.

  He’d had a long hard day already. She picked up her coffee cup. His room was in one of the short side hallways, so she couldn’t casually walk past. She headed straight there but found the door shut. She frowned and checked the schedule on the door, but he didn’t have anything noted for right now. It also didn’t mean he was inside. She knocked once, then twice. No answer. She turned and headed back to her office. He might be sleeping, or he could be visiting with others. No way to know. However, if she wanted to track him down, she knew of one very likely place to find him.

  She caught sight of Shane at the front desk, talking to one of the new girls.

  A lot of the staff members were single, and bringing in just one new person always caused a shift in the energy of the place. So far Melissa seemed to be working out fine. She’d been to hell and back herself because of a car accident, so she certainly understood what rehab entailed and could empathize with everybody in the center. To date her sympathy had seemed genuine, as well as her interest in everyone’s well-being. As long as she was capable of doing the job, Dani couldn’t ask much more of anyone.

  Shane noticed Dani and headed in her direction. “Hey, Dani. How’s it going?”

  She leaned against the doorjamb of her office and smiled at the man who’d worked for them for five years now. He was very popular with the patients, considered a hard taskmaster but fair, which was a great balance for the residents. “Not too bad. Aaron really knocked himself out in the pool.”

  “He sure did. Physio was pretty rough on him afterward too. I believe he’s sleeping right now.” He shook his head. “I suggested speaking with his counselors before next week, so he could work through some issues. Obviously something prompted the hard swim this morning.”

  “That was a good suggestion. Hopefully he’ll take you up on it.” She doubted it, but she was willing to give Aaron a chance to prove her wrong. He couldn’t stay stubborn all his life.

  Just most of it.

  Considering his day, and not having touched base with him earlier, she hung around the office a little later than normal, then walked through the common room to see if he’d shown up yet. When she saw no sign of him, she headed for the dinner buffet and studied the patrons. It was early yet, so not too many were eating, but the ones who were appeared to be enjoying it. She walked along the buffet, just to see just what was on offer. She found it hard to resist the fragrant baked ham and roast beef right at the end. Maybe she’d eat here after all. She smiled up at the chef. “This looks awesome, Gabriel.”

  He smiled back. “Grab a plate and sit down and enjoy. You work too hard.”

  She laughed and shook her head. “Why do you keep telling me that?”

  “You know it’s true.” He didn’t give her much choice. He lifted a plate from the stack and served her a slice of ham and a slice of roast beef. He nudged her down the aisle. “The broccoli in cheese sauce just came out of the oven. It’s good.”

  It was hard to refuse at that point, so she helped herself to a serving of the vegetables and sat down on the deck. She was hungry, having foregone lunch. She had to get out of the habit of missing meals. No food, just work wasn’t how it was supposed to be. As she enjoyed her meal, a shadow fell across the table. She looked up to see Aaron.

  “Do you mind if I sit?” His voice was gruff.

  Before she had a chance to answer, he sat down—heavily. She looked at him in concern. “Are you sure you shouldn’t go back to bed?”

  He raised his head and glanced her way. “I’ll be fine,” he muttered. “I need to eat so my muscles can heal.”

  Definitely a day where he had done too much. Even his voice was heavy and tired. His face had no color, and his lips looked bloodless. Alarmed, she said, “Part of me wants to get the doctor.”

  She was already out of her chair when he stopped her. “No doctor. I’m fine. Just tired. I wouldn’t object to a cup of coffee though, if you don’t mind.”

  She poured him a cup, at the same time snagging a small plate and picking up two cream puffs. Depending on where his blood sugar was, these would help him. She brought his snack and drink to him, relieved to see he looked a little better now that he was resting. Obviously the trip from his room to her had been enough to wear him down. That wasn’t good. She’d hoped he’d made better progress than that by now.

  She placed the cup and plate in front of him and sat down to finish her food. “I guess you won’t be going for another crazy swim again anytime soon.”

  “No,” he said. “This’ll set me back a few days.”

  “Only a few days? Good,” she said with a bright smile. “Nothing you can’t recover from, and now you better know your limits.”

  He looked at her for a long moment and then smiled. “You’re always optimistic. You see sunshine and roses instead of the reality.”

  “It’s only your reality if you let it be,” she replied calmly. “I prefer—no, I choose to—see the bright side. There is enough negativity in my world. I don’t need any more.”

  He devoured the two cream puffs and then slowly sipped his coffee as he watched her eat. “Dinner looks good.”

  She nodded, her mouth stuffed with broccoli. He glanced over at the buffet table. She could see him contemplating getting there on his own. She swallowed and said, “Give me a minute, and I’ll get a plate for you.” She watched his mouth open to protest. In a low, hard voice, she said, “Remember, there is a time to accept help.”

