Chapter 2 #2
They were almost to the door of the consultation room when Paige's left crutch caught on the leg of a nearby chair. Her body lurched forward, but her crutch didn't budge.
A rush of adrenaline surged through Gabe, sending his heart into his throat, as he watched her pitch forward.
Her right crutch swung wildly, hitting his leg. Then she released the left one and flailed her arm. Her momentum shifted, and she suddenly teetered backward as her crutch clattered to the floor. She let out a cry of alarm.
Gabe threw an arm behind her back. When he was certain he'd stopped her fall, he wrapped his other arm around her waist to steady and balance them both. He froze, half bent over with her in his arms, her right crutch sandwiched between them.
She grabbed the front of his shirt in a tight fist and squeezed her eyes shut. She inhaled sharply then seemed to hold her breath.
Gabe did too. He often had to get up close and personal with his patients, but not this personal. He slowly brought them both upright and forced himself to inhale.
"Are you okay?"
Paige's eyes popped open; wide and alarmed. Her head jerked in a nod. "Thanks for catching me. Falling would have hurt so bad."
A spark of attraction shot through Gabe at the intensity of her icy blue eyes. "Are you sure you're okay?" When she nodded, he asked, "Do you feel steady?"
She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Yes."
"Good. Then will you loosen the death grip you have on my shirt?" Gabe didn't have much hair on his chest but what little he had was firmly clenched in her fist.
"Sorry." She relaxed her hold on his shirt then patted his chest before pulling her hand away.
He waited for her to get her right crutch under her before removing his hand from her waist. Keeping a hand at her back, he bent to pick up her other crutch.
A surge of protectiveness tightened his chest as he watched her make her way into the room. The emotion surprised him. Only his mother and sister had ever evoked that feeling in him.
Gabe opted to leave the door open. There was no need for privacy since the gym was empty and leaving it open felt like a good safety measure, because he was very attracted to Paige.
He'd worked with plenty of pretty women over the years, and he had no problem staying professional. Paige felt different somehow. Maybe it was the distress in her eyes that spoke of emotional pain as well as physical.
He stayed close to her until she'd settled into a chair, then he opened his computer. "Your father sent me some information concerning your injuries, but I'd like to hear from you how you sustained them."
"I ran in front of a car.” The matter-of-fact way she said the words surprised him.
"You ran in front of a car?" Gabe's jaw dropped, and he felt his eyebrows hike up. He snapped his mouth closed. "Like you were out jogging and forgot to check both ways before crossing the street?"
"I wasn't jogging." Shadows flitted through Paige's eyes. She rubbed her right arm as though trying to ward off a chill. Her eyes bounced around the room, looking everywhere but at him. "I checked the traffic. I knew there were cars coming, but I decided to cross anyway."
“Why?” Again, Gabe struggled to hide his surprise.
"Are you always so nosy?" She lifted her chin, a defiant glint in her eyes.
He gave her a patient smile. "It's important for me to understand your mental and emotional state as we work together to heal your body."
She rolled her eyes. "If you're asking if I was suicidal, the answer is no."
"Glad to hear it." He continued to study her face, trying to figure out why she’d risked her life like that.
She let out a little huff. “It was a stupid thing to do. I know that.” Her eyes darted away again. “It’s just… I had received some upsetting news and wasn't thinking clearly, okay?"
There were things Paige wasn't telling him. Things that could affect her healing. He didn't blame her for not wanting to confide in him, but he couldn't help being concerned about her psychological wellbeing.
As though reading his thoughts, she said, "You don't need to worry about my mental state." She motioned over her shoulder toward the wall. "Emily Winters, our local psychologist, has already made a house call to check on me."
"House call? Dr. Young has even more sway in this town than I thought." He spoke the words under his breath, but she heard them.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Her brow furrowed.
Warmth crept up Gabe's neck. "Nothing."
"Emily is family." Paige made a rolling motion with her hand. "She's married to my cousin, so that makes her my cousin, I guess."
