LITMIR.BIZ

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in one year. Maybe less.”

      Nick fell back into his chair as if he’d been slapped. “Are you serious?”

      “Very.” Shay nodded. The bald truth. He deserved it. So did Maggie. “Left unused, within the year the ligaments will lose their pliability, her leg muscles will degenerate, and then there will no longer be an opportunity for Maggie to regain her mobility.”

      Nick spent several long moments in silent contemplation. When he finally lifted his head, Shay’s heart ached for the sadness clouding his beautiful eyes. He cleared his throat, then spoke, his voice ragged.

      “How long will it take?”

      “I don’t know. Four months, maybe six. Maybe longer.” She shrugged. “After I do more tests, I’ll have a better idea, but the end result is going to depend on whether or not we can get Maggie motivated.”

      “I see.” He nodded, his head drooped low.

      “Think long and hard before you commit to this, Nick,” Shay told him. “Maggie needs someone who will be there day after day, holding her accountable. She must have a coach who won’t give up, no matter what, and is committed for as long as it takes.”

      He lifted his head. His eyes, deep-set beneath his broad, tanned forehead, silently begged her to understand his quandary.

      “I only have six months here in Hope. Then I start my new job in Seattle. I can’t stay longer than that, Shay. I mean, I want to but—” He clamped his lips together.

      Shay said nothing, allowing him the space to deal with all he’d just learned.

      “I can’t just leave Maggie the way she is, knowing she’ll never walk again.” Nick’s tortured tone stabbed her aching heart. “Her mom would hate that. You know how active Georgia was.”

      Shay did know. Nick’s sister Georgia had been her coach when she’d decided to run a marathon in her senior year. No one could have pushed her harder than Georgia.

      “But Georgia isn’t here anymore, Nick,” she said quietly. “You are. You and I.”

      She hated that she’d added more to his already topsy-turvy world. It had only been a short time ago that Nick had found out his career was over. Then he’d lost his sister and his niece had been orphaned. His whole world was in flux.

      “If it’s impossible for you, you might be able to hire a personal trainer or someone else to be Maggie’s helper,” she added, offering him a way out.

      “Nobody with those qualifications stays in a little place like Hope,” he said, his voice edged with frustration. “So they’d leave and we’d be back in the same situation. Maggie would suffer.” He shook his head. “Any other ideas?”

      “No. I’m sorry. All I can tell you is that I don’t want to wait on this. I want to get Maggie started on a strengthening routine as soon as possible. Tomorrow would be good.” Shay held her breath, waiting for his response.

      After a long pause he asked, “What time tomorrow?”

      “Eight in the morning. Till noon.”

      “I see.” He rose wearily. “I’ve got to think about this. About what it will mean,” he added. “And I have to discuss it with Mom. She’ll make the final decision.”

      “Of course.” Shay stood, too. As she looked up at Nick, she realized that she’d always liked that he stood six feet two inches, just three inches taller than her, tall enough that at the prom she’d been able to lay her head on his shoulder. She wished she could do that now.

      “I never finished my college degree, you know. I don’t have anything else to fall back on but this job the team offered.” Nick’s eyes grew muddy with confusion. “Even so, my first priority is always to my family.”

      “Of course.” Anyone who knew Nick knew that about him. “Maybe the team would grant you an extension?”

      “They already have—that’s why I’m here. But if I’m not back on the appointed day, I have no job.” He shook his head. “It probably sounds pretentious, but I have to capitalize on my fame as the winningest quarterback in history while it’s still fresh in everyone’s mind. I’m only good for endorsements till the next star comes along. If I let this job go—” He left it hanging. After a moment Nick regrouped and straightened his shoulders. “I’ll have Maggie at the clinic tomorrow morning at eight. And I’ll have a decision for you then, too.”

      “Great.” Shay stood on her porch, watching as Nick walked slowly to his truck. He opened the door then stopped.

      “Shay?”

      “Yes?” Her heart ached for the once-fun-loving guy who’d been her white knight. She wanted to tell him it didn’t matter, but it did.

      “Thank you.” His dark eyes met hers. “Telling me all this can’t have been easy for you.”

      “No,” she said quietly. “The truth is often very painful. But don’t worry, Nick—I make sure my kids get the very best.”

      “Your kids.” A smile drifted across his face then flickered away as he stared directly into her eyes. “And you think I’m ‘the best’ for Maggie?”

      “Yes.” she nodded. “I do. You and your mom care about her more than any hired person ever could.”

      “Yeah, we do. Okay, then. Good night.”

      “Good night, Nick.”

      Shay remained standing on her porch until Nick and his truck disappeared from sight. Then she holed up in her study and worked most of the night refining her rehabilitation plan for Maggie. Nick would do it, she was almost positive of that. He was that kind of man. Family mattered to him more than anything else in the world. But what she wasn’t so sure of was if he would leave when his six months were up or if he’d continue for as long as Maggie needed him.

      A yearning for a family like his—for the knowledge that someone would be there for you, to share the good times and bad—ached inside Shay and would not be soothed no matter how many of her blessings she recounted.

      Her parents were gone. Brianna and Jaclyn had their own lives. Of course Shay was delighted that both of them had found love, but it meant that the tight bond between the three of them had changed. It also meant she was the only one with no one of her own.

      Shay had tried so hard to trust Eric when he said he would wait for her to get over her panic attacks. But she’d jerked away one too many times and he had eventually given up on her. He’d left her.

      Everyone left.

      That’s why she had to get these anxiety issues under control.

      Because though Shay intended to spend the rest of her life alone, she was not going to spend it mourning the past. She was going to help kids. Especially Maggie.

      Nick would help Maggie as much as he could, too, but after six months, she was fairly certain, he would leave Hope and resume his football career. It was up to Shay to get Maggie as mobile as possible before he went. She’d deal with her problems privately, with God’s help.

      “Thank You for this new home and this new life, Lord,” she whispered as the first peach fingers of dawn crept over the jagged tips of the Organ Mountains.

      She’d been given so much. Now it was time to give back.

      Surely, helping Maggie and the rest of Hope’s kids would satisfy the longing of her heart.

      Chapter Three

      Nick sat on his mother’s deck with Shay’s words running through his mind as warm spring rain pattered down on the awning above him.

      Staying in Hope for who knew how long—at least until Maggie was walking—would cost him his future.

      Why? he asked

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