Phoenix Rising

He just gave me the stink eye and continued. "Georgia got engaged this summer. Bill ran off with his secretary two years ago after the twins were born. He said he was done with diapers and should have gotten that vasectomy eighteen years ago. This new guy is a thirty-year-old who has tons of money from some software program he developed and sold. He seems to treat her and the girls right.

"Her oldest, Will, is a physical therapist now. Smart as a whip. A real Doogie Howser. Got into the program right out of high school. Not too keen that his step-father will only be six years older than him, though. But I don't expect Will to hang around there much longer. He's been wanting to come back here and open his own practice. Darcie will finish high school this year. She says she could care less about her mom getting remarried, but Helena thinks differently. Women's intuition or something. The twins are too young to understand what's going on. But maybe that's for the best."

I just nodded along, eating about half of the pizza by the time Mack had finished filling me in. He had eaten another piece himself, absentmindedly by the way he didn't even look at what he was doing and had just reached for it. I didn't bother to chastise him.

"How's your latest project going? You still working on the old Wilson house? The one on Third Street?"

I nodded and swallowed the last swig of my beer. "Painters come tomorrow, and the flooring goes down next week. Should be on the market before the holiday."

"You always do a good job, Meg. It's real nice how you've been cleaning up our town."

"Thanks." I waved my hand at him when he reached for my glass. "Time to cut me off, Mack. I gotta drive home."

"Let me get a box from Lou, then."

I pulled out some bills while he wrapped up the remains of the pizza. "Thanks for the company tonight, Mack. I'm glad I came out."

"You're very welcome, hun. Any time. You know where to find me. I'm sure Helena would love for you to join us for Christmas. The invitation has always been open."

Hopping off the stool and shrugging my still-damp coat back on, I gave him a nod and a smile. "I will definitely take you up on that offer, Mack."

He pointed a thick finger at me. "I'm holding you to that, Meg. And you be careful driving. Don't need you to get in an accident and go sliding into a ditch or something."

"Will do, Mack. Have a good night!"

Hood up, keys in one pocket and pizza box in my hand, I opened the door and stepped out into the bitter cold. Wouldn't you know? The weather report had been right. In the time I'd been inside, the thunder and lightning had been replaced by a bitter cold wind and needle-like streaks of rain. I turned my back to it, shuffling my way on the now-slick sidewalk to my car. What I found was a car-shaped popsicle.

Well, shit. There had never been a time more than this that I wished I'd listened to David's request to get remote start installed on my car. I could have turned it on from the bar. Saved myself a hell of a lot of trouble.

Shaking my head, I used my left hip to bump against the door and my key to dig through the ice around the frame, trying to dislodge it. Neither attempt worked. I cussed again and turned back to the bar. Hopefully, Mack had something better to use to break the ice.

I was two feet from the door when my feet went one way and my body went the other. One second I was standing, reaching for the handle. The next, I was lying on my left side, howling in pain, my purse and the leftover pizza scattered on the icy walk beside me. I gritted my teeth and managed to scoot closer to the door then into a sitting position against the side of the building. That hurt like a son-of-a-gun, making me wail. I banged on the door with my right fist, my left arm now throbbing and hanging limply in my lap.

After a minute, I remembered the music inside. I doubted Mack would have heard me. My head pounding from clenching my jaw to hold in more screams of pain, I tried three times before I was successful with hooking my purse strap on my right foot and dragging it to me. By then, my fingers were shaking from the cold, but I found the bar's number in my phone contacts and dialed it up.

"Daddy M—"

"Oh, thank God! Fuck!"

"Excuse me?"

"Mack! It's Meg!"

"Meg? What's—"

"Help me!" Fire burned in my hip and down my arm. "I'm outside."

The door flew open a few seconds later. Mack stood there in his black T-shirt and jeans, a dirty white apron tied around his waist. He looked around but not at me, apparently unfazed by the icy rain whipping at us both.

"Hey, Mack?"

His gaze dropped. "Whatcha doing down there, Meg?"

"Shut up."

He grinned down at me then. "Didn't I tell you to be careful? You've fallen—"

"Don't even think of finishing that thought," I growled. "Be gentle, but hurry and get me inside. It's freezing out here. And I think I might need an ambulance."