He nodded in understanding, glad Paige was working with a psychologist. Ninety percent of healing the body was mental.
He glanced at the notes on his computer then back to her.
"We're going to be working closely together for the next few months.
It's important you understand I have your best interests at heart and trust me, even when I ask you to do hard things.” When she nodded, he continued.
“Healing the body can sometimes trigger emotional trauma.
I'm not a psychologist, but I am a good listener, if you ever need to talk something out.
" Then he gave a light-hearted smile. "PT can feel like torture if you can't relax and be yourself. "
"I don't even know who that is anymore." Her shoulders drooped, and she shook her head as she stared at the floor in front of her.
Gabe feared she had as much emotional trauma associated with her accident as she did physical trauma. "Does your current identity crisis have something to do with your accident and your limited mobility?"
Paige studied her hands for a moment, then she raised her gaze to the ceiling.
He spotted the sheen of tears in her eyes before she blinked them away. When he said he was a good listener, he didn't expect to have to employ that talent so soon. He waited, giving her ample opportunity to answer his question.
When she lowered her gaze again, she pinned him with a hard stare. "Have you ever found yourself in a situation you never thought you'd be in?"
Memories from the darkest times in Gabe's life flooded his mind, intermingling until he couldn't separate the events and the pain they'd caused him; his mom crying at the breakfast table because his dad didn't come home last night; watching her battle breast cancer a short time later; his sister's rebellion and unexpected pregnancy; Harper's mother handing him a handwritten note on pink paper while he stood in front of a chapel full of people.
"More times than I care to count," he said.
"No, I mean a situation that is…morally wrong. One you'd never intentionally choose to be in.”
He hadn’t made the morally gray choices that some of his loved ones did, but they’d affected his life nonetheless.
“Yes, unfortunately.” His answer was barely audible.
"Well, I hadn't." She lowered her gaze to her hands again. "Not until two months ago. It has left me questioning all my life choices."
He'd been there, done that. For years.
Each time the bottom fell out of his world, he’d spent months questioning every choice he'd ever made.
Was it his fault his father left? If he'd been more obedient would his dad have stayed?
If he'd played baseball like his dad, instead of wrestling, would his father have come to his games?
And if he hadn't been so focused on getting into PT school, would he have been able to give Harper the attention she needed?
Instead of letting the disappointments derail his life, he'd become more intentional about everything he did. More focused. More dedicated. More cautious.
Gabe couldn't help wondering what situation Paige found herself in that caused such introspection. What happened prior to her accident to make her question every aspect of her life? He remained quiet for a moment, waiting to see if she’d say more, but she reined in her emotions and shot him an apologetic look before staring at the floor again.
"Questioning all your life choices at once is rarely a good idea." He kept his tone light. "How about we take life one day at a time. We'll set small, achievable goals and before long, I'm sure you'll find things have worked themselves out."
They had for him, but it had taken a lot of hard work.
Okay, so he was still waiting for some things to work out.
But he knew he wasn't responsible for his dad's desertion, and he didn't need his father's approval to be successful.
And deep down, he knew it wasn't his fault Harper left him at the altar only to elope with his best friend two weeks later.
Paige's gaze met his, and her lips lifted in what looked like a forced smile.
"You're right. My mom keeps reminding me everything happens for a reason.
I know I brought this on myself with my own dumb actions…
" She made a sweeping motion with her hand, motioning to her body.
"Now, I need to make sure I learn the lesson God wants me to learn. "
Did I learn the lessons God wanted me to learn?
“Don't push your right shoulder farther than is comfortable,” Dr. Rivera’s gentle voice reminded Paige of her father, who was well known for his excellent bedside manner.
After heating her back, hip, and shoulder, Dr. Rivera had her do a series of gentle stretches, leading into exercises that required more movement.
Paige now sat in a chair slowly rolling a large pink yoga ball away from her body with her hands, then back in again.
She winced every time she reached the limit of her ability in both her right arm and low back.