By the time he returned to his bed, he was covered in sweat. He managed to sit down again, and he lowered his pants, wishing the door was closed, but it wasn’t, and he didn’t care enough to make that trip. With a great big sigh, he removed his prosthetic. Seeing the raw angry stump, he whistled. “That was a stupid decision,” he murmured.

  “A decision,” a woman noted, studying the stump in front of him.

  He flushed and pulled his pants up again. “Sorry. I just couldn’t stand to have it on any longer.”

  “You probably shouldn’t have had it on this long,” she murmured, looking at him. She stepped forward and held out a hand. “I’m Dani.”

  He stared at her in surprise. She was way younger, way prettier, and looked more like a model than somebody who ran a rehab center. He shook her hand. “Thank you for letting me in.”

  She grinned. “You are most welcome, but we’ll have to take care of that.” She pointed at his leg.

  “I know. I’m just not sure what the answer is.”

  “That’s not my department either,” she replied, “but I can guarantee you that you’ll do an awful lot better here in a few weeks, once that’s calmed down.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know whether it’s just the inevitability of an amputation or my prosthetic doesn’t fit correctly or what,” he shared. “Yet, every time I use it, I get into trouble.”

  “So it could be a number of things,” she agreed, with a smile. “We will address it later. However, it’s not an issue right now because your team will probably prefer to have you in a wheelchair first, then graduate to crutches, letting that stump heal properly.”

  She handed him an iPad. “This is your scheduler. It’s how you keep track of what’s going on in your world here. Plus you can open up your emails, check what’s on the menu, et cetera, all on that.”

  He looked at it in surprise. “Seriously?”

  She nodded and clicked a few buttons. “Here’s your schedule. This is your team.”

  After that, he almost drowned in data, so much information flew at him.

  Finally she stopped. “And I know that was a ton of stuff to hit you with all at once. So just peck away at it, figure it out, and, if you have any questions, get back to me.” She pointed out her phone number already keyed in for him, under his team. “Your remote also has my contact number displayed.”

  She took a couple steps closer. “We do have release forms and all that good stuff here.” She handed him a clipboard and went over them. By the time he’d signed away his life, he was a bit dazed.

  She smiled. “Now you’ll get a couple days to just rest and recuperate from the trip, and then we’ll start the testing stage. Some of the tests we’ll start with tomorrow or the next day,” she noted, “depending on how bad things are, and then we’ll get you into your rehab program and see about getting you back on track immediately.”

  “That sounds good,” Spencer noted.

  And, with that, she disappeared.

  Not very long afterward, Joseph returned, carrying a large cup of water and a coffee for Spencer. “Here you go.” He rolled the small table nearer to his hospital bed. “I don’t know whether Dani’s been here or not, but dinner’s at five. If you can’t make it, you let one of us know.” Joseph said, pointing at the buttons and alarms on the remote. “Somebody will come grab dinner for you.”

  “Thanks.” Spencer nodded. “Right now I’m a bit overwhelmed and just need to close my eyes.”

  “Makes sense to me. Don’t you worry about it. You rest, and, when you feel better, we’ll all be around, waiting to help you out.” With that, Joseph was gone too.

  Bella Camden lifted her shovel, wiped the sweat off her face, and surveyed the garden bed that she had just completed. It was looking good. Now if only she could keep Helga, the rambunctious Newfoundlander from rolling in the fresh dirt. Not that she’d mind if she did. The animals here added another layer to her work but also to her sense of well-being. She often had lunch on the fence, while visiting with the horses and, of course, the little llama. That Dani couldn’t keep herself from helping animals—make that people too—in need just made her an even better boss to work with. Nothing made her happier than to be outside on such a beautiful day as today. She preferred to start very early if she could and get done by noon or at least by 1:00 p.m., but today they had a lot of transplanting work, so they were running behind. Still, it was what it was, and she was good with that.

  “Hey, Bella,” Charlie called out. “I think I’m done.”

  “You and me both,” she said on a groan. “And not a moment too soon either, considering the heat rolling in.”

  “Right,” he agreed. “Back tomorrow morning at six?”

  “Yep, six a.m. every day this week.” Of course that was her team’s hours. Bella began work at 5:00 a.m.

  She ran a team of three gardeners here at the center. And then she brought in extra help as needed. Hathaway House was a busy place, and just maintaining the driveways and the flower beds was time consuming. The garden paths required a lot of attention to accommodate people who weren’t fully mobile. So Bella looked specifically for problems, where bigger rocks were showing up or some paths needed another layer of gravel or some needed packing rolled atop them. She took pride in the work she did here. She’d been here for four years and had gotten to know a ton of people, both patients and staff alike, and Bella was delighted to do her part to help anyone get outside more.

  She had her own apartment on the grounds as well because she was full-time, but she was the only one of the landscaping team who did. And still it made her smile in delight every time she got up in the morning. She usually was in the pool by 4:30 a.m. and then started her day. And, when she took her first break, she grabbed breakfast. Often she didn’t take a break; she just worked right through, until she could get through her chosen projects for the day.

