“No, most people don’t,” she confirmed. “It’s also why my meals get skipped, as I am out of sync half the time with the kitchen.”

  “Got it,” he murmured.

  “I haven’t had dinner, if you want to go up together.” She paused. “I think you still have one problem,” she added. “You’re soaking wet again.”

  “Right. It’s a little early, I think. I probably have time to get changed beforehand. What about you?”

  “We can do that,” she noted, “if you’re up for it. Maybe go and get changed and meet back in what? Thirty minutes or so?”

  “I’ll be done faster than that,” he replied. “So, if you were being generous for my sake on the time, don’t worry about it.”

  “I was being generous,” she admitted, with a guilty shrug, “but that’s all right. If you don’t need all that time, I can probably get done that fast.”

  He grinned. “In other words,” he murmured, “you’re the one who needs time.”

  “I’ll shower, wash my hair, probably put it in a braid, get dressed.” She thought it over and then nodded. “How about we make it twenty minutes?”

  “Good enough.” She waited until he had repositioned himself back into the wheelchair. She hesitated to ask if he needed help, but he already read the thought on her mind.

  He waved at her. “Go on. It’s all good.”

  Still hesitating, but he seemed determined, so she turned and headed to her place. The thought of even dinner with him was enough to make her pick up her footsteps. She didn’t want to be late. He’s the one who had the excuse, not her. But she did have to shampoo her hair and get changed, and, by the time she was dressed again, she was running through her twenty minutes pretty fast. It just amazed her how quickly the time went by.

  When she entered the dining room, she saw no sign of him. She looked around and waited off to the side for him to show. When another ten minutes passed, she wasn’t at all certain what to do and then decided that maybe she better go check on him.

  As she walked toward his room, she saw no sign of anyone at the room itself. She knocked on the door, and, when there was no answer, she hesitated. When Shane came up beside her, she asked him, “Have you seen Spencer recently?”

  “Last time I saw him was in the pool.”

  “Me too. We arranged to meet outside the dining room for dinner in twenty minutes, and that was twenty minutes ago.” Shane’s eyebrows shot up at that. She nodded. “I knocked on his door, but he’s not answering.”

  He immediately said, “I’ll check on him.” And he stepped inside, shutting the door on her. She heard the shout for a doctor from inside the room, and her heart slammed against her chest. She wanted to open the door and burst in, but she hadn’t exactly been allowed to.

  Then came a series of alarms, and, with her heart in her throat, she stepped out of the way, as people rushed into Spencer’s room. She couldn’t stand the thought of something going wrong or this very kind, gentle man hurting. Yet something had happened, on the other side of that door, that she didn’t know about.

  Three different people went in. When Dani entered the room and then came back out again, she walked over to Bella, her arms open to give a hug, and said, “He’s fine.”

  Bella stared at Dani, tears in the corner of her eyes. “Dear God,” Bella asked, “what happened?”

  “Seems he fell,” Dani murmured. “Unfortunately that happens a lot. He also clunked his head on the way down.”

  The tears threatened to overwhelm Bella, and she tried to wipe them back. “Good thing I came to check on him,” she whispered. “We planned to meet for dinner. When he didn’t show, I waited and waited, until I came by to see if he was okay.”

  “And it’s a good thing you did,” Dani murmured. “He is back to consciousness, but we’ll keep him under observation overnight.” She put an arm around Bella and led her toward the dining area. “You won’t see him tonight,” she noted, “so maybe go eat your dinner, and I’ll send you a text later to let you know how he’s doing.”

  At that, Bella took a deep breath. “Okay.” She twisted to look at his door, still closed. “But you’re sure he’s okay, right?”

  “We have doctors here and X-ray equipment. They’ll check him over and see if anything is seriously wrong. Not to worry,” she said. “We will look after him.”

  And, with that, Bella had to be satisfied. She stopped and gave Dani another hug. “Thank you.”

