Page 2 of Two Hearts' Ploy

He groaned. Jeff must have been in pretty bad shape for Dad to take the time away from his construction business to fly all the way here to be with him.

Only moments later, the doctor appeared to speak with him. He tried to listen to her, but truthfully, everything she was saying sounded vaguely familiar, he thought dully. His brother-in-law Luke had lived through nearly the same scenario but had survived worse injuries than Jeff, having been burned severely during an incident involving insurgents.

“Lieutenant?” the doctor asked, cocking her head. “Are you sure you understand?”

He nodded glumly. “I’ll need a prosthetic. It’s going to take a lot of time for rehab. I’ll probably be doing that back in the States.”

And he might need even more time to adjust than even Luke had, since Jeff’s leg had been amputated above the knee. Not to mention the fact that he’d have to use his left leg to do what his right leg had before. At least bullets had only grazed his left leg. It would have definitely been hell to lose both of them.

The doctor continued to look concerned as she studied him intently, so Jeff spoke with assurance. “We have a wounded warrior facility in the town where I grew up. Both my brother and my brother-in-law have done their rehab there. My brother-in-law lost his left leg about four or five years ago, so I understand a lot about the process.”

“Good,” she said, nodding approvingly. “Although you appear to still be in shock.”

Was that what it was, he wondered? He felt apathetic. Maybe he was still processing, before devolving into full-fledged panic.

“I’m just not ready to think too hard about anything right now. At least my upper torso didn’t get sprayed with bullets.”

“You may not realize it right now, Lieutenant, but you were lucky,” she said softly before exiting the room.

* * *

One month later, Jeff was entering his third week of rehab while residing at the Crystal Rock Wounded Warrior Home. He was recovering quickly from his injuries, and currently, he was listening to the physical therapist go over his updated schedule.

Just as Steve finished answering Jeff’s short list of questions, one of the nurses appeared at the door.

“Lieutenant? You have a visitor, but she promised she wouldn’t stay long since we’re on a tight schedule today,” she said, glancing at her watch. “We’ll be rolling you down to the lab in about thirty minutes.”

“Thank you, Grace,” Jeff replied. He’d found it interesting to discover that Nurse Johnston had been recently hired. Currently, Jeff’s father’s construction company was working on updating the home that she’d apparently inherited from her grandparents.

He felt a certain numbness when he realized that it was his girlfriend Aimee who was here to see him. Jeff hadn’t heard from her at all since he’d returned to Crystal Rock. In fact, they probably hadn’t had a real conversation with each other for at least six months.

He wondered if she was here to brush him off gently, which was actually fine. But then again, they’d been skirting around the truth for months. They’d been growing apart for a while now.

But then again, her job kept her busy. She’d worked her way up as an administrative assistant at the Dragonfly Pointe Inn, and now she’d been promoted in an administrative capacity for Loughlin Enterprises as an efficiency expert to handle customer service as well at Jake and Danielle Loughlin’s various hotels worldwide.

“Jeff?” Aimee said softly. “I’m so sorry that I didn’t reach out to you sooner. The last thing I want is to have you think that I’ve been avoiding you. I only heard about what happened a week ago. I’ve been overseeing the purchase of a new hotel in northern California.”

As Jeff remained silent, Aimee pulled up a chair, studying him closely.

“You’re a lot thinner, but your color looks good. How are you—I meanreally?”

“You’re not going to allow me to feel sorry for myself, are you?” Jeff sighed. “Truthfully, I’m just kind of numb. I keep feeling like I’m living in an alternate reality.”

“Don’t think too hard about the future yet. Give yourself some time, Jeff,” she said gently.

When her hand covered his, he realized that even his feelings for Aimee had definitely changed. Sure, they were friends, but the magic was no longer there.

And it didn’t have anything to do with his injuries.

“Our feelings have changed, haven’t they?” She heaved a sigh, obviously recognizing what he just had. “I can see it in your eyes. I started to realize it when you were home on leave about seven months ago and we tried to take up where we left off. I hope we’ll always be friends.”

“You can count on it,” Jeff answered gruffly.

Tears filled her eyes. “I know you have your family, but I hate that you don’t have anyone special to talk to so that you can share your pain. I’m going to have to return to California in the morning. Are you on any special diet? Will they allow me to bring dinner tonight from the Crystal Rock Tap?”

For the first time in a long time, Jeff smiled. “They’d better. I’m dying for a couple of roast beef sandwiches.”

“It’s a date,” Aimee replied as she stood, smiling wryly. “I’ll let them know at the nurse’s station that I’ll be returning tonight. What time?”

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