Page 73 of Playing for Keeps (Checkmate 4)

“Not only won’t it fall off, Mr. Cruz, but the suction is enough you could actually hang from the foot alone and it shouldn’t come off. I have clients that are gymnasts, who hang from beams and silks. These legs are really quite versatile.”

“I don’t wanna hang by it.”

Linc laughs. “Not today, Mr. Cruz. But you just never know what your future will bring. Alright.” Straightening his back, Linc shoves the cardboard packaging and his stool away, then he comes back with a walker, the four-legged, steel-frame kind with rubber feet.

I bought one of these for Riley already, but I haven’t taken it from the box or shown him, since I know how he’ll react.

“I’d really like for you to try to stand. Lean on the frame and show me what you’ve got.”

Riley scowls. “This is an old-folks walker.”

That’s why I didn’t show him the one at home yet.

“This is a tool that will assist your walking. I have clients –youngand old – that find these walkers extremely useful for stability. Please stand, hold onto the sides, and let me know what you feel.”

“I feel…” He blows out a gusty breath. “I feel like my leg-bone will pierce straight through the bottom as soon as I stand.”

Linc frowns. “Are you having trouble with the bone? Is it too long? Because that’s something you need to discuss with your surgeon; you could have revision surgery to shorten it.”

“No, I’m not having trouble.” He runs a frustrated hand over his face and bounces his good foot. “I just believe in gravity. If I stand, I don’t understand how the bone won’t pierce through.”

“Because you’re not standing on the bone.” Squeezing his hand for confidence, I stand. Stopping in front of him and hip bumping the walker a couple feet to the right, I stare into his eyes and pray I can distract him from the clinic and everything that scares him. “No old-folks walkers for you. Use me instead; hold my hands and come on up.”

“Dee…” His voice quivers the way it did way back in the hospital when I discovered his leg. He’s scared. He’s nervous. For some insane reason, he’s embarrassed. “I dunno if you can hold me.”

“Have I ever let you fall?” I tug his hands gently. A soft reminder. A tender coax. But I will not yank him out of his chair until he’s ready. “I mean, except that one time I let you fall, and that time I tricked you into swimming at the lake, or the time I got you stoned against your will, and that other time I got your boss stoned against his will.” Linc steps back. He removes himself from our personal bubble and allows me to take the lead. “I never let you fall when it’s important.”

His eyes glisten with fear. “Only when it’s funny?”

“Exactly. Come on.” I pull again. “Just stand on your meat leg until you’re comfortable. You’ve done that a million times today, so there’s nothing to worry about. Come on up, give me a kiss, then we’ll work on the rest.”

He shuffles to the edge of his seat and sets his fake foot on the floor. His hands shake so wildly, I have to clutch harder and squeeze. He takes a deep breath and lets it out on a huff. Then another. Then another.

Frowning, I lean in until our eyes meet. “You’re going to gas and pass out. You’re doing it on purpose, aren’t you? You think I won’t stand over your unconscious ass and tell you to get up again?”

His eyes glitter with fear. He’s the bravest man I know, a hero who would step in front of bullets to save someone else. But standing on a fake leg terrifies him.

Or more accurately,fallingterrifies him.

“You got me?”

“I swear to all that’s good in this world, I’ve got you. I promise I won’t let you fall. Come on.” I tug his hand again and hold my shit together when he comes with me. Like a powerful bear, he rises, rises, rises, and stands tall over me. His body straightens out, and his chest heaves with nervous energy.

“Good.” I take a single step back, just so I can see his body. I glance down at his legs and nod. “Okay, now use your left. I’m not asking you to walk on it. I’m asking you to just set it on the ground.”

“Deedee…”

Glancing up, I flash my crazy-girl smile. “We should get married for real. Right? I’d love to have a contract that gives me permission to send you insane for the rest of your life. And because you have a tendency to get shot and swim in black lakes in the middle of winter, it’s likely I’ll live longer than you. Doesn’t it feel good knowing death is the only way you could escape me?”

He chuckles and looks down to his feet. Slowly, he lowers the left to the floor, though his knee remains bent. “Maybe we should. I’m kinda attached anyway. You’ve got a nice ass.” He blows out an explosive breath when his foot touches down and his knee clicks in.

I’m so proud of him. So insanely proud of my brave forever man. “How does that feel?”

“Weird.”

“Does it hurt?”

He unlocks his knee, bends it, straightens it, locks it in again. He does it over and over again, and each time, he places a little more weight on the left. “No, it doesn’t hurt.”

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