by Jill Sanders
Actually, their visit to the hospital had been far better than his own parents’ brief visit. Plus, they’d come out to the cabin the other night and brought him some of Robin’s homemade chili. He’d enjoyed it so much. It brought back a lot of memories of when he’d spend the night—or a few nights—at their house when he was younger.
They’d often joked that he spent so much time at their place that they were going to designate their spare bedroom as his own room.
He didn’t ever know if they understood why he was always requesting to hang around. He didn’t know if Aiden had ever mentioned how terrible his homelife was, nor did he care. They treated him like family, and he ate up the attention.
Becoming a cop was the one thing he could do to stick it to his old man. Growing up, he’d told himself that if he was the law, his father would have spent more than a couple of nights behind bars for the things he’d said or done.
The fact that he had yet to arrest his father himself once irritated him. His old man had gotten away with so much hate over the years that surely he’d broken at least one law. That hate hadn’t just been pointed at him and his mother but at anyone and anything that got in the way —or even hinted at getting in the way—of Willy Jr, as he liked to be called.
“What are you doing out here?” A voice broke into his thoughts.
He looked up and noticed Lea walking towards him on the narrow pathway.
“Getting some fresh air.” He smiled at her. He’d hobbled out to the front porch of the cabin. It wasn’t one of the best views, but it was quiet, and the trees were nice to look at. Especially since they were swaying with the breeze. He really enjoyed watching the birds and squirrels playing in the pine trees.
“Fresh air?” She stopped at the base of the ramp and looked up at him. “It’s got to be close to a hundred out here.”
He glanced down at his phone and smiled. “Ninety-eight.” He shrugged. “It beats sitting inside, watching television all of the time.”
She was quiet for a moment. “I thought you might like to get out of here for a while.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Yes.”
She laughed. “Don’t you want to know where—”
“No.” He shook his head and started to stand up.
“Hang on.” She laughed and rushed to help him. “You’ll want to change first.”
“Okay.” He glanced down at the sweat shorts and T-shirt he was wearing. “Into what?”
She smiled. “How about some swim trunks?”
“Hell yes,” he said with a sigh. “I’ll be just a moment.” He grabbed his crutch and did his best to rush into the cabin and change.
The prospect of taking a dip, of letting his entire body relax in the water, was so predominant in his mind that instead of sitting on the edge of the bed to pull off the sweats, he tried pulling his bad leg out of the shorts while he stood. That ended with him flat on his ass on the hardwood floor.
“Are you okay?” Lea rushed into the cabin and saw him sitting on the floor. She shook her head and walked over to help him up. “I thought you were smarter than that,” she said as he pulled himself up off the floor.
“I guess I was just too excited,” he murmured, trying to hide the pain the fall had caused him. He didn’t want her to have any excuse to cancel the swim.
“Here, let me.” She knelt before him and helped him step out of his sweat shorts. “Now your boxers.” She motioned for him to pull them off his hips.
“Um.” He shook his head and made a motion for her to turn around.
She rolled her eyes at him. “I am a doctor.”
“Yeah, I get that, and I’m a cop. That doesn’t mean I strip search you every chance I get,” he retorted.
He could tell she was thinking about it and watched her eyes flood with embarrassment at what he’d hinted at. Her eyebrows shot up and a slow smile formed on her lips as excitement crossed her eyes.
“Oh, you are in deep trouble.” He’d meant to say it in his head, to himself, but when she laughed at him, he realized that he’d said it out loud.
“Promise?” she asked softly.
He felt his entire body grow hard. Harder than it had been in years. Damn, why was she still standing there, looking at him? Did she know what she was doing to him?
“As much as I’d like to…” He glanced down at the bandages over his thigh and knew that he’d probably last two seconds before moving wrong. The pain had become a standard part of his life. If he moved wrong, it overcame him, and he would double over or fall into the nearest chair.
At this point, he couldn’t imagine doing anything more than walking or, as he’d been dreaming about, swimming and becoming weightless for a while.
“As much as I’d enjoy having you try to strip search me”—she nudged him slightly until he fell backward to sit on the side of the bed, and her eyes laughed at him when he sat there breathing heavily— “I’ll let you change in peace. Just yell if you need help.” She turned around and walked out.
Damn. He was in trouble. Had Lea always been this… frisky? Sexy? Double damn. He glanced down at his leg and silently cursed it while knowing that he wouldn’t be this close to her if he hadn’t gotten injured.
There was nothing more he could do about it until he felt stronger, but he figured swimming was the best path to his recovery.
He pulled off his boxers and slipped on his swim trunks. He figured he’d have to remove the bandages if he planned on getting in the water.
He had just cut off the last bandage when Lea stepped back into the room.
“Ready?” she asked, her eyes going to his thigh.
“Yeah.” He tossed the soiled bandages in the trash.
She walked over and knelt in front of him, her eyes zoned onto where he’d been stitched back up. He stood still while she ran her fingers over his scarred skin.
Her fingertips brushed over him lightly, and he had to close his eyes as thoughts of taking her crossed his mind.
