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Authors: Grace Brannigan
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wondering if they would be ruined by the
chlorinated water. Underneath he wore dark blue swimming shorts. Tye stared at
the muscular length of his legs, his perfect legs, then hurriedly turned her
head away. She felt as if she was on fire.
Jake
entered her apartment and came back quickly. "I brought you some dry
clothes, too."
Surprised,
Tye looked up and saw the assortment of clothes in his big hands. "But . .
."
"Your
suitcase was open, so I picked some stuff off the top." Jake dropped the
pile in her lap and turned away. "I'll be in the pool." He dove into
the water without saying anything more.
Tye sat
and watched him for several moments, but he ignored her. Setting her teeth, she
lay back on the chaise lounge and wriggled out of the cold, wet jeans, her eyes
on Jake as he continued to swim.
Carefully,
she pulled on the special sock for her leg, smoothed the wrinkles, then put on
the second one. Sitting on the edge of the chaise, she bent her knee slightly
and slowly pushed her leg into the socket of the artificial limb. She fastened
the straps into place, all the while darting glances at the pool.
As
quickly as possible, Tye lay down on the chaise and pulled the dry jeans up
over her damp underpants. She whipped off her T-shirt and quickly pulled the
dry one over her head. Her breath came fast and her heart pounded hard with
nerves. Jake hadn't brought her any regular socks for her other foot, so she
left her boots off.
Gathering
up her wet clothes, conscious of her underclothes soaking through, Tye walked
jerkily toward her apartment door, careful to stay well away from the edge of
the pool this time.
The
sound of her metal foot on the concrete sounded like an old peg-legged sailor
she had seen on television as a kid. Tye wanted to laugh, but a deep down
sadness was strangling her. Emotion gripped her throat, and something akin to
panic swirled inside, trying to take over. She had to get inside and sit down
so she could close her eyes until the feeling passed.
Before
the accident she hadn't known about anxiety attacks. They had started while she
was in rehabilitation. Apart from relaxing, there wasn't much she could do
about them.
Her
doctor had suggested some type of antidepressant, but the very idea scared the
hell out of Tye, even worse than the attacks themselves. They usually lasted
only a minute or so.
Entering
the sanctuary of her apartment, Tye was glad to feel the beating in her chest
ease. Damn Jake. Damn him and his accuracy about her fears.
§ Chapter Six §
Jake
heard the door to Tye's apartment slam. He pushed himself another lap. Back and
forth, he swam as hard as he could, another twenty strokes before he stopped to
tread water, hearing the sound of his harsh breathing on the evening air.
He felt
the anger pouring from him. If Tye expected him to keep his mouth shut, she was
in for a surprise. He wasn’t a lovesick kid anymore. Jake closed his
eyes, thinking about that kiss in the pool. It had been a damn fool thing to
do. Why had he done it? It had just seemed so right at the time. Now, it kept
coming into his thoughts, making him want more.
Maybe he
should've kept his mouth shut, but Tye had gotten her licks in, too, and
they’d felt like salt in a wound. Jake gritted his teeth. She was getting
under his skin and he didn’t like it.
For all the
women he had in his life, including his six sisters, Jake felt right now he
didn't know squat about the gender. Tye had acted as if she thought he was a
peeping Tom who wanted to sneak a peek at her leg. Why couldn’t she see
he was helping her? He knew what an atrophied stump looked like.
Jake
hadn’t wanted to see her leg. He had told her so, but he had lied. He had
looked. He had seen the leg briefly when she’d closed her eyes. He had
felt an aching twist of pain and fear ― her fear mixed with his own. His
mind dwelled on the pain she had gone through. He didn’t want to think of
the emotional stress she still obviously
chlorinated water. Underneath he wore dark blue swimming shorts. Tye stared at
the muscular length of his legs, his perfect legs, then hurriedly turned her
head away. She felt as if she was on fire.
Jake
entered her apartment and came back quickly. "I brought you some dry
clothes, too."
Surprised,
Tye looked up and saw the assortment of clothes in his big hands. "But . .
."
"Your
suitcase was open, so I picked some stuff off the top." Jake dropped the
pile in her lap and turned away. "I'll be in the pool." He dove into
the water without saying anything more.
Tye sat
and watched him for several moments, but he ignored her. Setting her teeth, she
lay back on the chaise lounge and wriggled out of the cold, wet jeans, her eyes
on Jake as he continued to swim.
Carefully,
she pulled on the special sock for her leg, smoothed the wrinkles, then put on
the second one. Sitting on the edge of the chaise, she bent her knee slightly
and slowly pushed her leg into the socket of the artificial limb. She fastened
the straps into place, all the while darting glances at the pool.
As
quickly as possible, Tye lay down on the chaise and pulled the dry jeans up
over her damp underpants. She whipped off her T-shirt and quickly pulled the
dry one over her head. Her breath came fast and her heart pounded hard with
nerves. Jake hadn't brought her any regular socks for her other foot, so she
left her boots off.
Gathering
up her wet clothes, conscious of her underclothes soaking through, Tye walked
jerkily toward her apartment door, careful to stay well away from the edge of
the pool this time.
The
sound of her metal foot on the concrete sounded like an old peg-legged sailor
she had seen on television as a kid. Tye wanted to laugh, but a deep down
sadness was strangling her. Emotion gripped her throat, and something akin to
panic swirled inside, trying to take over. She had to get inside and sit down
so she could close her eyes until the feeling passed.
Before
the accident she hadn't known about anxiety attacks. They had started while she
was in rehabilitation. Apart from relaxing, there wasn't much she could do
about them.
Her
doctor had suggested some type of antidepressant, but the very idea scared the
hell out of Tye, even worse than the attacks themselves. They usually lasted
only a minute or so.
Entering
the sanctuary of her apartment, Tye was glad to feel the beating in her chest
ease. Damn Jake. Damn him and his accuracy about her fears.
§ Chapter Six §
Jake
heard the door to Tye's apartment slam. He pushed himself another lap. Back and
forth, he swam as hard as he could, another twenty strokes before he stopped to
tread water, hearing the sound of his harsh breathing on the evening air.
He felt
the anger pouring from him. If Tye expected him to keep his mouth shut, she was
in for a surprise. He wasn’t a lovesick kid anymore. Jake closed his
eyes, thinking about that kiss in the pool. It had been a damn fool thing to
do. Why had he done it? It had just seemed so right at the time. Now, it kept
coming into his thoughts, making him want more.
Maybe he
should've kept his mouth shut, but Tye had gotten her licks in, too, and
they’d felt like salt in a wound. Jake gritted his teeth. She was getting
under his skin and he didn’t like it.
For all the
women he had in his life, including his six sisters, Jake felt right now he
didn't know squat about the gender. Tye had acted as if she thought he was a
peeping Tom who wanted to sneak a peek at her leg. Why couldn’t she see
he was helping her? He knew what an atrophied stump looked like.
Jake
hadn’t wanted to see her leg. He had told her so, but he had lied. He had
looked. He had seen the leg briefly when she’d closed her eyes. He had
felt an aching twist of pain and fear ― her fear mixed with his own. His
mind dwelled on the pain she had gone through. He didn’t want to think of
the emotional stress she still obviously
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