  He stared at her and then slumped in his chair, resting. “Thank you. I think I will accept your kind offer.”

  She laughed. “That was hard for you, wasn’t it?”

  “Damned right it was.” But he had a big grin on his face.

  He watched her leave. She was just so damned nice, he felt like he had no business being beside her. She was so clean and fresh and honest, and he felt dirty. This stain on his soul—would it ever get clean? Levi and his people were doing their best to track down the man responsible. As a last resort, they might end up forcefully capturing Cain. As far as Aaron was concerned, they could kill the bastard, but Aaron wanted Cain to come clean first, and Aaron wanted the proof to go to the brass upstairs.

  For all he knew, the brass had changed. Very likely the people who thought Aaron had lied weren’t even around anymore. He stared down at his clenched fists. So close and yet so
far away. It was all out of his hands. That was what got to him. He could do nothing to make this any better. He couldn’t grab his old buddy and pound the truth out of him. As far as Aaron knew, his brother was probably the best person for the job, but what if even he failed?

  How helpless would Aaron feel then?

  Yet, he couldn’t have asked more of his brother. Still, the waiting, sitting and more waiting were killing Aaron, even though he had a wonderful place to do it in—a supportive and strong place, helping him get better day by day. However, in his anger, he had set back his progress. His ire was to be expected, after getting the news he had. Even now, the tension still ran through his muscles, even after swimming too hard, lifting weights too heavy. Aaron knew better—now—to push his body further.

  His brother was doing what he could. All Aaron could do was sit back and wait.

  No, he needed to do what he could do – and that was heal. The truth, while it would set part of him free, getting healthy, strong and fit again, well, that would offer him a whole new future.

  Chapter 15

  Dani woke up to birds singing and sunshine floating into her bedroom. She bounced out of bed, had a quick shower and dressed, then raced to the center. She was eager to see Aaron, but then this had been her routine for weeks.

  She hurried through the center, waving happily and calling out morning greetings to everyone in her path. She stopped at her office to confirm she had no emergency messages, and then she carried on to Aaron’s room. It was empty, but then that was no surprise. He’d been steadily gaining in strength and doing a lot more every day. She grabbed a cup of coffee and walked onto the deck. “Good morning, George. Have you seen Aaron?”

  George smiled at her and said, “Last I saw him, he was with your father, and things were looking pretty serious.” He shrugged his shoulders and said, “Aaron didn’t look upset or anything. Just looked like he wanted answers.”

  “Answers?” she repeated back.

  But George had no further information. She looked around but found no sign of either man. Feeling slightly worried, she wandered down to the pool level, searching for them. No sign. She walked through the doors and found the two of them sitting at one of the poker tables where her dad played a lot.

  The conversation did not look good.

  With a sinking heart, she probably understood exactly what was going on. She walked straight over and placed her cup down and sat. “Good morning,” she said with a forced cheerfulness. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  Silence reigned.

  She studied her father’s face, but he wouldn’t look her in the eye. She turned her gaze toward Aaron and found him glaring at her. She raised her eyebrows. “What’s the matter, Aaron?” She kept her tone pleasant but cool.

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Tell you what?” She frowned, not willing to confirm anything—yet.

  “That I’m a charity case here?”

  “No one is a charity case here,” she replied, adding a bite to her tone. “That just insults everyone.”

  Aaron’s glare deepened. “Who is paying for my care here?”

  “A donor, who asked to remain anonymous.” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared back at him. “You might want to consider that you’re one of the lucky ones.”

  “Or you might want to consider I won’t like what’s going on here,” he shot back. “If not, why didn’t you say something about it at the beginning?”

  “Because the donor asked to remain anonymous,” she repeated. “Because we didn’t want anything to slow down your healing.” She leaned forward, into his personal space. “And you might want to consider that you’ve come a hell of a long way very quickly. Where else have you had such success?” She paused, giving him ample time to reply.

  He settled back against his chair, looking like he wanted to say something.

  She sat and waited. Inside, her heart was breaking, but she was resolute. Donors were an important part of this project, and she couldn’t have him getting on his high horse just because somebody had offered to help before he was ready to accept it. “We ensured that nothing slowed your progress down.”

  “You lied to me.”

  She gasped. “I did not.”

  “Yes, you did. If not in actual fact, then in concept.” He sneered. “Is that the only way you can get a man? Pick one who’s not quite whole and have him see you as a savior? Well, I don’t need a helping hand from anyone. Especially not you.” He stood up and hobbled shakily out of the room.

