Chapter Thirty-Six
Ashley
“Just five more reps, Dan.”
“Slave driver.”
“You can’t say that anymore. Besides, I prefer the term tyrant.”
The bald man grimaced as he did another leg extension, grumbling, “You’re a lot nicer when your ankles aren’t swollen, Ash.”
I didn’t even disguise my grin as I looked at my clipboard while I wrote his day’s stats.
“I don’t think my swollen ankles have anything to do with it. I’ve always been mean.” Sliding the pen into the metal clip, I looked over at him. “But just remember, when you’re walking your daughter down the aisle next month without a cane, there’s a reason for my cruelty.”
He finished his reps and leaned back on the machine’s black vinyl seat to wipe his face with a towel. “I wanna dance with her, too.”
“I think that can be arranged.”
Tapping his metal leg, Dan sighed. “I’m worried I’m not going to have enough time to adjust to the new leg.”
He’d experienced socket rejection with his first permanent prosthetic, and we’d been trying to find the right one ever since.
“I talked to the lab this morning. They’re on schedule to ship it tomorrow; we’ll have it in time for your appointment on Thursday, and we can get started Cha-Cha-ing on Friday.”
The man shook his head as he swung his flesh and bone leg over the bench in preparation to stand. “Aren’t you off this Friday? We’ll get to work on dancing Monday.”
“Nonsense, old man. Unless you need to take Friday off to rest.”
I thought that would piss the Army Master Sergeant off, and he’d take the bait, instead, he replied, “You should take advantage of your time off and rest. When’s your due date again?”
“August fifteenth.”
“ You’ve got another month ? You’re getting pretty big for having to go until August fifteenth.”
So maybe I had gotten under his skin a little.
“ Ouch. Don’t hold back, Dan.”
“When have we ever held back with each other, kid?”
I sighed. “Fair enough.”
“Monday will still give us plenty of time. You need to take it easy.”
“It’s hard. I like to keep busy.”
“You’re going to be plenty busy soon enough. I don’t envy you being a single mom.”
“Well, it wasn’t my first choice, but...” I shrugged my shoulders. “Whaddya gonna do?”
“Find a new man.”
I snorted. “I don’t think that’s in the cards right now.”
“How hard is it to find one these days? Don’t you just have to swipe right?”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “How do you know about swiping right?”
“Jesus Christ, how old do you think I am? Plenty of guys my age use dating sites.”
“Yeah, but something tells me your wife wouldn’t appreciate you being on one.”
He chuckled and stood without hesitation. “I know I’ve got a keeper; no way would I blow that. Besides,” he gestured to his prosthetic, “who else would want me?”
I eyed the soldier I’d been working with for the last eight months. He was handsome, in a silver fox kind of way, and his blue eyes always seemed to be twinkling with mischief these days—especially once he’d regained his mobility and he became a lot less salty. But what I thought was most attractive about him was how much he adored his wife of twenty-nine years. And how much she loved him back.
Hashtag: Couple goals.
“You aren’t fishing for compliments, are you?”
“Wh-at?” he asked in a falsetto voice and a grin he didn’t try to hide. “Me? Fishing for compliments? I would never. But if I were…”
“You still got it.” That made him buff his nails against his shoulder, and I winked at him. “June’s a lucky woman.”
Usually, the mention of his wife’s name brought a broad smile to his face, but today it caused him to frown.
“I don’t know. She sure as hell didn’t sign up for a husband with a peg leg.”
I patted him on his back as we walked toward the bench in front of the row of lockers. “You’re a warrior. That’s what she signed up for. You’re the Johnny to her June.”
He paused and faced me, gripping my shoulder with a serious expression.
“You deserve a warrior, too, Ash. Don’t let one guy ruin your idea of what love looks like. He is obviously an idiot. There’s someone out there for you and that little girl of yours.”
Dan had gotten a front row seat to my heartbreak with Sloane. Although I never came out and told him Sloane didn’t want anything to do with us, I think he got the gist of it.
“Thanks. I’m sure someday I’ll find someone.”
His eyes twinkled when he said, “Maybe sooner than you think.”
“What are you up to, old man?”
“Nothing,” he said in a singsong voice.
“I oughta make you do another set, then maybe you’ll be too tired to get into trouble.”
He grinned when he turned to face me. “I’ll never be too tired to get into trouble, Ash. You know that.”
Boy did I.
“Hey, Dan. Good to see you again,” Dr. Connolly, one of the orthopedic surgeons at the VA said as he approached the Army veteran with his hand extended.
Dan grasped the offered hand and shook it. “Hi ya, Doc. Good to see you, too.” He glanced at me. “You know Ashley Youngman, physical therapist assistant extraordinaire.”
The handsome doctor turned to me with a smile that must have cost his parents thousands of dollars in orthodontia.
“Of course. How are you feeling, Ashley?”
I’d worked long enough with Dr. Jeff Connolly that I had no qualms about answering honestly. “I’m uncomfortable—all the time.”
He gave me a sympathetic pout. “You poor thing. I can’t imagine July is the ideal time to be pregnant.”
“Not eight months pregnant, anyway.”
“Do you have another patient right now?”
“No, I was just headed to my office to work on reports.”
“Let me buy you lunch, so you can put your feet up while we talk about this guy’s”—he nodded his head toward Dan—“new prosthetic coming in later this week.”