He tried to be patient, but the more she examined his leg, the more he convinced himself that he could chance the pain. For her.
“Lea,” he groaned, “you’re killing me.”
She glanced up at him and understanding crossed her face. She stood up quickly. “If you’re ready.” She moved towards the door.
As they walked down the pathway towards the nearest pool, they remained quiet.
“Your wound looks good,” she said once they’d reached the pool area. “Good enough that you can start swimming every day. I brought some waterproof tape; we’ll have to make sure your sutures are kept dry. Besides, the exercise will do you good.”
“Calling me fat?” he joked.
She chuckled. “No, not yet.” She tossed off the coverup she had on, and he enjoyed the one-piece swimsuit she was wearing. It was his turn to run his eyes over her as she sat down to remove her sandals.
He stepped out of his flip-flops, set his crutches down on the edge of the pool, and stepped into the water.
“We’re going to take it easy this first time.” She stepped into the water next to him.
“Why can’t I just…relax.” He sighed when he started floating in the water.
“You can if you want to take longer to walk on your own or with a limp.” She shrugged.
He sighed and motioned for her.
“Okay, show me what I need to do,” he relented.
Half an hour later, he grunted.
“I didn’t think it was possible to sweat while you were in a pool full of water.” He felt his leg muscles scream at him.
“This is the first time you’ve moved like this in over a week,” Lea said, pushing his left leg up to his chest. Well, okay, about a quarter of the way up to his chest. His torn muscles wouldn’t allow him to move it up any further. He winced when pain shot through his entire leg and back, and Lea backed off.
It would have tortured him, having her touch him and be so close to him like this, but the truth was, he was in far too much a
gony to think of anything other than breathing through the pain.
“I think that’s enough for today.” She released her hold on his leg. “Want to relax a little?”
Hell yes, he did. But now he was so exhausted that he thought he might drown if he tried to float around in the pool. Besides, there was a group of guests that had arrived, and the pool was almost completely full.
“No, I think I’ll head back to the cabin. Maybe come back a little later.”
“Drink plenty of water,” she said as he moved towards the stairs and his crutches. He was going to need to lean heavily on them to get back to the cabin.
“Here.” A woman met him at the stairs and handed him his crutches. “Let me help you.”
“Thanks,” he mumbled.
“I’ve got you,” Lea said behind him and wrapped her arm around his waist.
He was too tired to care about the look the two women exchanged. Instead, he hobbled as best as he could towards a chair so he could slip on his flip-flops and shirt.
Lea was there to help him.
“I can call and see if someone can give you a ride to your cabin,” she said, pulling out her walkie-talkie.
He didn’t want to seem so fragile, so he shook his head. “No, the fresh air will help. Besides, it’s not that far.”
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she scanned his face. “Are you sure?”
He nodded and slipped on his sunglasses. “Yup,” he answered quickly and stood up.
“We’ll do this again tomorrow,” she called after him.
Thankfully, he was far enough away from her that she couldn’t hear his groan. Or so he’d thought. Her soft chuckle floated in the breeze behind him.
He’d made it a quarter of the way back to his cabin when his leg seized up on him and he had to find a bench and take a break. He hadn’t expected to be light-headed and had to breathe through the pain until his vision cleared.
“Are you okay?” a soft voice asked through the haze.
He glanced up and spotted the same blond woman who had handed him his crutches at the pool.
“Yeah,” he said, standing up again. “Just… taking in the view.”
Her smile told him that she didn’t believe him. He turned to head back down the pathway, but she fell into step with him.
“Are you a guest?” she asked him.
“Sort of,” he said, wishing instantly to be alone again. The pain was becoming unbearable, and he didn’t want anyone to see how much pain he was in.
“I just got in this morning,” she said with a sigh. “I hadn’t realized how wonderful this place could be.” She giggled.
When he’d first seen her, he’d expected her to be like the rest of the guests. Older. Now, as he looked at her, he could tell she was roughly his age. It threw him off.
She was young, extremely pale, and had almost white-blond hair, blue eyes, and an impressive double-D hourglass figure that would normally get any man’s attention.
“Are you a guest?” he asked.
“No.” She shook her head and giggled again. “I’m the new massage therapist.”
“What happened to Andrea?” he asked as he stopped on the pathway. Her eyebrows shot up slightly.
“Oh, she’s still here. Actually, she’s my boss, in a way.” She shrugged. “I noticed that you were working on your injured leg.” She motioned to his left leg. “Was it a car accident?” she asked. When he didn’t reply right away, she continued, “If so, I know the rest of you must be as sore. If you need to schedule a session…” She let the rest of her statement hang in the air.
Hell yes, he thought. That’s just what he needed. A massage. But at that moment, the way Lea had looked at the blonde played over in his head.
“No, thanks,” he said with a sigh. “For now, I’m going to do what the doctor orders.” He smiled.
“Oh.” She pouted a little. “Okay, well, if you change your mind, I’m Kara.” She held out her hand.
“Brett.” He shook her hand. “Welcome to River Camps.”