  Then she would quit and go in and eat. Dennis often left her food in the fridge, knowing that she’d come and go at odd hours. She seemed to be the only one who did, although she met Chef Ilse more than a few times herself because, as the head chef here, Ilse came in early as well.

  Bella loaded up her little trailer with all the equipment and hopped on to the attached small lawn tractor that she used to drag the tools around this place and headed back to the huge shed, where she stored everything. She was always the last one to leave and always locked up. They couldn’t afford to lose any equipment, and, so far, there’d been no thefts or vandalism. Now she was hot and sweaty, and that pool was looking mighty fine.

  Helga woofed at her, startling her. She laughed and walked over to the big three-legged baby. She crouched in front of her and got headbutted for her efforts. She chuckled and scrubbed Helga’s thick neck, then up to her ears. “You’re right. I’ve been busy all day, haven’t I? Too busy to give you the attention you deserve.”

  Helga woofed in agreement and nudged her again.

  Laughing, Bella obliged before finally standing up and giving her a big hug. “That’s it for now. I need a shower. Then to eat.” With one last pat on Helga’s head, Bella headed home.

  Back at her place, she had a quick shower. Her stomach grumbled. She’d started early, as usual, and once again she hadn’t eaten. So right now she needed food more than she needed a swim. She threw on a simple sundress and headed up to the dining room. She was a little bit late for lunch but hoped she had enough time left to see a selection of fresh food.

  Chapter 2

  As Bella walked up to the buffet line in the dining room, Dennis came around the counter. “Hey, I didn’t see you earlier.”

  “No,” she replied, “we worked late today and still didn’t quite get it all done either.”

  “Ah, let’s not focus on that. Instead let’s get you some grub, and then you can relax.”

  “Thanks, I missed the designated lunch hours again.”

  He shook his head. “You know how I feel about that.”

  She smiled. “I do know how you feel about that. You’re one of the few people who are adamant about everybody getting fed on time.”

  “It’s not about on time,” he corrected her. “It’s making sure that you feed your body, while you demand it to do all this other work.”

  She winced. “I stand corrected.”

  “What would you like?” Dennis asked. “We still have some leftovers here.”

  When she saw the fish sautéed in butter, she immediately pointed it out. “You do fish so well here, and I never even used to eat it.”

  “Tsk, tsk,” he muttered, with a smile. “Come on. Let’s get you a plateful.”

  By the time she had that and a huge salad and some steamed veggies, she was good. She took it all outside, where she sat down on the deck. As she watched somebody she hadn’t seen before, a man in a wheelchair at the entrance to the deck, she smiled at him. “Hey. Are you eating out here?”

  He winced. “Honestly I have no idea. I think I’m lost.”

  “Did you eat?”

  He shook his head. “No, I didn’t, and that’s probably part of the reason. I followed the scent of food, but I might have missed the lunch hour. I just arrived today.”

  At that, Dennis walked over. “I heard you are a new arrival. You must be Spencer. And I’m Dennis.” He reached over and shook Spencer’s hand. “What can I get you?”

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” he replied hurriedly. “I didn’t realize that I had slept so long.”

  “You’ll find, in the first couple days, that you’ll do a lot of napping.” Dennis smiled. “Most patients expect to be in better shape when they arrive, but, the fact of the matter is, it takes time to adjust.”

  “If you say so.” Spencer looked over at her plate. “Her selection looks great,” he noted, “but maybe a bit of carbs to go with it.”

  “Absolutely on the carbs,” Dennis agreed. “Just sit here with her, and I’ll see what I can do.” And, with that, Dennis disappeared.

  Spencer looked at her and hesitated.

  She smiled. “Please join me.” She motioned at her table. “I work here. I’m one of the people who keep the grounds out there beautiful,” she added. “And I was late myself, so I missed lunch too.”

  He smiled. “Probably not a good thing to do around this place,” he stated, looking at her plate. “That’s quite a nice selection of food.”

  “And one thing you’ll learn very quickly here,” she shared. “Not only is the selection nice but it’s good fresh food, and the cooking comes from heart, which always seems to make a difference.”

  He looked at her in surprise and then nodded. “You’re right. A lot of food that my grandmother made I never particularly liked, but, because she made it, it always tasted so much better than the same stuff that my buddies’ mothers would make,” he said. “I never told them that of course.”

  “Sometimes that happens.” She chuckled. “Dennis and the kitchen staff are wonderful. You’ll have to meet Ilse. She’s the chef in the back. I see her more often than anybody just because I’m up and in here early in the morning. They run a wonderful place here,” she added. “You’ll do just fine.”

  “Thank you.” Spencer nodded. “I came because of the recommendation of several friends, so I’m hoping that you’re correct. I’m hoping everybody’s correct. It’s hard to know what to do sometimes. You give up on having any options, and then suddenly there’s one, and it makes you nervous to even follow through because you don’t know if you can believe what people say.”

  “I get that,” she agreed, with a smile. “I think that’s life. We hear so much stuff, and you never know how to filter out the good from the bad and what’s even realistic versus somebody’s overenthusiastic pipe dream.”

  He chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing.” He pulled his wheelchair closer to the table. “Do you mind?” he asked hesitantly. “I don’t want to disturb your meal.”

