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She couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from the beautiful, happy couple. Her sister was as dark as she herself was fair, making it even more noticeable that they weren’t bonded by blood. Molly had been adopted by the Shrivers when she’d been four years old, but shortly thereafter her adoptive mother had discovered she was pregnant.
When Sally was born, Molly had been thrilled to have a younger sister to play with, but as they’d grown older, it had become clear that Sally, as the biological daughter, had been the favorite and she herself had too often been simply an afterthought.
Nothing had changed in the years since they’d both grown up. No matter how hard she tried to belong, when it came to her family, she remained the outsider, looking in.
Seeing her sister’s engagement photo soured her appetite, so she shoved the newspaper aside and carried her dishes to the sink. She shouldn’t be so upset at how Sally had gotten engaged without telling her, but she was. She knew her family hadn’t done this to her on purpose, they weren’t mean-spirited, it was more that they often forgot about her.
If she called her mother now to ask about Sally’s engagement, Jenny would profusely apologize and offer some weak excuse to try to cover the fact that Molly hadn’t been included.
For a moment, a deep sense of loneliness weighed down her shoulders like a heavy blanket. All she’d ever wanted was to be a part of a family. She’d thought her prayers had been answered when the Shrivers had adopted her, but over time she’d become less and less a true member of the family.
And since she’d graduated from college her one attempt to have a family of her own had backfired. James had been several years older than she was, a divorced father with two young boys. She’d met him when one of his boys had been injured playing soccer and she’d performed his therapy. They’d dated for five years, and she’d been sure he’d propose marriage, but instead he’d called off their relationship, claiming he’d fallen in love with someone else.
He’d broken her heart, although now, a year later, she could admit she’d loved his two young sons more than she’d loved him.
Not seeing James’s boys anymore had left a huge, aching hole in her life. In her soul.
Her heart squeezed painfully in her chest. She didn’t belong, not with the Shrivers and certainly not with James. On a professional level she belonged at Angel’s, and working there had been the best decision of her life.
It was too bad that on a personal level it seemed she was destined to live her life alone.
Dan swallowed a curse as he wrestled to get Josh’s wheelchair back into the trunk of his car. Josh didn’t seem to like the stupid chair, despite Molly’s insistence that having it would give him more independence. And Dan hadn’t appreciated the sympathetic stares aimed at his son when they’d ridden down in the elevator together. One of the reasons he had balked at using the chair had been to save Josh from being teased about it.
Although maybe if he’d used the wheelchair with Josh from the very beginning, his son would be that much further along with his therapy.
More to feel guilty about. As if everything Josh had been through, the prolonged hospital stay and multiple surgeries, hadn’t been enough. With an effort he shoved his dark thoughts aside.
“Ready, Josh?” he asked, as he slid behind the wheel.
“Yep.” One good thing was that Josh hadn’t been upset about going to therapy this morning. And he hadn’t clung to Gemma, his nanny, begging her to take him. Dan knew part of the reason was that Josh was looking forward to seeing Molly again. However, he hoped there were also tentative bonds forming between him and his son.
Yesterday, when they’d gotten home, he’d fired the tutor who’d been mean to Josh and had called the school to arrange for a replacement. This time a young college freshman by the name of Mitch came to the house and Josh seemed to flourish under the kid’s fun and somewhat laid-back approach.
As he’d watched them together, he couldn’t help thinking Molly would approve.
After Josh’s lessons they’d played the ball game again and the entire time Molly’s parting words had played over and over in his mind. Don’t worry, you’ll get better with practice.
His gut still burned with the memory. He hadn’t felt that inadequate since his internship year.
Despite being seriously annoyed with her, he had to admit to feeling some grudging admiration for Molly. No one had ever dared to stand up to him the way she had. And what was that she’d said? Something about how she wouldn’t stand over his shoulder and tell him how to do heart surgery? Earlier in the session she’d called him Mr. Morris, but she’d obviously known who he was the whole time.
He supposed it was possible that she’d only figured it out after spending more time together. While he often referred patients to her, based on her reputation for being the best, it wasn’t as if they’d worked together side by side. He simply wrote the order and then asked his patients and their parents how things were going when they came in for their routine follow-up visits. They’d always given him rave reviews about her care.
