Healing the Forest Ranger

“Is my ethnicity a problem for you?” he asked.

She snorted. “Of course not. It’s just that you seem so...so casual for a doctor.”

Kaku, his grandmother, had always told him he was wild and untamed. Like the mustangs running free in Secret Valley. And yet, he wasn’t wild. Not anymore. The war had changed him. He’d come to realize what was really important in life. God, family and living with honor. Now he just wanted to settle down and find peace. But one thing was missing. He had no family. They were all gone now. No one to share his hopes and dreams with. No one to love.

And he felt the emptiness like a hole in his heart.

“I’d look a bit out of place in Stokely if I ran around in a business suit.” He reached for a stool on wheels. Pulling it over, he sat down in front of Kristen. “And you didn’t tell me your daughter was one of my new patients.”

“I didn’t realize at the time.”

And whether he liked it or not, it appeared he’d now get to know them even better.

He faced Kristen, smiling to alleviate the girl’s worried frown. “So, Kristen, how are you today?”

“Fine.” Her voice sounded uncertain as she held her clasped hands tightly in her lap. Rather than happy and smiling, she looked anxious and withdrawn.

Frightened.

He made a pretense of scanning the clipboard. “You’re what? Twelve, thirteen years old?”

Kristen’s brow crinkled and she shook her head, looking away. Unsure of herself. Cade didn’t like that. If he was going to help this child, he’d have to win her trust.

“I’m only ten, but I’ll be eleven next November,” she said.

Cade widened his eyes and drew back as though amazed. “Is that right? Well, you’re sure pretty and you look older than your age. Very grown-up.”

His flattery brought a flush of pleasure to the child’s cheeks. Ah, he had her now. He loved helping people; he always had. But for some innate reason, he felt strongly that he must help this little girl feel better about herself. No matter who her mother was and what she did for a living.

“I’ve spoken to your doctor in Reno, and he’s told me you’re wearing a C-Leg prosthesis. Can I take a look?” Cade asked respectfully.

Kristen nodded, pulling her skirt up to a modest inch just above her skinny knees. Or rather, knee.

Setting the clipboard aside on the counter by the sink, Cade studied the mechanisms of the prosthesis. Pink and white scars crisscrossed the thighs of her amputated leg as well as her good leg. “Were both your legs injured?”

She nodded, but Lyn answered. “After the accident, they were only able to save her left leg.”

Thank goodness they were able to save that much.

Cade reached for the socket of the prosthesis, his fingers pressing and pulling gently as he tested the fit around Kristen’s stump.

“I don’t think it fits properly,” Lyn said. “She’s had a recent growth spurt, which may have changed the fitting. It’s hurting her. She isn’t able to walk very well.” She stepped near, hovering close by Kristen’s side.

Cade liked the genuine concern he heard in Lyn’s voice, and the tenderness as she brushed a protective hand over the girl’s arm. It made her seem more human.

“We’ll see.” He bowed his head low, his attention on Kristen, but his words were for Lyn. “How’d you hear about my office?”

“Dr. Fletcher said you’d recently completed an internship with the Craig Stratich Group. I’m aware that they’re leading specialists in prosthetics and research. I accepted my job in Stokely knowing there’d be a qualified doctor here to work with Kristen.”

He grunted his acknowledgment, betraying his nervousness. The tribal leaders wouldn’t want him treating the forest ranger’s daughter, but he had very little choice. He certainly would never turn the girl away. Above all, he felt compassion for the child. She needed his help and he couldn’t refuse.

He sat back and released a quick sigh. “You should know I’m not really a physical therapist. I’m not even a true prosthetist. I’m just a general practitioner who’s worked a lot with prosthetics. Unfortunately, my office isn’t currently set up to provide physical therapy for an amputee.”

Lyn’s brow crinkled, and her voice filled with apprehension. “Are you saying you can’t treat Kristen?”

“No, I can work with your specialists in Reno. I’m sure we can come up with something to allow me to help you out, but I wanted you to know up front what I’m able to do.” He made some mental notes of how he might install support bars for Kristen to hold on to as she learned to walk better. A floor mat and some practice stairs would help out, too. It wouldn’t take much to create a therapy room for the little girl, yet it could make a big difference in the quality of her life.

“I understand,” Lyn continued. “Dr. Fletcher said if anyone could help us, it was you.”

Cade chuckled, unable to resist feeling pleased by the flattery. “I’ll do my best. I wouldn’t want to disappoint my old teacher.”

“He also said you’d served several tours of duty as a marine in Afghanistan. When you got home, you finished medical school and focused on prosthetics because you had a good friend who lost his leg in the war.”

Cade stiffened, taken off guard by how much she knew about him. She’d touched a raw nerve buried deep inside. Dallin had saved his life, putting himself in harm’s way. Cade owed everything to Dal and much more. “Good ol’ Dr. Fletcher. He always did have a wagging tongue.”

“I didn’t mean to be nosy,” Lyn said. “It’s just that Kristen’s father was also a marine.”

“I see. Semper fi.” Cade nodded in understanding. Just one more thing he didn’t want to like about this woman.

“Always faithful,” she said.

“I’m sure your husband was a good man.” Cade almost groaned. Now he was making small talk with her.

“My daddy was the best,” Kristen said.

Cade looked away, the knowledge of their loss impacting him more than he liked. He patted Kristen on her good knee before rolling his stool backward. He didn’t want to know about Lyn’s dead husband. Or anything else about her, for that matter. “Why don’t you stand and walk a few steps for me, sweetheart?”

The girl tossed a hesitant glance at her mother, then did as asked. Bracing her hands against the armrests of her chair, she lurched to her feet. She bit her bottom lip, obviously concentrating. Trying hard not to show her clumsiness. Lyn stood close by. Too close. Her hands were open and ready to catch the girl if she fell.

Kristen walked forward, bending slightly at the waist and sticking her bottom out before jerking the prosthetic leg forward. The end result was that she walked with a pronounced limp.

Cade stood and stepped over to give Kristen some guidance. He had to brush past Lyn, catching the tantalizing scent of some kind of fruity shampoo. Sweet and feminine. “Excuse me.”

Lyn stepped back, but not far enough. Her gaze centered on Kristen like a mother eagle watching her young. And that’s when Cade wondered if she was a bit overprotective.

“You definitely need a new prosthesis,” Cade said. “We can get one fitted for you. I’ve got some good contacts for that. In the meantime, I’d like you to work on a few things for me. Can you do that?”

Kristen nodded, her blue eyes wide as she gazed up at him with a mixture of gratitude or doubt, he wasn’t sure which.

“First, I don’t think you’re trusting your prosthesis enough. It won’t collapse under you, so let it do the work for you. It’s strong and can bear your weight. As you walk, you need to make sure your hip is over the foot.”

He modeled the posture with his own hip and leg. “Set your weight down on the foot of your prosthesis before you take another step. Trust that it’ll be there for you. Brace your hand on the wall if you need to support yourself. Then bring through your good leg. This will pull you up onto the toe of your prosthesis. Keep your hip over your foot. That will load the springs in the prosthetic foot so it’ll help propel you forward on your next step.”

Cade directed Kristen through the motions. When her hip and leg moved out of position, he gently pressed them back into proper order, and Kristen was soon taking less awkward steps.

Then he moved away. Without his aid, utter panic filled Kristen’s eyes. “What if I fall?”

Lyn took a step toward her daughter, but Cade held out his hand to stop her from interfering. “Then you fall. What’s the worst that’ll happen?”