Michael's Discovery - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,59
did he allow himself to meet her gaze. To his amazement, she was grinning broadly.
“What?” he growled, feeling like a toddler who’d taken his first brave step, only to land solidly on his backside.
She regarded him as if he were crazy to have to ask. “You walked, Michael! You did it!”
As the enormity of that sank in, his irritation faded and a grin began to spread across his face. “By God, I did, didn’t I?” He’d felt less triumphant after surviving a dangerous mission. He met Kelly’s gaze. “If I could dance you around the room, I would.”
“I’ll hold you to that,” she said. “Something tells me it won’t be long.”
Meeting her gaze, wanting her, Michael knew that no matter when it happened, it wouldn’t be nearly soon enough.
Those first couple of faltering steps could be either the beginning of something or the end, Michael concluded when he had time to himself later that night. In a few weeks, Kelly would start cutting back on his therapy, leaving him to his own devices while she moved on to use her considerable skill with another patient who needed her more. As badly as he wanted to feel whole and able-bodied again, the prospect of losing Kelly forever was out of the question. He didn’t know why he was so sure of that, but he was.
Whatever the pace of his recovery from here on out, he was going to have to make damn sure that Kelly stayed in his life, at least until he could figure out the hold she seemed to have over him. There would be no more little adventures for her with the Dr. Burroughses of the world. He wanted to be the one who occupied her thoughts and her time.
For a man who’d spent much of his life being totally driven and goal-oriented, this was just one more challenge to be met. Like any SEAL mission he’d ever planned and executed, it was a matter of logistics and precision. He intended to start with his Thursday therapy session, since that was the one time he could be guaranteed that she wouldn’t bail on him. He was going to dazzle her with his progress, then set out to capture her heart.
For the forty-eight hours between sessions, he practiced standing until he could remain upright and steady without grabbing on to the nearest stable object to break an impending fall. By the time night came, his muscles ached from the strain and his leg was giving him fits, but it was a small price to pay.
On Thursday he wheeled himself into the rehab center with a renewed sense of confidence and purpose. Kelly seemed to sense the change in attitude, because she studied him with a quizzical expression as he hefted himself out of the chair and onto the parallel bars without being asked.
“I gather you’re ready to start,” she said, a spark of amusement in her eyes.
“I am,” he said firmly. “Back up.”
She hesitated. “I think it’s better if I stay here.”
He scowled until she finally shrugged and backed away, leaving nothing to impede him should he actually be able to manage to walk the entire length of the parallel bars. Gritting his teeth, Michael took the first step. It was actually easier than it had been at his apartment without any solid support to cling to. His confidence grew with the second step and then the third.
“Michael, don’t push too hard,” Kelly warned as he kept coming. “You don’t want another injury now.”
“I’m not going to fall,” he insisted, his voice tight as he tried to gauge the remaining steps. Four, maybe. Three, if he could lengthen his stride to something better than these shuffling half steps. He sighed. Maybe he’d better settle for baby steps, as exasperating as that was. It was better than falling flat on his butt at her feet.
He noted that despite her warning, she hadn’t rushed forward to cut him off, but she was holding her breath.
“You know, if you don’t let out that breath you’re holding, you’re going to turn blue,” he admonished lightly.
She sighed. “Sorry. I’m just afraid you’re moving too fast.”
He snorted at that. “I’ve seen snails move faster.”
“You know what I mean, Michael.”
All the while they bickered over whether or not he was overexerting himself, he kept moving forward with his awkward, shuffling gait. And then he was there, toe-to-toe with her, close enough to see the spark of admiration in her eyes, despite the admonitions tripping from her