As far as his own opinion of her went, the jury was still out. She might be a pretty woman, with a bright, sunny attitude, but he wasn’t going to be happy until Josh was walking again. And despite what she claimed, he had trouble believing these games of hers would really work.
The traffic was heavier this morning, and he drummed his fingers impatiently on the steering wheel as they waited for yet another red light. This time, when they arrived at Angel’s physical therapy clinic, they only had five minutes to spare.
Five minutes that was taken up by wrestling once again with the stubborn wheelchair. Once he got the thing unfolded and the footrests put back together, he lifted Josh out of the car and placed him in the seat.
This time Molly was waiting for them when they arrived. “Wow, you look awesome in that wheelchair, Josh.”
His son brightened under her admiration. “Really? You think so?”
“Absolutely. And today we’re going to practice getting in and out of it, okay?”
“Okay.”
“This way,” Molly said, gesturing for them to follow her into the large therapy room. Dan pushed Josh’s wheelchair forward. “If you wouldn’t mind stopping right there,” she said, when he reached the center of the room, “I’d like to see what Josh can do on his own.”
Letting go of the chair and backing off to watch his son struggle to move the large wheels forward was difficult. Josh’s small arms seemed far too skinny to be of much use, although he did manage to wheel the chair all the way over to Molly.
“Excellent.” Once again she knelt before Josh so they were at the same eye level. “I need you to practice wheeling yourself around, Josh. I know your arms will get tired, but you still need to practice. It’s the only way to get your arms stronger, all right?”
“All right.”
“Good.” Molly’s smile was bright enough to light up the whole room. For the first time Dan wondered just what her life was like to make her so happy all the time. He’d noticed that she wasn’t wearing a wedding or engagement ring, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t seeing someone. He couldn’t imagine a woman like Molly being without a man, so he had to assume she was involved. Why that thought made him feel depressed, he had no clue. The last thing he needed was a woman to further complicate his life.
After Suzy had upped and left six years ago, he’d vowed to never let a woman get close to him again. Josh needed stability in his life more than he himself needed female companionship. He’d willingly thrown himself into his career. Maybe a little too enthusiastically, now that he thought about it.
“I’m going to help you stand up, okay? First we have to set the brakes.” She put her hands over his smaller ones to show him how to move the levers forward. “Now, I’m going to put my arms underneath yours, but I need you to push up on the arms of your wheelchair at the same time.”
He watched Josh struggle to stand, noticing that Molly took a good portion of his weight in order for him to accomplish the task. Although once he was standing, she made him balance there for a few seconds.
“I’m going to fall,” Josh whined. “Don’t let me go or I’ll fall!”
“I won’t let you go, Josh, I promise,” Molly assured him. “Just try and stand here for a little bit.”
After another ten seconds she let him sit back down in the chair. Dan watched intently so that he could practice this at home with Josh.
“Good job,” she praised his son. “Did you play any games with your dad last night?”
Josh nodded. “Yep, we played the ball game before dinner. It was fun. And I have a new tutor, too. His name is Mitch. I like him way better than Mr. Iverson.” Josh screwed up his face in an apparent attempt to mimic the stern tutor.
Molly’s lips twitched as she fought a smile, but when she lifted her gaze over Josh’s head to meet his, Dan could see frank approval reflected in her gaze. And despite the fact he shouldn’t care what she thought of him, he was secretly glad to have earned her favor.
The session went on, with more games that she dragged him into playing, and he was thrilled to notice that Josh was able to move his legs a little better today when Molly instructed him to kick the ball between his feet.
When she ended Josh’s session with another massage and the ultrasound treatment, he couldn’t help voicing his concern. “What exactly is the purpose of doing the ultrasound on his legs for eight minutes? I don’t see what good it can possibly do for him.”
She arched a brow, as she continued providing the treatment. “These are very intense ultrasound waves that are focused directly on the injured muscles. They help increase blood flow, which in turn helps to reduce pain and swelling,” she said patiently, as if speaking to a first-year medical student.
“Really?” He frowned, trying to work through the pathophysiology of what she described. “And ultrasound waves are safe and harmless?”
“Definitely safe and harmless,” she agreed. “But that doesn’t mean they don’t have helpful properties, as well. I also wanted to mention that you shouldn’t let Josh overdo the games at home. What you did yesterday was perfect. An hour in the evening is enough so that Josh doesn’t overwork his injured muscles. We wouldn’t want him to suffer from muscle spasms.”