  Dani whispered, “You’re welcome. It’s a good thing you came and checked on him. It could have been a little bit longer before we found him, and, in cases of falls, it’s always best to find them as soon as possible.” And, with that, she turned and walked briskly back down the hallway, leaving Bella to head to the dining room alone.

  Spencer opened his eyelids, the room blurring in front of him. “What happened?” he whispered to Shane, standing over him, beside a doctor Spencer didn’t recognize. Such concern was on their expressions that Spencer knew something was wrong.

  “You either fell or passed out and then hit your head on the way down,” the doctor explained, while still checking Spencer’s head. “And, although you have a hard noggin, you appear to have a concussion.”

  “Is that why there are two of you?” Spencer groaned, as the doctor pushed gently on his temple.

  “Absolutely. And now you get to spend the next couple days resting. No more rehab therapy and I don’t want you trying to get anywhere for a while, not until this calms down.” He stepped back and glared at Spencer, but his voice was gentle when he added, “Do you understand me?”

  Spencer stared at him, trying to comprehend what just happened. Surely the doctor wasn’t serious, was he? “It’s just a small head wound surely?”

  “For the moment, but we don’t want that simple injury to become something much worse. So bed rest and under observation all night. No arguments.” With that, he made a few notes on his tablet, then turned and walked out.

  Spencer couldn’t believe it. With a side glance at Shane—who was also on his tablet, writing notes himself—Spencer muttered, “Seriously?”

  “Absolutely,” Shane declared quietly. “Head wounds can be serious. Do you know what happened?”

  He frowned, thinking back. “Honestly no. I think I was in a hurry to get changed and just fell.”

  “Why were you in a hurry?”

  Heat washed over his face. “To meet Bella in the dining room.”

  Shane chuckled. “In that case I understand the urgency, but next time make safety the primary concern.”

  “Yeah, I will. I missed my meet-up now I presume.”

  Shane smiled. “Absolutely you did. And you won’t be meeting her for a couple days now.”

  Spencer muttered a curse word.

  But Shane heard it, and, with a full chuckle, he added, “I wouldn’t worry. She’ll be there when you get back on your feet.” And, with that, he left Spencer to his thoughts.

  Two days in bed?

  No way.

  And not after missing an evening with Bella. He needed to get back on his feet and fast.

  Chapter 9

  Bella barely slept all night. She’d heard from Dani earlier in the evening that Spencer was awake and conscious, but the depth of her pain on hearing that he’d been hurt—and not even knowing fully what was going on or why—had sent her world in a tailspin. So unlike her. She’d certainly met a lot of people here and some who had more than a few injuries over time, but her response to finding out about Spencer had really thrown her.

  When she got up this morning, she was more than a little on the shaky side. But she went to work, determined to put in a proper day, and yet kept glancing at her watch.

  As she walked upstairs to the dining area, Dennis looked at her in surprise. “Are you working on a Saturday?”

  She shrugged sheepishly. “I forgot. I went to work on that one path that I’d left yesterday and didn’t even think about what day it was,” she admitted. “But I couldn’t leave it alone, not after hearing about Spencer getting hurt last night. So here I am. I came to get coffee and something to eat. Besides I often work Saturdays, so it’s no biggie.”

  “Good thing, considering it’s not a workday.”

  “And yet for you, you’re here,” she noted, with a smile.

  “Yep, I’m not here all the time anyway though,” he murmured. “And he’s fine, you know.”

  “Is he?” she asked hopefully.

  Dennis smiled and nodded. “Yes. He’ll be fine, put it that way. I’m not sure I have all the details, but word travels fast around here. Spencer did fall, and he did bang his head, and he’s definitely not doing anything for the next couple days, while he recuperates.”

  She nodded. “Have you seen him this morning?”

  He shook his head. “Not even sure that he’ll be coming for food,” he murmured. “You want to go check on him and see what he needs?”

  “Yeah, I was looking for an excuse to do that.” She laughed.

  “There you go,” Dennis said. “No excuse needed now.”

