Page 2 of All I Need (Hearts of the South)
“You too.” With a cheeky grin—and man, that was one cheeky sashay she had as well—she disappeared into her apartment.
Aware he was smiling, he finished the chapter and his coffee. He leaned heavily on the cane and made his way inside. By the time he showered, dressed, and walked out to his truck, the Mercedes was gone. He made a trip to the library to drop off his borrowed books and check out two more biographies, then pulled into the parking lot at his physical therapist’s office and took the spot farthest from the door. Someone needed to be closer more than he did.
In the waiting room, he read a chapter or so about FDR’s early life before Holli called him back. She patted his shoulder as they walked down the hall. “How’s your mama and daddy?”
Somehow he kept a grimace off his face at the mention of his father. “They’re good. Yours?”
“Mama’s doing okay. Daddy’s blood pressure is acting up again.” Holli glanced sideways at him. “I see we’ve got the cane out.”
“First time in weeks.” He rubbed at the muscle above the surgical incision. “The muscles were cramping last night, and the leg felt a little shaky after my morning routine. Didn’t want to chance falling.”
“Smart guy.” Holli graced him with a thousand-watt smile. “I love it when patients follow directions. Come on and let me torture you a while.”
The session proved to be just short of torture—exhausting and painful. Even so, the leg was getting better.Hewas getting better. Only not the same. That idea took some getting used to, but he was getting there too. He was on his way to letting go the idea of being the same as he’d been.
As he’d expected, Clark Dempsey waited for him in the parking lot. True to his words to Savannah, he didn’t get out much these days, but Troy Lee and Clark forced him to go to lunch with them on his PT days. They’d fallen into an easy routine—Clark had his EMS partner drop him off, he drove them to lunch, then Emmett drove himself home. Today, immense gratitude filled him. He hurt like hell, and letting Clark drive would give him time for the ibuprofen to kick in, time to get over the pain and exertion. Besides, he could be totally real with Clark, who already knew all his weaknesses.
He tossed his keys to Clark. “So what’s on the menu today?”
Clark’s eyes crinkled with his wide smile. “BBQ.”
In the passenger seat, Emmett clicked on his seat belt, closed his eyes, and melted into the seat. Clark let him decompress in silence broken only by Mat Kearney on the radio and the hum of tires on pavement. Minutes later, Clark jockeyed the truck into a shady spot outside the Hickory House. Emmett stretched out his leg, testing the muscles gingerly.
“You good?” Clark asked, hand on the ignition.
A relieved grin pulled at Emmett’s mouth. “Yeah. Let’s go.”
He chose safety and his recovery over pride and took the cane with him. He spotted Troy Lee’s grayish-blue patrol unit in the sea of cars. The line to order stretched to the door, normal for the midday lunch rush. He and Clark chatted with a few acquaintances while they waited. After they ordered, Gail, the restaurant’s proprietor and contender for the county’s biggest gossip, pointed toward the rear of the long, low building.
“Troy Lee got y’all a table in the back room.” She laid a hand on Emmett’s on the counter, a too-sweet smile on her face. “How’s Lacey doing, sweetheart?”
Hell. Like she didn’t know Lacey had bailed on him before he’d even gotten the first set of surgical staples out of his leg. Or that Lacey had started dating one of the service guys over at the Ford place within a couple of weeks of telling Emmett they were done. Not that he could really blame her. They’d only been dating a couple of months when he’d been shot, and back then, all the prognoses had been grimmer than grim. He liked to think he’d have hung in for her in the same circumstances, but he couldn’t be sure. He’d been a heck of a lot shallower then.
He made damn sure his face remained stoic. Anything he said or did was going to make the gossip rounds before two o’clock. He didn’t need anybody calling his mama and getting her upset. “You probably know more than I do, Mrs. Gail. We haven’t seen each other in a while.”
“I’m sorry, hon.” Gail patted his hand, and his skin crawled. He extricated himself as graciously as he could.
“Good to see you, Mrs. Gail.” He didn’t release his deep breath until he and Clark had cleared the front room.
“Good job.” Clark clapped a hand on his shoulder.
“You know what pisses me off?” He thumped the floor with the cane a little harder than necessary on his next step. “I don’t even care what Lacey’s doing. I don’t really think about her anymore, but they all think I should be heartbroken and pining for her. What is the big deal?”
“Small town. They have to entertain themselves somehow.”
“Maybe they should try reading a damn book.” He scowled. “You know, there is a library downtown.”
Clark choked on a laugh, and Emmett stopped to glower at him.
“What?” He leaned on the cane.
“You. You’re like a crotchety old guy, with your cane and your library rant.” Clark gestured up and down, from Emmett’s feet to his cane to his head. “We should get you a cat or something. I bet there’s a couple hanging around the dumpster out back.”
An unwilling smile crept over his mouth. He’d had a cat, before, and somehow Barkley had ended up being Clark’s cat while Emmett was hospitalized. “Fuck you, man.”
“Hey, there’s Troy Lee and Bennett.” Unperturbed, Clark gestured at the back corner table. Troy Lee, bless him, had commandeered the only table turned sideways in the room so none of them had to sit with their backs to the door. Emmett still couldn’t do it, and he wouldn’t ask anyone else to do it, either.
They exchanged quick greetings while Emmett and Clark settled into the table’s empty seats. Bennett didn’t often join them on these Wednesday lunches, thus Emmett didn’t really know him as the other man had hired onto the sheriff’s department mere weeks before the shooting. He and Troy Lee seemed to get on like a house on fire, though—requesting to stay partnered even after Bennett’s initial training period with the department.