He nodded, unwilling to admit how much he’d wanted to push Josh into playing her therapy games for longer than he had. Not because he wanted Josh to overwork his injured muscles but because he desperately wanted to see his son walk again.
Patience was a virtue, he reminded himself. Although having patience while performing heart surgery was far easier than having patience with his son struggling to learn how to stand and walk.
When she’d finished the ultrasound therapy, she handed Josh the candy jar, and this time it didn’t take him long to choose a cherry-flavored lollipop. Dan figured that by the time they’d completed the initial twelve weeks of therapy, his son would have tried every flavor several times over.
“Okay, Josh, I’m going to talk to your dad again for a few minutes,” Molly said as she put the candy jar away. “Wait here and I’ll help you get into your wheelchair when I return.”
Josh nodded, the skin around his lips already stained red from the cherry sucker.
Dan followed Molly’s petite frame back to her office, trying not to imagine what her figure looked like beneath the baggy scrubs.
“Dr. Morris—” she began, but he quickly interrupted her.
“I asked you to call me Dan,” he reminded. “I’ll be attending therapy with Josh because I’m his father, not because I’m a surgeon here at Angel’s.”
“Ah, okay, Dan, then,” she murmured. She paused, as if she’d lost her train of thought, and he took a moment to savor the way she’d said his name. For the first time in six years he preferred hearing his first name to his formal title.
“I want you to consider getting a wheelchair, too,” she said.
He blinked, and tried to gather his scattered thoughts. “You mean one for Josh to use here as well as the one he’ll use at home?”
“No, I mean one for you to use specially while we’re working together with Josh.” She tilted her chin in a gesture he already knew meant that this was a topic she felt strongly about. “Josh needs you to be a role model for him. And he needs to learn how to get in and out of it by himself. I think he would find that easier to do if you were learning alongside him.”
Was she crazy? He’d never heard anything more ridiculous. What good would it do for him to be in a wheelchair, too? “I appreciate your advice but I don’t see the need to get myself a wheelchair.”
“Dr. Morris—Dan,” she corrected swiftly, “You don’t have the option to refuse. You have to stop questioning everything I do or suggest. Like the ultrasound treatments, and now getting a wheelchair of your own. For years you referred your pediatric patients to me, but now suddenly you’re acting as if I have no clue what I’m doing. Why can’t you believe I only have your son’s best interests at heart?”
“I do believe that,” he said slowly. He forced himself to meet her emerald-green gaze. “It’s just …” He trailed off, unable to find the words to express how he felt. Because she was right. He was acting as if she didn’t have a clue what she was doing. Just because he wasn’t an expert in physical therapy, it didn’t mean she wasn’t. He had to trust her expertise and knowledge.
But getting a wheelchair of his own seemed over the top. He wasn’t the one who’d been injured.
Yet it was his fault that Josh had been.
He swallowed against the hard lump of the bitter truth. Did it matter if he felt stupid using a wheelchair? Wasn’t Josh’s recovery worth it?
“Look, we need to settle this now, before we go any further in treating Josh because if you can’t or won’t trust me, there’s no point in us continuing.”
Her last sentence made him scowl. “Are you threatening me?”
“It’s not a threat. I’m only telling you that you either heed my advice and do what I say as it relates to Josh’s therapy, or you find someone else to work with.” She shrugged, as if she didn’t care what he would decide to do. “I’m not the only therapist here, there are many others equally qualified.”
He clenched his jaw, unable to believe she was actually handing him an ultimatum. He couldn’t help it that it was his nature to question things. To make sure he understood what was going on.
“A good therapist-patient relationship is the key to success. Maybe I’m not the best fit for you,” she said, when he didn’t respond.
“But you are the best fit for my son.” The moment he’d uttered the words, he knew they were true. Molly had a way with children, and it was obvious that Josh was already anxious to please her. Not to mention none of the other therapists had her amazing outcomes.
He’d tolerate whatever she decreed in order to help Josh. “I’ll accept your terms,” he said, roughly shoving his ego aside. “I’ll get a wheelchair so Josh and I can learn how to use them together. And I promise not to question your methods from this point forward. I’ll place my son’s care in your capable hands.”
