those intense green eyes that perfectly fit his streaked blond hair. He wouldn’t look out of place with a surfboard tucked under one arm and hanging out on the beach. Except there wasn’t a beach for three hundred miles.
“I’m so glad. You don’t know what a relief it is to hear that.”
Struggling with her emotions, she swallowed twice before she could speak again.
“It was awful. Having doctors telling me I’d never walk again, accept it. I think their sympathies ran out at the same time my insurance benefits did.”
She clutched her hands together to stop their trembling. The memory of the accident had faded somewhat, but she still felt the aftereffects.
“I’m trying not to think too much about that part of it. I’m moving forward, working on my physical abilities, but the pain is so intense at times I can hardly move.”
“You are one tough lady, Aurora—but you always have been.”
Beau pressed his hand against hers, this time offering comfort with a simple touch, and she appreciated the gesture.
“I can see you’re in pain. I’m a D.O.—Doctor of Osteopathy—and I perform manipulations of the body in addition to running the straight-up medical practice. That’s probably a little different than you’re used to.”
“Yes, it is, but I’ll consider anything that will get me where I want to be.”
“Where is that? What’s your goal?” The smile he gave lifted one side of his mouth, making him look like he had a secret.
“I want to be pain-free, off the medications, and back to my old self again. There has to be a way other than just taking more pills or different pills.”
What a relief, a joy, a gift it would be to have her old life back. Or at least to have her body back so she could take the rest of her life where she wanted it to go.
Right now she didn’t even know where that was. Working in a hospital again might not ever be possible due to her injury. Her job was on hold, her apartment had been packed up and put in storage... She looked at her friend, hoping he could really give her the help she needed when no one else had been able to.
“There’s always another way—no matter what the issue is.” Beau went on to describe several natural methods of pain control. “Massage would work. Yoga would be helpful, gentle, and it would provide the flexibility you need.”
“Yoga? I never thought of that.” She sighed as relief started to form in her mind. “I have to be back in action as soon as possible or my mother is going to drive me nuts.”
That was something Beau couldn’t do anything about. Her relationship and her problems with her mother were long term and would probably never change.
“How so?” He opened up a computer program, typing as they talked.
“I moved into her house with the intention of staying just a few days, until I can really figure out what I’m going to do. Unfortunately she’s determined to be my nurse, psychotherapist and nutritionist instead of my mother.”
Yeah, it was all or nothing with her. Always had been. Always would be. At her mother’s age, there would be no changing her.
Yet another reason she’d left home at such an early age. While growing up Aurora had felt like she’d been hatched or adopted. She hadn’t felt as if she belonged to her family. They’d had very distinct ideas on what she should be and what she should do with her life that hadn’t matched at all with what she’d wanted. Her needs, her wants, her dreams, had been squashed by her family.
The only solution she’d been able to come to had been to leave. To get away. Forge a life for herself elsewhere. So she’d broken out and left the state to fulfill her career goals at a large university hospital in Virginia.
At least she’d gotten that part right. A husband and family of her own had been more elusive.
Being in charge of her life was something that she would never change. But those ideas of building a life with someone, having a family, had begun to surface—then had crashed into oblivion after the breakup with her boyfriend and the car wreck. Eventually she’d figured out that he wasn’t a long-term kind of guy. Wasn’t in it for the long haul and didn’t have the fortitude to be the man she needed.
The first time he’d seen her scars he’d recoiled. That had been the end for both of them. All the plans she’d made for her future had come crashing down and she’d come home to Brush Valley to lick her wounds, heal, and recover from the accident and the breakup.
Here she was. Home again. Starting over. A new Aurora, reinventing her life.
Beau looked at her for a moment, contemplating. “I’m sure your mother was scared when you were hurt, right? She’s probably not over the shock of it, so you’ll have to cut her a break a while longer.”
That thought had occurred to Aurora, and she dropped her eyes away from the intensity of him, the truth in his words. “I know, and I appreciate her efforts, but if I hang around the house all the time she’ll feel compelled to wait on me. It won’t be good for either of us.”
Beau lifted his hands and looked around, as if suddenly struck by a bold new idea. “Well, as you know, I’m suddenly without a nurse and I need one immediately. I would love to have you help out as much as you can. If you’d be interested in working with me, that is?”
“What? Really?”
She hadn’t thought of working while she was in Brush Valley, let alone working with Beau. She hadn’t let her mind wander in that direction, but now it seemed like a great idea.
Her heart thrummed in anticipation, her throat constricted for a few seconds, and then her eyes widened. “I couldn’t work full-time yet, but I can answer phones, make patient appointments and work the triage line for you.”
The stress would be way less than working in the hospital, so she might be able to swing it. Could this be the answer she needed?
“What triage line?” Beau gave a sideways smile, lifting one corner of his mouth. “I bought the building a year ago...right before Chloe was born. A lot has happened since then, and I haven’t gotten everything in place.” He shook his head, but there was a smile there. “Maybe you can help me get caught up.”
“That would be fantastic! I could start any time. Like tomorrow.”
The idea of working with Beau, helping to get his business going and refilling her bank account were both very appealing.
“This would solve so many of my problems—just like that.” She snapped her fingers.
“For me, too. Agency nurses are hard to find this far out in the country, and I hadn’t even thought of looking for one yet because Cathy still had a couple weeks before she was due.” He snorted and shook his head, his eyes wide in self-deprecation. “Underestimated that one, big-time. But, if you’re serious, can you really start tomorrow?”
“Absolutely.” Joy lifted her mood immeasurably. “My temporary disability payments run out in a week, so working for you will be the perfect answer until I can figure out a more permanent solution.”
“Deal. You’re hired.” He looked away for a second, then back at her. “Do you want to return to Virginia and your job there? Or are you considering something else? You’ve been missed around here. By everyone.”
The look he gave her was pointed, and guilt filled the empty space in her gut. The people around here had once been her friends, her family, and she’d left them behind in order to have a life for herself elsewhere. Now...? Who knew what the future held, but returning here permanently hadn’t crossed her mind.
A sigh tumbled out of her throat. “I just don’t know. With hospital work there’s always a lot of lifting and pulling and tugging of patients or beds or equipment.” Her shoulders drooped as saying the words