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Nicola entered the workout area knowingly with her things already prepared for Howie’s therapy. She had been returning for several weeks and now knew the ins and outs of Howie’s home. She had even started to adapt to what kind of therapy Howie was eager to participate in and the therapy he loathed. Even though she did everything to satisfy him – things weren’t perfect for her. Sadly, the weeks of therapy had bumpily passed. Howie, like many patients, seemed to have good days and bad days. Nicola never knew what to expect when she walked through the doors to the workout room. No matter what, Nicola did her best to ease the tensions between their diverse personalities, but she wasn’t a miracle worker.

Nicola sighed annoyingly and smiled kindly when Darcy offered her a nasty glare. Darcy always seemed to make the therapies increasingly difficult for Nicola. She sat in on every therapy, watching Nicola like a hawk. She had set up her throne of dominance by the indoor side of the pool. Casually, during the therapies, Darcy would saunter by Nicola’s involved workout and offer a snide comment. Howie would never notice the feisty anger toward Nicola as Darcy slipped him a kiss and skipped back to her dominant throne. Darcy drove Nicola absolutely insane as she perched on her leather lounge chair and sipped on her margarita. No matter what time of the day, Darcy always taunted Nicola.

Blocking her thoughts, Nicola settled down on a padded chair when she heard the distant whirling of wheels. Immediately, Darcy tuned into the sound and jumped to her feet. When Howie entered the room, Darcy squealed with enthusiasm and rushed to him. Her long dark locks whipped behind her shoulders as she fixed the bottom of her black bikini bottom and tightened the strings wrapped around her back. Darcy slimily slipped her sleek body into Howie’s paralyzed lap. She eagerly wrapped her arms around his neck and bent down to slip Howie a feverish kiss with her powerful tongue.

The worst aching burned in Nicola’s heart when she watched the two embraced in a kiss. Her stomach churned at the ghastly sight, knowing that Darcy didn’t just use her tongue for Howie’s pleasure. Nicola was adamant that she had seen Darcy slithering around Orlando with various men. Nicola would take her sister about the city on shopping sprees, only to bump into Darcy slathering her affections on men Howie would probably cross the street to avoid. It made Nicola sick to think of Darcy embracing Howie in the manner that she embraced other men in during the weeks of Howie’s distress.

However, Nicola said nothing. She decided speaking her mind about Darcy’s deceitful behavior would ruin her patient relationship with Howie. She had a strict business arrangement between her and Howie. She couldn’t over-step the boundaries, because she might ruin something important. Her only concern was to make Howie well enough to take care of his own needs. His heart was none of her affair.

However, if it was none of her affair, why did it hurt to see Howie embracing Darcy? Nicola’s cheeks burned while her conscience chipped at her icy heart. Nicola wanted to deny that she had any sort of attachment toward a man who could be so vicious to her.

Except, Nicola just couldn’t suppress her emotions as she watched Darcy rub her hands against Howie’s strong chest. Nicola felt her chest tighten with anger. Darcy only reacted this way with Howie to bother Nicola. Darcy didn’t even care about Howie’s well being. Darcy only threw herself at Howie as a way to assert her domination over Nicola and claim Howie for her own. It was as if Darcy were a monkey in heat. Nicola knew that Darcy hoped to create a decaying emotion of jealousy in her heart. But, to Darcy’s surprise, it was working.

“How are you feeling, Baby?” Darcy cooed loudly, glancing backward to make sure she held Nicola’s attention. A slick smile spread across Darcy’s darkly tanned face when she realized Nicola was fully aware of Darcy’s actions.

“I’m fine, Darcy. I’m just getting ready for Nicola,” Howie answered, knowing Nicola had heard him.

As if on cue, Nicola turned and smiled brightly at him. Howie felt his heart flutter to his confusion. Before he could sort through the emotions embedded in his mystified soul, Darcy pulled on his shirt. It was as if she were an infant demanding for his attention. Howie felt guilty as he watched Darcy frown at him. To make up for his negligence, Howie leaned up and offered a feisty kiss and bit her bottom lip with a teasing smile.

