A Family For The Soldier. Carolyne Aarsen

       Chapter Two

      “Got a new patient for you. Is Salma here?”

      Chloe looked up from the makeshift desk she had been given in one corner of the physical therapy department at the doctor standing in front of her. With his droopy moustache and thick eyebrows, Dr. Schuster looked as though he should be riding the range rather than diagnosing and treating patients. Dr. Schuster had taken advantage of this impression and adopted an aw-shucks attitude that put many of his patients at ease.

      However, right now he looked anything but as he tapped the file he held against his other hand, the frown on his face giving her cause for concern.

      “She’s gone for lunch. Can I help you?”

      “I thought she would be around.”

      “You look worried. Is it a difficult case?”

      “I’ve got other things on my mind,” he said. “But this patient does bother me. He said he doesn’t need therapy.”

      “Do you want me to talk to him?” Chloe asked, not sure she could make a difference, but sometimes another voice helped.

      “You mean turn on that Miner charm?” Dr. Schuster joked. Then he shook his head. “No. I can’t ask that of you.”

      “It’s my stepsister who has all the charm,” Chloe returned. Ever since yesterday when Vanessa had shown up with her arm hooked in Grady’s, grinning that smug Cheshire smile, Chloe had struggled with envy and frustration. So often in the years after Vanessa’s mother had married Chloe’s widowed and grieving father, Chloe had wished she and Vanessa could be close. As an only child she had looked forward to having a sister.

      Instead, Vanessa had been difficult and contrary, trying at every opportunity to either discredit Chloe or treat her with contempt.

      “Vanessa definitely has a certain appeal.” Dr. Schuster’s smile deepened. “She’s been the talk of the town since she descended on the party last month claiming to be Cody’s mother. But I doubt she has as much staying power as you.”

      “Words to make a girl’s heart go pitty-pat,” Chloe said in a dry tone and held her hand out for the file. “Who is the reluctant patient?”

      “Another Stillwater. Grady.”

      And now Chloe’s heart did, in fact, go pitty-pat. And then some. She took the folder from Dr. Schuster and opened it, scanning the contents, trying to maintain her distance.

      “This patient will need quite a bit of time spent with him.” Chloe flipped through the file, shifting into professional mode. “He’ll need to get started sooner, rather than later, if he wants to regain full mobility.”

      “He only arrived Friday, last week,” Dr. Schuster said. “He came to see me yesterday on the recommendation of his surgeon in the army.”

      “Okay. I’ll contact Mr. Stillwater. See what I can do.”

      “Good. Great. Make sure you let Salma know, as well. I suspect once you get Grady cooperating, as senior therapist she’ll be doing most of the work.”

      Chloe understood this, but worried that Dr. Schuster thought she wasn’t as competent as Salma. He looked as if he wanted to say more, then left, his lab coat flaring out behind him as he hurried off.

      Clearly in a rush, Chloe thought, setting the file aside.

      She had hoped to talk to him. Tell him about her personal situation. Guess it would have to be another time.

      There were no other visitors in Ben’s room when she got there, and the only sound was the faint hissing of his oxygen, the steady beeps of the monitors. “I suppose you’ve heard about all the happenings in and around the county,” she said to him while she got him ready for his exercises. Talking to patients while she worked was part of the therapy. “Thefts and unexpected gifts and all sorts of stuff. Kind of crazy. So far, though, nothing from your place, so that’s good, I guess. And now your brother is back.” Chloe’s smile faded as she did a series of hip flexions and abductions, thinking of Grady.

      “You know everyone says you look the same. I can see some minor differences,” she continued. “Grady’s eyelashes are thicker. Hope that doesn’t bother you, though I can’t imagine either of you could care about that. And his one eyebrow slants off to one side. I think he’s a bit taller. Maybe because of his army training. Makes him stand up straighter.”

      A cough behind her caught her attention and she flushed, suddenly self-conscious about her chatter as Mamie Stillwater entered the room holding a sleeping Cody, a large quilted diaper bag hooked over her narrow shoulder.

      “I’m sorry,” Mamie said. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

      “I’m just doing Ben’s exercises,” Chloe murmured, thankful she hadn’t said anything more.

      “Do you mind if Cody and I watch?”

      “Not at all.” Chloe felt a stirring in her soul at the sight of the little boy, so innocent, his rosy cheeks begging to be touched. Vanessa and Grady’s son. The thought hurt her more than it should.

      At least this child has two parents. As opposed to mine.

      She tried to fight the thought down. I’ll do the best I can, she reminded herself, thinking of the child she carried. At four and a half months, she thankfully wasn’t showing yet, so she hadn’t told anyone. Not even her close friend Lucy. She was too ashamed. Sooner or later, however, she would have to tell the hospital administration, and then everyone else.

      Mamie dropped the diaper bag on an empty chair by the window, shifted the sleeping baby in her arms and stood on the opposite side of Ben, her free hand resting on his head while Chloe did some hamstring stretches.

      “You’ve been doing this awhile?” Mamie asked, fingering Ben’s hair away from his face.

      “About two years. It took me six to get my degree.”

      “And you came back here...”

      “I was offered this job.” Part-time and only temporary, she’d been told, but she’d wanted to come back to Little Horn badly enough that she took the chance it might turn into full-time work.

      “I was sorry to hear about your father,” Mamie said.

      “So was I.” Chloe had made a visit seven months ago for her father’s funeral, then returned to Fort Worth and Jeremy.

      How much had changed since then, she thought.

      Her father’s ranch had been sold, barely paying off the debts incurred against it from his accident, and Jeremy had started divorce proceedings once he’d found out she was pregnant.

      She had felt rootless and lost. Taking this job had become her way of finding her footing.

      Chloe moved to work on Ben’s arm when the rhythmic thump of a crutch on the floor gave her another start. Grady had arrived.

      She pressed her lips together, sent up a prayer for strength and continued working.

      “Good morning, Chloe,” he said, his deep voice creating an unwelcome shiver of awareness. She gave him a nod, her cheeks warming as he made his way around the bed. He wavered, catching the rail of the bed to steady himself. He wasn’t wearing his brace today, she noticed.

      “Are you okay?” his grandmother asked.

      “I’m fine.” His curt voice and the clench of his jaw told Chloe he wasn’t fine at all. She guessed his hip was causing him trouble, as was his knee. From what she’d read in his file, he’d been shot in the thigh, damaging many muscle groups and compromising the ligaments of his knee. “Do you want me to hold Cody?” Grady asked.

      “He’s