“That’s not a bad idea,” Stan agreed, “because these problems, these injuries, can be all-consuming. So you take them to a certain point and then what?”

  Shane turned to Quinton. “Do you have any reason you need to rush home? Like pets to look after or the like?”

  She frowned at him. “I wasn’t planning on staying the night.”

  “Maybe you should,” Shane stated. “Do you have a reason to rush home?”

  She sighed and then shook her head. “Tonight, no, not really. But booking myself back in here wasn’t exactly something I was planning on. Nor do I have the time for it.”

  “No, I can see how a surprise hospital stay can interrupt your life and your work,” Shane said. “And maybe you wouldn’t need to be here for long, but I obviously need some time to figure out what’s going on.”

  “What? You can’t wave a magic wand,” she replied in a joking manner, “and just tell me exactly what ails me?”

  “I can tell you some of it, but I can’t tell you all of it. Didn’t you have some shards of shrapnel still left inside?”

  “Yes.” She winced. “The VA doctors all told me that they couldn’t remove it.”

  “And what if those have moved?”

  “Well, I did have X-rays done not too long ago,” she shared, “and there didn’t appear to be anything like that going on.”

  “Okay,” Shane replied, “but we’ll take and examine our own.” At the look on her face, he added, “I don’t know if you’re covered, if that’s a financial problem for you, “but it’s definitely something I need to see firsthand and a current view.”

  “Fine,” she murmured. “I have insurance. Besides, as Dani just reminded me, I’m a veteran with medical coverage.”

  “Good enough,” Shane replied. “I’ll order these now for first thing in the morning.”

  “Can we do them tonight?” she asked.

  “No, sure can’t,” Shane countered. “The earliest I can get them done is tomorrow morning.”

  She stared at him and asked, “Can I go home and come back?”

  “I don’t know,” he replied, with a knowing smirk, stepping back and looking at her. “Can you?” And that’s where it hung in the air.

  Stan looked at her and added, “I know you don’t want to stay, but seriously is that what you want to do, to go home only to come back here within hours? Can you drive? I mean, safely?” Stan stared at her but got no response, then turned to Shane.

  “I think she can best answer that question.”

  “Probably not a good idea,” she replied. “Yet …”

  “This way you can visit with your brother overnight,” Stan suggested.

  “That’ll make him happy,” she murmured in a snide tone.

  “You two can have dinner together and get caught up,” Stan added.

  “I don’t know that I can move at all,” she finally admitted.

  “Well then, guess what?” Stan told her. “I’m bringing dinner here to you tonight.”

  “Wow. I mean, not to sound ungrateful or anything”—she looked from Stan to Shane and back—“and I really do need the help but …” Then she stopped because it wasn’t in her to not show appreciation when they’d gone over and above.

  Shane smiled at her. “I get it. You thought you would go home, have a glass of merlot, sit out on the deck, watch the sun come down, maybe have some friends over, do something nice for yourself, have a bath, go to bed, get up, and the grind continues.”

  “Yeah, something like that.” She nodded.

  “Well, unfortunately at this point in time,” he stated, “you’re here right now. And I suggest it’ll be … Let’s see? Today’s Wednesday? So we’ll talk about you leaving in time for Monday. That’s the earliest I see you leaving Hathaway House, and that’s only after I’ve seen the X-rays and find that we can get whatever is going on in there straightened out.”

  She hated to give in, but physically she knew she wouldn’t move from this bed tonight—or even beyond. She closed her eyes, whispering, “Could I ask somebody to go to my vehicle and get my purse, my cell phone, and my laptop?”

  “I’ll go,” Stan offered. She gave him her keys, and he disappeared.

  Shane looked at her, smiled, and asked, “You and Stan still … friends, huh?”

  “He’s a good man,” she replied, feeling heat wash over her face.

  “He absolutely is,” Shane agreed. “I think he’s been carrying a torch for you all this time.”

  “I don’t think so,” she retorted, with a laugh. “When I was a patient here, he was busy trying to build up his business downstairs, and I know he was busy, back then and now. It just seemed like we hit it off, and we’ve been friends ever since. So I try to see him, at least for a moment, every time I come by.”

  “Yep,” Shane agreed. “I have noticed. I’ve also noticed that he’s always happy to see you when you do come by,” he added, “and you might want to consider that too.” And, with that, he took off.

  Quinton was surprised to hear what Shane was implying. It wasn’t a bad thing; she always did like Stan. He was a little older than she was, but then she wasn’t what she would consider a spring chicken. Her injuries had seriously impeded her progress to move forward in her personal life for a very long time, and, even when she had gotten back on her feet, it’s not as if she was immediately young and spry again. It had taken a long time for her to get fully functioning again.

  So, with her corporate attorney work, she had seen Stan and Dani over the years. Just not as often. Then Quinton had helped get her brother in here, and that threw her and Stan together again. But maybe it really hadn’t. Maybe it was more about coming to see Stan. No, she realized that wasn’t true either. But seeing Stan had been a nice side benefit.