“Get her some pie, too, Doc,” Dan said with a devilish grin. “She’s eating for two.”
Jeff winked at me when he answered Dan. “Good thing I’ve got that staff discount at the cafeteria.”
The tall, blond, single—and did I mention handsome?—doctor had always been a giant flirt, even when I didn’t wear makeup. I appreciated the fact I was currently as round as a beachball didn’t change that. It made him less intimidating somehow. Like, I knew he wasn’t flirting to try to sleep with me.
“Good thing,” I said with a bright smile, “because I can eat a lot these days.”
~~~~
After we’d talked about Dan’s progress and his new leg, Jeff asked, “So, what’s your plan after the baby comes?”
I scrunched up my nose.
“Well, I used a little bit of sick time at the beginning of my pregnancy, so I don’t have as much banked as I’d like. Between sick and vacation, I should be able to take a month off before I have to come back to work.”
“What are you thinking for childcare?”
“As much as it sickens me, I’m going to have to put her in the daycare here. My mom works full-time, so I don’t have any other alternative. But at least since she’s in the building, I can keep breastfeeding. Catherine has already said she’s fine with me taking breaks to do that.”
He nodded thoughtfully, then asked, “Would you consider a position with the Wounded Warrior Project where you wouldn’t have to leave her with anyone, while making a lot more money?”
My ears perked up at the parts about more money and not having to leave her, but I didn’t see how that was possible. I was instantly suspicious and didn’t jump at the offer.
“I don’t want to leave the VA. The benefits are good, plus I finally have some seniority.”
“You’d still be employed through the VA—that wouldn’t change. But WWP would reimburse the VA for your salary while you’re being loaned out to them.”
“I don’t understand, how would I make a lot more money then, and how would I be able to keep her with me without having to put her in daycare?”
“You’d live full-time with two or three military personnel injured in the line of duty, helping them transition to living independently with their injuries.”
I shook my head. “That sounds like a lot of work. And I really don’t want to have to worry about keeping the baby quiet because I have roommates.”
“It’s really not a lot of work. A housekeeper comes three times a week and cleans everything, including your quarters. And you’d live in what’s referred to as the mother-in-law’s wing, although technically it’s the second floor above the garage. It’s a separate living space with its own entrance, but it can still be accessed from the main house. You’d be on-call twenty-four/seven, but you’d also be paid accordingly. And the best part is you wouldn’t have to put your little girl in daycare. Oh, and the house is on the beach.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. This still sounded too good to be true. “So, what are the job duties?”
“Daily individual physical therapy sessions with each of the service members would be your primary role. Secondary would be everything else they still need assistance with to live independently, like grocery shopping, meal prep and cleanup, laundry, ensuring they’re making their appointments and helping them arrange transportation, reminding them to take their medication. Things like that. But the key is you’re helping them—not doing it for them.”
I laughed. “So, basically a mom who also does physical therapy.”
“Kind of.”
“How independent are they already? You’re not talking bathing and bathroom assistance, are you?”
“No, no bathroom assistance. You might have to help get them in and out of the shower, but once in, they can wash themselves.”
“And they’d be okay with me having the baby there?”
“Yep. The woman currently in the position has her two-year-old there.”
“How do you know about this?”
“I make house calls there a few times a week.”
“So, you can vouch for the legitimacy of the program?”
“Absolutely.”
“And the WWP just happens to have a beach house for injured soldiers?”
“My buddy, Travis Sterling, is richer than sin and a big supporter of the WWP. It’s his beach house. He had it retrofitted a few years ago to make it disability-accessible, and now loans it out to them to house men and women who’ve suffered catastrophic injuries who are transitioning back to independent living.”
“He sounds like a saint.”
Jeff laughed. “He’s a big-time attorney so I’d hardly call him a saint. But he is a good dude and has been a huge supporter of WWP for a long time.”
“And why is the current PTA leaving?”
“She’s getting married in a few months. That’s why I thought this would be perfect for you. You’d just be going back to work after maternity leave when the position opens up.”
I chewed my bottom lip as I contemplated the offer.
“I have to admit, it sounds perfect. I’ve kind of been fretting about having strangers care for her when I go back to work. But I don’t know how I’d feel about leaving my current patients high and dry.”
“I’m sure you could work something out to go into the VA a few days a week for a couple of hours. I mean, you will be living with adults; they’re not helpless. And I think Sandy, the current PTA, has someone who comes in to relieve her for a couple of shifts a week so she can plan her wedding. The administrators of the program are really flexible.”
“I need to talk to Catherine first. I don’t want to burn that bridge because I’m sure I’ll want to return to the VA someday. But, if she’s agreeable, where would I put in an application?”
“Just say the word, and I’ll put you in touch with Travis with a glowing recommendation from me.”
“What made you think of me?”
“Dan. He has nothing but great things to say about you, and getting him to say anything nice can be a feat sometimes. That in and of itself is pretty high praise. Plus, I’ve known you a while now, your work speaks for itself.”
That made me feel good. Having my work appreciated fed my confidence and ego.
“Can I have a few days to think about it?”
“Of course.”
The extra time was simply so I could investigate things further and get Catherine’s blessing. If the position really was like Jeff described, I’d be an idiot not to jump at the opportunity. It would relieve a lot of my worries about being a single mom.
“Thank you for thinking of me.”
His flirty smile was back.
“My pleasure.”