Dream Mender

“You. Tim learned to take care of his own social life long ago. It’s very active.”

“And yours?”

He suddenly looked uncomfortable. “Not so active, at least not lately.”

“Why not?You’re the best-looking one in the bunch,” she said. She wasn’t above using flattery to get her way, but in his case it wasn’t necessary. Frank Chambers had a quiet strength and serenity about him when he wasn’t raging at the universe. He seemed like the kind of man a woman could depend on. And everything she’d heard about him from his adoring family confirmed that. Plus, his slightly crooked nose, the firm, stubborn line of his jaw and the astonishingly blue eyes gave his face a rugged appeal. She’d always preferred that type to the polished professionals in their designer shirts, designer watches and phony smiles. In Frank’s case the internal strength and diamond-in-the-rough exterior added up to a potent and very masculine combination.

“I’m astonished no woman has snapped you up,” she said with honesty, wondering as she did so why she felt so glad that he was free and unencumbered. She never got involved with her patients. Lately, in fact, she never got involved with any man. Keeping her tone light and bantering, she added, “You’re obviously domesticated. You probably even do dishes.”

He shook his head adamantly. “Oh, no. Not if I can help it. That’s probably the single greatest advantage I can think of having so many younger brothers and a baby sister. When I was younger, my turn to do dishes only came about once a week. If I was really on my toes, I’d land a job mowing lawns whenever it was my turn, or bribe one of the others to take it. Karyn earned more doing dishes for me than she ever did baby-sitting.”

Suddenly his gaze fell on the empty plate and coffee cup. His expression became perplexed. “How’d you do that?”

She grinned at him. “It’s all a matter of technique.”

“That kind of sleight of hand belongs on stage.”

“Hey, for all you know, I ate it all myself.”

“Not a chance.”

“How come?”

Before she realized what he intended, he scooted his chair closer, reached over and brushed the tip of one bandaged finger across her lips. The gauze tickled, but there was nothing humorous about the emotional impact. Jenny felt the sizzle of that touch somewhere deep inside. “No jelly,” he said softly. “No powdered sugar.” He looked suddenly regretful. “I almost wish there were.”

“Why?” she said in a voice that trembled as she lost herself to the intensity of his gaze.

“So I could see if it tastes even sweeter on you.”

Jenny’s pulse skittered wildly. She swallowed hard and dragged her gaze away. Countering the rush of unexpected feelings, she was suddenly all business.

“Talk about distractions,” she murmured, partly to herself. The sizzling tension shattered like fragile glass as she injected an energetic note into her voice. “All this talk has kept you from your therapy. Let’s get to work. Do something a little more challenging. Try squeezing this washcloth.”

She handed him a cloth that had been folded into a thick rectangular wad. With infinite patience, she closed his hand around it. It would be days before he could complete the closure, days before the tips of his fingers could comfortably touch his own palm.

Frank, obviously, didn’t understand the difficulty. He shot her a look of pure disgust. “Any two-year-old can do that,” he said, obviously ignoring the difficulty of yesterday’s even less taxing assignment.

“Then it should be a breeze for you.”

She deliberately turned her back on him, sat at her desk and attacked her paperwork. When his cursing turned the air blue, she smiled, but she didn’t give an inch.

“You’re doing this just to break my spirit,” he muttered finally.

Jenny glanced up and saw the furrows in his brow as he struggled with the simple task. “Mr. Chambers…”

“Frank, dammit!”

“Frank,” she said quietly, countering irritation with determined calm. “A rodeo bronc rider couldn’t break your spirit. What I’m going for here is a little spirit of cooperation.”

“Right,” he muttered between gritted teeth. But when the time came for him to return to his room, she had almost as much trouble getting him to leave as she’d had getting him there in the first place.

* * *

Something astonishing had happened to Frank in that therapy room, while doing those ridiculous yet nearly impossible exercises. He’d decided to fight. Not in some half-baked way, either, but with everything in him. Maybe it was because the prospect of doing anything else didn’t sit well with a man used to being firmly in control of his own life. Maybe the smoke had finally cleared from his brain so he could see things straight again.

Or maybe it was just that one flash of insight he’d had, when he’d realized that he’d do almost anything to earn Jenny’s approval, to win one of her warm and tender smiles. He’d searched a long time to find a woman who was part hellion and part angel. And something told him he’d finally found her.