  When he returned a few minutes later, his arms laden with her stuff, she grinned. “Thank you so much. I hated to send you out there to run my errands.”

  He shook his head. “The clinic is closed up,” he shared. “We’re done for the day anyway. Besides, I would do it for any friend.”

  At that, her smile dimmed slightly because, of course, he would. He was just that kind of a person, one of those nice people who never seemed to get the appreciation or the understanding that they should. “Well, I do appreciate it. Thanks.”

  Stan remained in her room, silently considering something. She wondered what.

  Stan believed in love at first sight. It had happened to him once, long ago. With Quinton. Unfortunately he had never asked her out. He had used one excuse after the other to put it off—because of fear? He sure hoped not. Regardless he had used lame excuses, as he looked back now. He opened his mouth and then closed it quietly, only to begin again. “How about a cup of coffee or something?” he asked gently. “Before the dinner rush starts.”

  “I won’t be going down there,” she murmured.

  “No, but I’m serious,” he stated. “I’m quite happy to bring something back and have dinner with you. I know you’ll feel like a fish out of water here at first.”

  “You’re not kidding,” she agreed. “I’m still not sure how I managed to be persuaded to stay.”

  “I think the answer to that’s pretty easy,” he noted. “Your body betrayed you and was calling out for help.”

  “Yeah, this broken-down body has suffered more than it feels like it should.”

  “You know what? I think bodies are like that. We take care of them to the best of our ability, and, if we do a good job, they can last a long time. However, then life can happen, and sometimes we can’t take care of them quite as well as we should.”

  “I wonder if I did something to bring this on,” she murmured.

  “Don’t even go there,” he told her, with a smile. “You’ve done the best that you can. Now just relax and let Shane and the rest of them figure it out.”

  She rolled her head to the side.

  He’d always admired that classic profile and the silky auburn hair that she kept in a stately bun at the back of her neck. She was the epitome of a lawyer from a distance; he just didn’t see how she could do that kind of work. “Honestly,” he added. “I mean it. Stop stressing over work. Stop clenching your jaw. Stop feeling guilty. You are in good hands here. Let us help. Including me, just by bringing you dinner to your room for your first night.”

  “I know that everything you just said is right, and I appreciate all the good thoughts. And I’ll take you up on your offer to have dinner with me.”

  “Good. It’s too early yet for the buffet, so, if you need anything now, tell me.”

  “I wonder if my brother is mobile enough to come down here and visit me instead tonight.”

  “I don’t know,” he said. “Shall I go find out?”

  She studied him for just a second. “You really don’t mind?”

  “For you, never,” he replied gently. And, with that, he was gone.

  She also didn’t know for sure if her brother would care enough to see her; he was pissed at her right now, which didn’t help. He was a good man but acting out—instead of the responsible young man she knew he could be. When Stan returned a little bit later, she was drowsy, her eyelids already starting to fall shut.

  “Are you tired?” he asked. “You want to eat something now instead of later?”

  She looked at him. “How late is it?”

  “It’s just going on five-fifteen now. Dinner buffet will start at seven.”

  She thought about it and mentioned, “You know what? I don’t even think I got lunch.” He stopped and looked at her. She shrugged. “It was busy today.”

  “And you were probably worrying about your brother, weren’t you?”

  “Well, yes, I was, as soon as I realized he wasn’t being a very good patient,” she murmured. “I don’t know how he gets away with that.”

  “He does it by not caring about the people around him,” Stan stated immediately. “And it’s not all that unusual in the initial adjustment period.”

  “No, but it saddens me. It’s a huge opportunity to be here,” she murmured. “Did you find him?”

  “He was just coming back from a session, and he didn’t look all that great,” he shared.

  “Did you tell him that I’m here?”

  “I did. He was stunned for a moment and then said that he’d be down later.”

  She nodded. “That’s good. I would like to see him.”

  “Is there just the two of you?”

  “Yes, now there is, plus an uncle who lives far away. But, in our immediate family, my parents divorced. My mother took my brother as part of the deal. My father couldn’t cope and started drinking heavily, which is one of the reasons that I ended up in the military when I did,” she explained. “I was looking for a direction. I was looking for a family.”

  “And you found it,” he reminded her gently. “Don’t ever regret what you did.”

  “No, until I look at my busted-up body and the abuse it took,” she noted, with a lopsided smile.

  “And sometimes that can happen here anyway. You could have been hit by a car and probably wouldn’t have had such a nice spot as Hathaway House to recover in.”

  “That’s true enough,” she agreed. Just then they heard a wheelchair.

  He looked at her and smiled. “I think that’s your brother. Maybe I’ll go see how Dennis is doing.”

  “Find out what’s for dinner,” she suggested. “I haven’t forgotten how good all the meals were.”

  “When I tell Dennis that you’re back, he’ll be thrilled.” And, with that, Stan disappeared.

  Chapter 2

  The sound of the wheelchair was slow but steady. She listened to it, realizing that it would likely be her brother. When his head poked around the door, he stared at her in astonishment. He rolled closer and whispered, “You okay?”

