Page 32 of Dearest Protector

Katie’s face expressed her horror. “Well, she was wrong. She wasalwayswrong. You’re kind, smart, thoughtful, an amazing friend, and a woman who is as talented as she is beautiful.”

God, I wanted to believe that, but those were things I’d never been able to internalize about myself, no matter how many times Katie had said them.

I let out a pent-up breath. “You’ve haven’t seen my foot. It looks really bad.”

“Then show me,” she said stubbornly and waved me over to her. “We’re best friends for God’s sake. You don’t ever have to hide it from me.”

I balked even though I knew she was right. Katie had always been my biggest supporter. “It’s nasty,” I said, not moving from my position.

Katie stood, walked around the breakfast bar and into the kitchen. “I wish I could have been in New York more often. When I was, your injuries were mostly covered except for the laceration on your head. You looked worn out, but you were just as gorgeous as you’ve always been, accident or no accident. Scars or no scars. You’re the bravest, strongest woman I’ve ever known.”

Honestly, Katie was at the hospital with me more often than she should have been considering she’d had a waitressing job and a full-time workload at her university in Massachusetts.

She’d come to visit as often as she could to support me after the accident.

Still, she’d never seen all of my scars.

“Take my word on it, you don’t want to see this foot,” I said drily as she arrived at my side.

She put her hands on hips. “Seriously? Are you telling me you’re going to walk around in socks in the summer in Florida? Bare it, sister. I never realized you were that self-conscious about it, but maybe I should have.”

Yeah, wearing socks for the rest of my life had pretty much been my plan, even in the summer in South Florida.

No one needed to see my foot. It was painful for me to look at it myself.

“Katie, you know I’ve had more surgeries than I can count,” I warned.

“Just take your damn sock off, Ariel,” she demanded. “Would you want me to hide something like that from you? I should have asked to see it a long time ago.”

I winced. We’d never hid much from each other. Ever. And I’d never want her to feel like she couldn’t show or tell me anything.

I bent down and slowly took off my sock.

I lifted the leg of my jeans as she took in a sharp breath.

“I told you that it was ugly,” I reminded her.

The crestfallen look stayed plastered on Katie’s face as she dropped down to touch my mangled foot. “Oh, Ariel,” she breathed out. “It’s not ugly, but it does remind me of just how much you went through and how strong you are. They’re just scars from your surgeries. You’re not deformed, nor should you be walking around in socks all the damn time.”

I let go of a sigh of relief, realizing I’d taken a small step forward by letting Katie see my foot, even if I thought it was horrifying.

“Are you really trying to tell me that this foot wouldn’t scare any guy away?” I asked skeptically as Katie straightened up.

She looked me directly in the eyes as she replied, “Yes, that’s exactly what I’m telling you. Those scars are just remnants of a horrible accident that you managed to live through. You battled your way through all those surgeries and then painful physical therapy to walk again. Every time you look at this foot, itshouldremind you of how far you’ve come after that accident. Does it still hurt?”

I couldn’t be anything but honest with Katie as tears filled my eyes.

“Not really,” I said. “It’s just a little irritating sometimes. My doctor said I might need to get some of the hardware removed in the future, but I didn’t have insurance, so I’ve waited to see a specialist. I can’t think about that, Katie. I can’t stand the thought of going back into surgery again.”

Maybe the previous surgeries should have gotten easier with time, but they never had.

My time in the hospital had made me phobic about ever going back there again.

Tears started to flow down Katie’s cheeks. She wrapped her arms around my shuddering body and squeezed.

“Yes, you can, Ariel. You won’t be alone anymore. I promise. If that surgery has to happen, I’ll be right there beside you. My situation is totally different than it was a year ago. There’s no reason I can’t stick to you like glue now. I wish you hadn’t been alone in New York when all of the other surgeries took place. I completely understand why you’re hesitant to ever do it again. I wish I hadn’t been so strapped for money that I couldn’t always get to you in New York, but it doesn’t have to be that way anymore. Ben gave you medical insurance as part of your job, right?”

I clung to Katie more than I should have at the thought of doctors, hospitals, and surgery.

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