Page 37 of Heartbreak Hill

“A lot of walking,” Grayson told him. Between his mom and Reid, all they did was walk.

“Are you getting outside and enjoying the weather?”

Grayson nodded, even though the doctor wasn’t looking at him. He also didn’t seem to care, because he didn’t ask him to repeat his answer. He came over and smiled at Grayson.

“Scar looks like it’s healing nicely.”

“Thanks. Reid gave me some cream she found. Seems to do the trick.”

Dr. Wynn set his stethoscope to Grayson’s chest. “Let’s have a listen.”

For the first two months after Grayson had received his new heart, he’d had to come to the doctor’s every week for a biopsy to make sure his body wasn’t rejecting his new heart. Knowing his body could quit his heart at any time had put the fear of God into him. He was determined to do right by the gift he’d been given. Even though he hated his new healthy eating, Reid had joined him on the change, and they ate dinner together every night. Grayson liked that it wasn’t just him eating the bland diet; they were doing it as a couple ... well, a soon-to-be couple, if he had anything to say about it.

Dr. Wynn smiled as he moved the stethoscope around. “I love what I’m hearing.”

“Thanks.”

“Everything sounds as it should, but we’re still going to follow up with an x-ray. I don’t want to take any chances.”

“Me neither, Doc.”

Dr. Wynn sat down on his medical stool. “Any questions for me?”

Grayson nodded. “I’m curious about sex.”

“Ah yes. Probably the most common question I get, and rarely covered during discharge. Generally speaking, twelve weeks is the standard, as long as you feel up to it. If you’re not experiencing shortness of breath or fatigue, I’d say you’re probably okay to engage in sexual activity.”

For a moment, Grayson thought about asking his doctor if he could write that down, but then figured there was no point, at least not yet. He couldn’t even get Reid to sit next to him on the couch like she used to—she was probably afraid she’d hurt him or something. Tonight, that would change. The old Grayson would emerge, the playful, fun-loving one Reid was used to.

And he’d tell her he was interested in her.

Somehow.

After he left, he went down to the lab to have his blood drawn, which he was tired of, and then went to radiology to have the x-rays done. Then, finished with his appointments, he texted his mom for a ride home and counted down the days to when he wouldn’t need a babysitter. They’d given him the okay to do things on his own at six weeks, but his mother had insisted, and he didn’t have the heart to tell her no.

Grayson sat outside on the bench and people-watched. Summer was in full bloom, and by the looks of things, it was surely going to be an amazing one. With a new lease on life, Grayson planned to embrace everything he could. Picnics in the park, romantic strolls, and anything else with Reid were at the top of his list.

When she came into view, he smiled. “What are you doing here?”

“Your mom had some errands to run, and it’s too nice to be at work.”

For the first six weeks after his surgery, she’d been there every night with him. Reid had told Sydney it was easier for her to stay at Grayson’s, since they lived in the same building, and besides, Sydney hadn’t slept in her own bed in a long time.

When Grayson found out his mom had spent every night in his hospital room, he’d had mixed emotions. He loved his mother more than life itself, and he knew she would do anything for him and him her, but he hated knowing she’d slept on a cot or in an uncomfortable chair because of him. As soon as he was able, he’d asked Reid to buy his mom a weeklong getaway for her and Gilbert—a gift they hadn’t yet taken advantage of.

On the Reid front, Grayson knew she’d also taken a lot of time off from work to be with him and had spent every evening in his room while Sydney ran home to eat and shower. After the way he’d treated her, in the sense of rebuffing her advances, Grayson knew he didn’t deserve someone like Reid. Yet he wanted to change and prove to her that he did, or that he could be worthy of her love and affection, as a couple. The wall between them needed to crumble, and it would once he found a way to do it.

“Well, this is a beautiful surprise,” he said as he reached for her hand. She gave it willingly for a second or two and then pulled away. Grayson stood, stretched, and slung his arm around her shoulders. This move wasn’t out of the question for him, so the likelihood of her shrugging him off was slim.

“How was your appointment?”

“Great,” he said enthusiastically. “Did the usual blood work and x-rays. The new ticker is doing its job. Doc says it sounds good, and I gotta tell you, Sully, I like the way it makes me feel.”

“Sully” was the nickname he’d given her when they’d first met, and each time he called her “Sully,” her cheeks turned a lovely shade of pink,and she batted her eyelashes in response. Grayson was fairly sure she had no idea the latter happened, and he wasn’t about to tell her.

“That’s good,” she said. “Anything else? Blood pressure good?”

“Perfect,” he said. “Healthy as a horse.”

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