###

"You can't be discharged until we have home-health resources established for you." Trina sighed and rested her arms on the raised security railing of my hospital bed. "I'm sorry, Meg. They won't let me do it. You need professional help."

There was a loud snicker from the foot of the bed, and I glared at Mack who was grinning from ear to ear. My eyes back on my best friend, I sighed as well. "Then set it up."

Trina gave me that tell-tale smile of hers that there was a problem.

"Now what?"

She cringed. "They don't have anyone available until next Saturday."

I punched my right fist into the mattress. "I'm not staying a whole week in this hospital! Do you know how much that'll cost me, even with insurance?"

"I know, Meg. I know." Trina glanced at Mack then back to me.

I mimicked the look between them. "What?"

"There is...an alternative," Mack said, scrubbing his chin. He shared another look with my best friend.

I rolled my eyes. "Spit it out, will you?"

"You're right, she is grouchy when she's sick," Mack smiled at Trina.

"I'm not sick, dammit! I fractured my wrist and hip."

Mack shook his head, though he was still smiling. "Such language, Meg."

"Because you wanted pizza and went out when everyone else was smart enough to stay at home," Trina said with an eye roll.

"Oh, get off it! It was raining when I left!"

"No need to yell, Meg, dear," Helena said, favoring her right leg while she hobbled toward us from the bathroom. "I think the whole hospital heard you."

"Quit treating me like a child," I said through gritted teeth, my good hand now clenching the thin piece of fabric they called a blanket, "and just tell me what the alternative is to staying in this money pit until next weekend."

Helena took her husband's seat when he stood and offered it to her. She sighed and smiled up at him, patting his hand on her shoulder. Then she turned back to me and simply said, "Will."

"As in your grandson?" Trina asked.

"Mack..." I started.

Helena raised her hand. "Just hear us out, Meg."

I wanted to argue but said, "Fine."

"You know what they say when women use that word," Mack snickered.

"You'd be wise to not finish that thought," his wife snapped at him then leaned forward. "Meg, Will is fully qualified to come take care of you. He's been working part-time at the nursing home up north. They just got someone full-time and he'll be heading this way for the holidays. I called him as soon as the doctor gave us the prognosis. Will said the experience would be good for him, and he'd be glad to help out a friend of the family. No charge."

"I don't know, Helena. Surely he has better plans than babysitting an old lady like me for the next four-to-six weeks. Plus, I'd feel weird not paying him."

"Are you crazy?" Trina gaped at me.

Helena raised her hand. "You need physical therapy even though they didn't have to do surgery on your hip. Therapy and lots of rest while you heal. The less stress the better. Because your arm is immobile, you'll need someone to help you get around. Will can do whatever you need him to as well as the therapy the doctor prescribed. And he'll do it for free."

Heat spread through my cheeks from even considering turning down this offer. I lowered my gaze to the cast around my forearm and wrist. Thought of the occasional radiating pain I felt in my shoulder and hip. Both had been bruised, though the latter also had a hairline fracture. While the doctor had said I'd been lucky to not have further injuries, he'd been concerned about me making my hip worse if I was home alone or without the proper care.

I understood. I was worried, too. But Will? He was what? Twenty-four? He could be my own child. Wouldn't that alone be...weird?

"At least try it," Helena suggested.

Trina rested her hand on my right shin. "If it doesn't work, bring in the professionals."

"Excuse me?" Mack said. "My grandson is—"

"Enough!" I flung my head back into the pillow. "She knows that, Mack. That's not what she meant."

"But she said—"

"I accept, okay? Clear it with my doctor and leave me alone for a while. I have a massive headache and just want to sleep."

My guests mumbled their goodbyes and told me to get some rest. Before the door closed behind them, I heard Mack say I sure was touchy.

What had I gotten myself into?

###

After two days of being poked, prodded, and micromanaged in the hospital, I was finally set free. Mack had gotten my vehicle home and picked me up in Helena's car. I had never been more glad to turn into my own drive. Enter my own house. There would be peace and quiet in my own personal sanctuary...

Trina put her hands on her waist. "But she'll need me to—"

"Everything is under control." Will matched her stance by the two windowed doors leading to the rest of the house.

"I want to—"

"Trina, stop. I know what I'm doing."