  She smiled, picked up two coffees—Spencer’s black and hers doctored the way she liked it. Then, walking carefully with both of them in her hands, she headed to his room. When she got there, she hesitated because carrying both coffees made it a little hard to knock.

  She called out, “Hey, you awake?” A gruff response came from inside. Balancing the cups in one hand, she opened the door and poked her head around. “I brought coffee, but I wasn’t sure if you were awake or not.”

  “I’m awake.” He then shifted in the bed, while she watched. He smiled at her. “Coffee would be lovely. You really don’t have to, you know.”

  “You keep telling me that,” she replied self-consciously. “All I can say is, when I heard you got hurt, you’ve been on my mind. So this is an excuse to make sure you were okay.”

  He looked at her in surprise, and then she watched pleasure cross his face. Such a simple thing to tell somebody that they cared and that they were loved. She stepped in and placed his cup on the little side table and then moved it over so he could reach it. “Dennis wasn’t sure if you would make it down for food either,” she added.

  “Does Dennis work weekends too? I always see him there.”

  “He’s not supposed to, but he’s a bit of a workaholic,” she murmured. “I know there’s a plot within the group to find him a partner.”

  Spencer chuckled. “A partner would probably be good for him,” he murmured.

  “I think so too,” she agreed quietly. “We all need to know that somebody out there cares. So, if you want breakfast, let me know, and I’ll tell Dennis.”

  “So now you’re the errand boy too?” he asked in a teasing voice.

  And she could appreciate the teasing, but, at the same time, she also saw the pain in his facial expression. “Any idea what happened?”

  “Yep, I got up too fast and fell and banged my head,” he shared. “I guess I was out cold for a little bit.”

  She nodded. “I’m the one who raised the alarm.”

  He winced. “Right, we were supposed to have dinner.”

  “We were,” she said. “And then I felt terrible, thinking it happened because we put a time frame on it.”

  He chuckled. “No, it was just me and my clumsy lack of coordination.”

  “Maybe.” She shook her head. “I think you’re … You’ve been doing incredibly well here. I wouldn’t want to put that added pressure on you.”

  “Not to worry. I put it on myself all the time.”

  “I think we’re our own worst enemies many times,” she said, “and, even here at Hathaway House, it can be deadly. You see so many other people doing well, progressing at a speed that you think you should progress at. So we push ourselves to do more, to do it faster, and often that doesn’t work out so well.”

  He stared at her. “That’s pretty insightful.”

  “Hey, I’m trying.” She snorted. “I’m not Dennis or Dani by any means,” she replied, with a bright smile, “but even I can see what happens at this place. And some of it’s sheer magic, and other times it’s just hard on everybody—or at least on those who don’t have the same level of progress. I imagine the comparisons are devastating for them.”

  “I would think so,” Spencer agreed. “I’m doing okay so far, and my friend’s coming next week finally, after his arrival was pushed back. So, of course, I’ve been hoping to push myself a bit more, so I can show him how far I’ve come.” Spencer laughed. “Yet that’s foolish too because I can only go so far, and, if there’s one thing that I have learned, it’s that my body will make that determination, not my mind.”

  “And yet don’t you think your mind leads the way?” she asked. “Don’t you have to mentally imagine success in order to reach it?”

  “Some say that,” he noted, looking at her thoughtfully. “Can’t say that I’ve ever had a chance to prove it.”

  “I think the theory is to visualize it in order to see the goal in order to make it happen.”

  “I’m not against that,” he replied. “I think any tools that we have are tools that we should utilize. And some tools work better for some people than for others. It’s all about trying and finding something that works. For me.”

  “Yeah, I agree with that.” She nodded. “And just because you do try doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not working.”

  He smiled. “No, that’s quite true as well. I think it’s all about doing whatever you can do and being okay with it, even if you can’t do it all.”

  She moved the table over a little bit, as a hint for him to drink the coffee. He picked it up and smiled. “I saw that little nudge.”

  “Hey, it’s hot,” she explained. “I can’t stand cold coffee.”