  “Absolutely. I don’t mind. This space is for everybody here. I’m Bella Camden, by the way.”

  “Spencer Newcomb.” He smiled. “I could take another table, if you wanted to be alone.”

  “I’m good,” she said. “As soon as I’m done eating, I’ll go for a swim.”

  He stared at her. “A swim?”

  She chuckled. “If you look over the railing, there is a pool and a hot tub.”

  At the sound of that, his face lit up. “Now that would get me going a lot faster than a lot of things. I saw the horses”—he pointed to the fenced-in area in the distance and the beautiful black horse that was the closest—“and I haven’t been on a horse in a very long time. I never thought I might get back to riding again,” he shared, “so I was surprised to see them here.” He stared, a look of rapture on his face, before his shoulders slumped, and a heavy sigh slipped out.

  “That’s one of Dani’s projects,” Bella stated immediately wondering at the thoughts running through his mind. “Those are her babies, and I think some of them are used for riding sessions with some of the patients. So, if it interests you, let them know. I think they’re open to doing whatever works for you.”

  “And that … would be amazing in itself.”

  Such hope filled his gaze that she couldn’t help but add, “I get it. My brother was here years ago, and I came to visit him one day, and I never left. See the little llama out there with the horses? She’s a sweetheart too.” She laughed and gave him a one-arm shrug. “At the time they needed somebody to do the gardens, and I’m an arborist, so this was right up my alley. Trying to keep this place as lush and as happy as possible for a lot of people appealed to me. So I just moved on in. Now that my brother’s doing well on his own, it’s all good.”

  “Wow, I heard something similar from Joseph.”

  “Joseph’s a crackerjack.” She grinned and gave him a knowing look. “He’s got a heart of gold too. Almost everybody here does. You can’t do this job without that.”

  He nodded. “It certainly helps to have that personality. Sometimes when we’re at the VA centers, it seems to be just a job to people, and even the staff don’t appear to want to be there either. That makes it so that none of us want to be there, especially those of us who have no choice.”

  “Yep, I heard the same thing from my brother. But you’re here now”—she nodded, with another big grin—“and you have no idea how your life is about to change.”

  At that, Dennis walked back out on the deck with a huge platter.

  “Wow. I am hungry, but I’m not sure I can eat all this.”

  “One thing around here is, we won’t starve you, but we don’t like to waste food either,” Dennis shared. “So, at each meal, assess your appetite, so you’ll know more for next time. Plus I’ll see how you do, so I can assess your appetite for next time too,” he explained, with that contagious big Hathaway House smile. “Other than that, you eat up and enjoy.”

  Spencer tucked into the food. Hot. Fresh. Tasty. He stopped several times to assess the amount of food on his plate, shook his head, and dug in some more. Good food, great company, and unbelievable surroundings. So far, it had been a strange but amazing arrival.

  “Not sure what the reassessment is every time,” Bella admitted, “but just watching you eat is fun.”

  He looked at her in surprise. “Honestly I’m startled because it’s full of flavors. You get used to a place always pushing through a lot of people, and the food tastes as if it were pushed through too. It’s usually bland because they’re going for the lowest denominator in the taste of the food,” he stated. “And it ends up having zero flavor. But this stuff? Wow, this is good.”

  “I’m sure you’ll break some hearts here telling them that. Everybody at Hathaway House works hard to keep the patients happy,” she declared. “So you’ll be easy to please.”

  “I’ll be easy to please as long as I see some progress,” he replied, with an unhappy sigh. “I want other people’s stories to be true, but I’m worried that their recommendations are not even close to being possible for me, and that I give up on it.”

  “In that case,” she suggested, “reserve the judgment and do the best you can to just see how it goes initially. … Absolutely nothing here says that this has to be an all-or-nothing proposition. The Hathaway process is very much about finding what works for you. And then, if you ever want to get out and to get away for a bit, just let me know.” She pointed to the grounds. “I can wheel you to the gardens, where you can sit and commune with Mother Nature for a while, just to get away from everything inside.”

  She continued. “The rehab program demands everything from you—hard work that leads to success. Yet it’s not always easy being surrounded by all these people here because a lot of patients will have progress that you might think you should have. However, you can’t compare yourself to everyone else. First off, they’ve been here longer than you have. And second? They aren’t you. Your body isn’t theirs,” she stated quietly.

  “And, on the flip side, everybody needs a timeout at some point. You can’t always push yourself without your body paying the price.” And, with that, she stood. “I’m heading home for a bit.” She waved at him and added, “Take it easy and adjust. It’ll all be good.” And, with that, she was gone.

  He finished off his plate, just as she was leaving, wondering what he should do with his empty dish. By then Dennis was already there.

  He asked, “How was that for your tastes?”

  “Excellent,” he declared. “Much more flavorful than I expected.”

  “I know. If you came from a government facility,” Dennis replied, “they tend to do everything without spices because you can’t cater to everyone’s special diets all at the same time.” Dennis nodded. “Sometimes we do have people on special diets here, but instead we choose to give them the special diet and not make everybody pay.”