  “I’m okay,” she said, feeling fatigue pull at her that she hadn’t experienced in a long time.

  “What happened?” he asked.

  She shrugged and then shuddered with pain, unable to speak.

  “Is it the old injuries?”

  “I don’t know,” she murmured. “They’ll take X-rays tomorrow.”

  “Can they? Can you even be here?”

  “I don’t know. Dani seems to think so. I mean, I spent a lot of time here originally, but the center was nowhere near as big as it is now,” she added.

  “Is there anything you need?” he asked.

  She looked over at him. “Well, it’d be nice if I didn’t hear what a mess you were every time I come here, being difficult and all the rest,” she murmured. “But, other than that, no. I’ll just spend the night, hopefully without a whole lot of pain—although I’m not sure how to make that happen. Then, if I’m lucky, I’ll wake up, and everything will be just fine.”

  “I forget that you spent time here. Like, I know you did, but I wasn’t in town at the time, and it just seems odd to see you in a bed as a patient.”

  “Right? Don’t worry. It feels odd for me too.”

  He frowned again.

  “How are you handling life here?” she asked.

  “It sucks,” he replied bluntly.

  “Yes, it does,” she murmured, “but you know that you have other alternatives, if you don’t want to be here. You don’t have to make life miserable for everybody else.”

  He flushed at that. “I’ve been to a couple VA centers. Didn’t like them much either.”

  “Nope, nobody does. The issue is more about the fact that you don’t like the position in life you’re in,” she explained. “So nothing will be good enough.”

  “Well, look at you,” he pointed out. “How good was it to be here at Hathaway House all those years ago if you’re back here again? I mean, obviously it wasn’t enough.”

  “That was more than eight years ago,” she argued, her voice stern as she stared down at her kid brother. “My body was younger, in better shape back then. Once I got back to work, it’s been go-go-go. I haven’t had time to breathe. My body went downhill.”

  “Yeah, well, maybe it’s time you changed jobs.”

  “Maybe, and do what?” she asked. “I’ve been doing what I always do, which is the same career I started out in.”

  “Yeah, but I thought you would do something more aligned with your beliefs, like working on ADA cases or even as an attorney with the ACLU or something. You should enjoy going to work. You wanted to change the world, one downtrodden person at a time. Remember? Not just see it as some time clock and then some race to get out the work as fast and as long as you can. This corporate gig may pay the bills, but the stress is killing you,” he stated.

  “Maybe, but I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do,” she murmured. “It’s not as if there are a ton of jobs for broken-down vets.”

  “Don’t say that.” He winced. “I know because I am in the same boat, and I don’t know what I’ll do either,” he admitted. “I was thinking about an online business.”

  “And that’s possible,” she noted, loving that he was at least thinking about his future. “You’ve always been very good with technology. I don’t know if you’re still that good within such a competitive field, but I suppose you’d find out pretty fast. Plus you can get further training, using your benefits.”

  He laughed. “I forgot what a cheerleader you are.”

  “You mean, like I’m rooting for you until I’m not.” She rolled her head to the side and smiled at her brother. “I can be a cheerleader, but I’ve always been such a realist too, which tends to come through in everything I do.”

  “Well, the best thing is, if you just don’t change,” he admitted absentmindedly.

  “I need to change apparently,” she replied. “Look at me. I’m back in here.” And just enough bitterness was in her tone to make her wince too. “Sorry. It’s a reality check for me right now. My body is obviously not as strong or as healthy as I had hoped it would be.”

  “But it’s nothing like Mom, right?” he asked hesitantly.

  “Breast cancer? I don’t think any of this can be attributed to that,” she replied, with a wave of her hand. “But, gee, thanks for bringing that thought to the forefront.”

  He didn’t say anything for a long time.

  “So what are you going to do?” she asked. “Go or stay?”

  He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, like I told you, you don’t have to stay here at Hathaway House. Yet I can’t imagine where else you would go. However, if you’re going to stay, you can’t make life miserable for everybody. There’s too much stress in the world already. We don’t get to turn around and make more stress for other people just because we’re having a hard time. If you don’t want to stay, that’s easy enough to fix. Find another VA and transfer,” she stated. “Maybe I’ll take your bed here.” At that, she shifted and then cried out, as the pain washed over her again.

  He rolled his wheelchair closer.

  She had the one prosthetic still on her right leg. She’d lost it just below the knee. Ryatt had one that he’d lost just above the knee on the left side. His was still a raw stump, whereas hers had healed somewhat, but even now the prosthetic was starting to kill her. “If I could move,” she said, “I might take off this leg.”

  He frowned. “Do you want me to get Shane?”

  “No, he’s probably having dinner,” she replied on a breathy gasp, as she shifted again. She relaxed back and sighed. “Well, maybe I’m sleeping with it on.”

  “You know that’s not going to work,” he told her. “I can help get it off.”

  “No, that’s okay,” she said. “I’m going to first wait for the pain to ease. Then try.”