Read Online I’ll Be There by Samantha Chase - Free Book Online Page A

a simple nod of her head, she collected her purse and her folder on the office space and told him she’d be back after lunch.
    He breathed a sigh of relief when she was gone.
    * * *
    â€œI’m not going to lie to you, Mr. Montgomery,” Alex said as he began to go through a series of exercises for Zach’s legs, “you’ve got a hell of a reputation in the world of physical therapy.”
    Lying on his back, Zach chuckled. “I’m not going to lie to you, Mr. Rebat, everything you heard is true.”
    The two men laughed as Alex held Zach’s knee up to his chest. “Do you want to walk without those crutches?” he asked.
    â€œMore than anything.” The answer was out before he even had to think about it. What would be the point in lying?
    â€œThen why are you fighting it so hard?”
    Good question. “I’m used to doing things my own way,” Zach said. “I don’t like having people come into my home, ignoring my requests and my questions. Or worse, ignoring the things I say when I try to explain what I’m feeling.”
    â€œWhat are you feeling?”
    Zach grimaced as Alex slowly straightened Zach’s leg and flexed his foot. “Discouraged.”
    Alex nodded. “It’s not unusual. From what I’ve read in your file, you were a very physically active guy. Not being able to get up and go is bound to mess with you.”
    â€œThat’s putting it mildly.”
    â€œI’ll tell you what, why don’t you tell me how you see this therapy going? What is it that we can do to make this something you’ll commit to?”
    â€œWe?” Zach asked incredulously.
    â€œYeah. We.” He released Zach’s leg and stood back. “You’ve been through enough therapists and talked to enough doctors to know what you need to do, and what you don’t want to do. You’re a businessman; lay out a plan for us that will get you to throw those crutches away.”
    For a minute, Zach didn’t know what to say. Ever since the accident, no one had asked him what he wanted; they all told him what he needed. The thought of finally having a say in his own recovery was almost enough to give him hope.
    Almost.
    â€œSo you’re telling me,” Zach said as he sat up, “if I told you exactly how I wanted our therapy sessions to go, you’d go along with it.”
    Alex smirked. “Within reason. If you’re going to tell me you only want me to come around a couple of days a week for thirty-minute sessions, I’m going to tell you no. But if you want to actively participate in your recovery and can come up with a plan that is going to motivate you to do the things you know you need to do, then I’m going to promise you that I’ll be right by your side when we throw those crutches away.”
    Zach eyed him warily. “You can’t possibly make that kind of promise.”
    â€œI believe I can.” He took a step away from Zach and began to casually pace the room. “You see, I’ve thoroughly studied your file. You had a traumatic spinal injury that was compounded by the multiple broken bones and internal injuries. You’ve already regained an impressive amount of range of motion. The problem is, you’ve still got some minor swelling, and the muscles are going flaccid because you’re not using them. That’s why you feel weak. That’s why you have so much pain during your sessions—because we are trying to get those muscles to build back up.”
    â€œI don’t understand why there’s so much pain,” Zach said. “I was in great physical shape at the time of the accident. It hasn’t been that long. Why are my muscles straining so damn hard? You would think this would be no big deal.”
    â€œZach, did you get in great condition overnight?”
    â€œWell…no. I mean, I was always an athletic kid and grew up playing sports. It came