Page 10 of Wicked Healing

“I remember the limp,” Luca confirmed.

“Lost his foot in Germany.”

Luca was stunned. Why had no one ever said anything? His father smiled at him grimly, shrugging.

“Dad told us kids not to ask him about it, so no one ever did. I think it embarrassed your great—grandad to talk about because it was kind of his fault that he lost it. Didn’t move out of the path of a tank soon enough and it crushed everything. The foot was gone in an instant.”

Holy shit. He’d never had any idea.

“It’s good we live in the times we do,” his mother said softly. “I bet when you wear pants people won’t even be able to see your prosthetic.”

Luca looked at her, aggravated. She said it like he needed to be ashamed of the injury for some reason. He’d gotten it in service to his country, saving lives.

Dad rested a hand on Mom’s shoulder as he stood. “That doesn’t matter, Leona.”

Her mouth snapped shut and she seemed to be going over the words in her head. She flushed. “Sorry, Luca. You just know how people are.”

He wouldn’t say anything, even though she’d just made him self-conscious again. Pushing it away he stood and reached for the cane beside his chair. The cane was temporary until he was solid with walking, and he hated using it in front of his mother, but he needed to. The cane wasn’t as bad as possibly sprawling on his face in front of her.

“You guys haven’t seen the facility. Let’s take a walk.”

Luca walked for longer than he ever had since the injury. The La Jolla Rehab Center was massive, but he was already beginning to recognize some faces. He waved as he navigated the halls to the elevator. Maybe if they went down and sat in the sun for a while they’d leave sooner.

They sat at a nice table in the partial shade and he let his mother tell him about what was going on in Malibu, but his attention was divided. She’d already asked him what his plans were when he was released, and he didn’t have a good answer for her. She suggested that she could get him a job with her company, selling real estate. That really didn’t appeal to him at all, but he gave her a slight smile. He supposed it depended upon the stability of his leg, which he assumed would get better and better the more he wore it. He could go back to school. Thirty wasn’t too old to get a degree.

He was going to have to do something.

His parents left after a couple of hours of studying him like a bug, and Luca was glad. Yes, his room was secluded and he got bored, but he was at his hospitality max for the day.

As soon as he returned to his room he checked his tablet for new emails. Nothing from Erin. Damn. He needed some of her lighthearted banter.

Should he write her? There was a chance she wouldn’t even notice his email for a day or so. Sometimes when she was busy it took that long for her to respond. Feeling a little self-conscious in a different way, he sent her an email asking about Boss.

* * *

Erin heardthe ping on her email and opened it up. Luca was asking about his buddy.

He’s fine. Though he’s been pacing a lot. It’s almost like he knows we’re going in to get fitted with the prosthetic tomorrow. Or maybe he’s just picking up my nervousness.

Something occurred to her and impulsively she asked him if he could call her. She left her number.

It took several long minutes for him to respond, but eventually the phone rang in her hand. It was a California number.

“Hello?”

“Erin?”

“Hi, Luca. It’s a pleasure to talk to you in person,” she said, smiling. And it really was. He had a whiskey gravel voice, though he sounded hesitant. Granted the call had changed their interaction status a little, but it would have changed in a few days anyway when she took Wicked to see him.

“It’s a pleasure to talk to you as well. You have a very nice voice.”

She laughed. “Thank you. I was just thinking the same thing.”

“It’s a little rough, from the accident.”

“I still think it sounds nice,” she admitted.

The silence stretched for a moment, then they both laughed.

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