“Thanks,” she said with a slight frown. “Brett… Jewel?”
“That’s me.” He nodded.
“Gosh, it is you. I don’t know why I didn’t recognize you.” She tilted her head. “You’ve got more facial hair than the pictures they used on the news.”
He held in a groan and ran his hand over his stubbly face. “They used my rookie pictures from five years ago.” He shrugged.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you.” She motioned to the pathway. “Need any help getting to where you’re going?”
He wanted to agree but didn’t want to let a stranger in on how much pain he was in.
“No, thanks. It’s not far.” He motioned back to the pathway she’d come down. “The main building is that way. If you get lost.”
She glanced over her shoulder and then turned back to him and nodded. “Thanks. I’ll see you around, Brett Jewel.” She started walking down the pathway he’d just pointed out for her.
He didn’t reply and continued back to his cabin. By the time he walked up the stairs, sweat was dripping down his arms, his legs, and his back. He wanted—no, needed—a cold shower.
Instead, he dropped his crutches on the floor and fell face-first onto the bed, and passed out asleep.
He woke when someone knocked on his door. He was instantly in a foul mood, as the pain was unbearable. His entire body had tensed up and even the muscles in his fingers ached.
“Go away,” he murmured. Instead, the door opened. He didn’t even have the energy to look over to see who had come in. If it was someone there to kill him, he’d just lay there and let them put him out of his misery.
When a platter of food was set on his nightstand, he figured he wasn’t going to get so lucky.
“You look terrible.” Lea’s voice sounded from directly beside him.
He closed his eyes and turned his head away from her. “Thanks,” he said sarcastically. He wanted to tell her to leave, but he didn’t even have the strength to.
When her hands landed softly on his shoulders, he tensed for a split second, until she started rubbing his muscles.
“You really should have taken Kara up on her offer,” she said softly.
He glanced over at her. “Spying on me?” he mumbled.
She smiled. “No, just walking down the same pathway and overheard.” She shrugged.
“I like this private session with my doctor much better.” He motioned for her to continue rubbing his shoulders. She narrowed her eyes at him but continued to rub his shoulders.
“You’re really tense,” she said after a moment.
He moaned and tried to breathe through the pain when she ran her hands down his back.
“You’re overcompensating for your leg,” she said.
“Over…?” he mumbled into the mattress.
“You’re tensing up every muscle when you walk,” she explained. “You need to learn to relax when you walk.”
“It hurts too bad,” he admitted, feeling groggy again. Her hands were doing wonders to his muscles. He hadn’t realized what he’d owned up to, not until he felt her fingers still on his body.
“Are you in that much pain?” she asked.
He took a deep breath. “You worked me pretty hard in the pool,” he admitted.
She sighed and started rubbing again. “I’ll go easier on you tomorrow.”
“No, don’t. I want to recover as quickly as possible. A little pain will be worth it.”
Her hands moved over him, going down to work on his lower back. He felt the tension melt away. His stomach chose that moment to let out a loud rumble.
“I brought you some food,” she said with a chuckle as her hands stilled on his lower back.
“Later. Right now this is doing more for me than food will,” he mumbled as she started working on him again.
Chapter 5
This was pure torture. Lea’s hands ran over Brett’s hard muscles, feeling his tension melt away like butter unde
r her fingertips, while her own body started to ache in places that she’d ignored for longer than she cared to admit.
While she worked on releasing the tightness from his abused muscles, he made deep sexy sounds that had her wondering what it would be like to be with him. She pondered if he was a selfish lover, like the only other person she’d ever been with had been.
Her mind kept playing over scenario after scenario of what it would be like to enjoy the man that she was running her hands over. Of course, now, she was trying desperately to keep her movements professional, therapeutic, but her eyes, well, she ran them all over him. His powerful arms were easily as thick as her thighs, and his rugged shoulders were filled with cords of muscles that he spent a lot of time working on. His back was full of lean, toned muscles that led down to his narrow waist, a true athletic swimmer’s build. His legs—well, at least his right leg, at the moment—were powerful, like the rest of him. His swim shorts, which had dried and sucked tight against his form, allowed her to admire the tightness of his butt. She wanted more than anything to dip her hands lower and feel just how firm and potent he was there.
“You’re not listening to me,” Brett said with a chuckle, getting her attention.
She jerked her eyes away from his ass and up to the back of his head as her hands stilled on his shoulders.
“Sorry, what?” she asked, feeling her entire body heat.
“I think you’ve worked out the worst of it,” he repeated.
She yanked her hands away from him and stood up suddenly. “Sure, um…” She looked around, trying to remember where she was and why. She spotted the tray of food that she’d brought for him and took it over to the kitchen table.
The Cruiser cabin was one of the smaller cabins that Aiden and his crew had built in the past few years. It consisted of one giant room, a small kitchenette area with a dining table, a sofa, a television, a queen-sized bed, and even a gas fireplace. The bathroom, she knew, was well equipped for guests with physical limitations. It was one of the five wheelchair-accessible cabins.