“I love you,” he murmured.

“Good!” Darcy declared, offering no love back to him. Instead, she simply offered a boastful smile in Nicola’s direction and scurried back to her throne. She plopped down on her lounge chair and hit a remote to open the glass panes of the ceiling for a tanning session.

“Are you ready?” Howie finally asked Nicola, painfully wheeling toward her. He glanced with puzzlement when he noted an unfamiliar look upon her beautiful face. It seemed as if Nicola was jealous, which baffled Howie. He felt his throat tighten as he gazed at her with more interest.

“I’m always ready,” Nicola announced. Her facial expression immediately changed to a glimmer of amusement. She jumped up from her seat and crossed her arms across her chest. “So, be honest with me. Have there been any more changes in your condition since last week?”

“My pain level has been doubling. I’ve also been a lot stiffer than before,” Howie admitted as Nicola helped him from the wheelchair to the exercise mat. His skin tingled as her hand accidentally slipped up his shirt and brushed against his bare abdomen. She said nothing about the brief contact of skin as she helped him toward the floor.

“The more we work out the more your muscles will be tired, which can be accounted for the stiffness and pain. However, the longer we work your muscles, the more endurance your muscles will develop. And, the more we keep going, the more you’ll be able to do by yourself. It just takes a few more weeks than we’ve given,” Nicola explained, lifting Howie’s useless leg into her arms. She quickly glanced at his upper leg to check for any sign of infection or deterioration. She always checked during every visit, because Howie would feel no pain or discomfort if something were occurring in his legs. Sadly, he wouldn’t have any idea that anything existed past his hips because of the damaged nerves.

“Nothing to worry about?” Howie asked, watching Nicola critically study his legs. He quickly became oblivious to Darcy being anywhere in the room. He could only study Nicola’s gentle features in awe. Her strawberry blonde curls were pulled behind her ears in a low ponytail. Her emerald eyes turned light against the beaming sun as the golden rings sparked with beauty. Her bottom lip was sucked into her mouth as she became lost in her assessment of Howie’s body. He found it charming that she could be so in touch with him, but so quiet.

“Nothing is wrong. All the surgical sights have healed nicely. Seems like you’re on your way to a clean bill of health,” Nicola answered, gently resting Howie’s left leg on a nearby pillow.

“Great!” Howie approved as there was a knock on the door. Nicola smiled in awe as Paula and Pollyanna ushered themselves in with two tall glasses of icy water. Nicola absolutely adored Howie’s family. They were so warm with her. They treated her as if she was a part of the family and Nicola needed that. Pollyanna and Paula always had a way of making Nicola feel wanted, despite Darcy’s cold actions.

“We thought you might need these,” Paula explained, offering Nicola one of the glasses. Nicola was amazed to find a twist of lemon and lime dunked amongst the icy cubes. The women had taken great care to provide the drinks.

“Thank you!” Nicola answered gratefully, taking a long sip.

“Working hard?” Pollyanna asked, offering the other drink to Howie. Satisfaction glowed in Pollyanna’s face when Darcy stormed out of the room. Darcy was obviously angered that the family didn’t bring her a drink. Shivers of delight raced down Pollyanna’s back when Howie didn’t even seem to notice Darcy, because his eyes were set on Nicola.

“Always,” Howie chuckled, winking at Nicola.

“Then we’ll leave,” Paula replied, kissing her son’s sweaty cheek. “It was great to see you again, Nicola. We must invite you for dinner some evening. That way we can get to know you beyond this arrangement.”

“I’ll consider that. Thank you,” Nicola laughed, watching the two women scurry off in delight. Nicola glanced back at Howie with appreciation. The two women reminded Nicola so much of her mother and sister. “Your family is absolutely wonderful.”

“Thank you,” Howie replied with a knowing smile.

“Want to take a break?”

“Yes!” Howie blurted, causing Nicola to laugh. He blushed faintly as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. Nicola smiled with approval. Howie was becoming much stronger with her help. He was starting to support all of his body weight with his arms. He would be able to do so many things soon and he owed everything to Nicola.

