Page 3 of Healing Her Cowboys
“Same old thing. Just like the last time you asked me.”
“How’s the leg?” Jason asked, scribbling something on his tablet as he sat down as close to Brik as possible.
“Still missing,” Brik said with a smirk.
“Oh, we got more jokes today?”
“An accurate one.”
Jason didn’t seem amused and went back to scribbling. “Let me be specific then. How’s your leg since doing the new exercises with the prosthetic?”
“It is what it is.”
“Are you even doing them?”
Brik shrugged. “I get in what I can. You know running the ranch takes most of my time.”
Jason put his pen down and stared at Brik. “I get that, but your condition won’t improve if you keep putting it off.”
“I doubt an amputated leg is a condition, Doc.”
Jason ignored his sarcasm as he washed his hands and removed the dressing to reveal the healed stump where Brik’s right leg used to be.
“It doesn't look like the new prosthetic is irritating when you wear it. Focus on your mobility and endurance with it. That’s the only way you’ll regain equal usage of both sides.”
Brik groaned. “Like I told you, I do more than enough work on the ranch to keep me busy. I don’t need more physical therapy.”
“I know you don’t want to make the extra trips here, so what if I found a solution that worked for both of us?”
Brik took in Jason’s confidence and didn’t trust it one damn bit. “What snake oil are you selling?”
Jason’s laugh was so hard, it came out as a snort. “This isn’t some one-off thing. May and I think we have the perfect person to help you get on track with your therapy. No, we know she’s perfect for you. She’d come to the ranch and help you follow the plan I created for you.”
“No one’s perfect,” Brik muttered under his breath. He had first-hand experience in that area. Anyone from friends to strangers could betray you. “I don’t need a stranger coming into my space and fussing over me. I’m not a helpless child.”
“You can fight all you want, Brik, but the ranch work will weaken that leg and make it harder to get chores done. It may not feel like it now, but it’ll wear you down.”
Brik didn’t like for anyone to be in his space. He had a routine, and he stuck to it. The last thing he needed was new people coming in and out of his existence.
“She could get you to where you need to be. After all, she is a professional.”
“And what’s this professional’s name?”
“Her name is Reese, and we trust her. May was college roommates with her at William and Mary.”
“Is she a local?”
“She grew up not far from here if that’s what you mean. She’s from the Norfolk area. Plus, she knows what she’s doing. She’s a nurse with a background in rehabilitation therapy. She also knows how to deal with hardheads like you. I’d say that makes her qualified in more ways than one. Why don’t you give her a chance?”
Brik looked out the window, considering his options. If he did nothing, Jason and May would never leave him alone. He also hated to admit it, but he was starting to get some sharp pain in the hip where his leg used to be. Phantom pain still nagged at him too. It wasn’t enough to stop him from working, but he didn’t want it to get to that point. What would his ranch partner do without him?
“Fine,” he finally said. “But if she does anything to piss me off, she’s out of there.”
“Try not to show her that you’re a ray of sunshine right away,” Jason teased.
Brik scoffed. “No promises.”
***
