LITMIR.BIZ

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be too far away to keep an eye on things. Plus, if he spent his savings on Maggie, what would he do if his mom or sisters needed money? His savings would be gone and his dad sure couldn’t be counted on to help.

      Defeat swamped Nick as he finally accepted that he had no choice. He would stay in Hope for however long it took to help Maggie. He’d stay and play the heavy and push her even when she cried for mercy.

      He dreaded that most of all.

      Nick had been through therapy. He remembered too well the days it took every effort just to show up. But he’d done it because, in the back of his mind, he’d hoped he could get back in the game, get his life back. Maggie wouldn’t have that drive. She was just a little kid. The intense therapy Shay was talking about would hurt her. But if, as Shay said, the only alternative was a wheelchair, he could not—would not—back down. She had to do it.

      “What are you doing out here, son?” His mother handed him a steaming mug.

      Nick took it and smiled. Peppermint tea, her panacea for all of life’s ills.

      “You do know it’s past two-thirty?”

      “I know. Just thinking.” He couldn’t tell her what was on his heart. His mother would feel responsible. If she guessed his fears, she might insist on moving back to Seattle for his sake, and he knew how little she wanted to leave her friends, her home and the desert dryness that eased her arthritic pain. “Shay’s plan—it’s going to be hard on Maggie, Mom. Really hard.”

      “I know. I should have pushed the child to do more, but—”

      “No.” He wouldn’t let her feel guilty. “What you did was good. But now it’s going to get intense. Shay says Maggie has to get walking, and soon.”

      “I’ve been praying about that.” His mother sat down next to him on the built-in bench that ran the length of the deck, a small part of the extensive renovations he’d had done on her house after he’d signed his first big contract. “I know God has a plan in all this, but I just can’t see it,” she said, sniffling.

      “Me neither,” Nick muttered, trying to suppress his frustration. As his mother’s tears spilled down her cheeks, he lifted his arm and hugged her against his shoulder. “Don’t cry, Mom. We have to be strong now. For Maggie.”

      “You’ve always been a pillar of strength to me, son. I thank God for you every day.” Before Nick could say anything further, she’d launched into a prayer that included him, Maggie, Shay and half the town of Hope. That was Mom, always talking to God about every detail in her world.

      Nick only half listened. Lately his communication with heaven seemed distinctly one-sided. Probably had something to do with what he felt was the unfairness of his world. First his career, then his sister. Now it seemed God wanted his job, too.

      When his mom finished praying, she lifted her head to smile at him.

      “I’m going to bed. You should go, too. You’ll need your rest to help Maggie.” She rose, held out a hand.

      “Don’t worry about me. I’m fine.” Nick took her hand, gently squeezed the gnarled fingers and brushed a kiss against her silvery head. “I’ll be up shortly, Mom. You go ahead.”

      “Don’t fret, Nick. God will handle everything. After all, He sent us Shay. Aren’t you glad she’s back?”

      “Yeah.” And he was, Nick realized. He didn’t know anyone else he’d rather work with on Maggie’s care.

      “You two always made such a great pair. You always seem so perfectly matched, as if you can read each other’s minds.” She smiled. “You were always inseparable.”

      “Maybe when we were kids.” But Nick heard a note in her voice that made him study her face. “There’s nothing between Shay and I now, Mom. We’re just friends.”

      “But good friends, right? And who knows when that could change.”

      Oh, yeah, she was implying something more than friendship all right.

      “It’s not going to change, Mom. It can’t. Shay knows that in six months I’m leaving town. And she’s staying here, at the clinic. But in the meantime we’re both going to do the best we can for Mags.”

      “I know you will,” his mom said soberly. “You’ll be perfect together.”

      “I don’t know about that.” He grimaced. “We’ll probably argue. As Shay reminded me, therapy isn’t fun. I don’t mind for myself, but I wish I could make things easier for Maggie.”

      “You and Shay will find a way to help her,” his mother assured him. “Put you two together and the world of possibilities is huge. I just need to have faith that God is going to use both of you to do wonderful things for my granddaughter.” She kissed him on his forehead the same way she did with Maggie, took his empty mug and walked inside.

      Nick waited until the light in her room blinked out, doubting she’d heard his warning that nothing more than friendship was going to happen between him and Shay. Knowing there was no way he could sleep with everything whirling around in his head, Nick walked over to the old shed he’d taken refuge in when he was eleven, the day his dad had left them. It wasn’t much back then, but it was where he’d first begun tinkering with his mom’s vacuum and later found out he had a knack for adapting machines. The old shed had been revamped and modified as his inventing took over. When he’d had his mom’s house renovated, Nick had more electrical outlets added and installed more tools and a better workbench to the shed.

      Christmas, holidays, celebrations—he came out here every time he came home, relishing the fact that no matter how long he was away or how far removed Hope seemed from the rest of his world, the peaceful ambience in the shed never changed. Coming in here gave him the same satisfaction it had as a kid—here, he could let his imagination take flight. He flicked on the light and studied the assortment of his inventions that he’d unearthed the past few days.

      His mom had said God sent them Shay. He had to agree. The fact that Shay was going to help Maggie walk again filled him with a feeling he couldn’t quite describe. It was deep gratitude, of course, but it was also something else, something that made him a little uneasy. All he knew was that he had to bring his A game to this whole process—he didn’t want to let anybody down. Least of all Shay.

      Nick reached down and picked up a gizmo he’d invented years ago. It gave him an idea. If he could come up with something fun, something that kept his niece’s attention off her pain and encouraged her to take another step, that would push her to work harder and help both Shay and him be more effective. And it would also help him keep his mind off whatever it was he was feeling about Shay Parker.

      * * *

      “Uncle Nick? Where are you, Uncle Nick?”

      Nick jerked awake, suddenly aware that the desert sun shone through the small shed windows with a strength that said he was very late.

      “Uncle Nick!”

      “I’m coming.” Nick shut off the lights and laid a tarp over his work. Fiddling with it felt good but it was probably a waste of time because, despite the hours he’d spent scouring the internet for information on Maggie’s injury, he still wasn’t sure of exactly what he was trying to accomplish. He turned his back on the mess he’d created and walked into the yard.

      “Hey, pumpkin.”

      “Did you go to bed last night?” Maggie’s brown eyes stretched wide.

      “Nope. Working.” He let one of her ringlets twine itself around his finger.

      “Can I see?” Maggie asked eagerly. She was sitting on the porch swing he’d had installed last Mother’s Day. From the corner of his eye, Nick saw Maggie move. With the tiniest movement of her body Maggie had managed to put the swing into motion. It was the first time he’d seen her extend such an effort. Excitement filled him, but he kept his cool.

      “Uncle

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