  He burst out laughing. “A lot of times in my life I was very grateful for cold coffee and pretty glad to have it.”

  “And this isn’t one of them,” she stated firmly. “We’re perfectly capable of drinking hot coffee and enjoying it while it is hot.”

  “And what if I like cold coffee?” he protested, but he picked up the cup, mindful of the wince on her face when he mentioned that. “How many times have you forgotten coffee and drank it anyway?” he murmured.

  “Too many times,” she admitted. “One of the reasons I try hard not to anymore.”

  He chuckled. “Not that that works for everybody.”

  “No, sure doesn’t. Chances are it works for very few, who haven’t really cared about it in a long time. Or they’re just desperate to have the caffeine hit,” she added cheerfully.

  He nodded. “And that’s possible too.”

  “So what do you want for breakfast?” she asked, as soon as her coffee was gone. “I’ll pick it up.”

  “Will you bring yours back with you?”

  She hesitated and then said, “Sure, why not? I’ll tell you what I did do this morning that was pretty foolish.” And she shared her story with him.

  He chuckled. “If you’ve already worked today, then you shouldn’t have to do errands.” He hesitated, as if not sure that he wanted to send her off after breakfast.

  “If I don’t get you breakfast, then you can bet that Dennis will be here. So which is the worst-case scenario?”

  He winced. “Fine,” he agreed grudgingly. “But I’m really okay, you know.”

  “Were you planning on getting up today?”

  He winced. “I’m not sure I’ll be given that option.”

  “Exactly, so let’s make it easy on everybody. Now, what do you want?”

  By the time she got his order and made it into the dining room, already a line was starting to form. When Dennis saw her next in line, he asked, “How is he?”

  “He’s doing pretty well. He’s awake. He’s functioning. He wanted to come himself, but I guess he’s been given a warning,” she shared, with an eye roll.

  “Of course he has.” Dennis smiled. “And so they should have.”

  “So what can we get?” By the time she had a rather laden tray full for both of them, she was staring at it, wondering if she could manage to carry it all. At that point Shane popped into the dining room and saw her heading out.

  “Ah, good. I’ll help you with that. I wanted to check on him anyway.”

  “As long as you don’t upset him. It took me a bit to get him to let me deliver his breakfast.”

  “Pride is a hard thing,” he murmured.

  “So is falling and hitting your head,” she stated equally as bluntly.

  He burst out laughing. “You’re good for him.”

  “Actually I think he’s good for me,” she corrected. “It’s kind of an odd thing.”

  “What is?”

  “Just how much I’m learning,” she admitted. “I’ve only been interacting on a superficial level with the patients—the odd person I see when I’m out working, talk to for a few minutes, that kind of a thing. I’m never involved, but I am with Spencer. Not sure it’s a good thing for him, but he’s definitely an interesting character.”

  “Good. Come on then. Let’s get down there and see what he thinks of my ruining his breakfast.”

  “He won’t think much of it at all.” She chuckled. Even with the two of them, it took a bit to maneuver the door open. She hit the button on the wall and muttered, “I should have seen this earlier.”

  Shane laughed. “I tend to forget about it too, but it’s definitely helpful.”

  As they walked in, Spencer shifted in the bed to sit up. He looked at Shane in surprise. “She’s pretty good about getting help, isn’t she?” he stated. “I’m forever telling her that it’s too much for her to carry, and, next thing I know, somebody else is there to help her.”

  “That’s us,” Shane noted cheerfully. As he set the tray on the table, Spencer took one look at the food, and his face lit up.

  “I didn’t think I was all that hungry, but now that you’re here, wow, this looks awesome.”

  “I wasn’t exactly sure what to get you,” she confessed. “Once again Dennis saved the day.”

  “You guys are doing just fine.” Spencer reached for a fork. “And I’ll enjoy this.” And then he stopped, looked over at Shane, and added, “I will, providing you won’t run me through some tests and turn off my appetite.”