  Dani sat there, her breath shaky, as she watched him exit.

  Her father reached across the table and grabbed her hand. “Give him a chance to get over it,” he said in a soothing voice.

  She shook her head. In her mind, he was an idiot not to see the great advantage he’d been given. If there was one thing she hated, it was a lack of appreciation for receiving donor money. She could deal with not being appreciated herself, but she sure as hell thought Aaron should appreciate the rare gift he’d been given. “There shouldn’t be anything to get over. It’s his damned pride and ego. He needs to take a step back and let that go.”

  “Whoa there, Nellie,” her father said in a reasonable tone. “I know you can understand when a man is down as low as Aaron was, the only thing he has is his pride. His ego keeps him propped up. Inflate that ego a little more, and he can face the world with a big smirk and an ‘I don’t give a shit’ attitude. But if you take that away …” He patted her hand and nodded to himself. “Just give him some time. Wait for this to all blow over, and he’ll be fine.”

  She doubted it, but even if he did get over it, would she? It didn’t matter. Nothing else could be said at the moment. She deliberately turned the conversation to different things until she finished her coffee. Then she stood, dropping a kiss on his forehead. “Thanks for always being here, Dad.”

  “I didn’t want to be here this morning, to tell you the truth. But he cornered me.”

  She gave him a big hug. “He had no right to do that, but as we know, he’s not been thinking things through lately.”

  She picked up both of their empty cups and returned to the dining area. She placed the cups on one of the trays for dirty dishes and headed to her office. Her relationship with Aaron had shifted and would never revert back. He’ll leave now. She stood at the window and stared out at the horses. This is where I need to be regardless. No way would she tell Aaron who his benefactor was because it would just make him angrier.

  In her continued desire to help him, she had found herself caught between a rock and a hard place. The principles of the center were very clear. When a donor asked to remain anonymous, she did just that. She wouldn’t violate such a request. Since the funds came from a friend of hers, she was doubly invested to keep his secret. Which would make it just that much worse from Aaron’s viewpoint.

  Levi had called her, thinking her place could help Aaron. She had agreed. She wanted to help. Levi had offered to pay outright, even though she had explained their four-patient policy for pro bono treatment. She’d transferred Aaron here to offer him the best of the center’s abilities, and yes, she’d been curious. Once upon a time, Aaron had been such a driving force in her life that she’d wanted to see him again. But that was not how business decisions were made here. So, at Levi’s request, she’d put his brother’s file before the team for approval. They had all gone over Aaron’s history and each had given the go-ahead. The team had said yes, and they had the needed funds. All Aaron had to do was get better.

  He had done that in spades. She just didn’t know what he would do now.

  How stupid she was to get involved with anybody at the center. She buried herself in work for a few hours, until a knock came at the door, and she looked up to see Dr. Herzog. She smiled at him, but he didn’t smile back. She leaned back and crossed her arms. “What’s the problem?”

  He took a hesitant step inside the door and said, “Aaron Hammond requested a transfer
out.”

  Dani stilled the knots in her stomach, even though she had expected this. It came as a shock regardless.

  “Did he give a reason?” She hoped he’d kept their relationship out of it because she still had to work with everybody in a professional capacity, and it would be damned hard to do if they thought she was the reason behind a patient’s transfer.

  “Something about not being anybody’s charity case …” Dr. Herzog’s voice trailed off. “I asked him to explain, but he went silent.” He came farther into the room and sat in the guest chair. “He’s done really well. We’ve been thoroughly impressed with his dedication to his own healing. Whatever’s going on right now, it’s not good. It’s better if he stays here for at least another month, but if he wants to go, we can’t stop him.”

  She nodded. “Do you think it’d do any good if I talked to him?”

  “He asked specifically that nobody talk him out of it.”

  She pulled a pad of paper toward her. “Where does he want to go?”

  The doctor stood up, relief evident in his voice. “I don’t think he has any idea. Maybe you can make a few phone calls and find a place for him?”

  She nodded. “I can give him the general contact information for the VA office. Once he’s settled where he wants to be, they can tell him which VA hospital would be nearest to him.”

  Dr. Herzog nodded back. “I guess that’s the only option he has.”

  “His problem is somebody generously donated for his care. Yet, he got his back up when he found out.” She shrugged. “It’s his option to return to the VA hospital. His choice.”

  After the doctor left, she sat there, frozen for a moment, figuring out what her own options were. She still couldn’t tell Aaron about Levi being the donor. And it no longer mattered because Aaron was leaving anyway. However, she could do one last thing. She reached for the phone. When a woman’s voice answered, she said, “Ice, is Levi there? I need to talk to him about his brother.”