"Can I just—"

"She needs her rest. You can call on her this evening."

"You know, a guy shouldn't be doing some things—"

"I'm an invalid, not deaf," I called to them from across the room where I'd been situated in one of those old-people automated recliners that lifted you up to a standing position. It was on loan from Trina since her father wasn't using it for the time being. Let's just say it had been comical to see Mack and two of his buddies moving it in.

Extra pillows had been wedged all around me as extra cushioning, as well as a pillow under my left arm to support the cast and reduce strain on my shoulder. If the intent was to ensure I couldn't move, they had accomplished it. I was already in a bad mood after learning this would be my bed for the duration of my recovery. But the two of them had been at it ever since Mack and Helena had left and my first physical therapy session with Will had ended five minutes ago.

I sighed heavily. "Trina, I'm in good hands."

She pouted at me. "Are you sure?"

"Yes. What I need you to do is hold down the fort at work. Keep on the crew. Make sure we stick to schedule." I waved my cell phone at her. "You can text me with questions. Just make sure the tile gets installed tomorrow."

"Fine." She blew me a kiss, snarled at Will, and then left, the front door shutting a few seconds later a little harder than necessary.

Will was smiling when he approached me and stuffed both hands into the front pockets of his jeans. "Now, how's my patient?"

I squinted my eyes up at him. "I've had better days."

He nodded sympathetically. "Are you hungry? Cold? In any pain from the therapy?"

Trina had picked up food from a local diner for lunch on the way home for all of us. A heavy blanket covered my lap and elevated legs, hiding my cut-off sweats—which Will had encouraged me to wear since they would be comfortable and not too constrictive. And I'd had my first daily dose of pain meds before leaving the hospital. They'd had me walking a bit, but the real therapy hadn't started until I'd gotten home.

I shook my head and smiled genuinely at him. "I'm good for now. I'll let you know if that changes."

He laughed and moved to check my pulse and blood pressure. "Make sure you do. Your doctor and my grandpa will have my hide if I—"

"You'll be fine, Will." I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. "Do what you keep telling everyone else to do. Relax."

"Yes, ma'am." He released the cuff on my right arm.

I popped one eye open. " 'Ma'am,' huh?"

"Would you rather 'Mrs.—"

"Ma'am or Meg is fine." I snapped my eyelid shut again. I don't know why I had a sudden aversion to being called 'Mrs. Finnegan.' It had been my legal name for so long.

"Okay. I'll just be in the other room. You know how to get ahold of me."

I yawned and nodded slightly. "Hmm mmm."

A moment later, the doors to the den clicked shut. I sighed and turned to smile sleepily at the urn on the mantel. Peace, at last, David. Peace at last.

###

The first two weeks under Will's care went by slowly. He camped out in the guest room but was within shouting distance of the den where I stayed in my chair. Made sure I ate well, rested enough, and stayed on schedule with my prescribed medications and activity. He was polite and encouraging, which helped when I felt like I was never going to get back to my old self.

I got to see my bed more often...but it was only for physical therapy since it was a flat surface. That was two times a day doing various exercises—to be increased to three or four times based upon my comfortability—in addition to attempting to walk with Will's aid. That was the hardest part...worse than the exercises where the majority of my body was stationary.

Then there was trying to keep my stress level down. It helped that Trina said everything was going smoothly at work. But that didn't mean I didn't worry about what was happening there. I had to rely on videos and photos she sent me since I couldn't be onsite. She recorded a complete walkthrough after it was cleaned up and staged. I had tried to convince Will to take me over, but he'd been adamant that I stay in the house so I didn't slip and fall on the snow and ice, more of which had arrived the weekend following my accident and hadn't melted yet due to the low temperatures.

I spent the time in between therapy sessions reclined in the chair and watching TV or reading books. The nights were more comfortable than I had expected. Although, it did feel weird having to wear a sling to ensure my casted arm didn't fall off the armrest while I was sleeping.

The boredom was bad, too. It had settled in after several days of the same routine and the ache of my bones trying to heal. Medicine only went so far to dull the pain. And it didn't prevent thoughts from forming in my brain that sometimes made it difficult to fall asleep. Most prominently was how different this all would have been if David had still been around. I probably wouldn't have even gone out for pizza.