She stared at him for a few seconds, as if struggling to see inside his mind, to believe he actually meant what he’d said. He didn’t know what else to say, to help her understand how he’d meant every word seriously. Nothing was going to get in the way of Josh’s ability to learn how to walk again.
Nothing!
If Molly Shriver had been hoping to get rid of him, she would be sorely disappointed. He was in this for the long haul. For Josh’s sake.
No matter what.
CHAPTER FOUR
MOLLY WAS SECRETLY relieved that Josh’s father hadn’t decided to move his son’s care to another therapist. Remembering how she’d issued her ultimatum made her cheeks burn with embarrassment. Once again she’d allowed her redhead temper to get the better of her. Why on earth did Dan Morris bring out the worst in her?
She took a deep breath and tried to prepare herself for their upcoming appointment. If she was smart, she would have insisted Josh be assigned to someone else. Emotionally, it would be better for her, as the young boy was already wiggling his way into her heart. And once he didn’t need her anymore, he’d take a piece of her with him, leaving a tiny hole behind.
But somehow her instinct for self-preservation seemed to have abandoned her. Because it wasn’t just Josh she was beginning to care about.
His stern-faced father was even more intriguing.
Watching the two of them navigating their wheelchairs in the gym had given her a deep sense of satisfaction. The proud and hopeful expression on Dan’s face when Josh successfully transferred himself from the wheelchair to the therapy table and back again had been heartbreaking. It was clear how much he cared for his son. And she had to give Dan credit for keeping his promise. He hadn’t questioned her or interfered in her treatment plan in the past two days.
Today was Friday, their last session before the weekend. She had a surprise for Josh, and hoped his father wouldn’t revert back to his old ways. She’d learned as the week had progressed that Dan did better with structure rather than impulsiveness. Maybe that’s what made him such a good cardiothoracic surgeon.
That was too bad. She worked better by following her instincts. And today her instinct was to get outside and have some fun. Especially on this unseasonably warm day in early March. Why stay inside when the temperature was in the fifties and the sun was shining?
When she was paged by the front desk to let her know that Josh and his father had arrived, she picked up her jacket and the red plastic ball before heading out to the waiting room to greet them.
“Good morning, Josh, Dan.” Calling Josh’s father by his first name was getting easier. In fact, he was looking less and less like the strait-laced cardiothoracic surgeon who’d shown up here four days ago. Especially dressed in his well-worn jeans and Yankee sweatshirt that only enhanced his broad shoulders.
“Hi, Molly,” Josh greeted her enthusiastically from his wheelchair. “We’re ready for therapy, right, Dad?”
“Right,” Dan agreed with a rare smile. He looked surprisingly comfortable seated in the adult wheelchair alongside his son.
“I’m glad, especially as I have a surprise for both of you.” She fought a smile as Dan immediately tensed up. Heaven forbid she plan a surprise. “We’re going on a little field trip to Central Park!”
“We are?” Dan said with a frown. “That seems too far out of the way for an hour of therapy.”
“The patient who was scheduled to see me after Josh cancelled so we have two hours free. Most of the snow has melted and as it’s a beautiful day, we may as well enjoy the sunshine.” She could tell he wasn’t thrilled with the idea. “Come on, we’ll have fun.”
Dan opened his mouth as if to argue, but then closed it again without saying a word.
“Yippee!” Josh said with exuberance. “I love field trips!”
She grinned, relieved to see her patient was happy with the idea. And because Dan had promised not to question her motives, he couldn’t very well disagree.
She walked alongside Josh as he wheeled his chair back down the hall toward the elevator. Dan followed in his own wheelchair right behind them, and while he didn’t utter a single word of complaint, she could feel his displeasure radiating off him.
She sighed, hoping he wasn’t regretting their bargain, because if he switched therapists now, Josh would certainly suffer.
Thankfully, Josh kept up a steady stream of chatter as they made their way outside. The sun was warm, but the air still held a hint of coolness as winter slowly gave way to spring, perfect weather for Josh and Dan, who’d be exerting themselves in order to use their wheelchairs.
The park was just a couple of blocks down from the hospital so it didn’t take long to get there. The hardest part of the trip was navigating around the people crowding the sidewalks. Good ole New Yorkers, couldn’t move over to give two people in wheelchairs room to maneuver.
They reached the south end of the park and followed the sidewalk inside. “Okay, Josh, you have to find us a good place to play ball,” she instructed him.
