Perfectly Matched. Lois Richer

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ tried to make him understand. “You probably still follow a postsurgical therapy program to keep your shoulder from tightening up. Right?”

      “Yes.” He flexed his arm as if she’d reminded him.

      “It’s the same for Maggie. In the months she was in traction and healing from her internal injuries, there was little to be done except let her heal. Now she’s done that.”

      “The doctor said that today,” he admitted.

      “She should be moving by now. Yet on the swing today, you saw that she could barely point her toes. That’s not good.” Shay wasn’t finished, but Nick’s sudden shifting in his chair made her wonder if he’d hear all she had to say?

      “I don’t mean to, but I think I hurt her when I lift her,” Nick confessed, his guilt-filled stare lifting to meet her gaze.

      Shay nodded. “But that’s primarily because she has no strength to lift herself and ease the strain. She’s barely using her leg muscles at all from what I saw.” This was the hardest part, getting people to see what was only visible to the trained eye. “Maggie’s become too comfortable with being carried. She makes no demands of her body. My hunch is that no one’s challenged her to do more.”

      Nick sat still, assimilating her words. Then he looked up.

      Sun-streaked wisps of hair had drifted onto his broad forehead, and in that moment he looked very much like the determined teenage boy who’d once proclaimed he would never be anything like the father who had abandoned him.

      “I refuse to accept that my sister’s child will never walk again if it’s even remotely possible that she can,” he said, his voice tight with control. “So what do we do?”

      “We get Maggie moving, Nick,” Shay said with a grin, delighted by his response. “It won’t be easy and it won’t be fun, but it will work if we don’t give up. Are you up for it?”

      “Me?” He gaped at her, eyes wide with surprise. “But my mother—”

      “Your mother can’t do this, Nick. She’s too close to Maggie and in too much pain herself. I saw her at the grocery store. Her hands must be killing her.”

      “Uh—” Nick gulped as Shay held his gaze and laid out the blunt truth.

      “If you commit to overseeing Maggie’s treatment, this will be totally on you. Are you sure you have what it takes to get it done?”

      “Of course I do,” he growled, lips drawn tight.

      “You won’t be Maggie’s favorite uncle anymore, Nick. In fact, she might even hate you for putting her through the pain.”

      Nick’s eyes darkened to almost black. “You’re saying...?”

      “Maybe you should think about finding someone else to do this?” Shay asked, hoping that he wouldn’t.

      “Like who?” he demanded. “My sisters? Cara’s got her hands full with twins. Lara travels constantly for her job. And let’s just say Simone has enough trouble that I have no intention of adding to it. There is nobody else, Shay.” Nick studied her, old friend to old friend. “To clarify, you’re saying that if Maggie follows a regimen you cook up, she will be able to walk?”

      “I’m ninety percent sure she could regain all of her mobility.”

      “Ninety percent?” Nick frowned. “Not completely sure then?”

      “No.” Shay had to tell him the total truth. “But I am one hundred percent sure that if things continue as they have been, your niece will be confined to a wheelchair 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, СКАЧАТЬ