Getting cleaned up had been interesting. In addition to a garbage bag fitted and taped around my cast, I had made use of another item borrowed from Trina's father: a shower chair. We had a loaner wheelchair from the hospital that made it easy to roll me into the bathroom. But the first time, there had been a bit of an argument between Trina and Will if it should be a sponge bath or a shower. He'd opted for the former. I'd really wanted to soak in my tub like no tomorrow—preferably with neither of them in the room, although none of that was a possibility. I'd settled for the shower after Trina had won in the end. But I don't think she'd thought it all the way through because that also meant she had to undress me and help clean me as she'd argued Will shouldn't see even the slightest bit of me naked, even if he was a licensed professional. It had still been embarrassing for my best friend to see me that way, plus have to redress me.

Will was excellent at his job and judging my comfort zones for how much movement I could handle. But he also pushed me at times, saying I needed to trust him to know how far would be too far. After the first session like that, I'd wanted to give up. It wasn't because I was in pain, but I was just exhausted emotionally. He'd thankfully left the room when I asked him to, and I'd cried in private. But the next session had been harder...longer. I'd silently thanked him for it because we both knew he was doing what was best for me. That if he wasn't hard on me, I would just be delaying the healing process and extending the recovery time.

Trina alternated with Helena and Mack on bringing me groceries, making me meals, and doing laundry and a few household chores. It broke up the monotony. Usually, we watched a movie after dinner, played cards, or just talked. Trina gave me a pedicure one night, and I felt like a million bucks. Their visits helped Will, too, by giving him a break to just be a twenty-four-year-old single guy.

I resolved that this was my life for now. Whether I liked it or not. And I probably could never pay them back for their friendship.

###

It was week three after we'd all celebrated Christmas together in Mack and Helena's home—with everyone's help to get me there and back safely—when I started noticing changes. Little things. Probably insignificant to others if I would mention it. But I had a lot free time on my hands to ruminate on them. Each and every one.

I was walking longer distances within the house. Standing for my showers, though Trina still had to help. And we were up to three sessions a day with physical therapy. A trip to the doctor for X-rays showed the fracture was healing well, but I was still to stay off it when not necessary and keep my legs elevated for a couple of more weeks just to be safe.

During one of said sessions was when I first felt the tingling deep inside. I would lie on my back on the bed and raise my right knee, foot flat on the mattress. Then with Will's help, I would slide my foot toward my butt and hold it there for a few seconds before sliding my leg out straight again. We then repeated it twenty times.

Five reps in, Will's hand on the inside of my left thigh slid, pushing the cuff of my cut-off sweats up slightly. When he adjusted his hold, his palm was on my bare skin. We completed the next fifteen reps in this manner, which left me breathing heavily afterwards. From his touch, not the exercises. He didn't seem to notice, but I sure had. The warmth of his skin against mine. His grip firm. It stirred feelings within me that I hadn't felt in five years.

His hand remained on top of my shorts later in the day during the same exercise. But when we moved on to one of the exercises where I stood at the kitchen counter and bent my left knee by lifting my heel toward my butt to hold it there for a five count, I felt his touch again. I wasn't supposed to move my thigh, but I lost concentration for some reason and moved my whole leg back on the second rep. He knelt beside me and held the inside of my left knee and the outside of my left hip—his fingers slightly gripping my ass—and kept that part of my leg stationary for the remainder of the exercise. He'd held my leg and hip multiple times before during therapy, but this time had been memorable in my mind. Something about it just felt...different.

Then the next day before dinner, I walked from the den to my bathroom for my shower where Trina was waiting. I stumbled, and Will's arms slid around my shoulders and waist, stabilizing me. I snapped my head up to see him frowning at me while asking if I was okay. Once assured that I was fine, he took hold of my casted arm again and walked next to me the rest of the way. All through my shower, I couldn't let go of the feeling of masculine arms holding me like that.

David had been my only boyfriend...my only lover. We'd waited until our wedding night to have sex, both of us virgins despite him being so damn sexy. I'd never been disappointed by our lovemaking. It had been rocky at first, trying to coordinate our movements, but we'd learned to work out the newbie kinks and had quickly settled into what was comfortable for us.