LITMIR.BIZ

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“My name’s Melissa. You look fine, but I want to hear what happened to your horse. Did it live?”

      The question was so unexpected, Casey laughed. “Yes.”

      “What’s his name?”

      “Sugar.”

      “Isn’t that kind of a wuss name?”

      “Yes.”

      “Who’s this with you?” Her dancing eyes lifted to Travis. For some reason the mix of blue and gray was disturbing to him, but he couldn’t figure out why.

      “My dad.”

      “How do you do, Dad,” she teased. “Come with me, Casey, and let’s talk about how boring it’s been for you this past month.”

      A bemused Travis followed them and received another surprise when instead of into her office, she took them to the next door down the hall. The room turned out to be a sunny space containing physical therapy equipment. What? No discussion first?

      While Travis looked on, the therapist said to Casey, “I’ll take your crutches.”

      “What if I fall down?”

      “I’ll catch you.”

      Travis watched as his son thought about it, then gave them up. The therapist promptly put them on the floor. “Okay. Let’s see you walk.”

      “I—I can’t. My leg hurts.”

      “Don’t you know that’s a good thing?”

      He blinked. “It is?”

      “Absolutely. The muscles want to move and it means you’re getting well. But if you’ll walk without the crutches, it will help you get better even faster. Don’t worry if it hurts. A little pain doesn’t matter. My first dog lost his hind leg when a car hit him. He had to learn to walk on three legs, without any crutches.”

      “He did?”

      “Yes, and it hurt to have to do that. But he was a trooper, and pretty soon all the pain went away. Have you ever had a dog?”

      “Yes. We’ve got one now. He’s a Scottish terrier.”

      “What’s his name?”

      “Dexter.”

      “Well, then … you need to take Dexter on lots of walks, but you can’t do that with those crutches. Let’s walk around the room together. If you think you’re going to fall, put out your hand.”

      “Okay.”

      Travis was astonished that his son would actually do as she asked. When he began taking one tentative step, then another, Travis was elated, but also experienced a feeling of resentment that this Melissa could get his son to perform so easily. The feeling grew when Casey reached for her only once in the journey around the big room. Casey was still favoring his left leg, but this was the most he’d walked without help since the operation!

      Melissa picked up the crutches and fitted them back under his arms. “You walked perfectly. And even though it hurt, you’re still alive, right?”

      Casey nodded with a smile, a reaction that shocked Travis.

      “Come to my office and I’ll give you a prize for doing a brilliant job this morning.”

      “What kind of prize?”

      The way Casey was chatting with the woman, you’d have thought they were old friends. The change in Casey’s behavior was nothing short of amazing. Too amazing, Travis thought, before realizing he was being uncharitable. She’d been working wonders with his boy.

      When they walked through the door, he thought they’d entered a children’s art museum. On one of the walls a large corkboard was covered in childlike drawings pinned up with colored tacks. Two other walls contained framed, stylized superheroes and animals painted in bright colors. He didn’t recognize any of them, which meant they were original—and totally riveting. Casey looked around in delight.

      Along the wall by the door sat a big pirate treasure chest. When the therapist opened the lid, Travis saw it was chock-full of store-bought toys in their packaging. This was much better than getting a look inside Santa’s pack. Despite his conflicted feelings about Melissa, Travis couldn’t seem to take his eyes off her sensational figure as she started rummaging through the toys.

      “Hmm, let me see …” Travis could tell Casey’s interest was piqued. In fact, he was getting impatient waiting for her to decide. “Ah. Here’s the one I was looking for.” She pulled out a package. “Hand me your crutches and I’ll let you open it.”

      This time Casey hardly hesitated before he did her bidding. Travis could see that his son stood just fine without any support. She exchanged the crutches for the package. It took a minute for him to get it unwrapped.

      “Look, Dad—a new leash for Dexter!” That was the biggest burst of happiness he’d heard from his son since before his fall. For the moment Casey had forgotten the pain in his leg.

      “How about that, bud.” Travis had tried bribery on him, but without the same result. Those were some pricey items he could see in that pirate chest. The therapist seemed to be doing everything right. His perturbance made no sense at all.

      “When you get home, you’ll have to take Dexter for a walk with it.” She picked up the empty carton and tossed it in the wastebasket. “Want to give it to your dad to hold?”

      Travis took it from him. The retractable leash would handle their twenty-two-pound Scottie without a problem.

      After she’d helped him with his crutches, she said, “You can go home now.”

      Casey’s eyes rounded. “You mean I don’t have to get up on a table or anything?”

      Her mouth curved into a big smile. “Nope. That’s because you’re all better. When you come back tomorrow morning, I’ll let you look through the chest and pick out your own prize—if you walk all the way in from the car without your crutches. I’ll be watching from the front door.”

      “I … think I’ll be able to do it.” His son was pretty transparent.

      “Great! In that case I can’t wait until tomorrow.”

      Casey grinned. “Thanks for the leash. Blue’s my favorite color.”

      “Mine, too.” She flicked her floppy bow to show him. Travis noted her bracelets, and saw she wore no rings on either hand. “I like blueberry popsicles, as well.”

      “So do I!” Casey actually laughed. “Are you really a doctor?”

      “No, but don’t I look like one?”

      “No,” Casey said. “You’re too pretty.”

      Travis eyed his son in surprise.

      “Well, thank you. I used to be a nurse. Then I trained to become an orthopedic therapist. That means I work with patients after their doctor has seen them.”

      She finally glanced at Travis, just as he thought she’d forgotten him altogether. “We’ll see you and your son in the morning. I’ll put you down on my calendar for the same time, unless that’s a problem.”

      “No. We’ll be here at eight-thirty. Thank you.”

      “You’re welcome. Bye, Casey.”

      “See ya,” he called back.

      Travis followed him out the door. Maybe it was his imagination, but he thought Casey walked most of the way, and used his crutches only for show. When they reached the car, Travis helped him in the back and fastened the seat belt.

      In another minute they were on their way home. Instead of complaining, Casey played with the leash. “That was fun! I can’t wait to get my prize tomorrow.”

      “Remember what

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