“So, how are things going?” Nicola asked, starting a friendly conversation. She had yet to hear anything about Howie’s friends. Rosa-Lynn had spoke of Howie’s singing group making a public announcement. They had stated that they were helping Howie every step of the way, but Nicola had yet to see them visit. She feared that they might have abandoned him long ago, making it harder for Howie to adapt to the injury.

“Everything is slowly coming together,” Howie answered vaguely. Howie’s family was standing behind him, no matter what happened. Pollyanna had permanently moved into his home until Howie felt secure enough to be alone. His parents visited every day. His other brother and sister visited about every week. Darcy was always around for his therapy, but gone any other time, which Howie didn’t mind. The only downer was that he was still bitter with his friends. He prayed that Nicola would not interfere with the friend issue, but Howie saw the look in her eyes.

“Everything?”

“Pretty much.”

“Your family?”

“Always by my side.”

“Darcy?”

“Always here when she’s not busy with her modeling.”

“Your friends?”

“What about them?” Howie questioned, growing stiff.

“Things must be going quite well with them.”

“Why?”

“My sister told me yesterday that your friends made an appearance on MTV. They said that they’ve been with you constantly since the accident. They even mentioned that they have become the legs that you have lost. I’m glad that they’re so dedicated to you–”

“They lie,” Howie interrupted hatefully. Nicola’s words sunk deep into his bruised soul like a bitter poison. The malice words cut into his flesh with fiery anger. He looked deep into Nicola’s eyes to see that she was truthful. His friends had used him as a tool to gain sympathy toward their music. His friends had deceived him to fulfill the public’s wanting.

“What do you mean? Why do they lie?”

“They haven’t been here at all.”

“And why is that?”

Howie docile personality melted away to reveal his anger. He was tired of her interfering with his personal business. “Stop asking so many damn questions! You’re not my fucking psychiatrist! I don’t pay you to sort through my troubled feelings. My brain isn’t paralyzed – just my damn legs!” Howie snapped, unable to hold his tongue. He watched Nicola flinch, but he was unable to stop his destructive words. “You’re always prying into my business. Can’t you just do your damn job and heal my body? Try to do something good instead of jumping into my brain. Damn bitch!”

Nicola couldn’t control her temper any long. She tried to understand that Howie was still dealing with the traumatic state of his frazzled ego, but it wasn’t fair to her. She shouldn’t have to compete with his anger in order to complete her job. Without thinking, she snapped her wrist and flung icy water into Howie’s face. Her muscles tensed in annoyance and rage as Howie stared at her in shock. She watched the icy droplets melt down Howie’s face.

She spoke crisply, “Mr. Dorough, my clients are treated with holistic care. Do you understand what holistic care means? Or is your egotistic brain too shrunk to comprehend? Holistic care means that I care for your mind, soul, and body. And it seemed that your brain is as sick as your body! So, please, condemn me to the fiery pits of Hell for wanting to see you well!”

Before Howie could reply, the door to the gym was flung open. Nicola’s eyes went large when she noticed who appeared at the door. Nicola held her breath as Pollyanna, Paula, and Darcy escorted her boss, Dr. Eric Jacobs, into the room. Somehow, Nicola knew that she might be fired that day. Her mind immediately traveled back to her precious daughter. She began to wonder what kind of job she could find that day in order to feed her daughter.

“Hello, Dr. Jacobs,” Nicola replied numbly.

Dr. Jacobs ignored Nicola’s greeting. He simply walked toward Howie, sizing up the scene before him. Dr. Jacobs bent down and growled with displeasure. The ice cubs sat in Howie’s lap as the water continued to drip down his chin. “What the Hell happened to you, Mr. Dorough?”

Howie ran a tired hand over his sopping wet face. He could ruin Nicola’s job if he explained her violent outburst. She could be out the door so fast on her behind that it would make her head spin. However, something tugged at his heart. He wanted to focus on his anger, but could only picture Nicola’s longing smile of trust and seduction. He needed to protect her.

“Nothing happened. This is sweat – I was working really hard,” Howie answered dryly.